Happy Halloween!!!

I think those pictures speak for themselves...
Mu-ahahaha!
Evilly grinning,
SOLLLLLLL

Pie crust

I know this is irrelevant, but Laga, may I please have your mother's pie crust recipe? :)

Quote That Was Meant for the Knights

This should be our motto.
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." -- Margaret Mead
Whether or not you agree with the last part, you have to admit that it describes us perfectly! Let's go Knights!
Fervently yours,
Sol

French Bread recipe

Now I know I am not the only Nordic deity who has a fondness for baking... this is a recipe that I found while procrastinating *cough* browsing the internet. If you have the time, try it out! I'll follow suit as soon as I find a Saturday that I'm not jumping around VA for my motley group of reasons.

HOMEMADE FRENCH BAGUETTES, yields four 16-inch baguettes
Tweaked from Artisan Breads Every Day, Peter Reinhart

I can’t be entirely sure whether it made the critical difference or not, but I used this pan, instead of a baking sheet. Also, don’t be alarmed by the extensive instructions – there’s a lot of waiting time and a bit of planning involved, but everything else is pretty simple. Just please, pleasebe extra careful when pouring in the hot water for the steam pan (see below in ‘Prepare for Hearth Baking’ section for more detail). Steaming water WILL splatter, so I definitely recommend using a watering can with a long spout, standing back and covering up those arms and hands!

Music Pairing: Yann Tiersen, La Noyee

Ingredients

• 5 1/2 cups unbleached bread flour
• 2 tsp salt, or 1 tbsp coarse kosher salt
• 2 1/4 tsp instant yeast
• 2 cups lukewarm water (about 95 degrees)

Method

Prep Day: Combine all ingredients in bowl of mixer, set with paddle attachment, and mix on lowest speed for 1 minute until well blended and smooth. Dough should form a coarse, shaggy ball. Let rest, uncovered for 5 minutes. Switch to dough hook and mix on medium-low speed for 2 minutes. Dough should be smooth, supple, and tacky but not sticky.

Knead dough by hand on lightly floured work surface for 1 minute, then transfer to a large clean, lightly oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and immediately refrigerate overnight or up to 4 days.

Baking Day: Remove dough from refrigerator 2 hours prior to baking. Gently transfer to lightly floured work surface, taking care to degas it as little as possible. Divide dough into 10-ounce pieces for baguettes.

Form Baguettes: Pat each piece of divided dough into a thick rectangle. Fold the bottom half to the center and seal the seam. Fold the top half to the center and once again seal the seam. Roll the top half of the dough over the seam to create a new seam on the bottom of the loaf. Rock loaf back and forth to extend it to desire length, 6-12 inches. Let rest for 5-10 minutes. Repeat the same folding process: bottom to center, top to center, and pinch to create a seam. With seam side underneath, gently rock loaf back and forth, with hands moving out toward and increasing pressure at the ends, to slightly taper the loaf until baguette is the length of baguette pan (or baking sheet).

Mist top of dough with spray oil, loosely cover with plastic wrap, and proof at room temperature (preferably in a couche, or improvise on a clean linen towel, dusted with flour – leaving 3 inches between loaves so fabric can be bunched up to create “walls” for support while proofing – I placed my prepared towel and loaves on my baguette pan to further aid in keeping its shape, as shown above) for about 1 1/2 hours, or until increased to 1 1/2 times its original size.

Prepare for Hearth Baking: About 45 minutes before baking, preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place a sheet pan, which will serve as the steam pan, with a 1-inch rim on shelf under which baguettes will be baked. Remove plastic wrap from the dough 15 minutes prior to baking. Gently roll dough onto baguette pan. Just prior to baking, score the dough 1/2 inch deep with a serrated knife or razor. Transfer loaves to the oven, pour 1 cup hot water into the steam pan. Always use an oven mitt and wear long sleeves when adding water to the hot steam pan to prevent steam burns. It’s also advisable to cover the oven window with a dry dish towel to prevent backsplash from hitting the window and cracking it – but remember to remove the towel before closing oven door! Using a watering can with a long spout when pouring the water into the steam pan provides control and distance from the hot steam.

Bake for 12 minutes, then rotate pan and bake for another 15-25 minutes, until the crust is rich golden brown, the loaves sound hollow when thumped, and the internal temperature is about 200 degrees in the center. Cool on wire rack for at least 35 minutes before slicing or serving. Best eaten the same day, or heated briefly in the oven the next day if crust loses its crispness.

Announcements

Name the book: "Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you."

AND now I may begin MY announcement. And it is: " Joshing! Raillery! Badinage! Vituperation! Anathema! Gauche! Thank you!

In other words... they are random words that I picked out from the definitions of my vocab words. It's funny, some of the words in the definitions I find are cooler words than the vocabulary word itself. ^_^

And... goodbye ^_^

America's education

We all know that there are programs that work specifically to get the children of America interested in education again. However, lately I've been thinking... is the lack of interest in education fully the children's fault? Nowadays, the job of a teacher is not regarded as a desirable job; many people think of it an occupation with a low pay check and a lot of work- a default career. As a result, they don't work hard to actually TEACH the kids. Classes become harder, grades fall, and school gains a bad reputation. Now, if the kids who are already disinterested in education go to school and don't LEARN anything, what reason is there that they would become interested again? Many teachers I have met over the past year show definite signs of this... one even told my friend to her face that the only reason he was teaching World History was because he couldn't be the track coach otherwise.

I believe that America shouldn't just be concentrating on getting the children interested in education again- they should be working on making the job of being a teacher a respected, desirable occupation again. What are everyone's thoughts on this matter?