My bread got "over riz"...

Hahahahah.... it broke though the plastic wrap and overlapped the edges of my big bowl... while I was busy forgetting about it and doing other things.

Then, it happened again after I got it into the pans...and the loaves looked a bit wonky and turned out funny shapes.  But, it still tastes the same.  Great@!  so who cares?

Well, it is a bit awkward for putting into the toaster..and they are pretty big slices... but, then again.. who really cares when it tastes so good?

I love home made bread.

I love the little 18 year old guy whose blog I visited waaaayyy back when and who encouraged me to give it a try... Still baking Lewis!  thanks for all the encouragement.  I often wonder where he is today......

Easter came and went...

and, I am happy to say I was able to do some baking.  My wrist is getting much better although kneading with both hands is still painful... it is coming along.  Physio is ongoing and helping a lot.

Hot Cross Buns...

Made some two weeks ago and then again last week.  They were yummy.  I finally found some decent fruit peel in nice coloured bits instead of the ugly, reddish brown sludge that I usually find at Safeway.  It still isn't as beautiful as the lovely jewel toned fruit pieces I see on the British Baking show, but, hey...at least they have colour.  Found them at a bulk site called the Bulk Barn.  And, wow !!  do they have "stuff" in that store.  I could spend hours in there.  They have all sorts of baking things too.

Anyway... I was watching my new fun guy to watch .... Geoff Cooper... a link to his baking blog on my side bar way down there.   A lovely man ... and easy to follow videos .... and decided I had to do hot cross buns again.  I haven't baked any since way back ... like, about 2010 or some silly time; good grief.  Waaaay too much time has flown.

When baking, every bake is different.  I mean it.  The very same recipe...but, always things change.  Maybe even the dryness or moistness of a day can change things..... maybe you just mix things a bit longer or a bit less...who knows....... anyway, the first batch was softer and less dense it seemed.  The second batch was not quite the same, but they were still delicious.  And, of course, they should be eaten on the same day or they do tend to be a little less soft and moist.  We usually have one straight out of the oven, and one a bit later in the day and then... well, you get it.  We are not quite as bad as hobbits, but still........

The first batch.... we were terribly greedy....only one left the house.

The second batch...we were a bit more generous and took some to neighbours and then... decided to freeze a couple.  Otherwise we would have eaten the whole second batch same as we did the first.  What a couple piggies.  It's a good thing we have a treadmill...or we could weigh 400 lbs.....

........................still snowing................

...................so ....................I'm still playing.....

Made this face shorter and rounder and placed the nose, lips, and eyes closer to the centre of the face to have her appear younger .....

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also had a play in the kitchen...with some leftover strawberries from the last batch of Mr. BV's lunch muffins I made.  Last time I was at Safeway, I saw strawberry/white chocolate scones and now...I wanted to try them.  But, the tv was on blaring away the news... all bad...and I wasn't concentrating I guess (on scones that is...) .... so, all of a sudden I realized I hadn't added the sugar to the flour.... rectified it....but, then...just as I popped them in the oven... saw the egg still sitting on the counter... dammit..... and further insult... what the? ...there sat the white chocolate square as well... still wrapped.  Sheeeesh!!!

And, then... even worse, for me ... (not for Mr. BV ) ..he loves overcooked baking.... I turned off the oven while I stirred some soup and began toasting big slabs of home made bread to eat with it...I forgot the scones!   After all that...I can't believe they were even edible...but, they are ...and very tasty too, I might add... even without an egg... how is it possible?  Guess I can bake them that way if I want next time I'm out of eggs....hahahahhaha....less cholesterol!  Bonus.

Look at this crumb... still great...

I prefer them a bit lighter than this ..

'specially on the bottom.... but, ehh..... they're okay....

And, I bet some of you noticed.... white chocolate drizzled on top... I was not going to do without that after I wanted it inside them in the first place.... so, I popped the square in a baggy..... put it in a bowl and poured boiling water on top of it... melted the white square and snipped off a corner of the baggy...and drizzled it on instead.  Lovely....

..... plus... had some ginger/apricot biscotti that I just baked the other day and thought I'd give the last bit a try on a few of those as well... haven't had one dipped in my tea yet....just off to do that now...
wanna join me? ... ....

... and, then?? ...I better do about 40 minutes on the treadmill !!!!

