Baking Bread

I've never been fearful in the kitchen, I cut my teeth on Julia Child's "The Art of French Cooking", however,  baking bread scared me. Bread dough seemed so mercurial, proof the yeast, knead the dough, watch the humidity. The process of making the dough consumed an entire day: punch the dough down, let it rest, set in a warm place to rise for 2 hours then repeat the process.

The result after hours of work and being tied to the house did not appeal to me; just one loaf of bread, maybe two. If I slaved in the kitchen multiple hours then I expected something more filling, like pot au feu, and awe inspiring, like caramel cake with a hazelnut dacquoise and Italian meringue. Then I purchased a bread machine and the process was demystified. Now everyday is fresh bread day at my house.

 You will find a variety of machines on the market. When I bought my first machine it made vertical loaves that insulted my sense of how bread should look. By the time I was ready to upgrade I knew enough about bread machines to make a more intelligent decision. Fortunately, the bread machine market had improved to offer better machines with usable features. My second bread machine came from Zojirushi. I consider it the king of bread machines because of its versatility and smart design. Here's what I like about it:

• Horizontal loaf up to a 2 lb loaf of bread
• Wheat and white cycle
• Personalized cycle
• Dough cycle, 2 hours
• Quick dough cycle, 45 minutes
• Beeps when it is time to add things to the dough (raisins, sun dried tomatoes, seeds, herbs)
• Timer for delayed start (best feature ever!)

Crockpot specials

     Crock pot meals require a certain finesse, in my opinion. I've had amazing success and dreadful inedible failures. Some food, like chili, is perfect for a crock pot and cold weather comfort foods are the epitome of crock pot meals.
     Tell me your crock pot tales. Check out the Recipes page and post your favorite recipe.

Porcupine balls

A ONE PAN WONDER  

  Time to start thinking about what to have for dinner - ugh.

I don't plan my evening meals every week. Usually, I check what is fresh and seasonal and then I plan a few meals. Sometimes I make something, like roast chicken, and reincarnate the meat into different dishes until my husband and the kids scream "No more chicken!" A stir-fry is a great way to use up the lone carrot, 1/2 an onion or pepper, and the odd broccoli crown. I like to prepare something the night before and finish it when I get home from work the next day. That makes  me feel like I saved time even though I stayed late in the kitchen to prepare today's meal.

      One of my favorite things to do is to have a single pan meal. Skillet lasagna, rice cooker chicken biriyani, Indonesian nasi, or porcupine balls taste good and free me up to do more things. These dishes please kids and my husbands refined palate.  Tonight we are having porcupine balls.

Fine dining

Paella in Barcelona - I thought I'd died and gone to heaven

How do you describe the best thing you ever ate or drank? Was it the glass of pruneau in eau de vie that burned its path down to your stomach and made you inebriated at the first sip? Or the lobster fresh from the sea, grilled by a fisherman on a Caribbean island? Could it be a chocolate chip cookie whose aromatic chocolate scent blooms in your nose? The rich brown sugar makes the cookie crunch between your teeth and the still soft chips that ooze sweet goodness on your tongue.