Quick review of my "I should start writing again" ...

I started this blog to share some family stories and recipes for my sons to have one day.  I've not written in it for quite some time.  I need to start again, if only for some kind journal for fun.  I try to write every day in a gratitude journal, but food is truly an adventure.  I decided, today as a matter of fact, that I might not write the recipes, but just the stories.  Being that I don't measure half the time that I cook, it originally was quite difficult to measure everything and write it down (but I did it!) So, now I will write some of the cooking adventures that I have had during this Corona virus isolation.  Cherry clafouti was a FAIL. This focaccia bread was absolutely delicious.  It will just depend on my mood.  Of course, I will tell cookbook source if used.

I always do a "mise en place".  That's a fancy word for "get all your stuff together" I was a French major, so "mom, dad, I am still using my knowledge...and that trip to Paris and Dijon to study was not in vain!  I'd love to live there again one day!  Thank you! Thank you! Merci beaucoup"  ...but you already knew my love for the place.  Miss talking to both of you!  

I have a bread machine, but there is something about getting your hands in the dough!  

Here is a quick hint!  Mark the outside of your bowl with a chalk marker!  You can really tell where your dough started before the rise.  It is just fun to do.

Ta da!  It was so much fun to decorate!  I believe it was from my Italian cookbook by Lidia Bastianich  It also freezes very well!  I've enjoyed the "fresh out of the oven" taste on several occasions.

Cherry Clafouti - NAILED IT!! FAIL

What to do with all of these cherries?  I know.... I'll make cherry clafouti

Yeah... I've made it before and it wasn't too difficult. I honestly believe that the cherry/olive pit gizmo is one of the best kitchen time savers since slice bread.  I used this on over a pound of cherries.  The batter was easy enough to make.  One direction is the put part of the batter in a baking dish and bake for 2 minutes, then add cherries and rest of batter.  How easy is that?  Well, apparently, not so easy as I messed up somewhere...  It, honest to goodness, could have probably been rolled up and bounced across the floor.  That was the texture of it.  At least I had some great romantic jazz and Andra Day to listen to while I attempted this french dessert.  I will not give up! No, I will make it again soon...just not today.  I'm thinking that I will make a cheesecake. A small bake in a pie pan cheese pie. Brownies would be good too. Darn, I can't decide.  Cheesecake brownies!  That's an idea.  I am not sharing the recipe because, well, it was a fail.  See the scale?  It is supposed to be 105 grams of flour.  I'm just blaming that itty bitty extra gram for the failure! The entire thing was thrown in the bin!