Waylaid

Well, my well-intended idea of posting food on Fridays seems to have taken the back burner for the past two weeks. Since I was sick, I didn't get much exciting cooking done. This morning, however, I woke up to a nice, tidy kitchen, which is always a sign to me that Russ has gone on a long bike ride. He seems to think I won't complain about him not accomplishing household tasks if he leaves the kitchen spotless before he leaves (He's right!)  Clean kitchen always inspired me to cook.

Paige made deviled eggs, using chipotle chiles in Adobo Sauce for Easter from a recipe my sister-in-law sent me. They were so good, and I couldn't stop thinking about how good those flavors would be in potato salad. So, this morning, I gave it a try. It's just me and the dogs at home right now, so I haven't had any reviews yet, but I thought it was pretty good.


Chile-Cheddar Potato Salad

3 lbs  boiled Yukon Gold potatoes, cubed
3 eggs, hardboiled and cut into quarters
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1/3 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
2 Tbsp. canned chiles in Adobo Sauce, chopped
1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
1 tsp. salt (I used Murray River Salt because I'm a salt snob.)
2 Tbsp. chives, chopped
1/2 cup red or orange bell peppers, chopped
1 jalapeno, finely chopped (seeds and rind removed! I might only use 1/2 a jalapeno next time. The salad seemed to heat up throughout the day)

Combine mayonnaise, sour cream, cheddar cheese, chiles,  and paprika. Add to chopped potatoes and blend. Add chives, bell peppers, and jalapenos, and season with salt to taste. Chill.

I told Kai that this picture looks like he's about to do one of those "learning to dive" drops into the water. he thought that was pretty funny.

I "legally" ditched school yesterday afternoon so that I could go to Kai's league swim meet, which was about thirty minutes away from us. I was a little disappointed to be going alone because Russ had to work and couldn't go, but I was boosted by the fact that I had several bottled waters and my Nemesis socks in my bag, along with my book club latest book selection My Jane Austin Summer. I was happily sitting in the stands, talking to Kai and one of his friends before the meet started when their coach approached. I knew what that meant...."Can you time?" Awwww! So much for knitting! Oh well, I got a front seat to the action. Kai had a pretty good day individually, and his relay took first, which they had anticipated but not so dramatically. Kai had the anchor leg, and you can see his feet are off the blocks with a good margin before the kid next to him. They're hoping to win the 200 IM relay in the valley meet  which is in two weeks, if they all have a great day, but that's a big "if."

I did get to knit a little once I got home, and I'm feeling like this may be the 'try" that actually results in a finished socks. It was so nice getting comments from commiserating knitters. I really do wonder about myself sometimes, but it was good to hear that most knitters have the same experience of ending up with rows of "mindless" mistakes that have to be unraveled.

Hot Cross Buns

I always intend to bake hot cross buns on Good Friday, but I don't think I ever have followed through. I not only followed through today; I was even a little adventurous. I baked hot cross buns with my sourdough starter. I often use my starter as a yeast replacement with rolls or pizza dough, which usually results in finished products that are good but not identifiable as sourdough, so I thought why not try using my starter with a hot cross bun recipe. After looking around,  I discovered  a good-sounding recipe at The Fresh Loaf  and set to work improvising. My family didn't go crazy over my "wild yeast" Hot Cross Buns, but everyone agreed that they were very good. I used a full teaspoon of cinnamon, but next time, I think I'll only use a half since they aren't supposed to be cinnamon buns, after all.

Wild Yeast Hot Cross Buns


Makes 1 dozen buns
1 cup recently-fed sourdough
11/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
11/2 bread flour
1/8 cup sugar
1 cup warm (90-100 degrees) milk
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup raisins, currants, or dried fruit
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

Glaze: 1/2 cup powdered sugar 1 tablespoon lemon juice

In a large mixing bowl, mix together sourdough starter, flour, yeast, sugar, salt, and spices. Add the warm milk and butter and mix until all ingredients are combined. I had to add a little more flour to get the flour to the right consistency, where it was soft but not sticky  I used my Kitchen Aid with my dough hook for about ten minutes and then added in 1/2 cup of raisins, kneading by hand. Place dough to a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours until the dough has doubled in size. When it has risen, pour the dough out onto a cutting board and divide into 12 pieces. Roll the pieces into balls and place on a greased baking surface (I used a 9 x 13 pan). Cover the pan and allow to rise until they double in size again, typically 45 minutes to 1 hour.

While the buns are rising, preheat the oven to 425 degrees. When the buns are ready to bake, beat the egg in a bowl and brush some over the top of the buns. Then put the buns in the oven and bake at 425 for 20 minutes. Remove and allow to cool for 5 or 10 minutes.  While the buns are cooling, make the glaze by combining the lemon juice with the powdered sugar (you can also use orange juice, milk, or water if you don't have lemon juice around). I used a pastry bag,  to paint the crosses on top of the buns.

Is It a Bakery Yet?

As usual, it seems like this vacation just zoomed by although this one seemed a little longer than normal because we weren't traveling as we so often do. As I told some of my friends at work today. I don't want to work, but if I have to, I have a pretty nice job. The only bad thing is that my department head is still crazy, which I never anticipated when she got the position last year. She's never shown any interest in curruculum development at all, so I thought for sure that she would have settled down by now with the orders from on high. Department chairs are not administrators at our school, so she has no business dictating curruculum, especially to other veteran teachers. I didn't go into teaching to mindlessly follow someone else, especially someone who thinks that the problem with English classes is that we don't teach like they did in 1975. I love working as a team, but start bossing me around and it torques me off, and then I'm not too fun to be around. This has had nothing to do with knitting other than I'm glad that I have it to help get my mind off of it once I get home. I don't agonize over my students and how they act. It's their "job" to be immature and unmotivated. I accept that it's part of my job to get them to work inspite of themselves, but I hate when other adults make teaching a pain.

I can't remember how long ago it was that I decided I was going to knit my nieces a "bakery." I've been half-heartedly working on it throughout the fall. I think my original plan was to finish it for Christmas. Now I'm not sure that I really know what constitutes a bakery. I've had fun knitting the doughnuts, but they're getting old, and I'm not crazy about the cupcakes that I knit last spring. They seem a little too "mammary." (LOL) I did splurge and buy a really cute tart pattern on ravelry. I also knit a slice of cherry pie, but Kai said it looked like a tumor. I kind of agreed with him, so I frogged it, and I'm trying one more time. I think I'll call it quits once I finish the slice of pie to my satisfaction.

Personal note: Karen, I was so excited to get your comment. I love your mom and thought your dad was such a wonderful person. I'm a little intimidated having you read my blog though because you're an artist, and I'm a...a crafter. I still remember a drawing of a quilt you did for your mom. It seems like it was the friendship pattern, but I didn't know that back then.