On with the dance! let joy be unconfined;
No sleep till morn, when Youth and Pleasure meet
To chase the glowing hours with flying feet.

~Lord Byron

I love to dance!  I've always loved to dance, but never knew how.  I mean, I can dance in a club ... but to actually dance a dance like salsa, tango, samba, etc. seemed like such a foreign idea that would never be part of my reality.  However, at the end of October I started trekking down to Harrisburg twice a week to dance salsa, bachata, merengue, and cha-cha.  My sister calls it my mid-week weekend:)

I love when Wednesday rolls around and I know I'll be headed to Rueda de Casino lessons, a Cuban-style of salsa dancing . . . such fun!!!  Everyone dances in a circle, and one of the men calls out a move, which everyone then does together.  Some moves are just with your current partner and others require a partner change.  While you don't learn a routine, when the moves begin stringing themselves together, it looks like a well-rehearsed routine.  Some of my favorite times salsa dancing are when there are enough people at the club who know rueda . . . I love that you can dance with people you've never met before and have a spontaneous synchronized dance.  I don't have any videos or pictures of our Rueda practices/dances, but this video will give you a good idea of what it is all about.

Then on Thursday nights I head to a salsa meetup and dance from 8 till midnight.  In addition to the dancing, I love having a reason to get dressed up.  I love having the chance to put on a dressy top or a dress and know that I won't be overdressed.  When I get home from work, putting on a pair of skinny jeans and a fun top, doing my hair and makeup, and slipping on my heels is a complete energy boost.   It's like I get to live two days within one.   

My first time dancing salsa in Harrisburg was not so good.  I didn't really know what I was doing, and all they provide you with is a 30 minute lesson.  Of course, everything fell apart on the dance floor then.  Any turn or cross body lead or slight variation from the basic step threw me off, but I slowly have picked it up through tips from different partners.  The rueda de casino classes have been extremely helpful too.  Merengue and Bachata are much easier to pick up.  The steps are less technical, so they are just easier dances to jump into with no previous lessons.  I think bachata is my favorite of the three.  A friend got a short clip of my dancing bachata, which I was excited about.  The nice thing about this clip is that it is the basic bachata steps only, so it makes it easy to pick out what basic structure of that dance.

Happily, the rueda instructors from Harrisburg are going to be starting a rueda class 30 minutes from where I live.  I'm excited to be able to more easily share my love of dancing with some of my friends:)

When at first you don't succeed . . .

I finally cracked open my bread cookbook on Tuesday.  The title of the book is  Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day.  The reality of the situation is that you need more like 2 hours a day if you want to make a fresh loaf, but, of course, 1 hour and 55 minutes of it is just "wait time".  Once the dough is made, the hands on time is only 5 minutes.

However, this oversight on my part began what has become a string of failures on making bread.  Luckily the dough recipe makes enough for 6 loaves ... so the failures have been disappointing, but relatively painless.

Failure 1
I prepared a chunk of dough, let it sit out for 90 minutes, preheated the oven and pizza stone, did the last minute dough preparations, and placed the bread in the oven ... 5 minutes later I realized I had to leave to meet up with a friend.  So, out came the dough, already slightly cooked, to sit on the counter for several hours before I could try baking it again.  I assumed the whole in the oven, out of the oven, and then back in would not make for a good loaf, but I had to give it a try.  The result was a rock solid, inedible ball of "bread".

Failure 2
This failure was very minor.  As before, I went through all the preparations successfully.  I placed the dough in the oven and was able to take it out the recommended 30 minutes later.  It was still slightly undercooked inside ... this bread was still edible and quite yummy, but I wouldn't want to serve it to anyone.  Lesson learned - I know it needs an extra 5 minutes in my oven.

Failure 3
This failure may be my most disappointing.  My roommate and I were having some friends over for the evening.  I made haluski and thought some rye bread would be a good pairing with it.  The timing for the dough prep worked out well ... the bread and the haluski were going to be done within minutes of people arriving.  Perfect . . .  or not . . .  after the bread baking for over 10 minutes I realized that in my haste, I had just plopped the dough in the oven without the last minute preparations - cutting slits, brushing with water, and sprinkling with caraway seeds.  It all seemed so minor, until I opened the oven door to see if it was still turning out okay and looked at a over-puffed blob of dough.  In the end, it tasted fine, it just wasn't too attractive of a loaf.

