Today is Labor Day in the United States and Canada, so I had a bonus day tacked on to my weekend. With the weather getting a bit cooler (which here in Pennsylvania means “only” 80 degrees Fahrenheit), what better time is there to try a new (to me) bread recipe? A friend recently mentioned this bread to me, and since then, I’ve been wanting to try it. It was a wise choice – this bread is hearty and complex, perfect for toast with cottage cheese. Recipe is from Food.com.
Continue readingTo the Virgins, to Make Much of Time
Robert Herrick, 1591-1674Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,
Old Time is still a-flying;
And this same flower that smiles today
Tomorrow will be dying.The glorious lamp of heaven, the sun,
The higher he’s a-getting,
The sooner will his race be run,
And nearer he’s to setting.That age is best which is the first,
When youth and blood are warmer;
But being spent, the worse, and worst
Times still succeed the former.Then be not coy, but use your time,
And while ye may, go marry;
For having lost but once your prime,
You may forever tarry.
While I disagree that virgins have anything they need to rush into (nobody’s prime is based on their appearance or their sexual value, and it’s not as if sex is the pinnacle of human experience,) I do feel like the overall feeling of the poem is relevant right now. One thing that quarantine has driven home to me in a way that I didn’t expect is my experience of the changing of the seasons. Being limited to my home and its surroundings, I’ve paid attention to how subtly the outdoors changes day by day more than I ever have before.
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I make no secret that summer is my least favorite season. Doubly so right now, when the central air in our home is broken, the air conditioning in my ancient minivan is broken and I’m quarantining at home thanks to COVID-19. My world has rather suddenly contracted into a 10′ x 14′ room: my home office. Fortunately (?), I’m an introvert, so I’m not quite as completely mad as I might be otherwise, but I do miss the world, if not the people in it.
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Lammas blessings to those who are celebrating (and Imbolc blessings to my lovelies in the southern hemisphere!) Also often called Lughnasadh, Lammas is a holiday for harvest and bread-making; of appreciating the bounty before us. I’ve already got a sponge rising for some brioche loaves, because why not?
Here is a link for some history on the holiday if you are interested, including some Old English poetry because who doesn’t love that?
When I moved out of my parents’ house, my mother gave me a set of Pyrex nesting mixing bowls that she had, and that I used frequently for cooking. I love these bowls. They’re a hideous 1970s avocado green and they’re one of my favorite things ever.
It’s the first weekend day in a few weeks that hasn’t been (as) beastly hot, so I’ve taken advantage of the milder weather to do some baking. Continue reading
I’ve been unemployed for about a month now, and have been keeping busy applying for jobs and all of that fun stuff, but I’ve also been trying to switch up our dinners as well. Yesterday, I made some meat and veg pasties (pronounced PAST-ees, not PASTE-ees) with stuff we had on hand, and realized quickly it would be a pretty customizable recipe. Writing it down here to save and share. Continue reading
I’m always on the search for new baking techniques to master. One time it was madeleines, next it was macarons. I mastered Swiss buttercream after that. Now I’m on puff pastry, with the eventual goal of reliably and proficiently turning out homemade croissants.
I decided to ease myself into this, since while I was fairly sure I could manage it, pride goeth before a fall and the slow approach is usually the right one. The first step in this saga, then, was rough puff pastry. Specifically, sausage rolls.
Homemade sausage rolls
It’s been almost a year since I last posted.
It’s been almost a year since I last posted?!
It’s been a year of making: a year of baking, of cooking, of knitting, and even of some sewing. Halloween costumes were made. Holiday gifts were made. And some other stuff, too.
And now we’re back in summer. It’s hot out, but with the heat comes fresh fruit. And with fresh fruit comes… pie.
I used a reverse-engineered recipe from a carbonized loaf of bread from Herculaneum to make a loaf of bread. It’s so interesting to see what bread was like 2000 years ago! It turns out it was extremely heavy and a bit sour-tasting (no doubt from the biga acida). My husband and sons love it, but it’s a bit much for me for everyday.
This is a pretty accurate image of the crumb. It’s very dense!
Marie Makes Stuff 