Saturday Picture Post

Cacio E Pepe Rolls

My wife's latest choice for me to make from King Arthur's Big Book Of Bread - Cacio E Pepe Rolls.

This appears to be a recipe reminiscent of a classic Roman pasta. It's a salty, peppery dough with pecorino Romano cheese.  Once baked, they are also tossed in a topping of salt, freshly cracked black pepper, pecorino Romano cheese and olive oil.  Big flavor in these rolls, half of which have been frozen for another day.  They took about 4 hours to make, start to finish, and was a good baking exercise even if I never make them again.  I can't wait to see what she chooses next.

My Basic Flat Bread Recipe

Basic flat bread has become a staple in our household, we always have some on hand in the freezer.  We use it for homemade gyros, sandwiches, personal pizza and I've even had it as the bun for sausage.  My flat bread recipe was taken from a ToYoube video, but I can't remember which otherwise I would link it here.

I did have to modify it a bit and convert volume to weight.  The smaller weights are trickier with scales, I've always read, so generally I do also use teaspoons and tablespoons but I can provide the weights here as well.  I remember it took a couple tries before I finalized it, but now I've been using this recipe for quite some time and we've been very happy with it.

240g hot water (115-118ºF or 46-48ºC)

370g all purpose flour

1 tsp instant yeast (~3g)

1 Tbsp olive oil (~13g)

1 tsp salt (~7g)

Combine and mix all the dry ingredients before adding to the wet in a mixing bowl, I normally use a spatula until no dry spots are left, then on a KitchenAid mixer using the dough hook, mix for about 5 minutes on medium-low setting 2.  If you don't have a mixer it would be kneading by hand for about the same amount of time, I presume.  Form into a ball and place into an oiled bowl, covered, for 1 hour or until the dough has doubled.

Empty the dough onto a lightly oiled work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces.  I try to keep the round shape from the bowl then using a bench knife or bowl scraper, divide it like a pie into 8 pieces, adjusting if necessary to make them all about the same size.  My note says about 80g each, but I normally just eye it up.  Form each piece into a ball by pulling the corners in, then turning it over and rolling it in a cupped hand.  Set them aside and cover with a greased plastic film for 10 minutes.  (Sometimes I skip the cover, doesn't make much of a difference since the outside should be a bit oiled, anyway.)

While waiting, preheat a dry, non-stick pan to very hot; your stove may vary so adjust as necessary.  Again, on a lightly greased surface and rolling pin, roll the dough into a round shape about 1/8 inch thick (3mm).  Carefully transfer the dough using the rolling pin to the pre-heated pan.  Right away while that first side is cooking, roll the second flat bread out and by the time you're done the one in the pan should be about ready to flip.  After a few minutes remove to a cooling rack and cover with a towel.  You're looking for good browning and 'leopard spotting,' but the pan is hot so be careful not to burn.  Repeat this process until complete.

They are delightful to enjoy right away or, once cooled completely, freeze them to preserve the freshness.  They thaw quickly, still fresh and pliable for whatever you may need.

Thank you, delcatto!  This was interesting, let me know if I left anything unclear.

Solstice Fire Pit & Fougasse

It wasn't much of a firepit, but last night I did have a small fire to commemorate the summer solstice.

When I started the wind was 9-10 miles per hour, normally the top of my limit for having a fire since usually the winds lessen steadily after sunset.  But last night the winds were to increase as night came, blowing in some very hot weather for the next few days for us.  Anyway, I got an early start and pretty much just burned the fallen branches and sticks that had accumulated, not even taking the cover off the firewood rack.  It didn't take long until the bigger stuff had burned down and began smoldering.  Smoke was starting to blow everywhere so I had to put the lid on it, which I rarely ever do but it works well to suffocate it at times like this.

Today I tried a new recipe picked by my wife from King Arthur's Big Book of Bread, an Olive-Rosemary Fougasse.

