Category Archives: Posts

baking bread

Posts, , , ,

Baking-BreadBaking bread has never looked easier and I am eager to try it. Also NAEYC says that baking bread encourages many different kinds of learning in children so I want to practice so that I can bake with Emma one day.

To begin I am going to try a simple recipe for No-Knead Bread. I don’t actually have a pot or anything to bake it in so I have been researching that too. Of course I would love to invest in a Le Creuset piece because they are so beautiful and heirloom quality and all that but they are also sooo expensive. Probably purchase a Lodge cast iron or colored enamel dutch oven instead. The all black cast iron does not have a problem with the knobs, or so I have read, so the cheaper one seems to be the better choice. And dutch ovens are so handy for everything! Baking bread sounds so wonderful so I am gonna do it!

I have been so spoiled when it comes to buying artisanal bread in Berkeley. Do I get Acme fresh daily (pain de mie is my favorite) or buy a sliced loaf from nearby Bread Workshop?  We love their bread makers and so many of their items (french white batards, asiago rolls, aleppo pepper rounds, pretzles, baguettes!) but its just too draining to go in there (unless Luisa is there ^_^ ). Semifreddi’s has excellent challah and the cinnamon kind is off the hook but for everyday bread I am want something that makes a good egg-in-a-hole. I have been getting loaves of Metropolis Baking Company’s Polynesian Brand bread from the Country Cheese Co. and its pretty good for that purpose.

Not sure where my bread baking adventures will lead me. Hoping that I can slice my bread into good pieces. But then I realize I don’t have a good cutting board or bread knife. _ Anyone have any tips for bread making or the items that I will need? The internet has so many good recipes that I want to start baking right away! Love that internet.

artwork Baking Bread by Helen Mary Elizabeth Allingham, R.W.S.

post freak out

Posts, , , , ,

emma and mamaHi there! I am on my second week of being a stay-at-home mom. Yup, plans changed and as maiki always says, “you may reserve the right to freak out at any time” and I did. So, here I am post freak-out. I decided that being away from Emma Clover was really not a good idea for me anymore and we are following through with that. Luckily I just completed my tax return and maiki has lots of work so that helps. As for me and Clover being together all the time it is positively wonderful and the result of spending so much time apart means that we appreciate our days together very much.

What I have learned so far:

I have found that buying coffee beans rather than one cup at a time saves me lots of money. I know this may seem obvious but I have treated myself for working by going and getting coffee and now I don’t need to do that.

Emma is still messy even when I am here to pick up after her all day and night. She is only sixteen months so she cleans as well as a sixteen month old can. And I have to let my space be a mess.

I like to shop. Its a dumb habit but I am trying to quit the urge to buy things every time I leave the house and not going to get a coffee means that I want to get something else. I am really trying hard not to do that. Instead I spend $15 dollars a time at the grocery store since I can literally go every day. It is nice to have the freedom but like I said its addictive.

I had a routine and now its quite loose. Emma and I wake up, eat, go out, eat, she naps, eat, play, eat and it continues until bedtime. However I need to prioritize showering or I can go for three days and realize that I feel yucky and miss bathing on a regular basis. This is important stuff!

Emma likes to be with me but also do her own thing. We read, color, play with blocks, explore outside, the park and the library. As a preschool teacher I look for teachable moments all the time and being with Emma means that I have this opportunity always with my own child. Its so exciting and I look forward to the person that she is becoming.

I am also looking forward to free museum days coming up and although she may be young its an outing that we will all go to as a family. Also maiki and I are planning a date to Samovar in Yerba Buena gardens on that day so its a date!