Haiku Tuesday: Post Holiday Rainy Drive

I took an impromptu holiday break. Not that there was much to break from; I've only been doing a haiku once a week. Things got crazy at my house, but it was lots of fun. When you don't have internet at home, a major change of routine makes it difficult to keep things steady. Though I'm not complaining at all. I had a wonderful Christmas this year. My whole family came to my house.

I spent most of today driving in the rain. I had a 6 hour trip from the southeastern part of the state to the northwestern.  Then last week, I went on a camping trip with my sister, and there was rain. So naturally, the haiku is about rain.


Windshield streaks blur red
and yellow highway lights as
gray skies turn to black

Haiku Tuesday: Creative Writing Prompts

Through some grades in school, we had to do daily journal writing. I had a love/hate relationship with prompts. I wanted to write whatever I wanted, but I often found myself enjoying the prompt halfway through the writing.

A while back, I was looking for ideas for my mom's website, and found "Creative Writing Now." Reading some articles from the site helped remind me that you can write things just for fun or to challenge yourself. Sometimes I forget that it's okay to do something that's not entirely productive.

I thought of that site today because I was thinking about how un-inspiring my haiku have been. I remembered that they don't have to be good. I like writing them. I also remembered Creative Writing Now's list of poetry prompts and decided I'd try to haiku a few.

I like most of the prompts but decided to go with "2. A particular color." I remember my first winter on the mountain. The ice, the fog, the gray & white.. I didn't realize how much I love green until I spotted green through parting fog.

I love no color

more than when glimpsing spring's green

amidst winter's drear

Haiku Tuesday: Burn Ban

Ah, those were the days!

I want to build a fire, but most of southeast and northwest Arkansas is under what has been a lengthy burn ban. Mostly, I haven't built a fire in a while and just feel like practicing! I've also been wanting to learn to start a fire with a bow drill. I've been able to start one with flint and steel for some time, but I'd like to add the bow drill to my repertoire.

I think I'm going to make some marshmallows since I can't roast any.  But for now, here's my sad haiku.

No marshmallows are
Toasted and no wieners roasted
Til the rain returns

I'm in need of some camping soon!  After Thanksgiving, but before Christmas, hopefully.  I'm thinking of checking out Leroy Percy State Park in Mississippi to kayak or going bike riding, maybe backpacking at Cane Creek State Park in Arkansas. I could do either as a day trip, and with the burn ban, I may. Just a day out, taking a break will be nice.

I'm excited that I live closer to my family for Thanksgiving this year. We're celebrating on Wednesday because my sister works on Thursday.

I'm also working on a weaving tutorial series of posts. The first one should be up before the end of the month, with the second not far behind. I'm going to start with very basic instructions and weaving newspaper. 

Haiku Tuesday: Cypress Knees

I have a fondness for cypress trees. They aren't my all time favorite tree, but they are definitely in the top 5. For me, they are part of home. They are the tree equivalent of Emeril Lagasse's "kicking it up a notch," taking "just a lake" and making it an adventure. They feel prehistoric and can give character

to any body of water, especially when they have their buddy, Spanish moss, hanging out in the limbs.

Friendship Garden's Tea House

When I visited Phoenix, I went to a bonsai exhibit at the Japanese Friendship Garden. The exhibit was great, and I really enjoyed my trip to the garden.
A few of the bonsai on display were different kinds of cypress trees. I asked one of the gentlemen if the bonsai version ever grew knees. He didn't know what I was talking about. We finally understood one another, and he said he'd never seen one with knees other than in pictures.  I had never really thought about it and had taken for granted that cypress trees were the same everywhere. When I thought it more, I realized I had seen some growing around Fayetteville that didn't have knees.

When I got home, I researched it. Growing up, I had always thought cypress knees were to help the tree get air. I never questioned that and never really thought about it. When I researched it, I found that a study was conducted measuring the air exchange in air only around the knees. It was minimal. No evidence has been found that the knees help support the tree, as in the case of mango trees. The general conclusion is that cypress trees are a mystery. I'm sure there are many more studies, and I intend to read through some more.

