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.
—
“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
—
image credit: walt disney pictures
I’m not gonna’ lie, i’m pretty good with toast.
—
“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.)
—
—
“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)
—
credits: New York Times, Dwight Garner, Nicholson Baker,”The Mezzanine”, google images
‘i love cinnamon and baking with my mom.’ – h
—
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
when out for a night
at a wonderful irish pub
with warm company, warm food, and a warm fireplace
we decided to make the crazy leap
to ask for bread
and were looking forward
to a warm basket overflowing
with fresh, crusty bread
image our surprise
when a single 6-inch slice of soda bread
arrived on tiny plate
to be shared between us
we stared at it for a minute
looked at each other
and amazingly
we were able to eat the whole thing.
—
“if thou tastest a crust of bread, thou tastest all the stars and all the heavens.”
–Robert Browning
yes, that is
a cookie groundhog
with a chocolate chip face
popping out of a bagel hole
covered in cream cheese snow
sprinkled with smashed up wafer cookie dirt .
—
in honor of world poetry day (yesterday)
and groundhog day (in february)
and bread and peace. (everyday)
—
“peace goes into the making of a poem as flour goes into the making of bread.”
-pablo neruda