The dough felt good, but was a bit sticky so my first attempt at shaping leaves leaves a lot to be desired.  It came out very tasty, crusty outside with a light and airy crumb.  Not bad, and I may try this again with different flavors.  The recipe called for semolina as the bench flour, so I got some for the first time and I like it a lot.  I may try it for pizza and peel instead of parchment paper next time.

I have another recipe from the book that I may try tomorrow, an everyday wheat bread.  I still use the frozen, store-bought bread dough for my work sandwiches, and sometimes my own flatbread, but I need a good sandwich bread recipe in my repertoire.

Vacation Projects, Baking, Street Reconstruction #19 and More

I've been busy this past week, resting and recreating takes a lot of time and effort.  I'm on my first real vacation in a year since being new at a job and other than having Covid when I was on vacation last September.  As usual, a staycation to take care of little projects and other things without the interruptions of work.  So far I've gotten a few things done and we've had nice weather, for the most part.  There's a lot to say so I may jump around a bit, and I'll likely add a break due to the length once I add pictures.

Vacation Start

I started this vacation by going to my Mom's on Saturday.  We got a few little things done for her, but it was more about spending the time, I think.  I was just there a few weeks ago, but an overnight visit allows for more time and relaxation while catching up on what's going on in her life.  I got back to town mid-day Sunday and I don't think I did much the rest of the day.

Lots more after the break!

Homemade Pizza

I got a wild thought last week to make my own mozzarella cheese.  I either looked up or saw a video in my feed that I watched, and it just seemed so simple.  So, yesterday morning, I made cheese for the first time.

And so few ingredients are involved:  Whole milk, vinegar and salt.  I also bought cheesecloth from Amazin', but that's it.  Heat a gallon of milk to 115-120ºF, turn off the burner and add about 3/4 cup vinegar.  Stir lightly for a minute or so, then move off the burner, cover and let sit for 10 minutes.

Then I scooped out the curds into cheesecloth in a sieve, finishing by pouring it all through to get all the curds.  This took 3 or 4 steps due to the size of the containers, and as the whey filled up I poured it back into the milk jug.

Using the cheesecloth, I twisted it tight and squeezed more whey out, as much as I could.  When it stopped streaming I opened the cheesecloth and broke apart the clump of curd, basically turning the inside parts to the outside before twisting the cheesecloth tight again and squeezing out more whey.

After a few minutes of this I put the cheese in a bowl and microwaved it for 20-30 seconds, folding it with a spatula for it to release more whey, stretch and come together.  I repeated this step a few times, adding about a teaspoon of salt along the way, until the cheese was getting smooth and melty.  At this point I put on gloves and kneaded the cheese in my hands like bread dough, forming it into a ball.  Once satisfied, I returned it to the cheese cloth, twisted it tight and put it into a bowl so it would retain a rounded shape and placed it in the refrigerator.  I should probably have used plastic wrap now, but came back and did that a couple hours later.

Later that day, we sliced it for a taste, then had it on a fully homemade pizza.  Homemade pizza dough, homemade pizza sauce, and now homemade mozzarella cheese.

The cheese was good for a first try, but I know I can do better.  I may have squeezed out too much whey and not kneaded or stretched it enough before chilling, and it didn't seem salty enough.  Then, to top it off, the pizza could have used a couple more minutes in the oven.  I will certainly be trying this again soon, but maybe only using a half gallon as that should be enough cheese for a pizza.

This was a first attempt taking information from a couple of ToYoube videos.  I will certainly be looking at more and am open to any suggestions.  Have you ever made cheese?

Easter This-And-Thats

I haven't really been in a writing mood recently.  I managed to post about the pavilion, but there are a few other topics I've been meaning to mention so time to sit, type and see what happens.

• Today is Easter, but this doesn't mean much to us.  I had a paid holiday for Good Friday and my wife and I may venture out later today, as we tend to do on Sundays, but will have to check ahead to see what's open.  I was going to go down to my Mom's yesterday as my sister and her kids are there this weekend, but things to do and I've been real sick of driving lately so I stayed home.