I have enough dough for at least 3 more tries . . .  practice makes perfect, I hope :)

Here is the recipe that I have used for my rye bread:

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 3/4 cups rye flour
2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 cup vital wheat gluten
1 1/2 T granulated yeast (or 2 packets)
1 T kosher salt
1 1/2 tsp caraway seeds (plus some for sprinkling on top crust)
4 cups lukewarm water

Mixing and Storing Dough

Whisk together the flours, yeast, salt, caraway seeds, and vital wheat gluten

Add the water and mix without kneading, using a spoon

Cover (not airtight) and allow the dough to rest at room temperature until it rises and collapses (or flattens on top) ... about 2 hours

The dough can be used immediately or it can be refrigerated over the next 7 days.  Waiting at least 24 hours will give you better flavor. 

Baking Day

Cut off a 1 pound (grape-fruit size piece) of dough.

Dust the dough with flour and quickly shape it into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go.  Elongate the ball into a narrow oval.

Allow the loaf to rest for 90 minutes on a silicon mat prepared with cornmeal or parchment paper.

Preheat the oven and pizza stone to 450F 30 minutes before baking.

Just before placing the loaf in the oven, brush the top with water, sprinkle with additional caraway seeds, and slash the loaf with 1/4-inch-deep parallel cuts using a serrated bread knife.

Slide the loaf directly onto the hot stone.

Place a baking dish filled with 1 cup of tap water on the rack below the bread.

Cook the bread for 30 to 35 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow the bread to cool on a rack

As much as my bread-baking experiences thus far have been less than perfect, I am still loving it.  I love being able to make an amazingly delicious fresh loaf of bread fairly easily.  I also love being able to buy flour.  When I walk through the flour section of the grocery store I always want to buy all the different types - buckwheat flour, corn meal, wheat flour, bread flour, rye flour, etc - but I never have a reason.  Now I do!

Snow Day!

As do most people, I love snow days.  Unlike on a weekend where I will sleep until I wake up at 10:00, the phone call in the morning bringing the good news makes me aware that I would have had to wake up soon, but I get to sleep in instead.  The other bonus about snow days is that there are no previous plans or commitments ... the whole day is open for me to do whatever I want (and catch up on a lot of things too).   Today I cleaned my bedroom and kitchen, ordered a few things off of Amazon, wrote a couple of e-mails, baked bread, made corn chowder, and penned a few blog posts (and it is only 6:30)!

Every snow day I usually try to make a dinner that is hearty and cozy ... it just fits the snow day mood.  So, corn chowder seemed to be a good choice.  I pulled my America's Test Kitchen cookbook off the shelf (the recipes are always amazing) and trudged off to the grocery store to buy a few ingredients I was missing.  Here is the recipe (adapted slightly)

Corn Chowder
4 lbs frozen corn
4 oz. bacon, chopped fine (about 4 slices) 
1 onion, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth (I prefer Swanson brand if I don't have any homemade on hand)
2 cups whole milk
12 oz. red potatoes, scrubbed and chopped into 1/4 cubes
2 bay leaves
1 tsp fresh thyme
1 cup heavy cream
2 T minced fresh parsley

• Chop bacon, onion, potatoes, and garlic
• Puree 2.5 lb. frozen corn and all the broth together (keep it chunky)
• Cook bacon in a large Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp.
• Add onions and cook until softened.
• Add garlic and cook until fragrant (about 30 sec.)
• Add the corn/broth puree and milk - scrape up any brown bits from the bacon.

• Stir in the potatoes, bay leaves, and thyme - bring to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are almost tender (about 15 minutes).
• Stir in the remaining frozen corn and cream - simmer for about 5 minutes
• Discard the bay leaves, stir in the fresh parsley, and season with salt/pepper to taste.

The soup was delicious.  The only thing that I would change next time I make it is to puree the corn and broth for less time.  Instead of a thick, chunky base it became more of a smooth broth.  So, I guess it is all a matter of preference.