Happy Spring!!

... and, our day looks like this.

What do you mean you can't see anything? ... Neither can I!  The wind is blowing at 50 kph... and the snow is driving straight from the north... as well as swirling in every direction because of the winds ... sheeesh...  temperatures dropping to -15C tonight ...

We know it's too early...but, after a few days of +15C...well, ....we got lulled I guess....you know.... right into a false sense of security ... a hope that spring could indeed be just around the corner.  Then, whammo... good ol' Mother Nature whacks us  ... For a nice little old lady she sure can be mean sometimes....

Today I'm doing a different kind of art....

Making muffins..

with a nice warm stove on ...and the scent of strawberries and apples in the air.... mmmmmmm...    and I can't even eat one..... just had some dental surgery on Monday.... can't really have anything firm for a few more days or it will trash the site where the tissue was harvested from the roof of my mouth....  maybe there will still be one left next week.

This is NOT a cooking blog..

... and, yes...I do have one of those as well..but I never seem to post there much anymore...shame, that.... must rectify it.

However, some of you know I was looking forward to doing our annual progressive dinner party with neighbours this past weekend...and that we were dismembering cucumbers and slathering phyllo and rolling dough for little turnovers.  Well, if you didn't know...we were.

What fun we had.  What food there was!  And...our appetizers were delicious if I do say so myself ...and I do!

The cucumber roll ups with smoked salmon took a total of 3 full cucumbers.  What a lot of waste.  Has anybody ever used a mandolin and done cucumber slicing?  Did you use English cucumbers...how did it work?  It was an experiment all the way through really... 1/8" seemed too thick...but, less was too thin and they began to separate at the seeded part... then, the thicker ones are tricky to roll ...the toothpicks don't hold them together well...etc... but, they were tasty and fun and ...well, I may not bother again...hahhaha... what else can I try?  It's kind of like the dolls and bears....movin' on to the next pattern....

Next, I made phyllo purses...with sundried tomato and Feta and spinach filling.  Why is it one can never get quite the same results as are pictured ? And, I didn't dare leave them in the oven any longer as the tops were browning quickly...and tin foil on top would have reduced any more browning on the sides I am sure .....sigh...but, tasty? ....ever so!

I also made some tiny Tourtiere turnovers with a sour cream pastry.  I didn't make Tortiere this year for Christmas as the oven was so delayed I had given up on being able to do it and didn't bother with buying ingredients.... like veal and pork....

But... for this I thought, why not make some bite size 'appies' instead of one big pie to cut. Oh, man... my back between the shoulder blades was on fire by the time I finished with all the fiddling ...cutting little circles of dough, pinching them all closed and pressing each with fork tines, slashing teeeny slits on each one and then baking them off in batches .... I needed a massage...and a cold compress for my aching head....a big glug of wine and a long nap!

Of course, on the day...I still had to make a sweet and sour sauce for dipping as well...because that's what somebunny's Mommy used to make for them when he ate them at home.  Luckily I had already made some cranberry pear chutney last week ......  which is what I like with mine ...and I knew my one neighbour would be looking for that too...she loves it.

so, yep....it was a ton of work .... but, worth it.  It was fun and lots of good food at each house.... all 5 of them!  Ohhhh...we were stuffed by midnight!

ooops...forgot...we also made a pizza and sliced it in little squares.  Deconstructed Artichoke Chicken pizza with cherry tomatoes......  check it out....mmmm..... with home made pizza dough..... the best, of course.  Sorry.... I took a bite.  Couldn't help myself.   And, then...we totally forgot to take any more photos... and the table looked so pretty all set out too!  Darn it.

I like predictability....

For a few weeks, my oven was still in position upstairs...but... then...last weekend... after I already had scone batter ready to go... the oven didn't work ... so...I tried my tiny toaster oven.


You can see how tiny it is ..., or, maybe you even know how tiny it is because you have one of your very own.... I call it my Easy Bake Oven...cuz honestly, it is so much like the toys of the same name from waaay back....

It did a great job...even if it took three sessions to  get nine scones..hahhahah...  ....  who cares as long as it bakes them nicely?

The BBQ, on the other hand...well, let's just say it's a work in progress to get them evenly toasted..and maybe one try is enough.