• My wife was laid off from her job this past week.  She found out about it 2 months ago, so had to endure all that time knowing, but meanwhile her anniversary came and went so she got all her time off back which will be paid out, and a severance package as well.  Another bad decision by a terrible company that keeps losing contracts, but it was her career.  She does not plan to look for a new job until her dad dies, and we're in a good enough position she can do that.

• 
  Also this past week we had to take Basil to the vet twice.  He'd lost weight, had a UTI and we already know he gets crystals real bad.  He'd also stumbled at times, and started withdrawing from us and eating less.  He got an antibiotic shot, a pain shot, and was already on medicine for hyperthyroidism but that dose got doubled.  It's taken several days but he does appear to be acting normal and feeling much better now, thankfully.  And today both the cats turn 13 years old.

• We recently bought two new computers, a laptop for my wife since she had to turn in the one she was using and a desktop tower for me because of the display driver issue this one has, plus it often shuts itself off.  Never while I'm using it, but while it's in sleep mode, and it seems to be happening more.  Both are made by Lenovo, a new brand to us but great reviews so we just went for it.  I'm going to have to take my wife's in for help getting it out of S-mode - Microsoft's new security that goes overboard in trying to save you from yourself.  I just hooked up the desktop and got that going briefly, and thankfully I don't have it on this one.  I did hook the old computer back up because I have some work to do before making the switch.

• 
  I've taken a few weekends off from baking recently, but I did make a cheesy garlic bread yesterday that I saw in a ToYoube video.  It just looked so good, so I made it and it was, but it made a mess of the oven.  I used a frozen bread dough loaf so it was quicker and easier for me, but this is one of those recipes that was fun to try but I may never make it again.

We still may get out this afternoon, but it is raining now and the day seems destined for rest and relaxation indoors.  I hope everyone is having a wonderful Easter weekend.

Slowly Spring

Slowly but surely spring is springing around here.  While no trees have leaves yet, there are buds, some plants are coming up and the grass is turning green again.  We also have one daffodil plant flowering and another just about to open.  Still seems pretty chilly most days, though about normal, I guess.  Recent days have started below freezing and may get close to 50ºF in the afternoon.  So yes, it is spring here, it just seems to be coming on very slowly.

We put cages around the new bushes we got to go along the fence last year.  Even with a mild winter, the rabbits have eaten them down terribly.  Maybe the outside ones will come back if protected, but I'm not seeing any sign of life from the middle one yet.  The critters just have no fear back there so can and will eat everything they fancy, anything we try.  I even had to cage a small area of lawn I'm trying to reseed but it kept getting dug up when I did.  I'd like some ornamental grasses, too, but those would stand no chance at all.  

I've also not had a fire yet this spring even though there were a few opportunities.  But nights are cold, and I've just begun to do some outside spring chores.  Pretty much just those cages, seeding, and cutting up the lilac wood for burning, from what I had to remove for the new fence last year.  The garage got swept out, and I considered putting the snowblower away for the season, but didn't.  No, not quite yet.

Green olive focaccia bread

Spring Plants And Flatbread Fun

When I got home Friday afternoon I found myself surprised that I saw plants starting to come up.  It's been a relatively mild winter and we've had mostly above average temperatures recently.  But it is still March and I guess I still expect freezing temperatures and at least one more snowstorm.  We do have days forecast with low temps below freezing and high temps above, but I've put away some winter clothes already.

That same day, Friday, I found the first crocus to sprout in our yard, in the bed along the dark side of the house.  After taking this photo I went to the back yard where we get scores every spring and I couldn't yet find one.  It's still March, though.

March Madness.

I've been watching a lot of basketball recently.  My Wisconsin Badgers have been on a run in the B1G tournament and will play in the championship game tomorrow afternoon.  Hopefully a great win and a good seed in the NCAA tournament, to be announce tomorrow evening.  Go Badgers!  

On a side note, Cuba City won the division 4 girls state high school championship this afternoon, coached by my cousin.  Congratulations, Cubans!

