True Story Tuesday - Bread

So, have ya'll heard of that cookbook Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day?  They aren't kidding when they call it "The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking".

True story.

I got the cookbook sometime before Christmas when I was ordering some things from Amazon.com and I needed to order a certain amount in order to qualify for the free shipping. So I ordered the book for myself and called it an early Christmas present.

True story.

I didn't get around to really trying any of the recipes until sometime in February. The first one I tried was a light wheat bread.  And upon first bite, the angels sang and the heavens parted.

True story.

I love to bake bread and have tried dozens of recipes, searching for a certain texture and consistency that would replicate my grandma's homemade white bread.  I loved that bread and gobbled it up whenever we'd visit. This bread is the closest I've come to replicating Grandma's.

True story.

Another thing I'm loving about this book of recipes is how versatile they are.  I have made bagels and pizza dough out of whatever dough I have going and they ROCKED.  Seriously.  It truly IS the best bread I've ever made.

True story.

If I'm going to keep trying these recipes and gobbling up the delicious results like a half-starved maniac, I'm gonna need to keep running.  Like, A LOT.

True story.

True Story Tuesday - Bookworm

Well, look at that...it's Tuesday again. 

I have read three books in the last seven days:  Mina and Bread and Dreams by Jonatha Ceely, and Food Rules by Michael Pollan.

True story.

I think the two by Jonatha Ceely have secured themselves a place on my All-Time Favorite Books list.  I couldn't read them fast enough yet didn't want them to end. 

True story.

I was awake until 12:30am last night devouring the last hundred pages of Bread and Dreams.  I HAD to know how it ended.  And today I'm sad I'm done with it.  I already miss the characters.

True story.

 

Now that I've read one of Michael Pollan's books, I want to read the others.  And soon.

 

True story.

 

I can't imagine a life without books. 

 

True story.

True Story Tuesday - Brought to you by Puffs Plus & Dayquil

I have been fighting some crummy bug/illness since Thursday. And while it started out as a simple annoying sore throat and a little stuffiness, it has evolved into a full blown snot-fest, complete with incredible sinus pressure, neck achiness, a barky cough and a headache that multiple Canadian codeine tablets only barely helped.

True story.

The whole time I have been under the weather, I have been worried about my training.  Like, how far am I going to be setback because of this stupid bug?  And it's making me very cranky to think that I'll have to start off walking again, instead of continuing to increase my running.  I'm VERY ANXIOUS to get back to the gym. 

True story.

I have layed around and watched more crappy TV in the last two days than I have in the last six months.  Prime example of my illness is the fact that I watched multiple episodes of Real Housewives of Orange County.  On purpose.  Me watching that crap?  A sure sign of sickness.  And boredom.

True story.

BUT. I think I may be on the mend.  After calling in sick to work for two days (which I loathe doing) I'm actually upright and showered this afternoon and feeling a bit hungry, something I haven't felt in days. 

True story.

True Story Tuesday - Blech Edition

Yesterday I strayed from my healthy eating plan, back to my old ways.  Zoe and I had to return something at the mall and she was hungry so we shared a personal size cheese pizza and breadsticks at Target.  I barely made it home, I was suddenly SOOOO sleepy while driving.  I came home, crashed on the bed and zonked out. 

True story.

For dinner, I made shredded chicken tacos and only had two.  And I felt like I'd eaten a horse.  I ached like a bloated cow.

True story.

I decided a beer sounded good with dinner so I indulged in one.  It tasted wonderful but I was left with a headache and feeling mildly queasy.

True story.

I don't think I'll be eating two meals like that again in the same day.  I felt horrible!  Even though I didn't eat a large quantity, it was the quality of the stuff that really did me in.  Ugh.  I don't think I'll be doing that again anytime soon.

True story.

True Story Tuesday - Cold Edition

The weather has been BITTERLY cold here in the Great White North.  I don't think it's been above freezing for a week and with the wind blowing down out of Canada's Fraser River Valley, it's even colder.  Thank God there aren't any clouds or moisture in the air because it'd surely turn to snow.  Which would make me cry hot, salty tears.

True story.