Yesterday, Boudreaux and I walked down to the lake to catch the last bit of sunset. There's a neat spot behind the campground across the road from my house where you can walk to the edge of the water. I like to walk down there when there aren't any campers (or mosquitoes!). I took a couple of pictures and started thinking about today's haiku on the walk back to the house.

Knees that can never
bend but stretch from below for
mystery alone

Why do you think cypress trees have knees?

Haiku Tuesday!

I have always liked haiku. The challenge of expressing a whole emotion or idea in such a short and constrained manner just appeals to me.
A couple of years ago, I even tried writing a haiku every day for 30 days. I did keep it up for a couple of weeks. I even illustrated most of them. Then it snowed, and I got distracted by playing outside.

I've decided to start writing them again. I won't have a goal as lofty as one day, but I think one a week is realistic. Some of them, okay, most of them, will probably not be very good, but I like to challenge myself and solve puzzles. To me, a haiku is a creative word puzzle. This will help me stretch my brain. Plus, it will be fun.

Why Tuesday? Because it has a "u" in it and sounded better than "haiku Thursday".  So without
further ado:

Rains refuse to come
While trees remain clothed in green

Forgotten by Fall

Our weather has been uncharacteristically warm, with very dry conditions. The only leaves on the ground are there from lack of water. There are very few fall colors and the lake is very low. 

Feel like trying your hand at a haiku? Try it out and share the results in the comments!

Highpointers and Hills

For several years, I lived very close to Arkansas's highest point. I hiked to the top of at least once, nearly every week.  At the top was a  well cared for and rather large sign announcing the elevation and a mailbox containing a logbook.  The logbook would fill every couple of months,  and I was often granted the pleasure if being the one to exchange it for a new one.  I enjoyed reading some of the entries while it was temporarily in my keeping, and that is where I learned about highpointers for the very first time.

You'll have to visit to see what's at the top!

Denali

Highpointers are people who have made it their aspiration, their hobby, their passion to reach the summit of the highest point in every state.  (There is also a group that aims for the highest point in every county,  but that's for another time.) For those of you who may be a little rusty on your geography,  that includes the 14,440' Mount Elbert in Colorado, the 14,494' Mount Whitney in California, and the famous 20,320' Denali in Alaska.  Just  to throw out there for fun, Arkansas's Mount Magazine, is 2,753' tall, meaning it would take just over 7 Mount Magazines stacked up to reach the height of Denali!

At first,  I  simply thought "huh. Well that's cool,"  and moved on. Then as I saw more logbook entries,  read their stories, visited the websites like highpointers.org and summitpost.org, and conversed with highpointers, the idea began sinking into my brain.  I don't remember when I decided it. I don't know if there was a specific moment that it became a goal. But I decided to start visiting highpoints.
My goal is to visit at least 40 of the 50. Denali,  Whitney, and a few others are technical climbs, requiring specific skills,  physical conditioning, and practice.  I would like to climb a mountain like that some day,  but I feel like it's naive for me to believe I could climb a monster like Denali.  It would take time,  finances, and dedication that, at this point,  I'm not sure I'd ever be willing to invest in such a pursuit.  But  stand on top of the shorter 40?  I have no doubt I can accomplish that.

I've obviously been to Arkansas's highpoint, and I accidentally visited Missouri's a few years ago. However, my first intentional trip to visit to a highpoint was just a couple weeks ago. A friend and I visited Driskill Mountain, or Driskill Hill depending on who you ask, in Louisiana. I walked to the 535' summit on a trail that was about half a mile long.  At the top was a panel with some history, a logbook, and a couple of benches.

The area was heavily wooded, but there was still a little bit of a view. The highpoint and trails are on private land, but the landowners graciously keep up the trails and allow people to hike on them.  If you decide to visit, there are lots of criss crossing paths, so be sure to pay attention to the trail blazes.

On the trip, we camped at Lake Claiborne State Park in Louisiana. The park was nearly empty, and I enjoyed staying there. Our site was right on the water and had plenty of trees for hammock. My friend slept in a tent, but there was no designated tent pad. Instead he pitched it on the asphalt for RVs. I loaned him a self inflating sleeping pad. I also took advantage of this opportunity to cooking frozen biscuits in my homemade steam baker. I've made them from mix but frozen was new. They had a slightly different texture on the outside but turned out well.

