Hello, Sunday.

Yes, that’s supposed to be me. No, it does not really look like me.  Yes, I downloaded an app pointedly earmarked for “teens.”  And yes, I painstakingly spent more time than I will admit trying to get it to look like me.  I just wanted to give you all an indication of my productivity level so far this weekend. 

How was yours?  

I’ll admit that I am a little jealous of all you out East. I do  love a good snow storm when it’s not causing me to miss flights or hindering my driving. I like knowing Mother Nature is taking care of me by giving me a day when I have no where to go and nothing to do.  However, I do know that the reality of this in my life is…not so idyllic.  Because in Chicago, we man up and don’t let snow storms keep us inside. That means that despite the 2 feet of snow that may fall, I’ll still have to go to work and do all those real world things, and the snow would just be a messy nuisnace.  But once in a while, it’s not, and I’m sort of wishing that perfect winter day upon myself, especially as I get over from the cold that shall never end.  So enjoy it, East Coast.  And use it well.

This week.  What happened this week? It sort of went by in a blur for me, partly because I spent the first half of it California dreaming.  Still, this is what I managed to get out of it.  Some really thought provoking stuff…this is not. I’ll do better next week:   (more…)

This is what a perfect weekend looks like…

Written during all the gabbing…

Confession: I’ve been holding on on you.  I have some exciting news.

Has anyone heard of Skillshare? It’s sort of an online classroom where you can learn to do things. Lots of different types of things.  Some classes are taught by professionals. Some are taught by ordinary people.  Like me.

That’s right.  I’m teaching a class. A cooking class! Well, a baking class.  About a month ago the folks at Skillshare asked me to teach the art of baking bread, and so I did!  I actually love teaching people how to cook because I like to show them that it’s not hard. Really, you can do it! You’ve heard me say that time and again. If I can do it, you can do it. 

Also, my quick decision to say yes also probably signals an indication that I just really like telling people what to do. But we won’t talk about this.

So if you’ve ever wanted to see just how truly awkward I can be in person, take my class! (I’m kidding about the awkwardness. I think. Hope…) Or, if you just want to learn how to make bread, take my class. Or, if you’re my friend, take my class.  But I’ll still be your friend if you don’t.  In any event, we’ll be making a lot of things that you’ve already seen: brown bread, beer bread, pumpkin bread and the pao de quiejo and if you haven’t yet tried them, you’ll see just how easy everything I make is. And learn a new one- a rustic white hearth bread.  And you’ll get to see my kitchen, in case you were wondering.

The first 25 people can enroll for free here until Monday (if you sign up I’ll love you forever and ever!).  If you’re signee #26 or beyond, enroll here.

Teaching the class was fun, embarrassing and awkward, and the (un)happy side effect of it is that I literally had 8 loaves and 9 muffins leftover in my house at the end of it all. Remember how I live alone?  Yeah. While I love bread, it’s a lot for one person to eat. Even me, bread’s #1 fan (shared with Biscuit). 

I gave a lot of the bread away, but I still had a lot left, so I figured I needed to come up with a fun way to eat it.  Bread pudding is always at the forefront of my mind when it comes to extra bread, but I actually wanted something savory.  I’ll investigate the source of this preference for savory over sweet at another time, but I decided on this amazing Spanish style panzanella, inspired both from Biscuit’s summer version and a breakfast version from my Huckleberry cookbook.  The breakdown is this: (more…)