Before the games today I did a lot of housework and made some of my flatbread, which has become a staple in this household.  Now, flatbread and pita are two very similar recipes but different cooking methods.  My flatbread is dry fried in a hot pan on the stove, and pita is baked at high temperature on a baking stone.  The last few of my flatbreads today did wonderful pita impressions, though, so I grabbed my camera.

After the break are photos of that last flatbread-posing-as-pita, and that batch.

Focaccia March Note

Boy, this focaccia bread is super good.  It came out of the oven about noon today and is already gone.

I might make a couple batches of cheese pennies this afternoon, or I may not.  I feel kind of lazy.

Well, February came and went pretty quick.  Since the last post we fell into a deep freeze then came out of it with spring-like temperatures for a few days.  No more snow, but a bit of rain and all the snow on the ground is melted now.  Anything can happen in March, any year, but there's not much in the immediate forecast right now.

And yes, I'm aware of everything political that's happened and is happening now.  If you read regularly then you'll know how I feel, but it's all so obscene I'm just disassociating a bit right now.

My thoughts are slowly turning to spring chores, but I did notice yesterday that there was twine wrapped up in the snowblower.  I'll have to take a sharp blade to it and clear it soon in case the snowblower is needed again.  The twine is from getting too close to the hay mats they used to cover the grass seed out front after the street reconstruction.  My wife already mentioned getting wildflower seeds for the stump area and I'm starting to figure out what kind of sunflower to try this year.  And the more I look at the cable going to the pole across the street the more I want to cut it off the house.  If we ever needed that coaxial cable again it would need to be replaced anyway due to the kinks from being held up so long (for the street reconstruction).  Yes, lots of outside chores coming up, but it's mostly an enjoyable process.

Until then, we'll probably just be riding out the last of this winter season.  What are you looking forward to doing this spring?

New Dishwasher

A week ago our dishwasher died, the pump stopped working.  This one lasted almost exactly 7 years, and the one prior lasted only 5 years, but we run it almost every day and sometimes twice a day when I'm baking.  I got online and researched dishwashers and determined the one I wanted, and matching the range and refrigerator was a factor.  Not the most expensive one available, but certainly not the cheapest.  The first place I went did not have the one I wanted in stock and said it would be 1-3 weeks, but really he didn't know.  Not exactly a vote of confidence, so I said I'd have to get back to him and left.  Before I even left that parking lot I was on my phone looking for the next place to shop.  I found a place, they had it in stock and it could be delivered and installed on Saturday.  All in all, it cost about the same as the last dishwasher, about a grand.  But this process couldn't have gone smoother and this retailer will be my first stop next time I need a large appliance.

I took yesterday and today off from work, so got some more baking done.  I made another round of the new baguette recipe, a batch of flatbread, and pan pizza dough over the weekend.  And yesterday I tried the recipe again for hamburger/hot dog buns.  The first time I tried the buns came out flat.  This time the hot dog buns turned out better but the hamburger buns were still flat.  I've come to the conclusion that the recipe calls for less dough than needed for the buns I want, so I'll have to adjust next time, if there is a next time.  I'm not crazy about this recipe so I may look for another recipe for buns.

The pan pizza dough is awesome.  It doesn't make much, but plenty for dinner for two people.  My wife likes it, too, and it's easy to make so looks like this is another recipe that will get made more often around here.

Other than that, I won 200 bucks on the Super Bowl.  Came close to winning more, but I can't complain.  Overall, I feel I came out about even for the season with this win.  Much better than last year, but it's all in fun, anyway.  And we got a couple dustings of snow recently, but tomorrow looks like it will snow all day and we're expected to get 3-6 inches, total.  That would be our biggest snowstorm of the season so far.  We need it as it's been mostly dry all winter, but I hope mother nature doesn't try to catch up too much this late in the season.

