A Cool New Hobby Or A Desperate Cry For Help ... You Decide!

I swear that if I don't get out of my kitchen this summer, y'all are going to quit being my friends! I'm losing followers right and left lately. But I'm just so into kitchen experiments these days. They are all really working out too- only egging me on to play more with my food!

So as I was eating breakfast on Tuesday morning (I often stand in the kitchen to eat toast), I mixed up two more batches of bread. (That's how fast it is to make!) In one I tossed in herbs- just eyeballed it but probably about a teaspoon or two of oregano, rosemary and thyme. I used dry because I was in my pj's eating breakfast and not in the mood to walk outside for some fresh. I'm all kinds of lazy like that. In the other I tossed in a handful of (probably about 1/4 -1/2 cup) dried cranberries, shredded coconut and a cap full of vanilla extract.

I baked both last night. This time I tried baking them in loaf pans- worked great! I didn't add any extra flour- I just had a bowl with water and kept dipping my hand in as I balled up the dough. I made a mini loaf of each flavor to keep and taste and a large loaf of each flavor to give away (because hello I am trying to not gain weight here- well actually I am trying to lose weight but seeing as how exercising for months is doing nothing my new goal is to just not gain- so far that's working out just fine. I'm all about low expectations at the moment.) to friends. Both are incredibly delicious!! The coconut is so subtle but makes the bread super-duper yummy!




But what's bread without jelly, right? Actually I don't eat a ton of jelly. But I found a recipe for wine jelly and was intrigued. Had to try it out. Jelly, I've recently realized, is very easy to make. The most challenging part is skimming off the foam. Really that just takes patience and a little wrist action. I bought some cheap-o blackberry Merlot for this experiment, just in case it turned into a royal disaster. I thought it was going to make five or six jars but it actually made eight and a half. So everyone I know is getting a jar of jelly from me this year because there is just no way I will consume that much. It is very, very good though! The only change I would make next time would be to use less sugar. I mean, I have a huge sweet tooth but it is VERY sweet. You can actually taste the wine too- which is fun and different. Don't worry, it's family friendly as the alcohol was cooked out of it. These pics are terrible and don't show off how pretty they jelly turned out. They all popped right away and jelled too! I was so excited. Apparently I am getting pretty good at canning! Next on my canning to-do list is dill pickled green beans.




So what's the verdict....fun new hobby or desperate cry for help?!! I mean, I'm having a ball. But playing around in the kitchen is not exactly "cool."


****Update....the Easiest Bread Recipe Evah that requires zero kneading is found two posts down. Make some and tell me how it turns out. Because it is crazy easy and sooo yummy!