DIY Backpack Steam Baker

Steam Baker!

I made a backpack-able steam oven! Check it out.

Ok, so I didn't make the WHOLE thing. I turned my MSR stow away pot and my MSR pocket rocket into a BNO Steam Baker. (What?! It seemed like it needed initials, so I gave it mine.)

I saw a somewhat expensive backpacking steam oven set up for sale online. Once I got to thinking about it, I decided I could probably convert my regular pot into one fairly easily. With some brainstorming help from Ranger D. and Ranger P., and a short supply run, I was able to make cornbread.

Mmmm! Buttermilk cornbread.

All that I had to actually purchase were some silicone baking cups and the cornbread mix. I wanted to use the same type of mix I'd pack if I were camping, which meant a "Just Add Water" type.

It took me less than an hour to make it. That's counting the time it took to decide which kind of bolt and which drill bit I wanted to use.
  
 My guy is probably going to want one for his overnight kayaking. If I make his, I'll take pictures and post a how to. If I don't, I'll stage pictures and post a how to anyway. :)

See, no golden brown, but it was still tasty!

 So the pros:

• I can bake while backpacking, Cool!
• It weighs 3.1 oz. 
• It was way cheap to make. 
• It was way easy to make. 

The Cons:

• Stuff you bake in it will not brown. 
• It weighs 3.1 oz (but baking...!)
• It gave the cornbread a different texture. Not a bad one, just a little bit different.
• After I spent the time thinking and working on it, I found a silicone thing for $10 that does the same thing... 
• You're going to use a bit of fuel to bake something. The cornbread took about 15 minutes at around 1/2 power. But if you're going on a trip where you don't mind the extra 3 oz, you are probably going on a trip where that little extra fuel is okay to use.

Here's a picture if you want to work it out yourself, before I do the how to.

Or you can drop the $10 plus shipping and order the silicone one from PackIt Gourmet. They also have a kit that includes the silicone cups, a whisk, and a pot scraper for $20. My silicone cups were just under $4 for 8 of them.


Can't wait to take it on the trail next week!

Travel & Trails

Mom and I went on a trip together. We didn't do the things we planned, but we had a great time.

We picked Ha Ha Tonka State Park because we wanted to see the "castle" ruins. The story of the ruins is pretty cool, though a little bit sad. There is a .4 mile mostly paved trail that goes out to it. You can't go into it or climb on it, but it's neat to walk around and peak through the windows. I wonder if the area would've became a park if the house hadn't burned.

Apparently, Ha Ha Tonka is also home to the 12th largest spring in Missouri. They sprang that on us (haha..see what I did there&  there?) when we stopped in the visitor center. I'm a sucker for visitor centers and I really wanted a Ha Ha Tonka State Park shirt. They only had one shirt that said Ha Ha Tonka, and it didn't come in my size. Apparently Missouri is doing "The Year of the Trail," including a neat challenge issued by the governor to travel 100 miles of trail. That's awesome, cause that's my goal for the year, too! So I bought a hiking medallion for it. I also bought a Ha Ha Tonka medallion.


We planned a backpacking trip on Turkey Penn Hollow trail. We loaded up our packs and headed off on the supposedly 6.5 mile trail. We hadn't been hiking long when it started storming. Around mile 5.5, when we discovered the backpacking camp was after that marker, we decided to go on and hike out. We thought it was only 6.5 miles. Turns out, the mileage doesn't start at the parking lot. The Turkey Penn Hollow trail starts & ends partially down another trail, making the mileage for it a little over 7.5 miles.

Mom says it still counts as backpacking because we did the whole thing with our packs on. :)

Not staying on the trail for the night gave us an extra day on our trip. We went to the George Washington Carver Monument National Park.

Hiking Challenge

Random odd thing

I enjoy hiking, and I love seeing new places. I like the little random odd things as much as the big cool things. Lately, I've done most of my hiking all in one spot, and while at work.

I decided to challenge myself, to help myself branch out a little.

Before the end of the year, I'm going to cover 100 non-work miles of trail, by running or hiking, with at least half them not in Mount Magazine State Park.

