Baked

First let me say, that game last night almost polished me off. I love the Canucks, but why do they insist on torturing us? Game 7 is tomorrow, and the Stanley Cup will be given to the winner. Please let that be the Vancouver Canucks.

Back from a few days in Victoria, and now just doing some post production and a little baking. I have to keep up my energy for this. ;) Hope your week is off to a good start! Did you all have a good weekend?

I originally found this recipe via Alton Brown, but then a lovely woman I worked with once, suggested I add some baking soda to the mix. I also added a sprinkle of corn meal. Worked out well, so I thought I'd share it with you guys. These are not, technically, "baked", they're similar in cooking method to crumpets.

English Muffins - makes one dozen

1/2 cup non-fat powdered milk
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vegetable shortening
1 cup hot water
1 packet of dry yeast
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon sugar
1/3 cup warm water
2 cups all purpose flour, sifted
A little cornmeal for sprinkling
(This recipe suggests using an electric griddle, but I don't have one, so I used a large cast iron pan.)

Combine the powdered milk, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, shortening and hot water, in a bowl and stir until salt and sugar are dissolved. Let cool. In another bowl combine the yeast, 1/8 teaspoon of sugar and 1/3 cup warm water and let sit until the yeast starts to foam. Add the yeast mixture to the dry milk mixture, then add the sifted flour and beat thoroughly with a wooden spoon. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and let rise for 30 minutes in a warm spot.

If you have an electric griddle, preheat to 300f. I set my cast iron pan on the stove on medium low heat.
Add the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt and one teaspoon of baking soda to the dough and mix again, with wooden spoon, thoroughly. Lightly coat the metal rings with vegetable oil and place on griddle/pan. Spoon dough into rings, filling only 1/2 way. Sprinkle a little corn meal on top of each. Sit a cookie sheet, or in my case, a small cake pan, on top of rings and cook for about 5-6 minutes.

Remove lid and flip rings using tongs or a spatula. Cover with lid again, and cook for another 5-6 minutes, or until golden brown. Allow to cool on a wire rack, then enjoy any which way you want!

I like mine with a hard boiled egg, basil and cheese. My husband goes for Vegemite. 

Have a great day! Back soon.
janis

Friday, I love you

Just got home from a shoot, and now to race down and watch the Canucks in game 5. Please play better tonight boys. For you hockey fans out there, below is a snap of Roberto Luongo and Simon Gagne at a bar after the World Jr.'s wrapped up in Winnipeg. It was 1999 and they were only 18. Even though Canada had to settle for silver (Russia won that year) Luongo played way better than he has, of late. ;)

Have a great weekend everyone! Back soon!

janis

Sunday Observations

Hello everyone! Here are a few things I've taken notice of today....

I hope I haven't jinxed this series now. Gulp. Go Canucks! Click here, for the pretzel recipe. Bags were just printed on my home printer. Easy.

I also checked out Marisa Seguin's Print Shop on Etsy. This girl is good. I love her city posters.

Click here, to check out her beautiful shop. 

Those are a few of the things I observed today. Oh, and Blogger still hasn't restored my missing comments. ;) What did you get up to? Let me know!

Back soon!

janis

Baked on Monday - Cheese and Garlic Pretzels

Just got back from NYC, and wish I could have stayed another day or two! Such a fantastic city and so much to see.

It's October, the hockey season has just started, and I have NY pretzels on my brain, so I thought I'd share a fantastic cheese and garlic pretzel recipe with you. Perfect with beer.

Cheese and Garlic Pretzels - makes 8
(recipe by Brandon Boone)

1 3/4 cups 'best for bread' flour (I used "Robin Hood" brand)
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 packet (8g) quick rising yeast
1 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon honey
1 cup hot water
1 large egg, beaten
1 cup finely grated fresh parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons garlic powder

Place the flour, yeast and salt in a food processor and blend. Dissolve honey in hot water and slowly add to flour mixture, while processor is running. Mix well. The dough should be smooth and elastic.
Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl, turning to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let stand in a warm spot for about 30 minutes, or until dough doubles in size.