Aside from the awful temperatures, I've been sick for almost two weeks with some kind of bug.  Not stuck-in-bed sick the whole time but I have an annoying cough that is lingering and making me feel less than stellar.  And it's making me cranky because it's keeping me from going to the gym.

True story.

As if coughing up a lung isn't bad enough, we went to a lighted Christmas parade on Saturday night - yes, out in the frigid cold night air - and I somehow managed to throw my neck out of whack.  After tensing up and shivering in the cold for an hour, I left the parade with a lovely neck ache.  I went to the chiropractor yesterday before work to get it adjusted but the muscles are so spasmed that she couldn't completely fix it.  And it actually kinda feels worse today (muscle-wise).  So I get to go back on Thursday and hopefully get it straightened out.  It better work because I'm sick of being hobbled by various ailments.  I've got things to do and need my body to cooperate.

True story.

It's only December 8th and I'm already sick of winter.

True story.

True Story Tuesday - TV Guide Edition

Hmmm, let's see...what can I confess today as truth?  Oh!  I know.

I have recently started watching Glee episodes online.  I'd been hearing many good things about the show and I decided to check it out.  And you know what?  I'm hooked.   What a fun little show!  I haven't intentionally watched a network program with any regularity since...hmmm, 2005?  I think the last show that I actually was into was American Dreams.  Anyone remember that one?  It was set during the late 60's and had one of the characters dancing on American Bandstand.  It was a family-oriented show which is probably why it got cancelled after only three seasons.   I have to admit that in my advancing years I find myself being drawn to shows that aren't laden with cursing, violence and sex, which effectively rules out 95% of what's on TV these day.

True story.

I am not a fan of reality TV in general.  I have never watched Survivor, American Idol, America's Got Talent, Dancing With the Stars, Big Brother or most of the other reality shows out there.  But a couple years ago when I visited my cousin and her four 11-week old babies, we sat around and watched alot of TV.  And it just so happened that So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD) was beginning a new season.  Well, I got hooked.  And I've been hooked ever since.  I have never danced, never wanted to dance or even pretended I could dance.  But there's something about that show that gets to me.  Maybe it's the passion and drive the kids demonstrate, or some of the incredibly moving choreography that they perform, but I find myself tearing up almost every episode.  And there are certain songs I can't hear without visualizing the dancers performing to it.  It kinda makes me want to get up and dance.

True story.

When I was a kid, my bedtime was 9:00pm.  This presented a dilemma because a couple of my favorite shows were on at 9:00pm.  Those shows being The A Team and Knight Rider.  Come on, you know you loved Knight Rider.  Anyway, once a week I was allowed to stay up until 10:00pm to watch a show.  I would study the TV Guide to find out the story lines for both shows and then I'd have to choose which one to watch that week.  I seem to remember The A Team winning out more often than Knight Rider.

True story.

True Story Tuesday

I'm stealing this idea from my friend, Chelle, who stole it from her friend.  And since it's still Tuesday and I'm trying to get back into the routine of blogging, I'll steal whatever ideas I can in order to post more regularly.

I broke down and mopped my floors today.  After making apple pie filling yesterday and splattering sticky apple juice all over the place, it was high time the floors got cleaned.  It's probably been at least a month since I mopped.  Disgusting, I know, but I promise that if you're coming to my house as a guest, I mop the floors before you come.  I myself just live in the daily filth.

True story. 

Money is a little tight right now because work has been slow for Josh, which results in smaller paychecks.  We should be able to just squueeeze the mortgage out this week but what I really want to do is go to Costco.  I love Costco.  I dare say I'm addicted to Costco. As soon as there's more than three things on my list, I head straight there.  And never leave for less than $100.  I can't afford to do that this week and it is making me sad.

True story.

I stopped and got a raspberry mocha at Starbucks on the way to work today. They had a sign up that they were hiring.  I was sorely tempted to apply.

True story.

I have peanut butter cookies AND apple crumble pie in my house and yet I find myself thinking of what else I can bake.  I am not tempted by sweets (although that apple crumble pie is DEE-LISH) so my thoughts have turned to bread.  I have approximately 50 lbs of flour in my pantry and a new bread cookbook that is calling my name.

True story.