Hazelnut Raisin Baguette

One of my customers requested a baguette with hazelnuts and golden raisins.  After several trials, this is the end result.  My first dough was a basic baguette dough with pre-soaked golden raisins and chopped, toasted hazelnuts.  It didn't pack the flavor punch I was hoping for.  Next, I ground a portion of the nuts and introduced them to the dough in the very beginning of the mix.  I could be making this up, but I think the heat generated during the mixing process helps to pull all the oils out of the ground nuts which imparts more flavor into the dough.

I was much happier with the results after adding the ground hazelnuts but the formula still wasn't quite where I wanted it to be.  I switched from a white poolish to a wheat poolish to add even more nuttiness and texture to the dough.  I also soaked the golden raisins in apricot juice to add more complexity and sweetness to the bread.

The golden raisins disappear into the dough.  Normally, I would want to see them when I cut into the baguette but I like that, through the soaking process, they plump up and burst apart during mixing.  This helps distribute the flavor and it keeps the bread super moist.

The baguette tastes like an upscale peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  The grape flavor from the juicy raisins is the first taste, followed by the earthy, nutty crunch of the toasted hazelnuts.  I drizzled honey on my baguette for breakfast this morning.  It would also be the perfect addition to a cheese plate and it would make an ultra-classy turkey sandwich. 

If you're wondering why there's a stick in the photo, it's because my 3 year old woke during my photo shoot and insisted I take a picture with the stick she brought home from the park yesterday.  How could I turn down that request?!?

After the stick entered the photo, I thought it would be fun to get Josie's help getting one last shot of the whole baguette.  So, in addition to the stick, here are two of the cutest, most helpful, three year old hands in the baking business!

If you have any questions about my breads or if you would like the complete recipe for Hazelnut Raisin Baguettes, please email me.

This post is being submitted to YeastSpotting! 

Polka Dots

My daughter has been talking about her birthday non-stop for quite some time.  She'd wake up every morning and exclaim "today's my birthday," to which I'd reply "no yet."

Then she started asking me when I was going to make her a polka dot cake.  I'm not really sure where the idea of a polka dot cake came from but sure enough the subject came up every single day for the last three months.  It actually made me a little nervous...can I deliver on my soon-to-be-three year old's expectations?  What if I make the polka dots the wrong size or the wrong color?

Finally, June 26th came and Josie's polka dot cake was unveiled.  She was ecstatic to say the least.

After the festivities were over and the atmosphere calmed, I asked "what was your favorite part of the day, Jos?"

"My polka-dot cake, Mommy!"

It's the best feeling in the world to know that all the presents and hullabaloo didn't live up to a little flour, butter, eggs and polka dots!

Lessons in Levain

Today I'm making a small batch of dough in preparation for the raisin contest.  I had to mix my starters at home last night.  The poolish and levain are in clear plastic container which allow one to see the signs of fermentation.  I thought Josie might be interested so I called it to my two year old's attention.
 
Me: "Look at the little bubbles, Jos, that means it's growing."


Josie: "Little bubbles?  For me?"


Me: "It's for the bread.  Tomorrow morning we'll have big bubbles and then we know it's ready."


Josie: "Big bubbles!!!  And we mix it!"


Me: "Yeah, we mix it and it makes the bread grow"


Josie: "Yeah, bread for me.  Want to smell it, Mommy."

I opened the lid on the levain and Josie take a sniff.  She wrinkled her nose a little but then she cheered.

Josie: "Yummy, Mommy.  Want to mix the bread, too."

A girl after my own heart!!!

A Serendipidous Reunion

I've always been an pen and paper kind of person.  Often, I hand write these posts before transferring them to the computer.  Math, as in excel spreadsheets, I always do with pencil and paper first.   My great Aunt Naomi, we called her Nelma, was an English teacher who had a thing for grammar, penmanship and the like.  I have horrible handwriting but maybe I picked up the rest from her.  I can't stand text messaging because the messages require using improper grammar.  I've always loved letter writing, even in the advent of email.  There's nothing better than getting a thoughtful note in the mail.

When I was in 5th grade (I think but it could have been 7th) I was given a pen pal from Stara Tura, Czechoslovakia (that's what it was then).  The circumstances surrounding the pen pal distribution are very foggy.  I can't remember if the whole class was given people to write to or if addresses were given to the students who wanted to write or maybe it was just me.  Anyway, my pen pal's name was Hana and we wrote all the way through middle school, high school and I think some college.  We lost touch as our addresses and lives changed and grew.  Once she wrote to say she was going to be in the states but I was away and I didn't get her letter in time.  I always wondered what happened to Hana and one day I typed her name into Facebook.  Low and behold, there she was!  I sent her a note and she replied.