I already went to Pedestal Rocks & King's Bluff. They were 2 loop trails that totaled around  4.3 miles.

Big cool thing

All the trails I've done since then have been while I was on the clock. The last few days, I've planned on on going on one of our trails after work. It's been raining and Boudreaux didn't want to get wet.

Mom and I are going to do some hiking soon. Amily has quite a few big hikes planned for us this summer. Sharing the trails will make the challenge even more fun!

My Mail Obssession & It's "Fix"

I love getting mail. Don't you?

When we were younger, my little sister wanted mail so badly that I would hide notes in the mailbox addressed to her from a "Secret Friend." She was too little to know that they weren't "real" letters, and she always seemed so happy to get them. I probably loved giving her those fake notes as much as she liked getting them. Mostly because I like to make my little sister happy, but also because I love mail.
 I liked mail so much that as a kid, I collected both stamps and postcards. Family would give me unsent postcards from places they had been or with pictures they knew I would like, and  I received stamps as Christmas gifts. Often, I would have pieces of my grandma's mail soaking to retrieve the stamps before she knew the mail had been delivered.

My love of mail didn't stop with stamps and postcards. I loved stationery, post-its, note cards, unique papers, weird envelopes, and oddly shaped pieces of mail. I have things like a giant foam kissing lip mailer and  plant-able notecards.

Now that I'm older, I still love sending and receiving mail. When I saw +Postcrossing, I knew I had to sign up and at least give it a shot. Not only have I had quite a bit of fun seeing sights from around the world and across the country, but Postcrossing.com has reminded me of how much I enjoyed collecting stamps and postcards.

Postcrossing is a free website that connects postcard and mail lovers from around the world. From their "About" page:
"The goal of this project is to allow people to receive postcards from all over the world, for free. Well, almost free! The main idea is that: if you send a postcard, you will receive one back from a random Postcrosser from somewhere in the world."

One of my favorite cards, from Taiwan.

I enjoy travel and would love see the world. Realistically speaking, I know that will never happen. Receiving postcards with amazing and unique sights from around the world helps soothe my wanderlust without putting my bank account in intensive care.

Postcards are easy to find, often for $.30 or so. International postage is $1.10. Because I get a card for every card I send, for $1.40 I get to see something new!

The postcards are fun and seeing all the different stamps is a treat. I also hearing from random people all over the world, even just tiny snippets of their life.

Being a numbers and lists kind of person, I really enjoy the section of Postcrossing where it tells you how far the cards have traveled. The postcard above traveled 12,593 km over the course of 10 days in order to reach me. Another card, from India, traveled 13,843 km and took 30 days to reach me.

My current goal is receive at least one postcard from each state in the United States. I have Delaware, Nebraska, California, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Florida. Some are from Fitocracy friends and some are from Postcrossing direct swaps. A direct swap is where if a person has it enabled, you can contact them to request a swap, without having to wait for the Postcrossing roulette to achieve your goal. I was recently contacted by a lady in Australia whose goal is to collect a card from every county in the U.S.!

Check out some of the postcards I have received in my postcard album on Picasa. Even if you think I'm crazy, you're likely to appreciate at least a few of the cards. If you think it sounds fun, head over to Postcrossing and sign up. Maybe our cards will cross.

Viva la Post Office!

Progress

I had one of those moments today where I was like "Wow! I've come really far!" and it wasn't just because I had ran 4.5 miles.

In Sept. 2011, I officially didn't run a lick.

In Sept. 2012, I ran 15 miles. I was getting ready for the Color Run 5K that was going to be that following November.

Sept. 2012 Smashrun Overview

 In Sept. 2013, I ran 26 miles! I'm getting ready for the Mississippi River Marathon's half marathon that's in February 2014.

Sept. 2013 Smashrun Overview

I'm super excited, not only about my progress but about training for a half marathon. I'm using Hal Higdon's half marathon Novice 1 training program. I picked it because it has 3 running days and includes cross training, strength training, and stretching.

Today I completed week 2 of the training. I changed the days to match my work schedule, so I do the Monday workouts on Friday, making my long runs on Thursday, my normal day off. For strength I've just kind of been doing random stuff. Cross training has been hiking and riding a bicycle.

