Best Time of Year in Southern Arizona

One of the grapefruit trees in the backyard planning its slow torture of me.

Jeffrey and I both woke up with the telltale twinge and sniffle. The citrus trees are budding and blooming! Smells so good, looks so pretty ... now please pass me a aaaaaachoooo ... tissue.

Projects for the weekend

I think I've watched everything I was interested in on Netflix Instant Viewing. This means I need to do some projects because "Dead Like Me" and the entire catalog of available "Dexter" episodes has sucked enough of my life away recently (there are additional Weeds discs on their way, but at a scant 30 minutes, they are safe, right?)

Here's what I have on tap for this weekend's projects (I know it's Valentine's Day on Sunday, but really? Once I give Jeffrey his annual 6-pack of Squirt soda with a bow on it, who gives a shit? Happy Birthday, Dad!):

• Make more bread.
• Finish purse project (will post when completed) started when my mom was visiting which was put down due to: 1. infuriating instructions that made my eyes cross and 2. Netflix instant viewing obsessions
• Create a kitchen garden by the window sill in the kitchen. The cyclamen like it, so I'm guessing basil will, too.
• Make Lucy a fleece dog coat. She is going to the groomer next weekend for her spring shave down, but she might get cold still. Also need to make Lily a new fleece crate blanket -- this does not count as it's own project as I just buy a yard of fleece and shove it in there.
• Start and finish photo album for Edith's birthday of our Fall Cruise. I have the parts, I just need to put them together.
• General housekeeping duties including trash and clutter removal, closet weeding, and Drano during the bathroom cleanings.
• Wash and wax little red car plus oil change. Consider washing Jeffrey's car.

That's right! Nothing but excitement at the Gautreaux house.

Best thing before sliced bread

My bread machine came yesterday, so after dinner, I found a recipe I had the ingredients for (French bread) and got it started.

Here are the results!

I made the 2-lb loaf with the medium darkness setting. then I made us sandwiches for our lunches today.

It made a hearty loaf, came out of the machine easily, and the best part? I watched a movie while it worked.

Awesome.

Loafing gets even lazier

Yesterday I ordered a bread machine. I know. You can make bread without a machine. And yes, it isn’t hard. You just wake up some yeast, give it some sugar to feast on, throw in a little flour and water, beat it to death, leave it to think about what it’s done, and then beat it back into submission before sticking it in a pan, letting it sit a while longer, and then baking it in an oven.
It has buttons!

But one of the problems with baking bread is you have babysit it. The temperature has to be just right. And you have to be around to smack it back down. And you have to bake it in an oven that may or may not be keeping correct temperatures and may or may not be being used to cook a chicken at the same time.

See, last weekend it was finally sunny and warm enough to rise bread dough (My oven doesn’t have a warming option). So I decided to make a quick loaf of white bread. Quick meaning it took most of the day and there was a delay because I had to go to a riding lesson and there was no one home to watch the bread become, well, bread. And I didn't knead the dough enough to make really good gluten because my arms are weenie and the bread came out a little more dense than I really like it.

But homemade bread is sooo good, it makes the house smell amazing, and it has way fewer chemicals and preservatives than the store bought stuff. I swear Jeffrey achieves his mental greatness at law school because I don’t feed him over processed foods (and has nothing to do with him being really smart or driven. Nope. Not at all...). Not only that? But making bread feels like an accomplishment. I realize this is dumb. It’s bread. It’s not magic.

But it feels like magic.

It’s just easier to make magic when a machine is involved that does everything except scoop the ingredients into itself.

The next appliance on the list of lazy from scratch cooking? Rice maker.