Here's where the story gets really "made for Oprah" interesting.  She and her fiance live just south of us in Pennsylvania.  Hana is a photographer and a talented pastry artist.  Sunday afternoon, our little family met with her little family for a BBQ in her garden.  We had a fabulous time.  The kids were happy, the guys were happy (they got to talk and play 'real' football) and Hana and I caught up on our lost years.  I have to think Hana and I would have crossed paths if I didn't look her up.  Our lives, interests and locals are just too similar.

Here's to friendship, serendipity and the written word! (and boys and football!)

Melka Melka

Before becoming a Mom, there were very few things I needed to make it through the day.  Sure, I needed to eat but there was always something in the cabinets even if it wasn't the most appetizing, ramen noodles would just have to do.  There was the inevitable time that I would need tampons but usually digging through a few old purses would do the trick until I could make a trip to the store. 

Mommy life is nothing but needs..need diapers, need wipes, need bananas.  This morning, I tiptoed out of the bedroom and down the hall at 5am.  On a typical day this would give me about an hour to get to the store and back before the kids and Kevin would start to rise.  Last night, Josie drank the last of the milk and if there is one thing we need beyond all else, it's milk or 'melka melka' in Josie-speak.  There was enough to get us through this morning but after her bedtime cup was filled, Josie grabbed the carton to take an extra swig and she dumped the last of the milk all over her jammies.  I could have gone out for more last night but I too was sporting my jammies and I was excited about getting a bit of soletude and a nice cup of coffee made by someone else this morning. 

Milk and I have a sorted past.  I've never been one to drink a glass of milk but I've always been a devoted fan of chocolate milk.  I love dairy products, ice cream, cheese, yogurt...  I used to keep soy milk on hand for cereal because milk would always sour before I could use the whole carton.  When I was pregnant with Josie, I started drinking milk by the gallon.  I couldn't get enough!  It had to be whole milk, nothing else would do.  Kevin is a huge milk drinker.  He only ever had whole milk in his house growing up.  I decided we would be the same.  Only the best, full fat, organic, hormone-free, grass-fed cow's milk available for my family unless it's 5am and the only store that sells what I want is an hour away and I would rather just go to the corner store to get the last carton they have on the shelf no matter what kind of white substance it is.  On the plus side, now that I'm raising a family of milk dependants, I never have to glance at the expiration date on the jug.  My gang goes through a gallon in 2 days and in a couple months when the baby switches from mom's milk to cow's milk, I will need at least a gallon a day to support these fiends!

Why whole milk?  Short answer: it tastes better.  I don't believe anyone ever got fat from drinking whole milk which contains 3% milkfat.  Sure I could shave off a percentage, a few pounds from my hips and go for the 1 or 2% varieties but why mess with nature?  I think the reason I didn't like milk when I was younger is because it didn't taste like milk.  It was just white-ish water.  I'll take the extra fat with added moderation and a dose of exercise, thanks.

Last year, I was out shopping with Josie and she wanted milk.  I stopped at a coffee shop and asked if I could have a glass of warm milk for my daughter.  The cashier told me they didn't have any 'normal' milk.  I had to process this information before asking her to clarify.  If they didn't have normal milk, what were they putting in the coffee?  She explained that they only had whole milk and skim milk.  Well, if whole milk isn't 'normal' milk then what is normal?  She said that 2% milk is normal milk and she was pretty peeved when I disagreed.  My thought is, any milk that needs a qualifier (2%, skim, etc) is not 'normal'.  I got her to fill Josie's cup with abnormal milk and we went on our way.

Now, an hour after I slipped my shoes on and tiptoed out the door, the fridge is stocked.  Josie is happily downing her melka melka which is the first thing she asks for each morning I get her out of her crib just after 'where's Daddy' and 'where's Keego'.  I'll just have to due, me and the melka melka that is.

Wheels and Motors

Our new Joovy Caboose

In the last couple months, Kevin and I have purchased both a new car and a new stroller.  The later was the more difficult process and decision to make.  When Josie was in utero, I researched strollers for months before deciding to buy a Combi stroller and infant seat.  The package was less than $200.  The stroller was super light which was high on my priority list because I anticipated many subway trips.  Once Josie was born and I started using the stroller, I quickly changed my mind about my great new purchase.  The front wheels would lock sideways making it impossible to push and this would happen on city streets.  Forget about trying to push the thing on the unpaved Milford, PA roads.  One day Alex, Ciaran, Kevin and I were shopping in Brooklyn and Ciaran was having trouble pushing Josie in the stroller.  This was the day we decided to start looking for stroller #2.

