No fixed plans. Not intent upon arriving.
Breakfast was a cheese omelette, a slice of ham, a glass of orange juice, and two cups of coffee. I weighed 157 pounds.
Lunch was three hands full of peanuts and a Saranac Pale Ale.
Dinner was a salad, made with the trimmings from our garden, two Saranac Pale Ales, and some Häagen-Dazs Cherry Vanilla ice cream for dessert.
Over in my photo gallery I have a photo of the red headed woodpecker that lives in the woods behind the cabin. On that page I apologized for the quality of the photo, but it was the best that I had. Well now I have some better shots.
I did some bird watching this morning. Gretchen found his home in this rotted aspen tree a while ago. This morning I took the camera and the tripod out and waited patiently for him to return. If you have got broadband, you might want to take a look at this slide show (QuickTime 3.9 MB) I put together of 8 of the best shots.
An stream-of-consciousness article too stuffed with doughy goodness not to scarf the whole thing!
Also, check out the recipes for a Whole Grain Boule and a Crumb Schnecken.
Precision is important in baking, so weigh most dry ingredients on a scale instead of measuring them in cups, which is prone to vicissitudes. A plastic or metal bench scraper… a rectangular blade with a handle, will help pick dough up off counters.
A pastry brush is necessary, of course, as is parchment paper, good for carrying dough from counter to pan. An electric knife is helpful, too, for cutting through layers of soft dough without compressing them; it also works well for slashing the dough before baking (as does a sharp paring knife).
For bread baking, use the softest flour possible, which for these recipes is all-purpose unbleached flour like Pillsbury, Gold Medal or Arrowhead Mills white flour. Bleached flour (check the label) is not suitable for bread. Nor, ironically, is bread flour, which, burdened with protein, requires the strong arm of a heavy-duty mechanical mixer, and will not produce home breads with superior crumb or flavor.
A bread made with a poolish — a mixture of flour, water and yeast that is allowed to rise for a few hours before the bulk of the dough is mixed — will have superior crumb and structure. And resting just-mixed dough for 20 minutes before you knead it — a technique called autolyse — shortens the kneading time by allowing the gluten (the protein that gives dough its elasticity) to relax.
Good bread requires steady, radiant heat from close quarters, as well as proper humidity, particularly in the early stages of baking. By far the biggest challenge for the home baker is compensating for the heat lost in conventional ovens, which can adversely affect a bread’s volume, crust and texture. Low humidity will precipitate a crust that sets too soon, constricting the loft and volume of the loaf.
Home methods for minimizing heat loss require a little creativity and a dose of derring-do. Jim Lahey, who owns Sullivan Street Bakery in Manhattan, recommends placing an enamel-covered cast-iron pot and lid in the oven at 500 degees for an hour (creating plenty of ambient heat), then lowering the dough into the pot on a parchment sling and covering it. A similar solution employs a preheated pizza stone and terra-cotta pot. Both techniques eliminate the need for misting the bread or pouring boiling water into a pan set on the oven floor in order to obtain nice crust development. [Rentschler]
Rentschler, Kay. “Proper Tools for a Perfect Loaf.” The New York Times. 26 May 2004. <www.nytimes.com/2004/05/26/dining/26BBOX.html> (27 May 2004).
The India pale ale style was developed in Britain in the 18th century, as a way to provide the empire’s colonial troops in steamy India with rations of their beloved brew. Beer did not often survive the marked changes of climate on long trips to tropical destinations. Efforts to brew it aboard ship failed, and India lacked the moderate climate necessary, in those days before refrigeration, for successful brewing.
The solution came in the 1790’s. A brewer named George Hodgson realized that a higher alcohol content would inhibit spoilage, and that bacterial action could be slowed by adding extra doses of hops, which impart bitterness, liveliness and aromatic complexity. The strong ale that resulted had a distinctive backbone of aggressive bitterness that could withstand the journey and still refresh the troops.
The necessity for the techniques of producing India pale ale eventually died out, but the taste for it did not, and British and American brewers continued making it through the early 20th century. [Asimov]
Asimov, Eric. “Ales of The Times: A Soldier’s Ration for a Summer Day.” The New York Times. 26 May 2004. <www.nytimes.com/2004/05/26/dining/26WINE.html> (27 May 2004).
