Books

So this post is a little about food, but I haven't been able to cook for the past few days (except pita) because my schedule is crazy and max has been sick.  I'm going to tell you about the cookbook that I think I have used the most since I got it.   

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Zoe Francois and Jeff Hertzberg is an awesome guide to making homemade bread.  The way it works: you make dough that rises for two hours and then put it in your fridge.  As you need it, you cut off pieces and let them rise for 20-40 minutes before baking for 30-35.  It takes some waiting, but there is almost no effort involved.  From the master recipe you can make boule, baguettes, pita bread, and some other types of bread.  There are four ingredients (salt, flour, water, and yeast).  I highly recommend this book, at least check it out from your library.  Also, the dough is good for 14 days! So you only have to put effort in every two weeks, or at least as long as it takes you to eat 4 loaves of bread.

Baguettes rising in my fancy baguette pan (don't worry, you don't need one of these).  I forgot to take a picture of the finished product.

Also, not food related.  I just finished two books by Margaret Atwood and I think she is one of my new favorite authors.  I just read The Handmaid's Tale and Oryx and Crake.  The first is about a future where women are highly protected and limited in their freedoms and its based in the US, kinda creepy, but excellent.  The other was a sci-fi type book about the future, again.  Its after a sort-of end of the world scenario and you follow one character as he reminisces about the past and survives the present.  Again, check out the library and read one of these books because it is worth it.

I'll provide some food soon.  I have some time and there is supposed to be a snow storm tomorrow so I hope I get to bake and cook :)