Alice in Ovenland Thanksgiving!
An Alice In Ovenland Thanksgiving from Peter Serko on Vimeo.
What happened to the “boring” part?
The saying goes…“The first year they scare you to death. The second year they work you to death. The third year they bore you to death.” Not. True. Year three is off with a vengeance! Barely had time to blink in the last two weeks, let alone bake and blog. Truth be told: I just spent two amazing weekends away at weddings. Danced my socks off (if I wore socks). Even got a stress induced flu to prove it.
I am finally settling back into work, research projects, trial team prep (Yes. I am on a Trial Team. Two actually. Nerd!), networking events, commuting and school. The stress is already piling up…meaning it is time to bake. Good news: I spent hours last week baking up a storm with my best girl friends to create a delectable dessert bar for a good friend’s wedding over the weekend. I will post recipes from the extravaganza shortly! Keep checking in for the baking and blogging (venting) to come! Happy Fall!
The Best Bread Ever. Really, Ever.
I am a bread person. Plain and simple. Always have been, always will be. I mean…I eat a healthy balance of fruits, vegetables and proteins, and am careful to mix in complex carbohydrates like oatmeal, quinoa and brown rice. I hydrate. I exercise like a maniac. I only sample my sweets. I avoid soda. I drink in moderation. But…there is one thing that I wouldn’t dare “moderating”, and you guessed it, it is bread. I am not talking about your average sliced sandwich bread, but a quality loaf of fresh-from-the-bakery, hard on the outside chewy on the inside, BREAD. The kind of bread panini’s only dream about. And the kind of bread one Portland bakery cranks out daily.
A few weeks ago, a high school friend of my father was in town (which is rare considering my father went to high school 3,000 miles away from here). This high school friend’s son tagged along with his girlfriend, both roughly my age and Portland residents. Thank God. At 26, I would not feel like the only “kid” at the table. Little did I know that this son happens to work at Fleur De Lis Bakery and Cafe in Northeast Portland, and would arrive with bread in tow. Loaves and loaves of bread in tow. One particularly large loaf was described as “sandwich” bread with a slightly sourdough taste. I was skeptical. This looks nothing like any sandwich bread I know!
But the bread lover that I am, I couldn’t let it go to waste! We sliced it up, bagged it and tossed it in the freezer. The next morning as I wandered around the kitchen hemming and hawing over what to whip up, I popped a slice of this mystery sandwich bread in the toaster just to hold me over. Unaware of what was about to hit me, I spread on a bit of butter and bit in. Oh.My.God.
This is the best bread I have ever tasted. Wait, it might be the best thing I have ever tasted (as if this bread were just a “thing”). How good you ask? It is so good that when my parents happened to be traveling to Portland the following weekend, they walked 7 miles round trip to Fleur De Lis, just for this bread. So good that they purchased one of those weird granny, personal grocery rollers to stuff with loaves (and loaves) of bread to bring home (sorry mom—I know you think it’s totally hip and EURO). Three giant loaves of “sandwich” bread, one bag of ciabatta rolls and several wheat rolls later, the freezer is stuffed. I only hope Fleur De Lis believes in overnight shipping, otherwise my new food obsession could come with a hefty gas bill. What can I say? I guess we are bread people.
Fleur De Lis Bakery & Cafe is located at 3930 NE Hancock St, in Portland, Oregon and open Monday thru Friday from 7am to 4pm, Saturday & Sunday 8am to 3pm.
Cut the Fat: The Best Baking Substitutes
Worried about the fat? The best substitutes can be just as tasty as the real thing! Although it is my belief that moderation is key to overall health (well…also a lot of running), I know people love to experiment with healthier options to quench their cravings without (as much) guilt.
