Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Snap Back to Reality

Oh there goes gravity...

9 days of vacation felt more like an early retirement. And guess what - we never got bored. I have to admit that I am refreshed and happy to get back into a nice productive routine - but wish it felt like summer in Minnesota already! After long days filled with knitting on the beach (me) or trying a new fish recipe (H.) - it is time to get back to reality and start baking again!

So - i have found some Spring-inspired goodies that are in the running for the next kitchen session. I'm keenly watching for new sources of inspiration - and keep finding more to add to the to-do list! What are you looking forward to making this spring? I'm looking for anything that will spread the sunshine and bring the temps above freezing!

1. To Bake: Apricot-Pineapple Cheese Braid
from piday on Bakespace.com
Besides looking beautiful - I like that this recipe calls for farmer's cheese. My grandmother always had farmer's cheese as a 'side' for breakfast. I've never purchased it myself, but think that it would be fun to try.


2. To Bake: Braided Easter Egg Bread
from Rose's Recipes
You have to check this out - complete with the dyed easter eggs nestled in the bread. My mom made this a few times for the Easter table. I also saw the greek version when visiting Tarpon Springs, Florida. It's called Tsoureki - and had white hard cooked eggs nestled in both a braid loaf and a braid crown.


3. To Read: Rose Levy Beranbaum's master's thesis “Sifting Flour Affects the Quality of a Yellow Cake”. Check out her blog posting and find the thesis that you can download. I can't imagine a world in which I could study sifted flour and cake baking... sounds like utopia.

3 comments:

tipsybaker said...

I thought you were joking about that thesis until I actually downloaded. Wow. Fascinating -- not so much the topic, but the person who would devote herself to the topic with such complete seriousness. Do you recommend the Bread Bible? I own the Cake Bible but have always found it a little daunting.

Tangled Noodle said...

I've been told that a long winter is what makes Minnesota summers that much sweeter. What a crock. Give me summer NOW! 8-)

Looking forward to your upcoming baking projects!

Scate said...

Tipsy Baker - i have not tried the bread bible. However - i love how RLB writes out her recipes. Always includes the weight measurement - and always lists the ingredients in a grid. I LOVE that. I really love the bread baker's apprentice for bread.