At the time, Josie was big enough to move into the stroller without the infant seat so our options were increased.  We went to Babies R Us and test drove several models before deciding on a Maxi Cosi Foray for the bargin price of $350.  I am one of the first people to slander the owners of the $800 Bugaboos on the streets of NY but the high end Maxi Cosi was a blessing.  It has the big, off-roading, tripod wheels like a jogging stroller.  The seat can face forward or backward and it can go completely flat for sleeping babies.  It also has a space age rain cover that turns the stroller into a pod.  On the downside, it is large, cumbersome and heavy.  In over a year of use, I still have trouble collapsing the thing.

Shopping with the Maxi is near impossible because it never fits between the racks.  This is why we purchase stroller #3, the $20 umbrella stroller.  This stroller handles well enough for store use and it is small enough to keep in the car at all times.  It was the best $20 we ever spent.

When I found out I was pregnant a second time which would give us 2 babies under 2 years, I knew we would need another stroller upgrade.  I decided we could wait until spring to make the purchase.  Winters here are too cold to go outside let alone take a stroller ride.  Last winter we didn't use the stroller and this winter was the same.  Now that the weather is improving and Keegan is ready for fun on the run, it's time for stroller #4.  Of course, I read review after review and talked to moms on the streets but at the last minute I had a lapse in judgement and I ordered a Kolkraft double stroller for $200.  Kevin and I knew we didn't want a side by side stroller because we talked to a dad of twins one day in New Paltz, NY who was very unhappy with his.  He couldn't get through a single doorway and his kids were too young to get out and walk.

The Kolkraft arrived and it took Kevin over an hour to assemble.  It was pretty exciting.  It had two seats like the one the Maxi Cosi has.  The seats can face each other, go back to back, both face forward or both face backward.  There was a huge storage bin under the seats which we've never had the luxury of having.  We put the kids in the stroller and gave it a test drive through the living room.  After a week of having it in the house, we decided to return it.  It was just too big.  The trip to the store to return it sealed the deal.  It was too heavy for me to lift into the car and Kevin could barely get it to fit into the car once the kids were strapped inside.

I went back to the drawing board and purchased stroller #5, the Joovy Caboose sit and stand for $99.  There is an 'ultra-light' model for and extra $100 but I thought back to the bargin umbrella stroller and I decided whatever the difference, it couldn't be worth $100.  This is the one I originally wanted to try out before my judgement lapsed.  There's a front seat for the younger child which can even accomodate an infant carrier.  The back has a platform for the older child to stand on and a jump seat in case they get tired and want to sit.  It's easy on and off for the older kid which is great because at this age, Josie wants to walk on her own but sometimes she gets tired and wants to sit.  We took the stroller out on Saturday morning and it was magnificent.  Both kids seemed to love it and it prooved to be the easiest stroller to collapse that we've ever had.  Yes it is heavier than an umbrella stroller but I could still easily lift it in and out of the car on my own and it didn't take up any more space than 2 umbrella strollers would.

The car....

I've had a Subaru wagon for the last 6 years.  I love it for the rough weather but after renting a minivan for the weekend to accomidate us and our out of town guests we decided it was time to take the plunge into parenthood.  I looked to Parents Magazine for reviews of the best, safest, most affordable family cars and I fell in love with the Mazda 5.  It's like a mini, minivan.  It has three rows of seating but you'd never know it because the exterior isn't much larger than a Honda Fit.  Sure, the 3rd row isn't too comfy for adults but it doesn't have to be.  It's a good place to put the kids when we want to travel with another couple or more kids for that matter.  We went to the Mazda dealer, traded the Subaru and walked out with a 2010 Mazda 5 on the same day.

The end...

The whole car buying process was sooo much easier than buying a new stroller.  It's funny to think about the stroller purchases.  Three years ago I would have never imagined giving it this much thought but now I'm a certifiable stroller expert.  All the reviews, manuals and magazines can't begin to prepare you for the real thing.  In the end, it seems that different strollers are better for different applications and no matter what, you're bound to suffer from stroller envy when you see all the bugaboos strolling down the path in central park.  I know $300 wasn't a steal but who can afford an $800 stroller?!

