Domestic Goddess

Good grief and good lord!

What have I done?
I found myself looking up recipes on line for bread. It all started because I thought it would be nice to have a 'Bread Machine'.  I watched the videos on how to use certain ones and then Rich and I decided that since the machines were big and my kitchen is still small, that I'd try it the old fashioned way.

I haven't been a fan of baking or doing any cooking for years. Simply put, I didn't have time and I didn't have the space in my teeny tiny kitchen. With the new kitchen [which I love!] I did do more.
However it wasn't until I wasn't working those odd and strange shifts back to back and all over the map, that I decided to actually put my 'new' kitchen to use.

This summer found me canning jellies, tomatoes, making salsa, chili starter, and dehydrating everything I could get my hands on. Rich commented one time that he would have remodeled the entire house if he'd known I could cook like...this!

Ugh. When the weather is warm I prefer not to cook. But when it is cold? I guess I am finding it ... not so terrible.
I took Morris for a nice long walk, we did nearly 3 miles on the gravel road. Yes, Morris was bouncy and happy to sniff and mark anything he could. I was surprised at the amount of coyote droppings on the road.

So, when we got back, I helped with chores and then began.
Rich stood behind me watching in awe and subdued wonder.

He kept pinching himself and then me to see if we were dreaming. I threatened to toss flour in his face if he didn't stop with the Peanut Gallery comments.

I found out that I haven't forgotten how to make the bread. My hands remembered it well. I used the quick rise yeast to make things a bit easier and had pulled a basic bread recipe off from Fleischmann's website. I was concerned that it would hurt with the painful arthritis in my fingers and wrist. The kneading wasn't bad, the clean up was painful.

However I do have a devious plan.

Rich really went crazy for the fresh bread. He attacked the smaller loaf with a hungry vengeance.
If I get him 'hooked' on fresh breads, he would purchase the smaller of the bread makers. Well, he may.
The only drawback is I do like the hands on approach. And I don't want to keep an appliance like that on the counter all of the time.

It gets worse.
I am looking at making cheesy dinner bread for this weekend and recalling with great fondness how I used to make cinnamon and sugar bread so very long ago.

How long?
1978. That long.

I may even break out those mixing type things with little measuring type thingies I found when unpacking the boxes from the remodel.

This could be a wondrous thing.

But shhhhhhhh
don't tell anyone!

It would ruin my reputation.