This week was a good week for learning… at least for me…and I thought I’d share what I learned with you all!
Thing One:
Pita success happened. Or at least I found a very tasty and easy recipe. And while some of my pita’s puffed up, not all of them did – or at least not the entire pita puffed up. The answer to this dilemma is right here! (Hint… apparently I have a cold spot in my oven and Steve thinks that the baking steel heating the entire preheat might be triggering the oven to turn itself down.) So when I bake them again I will turn my oven up and put the baking steel in just 30 minutes before I am gonna drop those pita’s on it. Anyways. They were soft and delicious. The bit of whole wheat flour was the perfect addition… the taste was brilliant. To celebrate we had a “mini-happy hour” last night with my favorite baked feta with these tomatoes and these chickpeas.
Thing Two:
Also in the baking category…and perhaps this will give you a huge hint as to how incredible the weather was this week. I had the urge to bake.all.the.things! Ha! Anyways, I had such a craving for chocolate chip cookies… but I really did not want several dozen cookies laying around the house. Occasionally, nothing hits the spot like a warm cookie and I like the idea of the “ready to bake” cookies that the grocers have… the taste, however, leaves a lot to be desired. I wondered if I could make a batch of dough, bake a few cookies, and freeze the remainder of the batch…
And you know what! YOU CAN! Oh.my.gosh! This is a game changer people! I used the “recipe from the back of the chocolate chip bag” so the most basic of recipes. I then lined two baking sheets with parchment and scooped cookie dough exactly like I would if I was going to bake them and then I popped those baking sheets loaded with cookie dough in the freezer. The next morning, I pulled the baking sheets out and filled a ziplock bag with frozen cookie balls. Now here is the BEST PART! Want a cookie with your afternoon coffee… simple. Turn on the oven, pull out a ball (or two) of cookie dough and bake it exactly as the recipe says. Voilà! Fresh baked cookies! (Note… if you are baking a pan of frozen cookies, you probably will need to add some baking time)
Thing Three:
This had a visceral effect on me this week… another tick in the “man’s inhumanity to man” category. And then I learned that this was not a first. This listen by Codeswitch was eye opening, I had never, ever heard about Reverse Freedom Rides… and listening to the Codeswitch podcast from 2020 eerily similar to what happened this week. My hope… is that there are more people in Florida, Texas, and Arizona who are embarrassed (angry…disgusted…enraged…) at these tactics by their governors and that this will be a tipping point for change.
And that is all I have for this week! (Sorry for the somewhat lame image above… that is the Feisty Carolina wren who sings to Sherman and me everyone morning!)
Have a great weekend and I will see you all back here on Monday!
Congratulations on your pita success; I just might give them a try this weekend so thanks for the recipe. I appreciate the ready-to-bake cookie advice, but I fear that you have just instructed me how to make frozen cookie balls. 🙂 I would be tempted every time I went down to the freezers and I know John would eat them all if he found them. Ron DeSantis is evil and I fear that he’ll continue to show up in the political future. I just made a donation to Martha’s Vineyard Community Services. It’s not large, but bravo to the people of Martha’s Vineyard for acting humanely. (I love your Carolina wren photo!)
Oh dear, I did not think of the cookie dough part… I am not a fan of raw cookie dough. I know, what is wrong with me! LOL
I hope you have Pita Success if you try them! Fresh baked pitas are incredibly tasty!
Yay for Pita success!! I want to try that. I had hoped to make tomato jam today…but 3 conference calls this morning will not allow that…perhaps over the weekend (before the tomatoes on the counter rot). Frozen cookie dough…I think I’m glad I do not have a chest freezer. That would be very, very dangerous!! Ron deSantis IS EVIL. Back to my calls…
Thanks for sharing the frozen cookie dough idea, perfect for me because I live alone and sometimes crave a fresh baked cookie!
What DeSantis and Abbott have done is cruel and evil. To treat these people like trash for a political stunt is beyond the pale. I am inspired by the response by the people of Martha’s Vineyard.
Hope you have a great weekend!
First of all . . . that is a stunning photo of the Feisty Carolina wren. Love it. Second . . . I love the frozen cookies-ready-to-bake idea, and may try it myself someday soon. (I am not a fan of cookie dough, so I will be less tempted by the frozen potential-cookies than baked actual-cookies.) And ohmygod the nasty things these politicians will try. . . I just don’t know how they live with themselves.
Hooray for pita success! I think we may have a pizza stone somewhere the dark corners of our basement (maybe?), but if not, that would be a good reason to get one. Likewise, I knew freezing balls of cookie dough was possible — that’s how my mother makes her matzah balls ahead of the holidays — but never really thought to do it. I think whipping up a batch of cookie dough might be on tap for the weekend, because nothing is better than fresh-baked cookies and it would be so simple (and better for my waistline) to just take out a few and bake them while we’re having dinner so they’re ready for dessert.
I’ve been mentally shaking my head and raging a bit about DeSantis’ latest stunt, and what gets me the most angry is how dehumanizing these type of acts are. Grrr!
I hope in spite of the existence of people like this, you are able to have a good weekend. Looks like the weather will be perfection!
I started doing the frozen cookie dough thing when Dale and I became empty nesters, it’s a game changer for sure. Glad you had pita success! And I can’t even talk about what a piece of crap Desantis is. Fortunately, the people of Massachusetts have taken good care of the people he sent here as pawns in his political game.
Oh dear, frozen cookie dough sounds terrific and a terrible temptation. I might have to try it though. I love the photo of the Carolina Wren.
Lovely baking tips, home made cookies are the best.
I am loving your cookie dough idea…it is a game changer! So glad the pita baking was a success. Chilly weather is heading our way!!