Confessions of a Desperate Mom

I am a great pregnant woman.  Aside from eating too many sweets, I follow the doctor's advice exactly.  I go so far as to adhere to the maybe's as well as the facts.  If tuna is questionable, no problem, I can give up anything for nine months.  The day I found out I was pregnant with Josie, I gave up my pack a day smoking habit, my gallon a day coffee habit and my pint (or five) a day Guiness habit.  My thought was that it's only nine months, why take a chance on anything that could harm the baby.  I kept up with a lot of mom sites where people write in about their woes and other moms support them.  I never understood the 'I made it down to 5 cigarettes a day' moms and the moms who supported them.  There were also lots of 'I just can't give up my coffee...it gives me a headache' moms.  You think your head hurts now, what's it going to feel like when that baby is born early, underweight and with ADD?  This is the first of many times to come where baby comes first!  It's ONLY 9 months!!!

When I carried Keegan, I was a little more relaxed.  I drank one cup of green tea a day.  Technically, the FDA recommendation is 150mg of caffeine a day which amounts to one cup of coffee.  Tea has about 50mg of caffeine and green tea has even less.  I have to admit, one of the reasons I cut out caffeinated beverages was to keep my conscience clean when I consumed mass amounts of chocolate which also contains caffeine, about 30mg for a 2 ounce dark chocolate bar.

With both babies, I was very strict about the fish thing.  I know there are certain allowable fish but I could never keep them straight.  I cut out fish entirely for both pregnancies.  However, with both children I did have a one time only serious crab feast.  I grew up on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, how could I deny myself?  I called my midwife from the crab house and asked if it was okay.  She started flipping through books to find blue crabs on her list.  They were safe! Yes!!!  I probably would have indulged anyway.  I also pigged out on clams.  During Keegan's pregnancy, I bought a bunch of clams to cook on the grill, knowing that Kevin didn't like them.  I had to eat them all myself because we didn't want them to go to waste.  With both kids, I craved tuna melts and I knew I couldn't give in.  This was the first meal I ate after giving birth, both times.  Kevin and I actually packed a cooler to take to the hospital with all the components for after the birth.  With Keegan, it was by chance but much appreciated.

I have to say, the hardest thing of all was giving up coffee.  I really enjoy the first cup of the day.  Being a baker and working crazy hours, I feel I need it to survive.  With Josie, I was scared to drink coffee because I thought it would be harder to stay nicotine clean.  Coffee and cigarettes just go together.  After she was born, I allowed myself one cup of good strong coffee early in the morning.  I was nursing and caffeine still passes through to the baby.  Now that Keegan's on board, I have a few cups of coffee a day.  He's a pretty good sleeper and he's much more calm than Josie ever was so I don't feel it does him any harm.  Leafy greens, however, make both of my kids puke buckets if I eat them and it passes through the breast milk.  I haven't enjoyed a salad in two years.

Back to the coffee...I take my coffee with milk, cold milk.  I hate getting a cup of coffee that is too hot to drink immediately.  Cold milk seems to solve the problem.  Having a toddler in the house means that we go through more milk than I ever could have imagined.  Kevin takes it in his coffee too and he drinks about 25 cups a day.  I would say we use about a gallon of milk a day or at least close to it.  We live 25 minutes from the closest grocery store so we have to be careful to have 'milka milka' for Josie's bedtime bottle and her wake up bottle on hand.  There are times we don't feel like driving into town in the evening so we make sure there is enough for Josie and we plan on taking the trip first thing in the morning.  This means I don't get milk in my coffee and Kevin doesn't get milk in his.  For him, this means that he won't drink the coffee and he will be a total grump until he satisfies his need.  For me, I get creative.  This morning, I stirred whipped cream into my cup.  It's the Cabot kind that is actual cream and not who-knows-what chemical concoction.  I used the last of the bottle and my coffee wasn't quite light enough.  There's peppermint ice cream in the freezer...that may be yummy.  Here's the big confession, there's gallons of breast milk in the freezer, why not?  I haven't tried it yet but I am seriously considering it for cup  #2.  If it weren't my breast milk, it would be in my coffee right now but there's something weird about drinking my own milk, maybe it's just me.   I can't be the only mom, right?  There's got to be a few out there who have already resorted to this.  Let me know if it's you and I'll keep you posted on my desperation level.

Josie's Bread

The night before Josie was born

When I was pregnant with Josie, I switched from an OB to a midwife with only three months to go.  My husband and I saw the documentary "The Business of Being Born," and it made me change my mind about everything I thought I wanted as far as the birthing process was concerned.  My family is very traditional in terms of doctors and medicine.  I didn't know that there were so many options available for having babies until my lamaze instructor clued me in.  (On a side note, I have remained very close with said lamaze instructor and because of my experience, Lamaze International has asked me to be a spokes person for them.  I have to do a video bit and tell my story...how cool!)

It took me a week of constant calls to find a midwife who would take me on at six months pregnant.  Finally I found Barbara Charles in Long Island.  She delivers babies in a birthing center operated out of a hospital.  It was exactly what I wanted.  Barbara is a little wacko in a good way.  If there was a Saturday Night Live sketch or a sitcom portraying a midwife, she would be the one for the job.  She's a little hippie, a little granny and a lot of love.

When Barbara told me I had to drastically change my diet because I had gained too much weight, I was sad.  When she told me I couldn't eat any more bread, I was devistated.  I'm a baker; how can I give up bread?  Not even whole wheat or multi-grain, I asked.  She said she'd allow one slice of toast a week.  Yikes!  What was on my plate?  Mostly veggies, no fruit (too sugary), some meats were included on the list.  It was impossible.  There were some things she mentioned that sparked my interest.  Nettle is good for milk production and quinoa supposedly helps fortify the breast milk.  Hemp seeds are high in omegas (brain power) and flax seeds contain B-vitamins.

I decided to create an homage to Barbara and to the my unborn baby in the form of a loaf.  I would create a bread I could eat.  Grains, in general, are hard for your body to process.  They have to be denatured in order to be processed at all.  Denaturing can be accomplished by soaking, cooking, grinding, etc.  A lot of times this is done without being realized.  Think about preparing rice or baking with whole wheat flour.  I decided to sprout the grains for the bread.  Sprouting is just what it sounds like.  I give the grains just enough water for them to sprout.  It's like starting a garden.   By sprouting the grains before grinding them into a paste, enzymes are released and the grains are sort of predigested and changed from carbohydrate to protein.  All this means is the body can easily absorb ALL the vitamins and minerals contained in the grain and the calorie and carb content is drastically decreased.  This is the basic idea behind the raw food diet craze.

I played with a lot of different techniques in terms of sprouting and baking.  For instance, when flax seeds are hydrated, they release a gooey substance, in much the same way okra does when it's cooked.  This stuff prevents the other grains from sprouting if they are all sprouted together.  In the end, it took almost a year to come up with an optimal product.  Obviously, Josie was part of the family and Keegan was on his way but without Josie, this bread wouldn't be.

The Final Product

Josie's bread is made from sprouted wheat berries and quinoa.  Wheat berries are the grain that is ground to make wheat and white flour.  Using the whole berry instead of just the milled portion is packing in the nutrients.  Quinoa is a 'super food'.  It is the only grain to form a complete protein by itself.  Normally, grains have to be combined with legumes to form a protein, beans and ricefor example.  Three days prior to baking, I start sprouting the grains.  Once they all have shoots coming from them, I grind them into a paste.  On the day of the bake, I mix the paste with rye flour, spelt flour, whole wheat flour, local honey (which helps ward off allergies to local pollen), dried nettle leaf, whole flax seeds, hulled hemp seeds, oats, water, yeast and salt.  This unconventional dough is shaped into loaves and allowed to rise.  It is then baked yeilding a dense product akin to a german black rye.  The flavors are very earthy.  It smells almost like a fresh cut lawn and tastes of the complex blend of seeds and grains.

The benefits of this bread stretch beyond pregnancy.  Diabetics have found it has a low glycemic index on account of the reduced carbs.  Customers with a gluten intolerance have been able to partake in a loaf because rye and spelt flour contain little to no gluten.  The bread is also fiber rich thus stimulating digestion.  I'm trying not to say 'it keeps you regular' but it keeps you regular.  It stores remarkably well both at room temperature and frozen.  Also, it is yummy... the best byproduct of all!

Send me an email, crampsey@gmail.com,  if you're interested in ordering a loaf of Josie's Bread.  Due to it's natural ability to last a long time, it ships well too.  That being said, I bet it won't last a long time once you try a slice!

How I Met Your Father

Alex and Kevin

It was three years ago today....

Alex and I recently moved into an apartment on Woodside Ave in Elmhurst, Queens.  We were new to the city and new to Queens.  In fact we had only met a couple months before when our mutual friend Mike Cades, introduced us.  We were both living in horrible basement apartments, a rite of passage in NYC, and we wanted to find a better living situation.  We found a cute, affordable one bedroom that we converted to a two.