The bottoms got totally torched ... ....waaahhh...makes me feel like a novice baker.

And, after the struggle to get batter together in a tiny, unorganized and disorganized makeshift kitchen....naah....don't think I'll bother again.   I'll stick to the toaster oven.....

one a penny, two a penny...

..... okay...  weird.  We always said it that way... and our Mom is English.  It's just that when I was saying it out loud, to no one in particular except myself, I decided to look it up....on Google of course, and in the rhyme, it is actually one ha'penny, two ha' penny.... which is a half penny.  Seems they are cheaper in the rhyme than they are in the song.. which was the next entry on Google.. at "One a penny'  Who knew?  I wonder if they even use half pennies any more... in Canada we are even giving up the penny.

Anyway.... you probably guessed right away that I was talking about Hot Cross Buns.  I made some  yesterday. And, yes, I know they are usually baked on Good Friday.  But, on that day I had company...and I was still not feeling up to par all of the Easter weekend... so I let it slide til now.












But, I had found a recipe that claimed to be great... tasting like Easter buns of old, and I really wanted to try those buns.  It's been a long time since I gave up on store made buns...ick.... they are terrible.  Funny texture... strange flavour... who knows what they put in them.... they get rock hard before they get mouldy.... forget it... I ain't eating those things anymore.

I wanted buns.  So...because I felt more like my old self...I baked yesterday.

May I just say??    

YUM!!

The recipe is in metric measurements...and I was busy trying to convert as I was doing it.... but, want to measure the ingredients a second time...then, will put it on my food blog.  I think it would work just as well for a raisin loaf..... yep...must try that next time.  Why should we only eat yummy stuff once a year? .... must be able to just do crossless buns or bread with the same dough....

WOYWW

Hahahha...if you haven't heard it or seen it before it could throw you for a loop, eh?  What's on Your Workdesk.  Wednesday...   


I see it on Twig's blog every Wednesday...and she, and her sister, are always sooooo busy... it boggles my poor little mind.


This is my workdesk today and has been for months now.....my kitchen counter.  Yep. That's about it.  

 Seems to me all I've been doing is baking and cooking.  Which I do enjoy...but.... I must try to get back to some sort of crafting and fun stuff.... and soon.  When one bakes...and eats; one must spend an inordinate amount of time working out to get rid of excess calories!


After golf season (which was waaaay back in early October!) and my extremely painful elbow...I could not do any small things with finger and thumb at all!  And... now... just seem to have grown away from it all.... no motivation or inclination to do much of anything...and my elbow still is pretty painful if I try to use my hand.  Last time at physio they froze my elbow and my neck and upper scapular muscles...supposedly to try to break the pain loop, damage the muscles a bit and try to initiate more of a healing response.  So far...all it did is produce a huge lump on my upper back...and a painful lump on the lateral epicondyle of my elbow area... fingers crossed.  Oh, yeh...hahhah.... and the young sports medicine doctor jabbed her own finger, had to retire to her office for a brief time out and to get a new needle ... I had a laugh at her expense.   


This is my workdesk today.... all tidy and waiting for somebody to play in there.  Can you tell an ex dental assistant lives here?  hahahhah.... All the tools of the bear and doll making trade...neatly aligned, organized and just waiting to be used.  Look...I even splurged and bought a pair of Ginghers, (yikes! the $$$$$ )  Those pretty patterned ones.... blue and yellows, see 'em?  Can hardly wait to try using them.  But...on what?  

Today ...it will be Banana Chocolate chip muffins.  Check out my other blog for more recipes some time.  Mr. BV likes to take a muffin in his lunches and I try to make sure he has a few choices in the freezer.  Who wants to take the same muffin 8 days in a row?  Right now the only ones in there are strawberry ... so today's will be a nice addition.


There are lots of interesting blogs to see on WOYWW.  Check them out here.  All of a sudden...you are hopping here there and everywhere from those as well...ooohhhhhh it boggles ..... but, I have found two neat tutorials already, what fun!  I definitely want to try the pincushion/box I hopped to from one other blog ... maybe that could be my jump starter....     

Break out those flannelette 'jammies!

Brrrr......  I hope you have them if you have weather like ours in your winter!  I love mine.  My 'jammies that is ...not my bitter cold weather.

