Life is Perfect

Yesterday was an extraordinary day. It's not that anything out of the ordinary happened. The day was quite typical. I got up, had coffee, made the bed, went to work, came home. All the usual things one does during the day. What was extraordinary was my attitude towards life has finally seemed to shift in the right direction. I finally realized that life is perfect the just way it is right now.

I have spent most of my life trying to make to make things perfect. When I played clarinet as a boy I would practice for hours and hours on end because I was never good enough. When I started singing it was the same thing. Hours and hours of practice and I was never good enough.

As a young man I became obsessed with my appearance. I would spend hours in front of the mirror doing my hair, ironing my clothes and making sure the pastel blue of my socks was the exact shade of blue in my shirt (it was the 80s so I get some slack here) and I never looked good enough.

In the 90s I went on this journey of self discovery where I would examine each and every thing that was wrong in my life and was wrong with me. I didn't really do anything about it, I just looked at it. I examined my inner child so closely that my outer adult grew weary. Nothing was good enough.

In my late 30s I started obsessing about the "shoulds." I should be further in my career. I should own a house. I should have these kinds of friends and those kinds of things. Nothing was good enough.

The last year I completely spiraled deep into a little midlife crisis. Now I knew it was me that not good enough and it was too late. For so long I have never been completely satisfied with anything, mostly myself. I was certain I was too old to change and life was what it was - not good enough. I have spent a lot of time regretting the past and looking for more in the future. I have never sat and just enjoyed the present. I mean really enjoyed the present until yesterday.

Last night when I was getting ready for bed I had this new and wonderful feeling - contentment. I don't think I have ever really felt that so strongly or so completely. This really didn't come out of the blue. I have been working on this for a long time and recently I have been working really hard at it. Well, it paid off. This feeling, though, is not what I expected. It's better. I finally know that my life, right now, is perfect. Everything about it is perfect. My job, my friends, my partner, my birds, my home and most importantly me! Everything is as it should be. Right here, right now.

Yesterday really was an extraordinary day. It was perfect.

Bread Machine Sour Dough

What a glorious day! I woke up in such a wonderful mood and was quickly rewarded by the Universe: the sun was brightly shining and the boys were particularly happy to see me. Their excitement and love for me each morning is a great way to start the day. It feels good to be needed. Maybe that's why I like making sour dough bread. It kind of needs you to get started.

I have been obsessed with making sourdough bread since we got a bread machine last October. I tried endlessly to get my sourdough starter going with poor results. Everything always started out right, but in a couple of days I would only have a sad jar of yuck. I tried again and again. I finally discovered the King Arthur Flour website and they had just what I needed - Classic Fresh Sourdough Starter and complete directions. Apparently, it is descended from a starter in New England that has been nurtured since the 1700s. Wow, it's more than just an ingredient, it's almost like a pet!

My little plastic jar of started arrived with complete instructions and the request to feed it. I placed it right in the jar that I just had to buy and fed it according to the instructions. Four hours later that starter was going to town! It had more than doubled in size and was bubbling like mad. Finally, I had a happy starter. After a couple of weeks feeding I was ready to make my bread!

Since I was determined to make this in my bread machine, I went to one of my many cookbooks and found what I thought looked like a good recipe. The result? Failure. Boo! The bread was doughy inside. Determined not to give up I searched the web and it didn't take long to find a recipe on Recipezaar. Not only did it have great reviews, it was surprisingly simple. The result? Fantastic sourdough bread. The crust was crunchy and the inside was soft and chewy, just like it should be. I have made this bread four times and each time it's been delicious. I have no idea how it stacks up to other recipes besides the one I tried because this one is a hit!

The recipe below makes a 1 1/2 pound loaf. Use the basic bread setting on medium or light. (We prefer light.) Don't use the delay function with this recipe.

Oh! By the way, this starter is honestly going to town, so if you live near me and want some hit me up!

Ingredients

• 2 2/3 cup bread flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons bread machine yeast*
• 1 cup sourdough starter
• 3/4 cup water

Instructions

1. Take your starter out of the refrigerator and feed it about 4 - 12 hours before you want to make the bread.
2. Add all the ingredients to your bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer.
3. Bake on the basic cycle with medium or light crust setting.
4. Remove and cool immediately when finished.
   

Notes

Depending on the brand of yeast you have you might need a little less. The recipe calls for 1 1/2 teaspoons of yeast, but I have found in general that my machine and yeast brand usually requires more than the recipe so I used 2 teaspoons.

Chef Joe's Culinary Salon

I have wanted to take cooking classes for a long time but they always were either totally inconvenient or way too expensive. Enter The Culinary Salon. My friend, Greg, heard about them and asked if I wanted to take classes with him. I jumped at the chance. The location, right in Castro, couldn't be more convenient for me and with the variety of classes and prices I could easily find something in my price range. In fact I signed up for Thursday night classes for the entire month of September.

Chef Joe offered a "Tribute to Julia Child & The Art of French Cooking" series and we decided to take all four of the Le Bistro classes . Since we had just seen "Julie and Julia" the classes seemed perfect. There are only six people in each class so you are sure you get a hand at all tasks. You also get personalized attention from Chef Joe who is not only an amazing chef, but a delightful person.