Punch down dough and knead, on a lightly floured surface, until smooth. Divide dough into 8 equal pieces and roll each one into a long rope, about 18" long. Twist each rope into a pretzel shape and place onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Cover with a tea towel and let stand for another 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375f. Fill a large pot halfway with water and bring to a boil. Add 2 pretzels and parboil until puffed and shape is set - about 3 minutes. Transfer back to parchment paper lined baking sheet. Continue with remaining pretzels.

Combine cheese and garlic powder in a bowl and mix well. Brush each pretzel with egg and sprinkle generously with cheese mixture. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve warm.

If you're in the Vancouver area, try these pretzels with a Main Street Pilsner . It's the new "beer on the block" and it's deeelicious.

I leave you with a picture of the view from our hotel room in NYC. Wasn't a great hotel, but the view was pretty beautiful. See you Wednesday!

Drum roll please.....

The winner of the my first giveaway, for an Evokativ Canadiana t-shirt, is Passport in My Pocket.  Congratulations!  Thanks to all who participated. It was fun....I'm going to have to do this more often.

Due to an "Olympic" size hangover, I'm keeping it light today. I don't over do it often, but when I do it's not good. That was some hockey game! 

Until Wednesday, I leave you with a shot of a Julio Iglesias record in a tree. Poor Julio.

I've been tagged!

The lovely Vanessa, at Designs by Vanessa, tagged me, so here I go. Never been tagged before, so I'm learning something new in the blog world!

1. Your hair? It's dark brown, slightly wavy, and can be very frizzy...which is most often as I live in a very rainy city. It also needs to be cut!!
2. Your favorite food? Maple syrup. It's a condiment, really. Very Canadian, and it goes with everything.
3. Your favorite drink? If I was bad, I'd say sparkling wine or champagne, but because I'm not bad, I'll say ginger ale (the champagne of ginger ales).
4. Your dream/goal? My Aussie husband and I would love to have a little house tucked away in the Victorian (Australia) countryside, and a little cabin in the tropics somewhere. Sigh. I'll keep dreaming.
5. Your hobby? My new hobby seems to be knitting. I've made 3 scarves in the last 2 weeks. They're actually not too bad, but I wouldn't want to show any 'real' knitters!
6. Your fear? A real knitter seeing my scarves! That and body scanners. They see EVERYTHING.
7. Where were you last night? Unfortunately, I was busy watching the Canadian Jr. hockey team lose, in OT, to the U.S. team at the Cascade Room. Being a "good sport" I have to say congratulations U.S.A.!
8. Something you say all the time? Well, I think I'm the same as Vanessa. I say 'fabulous' way too often. My husband would say that I say "it's true, and you know it" way too much!
9. Something that you’re not? Sporty. I don't play sports, but I like to watch sports. I'm not overly outdoorsy either.
I've attached this video of a very sweet song called 'Outdoor Type' by Evan Dando. Vanessa, I think you'll like it too!

10. Wishlist item? A new bathroom.
11. Last thing you did? Spoke to the editor of International Architecture and Design, about a shoot.
12. What are you wearing? I feel like lying, but I won't. Stretchy pants with paints splotches, an old sweater, and mismatched socks. Pretty.
13. Your pets? We had a perfect dog, Plugger, but he died last summer.
14. Friends? Amazing and supportive group of people.
15. Missing someone? Plugger and Nikki (she's in England for the next while).
16. Something you’re not wearing? Anything nice.
17. Your favorite store? Walrus, in Vancouver, and Kabinett in Kyneton (Australia).
18. Your favorite color? Teal(ish) blue, turquoise, greens. It's hard to name just one colour. I love them all, really!
19. The last time you cried? I'm sobbing right now! Ha-ha. I probably cried a couple of days ago. Doesn't take much.
20. When's the last time you laughed? A few minutes ago, with the editor of the magazine I'm shooting a story for. We were laughing about all the great new underwear we should be buying in case we have to go through entire body scanners (see 'fears' above).
21. One place that I go to over and over? Chinatown.
22. Where do you eat? My husband is one of the owners of a couple of restaurants, Habit and The Cascade Room, so we go there often! Oh, and Latitude, my brother's restaurant.

Some of my favourite things. Chinatown, hockey, and maple syrup.

I really don't know how this works, but I think it's my turn to tag a few fellow bloggers. Here we go!
Tiny Warbler
Welcome Home - A Guide to Modern Living
Little Happy Things
Blue Hydrangea