Recent Baking

King Arthur's 2025 Recipe of the Year

For the second weekend in a row I made King Arthur's 2025 recipe of the year, a big and bubbly Focaccia bread.  I made a Focaccia bread recipe a couple months ago from their Big Book Of Bread, and it was good but ultimately forgettable compared to this one (though I did only make it once).  This recipe is so good the bread was gone on the same day I made it last weekend.  The big bubbles and the moist crumb with all that olive oil baked in - oh so delicious!  Yesterday's bread would have been eaten up, too, but my wife wanted to see what it was like the next day so we somehow saved a bit overnight.  It's still very good today but just a tad drier, maybe better if I was to use it for a sandwich, but I wouldn't feel guilty just eating it plain and it only lasts a day again.  This is certainly one that I will continue to bake.

Pizza sauce and last week's Focaccia.

I also made pizza dough and pizza sauce last weekend, so we have that ready for meals during the week.  We've been wanting to try a pan pizza recently.  I tried with the dough I make now but it's obviously meant for a thinner crust and didn't turn out great.  So then I found KA's 2020 recipe of the year, a crispy cheesy pan pizza crust that sounds promising.  I may make that this afternoon as it can stay in the fridge up to 72 hours so we can have it for dinner Monday or Tuesday.

We still have a couple wheat baguettes in the freezer for now.  We've been using them for baguette pizzas, tuna melts, and garlic bread recently.  Next weekend will be time to make that new baguette recipe again, also from KA's BBoB.  It's been several weeks since I last made it so I look forward to that.

Also yesterday, I made a new (for me) hamburger/hot dog bun recipe.  This is one type of bread I've dragged my feet on a bit, but if I can get a good one down then we won't have to buy from the store anymore.  This recipe felt a little more ambitious for me, especially since it lacked a video or pictures to help the process, but I found it very manageable to make.  Still, adding flour "until the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl" seemed subjective to me.  I was a bit unsure how much they meant.  Also, I flattened them a bit before baking as the recipe called for, but a bit too much it appeared as the buns came out of the oven flatter than I wanted.  Still, a promising recipe that I will try again soon with some modifications and hopefully improve my technique.  

Sometimes making a recipe for the first time doesn't come out perfect, but the experience will hopefully ensure a better result each consecutive time it's made.  I still enjoy the journey.

January This-And-Thats

Well, time to break the seal with the first new post of 2025.  The holidays have come and gone, and we've settled back into daily life here.  I don't have any big news or anything like that, and I haven't done one of these posts in a while, so time to start typing and see what spills out onto the page.