Each week we prepared a specific menu, but these are not random menus. They are well thought out and not only allow you to make a fabulous meal, but teach you invaluable cooking skills. However, the proof is in the pudding. Can you make these dishes when you get home? You betcha! The weekend following each class I tried my hand at the entire menu and we had four weekends of fabulous eating. I could never have whipped these meals up with such ease and perfection had in not been for Chef Joe. Once you have finished cooking, you dine with the chef and your fellow classmates, who by now are your new-found friends.

Whether you know how to cook or not, these classes are great for every level. There's lots of fun to be had and lots of learning to do. They also make a great gift! Check out Chef Joe's schedule. You are sure to find a class that's right for you.

Since I have personally made all the dishes from the Le Bistro classes I am dying to show off my skills. I will be blogging about each class individually next week, but until then check out this video from my four classes.

Potato Leek Soup

One thing Joey and I both want to do this year is lose weight. We all know it's "easy." All one needs to do is eat healthily and exercise. I wish there was a way to divide up those duties. I would gladly let Joey do the exercise part and I would do the eating. It seems totally fair to me. Of course that is not the case, so we need to do both together.

Another thing we want to do this year is save money. That ranks right up there with exercise for me. I have visions of myself waddling to The Dollar Store to buy discount SlimFast. At least I would have all my bases covered. Rather than do that I am going to focus on low-fat, inexpensive, healthy meals. I was shocked to find it surprisingly easy. There are a myriad of low-fat cookbooks out there and I have most of them! I recently purchased 1,000 Lowfat Recipes by Terry Blonder Golson and along with all the other great recipes is a fantastic soup chapter. I had a lot of potatoes and found this great recipe. Not only is it 123 calories per serving, it's completely nonfat. As with most soups you can make this well ahead of time and it can be served hot or chilled. Either way it's a light yet satisfying soup.

Ingredients

• 3 cups chopped leeks, including the light green part, washed well and chopped
• 4 cups peeled, shredded all-purpose potatoes
• 6 cups reduced-sodium, defatted chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 Tablespoon minced fresh chives
• 1 Tablespoon fresh parsley
• Freshly ground pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup plain non-fat yogurt

Instructions

1. Simmer leeks, potatoes, broth, and salt in a pot for 30 minutes.
2. Add the chives and parsley.
3. Cook for 10 minutes more.
4. Season to taste.
5. Puree if a smoother soup is preferred.
6. Chill or serve immediately with a dollop of yogurt.

Notes

• I chopped my leaks first thing then soaked them in cold water while I gathered up all the other ingredients or ten minutes. Then rinsed and drained them. Leaks can have a lot of sand.
• If you intend to puree the soup, you can just cut the potatoes into small pieces, which faster than shredding them.
• I didn't have chicken broth so I used mushroom broth and vegetable broth. It was really tasty and is a great vegetarian way to make the soup.

Challah Bread Pudding with Chocolate and Raisins

My goodness, it's been way too long since I wrote in my blog! Where did all the time go? Not that I really mind 2009 coming to an end, but I feel like the last few months have just flown by! With 2010 right around the corner and New Year's resolutions popping up, I felt it time to get back on the ball and start writing again. And, I have the perfect recipe for it! Dave Lieberman's Challah Bread Pudding. This is one of my all-time favorite recipes and it's really super easy. In fact, I not only made it once, but twice over the weekend! The first time was for Christmas at our friend Raquel's house and the second was for Joey's reunion party. I am pleased to say that both times it was a hit. That's really saying a lot for anything put up against Raquel's food!

When I was preparing this, I made it two ways. One with the bread sliced in 1 1/2 inch slices, which is what the recipe calls for (pictured above); and, one with the bread in 1 1/2 inch cubes (pictured below). While the taste is the same, I prefer the bread cubed, which is great because it actually was a mistake on my part. I love it when mistakes turn into happy accidents!

This is a dish everyone should try. It's so creamy and delicious and honestly is not all that hard to make.

Ingredients

• 4 cups whole milk, warmed
• 1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter, melted in microwave
• 1 1/2 cups sugar 6 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 loaf challah bread, cut into 1 1/2-inch slices or cubed
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup raisins

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Combine warmed milk and melted butter with the sugar, eggs, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Whisk until incorporated and smooth.
3. Line a large baking dish with two-thirds of the challah slices. Sprinkle with half the chocolate chips and half the raisins. Top with remaining challah slices, layering them one on top of the other, and then remaining chocolate chips and raisins, making sure the chips and raisins get inside the layers created by the challah slices.
4. Pour milk mixture slowly over the top of everything and let stand until the bread has absorbed almost all of the liquid, 5 to 10 minutes.
5. Wrap the baking dish tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 50 minutes. Remove the aluminum foil and cook 10 to 15 minutes longer until set in the middle and lightly browned on top.
6. Remove from oven and let cool before serving.

Notes

Try to use as deep a baking dish as possible as this tends to really puff up and spill while cooking making a huge mess of your oven. I learned this the hard way.