With a nice sprinkling of travel, for good measure.
This might not look like much, but I love taking pictures out of airplane windows. This one pleased me particularly because of the way the clouds and earth bisected the sky to create a teeny wedge of blue.
I was in Saskatoon for 10 days, visiting with my most excellent of friends, Jacqueline (of Hearts on Fibre & Frippery Digits bloggy fame). It was maybe not the most ideal time for a vacation with all the frenzy in my personal life at home. But away I went, and I had a lovely time, and now I’m back with renewed spirits, feeling far more capable of tackling those things what need tackling.
We did weaving (the link at the top of Jacqueline’s Hearts on Fibre page is currently dedicated to the tapestry she completed while I was there), and we also went crazy making pendants and pins and stuff. Now they are all for sale at the shop where I work.
Don’t they look nice on the rack? I get my own side! All the pins are in a basket on the counter. I have more pendants to attach bails to, and I have to figure out more necklaces, since the place we got those ones from appears to not stock them anymore.
While there, the only bread I ate was homemade. I was in awe of how easy the recipe Jacqueline used is, so I copied it down, and brought it home with me. (It’s from the book Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes A Day by these lovely people who have a blog dedicated to the subject as well, if I find myself actually making bread from this recipe with any sort of regularity, I intend to buy the book myself and play with the other recipes as well.
I’ve been home for about 36 hours. I’ve bought the yeast and cornmeal I needed for the bread, and mixed up my first batch of dough last night. I didn’t take pictures. For shame, I know.
I neglected to buy a container or bowl large enough for me to make a full batch of dough in, so I had to half the recipe. Which wasn’t a problem, except for eye-balling what 3/4 of a tablespoon looks like.
My dough didn’t look very nice. I thought maybe my decision to use a soup spoon to stir (because we’ve had to get rid of all our wooden ones) affected how well I was able to incorporate the flour.
But today, I have two itty bitty loaves (more like buns, really), and they look lovely.
Now I just have to see if they taste any good.
*Toddles away to taste her adorable mini breads*
Yes, it’s good. No, the flour didn’t incorporate evenly, and there are bits of not-quite bread throughout, but for a first attempt, and considering I had to half the recipe and use the wrong tools, I’m calling this an overwhelming success.
3 comments:
Awesome! Those little min breads look delish! I would def recommend a wooden spoon and a tupperware thingy with a lid if you want to do this regularly but those look most excellent for a first try. when I saw how light it looked I wondered if the bread was cooked through all the way! I have had some extreme fails and this was a good sign for me the bread was still in need of baking.
Those pendants look stellar on their own rack and I can't wait to see how they do!
We had so much fun. I am glad we got to connect despite the timing. Glad you feel renewed. General GLADNESS.
Luv
I only baked them for about 25minutes, because they were so much smaller than the ones you make. I don't know if the flour dusting makes a difference to how dark the crust gets or not, but I also only preheat the oven for about ten minutes, since I'm not using a pizza stone, which means less ambient heat to start, so maybe that's why they're lighter? They were totally cooked all the way through. The flour-y bits inside have to do with the flour not being evenly incorporated. They aren't doughy.
I'm going to pick up a couple of wooden spoons today, but I'll have to hold off on tupperware until I know what's going on with the living situation. I'm already planning my next loaves, though! I could see this becoming a part of my routine.
<3
I find it really makes me feel like I'm making my house a home. fresh bread smells and tastes. Breaking bread between friends and family. It just smacks of old timey fellowship. And YUM.
<3
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