08 August, 2010

Sunday is bronchitis, yeast and numb arms

The blog post title makes it sound like a party, huh?  

Nope, not a lot of partying going on here. Stu has come down with what I have been battling for nearly a month (a month!) The diagnosis for me when we went to the doctor in Germany was bronchitis and I was sent home with an antibiotics prescription.  I must have had a virus and not a bacterial infection, because the pills did nothing. So I've just had to let it take its sweet time and run its course. And now Stu has gotten it! 


Yesterday it poured torrentially and we didn't leave the house. I have a feeling today is looking the same. 


Thank god, however, because I spent 9 hours with the kids I nanny for on Thursday (yes, that's right, 4 days ago) and my arms, my shoulders, my back and my neck *still* ache from all the pushing I did of heavy little children on the swings. The smallest fell asleep while I was carrying him the 8 block walk home from the park. Man, that kid felt like I was hoisting a ton of bricks. Seriously, who needs to work out when you have children to entertain?!?

(I thought it was cute while I could still feel my arms...)

But the other part of the blog post title is "yeast." I bought a bunch of fresh yeast the other day because it cost the equivalent of 7 cents and I felt like that was reason enough to bake something with it. But I never use fresh yeast, just the dry packets of insta-poof that you mix with sugar and warm water, so I didn't even know how much to use for anything. As you know, I have bad luck getting baked goods to rise in this country.  Do they even have fresh yeast in the States?  Seems like a dumb question...I'm sure it is available, but much like pre-made frozen piecrusts, there is always something faster & easier than the real thing.  
A little seems to go a long way. Ambitiously, I made a loaf of bread, pizza dough, and a batch of kanelbullar. All from one little block of pasty, nasty-smelling yeast. Stu and I instantly ate 2 cinnamon buns a piece, so they passed the test. We'll see about the bread and pizza dough. Our friend Patrick is staying with us for a few days, and he is a baking genius, so if it pleases *his* discerning tastes, then maybe I'll switch to fresh yeast?


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