• 
  I've been baking quite a bit again recently, though still only on the weekends.  Most recently I made cinnamon rolls again, though this recipe is a bit of a cheat as I used the frozen bread dough.  Still, they turned out very well and were a nice, sweet treat with whipped cream cheese frosting.  I also made another batch of flatbread yesterday, and for the first time in a while I made the classic baguette recipe that I used to make all the time.  Also yesterday, I tried a new whole wheat baguette recipe that I modified a bit from a ToYoube video.  While it tastes good, I did not get the rise from them that I should have so wound up with skinny baguettes.  I believe the water was too warm, though I waited for it to cool some it evidently was not long enough and likely killed some of the yeast.  I should know better by now, but I'll make a few tweaks and try this recipe again soon.
• 
  We had Kate's van in for new tires last week, so another hefty bill.  Thankfully the brakes are still good for some time so we didn't have those done.  Now, my light just came on in my car so I'll have to get it in for an oil change soon.  Always something...
• Sometime during the last week the last of the pumpkins on the stump were fully consumed.  Though we've had cold, we've not had a whole lot of snow here yet (*knock wood) so they haven't been buried much.  I'm fine with not much snow, but come spring we'll miss the water if we continue like this.  I sometimes feel bad for putting our veg compost in the bin rather than leaving it out for the critters, but we do not need to attract more animals to our yard.
• 
  The latest project update for our street reconstruction just tells us that trees will be planted in spring, and they still plan on going ahead with the bike/pedestrian bridge over the creek, scheduled for summer this year.  I still believe it is a waste of our taxpayer dollars as there is a bridge 2 blocks north and 2 blocks south of the site.  This current city administration has plowed ahead with unpopular projects and I highly doubt will win re-election.  But I still can't fathom how our voters approved the city to raise our property taxes above state-mandated limits - and with no end date!
• Last month we replaced the suet feeder with a double suet feeder for winter, though we seem to get less birds now.  Perhaps they migrated or just have different habits for winter.  But we have been getting more woodpeckers visiting, which is kind of neat.  I'd also consider a hummingbird feeder next spring as I know they're around and nice to watch.
• 
  I bought my wife a birthday present recently, for a week from today.  I couldn't get it through Amazin' because she would see the notifications, so I went through another popular online retailer.  It was pretty expensive and the box is oddly shaped, so I never figured it would be delivered in its original box, but it was.  And my wife retrieved it, when delivered, so she knows what it is now.  But she said she didn't look closely and does not want it early.  She expects it on her birthday, and wrapped, so that's what she'll get.  I was kind of proud of the gift and I hope she truly likes it.  Maybe I'll share what it is after next week.
• Playoff football is upon us.  Ohio State and Notre Dame will battle next week for the college championship, and the NFL playoffs began this week.  My beloved Packers will be playing the Eagles this afternoon and I'll be watching the game closely and cheering on my team.  Go Packers!
• The day after my wife's birthday is inauguration day.  He's already distracting from false promises he made while campaigning ($2 gas, cheaper groceries, no taxes on overtime, etc.), the things that made many people vote for him.  Why they think these rich, white men care about them is beyond me.  Oh, well, what's done is done.  The circus is about to begin.

I started typing this morning and my wife and I went out for a bit this afternoon.  A rare weekend day that she didn't have to go over to her dad's.  She had the kitchen this morning for cooking otherwise I would probably be trying that whole wheat baguette again.  But I baked pretty much all day yesterday (though a lot was rise time), and was pretty tired last night so good to take today off.

Have a great week, everyone.

Baking/Cooking Weekend

Two batches of baguettes yesterday.

Flatbread made today.

A fresh batch of pizza sauce made.

And not made today, but homemade pizza dough fresh from the freezer to thaw and rise for dinner.

What did you do this weekend?

Street Reconstruction Part 17 & More

Yesterday they installed two No Parking signs near the top of our street and the next one over.  Today they installed more down both streets, but spaced further apart.  There is a sign two houses up and two houses down from us, which makes me happy we don't have one on our terrace to mow around.  So rather than take a picture of one of the signs in front of a neighbor's house, here is a stock photo of what they look like.

I'm thinking all that is left is for the extra poles to be removed and trees planted in spring, but they may surprise me with something I didn't think of again.  Happily, it appears people are heeding the signs and only parking on the other side since I'm not sure how many neighbors looked into the work to be done as I did and knew about this change.  And while I'm happy parking is on the other side, that means I'll have to back out a bit more carefully on this narrower street since we're pretty much guaranteed to have a car across the street now, and it may be my wife's at times.

When I got home from my Mom's on Thanksgiving Day I caught this fat squirrel eating from the frozen pumpkins on the stoop, picture taken from the car.  Well, they lasted out front for about a month and a half, through Halloween and Thanksgiving, so it was time to put them in back and let them decompose or be eaten.  

I've had trouble with my display driver on this computer so haven't used the trail cams lately as reviewing all that video does bad things, but you can still see the squirrels eat up our pumpkin from a couple years ago here.  Question:  Does anyone know if you can download a new display driver?  I haven't found anything when I looked, so I fear I may need to get a new computer to fix the issue.  And yes, the driver is fully updated.

I placed the pumpkins on the rotting stump in back, near the frozen bird bath.  (We've been below the freezing point for several days now, though we might manage to get just above tomorrow so we can get some rain that can then freeze for us.  Wonderful.)  Whatever the squirrels leave of the pumpkins can help nourish the wildflower seeds we plan to spread on the stump again next year.

