Pirate Jeni Tumbles

Shark Tank Inspiration : and the Reason I dropped my Tarot Reading Prices.

One of my guilty pleasures is Shark Tank.   I know it’s edited all to hell and someone is going to cry about something but I still like watching it.    Also, I’m super fascinated how Robert Herjavec is constantly shut out.  I think people think he’s too soft.  I suspect there is a hard ass hiding under that calm exterior.

Anyway..

I recently caught the episode featuring Slumberkins, a cute, sort…

{Slidin’ Dirty} After much anticipation, a great disappointment

LB and I were in Troy today to take a photography class at the Arts Center, which was amazing.  We had to drive a bit to find a parking spot because… Troy.. and we ended up parked in front of Slidin Dirty,which was pretty exciting as I’d wanted to get there for ages (they’ve been open for 3 years now).   I hadn’t actually bothered to find out where it was because we don’t go to Troy very often,…

Jackaroo Days, Yeah... Nothing's going to change my world..

I have always been a voracious reader. It’s rare that you will find me without a book in my hands. Right now, I’m working my way through the Dark Tower Series, again. (I was gifted the Gunslinger when I was in my early twenties and I still have that book… it’s falling apart but it remains untouched by future revisions by the author.)

I remember and a kid, staying up late, hiding my clandestine…

Hi, I’m on a social media break so I’ll only see comments here on the blog and not on Facebook, Twitter or Tumblr.  If there is a question or comment that you want me to see right away, the blog is the place to do it.   I’m back to Social Media (maybe) on November 20th.  Ta!

  Judy, hanging out at Guitar Center.

You may or may not know that almost 4 years ago, I bought a uke on a spur of the…

We are all in this together: my rambling thoughts on "Me, Too"

This sign was in Times Square in NYC and not 10 feet away from it, I heard a woman say “I am NOT your baby and you need to STOP TOUCHING ME.”

            Currently, I’m taking a month away from Social Media. If you found this story because of a tweet or a Facebook post, it’s through the magic of WordPress’s “Publicize” feature. I had been contemplating taking a break for a few reasons but the one…

Brew U a the CIA

On Saturday, I spent a good chunk of time at the Culinary Institute of America at their Brew U Beer and Food Festival and I was in a bit of a brain fog all day Sunday but it was worth it…

I’ve been to the CIA for a day workshop but this was the first time I went to an event like this.

Warning: this is a photo heavy post because OMG I consumed so many things, so I put a bunch of photos in little…

Me either!

I stumbled upon it on Instagram and I was like well, I know I have to fit back into my shorts for December (headed to Florida for week) but dammit.. I wanted to make this Cinnamon Apple Twist Bread.

You can find the recipe here at this link.

But of course, I didn’t make it that way because I didn’t have two of the ingredients in the house (instant yeast and potato flour) but that didn’t stop me.

  This is a very loose and sticky dough

Next time I’ll chop the apples. This looks too much like worms

I added the optional walnuts.

This was fun to twist!

I baked darker and longer than the recipe because I don’t like squishy bread,

Drizzling is fun

I worked for this twist

A nice, not too sweet, bread.

I used the active dry yeast in the same amount as the instant yeast, knowing that it might need a little more time to rise as the yeast hydrated and I used all white flour instead of using part potato flour. The potato flour would have added a bit more tenderness. But we still enjoyed it a lot!

Also, next time I would chop the apples instead of grating them in my food processor. They looked like.. well.. squiggly worms and it freaked me out a bit.  Also, I think because I used Penzey’s Double Vanilla, the amount of vanilla in the icing was excessive. I ended up remaking it with just a tiny bit of vanilla.

I was really please with how the loaves came out so I posted my pictures to Twitter and was pretty stoked to get this response from King Arthur Flour

And we’re going to call you a masterful baker! Your Cinnamon-Apple Twist Loaves look perfectly shaped and baked. Well done! Kye@KAF

— KingArthurFlour (@kingarthurflour) September 11, 2017

I am excited to see what October’s bake along is, even though the struggle to button my pants is real.

When I make a cake, I usually do the “cream butter and sugar, add eggs, add dry ingredients and bake”

I am unfamiliar with this “dump everything in and beat the hell out of it” method. I honestly am befuddled.  What if I over mix it? What if the butter doesn’t integrate? (which is what happened, actually)

We are headed to London next week (what? I know!) and since I’m obsessed with the Great…