TWD/BWJ: Bagels

RESOLVED: I will seek out the Baking With Julia videos before attempting all further recipes in this project!

Do you think that'll help me remember? The printed recipe seems SO much more complicated than the video version. Especially 4 pages of printed recipe. Especially for a visual person.

I considered skipping this recipe altogether because in general bagels aren't my favorite food. Too hard to eat without feeling like you might pull out a tooth or OD your jaw muscles. But then I started to read the links. Several people used the word "fun". Who am I to argue with that? Why should I care about the finished product if I have fun along the way? And you know what? It WAS fun! And you know what else? They're good!














The second debate was on while I was making the dough.  Which explains the wine...  I'm terribly exhausted by what passes as politics in this country anymore. It's disintegrated into an ugly bitterness that has infiltrated even my own friends. The fear- and hate-mongerers aren't going to let up, are they? A sense of hopelessness has taken hold of me. There. I've named it.

And so I welcome the unexpectedly "fun" recipe. And try not to think about the way people are treating one another over an election. When all else fails, I'll make bagels.

The recipe can be found here, and links to other Tuesdays With Dorie bakers who made this recipe are here.

And now for a shoe. How about a hopelessly bad picture of one?  It's not easy to get them in focus when you're driving 45 mph and there's a car on your tail.

TWD/BWJ: Cranberry-Walnut Pumpkin Loaves

Seems like EONS ago that I made this bread. Picture dates say Oct 6 and 7 which was a few days late to begin with. So I'm only 2 weeks past the "official" baking date posting this.

Guess I'm not one of those competitive bakers waiting for midnight to hit so I can be first to post my link, LOL!

At least I'm trying to keep up.




Life's been a little overwhelming lately, so I count this as an accomplishment. Yesterday was my husband's second chemo treatment.

So far, so good. Let's get this done.

Truth be told, I don't think I'll make this bread again. Must confess that I have an intense affection for nice, sweet, easy pumpkin nut quick breads. Held hostage to my unrefined palate. And after a week-long search for fresh cranberries, I didn't like them in the bread. Too sour for me. The Craisins that I used were good though.  So I'll probably add them to my next quick bread...

The recipe for this 2-day yeasted bread can be found here, and other baker's links are here.

Now I can share the other shoe we saw just outside Tuskegee, Alabama this summer... a loafer!

TWD/BWJ: Whole Wheat Loaves

If you're lucky, there are very few times in life when the world turns upside down. But that's exactly what happened to us on Sept 17th. I'd just eaten the first bite of a fried egg on toast when the phone rang. Two minutes later, the egg was in the trash and I was headed out the door. "They think it's cancer," he'd said.

Eight years ago my husband had surgery for colon cancer. There have been annual colonoscopies, and CT scans with every abdominal pain. Nothing indicated cause for concern. 

It was chest pain that took him to the ER this time. His heart is fine, thank God, but the cancer has returned and spread. And so we take the next step.

He had his first chemo treatment last week. It went pretty well. There'll be many more. I am grateful for miracle drugs and insurance. 

For the first week I had to remind myself to breathe. Repeatedly. 

It's coming a little easier now. 

Babysteps.

I made the bread a week late. Then took another two weeks to post it. Better late than never. 

Comfort food, literally.

The bread recipe can be found here or here, and links to the other Tuesdays With Dorie bakers are here. 

We actually saw THREE shoes in the road on our way home from the hospital. I take that as a sign that all will be well. Here's a picture of one of them.