I've decided I need to get a little structure for strength training. I went to the library and borrowed "Body by You" by Mark Lauren. It's a body weight training program specifically tailored for women. I've been reading it and have decided to give it a shot. Tomorrow will be the initial evaluation for me, where I see which exercises I will use to continue the program.

Even though "Body by You" is fairly anti-cardio, and it isn't really intended to be used like this, I plan to use it on days that call for strength and on the major cross training day. I've been taking measurements, but I think tomorrow I'm going to take one of those half naked "before" photos (not for sharing!) and see what happens after a couple months.

I'm a little excited about doing this combination, though "Body by You" is going to get tough.

Let's see how it goes!

The Color Run is Complete!

I promised photos and am finally going to deliver.

The Color Run in New Orleans was fantastic. I loved every minute of it. In fact, the whole New Orleans trip was great. It had been way too long since I'd been in New Orleans, and my guy had never visited the area. Plus, I was super excited about my first 5K.


On Friday, I had to pick up my race packet, but otherwise, we were free to explore. My guy is a man of history, so there were a few Civil War graves he specifically wanted to visit.  Which meant cemeteries were high on the list, and I had to get him to the French Quarter.

We visited the Metaire Cemetery to scope out Jefferson Davis's temporary tomb,a few notable monuments, and some history. If I'm not cremated, I want to be buried New Orleans style. The Moriarty monument, among others, would be a good model for me. ;) Next time we go back, we'll have to take a list of graves, their locations, and possibly a GPS unit. It'd be like geocaching for history! At least, that's what it'll be in my head. And maybe I should pack a lunch; he still has quite a list to visit. 

We went to the Quarter that afternoon. We had such a good time! Our lunch was in a place called Yo Mama's Bar & Grill. They had delicious hamburgers with what seemed like limitless toppings. The side choices were interesting, too.
My guy had never ran into Zydeco music before. Once we found it though, he didn't want to leave! I couldn't blame him. The first band was good and the margaritas were great. We watched a street performance dance that was really entertaining. Most of the living statue guys were angry with the NFL for some reason.(And my guy loved it!) 
All of the bands were fun. All of the drinks were tasty. I kept sipping on his drinks instead of getting my own. I was worried about being dehydrated during the run the next day. Josh and I decided that we'll have to go back some time when we can spend the whole evening in the French Quarter. We left before dinner that night. I missed the chance to have dinner with a couple of old friends from college, but maybe some other time. My guy and I had dinner at a hibachi grill on St. Charles Street. 

Race Day!

I knew there would be a lot of people, but I never realized there would be that many people! I couldn't see the end of the line behind me, and I was in the sixth wave! Once I started running, I couldn't believe I had been worried about the run just a few months earlier. The color stations were fun. You could see them from a distance as huge clouds of color. There were people around me dancing through the color while some people just completely stopped and played in it. 
As I got closer to the finish line, I realized there were still people that hadn't started yet. Boy, was that an ego boost! (Yes, I know that it doesn't really mean anything, but don't tell my self confidence that!) Just as I was approaching the finish line, I called my guy, so I could find him. He had already spotted me and started snapping photos of my victorious moment!
The finish line party was just as fun as the run. There was music constantly playing and every 10 minutes, there was a color throw. The color throws were when on a single countdown, everyone in the crowd with a color packet would toss the color into the air. There were many different colors and the effect was something like this:

The color throws were so much fun! In between the throws, the race crew would throw prizes into the crowd. The prizes mostly consisted of more packets of color for throws, but they also threw frisbees, socks, hoodies, &stuff! I caught a couple packs of color & had a lot of fun chunking them into the air. I was covered in color and so was my favorite race cheerleader.




I still can't believe I ran an entire 5K! It was amazing! I can't wait to do it again. Even better, my guy is all kinds of ready for the next one! And the next trip to New Orleans. We're talking about going to the Color Run in New Orleans again. I don't know if we'll make that one, but I plan on going to another Color Run. I also plan on running in a half-marathon, maybe longer! 

