Dirty Laundry

Writer, Baker

Writing is fun (and sometimes exasperating) and, strangely enough, so is making bread.  I made my very first loaf of bread from scratch today.  Well, it wasn’t exactly a loaf.  More of a hearty, tear-apart bun bread.  I’d avoided trying to make bread for many years because it seemed a daunting task. And I’m here to tell you, it is.  But not as daunting as you might imagine.  Sure it takes time and yeast measuring and a bit of kneading and pounding and waiting while the dough rises and then kneading in salt because you forgot to add it to the flour (the exasperating part) and then some more waiting while the dough rises again, but when all’s said and done and you’re tucking into the steaming hot fresh bread, all the work seems worth it. 

Looks good, huh?

I take none of the credit for my cooking skills.  My wife is very thankful that I have “become such a great chef” since we met.  And while it’s true, I have learned how to cook a lot better than I used to, it’s mostly because of two things:

First off, my wife is a very appreciative audience.  But also, an honest one.  She will tell you if something does not taste good (or, she might not tell YOU, but she would definitely tell ME - because if she doesn’t, I might make it again).  And so, in her being so forthright, I know that when she says she likes something, she really likes it (this works the same with my writing, which is really nice to have in a first reader, but can sometimes feel like a kick to the nuts).

The second reason I have bettered my cheffing (this doesn’t seem to be a real word, hmm) is because my cooking guru is Jamie Oliver.  If you don’t know who he is, get to know him.  He has six or seven cookbooks out and I have them all.  He has several cooking shows on the Cooking Network and I’ve seen most of them.  His recipes are basic, simple and delicious.  I recommend them without hesitation.  In fact, ninety-five percent of all my recipes come from his books and shows.  I know this starting to sound like a commercial, but I have to give credit where credit is due. 

In other news, the writing seems to be chugging along.  I feel like I’ve finally broken the back of this rewrite.  Now it’s a race to the deadline to see if I can finish in time.  I seem to be stacking up pages, but it never seems fast enough.  I’ve been getting up super early so that I can pack in a few more hours, so we will see.

Good news on the Swim the Fly front.  I’ve just been informed that the publisher is going into a second printing.  Which is really cool.  So hold onto those first editions, people.  You never know how much they could be worth in a couple hundred years.  Of course, we’ll all be dead by then, but pass it on to your children’s children and watch them (from heaven, I’m assuming, or, you know, the other place) cackle with laughter as they rake in the dough.  Or maybe they’ll just be cackling at your insanity for actually saving this book for two hundred years.  Anyway, what’s even more cool is the new cover - which is just the old cover now peppered with review blurbs.  If you already have a copy, you’re going to want to buy a new copy with all the great blurbs so that you can be assured that you were right in liking the book in the first place.

Anyway, “au revoir, amis” (because now, not only am I an obnoxious baker of breads, I am also going to start speaking in French while I do my baking!)
 

 

Posted by Don Calame on 8.26.09 at 06:37 pm in Prattlings. (0) Comments