AAM Monday: January 12, 2015

While things have happened round here and we both have gone places, it's been a nice good slow start to the year. Staying in, some very cold times, some snow and today the promise of freezing rain. So far just rain.

For the most part, I'm not terribly anxious to go out, go somewhere, be as active as I could. I did get to the gym two times last week and plan to go later today.  But mostly it's been a good quiet time with books, fires in the Jotul and fireplace and watching old tv shows in a mini-binge mode.

Otherwise round here...

Going... out for meals with friends, him more than me but one meal for both of us last night to celebrate his daughter's 50th birthday.

Enjoying...a good meetup with women friends, a lunch that lasted over 3 hours. That's a good time!

Baking...bread! January is a good time to get the bread machine out and so far we've had English muffin bread, jalapeno cheddar bread (for him), and one dud of an old multigrain mix. That 'healthy' bread sits like a great lump but it's actually not that bad. Have a slice is enough to get a carb fix.

Checking...my fitbit daily. I am getting close to having my 3,000 steps goal get bumped up to 4k. If I do my in-house-reminder-5min-walks twice a day, I just need a bit more effort, like walking on the rubber track at the gym to make it. Right now the streets and sidewalks are still icy and full of snow piles. Too dangerous for walking.

Buying...flowers. It's definitely that time of year and the forced bulbs were on sale - 3 for $10 -so I bought mini daffodils and hyacinths. The pretty Delft like bowls are ones I saved years ago for future forced bulbs. A good save! The white amaryllis I bought around Halloween has two massive leaves but still no sign of a flower. I remain hopeful.

pure primary colors

Don't You Want to Make Bread Now?

Tartine Bread from 4SP Films on Vimeo.

I really want this!

I know it's summer, I know it's hot, and I know I certainly don't need a sugar filled bread. But I want this! Mostly, I want to do it. Once dh and I started watching our weight and sugar intake more, I cut back on making bread. Once he was willing to eat whole grain breads, it was easier to just get a couple of loaves at the store and keep the sliced bread in the freezer. It's the cutting of bread that is a pita and leaves us with crumbs everywhere. Let me refine that. One of us is a serious crumb maker and one of us is a serious crumb cleaner-upper, even though we have a bread board with a crumb grid. 'Nuff said.



But back to this bread. As soon as I saw the blog post Noon Rogani , I was sure it was a Middle Eastern bread of some sort, having eaten my share of naan over the years from Tehran, to Bahrain, to Langley Park MD. This bread is Azerbaijani though and even when I was living in Iran, the local people said Azerbaijanis were excellent cooks. For a Persian to say that is something.

Unless I can find people to eat this ...with me ...for me... I hesitate to make it, but doesn't it look like fun? Check the King Arthur link for a recipe that just makes me want to get the flour and yeast out! Let me know if you make it and how it worked out. Right now, I just plan to look at the pictures and dream.