Steve’s Neighborhood

With this whole over-the-top craze with "Twilight" and vampire stories in general, I was wondering: what would happen if a vampire bit someone who had aids?

I finally decided to try this "no-knead" bread of New York Times/Williams Sonoma/Mark Bittman (The Minimalist) fame.  I have heard a lot of good things about it and I love real bread (as opposed to that crap they try to sell you in plastic bags at Stop and Shop--my apologies, France).  So this weekend right before The Snow Dump of '09 East Coast Edition, I picked up some fresh rosemary and yeast and got to work.

Here is the recipe, as reproduced in the NYT and in the Williams Sonoma catalog trying to market their beautiful Le Creuset cast-iron cookware.  It is an adaptation of Jim Lahey's recipe from the Sullivan Street Bakery.

3 cups flour
1/4 tsp instant yeast
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 5/8 cups water
cornmeal as needed

Then you add things as you like.  I used about 2 tsp of chopped fresh rosemary in one loaf.  I hand picked off all the rosemary needles from the wood stalk.  And about 4 drained chopped whole peeled tomatoes for the other loaf.  They both came out delicious.

let's hear it for yeast

The dough is super easy, and you just stir it in a bowl with a wooden spoon.  I don't have amazing Le Creuset cookware (covet) but I do have Pyrex glass dishes with covers and I have some "French white" bakeware.  You have to let the dough rise overnight, which I did in two big metal bowls in the oven.  They rose for about 16 hours and they were nice a bubbly.  What I did was preheat the oven to the lowest setting possible, about 170F.  Then I turned the heat off, made the bread, and then placed the dough in, covered with plastic wrap.  This was so they could rise in a nice warm environment that would cool slowly overnight.

This is followed by some folding and resting, 15 minutes.  Then it is shaped and I dusted them with a combo of cornmeal and flour.  They are they placed on flat cloth (not towels, nothing that will shed) and you let them rise for 2 hours.  I actually probably let them rise for about 3 hours, because that's how long I was outside shoveling the snow.

Preheat the oven to 450F, placing whatever bakeware you are using inside to heat up for 30 minutes.  You then just plop your bread into the warmed cookware and then bake with a cover for 30 minutes, then bake for another 30 minutes with the cover off.  I baked tiny tomato buns for 50 minutes total without covering them and they came out great.  But I also baked them close to the door, so away from the really high heat in the back of my oven.

The tomato bread rose a lot more because it had a little more yeast and it had a lot most moisture because of the tomato.  I made the extra buns because the tomato dough had so much more volume.

I added a little bit more salt than the recipe called for, but I think the best would be 1.5 tsp.  I like my bread a little more salty, but that's a personal preference.  The tomato bread is amazing just on it's own, but I made a grilled cheese with the rosemary bread and it was redonk.  I ate it way too fast before I even thought of photographing it.  Sorry.  Here are some more pictures of the rosemary loaf though.

Rosemary bread

Making bread in general is very time consuming and work heavy, but this particular recipe is the most simple with the best results.  It still takes a while, so it's a good weekend project.  If you want to attempt bread making for the first time, this is probably the best thing to start with.  We have a "bread maker" too but, these machines tend to knead way too much and the holes come out so uniform and the bread is generally really tasteless.  You will never get rustic artisan bread from your bread maker.  I love that crusty bread with soft yeasty insides--just not possible with a machine.  Also, if you make fresh bread in your oven your kitchen will smell amazing.  Nothing like eating fresh warm bread while there's a shit ton of snow falling from the sky. 

rosemary bread

Look at those irregular holes!!!  Thank you, yeast.  Delish.

One day, I like to imagine that I will make real bread, with a yeast starter and kneading and all that jazz, but it's a lot of work.  I even have bread books!!  BOOKS, people.  From someone who doesn't love cookbooks, this is big.  This no-knead bread is super easy and accessible on a weekly/month basis so I think I'm going to experiment with more flavors.  Parmesan and black pepper, anyone?  Hells yes.

Seattle: Two months ago, a guy killed 2 police officers, sitting in their car. Rather... he executed them by shooting them in the back of the neck on one, and blasting the face of the other. Horrible. A week prior he had set some police cars on fire, and set up a bomb in hopes that the fires would draw enforcement to the scene (meaning... more to kill). The bomb didn't go off, or he didn't get it set up or soemthing like that. They found that guy and he's facing charges.

Tacoma (about half an hour south of Seattle): One month ago, 4 police officers were killed when a parolee from Arkansas walked into a coffee shop, and fired on them while they were gearing up for their shift. He was found and shot. 7 friends and family members are being prosecuted for helping him evade police for a week after the shootings.

Tacoma (about half an hour south of Seattle): Last night, 2 police officers were shot when they were ambushed. The dude is dead. He was hiding when they came in the residence, and he shot them both. They fired back at him and he's dead. They are still alive as of now, but both in critical condition. I guess the family didn't know what the guy was up to though and they helped save the cops. That's the only light I see in all of this.   

It's just horrible. It's like the bad guys around here have suddenly come to the conclusion that the cops are no longer 'untouchables'. That the cops are the enemy. And they're setting them up, all over this area, and killing them. If you're a family member of a cop, it's like you're sending them off to war these days.

It's horrible. And very sad. 

Finished The Christmas Lamp by Lori Copeland.

I think this is another example of "books I like because I am completely exhausted and they are easy and sweet."  And also, in this case, seasonally appropriate. :)

Roni lives and works in Nativity, Missouri.  The little town isn't doing so well (not many tourists; businesses are closing) and someone's just arrived to help cut expenditures, a guy named Jake. 

It's a sweet story and it ends happily.  :)  It's a little less than realistic, but it's Christmas, so who cares, right? :)

The Christmas Lamp: A Novella

Lori Copeland

She died as the result of cardiac arrest.

There's a difference people. A BIG difference. 

I cannot tell you how many times I've had to clarify the difference to people. Here is a snippet which I think is helpful...

Anatomy of a Heart Attack

A circulation problem of the heart causes a heart attack when one or more of the arteries delivering blood to the heart are blocked. Oxygen in the blood cannot reach the heart muscle, and the heart muscle becomes damaged. You can think of a heart attack as a “plumbing problem” in the heart.

Also...

Anatomy of Sudden Cardiac Arrest

In contrast to a heart attack, sudden cardiac arrest is caused by an “electrical problem” in the heart. It occurs when the heart's lower chambers (ventricles) suddenly develop a rapid, irregular rhythm (ventricular fibrillation) causing the ventricles to quiver rather than contract. The chaotic quivering motion of the ventricles renders the heart an ineffective pump that can no longer supply the body and brain with oxygen.

I read somewhere that less than 10% of people suffering a cardiac arrest survive. I can't remember exactly -- I think it's actually a lot lower than that.

Jace's bedroom - still needs trim, doors, and light fixture.

Jace room carpeted Dec 18.jpg

Cody's room - still needs trim, light fixture, chair rail, numbers on the yard lines, and doors.

Cody room carpeted Dec 18.jpg

Toy room - needs doors and trim

Toy room carpet Dec 18.jpg

Den and stairs - needs trim and stair railing.  Ray's dad has welded us a wrought iron stair railing but we have to get it from WY.

Den & stairs carpet.jpg

Today the laundry room floor will be installed.  Ray finished the hardwood in the kitchen, dining room, and powder room, and the granite countertops are being installed today.  So close!