Whole Wheat English Muffins

Here's the recipe I tried out yesterday.  Originally the recipe came from tablespoon.com, but I made a few small changes:

Ingredients

• 1 1/3 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tbsp sugar
• 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup milk (warm)
• vegetable oil

Directions

1. 1Combine flours, salt, sugar and yeast.
2. 2Add in butter and milk and mix until the dough is combined and all the flour has been pulled away from the sides.
3. 3Knead for about 10 minutes by hand. The dough should be warm to the touch, smooth and elastic when done.
4. 4Place dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap or a towel and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour to 1 hour, 15 minutes.
5. 5Remove dough from bowl and divide into 6 to 8 pieces, depending on how big you want your English muffins (6 makes jumbo muffins, 8 makes smallish to regular-sized muffins). Roll each piece into a ball, pulling the sides down and under while rotating it in your hands so the top is taut. Place each piece on a Silpat or lightly greased parchment paper-lined baking sheet, sprinkled with cornmeal if desired.
6. 6Cover with a lightly greased piece of plastic wrap and let rise about 45 minutes to an hour, until doubled.
7. 7Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F and heat a griddle or cast-iron skillet to medium heat (or about 350 degrees F). Grease the griddle or pour a thin layer of vegetable oil in the skillet.
8. 8Once the muffins are ready, transfer them from the baking sheet to the skillet or griddle and let cook on each side about 5 or 6 minutes, or until a very dark brown. Transfer the cooked muffins to a baking sheet or stone and bake about 5 to 7 minutes so the insides are fully baked.
9. 9Cool the muffins completely on a wire rack before serving (open with a fork, not a knife, to get those nooks and crannies).

Where did the day go?

I have just come to the realization that I have a new addiction: looking at recipes online.  Today as I was looking for a recipe for homemade English muffins, I found a recipe for them quite quickly, but then got totally sidetracked by a new website with thousands of recipes.  It's called http://www.tablespoon.com, and I am currently about 100 recipes into the yeast bread section.  I think I will have to be giving away free bread because there is no way I will be able to eat all of the different breads I am about to make.
The first one I was to try is the Triple-Seed Wheat Bread...

Just the amazing shape of it makes it look soo tasty...  I'm hopelessly drowning in a sea of hunger, overwhelmed taste buds, and recipes.  Help!  

I guess if I have to be addicted to something, this isn't too bad.  

Well, I am going to start my English muffins, and maybe I will make the Triple-Seed bread tomorrow... I need to make a Kaufland run for eggs, though, before I can make it, as I need egg white to brush the top with.  

Journey to the Forest

From Monday to Wednesday this week, I was in the Black Forest (think Black Forest ham and chocolate cake) about 2 hours drive from France, on a staff retreat with all of my co-workers.
     
On Monday morning we all piled into cars and drove two hours north from the Bodensee to a small town near Nagold.  I ended up in the anciently old Fiat van that belongs to the school with my friend Lorna, her husband, four Germans, another girl from Washington, and an Argentinian.  Quite a diversity for one car.  The van was creaking so much that we all half expected it to just fall apart into little pieces at any moment and leave us sitting on our bench seats in the middle of the Autobahn.

As we drove, we were frequently passed by Audi's, BMW's, and Mercedes', all going well over the speed limit, which is not enforced at all.  Just as frequently, though, we passed large trucks from countries such as Italy, Poland, the Netherlands, Turkey, Romania, and the Czech Republic.

We sped by cornfields, forests, small villages, pastures with horses and cos, and my favorite view of all, vineyards.  Rows upon rows of grapes cover many of the hills here in the south of Germany, trying to soak up the last of the summer sun.

When we passed one particular field of cows lazily eating grass, a very familiar smell reached my nose.  It was that distict smell that always accompanies cows and other animals.  I was instantly transported to my family's car on one of our many road trips through Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado.  I closed my eyes and could imagine my family smelling the same smell, only when most people would promptly cover their nose, my dad would always let out a loud "Ahhhhh..." of satisfaction.
On the ride, I had another wonderful travel companion: a large bag of the most wonderful grapes I have ever tasted.  They came from Italy in lovely wooden crates with painted words in Italian on the sides.  The kitchen where I work got three of these crates last week, and Lorna and I probably ate one entire crate by ourselves.  Just before we left, Robert, the head chef, saw that there was still some grapes left, so he gave them all to me because "they would be raisins" by the time we got back.  So me and the others in the Fiat shared them during the ride, and when we stopped for a quick bathroom break, Lorna threw them and the guys caught them in their mouths.  Altogether a joyful travel...

9/11

Never Forget.

Do you remember how you felt that day?

God, please bring our men and women home...

Investment vs. Cost

So, I ask myself, when is it a wise investment, and when is it just a waste of hard earned cash?  In the case of a good pair of leather boots, I'm thinking investment.
I am discussing this topic because last winter I found myself longing for a good, waterproof pair of leather boots.  Here in Germany, it is quite common for women to have a pair like this, that they have invested in, and wear all winter.  So my current plan is to save up the money, and buy some for myself.  But which ones?  At the moment, boots styled like riding boots are quite popular, and I love how they look.  And how much to spend?  So many questions... But here are two styles I have found that I really like:

Hampshire Women's Riding Boots - Tommy Hilfiger



Ravoli Camel Leather - Franco Sarto


    I like both styles quite a lot, but first I have to come up with the money.  Hopefully it's a wise choice!