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.

Alabama - Then And Now

2014 Alabama Ice

Around this time in 2014 my wife and I visited my Mom at the winter condo where they were staying on the shore of the Gulf of Mexico in south Alabama.  During our visit, they got what the locals called their worst winter weather in 30 years - freezing temperatures and ice.  We saw firsthand how unprepared for this weather they were, while we chuckled to ourselves.

The south got more winter weather this week.  Several inches of snow, bridges were closed and they basically shut everything down.  Here's a picture I took in 2014 and a recent one facing pretty much the same direction.

2025 Alabama Snow.

If you don't call it global warming then surely you must call it climate change.

Cold

On Friday it got up to 50ºF, while today and tomorrow will hover just above and below 0ºF.

Before last winter I got a warming pad for the cats, and they do seem to appreciate it.  Often.

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.

Happy New Year 2025

 

Good luck to us all, we're going to need it.  Let's hope his visions don't come to fruition.

Party (enjoy your freedoms) while you can!  After all, we have about 3 weeks still until it hits the fan.  Four years ago it was a relief, though a scary time on January 6, when it finally ended.  Now it will begin again, and this time he's angry, fearless, and inexplicably empowered by those he will hurt the most.

But I don't want to dwell on a vengeful orange wanna-be dictator and the hell that is about to be raised.

Sorry to make this political.  A google search for HNY 2025 pics also brought up Project 2025 pics.

I had today off, got some baking and housework done, went out to lunch and now I'm relaxing while watching the Bucks game.  Tonight, my wife and I will enjoy a nice t-bone steak dinner at home and a quiet, early evening.  I may stay up to see midnight, but I don't feel obligated.

No matter what happens in 2025, I wish the best for all of you.  Thanks for visiting.  Cheers!

Merry Christmas 2024

Happy Holiday, everyone.  

I'm not sure exactly what I'll do today, but it likely won't be much.  I do have some tedious tasks that I want to get done by the new year, maybe today's the day.  

Or I could go out and watch some football that is only on a streaming service that I don't have.  Might depend on what my wife needs to get done.

Whatever you're doing today, I hope it is pleasurable and rewarding.  

Merry Christmas.

Winter Solstice 2024

The winter solstice arrived early this morning, hours before I got up.  For several years now I've been having a fire on this day, in cold temperatures and in a bit of snow, but we have both this year.

So, no winter solstice fire pit this year but at least the days will start getting longer.  Very soon here I will be making the drive to Mom's and will be spending the night.  My wife will be staying back and taking care of her dad, as usual.  This week will be especially hard for her with the holidays, as well.  My sister and her family were supposed to arrive there yesterday but they came down sick, and it sounds like my brother and his family will be there for a few hours this evening.   This is our Christmas gathering this year.  Happy solstice, 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?

Cold Repair Work

It was -2ºF (-19ºC) when I got up this morning, and I believe we only got up to around 10ºF (-12ºC) this afternoon.  It was damn cold, the coldest of the season so far.  Still, this is Wisconsin; life went on as normal with no shutdowns or anything.  Just a lot of tongue-in-cheek complaining about the cold, but that's a winter past-time around here.  Thankfully we don't have any significant snow on the ground yet to go with it.  And we will get warmer again as there is a chance of rain on Saturday and Monday.

With snow being inevitable we had my wife's wheelchair van in the shop this week.  Her driver side back door would not open, so she always had to use the passenger side to load and unload, which would be an issue when that curb side has 2 feet of snow piled up.  It was an expensive fix at over $1700, the part alone was a grand of that, but it had to be done no matter the price.  Next up for her car is brakes and tires, so we'll have another hefty bill soon after the new year.

I've not talked about my new job here much at all.  It's been over a year now, and I still feel a bit unsure about it.  I'm not sure why, but I've always kind of fallen into my next job and wound up being really good at it.  This is so different than anything I've done I think I still just don't have a ton of confidence yet, though certainly more than when I started.  Back then my head was still spinning from the last job and I knew someone who worked here and I needed insurance as soon as possible, so I took it.  I could look at the negatives about the pay, hours and insurance (and maybe I do which is why I still feel unsure), but overall I am much happier than I was before.

I spend about half my time in-house and the other half out job-coaching various clients one-on-one.  When I'm in-house it's usually just playing and entertaining clients with varying degrees of personal cares to do throughout the day, depending what classes I'm scheduled in.  And job coaching varies depending on the client, but normally isn't very difficult.  I've been getting one of our most difficult clients to job coach often, but he usually listens to me well and I know how to guide him so by now I'd actually prefer to be with him.

But, before I'm tempted to type specifics I should move on.  Thank you for the recent question, BW.

Meanwhile, frozen or not, these pumpkins are getting eaten.  I think they will slowly disappear into the belly of the beasts out back well before spring.

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.