weekend update June 2, 2013

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal"

Winston Churchill

There are about 250,000 words in American English, about 50,000 of them in common use, and there are an average of 800 new words added to the language every year.

I present for your consideration new word 801: a word stitched together when no single word would do.

A word to describe most of what went on in and made it's way out of this unassuming kitchen this week.

 Satisfaction (fullfillment) + Gratification (enjoyment)  =

GRATISFACTION

It all started when something went right.

Something sort of like the best mashed potatoes I ever made.

The chicken decided strike a gruesomely underdone pose for this photo
but I assure you, not a single unpleasant surprise on the plate.

The next night brought another hit. A wild, unbelievable hit. 

This absolutely fun and amazing bread recipe that became the crust for our homemade pizza. 

 Know that I am not a novice at the bread baking game- I know all about the floury, rigourously kneaded, goo crusted, multiple bowl mess that it takes to produce most loaves of homemade bread. 

I've done the hair-dough hair-do too

So when I tell you that this wonderfully written, easy to follow, terrifically illustrated, brilliantly simple recipe is a bread winner, you can trust me. If you've never made bread before, this is where to start. If you've made bread and love the result but hate the work, try this method and prepare to have your mind blown.
 The recipe is intended to be made into a round loaf, but I smashed the dough into a sort of pizza shape before the second rising, then sauced it and topped it, and here it is-

A side view is the only way to truly appreciate the bubbly layers
of yeasty chewy goodness created by this recipe.

Two up at bats, two solid hits. And on the third night....

The end of the search for a great homemade salsa

Tilt your noses back earthward, salsa snobs- I too know the labor intensive pleasures of a farmer's market fresh bowl of pico. But jarred or fresh, I've not tasted the equal of  this easy-peasy cheap and breezy salsa recipe.  I reduced the quantities to one can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes and  one can of tomatoes and chilies, simply because I didn't want a huge mixing bowlful of the unknown and untested. The only other change I made was the substitution of a spoonful of chipotle for the jalapeno. Because it was just easier than prepping the jalapeno.
Oh, that's not true.
I confess,I just can't take the heat.   I may have grown up in the south, but  I am a bit of a wuss when it comes to spicy heat.
I'm a great big spice baby. Hmm...perhaps I should clarify that.

NOT a great big baby spice               a great big whimpers-at-a-jalapeno spice baby.

Whether you go for the bright fire of a jalapeno or the deeper, milder burn of chipotle, think about trying this out. We were so smitten with it that we only stopped scooping it up when we ran out of chips. And then we put it on burgers, and then we put it on eggs for breakfast. 

So it was with a confident swagger that I approached the plate with an idea for a substitution. An idea to use a self-concocted mix of gluten free flours for half of the wheat flour in the no-knead bread recipe.

She swings.....she strikes.

As it turns out, expecting gluten free flour to do what wheat flour does in a yeast bread is a little like, well,

"Yes you DO smell nail polish remover.
 Yes I DID use it to top up the tank.
What? Well, it OUGHT to work! 
It's just as clear and smelly and
 flammable as gasoline!"

The result was....edible when warm and buttered.

And the next day, there was the bacon for the wedge salad, sizzling happily toward golden crispiness when the dryer buzzed. So, of course, I emptied the dryer, and then loaded the washer, and folded a few towels before I remembered.... the bacon! A little too late. Perhaps you're one of those who know that cookie batches stopped burning themselves around here the day that I learned to use a (very loud)  kitchen timer.
 Now, if only someone would invent a timer that would alert me before the bacon burns...

Oh wait.
They have. It's called
STAYING IN THE KITCHEN
WHEN SOMETHING'S COOKING ON THE STOVE!

The home audience was kind enough to declare it the sort of extra crispy bacon he especially liked.
 (The home audience is justly famous for the speed with which he can come up with these gracious little falsehoods.)

A couple of instructive, non-fatal failures aside, it was a week of gratifying effort that yielded way more than satisfying results. 

And that's what I hope for your week too.

I hope that the pieces of this week fit together on the first try.

I hope that when you try something new this week, it exceeds your expectations.

And I hope that this week, whether you find yourself creating

a spread or a spreadsheet, 

you can take a step back, admire the work of your hands

and tell yourself, with deep gratisfaction,

" Yeah, I made that."