Stella's got her groove back

Ok - I'm not really calling myself Stella; it's just a movie reference...

Anyways, after a hectic few months - a new role at work, working ridiculous hours, moving apartments, trying to fix up our old apartment, being diagnosed with gestational diabetes - I'm finally settling down.

And what better way of settling down than... BAKING!!! I've finally started baking again and I'm sooo happy. Even though my diabetes diet limits what and how much I can eat, I can still eat. And so, my latest baking attempts have been around dough and bread. Home-made pizza (but have no fear, I still love going out for a pizza or having it delivered); bread and buns and cinnamon rolls.

I started with some dinner rolls. The recipe was a bit too sweet for my taste, but the texture was perfect. Fluffy, light and fluffy (did I say that already?). The key to this recipe is to make sure that your yeast is properly activated and becomes foamy before continuing on. Given that this jug started at 2/3 cup water sprinkled with yeast - I would say that my yeast had properly activated, wouldn't you?

And the resulting dinner rolls - perfect for being heavily buttered and used for dipping into a hearty Tomato and Lentil soup on a cold winter's day (even though it's still technically Autumn).

Next the cinnamon rolls.

I have to admit - I'm pretty proud of these cinnamon rolls. They are yummmmmmy - the texture is perfect and fluffy and the sweetness is not sickeningly sweet. I did skip the icing glaze and upped the cinnamon buttery filling. And I couldn't wait for them to cool down to put the glaze on before hoeing into them.

Anyone for some tea and freshly baked cinnamon rolls?

I'm looking forward to a winter-filled baking spree. Baking is dual-purpose as it warms up our apartment as well. How will you be spending your winter?

Comments

The Hummingbird Bakery Cake Days Cupcakes

I have seriously tried to limit the number of cookbooks in my bookshelf. Not only is the internet a major source of information (and free at that!), but we just don't have the space. However, there are a few cookbooks that I love having on hand, in person, ready to be flicked through at a moments notice. And this book - the Hummingbird Bakery Cake Days - is fast becoming one of those books. I love it even more so as it was a "just because" present from my Dear Husband :) The cover is textured and PINK. Not just a pastel pretty pink, but a bright-in-your-face PINK!! There's no mistaking the market for this cookbook. And the rest of the book follows in its bold use of colors. This cookbook, for me, provides inspiration by way of baking, photography, and food styling. Much progress on the first one, not so much on the last two.. oh well, so let's talk about the baking. So far, I've tried two basic recipes - the vanilla cupcakes with van...

It's a skill and I need more sleep

Do you tell jokes? I don't. Hardly ever anyway. One - I don't know many jokes. Two - I can't tell jokes. I stutter the punch lines which ruins it. Or I'm laughing before I finish telling which, again, ruins it. And three - I have a really BAD sense of humour. Only my husband gets it. He gets my humour and reacts. It's why I married him. And yes, please note the purposeful use of "reacts" rather than "laugh" because ... yeah ... no ... he doesn't always laugh. And the times when he does laugh he's usually not laughing at the joke; he's usually laughing at me. But that's ok because that was the point of the joke - to make him laugh. Which he does. Why he's laughing ... well, that's secondary, isn't it? And what about pithy witty comments? I'm full of them. Clever, imaginative one-liners. But, again, it's all in the...

Back from my hiatus

Have you ever struggled with your identity? Like how you define yourself; how you think of yourself? I do. I have been. I still am. Rather than simply stating "I am Ag May", I need to add labels. I'm a mother. I work but I'm on leave at the moment. I'm a crafter, but I just make things not really create things. I bake. I cook. And right now, I'm confused. I wonder if the lack of varied adult interaction has made me lose sight of how I define myself. My wardrobe is probably a good metaphor... I've cleaned it out. So now I'm left with 2 pairs of jeans; a pair of light coloured pants; a pair of tracksuit pants; a handful of t-shirts; and a handful of dresses. Add to that a few jumpers and a couple of cardigans and that's my wardrobe. No more "smart casual"; no more "office-wear"; no more "formal wear" or "going-out on the town wear". I think I donated my personality to good will alongside my c...

Ag May ...

Search This Blog