January 9-15

My theme for the week of January 9-15 was white ... inspired by the snow-covered January landscape.  I'm affectionately calling this week my White Album so I found an "album" style photo display on  Slide to present my pictures this week.
Here's the link to my official 365 Project page. 

Winter Getaway

I spent an idyllic weekend up in the Poconos at Aunt E and Uncle S's vacation home.  Snow was falling gently Friday night through Saturday night, when I left, creating a continuously new layer of fresh, powdery fluff. There is something "other-wordly" about the Poconos.  Maybe it is because there is no TV, maybe it is because cell phone reception is spotty, maybe it is because I have literally a lifetime of winter and summer memories there . . . whatever it is, though, makes for a pure escape from the world.

chipmunk from pillow

 Friday evening began with a delicious meal at Murphy's Loft and ended with a horrific discovery of a dead chipmunk in my pillow.  I slept in a different room that night!  Saturday opened with a lazy morning that did not begin until a little after 10:00.  Uncle S served one of his famous egg, potato, sausage, cheese "omelettes" - yum!  After cleaning up breakfast we read by the fire.  I think any book is improved by the warmth and light of a fire :)  When mom and dad arrived we went for a walk through the development, which was beautiful because the roads were completely snow-covered.  Saturday ended with a long, leisurely 3 course meal that stretched for several hours.  It was the perfect end to a rejuvenating weekend.

January 1-8

Here begins the first week of my 365 project . . . 51 more weeks to go.  If you're interested you can check out my 365 Project site.  You're welcome to view pictures there, but it is not necessary as I'll be posting them all here as well :)
Since I don't find blogger to be very picture friendly (any help/suggestions/tips for adding and arranging pictures is welcome), I am going to be experimenting with a variety of slideshow type applications.  I'm testing out PictureTrail here.

New Year 2011

"And now we welcome the new year, full of things that have never been." ~R. M. Rilke

This New Year's was spent with friends and family in New York City.  More than some new years, 2011 ushers in a year of new beginnings for me.  So, in following with the tradition, I have come up with a few New Year's resolutions.

Resolution 1 - Bake my own bread

This past fall I ate the most delicious rye bread ever at a church get together.  I made a mental note to ask where the person had found bread this amazing in the area when she began talking about how she made the bread and how easy it was.  I immediately thought it had to be a bread maker recipe if it was homemade and so easy, but I was wrong.  She showed me her book, Healthy Bread in Five Minutes as Day, and then let me borrow it to copy down a recipe or two from it.  When I got it home and began looking through the book, I realized I wanted to copy the whole book, but I also didn't want to wait a few months to get it for Christmas or my birthday . . . so the next day I went to the book store and bought a copy for myself.  I also got a pizza stone, which is required, and then never did anything else.  I haven't cracked open the book since then.  So, my resolution is to make the dough once a month and then bake a loaf from the pre-made dough once a week or as necessary.

Resolution 2 - Take up photography

For my college graduation, I received a Canon Rebel XT camera from my extremely generous Aunt E and Uncle S.  My Aunt E is interested in photography and has taken several classes at a local college.  So, I spent 2 weekends at her house having a "photography weekend" where I learned about aperture, depth of field, ISO, white balance, etc.  After that summer, I felt fairly proficient, but since then the "use it or lose it" principle has taken over.  So, I am going to re-enter the world of focusing, shutter speed. and flashes to learn how to use my camera again.  Taking a photo a day for an entire year seems a bit daunting, but I think I am going to take up the challenge of the 365 Project.  I will have a weekly post on my blog with the photos from the past week - and now that it is in writing I can't back out ;)

Resolution 3 - Paint something for my apartment

Painting is something I have wanted to do for years, but always seemed impossible.  Last spring I took a few drawing classes at the local YMCA Arts Center to prepare myself for some painting classes.  However, like many other things, I started but never finished.  Unfortunately, since then I have taken up salsa dancing, which is on Thursday nights, the same time the drawing classes are offered.  So, the drawing classes are on hold for now . . . . but my new sister-in-law is a painter and has promised to help me paint something for myself - YAY!  My apartment has far too many blank walls, and I want to be able to fill them with my own work, not a print from Wal-Mart.  So, this one will probably be on hold until the summer, but I'm am going to make this happen in 2011!

What are your New Year's resolutions?