After having such a lovely long and unusually warm fall, the thermometer has plummeted like a stone ..  and, this morning...it is -16C... but, the weather channel says it feels more like -24 C because of the breeze.  It is snowing lightly....just a few dainty flakes swirling around and up and down...like a flurry of tiny, light feathers..... not much on the ground really. .. just enough to make it miserable on some of the roads.  A good time to stay home.  Which I seem to be doing a lot of the past month, with the exception of my physio and massage visits.  Still working on my wonky elbow.  It is still preventing me from doing much with my hands too..... so.... I've been trying to do some tidying, cleaning ...(mostly using my left hand it seems) ...and... baking...with the help of my trusty stand mixer.

Eggnog has been in stores for weeks already if you can believe it.  Eggnog loaf....mmmm.....

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Apparently, the pronator muscle in particular is so tight it is tearing away from the bony knob (called an epicondyle) on the inner part of my elbow area.  My physio is using several 'modalities' as they like to call them... to work on it.  Everything from "dry needling" to magnetic massage, to ultra sound and interferential current.... and some heat packing and manipulation along with some neck and shoulder realignment ..... There has been some slight relief and the pronator is somewhat softer now...but, honestly.... I am shocked that it is taking so long to show any sign of improvement.  I was hoping that just not whacking any golf balls would help...but, after almost a month of not hitting anything it was not better at all....so I had to break down and start some treatment.  As slowly as anything seems to be healing, I am more than disappointed to say the least.  And..it has taken its toll on my sense of humour.  My motivation just seemed to disappear right along with my sense of humour, as well as my hope for immediate relief from the pain, and my feeling of usefulness.  I'm sure all my baking and cooking is just to prove to myself that I am not just a total slob sitting around... that I am actually worth something to someone, even if only to me.

This week, I am beginning to think about cleaning my crafting room...as it has become a repository for just about everything I didn't know what to do with or couldn't be bothered with during golf season and nice weather......... and now...acckkk!!  Where to begin!?

I think I need to purge.  Big.Time!  Perhaps it's time I even decided on what I am NOT going to bother with over the next 300 years and toss all of the stuff associated with those hobbies, crafts and endeavours.  Yep.  It's time.

Maybe I will have a give-away of various packets of "stuff" ... and somebody who will actually get some use from it can leave comments and I will happily send it to them.  That's the ticket.  I will get busy and package up 'things'... .tidy my room and get back to dolls and bears.... which in reality, will probably be the only two things I ever actually do in the hobby department......

My Christmas cactus is blooming...it loves this time of year.  Usually it blooms about American Thanksgiving time....that must be coming up soon....  and my other one may bloom for Christmas...I have no idea why, but somebody told me one time that there are different cacti and some do bloom for this time of year.  Here he is.... with a new little ornie that I found in my travels lately....

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AND::   As much as I want to win this little guy for myself.....I would like to send you to Cat's blog to have a chance to win one of her little sweeties.  Maybe a bit of karma will work in my favour if I share?.... heh heh.....

Baking, dusting, laundry,vacuuming, more baking.... ooooh....

I've already gained back two of those eleven pounds I lost...hahahha... doesn't take much does it?  Just your usual... eating more and moving less.... the only two things that can help with losing or gaining weight.....
My neighbour gave me some freshly frozen raspberries straight off her bushes in the back yard...and I'm hoarding them like gold.  For muffins and scones.....ohhhh....YUM!

The other day I baked some Barm Brack.  If you've never heard of it... check it out on the food blog if you want to see what it is... or give a loaf a try.  There are a couple of slices left if you hurry over for tea.... but only a couple.

The weather continues to be beautiful... +16C yesterday.  Brilliant, sunny, and with perfect clear blue skies..... sigh.... sometimes our fall is better than our summer.  A few golf courses are still open... albeit with mounds of leaves off the main fairways.  I can't take a chance... I can hardly get a glass to my mouth with that elbow now, so I'd better not even think about it.

Had x-rays yesterday to make sure there is no bony involvement...and next week... should begin some physio and massage.  But.. and, BIG but here.... am absolutely not booking any appointments for next week!  Has to be the following week, because......my sister is coming to visit !!...whheeee.....  first time since '05 !.... so hopefully the weather cooperates and stays beautiful.... and we can have an enjoyable few days together.

