pan/pao/pain

jeff hertzberg and zoe francois have written a brilliant book, called artisan bread in five minutes a day. buy it. i'm not telling you the specifics. but the basic premise is that you basically throw together a really easy dough, let it rise outside the fridge, and then let it sit in the fridge for 2 weeks. occasionally, you take out a hunk, form it, let it rise, and bake on a bread stone in a very hot oven. it's so delicious. and easy. and waaaaaay cheaper than bakery bread.

making life even easier, you don't have to wash the countainer. you simply dissolve the old leftover bits of dough in the warm water you need for the next batch, and add yeast and continue. keeps the sourdough culture alive, which is good for your belly (good bacteria).

 swish the water around until all the dough is off the sides. add yeast.

then mix in wheat/white/rye/bran flour with salt, using a wooden spoon. it's a wet, wet dough, and you have to make sure there's no dry bits at all.

then let it rise in a warm, warm place. those are my new gnome and mushroom creations.

 let it sit for 2-5 hours, depending on how warm your room is, until it looks like this:

then bake it on the hot bread stone and let it cool on a rack. mmmmm

partying...

so, here's something fun to do, if your husband hates all dairy but ice cream: have your friends over for a cream tea. then you can pretend to be british, and yet, you don't have to fly 12 hours to experience it. 

not working has allowed me to cook and bake massive, massive quantities of things that are not good for me. this is very dangerous

ok, so it's not clotted cream, but all the clotted cream you can get in america is ridiculously expensive, doesn't taste like the real thing, and freaks me out because how can you get cream in a jar on the shelf??? so i just made regular whipped cream, sans sugar. healthier. yes. 

yes yes, tea sandwiches are so good. and it's easy to make a bunch of kinds, and then it looks so lavish, without much more effort/cost. and my black tea tray is from cost plus, $15, holla!

ps, all the lovely dishes, placemats and serving pieces are wedding presents from our generous, tasteful friends. you should so get married. 

caramelized shallots, goat cheese and watercress on dark rye; apple, black forest ham and cheddar on sour rye, grilled. 

 egg salad, so yummy.

raspberry and vanilla eclairs. i used to make desserts for the restaurant i barista'd at in baltimore, and eclairs, profiteroles,  and other pate choux pastries were easy, a big hit, and lasted 2-3 days (the trick is don't fill them more than 3-4 hours before you eat).

previously....

I've only ever been to Europe once before, on our honeymoon. One of the nicest things about marrying Ryan was his willingness to have a honeymoon in the places I've always dreamed about. He said he wanted to go to Europe too, but I think he was just being nice. So, here we are on my first international-- aka, very, very, very long flight. 

Honestly, even for someone who never goes abroad, I do travel a lot, and a kindle is really helpful if you read a lot and very quickly. I think I read 3.2 of the Twilight books on this flight. And then I had to throw up.

And this is ryan in customs, saying, "Don't mess around with the customs guy, Susanne. Do not joke with him. I'll talk." Like I'm going to cause an international incident...

I mean, how can you not let this face into your country???

On the train from Amsterdam airport to Amsterdam proper. I know. I look wrecked. This picture is the reason I'll be sleeping (as god is my witness!) on the plane this time. And it's okay if you're jealous of my overwhelming glamour in this picture. I don't blame you. 

Preparations

i'm not working right now (all part of the grand adventure), so i think it will be good to get into the habit of daily blogging. that being said, i'll start with some of the preparations i've been making. 

first i should point out that i love my kindle so much, for so many reasons, and i will hear no wrong spoken against it. one of the best features of the kindle is the accessibility of guidebooks. i love rick steves, and he's  written guidebooks about almost all of the places we're visiting. here's the link:

http://www.ricksteves.com/

and i've been thinking about packing. any tips one can recommend? we'll be gone 9 weeks, with some access to laundry. i've already got a universal sink stopper and travel packets of laundry soap. i'm assembling a medical/first aid kit. we totally overpacked on our honeymoon and don't want to make the same mistake. we're checking a bag each (i know, but 9 WEEKS!) and will each have a backpack. that's it. everything has to be able to fit into those, including whatever treasures must come home with us... ;)

i'm still waiting on my new, renewed passport with my married name. pray for me. 

Purpose:

hello, you reader person, you--

you are reading this because you want to hear all about our adventures in europe, aren't you? i want to remember them in great detail too. so i will write and post as many pictures as i humanly can, and hope that you will enjoy reading about the many travels and adventures upon which we will embark.

we leave february 12, 2011, at 7:15, flying to amsterdam through seattle. we will land there february 13th, at 7:45 am.

cities/places on our tentative agenda:

amsterdam
copenhagen,
belgium,
newcastle
paris,
st. inglebert, germany
luxemburg
berlin
prague
venice
swiss alps

we will eat a lot of food. we will take a lot of pictures. i will attempt to write a children's book and make a short film about our travels. we will see countless museums. castles. open air markets. tulip fields. mountains. canals. people.

come along, why don't you?