Fresh Bread!

I love making bread. I didn't always. The parts I didn't like were the mess it made on the cupboard (flour going everywhere when I kneaded the dough) and my uncertainty about whether I'd kneaded it enough, too much, used too much flour, too little. That's why I made sweetrolls more often than bread. Then I used the recipe that came with my first Cuisinart. Perfect. No mess, no fuss, no kneading, no guesswork. Loved it.

Friday I used my new Cuisinart for the first time and made the recipe for Classic Wheat Bread that's in the booklet that came with the processor. Lovely loaves. Lovely! And even though I think the water was a little too hot and almost killed the yeast. I was patient enough to let the dough rise properly and was graciously rewarded for that. We're already in need of more loaves so I have dough rising right now. This is another experiment because the only yeast I had in the house was the rapid-rise type. The dough was stickier. We shall see how it turns out. And I'll put a photo with this as soon as it comes out of the oven.

Then I'll invite you all over for fresh bread and butter. (NOT butter substitute. Never. Not on homemade bread.) Coffee? Well, I think tea goes better but I'll allow coffee. Better give me a call to let me know you're on your way so that I turn on the heater in the porch; it's so nice to sit out there.

See you soon?

Politics as Usual ... or Worse

I'm so tired of hearing analyses, predictions, poll results, statistics, negative ads. For the first time since I turned 21 I actually don't feel like voting. I will, but my heart isn't in it.

Our country has become meaner. Too many are unwilling to see nuances, shades, possibilities; too many want everything to be in high contrast, black & white, yes or no. It makes for much easier decision-making when you don't have to take any mitigating circumstances into consideration. Shoot the bastard. He done wrong.

When Air America, the liberal talk-radio station, began a few years ago I heard or read why there had never been (and no longer is) a such a thing. The commentator said that liberals feel it's their duty to listen to all viewpoints and that kills the anger that listeners and callers are looking for. And then I heard Al Franken on Air America and he was doing exactly that: presenting three viewpoints on a topic. How can you have a good heated argument with THREE people? You need only two, and it's best if they hate each other. Needless to say, Air America folded ... last year? Anyway, it's gone.

I want the media to leave me alone in a political season. I want our political season to mimic Canada's: candidates campaign for 6 weeks. No more. I'm sure there's fundraising going on before that period but the actual campaign is 6 weeks. I don't want to move to Canada (partly because I haven't paid attention to their political system and don't have much of a clue as to how it works). But I don't want to be here either.

I'm tired. But I'll vote.