Back on the...sneakers?

I've been procrastinating for months. I know...I'm on a marathon relay team...my team is depending on me. Buuuuut...it's been really hot. I've been doing a lot of other stuff. I'm going to start later in the week. There's always later in the week.

Today is the day, though, to get back on the horse, or the running shoes. My marathon team is complete. There's no what ifs.

I even agreed to do a 5K with my Dad three weeks prior for some additional motivation. I emailed him about it today and he sounds really excited. Not going to lie, I'm pretty excited too. Doing something like this with my Dad, that's good for both of us, that we both have to work for, makes me feel really good.

That little extra push got me going. I started small, but I started. It's pretty steamy today, and I didn't get an opportunity until late, but I did it. First half-mile down, and many more to go.

(photo courtesy timtak)

Missed Connections

Who doesn't love reading the missed connections on Craigslist? There's a great missed connections blog over at Tumblr. Funny, funny stuff.

Still, today I found the doozy of all doozies, for all things MC. Illustrator, Sophie Blackall, has the most wonderful ILLUSTRATED blog, appropriately titled Missed Connections. Her hand drawn ink and watercolor pictures are fantastic and a little dream-like. Check it out. Blog love of the week!

(photo courtesy Sophie Blackall)

BBAC Week #8 - Cinnamon Rolls

Not gonna lie, I was a little lazy about my baking this week. The Bread Baker's Apprentice Challenge recipe this week made either cinnamon rolls or sticky buns. I chose cinnamon rolls and I'd planned on prepping everything up to the actual baking on Friday night. I totally scrapped these plans when given the opportunity to go see the movie UP with J. Such a great movie! The animation blew me away and we laughed so hard we cried for most of the movie.

I got home at about 10:30pm and started my dough. Got everything mixed and let it rise once. By that time I was exhausted so I just covered the bowl in plastic and tossed it in the fridge. So tired, in fact, that I completely forgot to take any photos up to that point. Oops!

The dough risen a bit more overnight in the fridge, but didn't seem over-risen by Saturday morning. I did the poke test (gently poke the dough with your finger: if the indentation fills back in the yeast is still active, if not it has risen for too long) and the dough was surprisingly in perfect shape.

I rolled he dough into a large rectangle, covered it in cinnamon and sugar, and rolled the whole thing into a big, doughy log. I actually think the overnight refrigeration helped during this step as the cold dough didn't stick to the rolling pin, my hands, or the board.

I sliced the roll into twelve buns, and placed them on a parchment lined baking sheet. I let them rise for a bit longer than the recommended time since they were still cold from the refrigeration.

I popped the rolls into the preheated 350 degree oven and started prepping the rest of breakfast. I ended up baking them for 40 minutes, rather than the 20-30 minutes in the recipe, as they weren't browning very quickly. It was definitely worth the wait.

The rolls rose a bit more during baking, and the sugar turned into a glaze in between layers, and created a crispy crust on top. By this time I was starving, so I hopped in the shower while they cooled (recipe calls for 10 minutes of cooling before glazing) so as not to dump the whole bowl of fondant on top and start downing them. I think this was more effective than a low flow shower head at conserving water, because I was in and out in record time!

Not surprisingly, these were really good. Per the recipe, I added lemon zest (you could also use lemon extract) so they were a bit citrusy. I'm not completely used to lemon in my cinammon rolls, but it was a nice addition. We ate them with good, crispy bacon and a fruit salad of honeydew, orange, grapefruit, and Ranier cherries ( love that they're on in season and on sale right now!). Didn't get any photos of the plated breakfast because it immediately went into our mouths. Sooooo good!

Next up: Cinnamon Raisin Walnut Bread

UHP: Photo Update!

I have tomatoes!! They're not quite ready yet, but as of yesterday there were even some turning yellowish/pinkish, so fresh, ripe tomatoes are just around the corner.

There have been lots of blossoms on the butternut squash plants in the garden. I'm a little worried though as instead of forming little nubs where the squash will develop once the flowers shrivel, I can only see that the blossom and the branch for about two inches down the stalk are brown and dry. Not sure what happened??

The herbs have grown so much that they're looking bushy and really needing to be pruned back. I will definitely miss them this winter. So will the bumble bees who LOVE the lavender and basil blossoms.

In other interesting news I've seen a number of very smart re-purposing ideas in the blog world this week. Loving this idea from pippa5 on Instructables to create a vertical garden out of a hanging shoe bag. Perfect for growing herbs, greens, or small fruit or vegetable plants and keeping the beasties out. Also great for apartment or patio gardners, or anyone with limited space.

Another great idea from Instructables user Monkeybrad, lawn furniture made from 55 gallon drums. The instructions are pretty simple, and these drums are pretty easy and inexpensive to get your hands on. With the recent influx of spray paint for plastics, you could likely also paint these if you're not a fan of the standard bright blue.

Finally, while this idea may be out of the realm of DIY for most of us, I still thought it was a great idea worth mentioning. Featured on the ReadyMade blog, Jocko Weyland and the folks at Macro Sea are making urban pools out of dumpsters! They've been hosting Friday Pool Parties in the Brooklyn neighborhood where this one is located. Reusing and bringing the community together --doesn't get much better than that!

Cherries and Blog Love

Two unrelated topics, but both worthy of note.

1.) I am eating the crap out of cherries lately! I bought a 2# bag on Saturday and polished it off today. So good I may get another.

Let me know if I start turning pink.

2.) I have found a new blog crush. I ran across My Milk Toof on StumbleUpon (which you should totally try if you haven't). This blog is probably one of the most original ideas I've seen in quite a while.

Creator, Inhae Renee, sets it up by saying:

"When I was young, I placed my baby teeth under my pillow and when i woke up I'd find a shiny new quarter. But whatever happened to those little teeth? Where did they go? Would I ever see them again?

Many years later, a little tooth was standing at my door. It looked familiar. Its name was ickle. Welcome home, my milk toof!"

Check out the antics of the teeth, Ickle and Lardee, if you get a chance. You won't be disappointed.

(photo courtesy bensonkua)

...Stilt-Walking Skills...

The BF and I had a very fun three-day break this past weekend. Among other things I got the opportunity to show off my stellar stilt-walking skills.

What? You say you can't walk on stilts at all?

That's too bad because I AM AWESOME AT IT.

The BF, being the stilt newbie that he is, gave a valiant effort. He was up...

...and then he was down.


Don't worry BF, THEEEZ SKILLZ are years in the making. Stilt-walking like this does not happen overnight. Also, I'm naturally gifted with the ability to balance on tiny wooden platforms...in flip flops, nonetheless...pssssh.

(**note: I can only gloat like this because the dear BF has skills superior to mine in virtually every other arena. But not stilts, because I am the winner.**)

BBAC Week #7 - Ciabatta

Onward and upward to week #7 (my second) of the Bread Baker's Apprentice Challenge with Ciabatta. This bread was first made in Italy, and should have a crisp crust with a porous, soft interior.

The dough was much stickier than the Challah from last week. I made the poolish variety, rather than the biga, but both involve starting the fermentation process a few hours, or even up to three days, before making the actual dough. For the poolish, I mixed the flour, yeast, and water together to make a sticky, thick pancake batter-like texture. I let it ferment for four hours on the counter, and then stuck it in the fridge overnight.

This morning I added the poolish to more flour, salt, yeast, and water in the mixer, and mixed for about 7 minutes total using the paddle and then the dough hook. It was a bit dry at first, so I added water by the tablespoon until I got the stickier texture I was looking for.

After the first 30 minute rising, I added some fresh rosemary and thyme and did the first stretch/fold, and let it raise for another 45 minutes.

It was looking pretty puffy by then, so I decided to go ahead and divide it up into loaves. The loaves sat in a makeshift couche (one of my kitchen towels) to keep them seperate during the final raising.

To get the crispy crust I was looking for I had to add steam to the oven. I did this by pouring hot water into a preheated pan on the top rack as I added the dough to the bottom rack. I also misted the walls of the oven every thirty seconds for the first two minutes of baking.

The recipe made enough dough for two small loaves and two buns. Since I don't have a baking stone or even a huge pan I decided to bake them individually. The recipe called for a bake time of approximately 22 minutes, but I had to bake each for closer to thirty to get the caramel colored crust I was looking for.

The loaves looked great. I didn't take a photo of the inside this time, though, because I was a little disappointed with how mine turned out. Ciabatta is known for it's light crumb filled with tons of big air pockets. Mine was sadly missing those big holes. The only thing I can figure out is that the house was a little cooler today, and the recipe called for a final stretching ( but no folding) of the dough as it was going into the couche. I think that last stretch probably flattened any air holes that might have formed.

Despite that, the bread tastes great, and looks nice. I'm still going to chalk this one up to success since the buns played an important role in tonight's dinner.

Mmmm...salmon burgers (grilled by the BF) with avocado aioli and leaf lettuce. Pretty excellent way to end the three day weekend.

Next up: Cinnamon Rolls