Boule - Artisan Free-Form Loaf
Beautiful! This recipe came from the book Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day. The idea is that you throw together the dough in less than 5 minutes then refrigerate it up to two weeks and use it as you need it.
It turned out exceptionally well … but it ruined my pizza stone! The book suggested using a high grade 1/2 inch stone, and that’s what I thought I had, until I heard a loud “snap” in my oven as my bread was baking. Sure enough, my stone split right in half.
The dough is very, very, wet … quite unlike any other bread dough I’ve worked with. It reminded me of those warm, steamy, loaves of bread that restaurants bring out. I want to make this again, but I need a new pizza stone. Apparently the evenly browned and crusty crust comes from a very hot oven, the even distribution of heat from the stone, and steam.
We ate this with tortilla soup. Yum!
Thank goodness Mother’s Day is just around the corner (hint, hint). Williams-Sonoma carries one that has a lifetime guarantee from cracking. I could see myself baking bread in the future on a regular basis, using this method.
Mmmmm! The smell of homemade bread.
Ham & Eggs - Salt style
For Sunday brunch, I had the pleasure of dining with the future grandmother of my future grandchildren. She invited me to Salt, a local eatery. We both ordered ham and eggs with cornbread on the side. The fancy factor was way up on this yummy meal. The presentation was very attractive along with the entire restaurant’s surroundings.
This newer restaurant is housed in the location of a long-time downtown restaurant which is no longer in business. The chef of Salt is a local who’s well known in the area. The interior has so much character and texture.
Inside Salt
It was nice to visit with my friend and discuss the amazing plans for her soon-to-be built mountain paradise. We respect the fact that we both have specific talents that we are more than willing to exchange in trade as she proceeds with this project. I see some very creative ventures happening in my future. I can hardly wait!
A great big “thanks” to C.C. for inspiring me, and for the delightful brunch.
Stir Crazy
Kettle Corn
Okay … I had to go snooping around other people’s blogs and happened to stumble across this amazing recipe for homemade kettle corn. Be forewarned that consuming this is habit forming. Some have described it like “crack”, in terms of its addiction factor – but I don’t know anything about that! I just know that you can’t stop eating and eating it. Words can’t describe how delicious this kettle corn is. I dare ya to eat just one!
The original recipe calls for you to make this on the stove top. Well, I tried it the first time and shaking that big pan the whole time was down-right tiresome. So I thought … I have a Stir Crazy, circa 1980’s, that stirs the popcorn continuously and keeps it from getting scorched. What did I have to lose?
The kettle corn recipe worked like a dream this way! It was light and fluffy with just the right combination of salt and sweet.
So this is the original recipe that I found here, thanks to “Joy the Baker.” My quicker version follows. Happy popping!
- Put 1/4 cup of oil in the bottom of the corn popper and let it heat up.
- Dump in 1/2 cup of corn kernels.
- Sprinkle with 3 Tbs. of white sugar.
- Put the lid on and wait for it to pop. Don’t let it burn!
- When finished popping, invert the lid and sprinkle with 1/2 to 3/4 tsp. of salt while stirring.
Making Scones
Do you remember last weekend when I said that I was going to go home after my winter walk, and do chores and take care of other boring business stuff? Well … I immediately went home and started making the cranberry orange scones I’ve been thinking about since the holidays. These are actually the first scones I’ve ever made.
on the way to the oven
They were easy to make, and tasted scrumptious right out of the oven with a steamy cup of good coffee. I miss all my old, (as in frequent) baking habits. Eating healthy just isn’t as much fun. That’s for sure!
bd grillers
Because of the snowstorm last weekend, we postponed our son’s birthday dinner celebration until tonight. It’s a tradition for him to choose bd’s Mongolian Grill. The wait time for dinner was about two hours, but it was worth it. This place is alot of fun. You choose your “raw” foods, create your own sauce, and the grillers ham it up and grill it before your eyes. These guys were good sports in posing for my photo. I hope my son enjoyed this celebration.
Too much food!
Since we had quite a bit of time to occupy, we took a long walk on the 16th Street Mall. Although we hopped on the mall shuttle bus for a few blocks, this mode of travel looked much more desirable. Yee Haw!
prettiest mode of travel
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ! I LOVE YOU!