After the break is just some recent baking, if interested.

Street Reconstruction Part 16 & Miscellaneous

 It's late, but I wanted to share the latest update, however small.  Yesterday, temporary no parking signs showed up all along our side of the street.  Apparently to give the regular street sign installers more time?  Who knows.

Fall Cleanup, Fire & Baking

It's shameful how I've been neglecting the fire pit this year, but fall is here so I think it will be easier to get out there more now that it gets dark so much earlier.  Saturday night had ideal conditions so I was determined to relax by the fire while watching the first half of the Badger football game.

Earlier in the day I spent some time cleaning up the back yard; mulching leaves, cleaning up the gardens and flowerbeds, put the compost soil in the gardens and get the bin ready to receive on the right side while giving a good turn to the left.  I have a couple buckets of yard waste to get to the dump, just a bit of sod, and some woody stems and dead raspberry branches from the gardens.  Technically it all could go in with the compost but I always end up pulling out a few chunks and sticks and tossing them into the other side of the bin so they have another year to break down, and the less of that the better.

There's not a whole lot else to do outside before winter arrives.  I still have to clean out the gutters, though our windy weather has me hoping that will be a, um, breeze.  And I still have to make sure the snow blower starts and move some things from the garage to the basement.  Other than that, just keep on top of mulching the leaves, is all.

*               *               *

I haven't written about baking much recently, though I have kept it up very regularly.  I fell into a good routine with my baguette and flatbread, and there's usually cheese pennies available in the freezer to make a tray when we feel like it.  On October 22, King Arthur's Big Book of Bread was released, and I received it from Amazin'.  The first part of the book covers the basics of breadmaking, then there are over 125 different, detailed recipes.  Around the same time I bought a rectangular stone for baking bread on.  We have a round one for making pizza (also with my excellent homemade dough and sauce!) but wanted better for making bread.

So far I'd only tried their Yeasted Baguette recipe, and I liked it but I used a combination of the methods in the recipe and what I'd done before.  They turned out great, but I wanted to more closely follow and practice the book to learn.  Mainly the differences were wet handling/proofing with oil spray or now dry handling/proofing with flour and a couche (which I had done some of before), and using the peel and stone for baking rather than the baguette tray.

Anyway, I got ambitious Sunday.  I had a grocery order to pick up too, but I wanted to make baguette, at least two batches of cheese pennies, and try the Pita Bread recipe from the book and also using the stone.  My first try for pita, and it was interesting to see it puff up so much in the oven.  I thought they would collapse as they cooled, but I had to flatten them before storing them in the freezer.  That's right, we've not even tried them yet.  I think we're going to have homemade gyros on Wednesday, which is why I made them.  At that time we can decide if my flatbread would be best for gyros or not.  Making either is a similar process.

Everything got done in about 6 hours total, ending around 3 in the afternoon, and my legs were tired from standing.  The Packer game started shortly after so I was able to put my feet up and watch the game.  I'm glad I got done as much as I did, but I don't think I'll try to do quite as much in one day again.  I do look forward to trying other recipes from the book, but I have no idea what the next one will be yet.

Flatbread, Flowers And Hamish

We had gyros some time ago from a delivery restaurant.  I got the regular gyro meat and my wife hasn't cared for their chicken version so tried the veggie, which is just more of the gyro veggies in a pita.  Unsatisfied, she recently wanted to try to make homemade ground beef gyros (since we still have lots to use before we can order another side of beef) with a Greek seasoning.  She found a recipe and it turned out really better than expected.  That seasoning also seemed to work as a binder so the patties were able to be cut similar to regular gyro meat and made for a rather good meal. And we love tzatziki sauce!  The only downside was the store-bought pita bread, of which only one choice is ever available at the local grocery store, as it is way too dry and bland.

So, for the leftovers I tried a flat bread recipe that I had saved but not yet made.  In fact, I hadn't tried to make any kind of flatbread previously, but I found this so quick and simple, and yet so good.  Like my homemade baguette, pizza dough and cheese pennies, flatbread will now surely be a regular homemade food in this house, though I may experiment with other recipes/techniques, too.

