Here's a strange thing: my oven has no indicator of any sort to indicate when it's up to temperature!
But anyway... here's a totally uncomplicated, extremely versatile recipe from my favorite bread book, Smart Bread Machine Recipes. I should probably stop blogging about its recipes before I re-publish the whole book, but here goes...
I call this one "Bread & Steel" (even though the pans are really aluminum!).
1 tsp yeast
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp lecithin granules or vegetable oil
3/4 cup + 1 tbsp water
Put everything in the machine's bread pan and turn the machine on. A 1lb loaf makes 12 slices.
I doubled the recipe to make two 1lb loaves, and, of course, baked them in the oven instead of in the machine. At 350, they took about 30 minutes.
I love this bread because it works so well for sweet things like "jelly toast" and pb & J, as well as for more savory uses like grilled cheese... all major staples in my diet!
It's messy, I know, but it works for me. And yes, it's surrounded by unpacked boxes.
I've been using Kevin's computer since we moved, and don't get me wrong -- I love it! I have total Laptop Envy, and there's nothing better than (borrowed) wi-fi, but the laptop is lacking certain software (cough cough -- Photoshop! -- ahem). Plus, mine has all my settings and stored info and whatnot. And a good, old-fashioned modem for that ever-so-desirable dial-up connection that is far slower than (borrowed) wi-fi.
(Mom -- please tell Dad that I did, in fact, figure out how to put the desk back together [all by myself with no directions!], and I didn't even have any leftover pieces! It was touch-and-go for a few minutes, but I succeeded.)
So not only am I blogging from my own computer for the first time in about two weeks, but I baked today! It felt so good to be measuring, sifting, stirring and scooping again! For the inaugural baking event in the new place, Nic suggested the perfect food: corn muffins. Who knew that they're the official muffin of Massachusetts? Well, Nic did. And now I do. And now you do. And you all know me -- I never pass up something made with corn meal!
I searched the 'net for a recipe. I didn't want to blog about the same muffins I made last summer! I was torn between Gale Gand's recipe at Food TV and one I found on Epicurious. As much as I adore and admire Gale, the Epicurious recipe won because it had more corn meal (the cornier, the better!) and less butter (I'm really trying to watch what I eat these days). And, of course, I didn't exactly follow the Epicurious recipe to the letter. The original can be found here, but this is my version:
Blackberry Corn Muffins
1/3 cup coarse yellow cornmeal
2/3 cup fine yellow cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1-1/4 cups plain yogurt
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
fresh blackberries
Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a bowl combine together cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl whisk together eggs, yogurt, and butter. Add the flour mixture, and stir until just combined.
Prepare mini-muffin tin. In bottom of each cup, place one blackberry (or half of one if they're as big as the ones I bought the other day!).
Divide the batter among the cups, and bake 15 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. Let the muffins cool in the tins on a rack for 3 minutes, turn them out onto the rack, and let them cool completely. Makes 36 mini-muffins.
View from the top...
... and the cute little underbellies.
They came out great, and were a huge hit with Kevin. Someone wrote a review of the recipe and said the yogurt taste was overwhelming. I couldn't taste it at all! It made for a very light, moist muffin, which is sometimes hard to achieve when working with so much corn meal!
So, a baking success in the new apartment. May there be many more to come!
While frantically searching for my curling iron this evening, I found my toothbrush charger. They were both on top of the bureau, hiding under my fleece blanket. The location of the missing casserole dish, however, is still unknown.
I'm seriously comtemplating making some bread tomorrow. Any recipe recommendations?
I found another "kitchen" box today... which is very good, because it contained my tube pan and my Cathedral Bundt pan, both of which I was really beginning to wonder about... but slightly bad because the kitchen is already overflowing. I prevailed, however, and found places for everything in that box!
On a related note, I love above-cupboard storage:
All the weird, random stuff with no logical home ended up there!
I think I might be missing my favorite casserole dish. Is there yet another "kitchen" box hiding somewhere in this apartment? Argh.
Now... where in the hell is my toothbrush charger?!?
I've kinda stalled a bit in the unpacking department, but I think the kitchen is just about done:
Sorry the pictures aren't so great. It's hard to get a good wide shot in there! Taking them in the daylight could help, too. And for some reason, the kitchen looks more cluttered in the pictures than it actually is. I'm still tweaking things a little here and there, but it's close. There's not nearly as much cupboard space as it appears. I'm having to do some seriously creative storage.
It was hot here today -- almost 80. I know, some of you live for that weather, but I really prefer 70. Any more than about 75 is just way too warm and saps me of what little energy I normally have. Add a little humidity and I'm done. So, needless to say, I've accomplished almost nothing today (except for applying for a few jobs). The next few days are supposed to be more my speed, though -- in the 60s. Yay! I should be able to buckle back down and bring some order to this place! =)
It's a little big. I always think I'm knitting way too tightly as I knit, but everything I make turns out bigger than it's supposed to be. I guess I need to learn how to swatch. >SIGH< The price I pay for trying to self-teach. And can I just say, what an embarrassing debut photo of myself! Maybe someday I'll post a good one. But I really, truly hate having my picture taken, so don't hold your breath. Anyway... now I need to figure out how to take in the hat's sides. I hate to sew as much as I hate having my picture taken.