I know she'll miss her menagerie ... so I'll have to find some pets for her to talk to.... we don't have one.  But, I do know where there are some donkeys, and I should be able to find a cat or a dog...actually I know a dog walker...I'll call Joanne and see if she will drop by one day with a few of her 'day walker' guys.

Another amazing fall day here.... 7C and going up to 15C again.  Maybe I'll try to pull out some of the dead things in my plant pots outside.... and ...well, that's about all this silly arm will be able to manage I guess.  Going for a walk later too....

Don't panic!!

I know there is very little time left and some folks get so caught up in the whole festive season hype....   Of course, it's only my humble opinion...but, I'm sure they just try to do too much.  Sometimes simple ..or at least simpler... is better.  Really.

It's all gotten so commercial hasn't it?  Maybe it's time to mutiny or rebel... just do it a whole new way.  Or... go back to the old ways.... well, at least some of the old ways.  They weren't all great...

Here's a suggestion, for what it's worth.  If you still plan to do some special baking... make it "special".   Do one fabulous thing instead of a lot of "stuff". Trim it or plate it in grand style...and that could be it.  How about Cranberry Coffee Cake?















If you want a great seasonal loaf... try Eggnog Christmas Loaf with Buttered Rum Glaze.  Can't go wrong with that one! A fancy plate.. a bit of gold ribbon.. a few ornaments...and just the loaf itself...they'll be drooling.  It is droolworthy. And... make a few more after Christmas with the leftover 'nog... double wrap and freeze for oh,.. say... July?  YUMMY !!  I love Christmas in July.  Can't believe I can't find a photo of one of the lovely loaves...  I'll look again tomorrow.....

Press somebody into helping with cute Chocolate covered maraschino cherry cookies...  cuties... they are a bit fiddly for one person, but, still not all that bad.....however, with another pair of hands... a snap.  Again... they look so special...  and worth the effort.  Everybody will be impressed.... it happens every year.  Look how cute.

And... biscotti.  For some reason, everybody thinks it is difficult to make.  Not so.  Even though I, myself, had a few hiccups this past week with my baking... biscotti is still a special and yet an easy biscuit to make.  Decorate by dipping into chocolate... drizzling with chocolate... sprinkling with nuts... and the combinations of ingredients is endless.  I have a few on the other blog...but, you could always just go to food.com and type in biscotti.  You'll be flooded with recipes!  Tomorrow I'd like to get some pistachio/cranberry biscotti done.  But...I also want  to do a bit of grocery shopping...and try on a blouse I saw the other day..oh... and do my treadmill.. so... eh... maybe the biscotti won't get done tomorrow.  There's still Friday...   and, I do have at least one eggnog loaf in the freezer........

Oh, my ... these just look so plain beside the other goodies... okay..then... scratch these for this year....

Photo of the Week

This week is ..."something magical".... and one suggestion was mushrooms.... which can be magical in more ways than one.

Like, ....how 'bout in a great tomato sauce?

... along with some of my own herbs that I am growing on the patio... in a terra cotta pot ...

This is the second "Basil".  My first guy croaked .... got frostbite or hypothermia or something.  As a matter of fact...I dragged in the pot last night because after our brutally hot days... a rotten cold front blew in yesterday.. and I mean blew...with high winds and even a tornado warning if you please.  Downtown got golf ball sized hail!  We got heavy rain...but, it said cold overnight and I was afraid if he didn't have a sweater on... well, poor little Basil would be too cold.... he looks pretty robust though doesn't he? ... lovely leaves...

Rigatoni ... lovely tomato-y meat sauce with fresh herbs and mushrooms.... two cheeses melted on while baking and then some parmesan sprinkled on top and broiled til bubbly and golden ...mmmmmmmmmmm ......... magical indeed!

Today...more magic.  It is a very cool +9C... raining and windy...  I wimped out on golf and decided to stay home, turn on the oven and bake. Bread dough on the go.... muffins next.... and hey... maybe I'll make fresh soup for supper to go with a slab of fresh bread toasted.   Just more amazing magic in my book .......

three sixes and a four....

I keep threatening to buy my next pair of black slacks at a men's wear store.... at least the men have a size system that works. They buy clothes that say... 32 waist... if your waist is 32...wow...what a concept! Why can't women's clothing be so simple?

