Friday, October 06, 2006

beer + bread = baking even I can handle



Lookie what I made! I'm not much into baking. It's too scientific and precise for my skillz. I love fresh baked bread though. It smells so good, and you can't buy anything like it. So when I was reminded of beer bread, I checked my cupboard and found that I had all the ingredients. So a whipped a loaf up! It's so stinkin' easy! And makes your home smell fantastic. Here's a few pics of the finished product:





Here's the recipe I used:



I did substitute one of the tablespoons of white sugar with brown sugar, just 'cause it sounded like the right thing to do. And I used this beer:



There's a review of the Jumping Cow Beer Here. I like the beer, but it was pretty bitter. That bitterness definitely translated into the bread. Overall the bread was yummy...crusty, not too dense, hearty and yeasty. And a little honey helped with the bitterness:



Here's a similar recipe to the one I used(on a really fun home decorating/hip domesticy-website, Digs, that you should take a peek through). I will definitely be trying beer bread again, with different beers and ingredients. It's quite versatile. And I'll have to remember it next time I go camping.

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

Sausage Links (Installment one)

A random group of food-related links that I've collected/discovered/explored/enjoyed this past week....Expect "Sausage Links" to become a fairly regular feature, because I like me some randomness.

-If you were scared of Spinach, wait until you encounter the Evil Strawberry. Muahahahahaaaa!

-Extra Tasty is a fun website all about cocktails! All kinds of concoctions, including lots of reader submitted ones. A new one everyday! And it's very cute and fun to explore, to boot!

-This article in the New Yorker is all about the Food Network and how food TV has changed things. It's a neat look at how times have changed it terms of how Americans cook and eat, and also how the Food Network has evolved from Chef-centric to *gag me* Rachel Ray and Sandra Lee instructional shows for the way-to-busy-to-really-cook moms. Quite fascinating.

In other news, here are two recipes I want to try soon. Like in the next two weeks:

-Cardamom Honey Chicken, which looks easy enough...and quite fall-esque.

-Pumpkin Chili, which also looks easy and, well, it's got pumpkin innit, so Fall-O-Rama! And it's pretty darn healthy, too!