Recipe blog?
I've finally realized why I go on baking crazes now and then, or at least I've seen a pattern -- it's when I'm stressed/sad/anxious. I guess it's like people who clean like crazy to procrastinate... well, actually, I do that too. (Sadly/amusingly, there's a family history there: my maternal grandmother is the furthest back that my mum knows to have bipolar disorder / manic depression, and her expression of symptoms was to be lethargic for some interval, and then clean and cook like crazy for a week or two. I guess it was literally 'like crazy'. My mum, when manic/hypomanic, would wake up at two or three in the morning and start vacuuming and cleaning fishtanks).
Anyway... well, Joe left not-quite-two-weeks-ago, and it follows that I've been kind of stressed/sad/anxious. I actually had a bit of a perfect storm of angst: menstruation + getting slightly sick + injured knee (had a bad fall while skiing about a month ago) + lonely (Joe left, and my two closest friends are gone and going for, respectively, a gap year and study abroad) + depressed and having no appetite.
So, my solution to having no appetite, of course, was to surround myself with food. I've been baking profusely lately, not to mention cooking every dinner. Bread, cookies, scones (I make killer scones -- figuratively!), muffins. I don't think we've actually bought bread in a week now, because I've been baking a loaf or two at least every other evening. Also, I found a recipe that includes lager beer, and I kind of like beery bread, it seems ... :D. Plus, fajitas, beef-and-bean chili, asian-ish noodles, stir fries, stews... you get the point.
So, here, for those who wish it, a picture-heavy bread recipe. Well, soon-to-be picture heavy (I haven't finished my model loaves yet!)
Ingredients for two large loaves:
9 cups flour
1 Tbsp salt
1 3/4 cups lukewarm water
1 Tbsp active dry yeast
1 cup light-coloured lager beer (Coors, Budweiser, Beck's should all work fine)
2 Tbsp white or apple-cider vinegar
Um. Um.
Check back later.
I'll edit-to-add the rest :P
Also... I'll get up my nerve to go back through pictures of Joe+me (and hopefully not turn into a snuffly mess) and post a few soon. :)
Anyway... well, Joe left not-quite-two-weeks-ago, and it follows that I've been kind of stressed/sad/anxious. I actually had a bit of a perfect storm of angst: menstruation + getting slightly sick + injured knee (had a bad fall while skiing about a month ago) + lonely (Joe left, and my two closest friends are gone and going for, respectively, a gap year and study abroad) + depressed and having no appetite.
So, my solution to having no appetite, of course, was to surround myself with food. I've been baking profusely lately, not to mention cooking every dinner. Bread, cookies, scones (I make killer scones -- figuratively!), muffins. I don't think we've actually bought bread in a week now, because I've been baking a loaf or two at least every other evening. Also, I found a recipe that includes lager beer, and I kind of like beery bread, it seems ... :D. Plus, fajitas, beef-and-bean chili, asian-ish noodles, stir fries, stews... you get the point.
So, here, for those who wish it, a picture-heavy bread recipe. Well, soon-to-be picture heavy (I haven't finished my model loaves yet!)
Ingredients for two large loaves:
9 cups flour
1 Tbsp salt
1 3/4 cups lukewarm water
1 Tbsp active dry yeast
1 cup light-coloured lager beer (Coors, Budweiser, Beck's should all work fine)
2 Tbsp white or apple-cider vinegar
Um. Um.
Check back later.
I'll edit-to-add the rest :P
Also... I'll get up my nerve to go back through pictures of Joe+me (and hopefully not turn into a snuffly mess) and post a few soon. :)