Otherwise, I've just been so tired this week.  I don't want to discuss my job here, but I've been doing it now for over 8 months without taking any time off for myself, only a few sick days when I've been unable to work.  I have a couple days off soon here which will hopefully recharge me until my week off in September.  After that I'll have to see what little time off I have left for the rest of the year and plan accordingly.  That's all I want to say about that for now, since I'm in a rather crispy state of mind at the moment.

Anyway, the tiger lilies by the porch are mostly waning, but for each end which are a different type and will continue flowering for a bit.  The tree stump area is doing pretty well with some of the wildflowers on the old stump starting to do what they do.  The day lilies are big and strong and many smaller plants are maintaining, at the least.  The newly planted bushes seem to be doing okay but not really taking off yet, but hopefully by next year.

The two sunflowers by the back corner of the garage are still doing their thing and growing tall.  About a week ago the remaining stalks of the peony next to it were bitten off by a critter, which is unusual for peony but wouldn't be for the sunflowers next to it at that stage so thankfully keeping that cage has kept them going.  That peony may not even come back next year as the lily of the valley has mostly strangled its roots, it seems.

And lastly for today, I've not posted any cat pictures in a while and I really ought to more.  After the break is Hamish, tonight, waiting on the back of the chair for me to come into the computer room and type this.

July 4th, In Pictures

Happy Independence Day, everyone.  (Those in this country, anyway.)  I don't have a lot to say right now, I'm just enjoying a day off work so here's some recent pictures I found interesting.

We took a walk to the Atwood area for lunch last Sunday.

From the breakwater at Tenney Lock yesterday, the capitol building in the distance.

Interesting skies in the waning minutes of daylight last night.  Good to see bats and fireflies about.

I made each kind of cheese penny this morning.  On the left is parmesan on top and sharp cheddar with cayenne below. On the right is the last of the mild cheddar and bleu cheese below.

I think we may go out to lunch here in a bit, but I'm otherwise just relaxing after some baking and making pizza dough this morning.  Back to work tomorrow for a day and then the weekend.  Cheers, everyone.

Cable Update and Cheese Pennies

A couple hawks with a snack, across the street yesterday.

After finally getting cable TV canceled last month, no small feat, I changed my strategy a bit on Tuesday when I called to cancel cable internet.  I simply told them I was moving to Tokyo, which still didn't stop them from offering better deals or putting me on hold to delay me, but it did seem to go quicker this time.  I seemed to annoy them (again) that I would not end the call until they turned the internet off and I verified, but they had already proven their word could not be trusted.

Then, at the end of the call, he brought up one piece of equipment we supposedly still had - one of their modems.  I was pissed.  I told him it had been several years since we returned that modem, so long ago I couldn't remember what year or where I returned it.  He opened an inquiry and said it could take up to 72 hours.  Meanwhile, I looked up when we bought our first modem from Amazin' and it was March of 2014, so I would have returned their equipment by early April that year at the latest, over ten years ago.

Thankfully, later that night, I received an email that stated they have "completed your equipment research request in alignment with your expectations."  As far as I'm concerned, that better be the end of it.  Fuck Spectrum, I'll never be a customer of theirs again.

Meanwhile, I've continued to make cheese pennies every so often.  I'm finding it easiest to make multiple batches at once to have them available in the freezer.  I baked most of the last of a roll of mild cheddar cheese pennies yesterday, and today for the freezer I made bleu cheese (for the first time), parmesan, and sharp cheddar with cayenne cheese penny rolls.  (I've also made swiss cheese pennies before.)

Our first-place Brewers are playing the last-place Cubs this weekend.  It's always fun to beat the Cubs, especially this year.  Rain again last night and now too windy tonight for a fire, so I'm going to kick back and watch the game this afternoon and enjoy a quiet evening in.  Have a good weekend, everyone.