Bread, Water and Confession
My family has a new favorite bread, so I worked out it's sour-dough starter counterpart. It's the Giant Pretzel Bread from the book More Bread Machine Magic. The original recipe calls for 1c water, 3c bread flour and 2 tsp yeast if you want to try it that way. I made a simple modification for starter by removing some water and flour. I don't do a long rise on this because I didn't want it 'sour'. But it still has a rich flavor and keeps for a few more days (if it lasts that long, my family devours it immediately). My starter is 2 parts water to 3 parts flour. I also brush it with margarine when it comes out. I plan to make hamburger and frankfurter buns out of this recipe at some point.
Giant Sourdough Pretzel Bread
1/2 c water
1 c starter
mix these and then add
2 Tbsp oil (I use Canola or Olive)
1 Tbsp sugar
3/4 tsp salt
2 1/4c bread flour
let rise, covered, until it doubles in size
roll out a 30" rope and twist into pretzel
let rise again until it doubles in size
put about a cup of water in an oven safe container in the oven
preheat oven to 375 deg. F
brush with water and add coarse kosher salt
bake 30-35 min
remove to wire rack and brush with margarine (I used squeeze Parkay because it does not have dairy.)
If you want to store it in plastic, wait until it's fully cooled
I got my hands in the water again tonight. I had to replant my new Alternanthera reineckii (Red Temple) plant that the mollies keep uprooting. They are nibbling my Hygrophila corymbosa 'compacta' plants, too. At least I suspect it's them, as I don't have Gouramis any more. I also have new Marsilea quadrifolia, Heteranthera zosterifolia (Stargrass) and Limnophila 'mini'. I ripped out a bunch of my (not-so-)Dwarf Sagitaria and muddied the water a bit. You can see chunks of dirt on top of the gravel, but that happens eventually anyway. My soil is old enough now that these bits don't cause a problem. It's the uprooting that clouds the water. I changed water and ran a HOB filter with clean cloth in it and it's clear now. The tank is less than beautiful with all the changes. I had clipped four stands of plants way down to take to club members so it's still recovering. Here it is now:
You can see the very bright purple-red Alternanthera reineckii (Red Temple) and theMarsilea quadrifolia (single leaves) in front of that. The big plant is the broad leaved Sg that I had before, but was overshadowed by all the dwarf Sag taking over.
Here is the new bed of Heteranthera zosterifolia (Stargrass)
Here is a update shot of the tank. You may have noticed I have two new albino Ansistrus babies in there. They are doing well so far, though my older, brown and whire Ansistrus cat chases them away from wherever he wants to be sometimes. I really hope all the new additions do well. I'll keep you posted.
Last on my list tonight is a confession. I try to be a good person, every day. I really do. But I'm still spunky. I still shoot from the hip sometimes. I'm not the most socially adept person. Tonight I got irritated with someone on facebook who took my pictures and reposted them as her own. I was mad for about 5 minutes and then I said to myself, "This is a stupid thing to be mad about." Well I was glib- ok so I was rude to her in a note but now I can't take it back. I maybe owe her an apology for my moment of pique, but can't deliver it. So I am trying to take that as the lesson. The lesson to hold my tongue- the lesson I never seem to learn because I really am an arrogant sinner.
And I recently I stuck my foot in my mouth twice with another mom who was talking about her feelings. I wanted to help her feel better, but I'm afraid I invalidated her feelings. We were continueing a discussion about being comfortable in a marriage- as in maybe overly comfortable. It happens to all of us, I think.
I was trying to say, originally, that to have a better relationship I try to consciously spend time thinking about how great I have it, with DH. And it helps me to remember what I love about him, and makes my happier. I am happy because I think about all the things that make me happy. Does that make sense? And I think men, and women too, get comfortable and take their spouces for granted.
Well I came off polyanna at best, or bragging at worst. I don't know what to say if I get another chance. I just suck at this stuff. I had to get this out because I feel bad about them.
Lastly I want to ask for prayers for my sis' friend dealing with illness, my friend's mom dealing with illness and my family. I have been knee deep trying to be prepared to get my son's 504 Plan for him to be safe in Kindergarden. We need to have precautions in place for his food allergy. I have been worrying a lot about this. Pray for his continued safety and our peace of mind. Pray that he will have special people who know and love him at the next school, who will take care of him while he is away from home. Thank you.
