Now, on to other, more important matters. Food. Specifically, bread.
I doubled the recipe because I wanted one plain loaf, and one cinnamon swirl loaf. It's nice that bread recipes multiply so easily. The only thing I did with this batch that was a little unusual is to take it out of the mixer and knead it by hand briefly. Partly this was because it wasn't making a coherent mass in the mixer and I needed to get my hands on it to see if this was an issue of the mixer or an issue of the dough. It was the mixer, it turned into a lovely, silky ball after only a short time kneading it. My wrists protested, so I put it back in the mixer (with the dough hook) for an additional few minutes of mixer kneading. Both loaves turned out nice and light, so I guess it got kneaded enough. I need to work on my dough shaping capabilities. I don't ever seem to get it even enough when I roll it out for shaping, so I end up with slightly lopsided loaves. It doesn't seem to affect texture (or flavor), but I like pretty loaves. I also remembered to turn my oven temp down a little this time. I use glass loaf pans, and I my gas is propane, so if I bake the loaves at 350, they end up really dark, even when I tent them. This time I baked them at 325, and everything worked out lovely.
My sweetie has been working most evenings lately, so my dinners have been thrown together noodle affairs. I rather wish I had taken a picture of Monday's dinner, it actually turned out quite pretty (as well as quite delicious). Sunday night I had buckwheat soba noodles in a quick peanut sauce with vegetables. Monday night I had rice noodles in the rest of the peanut sauce with vegetables. Both were very delicious. The rice noodles had a bit more eye appeal, but the soba noodles were (surprise!) quite a bit heartier.
Peanut Sauce (so not precise, because, really, why measure, it's all to taste anyway)
peanut butter (smooth or crunchy, preferably natural and unsalted, but whatever pb you prefer will work)
rice vinegar (seasoned)
chili garlic sauce
soy sauce
sesame oil (optional)
ginger (fresh or ground, optional)
Put all ingredients in a bowl. Mix to combine. Amounts will vary depending on your taste and how much sauce you are making, don't worry about it, just mix away.
Cook noodles of your choice according to package directions. Add some frozen mixed vegetables to the noodles in the last minute or two of cooking time (or if you soak the noodles in the hot water before draining, add the veggies just before you turn off the heat, bring the water back to the boil and then turn off the heat and soak as directed). Splash a little of the cooking water over the sauce and mix. Drain noodles and vegetables. Add to bowl with sauce and toss to coat. Eat up baby!
