As some of you will have noticed from the picture I posted on Monday, we have a new apartment! Our stuff should be arriving on Saturday, so our apartment will become a furnished (with our own stuff!) apartment.
This will mark the 5th place Lisa and I have lived in since we got married, and also the smallest place (716sqft) we have lived. We're up on the 3rd floor, facing west. We're bound to get some great views of the sunset. We also have a garage, which should protect our car from the many different ravages of Texas weather. (From hot and humid, to heavy down pours, to vandals)
The apartments are only a year old so they are still pretty nice. They have a community pool, BBQs, media room, and workout room. Plus they are just down the street from several places to eat, and right across the street from a movie theater. I have a good feeling about this place. I think God brought us here for a reason. (If nothing else than maybe get me more exercise climbing 40 steps every time I want to go somewhere... )
I'll populate with more pictures as we get setup. On another note I had fried turkey for the first time last night. I loved the texture. If I had to eat turkey that is how I would want to eat turkey. Only I came to realize... I really don't like Turkey that much. Of everything I could be eating turkey just doesn't excite me like it used to. I was at a guys night last night and they were frying a bunch of stuff: turkey, chicken wings, and anything hostess. They had some sides there as well. A fantastic stuffing and a rice, broccoli, cheese thing that I could have eaten for a very long time.
First order of cooking business when we're settled in the new apartment is to make a loaf of bread. None of this "no kneed" stuff either. I'll have my stand mixer so I will be making a nice kneeded loaf of bread. You'll have to stay tuned to see how that adventure goes.
Medically: I have chemo on Wednesday and a PET scan on Thursday. With all sorts of doctor updates the following week. Thanks everyone for the continued support and generosity.
~B.
I'm telling you, no-knead bread is the best thing ever. It's so light and fluffy compared to every regular bread recipe I've done. Try the Steamy Kitchen version. Two things: The pot you cook it in matters, and she really means it when she says it has to sit at least 12 hours.
ReplyDeletehttp://steamykitchen.com/168-no-knead-bread-revisited.html
Hey Katie... I have no problem waiting for bread. However ALL of the no-knead bread I have attempted has been really dense. Like it never head a chance to build the needed glutens. So I'll try my hand at kneaded bread.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if it's an altitude/humidity thing (I'm bundling your most recent climates)?
ReplyDeleteI invested in the book, got my bucket, and haven't had the gumption to try and make bread yet.
Ooh, but I tested a new recipe for what must be the best Apple Crisp in the world over the weekend. Let me know if you're interested.
Your issues before may have been related to elevation. Things may be wholey different in flat Houston!
ReplyDeleteThe only time(s) I have tried making bread have been here in Houston, so I am going to assume it's not an elevation thing.
ReplyDeleteThe thing I think I like most about bread making is the waiting. I've even considered sour dough before. Feed it, let it sit for days, remove half of it, feed it again, and on and on. I think there is a place in San-Fran that claims their starter is over 100 years old. Sounds like fun.
Shari - If the words: best, world, and apple are anywhere together, you don't need to ask if I want the recipe.
Hmm, that's interesting. When the dough was done rising, what did it look/feel like? In my experience after 20 hours of rising the dough is a mass of bubbles and at that point you're best off not handling it much at all. Also are you using the right yeast? There's the slow kind and the fast kind, and I always use the fast kind ("Highly Active" or some such term). That could make a difference.
ReplyDeleteThe recipe I linked to has always turned out quite holey and fluffy for me, but I've only ever tried it at Seattle elevations.
If do you find a good kneaded bread recipe that comes out fluffy, let me know -- all my kneaded ones have ended up overly dense.
I agree, Katie. I've had hard-as-a-brick kneaded bread when I've tried.
ReplyDeleteAlso, one needs to have boatloads of arm strength for bread kneading. (just sayin'...)
I want the apple crisp recipe too!!!
The arm strength was why I was waiting for my stand mixer to come back to me. Bread hook = electronic kneading. Which means I don't have to wuss out after a minutes and a half (if that) of folding bread.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the hints Katie. I do know about different kinds of yeast, and while I can attribute the first batch to some poorly proofed yeast, the second batch LOOKED like a dream batch... only it was like a rock.
That was the other things about no-knead bread is that I find the crust to be generally pretty tough. Maybe I am doing something wrong. I'll try out the ole stand mixer/ kneaded bread thing and let you know how it rolls.