Old bread maker, meet new bread maker, Bread Man

We are going to have to say good-bye to a good friend of ours, bread maker. We bought him when we first moved to Waltham, and we met him at a community garage sale (a very affluent community) with the extravagant price-tag of $5. Since that very auspicious morning, he has made two or three loaves a week for us, with the exception of last year, of course, when we were in Florence. (We missed him dearly during that time, especially since our only choice for bread came unsalted, the "typical" Tuscan style.)

Bread maker's paddle crank has been starting to corrode, so we figure it is time to find a replacement since apparently that brand (Regal) is no longer in business. Meet Bread Man. He has some 90 different settings. His little operation light makes him look like a UFO in the dark. He is a real man. Don't know how many of his fancy features we will be using considering I only ever make one type of bread (the type where I dump in flours, oats, and water willy-nilly without measuring anything), but Bread Man made a loaf very nicely this morning so I think he will be able to fill big shoes. The real bonus will be that his dough setting has a delay start feature (which our very basic original maker didn't have), so it will be easier to make pizzas :o)

Good-bye friend, and hello shiny chrome Breadman Ultimate Plus!

My first loaf using the easy no-exact-measuring-technique came out great. I think the horizontal bread pan helps the heavy ingredients to rise.

**If anyone is need of parts for a Regal Kitchen Pro (K6743) bread machine, let me know! The only thing wrong with this one is the seal and paddle. I want our beloved machine to keep on giving for as long as possible ;o)

Forty Day Food Challenge

So I have decided to actually give something up for Lent this year. I don't consider myself a very religious person so I am going to use Lent as an excuse to challenge myself. I have done something similar in the past--while living at Johns College in Canberra I did a 'reverse' Ramadan. While so many of our Muslim friends were fasting during the day, I decided to fast at night and gave up my beloved pre-bed snack for the month. This was actually really hard.

For the next forty days (starting after Fat Tuesday, of course!), I am going to follow a plant-based, minimally processed diet. This is kinda like being vegan--I will not be eating any animals or animal products--but I will also not eat processed foods. Seth and I already follow a mostly vegetarian diet, and we hardly eat processed foods anyway, but I guess this will make it more official. Here are some rules for myself:

1) Obviously, no meat, fish, eggs, cheese, milk, cheese, etc.
2) No packaged foods like crackers, chips, canned soups, frozen meals, etc. This won't be hard since I never buy these things anyways.
3) Baked goods are ok, so long as they do not contain milk, butter, or eggs, and they were made from scratch (Pillsbury cake mixes are not exactly 'minimally processed').
4) I can eat whatever is served at our Table of 8 group next month. I already told the host I don't have any dietary restrictions and I don't want to burden anyone.
5) Cereal is ok, even though it is packaged
6) No sugar substitutes like Splenda. I usually like to use these for my tea to reduce cavities ;o)

The more challenging points: NO cheese sprinkled on my salads and pastas, NO Laughing Cow cheese wedges, NO Marshmallow Fluff, NO milk or cream for my coffee and tea, and NO YOGURT!!! :o(

Let's see how the 'no yogurt' thing goes...

Bringing Up Bébé

Ok, so I'll be first to admit that I really am not all that great with kids and I have no clue what it is like to be a parent, but hearing about this new book on NPR (Pamela Druckerman’s Bringing Up Bébé: One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting) and reading the related Times article Why American Kids are Brats really radiated with me. Basically, I realized I am always happy to attend to a well-mannered, pleasant kid; a bit of old-fashioned politeness goes a looong way with me. Adults shouldn't have to completely give up their own lives once they have children (or even when they mind someone else's), and to me it isn't worth the effort spending time with sour lemons, whether young or old.