Forty Days of Fitness

I use Livestrong.com to track my workouts and meals. So far, I've lost 50 lbs using it. I also really like their blogs and articles. I read one that I particularly liked about taking a Forty Day Fitness Challenge. If you don't want to read the whole thing, though I do recommend it, the writer states that there are 40 days from the day after Thanksgiving until New Years. It's a 40 days full of parties, cocktails, and family feasts! Nearly everyone's fitness falls to the wayside during the holidays. It's not just because of all the yummy food, but the holidays can be extremely busy for most people, with traveling and get-togethers.

I decided to join in on the fitness challenge! Holiday fanfare aside, winter is my workout killer. It tends to make me melt into a lazy pile of goo. I plan on working out every day of the challenge, including doing yoga and tkd forms every day.

So! CHALLENGE SO FAR!

Friday, 23 Nov. : I did Yoga and my tkd forms.
Saturday, 24 Nov.: I did yoga, my tkd forms, and went running. I ran 1.27 miles in 15 minutes.
Sunday, 25 Nov.: I took Boudreaux for a hike, did yoga, kicking drills, shadow boxing, and kata.

I plan on yoga and running tomorrow! I'll blog it every few days to keep me honest. :)

Color Run!

A week from today, I will be running in my first 5K ever!

The pre-race documents are online now, for the New Orleans Color Run. It makes me feel all tingly and official-like. Like I'm a real runner!

I'm excited about running, but I'm also excited about going back to New Orleans. I loved my time there and sometimes wish I had stayed. Of course, Hurricane Katrina always pops into my head and I'm like "maybe it's a good thing I didn't!"

There are no crazy obstacles, no big prizes. The race isn't even timed. I think it's perfect for my first run. I recently ran 4 miles, so I know I can do it.

My wonderful guy is going with me to be my personal race photographer and cheerleader. Isn't he amazing?

In case anyone is vaguely curious, the course for the Color Run is all located around UNO's campus and is laid out here on google maps.

Soon there will be picture proof of me covered in color that I ran a real event! Later!

Crappy Blogger!

I've been crappy at social media and blogging, I know.

I quit baking bread around the world or posting about it, at least. And I've not written about any of the new things I've started doing. This will improve, I promise! (Not that many people actually read this, but hey, I like writing it, when I remember!) I do plan on continuing my baking project, but it's taken a back seat to some things. I did make homemade polish bagels for Poland, which I will post about, eventually.

I went to Florida with my guy and the kiddos.  I loved the ocean!

I started running again in April. I began with a running plan to take someone from running 0 minutes to running for 15 minutes. I tweaked it a little and taped it to the fridge. I started April 20. I signed up for the New Orleans Color Run to give myself good motivation. I'm cheap and knew that paying a race fee would light the proverbial fire.

It worked! I'm hooked on running. On October 20, I ran 4 miles and I decided I will eventually (Feb. 2014) run in a half marathon!

Christon and I went to see the Human Body exhibit at the Musuem of Discovery in Little Rock. If you haven't been to the Discovery Museum, you should go. I got to spend the afternoon with her and Nicole!

This semester I'm taking an E.M.T. class at Tech, for work. I'm really enjoying the class but the work load is kicking my butt! My final is December 10th. Which is actually the day that I'll get back from my week long work trip to Maryland that I've gotten super excited about. 


 I'm going to Arkadelphia as much as possible to try to get in shape for my black belt test. I'd like to try for it in May 2013 or December 2013. I've got a lot of work to do, but I finally feel like I can do it. I've only put it off for what? Two or three years?

I've lost 50 lbs so far this year! And got a new haircut that I'm pretty fond of.
 
So stay tuned! Photos of traveling & races, some soap, craft, and cooking projects, and the chance to make me run a race dressed as Xena are all coming up!

Irish Soda Bread

I thought I would be a tad cliche and make an Irish bread for March. Despite being corny, I am very glad I chose Ireland as my second international bread stop. It was a very educational experience.

The Emerald Isle

 I had a grocery store gimmick cookbook for St. Patrick's Day that I bought a couple of years ago. I immediately went to it for my Irish bread recipe, which turned out to be soda bread. It sounded like a dessert bread, with lots of sugar and some fruit. I wanted to see if I could find something more dinner-like and less dessert-ish.

