TWD - Bagels

Have you ever done distracted baking? Not the baking that you do to distract you from your woes, but baked or cooked while distracted because you had to. Maybe it was because you couldn't or shouldn't go out to eat again and should use that box of spinach that you picked up at the large wholesale bonanza store. Or baked because you have been neglecting your promise to the TWD group and you can't ask your sister to bake again because that would be wrong and you should save those favors for important things like kidneys or get out of jail cards.

Well I have been baking distracted. My poor, poor bagels. I barely read the recipe, couldn't have the patience to let them rise and my punches were weak.

These bagels didn't get the love that they should've and to top it all I also tweaked the recipe. So not much brain power went into my tweaking either. I switched out the sugar for malt and honey and added pumpkin spice instead of the black pepper. It sounds good, but I didn't really pay attention if those changes would suffice.

They didn't.

I know, just follow the recipe and you wouldn't have to worry about sad bagels.

sad, sad bagel

There's this song called "Sad Robot". This might describe my bagels. Sad, sad bagels.


But on an unrelated note, I am now the proud owner of green jeans. And not just green, but skinny, green jeans. Look out world, here comes Misses Green Jeans and her bagel top!

Where's the holes?

I'm sorry bagels, you got more love at Heather's Bytes I think.


So why am I distracted, it's a little thing called life. Sometimes it's just distracting for no good reason.

TWD - Cranberry Pumpkin Walnut Loaf

How do you bake bread in a hotel room with only a microwave and mini fridge? I can poach salmon in my coffee maker. Or make a nice grilled cheese with my iron. And it seems if I had thought to bring my rice cooker I could have made some outstanding meals!

I did try, I purchased a toaster/convection oven thinking that I could do a lot of things with it and I could have if I hadn't chickened out and thought that I would get in trouble with the hotel. And I think I would have. It's not safe to bake in your hotel room, do you hear me, not safe at all even if it's for the goodness of the blog. So next best thing...call my sister and ask if she would bake it for me and send me pictures and tell me her thoughts.

"Sister would you please take many hours out of your already busy life and make some bread for me so I can tell the world about it? Please, I know you will love the recipe! And you are a master bread maker and please?"

Thanks sister :)

Well her verdict, the recipe took two days! And it didn't taste that good! And she didn't mind because she's a good sister.

Thanks sister :)

Yes, it was a long recipe and with all the great sounding ingredients, it just wasn't a home run for her or her husband. She couldn't taste the pumpkin, only the cranberries and raisins. She said it smelled great while baking, but just didn't cut the mustard even when it was generously slathered with butter. (Don't know why she used mustard in the recipe.)

Well shucks. My sister is a master break maker so I know it wasn't her. I was sure this recipe would be a winner, now I feel sorta bad for asking her to work on it. Well only sorta, she is my big sister and I'm sure there is something that she did to me when I was young that this is pay back for ;)

Thanks sister :)

It's cute though.

Now you readers scamper on over to This Bountiful Backyard and Heather's Bytes to find out the true meaning of Christmas - wait I mean the recipe to this bread.