Cheesy Bread

While waiting to see what my sourdough was going to do (and since that loaf was going to take a couple days anyway), I put something else in the bread machine because NEED BREAD RITE NAO.  It's not too complex but is packing plenty of flavor, and is very customizable depending on what kind of cheese you like/have/want.

2/3 cup milk
1/4 cup water
1 egg
3 cups bread flour
1 and 1/3 cup shredded cheese (I like cheddar, but pick your favorite!)
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp active dry yeast

Use the white bread cycle on your machine and select the 1.5 pound loaf.  And of course I'm sitting here typing this in front of Food Network, and the sight of fresh jalapenos being sliced makes me think they would be so delicious in this loaf.  I'm actually sad I didn't think about it until just now.  Remind me for next time!

Lazy Sunday

Not to be confused with Lazy Sundae.

There are some days when I am really excited to be staying indoors and not getting out of my pajamas.  This is especially true today as this is my last "free" day in the foreseeable future.  I have 5 workdays following this, and on Saturday, I have my best friend flying in from England to visit and play with me around California!  I've packed the itinerary to keep us busy and having fun, and especially as I only have 6 days to show her how awesome Monterey and San Francisco are, there are a couple days when we are booked up to our eyeballs!  I won't go too much in to all of our plans here, because there are surprises I don't want to share yet, and things are always subject to change, but after she heads home I will want to reminisce and share our exciting adventures.  :)

So that's the next 11 days.  However, since I'll probably be shunning my husband while my friend is here (I'm glad he's an understanding guy!), he's already itching to do something fun after she leaves.  Since that will coincide with Labor Day weekend anyway, he's also considering us spending some time up in San Francisco with the long weekend.  Wyatt Cenac is performing at Cobb's that weekend, and there's just so much to do in the city anyway.  This is beginning to sound expensive, and we're now looking at 14 days of busy.  That's not even considering that I'll be stumbling back in to (albeit, a shortened) workweek after that.

And now I'm thinking too hard about having to do stuff.  Back to today.

I've gotten halfway through my second sleeve on my cardigan, and I am now running my bread machine for the second time today (the first was to test my reanimated sourdough starter - more on that once I see some results).  I'm thoroughly ignoring any cleaning that needs to be done, except for the laundry, which really washes itself when you think about it.  There's an empty coffee cup in front of me, and a sleepy kitty on my right, who is content with her recent cheese snack (since I was grating cheese anyway for that second loaf of bread).  At some point I'll figure out what to eat for lunch.  Actually, my stomach just told me that I should do that sooner rather than later.

Maybe not as lazy as I originally thought?

Fail Issue: Identified

So, I've figured out why my loaf of bread was such a fail yesterday.  Last night I attempted a loaf of my usual sourdough - the one that works every single time.  It seems my sourdough starter has gone comatose.  I don't think it's dead, as it still smells right, and it still forms small bubbles when new flour and water is added, but it's not reacting and growing at the correct rate.

I'm a bit bummed at the moment, but I suppose this means that now I'll learn how to revive my starter, and then I can pass that info on to you all!  Off to do some research...

Fail Bread

Yesterday, I set out to do something NEW and EXCITING.  "Sourdough whole wheat bread sounds super-awesome!", I thought.

SAD FACE ALERT.

OMG so sad.

I don't know what happened, but the stupid thing didn't rise.  The recipe (which I'm not going to post, because LOOK AT THE PHOTO) told me to be patient, for it may take up to 4 hours for it to double, and 12 hours later I finally stuck it in the oven to see if it at least tasted good and if I should bother to try again.

Yeah.  We're not trying this one again.  Maybe I'll give the rest to someone I particularly dislike.

The Project that is STEALING My Life!

My time has suddenly gone missing.

I've had hardly any time to cook, and have only done so because it's impossible for me to stop eating.  I have 5 WIPs that have suddenly gone from "active" to "ignored".  When my husband recently asked if we had any bread, the answer was no.

What happened?!, you ask.  I very suddenly and urgently fell in love with Hannah Fettig's Effortless Cardigan, and decided "OMG need it right now can't wait ONE MORE MOMENT."  9 days later (and only that long because I'm still going to work - I couldn't stop doing EVERYTHING), I have the body completed!

I'll be using the last day of my weekend to get started on the sleeves, and at this rate I'm hoping I can have a finished, blocked sweater by the end of next weekend.  I have set sort of a deadline for myself on this, because in less than 2 weeks my best friend is coming to play with me in California, and I seem to really like having new cardigans whenever I'm playing with her (I did the same thing when I visited her in England).  Can you imagine how cute this sweater will be waiting in arrivals at San Francisco Airport?  And traipsing off to a hidden speakeasy in the middle of the night?  Now you surely see where my desperate urgency comes from!

I can't continue to ignore everything else in life, so there will be more from me before this cardigan is done, but I still can hopefully show you a finished sweater very soon!

Lazy Sundae

I wish I could lay around on the couch all day...

Evil Dessert

The coconut is the most evilest part.

Weekend Cake

I baked a cake this weekend!  Admittedly it was from a box, and the frosting was from a can, but still!  Fresh cake!

One time, someone asked me how you're supposed to get the sprinkles on the side of the cake.  I told them that I threw the sprinkles at the sides, and it was bonus points if it bounced off the plate and then stuck on the side.  That person looked at me like I was crazy.  But it works!  And it's FUN!

Yes, I am still 7 years old when it comes to desired cake flavors!