Wednesday, December 15, 2021

Favorite Recipe: Homemade Soft Pretzels

 


It’s been a long time since I last talked about what I’ve been cooking or baking on the blog. However, I had to dust off the Favorite Recipe post graphic for this. I finally tried making homemade soft pretzels again, and I found a recipe that’s super simple and tastes great.


The first time I ever tried to make homemade soft pretzels, it didn’t turn out so great. It was years ago, and I was trying a different recipe that I don’t even remember now. The dough didn’t come out right, it was tough to shape, and something was off with the flavor and texture after the baking soda bath + baking.
Fast forward to the end of October 2021, and I had a craving for soft pretzels and wanted to try my hand at making them again. So I did some searching, and I came across the recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction. I gave it a try, and it was easy to make. Before writing up my experience making them, I did two batches on separate days. The first try, I didn’t get the process pictures. So of course I had to make them again!
It’s incredibly simple to make these—few ingredients, short resting time, clear measurements. The dough was simple to mix up and easily shaped. Nothing stuck when I moved on to the boiling, and they baked in 12 minutes once in the oven. They not only smelled like pretzels, but they tasted like them with the texture I was looking for.
I followed the recipe exactly, except for the type of salt I sprinkled on top before baking. I used table salt instead, because I didn’t have fine sea salt on hand. They still tasted great anyway. But you can definitely go with the coarse kind, since it’s standard for soft pretzels.
Overall, this is a great recipe, and I know I will make these again in the near future. Have you made homemade soft pretzels before?


[**Note: photos include (1) the dough after it rested for 10 minutes, (2) the shaped pretzels in the baking soda bath, (3) the pretzels after they were boiled and dusted with salt, and (4) the baked pretzels.**]

Monday, December 13, 2021

Music Monday (183): Baby Tate, Pentatonix, TLC, Boyz II Men & Brian McKnight, Ahmari Lia

 Rules:

  • Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE 
Breana: I had no idea Baby Tate had a holiday album. I know her music best by her features with other artists like Bree Runway and Tkay Maidza. I've been listening to a lot more of her music lately, which is how I ended up finding XMAS. One of my favorite songs is Light Up The Tree featuring NoGum Hundo.

 

Adri: This week I'm listening to some more Christmas music, this time from a small artist. My picks are Last Christmas But it Hit's Different and Christmas is Here by Ahmari Lia.



Andrea: This week I'm listening to The Prayer by Pentatonix, Sleigh Ride by TLC & Let It Snow by Boyz II Men featuring Brian McKnight. 




Have an amazing week!


What songs are on your go-to holiday playlist?


**Note: Adri is starting her break from blogging early, so Andrea and I will be around to answer comments**

Wednesday, December 8, 2021

Review: Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake

Title: Entangled Life
Series: n/a
Author: Merlin Sheldrake
Source/Format: Purchased; Paperback
More Details: Nonfiction; Science
Publisher/Publication Date: Random House Trade; May 12, 2020

Goodreads     Amazon     Barnes & Noble   Target

Synopsis from Goodreads...
When we think of fungi, we likely think of mushrooms. But mushrooms are only fruiting bodies, analogous to apples on a tree. Most fungi live out of sight, yet make up a massively diverse kingdom of organisms that supports and sustains nearly all living systems. Fungi provide a key to understanding the planet on which we live, and the ways we think, feel, and behave. In Entangled Life, the brilliant young biologist Merlin Sheldrake shows us the world from a fungal point of view, providing an exhilarating change of perspective. Sheldrake's vivid exploration takes us from yeast to psychedelics, to the fungi that range for miles underground and are the largest organisms on the planet, to those that link plants together in complex networks known as the "Wood Wide Web," to those that infiltrate and manipulate insect bodies with devastating precision. Fungi throw our concepts of individuality and even intelligence into question. They are metabolic masters, earth makers, and key players in most of life's processes. They can change our minds, heal our bodies, and even help us remediate environmental disaster. By examining fungi on their own terms, Sheldrake reveals how these extraordinary organisms--and our relationships with them--are changing our understanding of how life works.

Toward the end of October, I needed to cleanse my palate before I dived into more fiction. So I picked up one of my recent purchases: Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake. It’s been on my TBR since last year, and I was excited to finally read it. I can officially say that I enjoyed this book. It was an excellent read that had a lot to say on the subject of fungi.

“Fungi are everywhere, but they are easy to miss.”—pg.3

I am not a big fungi enthusiast. I like Portobello mushrooms, and that’s about as far as it ever went. So Fungi aren’t a subject I’ve read too much about in the past. I was instantly intrigue by the idea of Entangled Life, especially after I read Peter Wohlleben’s The Heartbeat of Trees and was looking for something similarly nature science related. That book was a closer look at trees and forests. On the other hand, Entangled Life looked farther down the trunk of a tree, at the ecosystems right beneath our feet. What was revealed was an incredibly complex and interesting narrative that focused on what was taking place above and below ground. The book delved into how it was all connected, what fungi had to do with the development of the environment (based off what some studies had to say about it), and what role they could ultimately play in the future.

Entangled Life is one of the most fascinating books I’ve read this year. I’m glad to have a copy of this book on my shelf, because I know I’ll ultimately return to it again and (probably) again.

Monday, December 6, 2021

Music Monday (182): Tinashe, Keith Urban, BRELAND, Nile Rodgers, Gwen Stefani & Blake Shelton, Soul Central and Billie

Rules:

  • Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE 
Breana: I'm still listening to Tinashe's Comfort & Joy. Another one of my favorite songs is Angels We Have Heard On High.

 

Adri: My pick this week is In-Ten-City by Soul Central featuring Billie. All I have to say is that I love a good play on words.


Andrea: This week I'm listening to Out The Cage by Keith Urban Featuring Breland & Nile Rodgers. Oh the greatness featured on this song. My Christmas song for this week is You Make It Feel Like Christmas by Gwen Stefani featuring Blake Shelton.



Wishing you and your family the best this holiday season!


What are you listening to this week?


Friday, December 3, 2021

The Friday 56 (210) & Book Beginnings: Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

Book Beginnings is a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader that asks you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you're reading.


Synopsis from Goodreads...
When we think of fungi, we likely think of mushrooms. But mushrooms are only fruiting bodies, analogous to apples on a tree. Most fungi live out of sight, yet make up a massively diverse kingdom of organisms that supports and sustains nearly all living systems. Fungi provide a key to understanding the planet on which we live, and the ways we think, feel, and behave. In Entangled Life, the brilliant young biologist Merlin Sheldrake shows us the world from a fungal point of view, providing an exhilarating change of perspective. Sheldrake's vivid exploration takes us from yeast to psychedelics, to the fungi that range for miles underground and are the largest organisms on the planet, to those that link plants together in complex networks known as the "Wood Wide Web," to those that infiltrate and manipulate insect bodies with devastating precision. Fungi throw our concepts of individuality and even intelligence into question. They are metabolic masters, earth makers, and key players in most of life's processes. They can change our minds, heal our bodies, and even help us remediate environmental disaster. By examining fungi on their own terms, Sheldrake reveals how these extraordinary organisms--and our relationships with them--are changing our understanding of how life works.


Beginning: "I looked up toward the top of the tree. Ferns and orchids sprouted from its trunk, which vanished into a tangle of lianas in the canopy."

56: "Over short distances, substances can be transported through mycelial networks on a network of microtubules--dynamic filaments of protein that behave like a cross between scaffolding and elevators."


Comments: Entangled Life has been on my TBR since 2020. I finally got around to it, and it's one of my favorite nonfiction reads of the year. What are you reading this week?

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