Okay, so I consider myself a pretty good cook. I mean, I can follow a recipe and not have problems. I will even experiment a little here and there. Jeff and the kids love my food, so I must be doing something right. My mom was a great cook and she taught me a lot of the basics. I'm trying to do the same with my kids. But the one thing I really haven't been able to conquer is bread. Yuck! I just seem to never get the yeast and warm water right on. The recipes I've tried never come out the way they are supposed to (gummy, too heavy, they fall) and it seems like it takes forever.
But two weeks ago Borders was having a sale and I came across this book that looked so great I had to get it. I love pretty pictures in cookbooks and this one has a lot of them. I wanted to have moist, dense, and chewy bread with a brown crackling crust - like the ones you get in Europe or buy for 6 dollars a loaf at the market. But I didn't want to have to go to the store and eat it the same day or else have dried out bread. I wanted to be able to make it at home whenever I wanted it.
So today I got up the courage to try a recipe in this cookbook. Noel and Shera helped me measure and mix it in this bosch bread mixer Jeff had given to me a few years ago. (This was my first time to ever use the machine by the way!)
I followed the directions exactly and was quite nervous to see what the outcome would be.
But I couldn't believe how beautiful the bread turned out!
Not only did it look good, but it made the whole kitchen smell good! The batch of dough made four loaves.
Heidi was clamoring for some too!
We ate all four loaves tonight either plain or with butter or homemade strawberry jam! It was delicious! Finally, a recipe that I can do! I don't feel right about giving this recipe out because it just doesn't seem fair to the cookbook authors. (They actually ask in the book to not share the recipes.) But if you are looking for a great artisan bread cookbook that is quick and easy, this is the one for you! I highly recommend it and can't wait to try other beautifully delicious recipes from this book!
The boys did their annual Mammoth fishing trip and this year they took Jeff's brother and boys. They had a good time together.
Here are Jeff, Drew, and Luke ready for a day of fishing! Luke has his own waders.
Drew and Jeff caught 3 snakes and the boys loved taking turns holding them!
Luke caught a lot of fish and is really learning how to hook them and bring them in now.
Drew is an old pro now and helped all the boys catch fish.
Brad caught the winner - a spotted trout!
Luke did some rock climbing and zip lining with his cousins too! The guys caught a total of 97 fish in two full days of fishing. Not too shabby!
These were the reviews:
