Bread, Bagels, Bruja

It’s been a lovely few days. I took a couple of vacation days so I’m in the middle of a four-day weekend. It’s glorious.

While there’s been some important administrative duties / wrap-up (like switching cell phone carriers – which turned out to be a two-day affair, don’t even get me started), Mr. Gordon and I have also enjoyed pub-lunching, taking a drive to enjoy the beautiful fall scenery, watching the movie Clue (a favorite movie – Tim Curry was one of the greatest, may he rest in peace!), and also wonderful kitchen pleasures: Mr. Gordon has baked bread and made bagels, too.

Mr. Gordon used to bake bread a lot. His white sandwich bread makes the best toast and the best buttered bread for soup, stew, and chili dipping. 🙂 I don’t know what got into him on Friday, but next thing I know, he was kneading dough in the kitchen. His recipe is based on this one from King Arthur Flour, but note: he has modified the recipe and skips the butter, uses olive oil and less sugar. He didn’t add the milk on Friday. So, he mixes it up from time-to-time. (Pun intended!)

Then out of nowhere on Saturday, he announces he’s making bagels. (He’s never made them before.) He used this bagel recipe here. They came out GREAT! Check out the steam coming off the bagels after boiling and prior to baking. (There’s a short video below.)

Can you see the steam in the video?

 

After Baking!

And although last week I wrote that bagels, cream cheese, and lox were a sometime treat, there was no way I was having these special bagels without my favorite fall / winter toppings. (Don’t ask me why, but I can’t eat lox in spring / summer.)

Dee-lish!

The bagels were perfectly chewy on the inside – not “dough-y or cake-like” – and the flavor was marvelous. I will never take Mr. Gordon’s kitchen talents for granted!

So, I mentioned earlier that I took a long weekend. I really needed a break. I don’t typically take a lot of time off during the year. In fact, I’ll be carrying over a good chunk of vacation time into 2020. I usually take a few days off around spring planting – around Memorial Day – and I aim to take the last 7 to 10 days off at the end of every year. My employment responsibilities typically are low around Christmas and through the New Year holiday, which works out well for me. May that continue.

Having the couple of extra days this weekend has allowed me to complete a “homemade” gift project (which I can’t write about here because it’s a gift for a relative who might read this), prepare to get the garlic and shallots into the ground (planned for today), and guess what I found while rooting around for packing materials?

My Bruja!

We found each other in Spain almost two decades ago. She wears green for luck (an abundance of good luck / fertility). I bring her out every Halloween season, but maybe I should keep her out year round? After all, who couldn’t use good luck all year? 🙂

If you have read some of my seedling and planting posts, you might remember that one of my favorite places to order my seeds from is Hudson Valley Seed Co. This is the first time I’ve ordered garlic and shallots from them, and I’m eager to get them into the ground. I think I have to do it today. (I should probably get a move on it…)

We are putting the garlic and the shallots in the Upper Garden. Our theory is that they won’t be bothered by deer and other nibblers after they sprout in spring. The Upper Garden isn’t fenced in and we’re going to focus on growing garlic, onions, leeks, shallots, etc. in it next year. But I better get the little bulbs in the ground!

Well, those bulbs are not going to plant themselves! I’ll leave you with this photo taken on our drive home yesterday evening. Yes, I live in Paradise. 🙂

Happy Sunday, Friends!