And...in men's wear... if an article of clothing does't quite fit .. according to a knowledgeable salesperson.. because that's who they hire for staff.... it is altered... FREE of charge! HUH? Mr. BV bought a shirt last year... too large for him.. and baggy almost everywhere... but, he liked the fabric... their tailor totally remade the shirt into a slim fitting beautiful shirt. We actually felt guilty picking it up and almost wanted to pay the tailor something extra... almost...

In a women's shop? ... nada..zippo..nothing. It is $12 to $17 to have slacks hemmed... and they don't even offer..you have to ask. They look shocked if you wonder if they could take in the hips a bit or let out the waist...etc... and...the answer is ... Would you like to see this in another size ma'am? or... we have nothing in the store to fit you...or last year's fav.... you should buy some padded panties or pantyhose and buy a larger size pair of slacks.... what? .... and the sizes... well, I have no idea what size I am anymore and even if I did... none of them fit the same anyway so how to choose which fifty pairs to gather from the racks. Forget about a salesperson or "assistant", as they like to call themselves, helping you. They are hopeless... lazy,.... tell you they look great even if they hike up the crevices... ridiculous... who hired these people anyway? oh, yeh..I remember now ..nobody really wants to work anymore... most of the girls work in clothing shops so they get a few things for themselves 40% off.... At 40% off I don't even want to buy the stuff. I've worked in clothing stores too..and know the markup..

Each year I am a different size...not my actual body you understand; that has pretty much been the same for too many years to mention...with the exception of a few pounds or inches here and there depending on what time of year it is and how much I have (or haven't been) working out. As a matter of fact... I'm sure I'm the same size I used to be years ago, when I was buying 10's or 12's .. but, a different size in somebody's crazed measuring mind....where 4 is now the new 6 ...6 is the new 8...just a minute...is it the other way 'round? .... yep, that's it... 8 is the new 6 .... I'm so confused! My size 4, which were the most expensive pair I have ever bought ... hence the right to put a smaller size on it. .. or so it seems to me ... is closest to fitting if none of the others did. A bit tight... but could do in a pinch. I could wear my Bridget Jones panties to hold things in a bit.

The cheapest pair .. which were Bianca Nygaard.. on sale for $38 last year ... a six... well, a 10 to look at from my point of view... they fit beautifully everywhere... no hiking, puckering or riding up where they shouldn't... but, a size 6.. and a lovely pair of pants. I'm even going to wear sexy panties under them... They are still a perfect fit this year even if I have been up and down like a yo yo in weight and measurements... the other two 6's...?? hmmmm don't fit this year.... I wonder what size they really are? .... I'll keep 'em all ...who knows what next year will bring?

Of course, if I keep up this festive baking ... and the more than occasional taste testing .... I could be looking at a different size altogether next Christmas....

Christmas Stollen

More snow overnight yesterday and today... along with some wind and drifting...











A perfect day to stay home and bake... after shoveling for about 45 minutes... I tell myself it is my workout and I don't have to do any weights that day...











Yesterday I wanted to try a Christmas bread... so, after much "mulling" over, I decided on Bavarian Nut Stollen. The recipe seemed pretty intricate; I don't know how many times I read the darn thing and still I didn't feel any confidence about getting started. I am notoriously slow in the morning anyway... my eyes don't seem to focus well and my brain never really kicks in before noon most days. Yesterday must have been one of those days......it took forever to get moving in the right direction...




















Once I did, I was on a roll.... the kitchen got pretty crowded...I had every conceivable appliance on the go.... and all the countertops filled with "stuff".... but, I was baking Stollen, guys.... which meant there were actually two recipes on the go. One for the basic egg twist bread..and the other for the filling and glaze.














..... finally I got my head around what the recipe was trying to tell me....and lo and behold... Stollen!










The recipe made two loaves...and they were HUGE! Hanging off both sides of my cooling rack. About 8 inches across and a foot long each. Oh, and......... sooooo yummy!














At one point, the recipe actually warned me to tidy up and get ready to knead... hahahhaha ... whew... thank goodness somebody said it and I read it aloud... .. ... actually I had to refill the sink plenty of times during my busy baking spree because later in the afternoon I moved on to tarts ... ...my hands feel like velcro...... maybe today I'll just dust, tidy and decorate ...