Face your fears

Ever since I had dinner at my cousin Betsey's house a couple weeks ago I have been on a cookbook craze. She made this chicken recipe and it was quite delicious. After dinner the boys, Lucy & I went to play 4 square outside (Lucy loves 4 square). Right as we were leaving, I guess another family member asked about the recipe and Betts had the cookbook on the counter flipped to the page w/ the chicken recipe. I then learned it was my aunt Awah's old cookbook and one of her favorite recipes. I was immediately drawn to the conversation because a) I love Awah and she passed away 10 years ago from breast cancer (!). I know at the time I wasn't interested in writing down impressive recipes and learning cullinary skills from her (so I'm trying to do it now) and b) let's just face it, I read cookbooks like they're, well, books.

So, when I got home I ordered The Silver Palate cookbooks from Amazon. Yay! Then this week I went to Greensboro's finest (that I know of ) used bookstore: Edward McKay and found a classic Moosewood cookbook.

A couple weeks ago I was waiting at the cancer center w/ Mom reading allll of the outdated magazines they have. Seriously, they have mags in there from the '90's! Anyways, it was probably Redbook or Town & Country, something mom-ish like that. I was just perusing through a cooking article and came across this: 'hot water kills yeast'. Insert: angel's voices while the clouds parted for the sun to shine through! Aaahh, that's what I've been doing wrong! Not that I bake w/ yeast all the time, because I can't tell you the last time I did, but I do know I've made some flat hockey puck biscuits that N&A probably played w/ in the backyard.

Anyways, I was on a mission. I found a recipe in my new Moosewood cookbook for challah bread. I got the ingredients and began facing my fear of failed yeast attempts. It took forever, as breads usually do, but it was worth it! Yummy, yummy challah bread! So face those fears of yeast, I know I sure did, and remember to make sure the water is lukewarm!















P.S. I have poison ivy on my face!! Are you sitting there wondering how I got it on my face?! Yeah, I was too cause it's not like I go rolling around in it. But wait. Who usually rolls around anyways? Um, that would be Petalicious. And I do like to give Petals kisses. Darn. But who can resist this sweetness?!