Bread and anxiety
I’m currently baking a loaf of bread — my second in a week!
I picked up the book “French women don’t get fat” at an old book sale about a month ago because it was ridiculously cheap and I remembered all of the interest about it a few years ago. Plus, after two trips to Spain (amor), I’m pretty intrigued by the European manner of eating. They have more of a fascination with food preparation and get more joy out of their meals than perhaps Americans do (with our diets of the week). The book didn’t particularly disappoint. The section on exercising was a little boring for me because I’m pretty set in my own regimen. I prefer to walk everywhere anyway — something I adapted to during undergrad in the mean streets of Washington, D.C.
Anyway, in addition to writing about french food, the author Mireille Guiliano also included about a dozen recipes. Her recipe for french bread is what inspired me to tackle it myself, which I did last week while visiting my boyfriend in Washington, D.C.
Boyfriend and Grandma thought it would come out like this:
But…it actually came out like this:
Mmm.
I wish I could share my recipe for the above loaf because I was excited that it turned out so deliciously (crispy on the outside, soft on the inside!)
Here is the recipe for the whole wheat baguettes I’m working on right now for a dinner with the girls tonight. It’s looking good. But, I can never roll it correctly because it’s sticky.
Bread-making has become therapeutic for me. Maybe it’s the repetition (stir, knead, let stand…so predictable) but also, I think it’s the fact that I have a project that keeps me occupied for a certain amount of time and I directly see the results of my work.That’s more than I can say about job applications. :-( All work and no result makes me a dull girl.
Speaking of…read this article about a boy who graduated in 2005, couldn’t get a job in his chosen field (economics) and now, he has a book deal:
“Starting in September 2008, he embarked upon a journey of one-week jobs in every state. His pay varies. He’s been a rodeo announcer in South Dakota; a border patrol agent in Arizona; a television meteorologist in Ohio. He’s made cheese in Wisconsin; raised corn in Nebraska; shelled peanuts in Georgia; and boiled syrup in Cabot, Vt.”
(By Jack Nicas 8.6.09)
Cool concept, but the article leaves me with more than a few questions. I guess I’m intrigued — but not sure if my babysitting and freelance writing salary will allow me to buy his book to learn more.
Boston.com has a picture of this guy Daniel Seddiquias as a weathercaster in Cleveland. I studied broadcast journalism in college. Cleveland is market 17 = NOT FOR BEGINNERS for all you non-broadcast folk out there. And with broadcasters struggling now (ie sharing helicopters, firing staff) you would think it would be even harder for a novice to step on in and read the 5-day forecast.
I wish the reporter asked this guy how he actually got some of these jobs. Did he come clean that he was only planning to work there for a week? Granted, some of his jobs don’t seem to require a lot of previous training (meat packing with high school students in Kansas. But props to him! I saw “Fast Food Nation.”)
But this dude had gigs as a marketer in New York City and as a real estate agent Boise, Idaho. He must have told them all about his book deal before getting these jobs. Right?
[Dear Daniel, please tell me your secret]
