Yeah, I Bake Bread

No big deal. Its just about the most exciting thing I have ever accomplished in the kitchen! The satisfaction of a really tasty loaf of bread is just tops. And, without sounding too full of myself, I have been making some really tasty loaves of bread.

The inspiration and instruction came from the book "Artisan Breads in 5 Minutes a Day". And while I clearly have a lot of practicing to do - my breads tend to have strange protrusions where the pictures in the book show beautiful round loaves - I don't think anyone around here is complaining.

The most excellent aspects of this bread are the crusty crust; the airy, chewy crumb (look at me using the technical terms, oh my!); and the way the loaf crackles when its taken from the oven. The frustrating part is how very simple it all is: why did I take so long to understand this? A flour "coat", steam, a ceramic stone, and very high heat seem to be the secrets, in case you were also unaware.

So far, I have used only the basic recipe in the book, adding some kalamata olives per their instructions on occasion. I fully intend to try some more (bagels? nice soft sandwich bread? yum!) soon. I just love the first recipe so much!

Good Reads

I just finished reading Freakonomics, an incredibly interesting look at the data that make up our lives. For instance, trends in naming children and the implications of those names, or the economic hierarchy of urban drug dealers. Interesting, if fairly random, things.

Perhaps the real point of the book is to encourage the asking of questions - why is such and such the way it is? How does it compare to something radically different and what can we learn from the similarities and differences between the two?


I have always enjoyed watching people - not in a creepy way, at least I don't think so! I am just curious about how people are, how we interact. This is most likely one of the reasons I am so interested in making dolls. The author of this book has a similar curiousity, although at a much more complex and advanced level. As a curious person, I am fascinated at the conclusions an extensively inquisitive mind can deduce, it is very reassuring and quite inspiring.


I say this all as something of a disclaimer: if you catch me studying you over my boyfriends shoulder at the coffee shop, don't think I'm some sort of floozy trying to pull one over on him. I am just wondering what the pin on your jacket says, and if it has anything to do with the paper at which you are so furiously scribbling...



Seriously though, read the book.

What a Place!

Possibly the highlight of our day in Salem (besides the seafood fettuccini and the "Far Side" loving waiter at the perfect restaurant) was the book store on the Salem Mall. Books stacked from floor to ceiling, piles and piles with narrow alleys winding through the shop - and everything at half-price.



Realizing that if we let ourselves really look we would leave with an entire library, we began to search for the cashier. With the sound of his voice he directed us to the counter - a narrow slit between piles, big enough to slide a few dollars through.



I commented to the shopkeeper on his abundance and he said I should have seen it before they started liquidating.