the world of lovely things

Every Saturday there is a farmers market and flea market in my neighborhood. And you wouldn't believe the some of the amazing things I find there. Last Saturday I picked up a quarter of a loaf of rye sourdough bread that rivals the best stuff I ever ate in Finland. It is so good.

I often talk myself out of my greatest finds but a couple of weeks ago I decided to treat myself (Tom and Donna style) and purchased this. A lovely clipping from the Lady's Home Journal, circa 1918. I love fell in love with the colors and the style. The texts is pretty amazing too. I wanted it and I bought it.

The World of Lovely Things  

What is Newest and Loveliest in It

Some of the Happy Results of our Shopping

Lovely Aren't They? - and So Easily Made When They are Not Buyable.

Some of the Many Attractive Accessories

Which Complete Our New Costumes and Gladden Our Old

(on the back)

And This Wold of Lovely Things has certainly gladdened my wall.

Glada Kanelbullens Dag!

If you don't already know, I'm mighty proud of my Swedish heritage and generally enamored of all things Nordic. So, I was pleased as punch to discover that today is Sweden's national Cinnamon Bun Day. (In case you need proof). Of all the glorious things that deserve their own holiday, cinnamon buns have certainly earned their place.

http://blogs.sweden.se/expat/2011/10/04/happy-cinnamon-bun-day/

I'm suddenly having flashbacks of the lovely smells wafting through the Helsinki train station from the bakery in the basement. To be honest, I am far more familiar with Finnish cinnamon buns than the Swedish variety - but here's a recipe for Kanelbullens that looks absolutely scrumptious (note that it calls for cardamon - which is incredibly pricey here in the states but worth every penny). Oh, that I could leave work right now get baking. Alas!  

sooooooooo good

Way back in the fall, I decided to try my hand at baking bread.  I bought the bread bible and followed her detailed instructions with strict obedience.  My bread was not the light and fluffy loaves that the book promised and while edible and rather tasty, not worth the effort.  Learning to bake really good bread remains on my to do list - the long list, the list of things to do this decade, not this week. 

My goal is fueled by my picky palate.  I really like good bread but it is so hard to find.  One of the things that I hate most about moving is finding decent bread in a new town.  I generally don't venture any farther than the local grocery stores but have found through trial and error that there is a lot of lousy bread on the shelves.  My ideal loaf would be 100% whole grain (no white flour), tasty and the perfect balance of chewy and airy.

Well, I found it.  I found my ideal loaf.  And I can't tell you how happy I am to have really good bread every morning.  It is made by a bakery in Canada called Silver Hills and get this it is flourless.  That's right, it's not made of flour at all.  I didn't really understand how this could be so I did a little research.  Apparently, they start with whole grains (unprocessed kernels of wheat, oats etc.), and then they soak the kernels until they sprout, and then they mash them.  Voila! no flour necessary! They make a lot of different varieties using different combinations of grains and seeds but my very favorite is kamut.  Kamut is the kind of wheat that the ancient Egyptians grew - who knew, right?

From their website I have learned that their bread is only sold in the west coast states and BC.  So if you happen to live in one of these blessed states and you wanna try some mind blowingly good bread - I suggest you look for this and try it.  Am I obsessed? I don't think so, just really really happy to have found good bread.

Interested in trying sprouted bread but you can't find Silver Hills bread? Try Ezekiel Bread (sometimes in the freezer section).  It is also sprouted and quite good.  I especially like their raisin bread.

internet addiction

I took a little break from the internet this weekend - sunday and monday that is. It's a real addiction you know, npr even said so. Also, Elder Bednar talked about it in a CES fireside last March and when a general authority and npr agree, it's a special kind of confirmation. So, I was listening to the radio in the kitchen yesterday when I heard a story about internet addiction and how there is now an internet addiction rehab center in the US. It's at the summer home of a massage therapist and there is 1 patient (I'm pretty sure that's not the right term but the correct word alludes me at the moment). He is a college student who flunked out of school because he couldn't stop playing Worlds of Warcraft and now his parents are paying for him to feed chickens with a massage therapist and take interviews.

I'm no gamer but I can definitely spend hour upon hour online and not even know where the time went. So I felt pretty good about myself when I heard this story because I was going internet free and baking bread. You heard it, baking - whole-grain no less.

Motivated by boredom, frustration at the lack of good bread and a new book, I decided to make my own. I bought this book from a local bookstore that is a step by step guide to making whole-grain breads. The author is a total hippy and I love her for it.

My ideal bread would be whole-grain, baked locally and taste good (light but chewy and a little nutty) - it's surprisingly hard to find. My first attempt was a little disappointing. After hours and hours of kneading and coddling and watching and rounding and waiting and shaping and baking, my loaf came out kinda flat. It tastes alright but it is far from light and airy loaf that I was aspiring to.  But I won't give up, the bread bible says that it is really hard to get whole-grain breads to come out light and fluffy but it is possible.

It was a pretty feel good Labor Day. Supported a local business, acquired a new and healthy hobby, fought off a dangerous addiction, and I'm a step closer to really good bread.