How I Spent My Saturday

Saturday was bread day.

Last fall, I decided to learn to make my own bread. Partly because I had always been stymied by bread-making , and partly because I had been increasingly PO'd by paying almost $3 for a loaf of half-decent - and only half-decent - bread. But yeast and I have a very bad history. We had never been good friends.
Here in Thornbury, though, there are many makers of homemade bread. One friend lent me her book of bread-making tips. Another told me of her favourite recipe. Turns out I had the same cookbook - Food That Really Schmecks by Edna Staebler.
And so, in a state somewhere between eagerness and trepidation, I began.
The 'book of tips' described kneading as "relaxing and therapeutic", and now after several months of making all the bread we eat, I would say - " Yea. Kinda." But that first day, I certainly never reached the relaxing and therapeutic state. Far from it.
More like taxing, tiring and a real workout. The day was one of the hottest and most humid of late summer. As I kneaded, the sweat rolled down my face,dripping off my nose and chin. I had to keep jumping back from the table to keep the drops from landing in the dough. ( I had already added the salt) It was exhausting. I couldn't imagine how our ancestors did it, working beside a hot wood stove and wearing a floor length dress.
But the bread was delicious. And to date, I have not had a failure. I'm expecting one any time though as I am now quite cocky about my bread-making skills. I am so presumptuous as to think I have the whole process down pat and refer to the recipe and 'book-of-tips' less and less often. Failure awaits, I'm sure.
And what did I serve on Saturday, with this fresh bread, you ask? Well, a delicious, new-to-me recipe. A hot spicy Indian dish called Mattar Paneer. A recipe found at this site - cosmicpluto.com.blog This recipe starts with making your own cheese. (Yea Yea, I know -beginning to sound like "Little House In The Village".) But it was really quite easy and tasted delicious. You do have to get past the 'baby spit-up' smell that occurs as the milk curdles though.
And what about my knitting?
Well, I have decided to knit the Leftovers Vest on the Knitting Machine. And I will tell you all about it tomorrow.