Alex's mom came to visit one weekend.  She brought lots of booze from a cheap liquor store she passed by on her way down from Maine.  We drank a couple bottles of wine before we went out to eat Korean BBQ where we drank more wine.  The three of us went back to the apartment and Alex's mom and I were ready for bed.  Alex wasn't tired and she convinced me to go bar hunting with her.  Our bar hunting experiences up to this point consisted of a lesbian booty bar and a latino sports bar.  What we wanted was a good old man's bar where we could drink a few pints of Guiness and not be bothered by sleezy men with too much cologne or scantily clad lesbos.

We decided to walk until we found something interesting.  Six blocks later we came across a shack with a Guiness light in the window.  When we crossed the threshold we new we found it.  We took our stools right next to the two old men (one would later become my landlord) at the end of the bar.  We were enjoying our pints and our conversation.  Alex went to the bathroom and when she returned she quipped "There's a goldmine of hot Irish guys in the back of the bar!".  One of the guys yelled down to us to see if we'd like to try some of his chicken balls.  Apparently there were appetizers in the back of the bar as well.  This guy made his way over and asked us to play a game of pool with the gang.  We agreed.

Alex was partnered with Ciaran and I was partnered with Kevin.  Ciaran was a tall, clean cut sporty guy and Kevin had longish, shaggy hair and hadn't shaved in a good while.  We could hardly understand their thick accents.  I am a horrible pool player and to spite Kevin's talent, we lost miserably.  He vowed he would never play pool with me again.  The night wore on and we all exchanged numbers.  Kevin promised to call the next day to "strike while the iron's hot."

He never called!  ALex and I went to the bar's Christmas party a few days later.  Ciaran, who called Alex twice a day since we met them, was sitting at the bar.  He tracked Kevin down to let him know we were there and a couple hours later, he walked through the door.  We had a great night...lots of dancing...lots of drinking.  Both the boys ended up back at our place where we all stayed up well into the next day.

The third time I saw Kevin was on Christmas day when we'd arranged to meet at the bar.  I told my family I had to work that night so I could get back to Queens to see him.  Alex told her family the same as she was meeting up with Ciaran too.  When Kevin walked in, I hardly recognized him.  He'd shaved his face and his head and I think he even showered.  We sat and talked for a while and then he asked me to marry him.  He said we could go to Vegas and get Elvis to marry us and get our wedding bands tattooed on our fingers.  I knew it was meant to be as this had forever been my dream.  Also, he loved Erasure, John Prine and Eddie Izzard...find me another heterosexual single guy with those qualities...oh, and he had the most striking blue eyes and a deep raspy Irish voice.


Kevin moved into our apartment the next day.  Alex's mom was afraid he'd try to steal our passports.  Six weeks later Kevin and I got married.  Two years later Alex and Ciaran got married.  See, you really can still meet a great guy in a bar.

Mommy's Helper

The bakery is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.  I have to take my sour starters home to feed them and I also take flour and yeast with me to mix the poolish.  Poolish is a 50-50 flour/water starter that I use for my French dough.  Just a pinch of yeast goes in the tub and 18 hours later, the mixture is bubbly and happy.

This isn't the first time I've had to babysit starters.  In school, I had to take the poolish home over one weekend.  It was in a five gallon bucket.  I followed all the instructions as far as water temperature and amount and time to mix, then I put the bucket in front of my door so I couldn't get out of the apartment without moving it.  This was my fail-safe method to remember not to leave the house without it.  When I woke the next morning, the bucket of poolish had bubbled over.  The blob had over taken my living room.  I scooped it up and cleaned it the best I could just to get out the door.  Some fail-safe!  The chef giving the instructions didn't plan on an apartment with no air conditioning in 90 degree weather.  The yeast got a little too friendly with the flour and the rest is permanently ingrained in someone's carpet in Poughkeepsie.

Tuesday morning I was mixing the poolish for Wednesday and Josie was looking on in delight.  I know she can't wait to get her hands in the gooey mess.  I can't wait until she's old enough to mix it for me.  Both of my hands were covered in muck and my glasses started to slip off my face.  I was certain Josie was going to snatch them.  She trys all the time only this time I couldn't stop her without making a total mess of my face and her hands.  She reached over to take them but instead of grabbing them and running for the door, as she does with everything else she isn't supposed to have, she pushed them back up onto my nose.  It was definitely a heart melting moment.  Then she proceeded to scream for twenty minutes because I wouldn't let her get her hands dirty but at least I had my moment.