Eighty-one days until October. Something about a storm this morning reminded me of my favorite time of year…autumn. And yes, I love fall thunderstorms. It may be due to the fact that the storms aren’t like the violent ones that tend to dominate spring and summer. Or because the air is ‘just right.’ Not too cold, but with a hint of crispness that just invigorates me. Perfect days to put on your favorite sweater, light some candles, and curl up with a good book and a cup of tea or hot cocoa.
Fall is also the beginning of baking season for me. There isn’t much better in life than to enjoy the aroma of bread filling the house. And my bread machine gets a good workout from October through April. I only use it to make the dough. From there it can become rolls, plain or cinnamon, mozzarella bread sticks or homemade pizza, elephant ears, or even this pepperoni bread thing I bought at a gas station/sort of restaurant in Ohio years ago, and never have been able to duplicate exactly. Oh but it was good!
I use it so much that I’ve given up on buying the three-packs of yeast. Now it’s just the jars you’ll find in my refrigerator. I use it often enough that I bought some little measuring spoons just so I could keep a teaspoon in it, until it’s empty, then open a new jar and transfer it in immediately. I go through two or three every season.
And now that I’ve written this, I suppose I’m going to have to bake something that starts out in my bread machine, whether it’s too hot to do it or not. Whatever it was about the feeling in the air this morning, I’m having visions of a warm slice of buttered, homemade bread. And my daughter, who just wandered by and read a little of this blog, thinks she needs some elephant ears.
Gonna be a busy evening…