Breakfast was two slices of toasted colonial rye bread with homemade strawberry jam, three cups of coffee, a glass of orange juice, and a banana.
Lunch was a hand full of peanuts and a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.
Dinner was a grilled ham slice with corn relish, pan fried spicy asparagus, a salad made with the thinnings of our lettuce patch, and two Sierra Nevada Pale Ales.
Another reason to eat spicy foods: cilantro, a herb key to many cuisines and central to salsa, can kill food poisoning bacteria, researchers said on Tuesday.
U.S. and Mexican researchers said they had identified a compound in cilantro that kills harmful Salmonella bacteria…
The compound, called dodecenal, is found in the fresh leaves and the seeds of cilantro, also known as coriander.
In lab dishes dodecenal was twice as effective as the commonly used antibiotic drug gentamicin against Salmonella, a frequent and sometimes deadly cause of foodborne illness.
“We were surprised that dodecenal was such a potent antibiotic,” Isao Kubo, a chemist at the University of California, Berkeley who led the study, said in a statement…
Kubo’s team also found a dozen other antibiotic compounds in fresh cilantro that showed some activity against a variety of harmful bacteria. [Reuters]
Reuters. “Salsa Spice Fights Bacteria, Study Finds.” Reuters. 25 May 2004. <www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?storyID=5254456> (25 May 2004).
Breakfast was a bowl of cold cereal with banana slices, a glass of orange juice, and three cups of coffee. I weighed 156 pounds.
For lunch I had a bowl of corkscrew pasts with béchamel sauce, a hand full of peanuts, and a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.
It is day two of my vacation and the garden is already planted, so today we took the recyclables to the recycling center and then cleaned the garage. I had forgotten how much space there is in our garage. 
While we were cleaning we had another Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.
Dinner was Smoked Turkey Baked Chimichangas, a small salad made from the first trimmings of our mesclun and romaine, and a Saranac Pale Ale.
Even though I am on vacation this week, I still went to the MBNA Fitness Center to work out.
The standard disclaimer applies. Any set of twelve repetitions is really an indication that the weight was too light. Likewise, any set that is less then eight is an indication that I really need to work on this exercise because my lowball first guess was still too high. I would like to find the weight for each exercise where I can just manage eight repetitions and then work at that weight until I can get back to twelve. Stay at twelve for a few times — maybe three — and then increase the weight again.
Baking powder, baking soda and cream of tartar all cause baked goods to rise, but there is a definite distinction between the three powdery white substances.
The leaveners are activated when they are mixed with a liquid, which causes them to effervesce slightly and release carbon dioxide gas, which in turn leavens the baked good.
But for this reaction to take place, both acid and alkaline agents must be present. Baking powder contains both acid and alkaline and can be used alone. But baking soda contains only alkaline, which means it must be used in conjunction with an acid of some sort. This can be either in the form of cream of tartar or a liquid ingredient, such as lemon juice, yogurt or buttermilk.
Some recipes contain all three ingredients to achieve a precise balance of leavening, texture and flavor. In a pinch, you may substitute five-eighths teaspoon cream of tartar plus one-quarter teaspoon baking soda for 1 teaspoon of baking powder. [Schettler]
Schettler, Renee. “These May Look Alike….” The Washington Post. 19 May 2004. <www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A35851-2004May18.html> (24 May 2004).
Trim the ends of one pound of beans and drop them into a pot of boiling water for two minutes or until they are bright green and tender with a little bite. Drain, rinse with cold water, and pat dry. Dress the beans with 1 tablespoon of olive oil (unless you have hazelnut oil, which is glorious with the beans), then add salt, pepper, and 3 tablespoons toasted, chopped almonds or hazelnuts. Thin slices of caramelized onions, shallots, or roasted red peppers will make your dish fancy, even if you’re cooking in flip-flops. [Doyle]
Doyle, Anneliese. “Bean town.” The Boston Globe. 19 May 2004. <www.boston.com/ae/food/articles/2004/05/19/bean_town/> (24 May 2004).