So I fired up google. That's where I learned about recipe morphing. It turns out that originally, Irish soda bread was NOT a dessert-ish bread, but over time it became one. The website I found most interesting is here.I also learned that it was traditionally baked in a covered pot called a "bastible," which as it turns out was basically one of my favorite cooking tools!

A Dutch oven!

Wal-Mart is taking over....

Irish soda bread is pretty simple, so here goes:

4 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
14 oz. buttermilk (by the way, powdered buttermilk is great!)





Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Mix the dry ingredients together.
 
Then slowly add the buttermilk to form a sticky dough. Place on floured surface and lightly knead.






 Shape into a round flat shape and cut a cross in the top of the dough.


Pop the round loaf into the Dutch oven and bake it for about 45 minutes. If you want to make it in a regular oven, put it in a round cake pan and add a lid for the last 15 minutes of baking.

Tasty Soda Bread!

Try it out! It's pretty good, especially with stew. But just a heads up, it doesn't keep well for more than a few days.

Chapati!

All Aboard! First stop on the bread bus is India! (fun fact, if you're in Arkansas & could dig all the way through the earth, you'd wind up in the Indian Ocean!)

I have a confession. Chapati wasn't my first choice. Originally, I really wanted to make naan. Then I decided to celebrate the upcoming St. Patrick's day, I'd make Irish soda bread, to have something I'd never had. Plans fell through, and I didn't go to town to get buttermilk to make the soda bread. Naan takes yogurt, so that was also out.

On the same page as naan in my Indian cookbook is chapati. Doesn't take anything I don't already have and as an added bonus it lets me use up the odd bit of whole wheat flour I have left.

According to my Indian cookbook, and various websites, chapatis are the "daily bread" type bread for Indian homes. Some time on the internet has made it clear that it is a fairly common bread in most south Asian countries. I even saw some references to it being eaten in Kenya and other north African countries, with several variations: diameter, thickness, puff-factor, and so on. I went with the Indian recipe that I found the most often. It was almost identical to the one in my cookbook.

Chapati

2 c. whole wheat flour
1 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. oil
water or milk
I used a mix of water and milk, & wound up needing a little over 2/3 c. of liquid.

First, mix together the salt and flour. Make a small well in the dry ingredients. Slowly add the milk or water until you form a dough that's elastic but not sticky. Once you have the dough mixed up, add the oil and knead it in.











Separate the dough into portions about the size of a golf ball. Roll each ball until it's round and totally seamless. Once the dough is divided and rolled smooth, let it rest for about 20 minutes. After the dough's had a nice rest, roll the balls in a little bit of flour, to keep it from sticking.




 




Smoosh the ball(yes, that's a technical term) with your hand to make a round dough circle. Then with a rolling pin, soup can, or whatever is handy, use a circular motion to roll the dough into a thinner dough circle. You want it to be about 1/8" or so thick. A little thicker is better than too thin.

A griddle or a big cast iron skillet works great for cooking them. (wait, I guess I can't call this "baking" around the world, oh well) Warm the griddle/skillet to medium heat. On my knobs that go from 1 -10, I had it on 7 the whole time. It worked well.


See the little bubbles popping up on it? When you start seeing lots of tiny little bubbles, you flip it over. Watch it carefully because that only takes around 20-30 seconds to happen. If you get bigger bubbles, like in the picture, you let it wait a few seconds too long. It's not the end of the world, just flip it quick, before it's the end of the chapati!


Once it's flipped, it only needs to cook for about another 20-30 seconds.

I tried several of the many utensils scatter about my kitchen. My really big cooking chopsticks that came with my wok wound up being the best for flipping the chapati. I thought I'd use tongs, but they just scooted the bread around. My spatula took some maneuvering, but it ripped the edges more.

Yum!

I had chapati with my curry and rice for dinner. I read in several places that chapati is often used as an eating utensil to scoop up food as you eat it. I don't know the accuracy of this statement, but it's how I ate my dinner and boy, it was good stuff!

This recipe was wrangled out of "The Complete Book of Indian Cooking" by Shehzad Husain & Rafi Fernandez. I didn't use the exact recipe as printed. I made changes based on several different sources. Also, my chapati are not nearly as perfectly round as theirs. This makes me sad. Despite that, it's a very cool book.