i’m a hybrid of chaotic neutral and lawful evil, a razor’s edge of distinction between them.
what does this say about me?
which are you closest to?
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“the things that bring you the greatest joy are in alignment with your purpose.”
-jack canfield
Simit-Pogacha
A carb-lover’s dream, this sandwich gets stuffed with flaky pie crust.
Simit-pogacha is a beloved breakfast food in Skopje, the capital city of the Republic of North Macedonia. Bakers slice open a bun, stuff it with burek—a pastry crust of layered phyllo—and serve as a sandwich. No meat, no cheese, no sauce. Just bread.
Burek is typically stuffed with feta cheese, greens, or meat. However, the burek that goes into simit-pogacha is just the plain, flaky crust. Depending on where you buy it, the crust can be housed inside sesame buns or warm, fluffy rolls. Either way, diners almost always wash down the greasy, comforting carb combo with drinking yogurt.
If you leave Skopje without at least trying simit-pogacha, you’re missing the city’s soul. The sandwich doesn’t have much flavor and can be dry without the lubrication of the yogurt, but its comforting carb-on-carb composition makes it a morning must for many Skopje citizens.
Recommendation: Restaurant Bakery Koki -Dame Gruey Skopie, 1000, Macedonia
In addition to simit-pogacha, they have burek (try the feta crust variety), pizza, and really good lasagna.
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enjoy one ( or any other bread)
in honor of world bread day,
created by the international union of bakers and confectioners
to celebrate the oldest and simplest of food staples
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credits – gastro obscura
my first bread.
3 personal goals this year –
1 didn’t happen due to the human factor,
1 didn’t happen due to the pandemic,
1 did happen in spite of everything-
i learned to make bread.
1 out of 3’s not bad.
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“bread is a celebration.”
on this day in 1964
a perennial favorite of children
“mary poppins,” premiered.
julie andrews as mary, sang and danced her way through this happy film
her famous ‘just a spoonful of sugar’ song danced through my head
as i continued my foray into bread making with my latest project
cinnamon swirl donut bread
i think mary would have been quite impressed/horrified by all the sugar involved in this one
is was not only a sweet donut loaf
but was swirled with cinnamon, sugar, and molasses
and in the final stages
the entire loaf
still warm from the oven
was dipped in melted butter
then rolled in a mix of brown sugar, white sugar, and cinnamon
that melted together
creating an outer crust
this was not a loaf for the feint of heart
nor amateur sugar-eater
a little went a long way, but pretty tasty, all in all.
next up – beer bread
i wonder what movie from my past that experience will trigger.
“if god hadn’t meant for us to eat sugar, he wouldn’t have invented dentists.”
-ralph nader
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image credit: walt disney pictures
I’m not gonna’ lie, i’m pretty good with toast.
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“What is the right way to cut a piece of toast?”Diagonally, insists the narrator in NIcholson Baker’s novel “The Mezzanine.” It creates a “triangularly cut slice” which in turn yields “an ideal first bit.” With rectangular toast, you must “angle the shape into your mouth, as you angle a big dresser through a hall doorway.” (Dwight Garner, NYT book critic’s new essay on the literature of breakfast food.)
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—
“i have trouble with toast. toast is very difficult.
you have to watch it all the time or it burns up.”
-julia child, master chef (1912-2004)
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credits: New York Times, Dwight Garner, Nicholson Baker,”The Mezzanine”, google images
‘i love cinnamon and baking with my mom.’ – h
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class bakery day
the children worked
very hard
over the last few weeks
learning
about bread
about baking
how sharing bread is a way to welcome others
every culture makes and eats and shares bread
listened to books about bread and baking
practiced ‘baking’ with play-dough
baked real lemon bread at school
baked breads at home
bought breads at the store
made signs and decorated tables
learned about buying and selling using pennies
gave other classes pennies
that they had to ‘earn’ by working in their rooms
invited other classes, faculty, staff, and families
to come to our room for a big bakery event
said they would give pennies or free bread
to anyone who had no money or food
families supported their efforts
making this day so special
everyone went home
very full, very tired, very happy.
the bakery in full swing
“anyone who gives you a cinnamon roll fresh out of the oven is a friend for life.”
-daniel handler
one of my dreams this year
is to learn to make bread from scratch
I look forward to
the peace, the poetry, the adventure.
the crust.
—
“peace goes into the making of a poem as flour goes into the making of bread.”
-pablo neruda
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image credit: lamag.com
I didn't have my glasses on.... 