Things you asked, episode II

Sidenote: Are you digging the Roman numeral instead of number 2 in the title of this post?  Does it make you feel all Star Wars-y and nostalgic?  Wondering if this post is going to start scrolling down your screen while dramatic music plays?

(Seriously, how much did you think that the music was going to start playing while you were scrolling.  I know what you're thinking.)

Although it does bum me out that my Star Wars reference is about Episode II, since it is inarguably the worst movie of the entire series (besides I and III, that is) and gave us all a serious case of PTSD.

Case in point?

Yeah, thanks for nothing, George Lucas.  And don't even get me started on the CGI Banthas.  As if the world couldn't have done without the giant alien offspring of the snuffleupagus and a yak.

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Okay... so... back on topic after my slightly embarassing Nerd rant.

I'm cleaning out my inbox and trying to answer a few of the things you've asked recently.  If you don't see your question or have any others, feel free to e-mail them to me at melissa.strassner@gmail.com.  I'm super serious about answering this time (for realsies - in a timely manner, even). 

Episode II:
You sorta seem like you're pregnant.  Are you?  Any baby plans in the works now that Logan is turning one?

Aw, thank you!  To the (sadly, more than one or two) people who asked me this question, I'm not going to assume that you saw a photo of me and concluded, dang!  She must be knocked up again! Although I'm fatter flattered you'd come to such a conclusion. 

No, I'm pretty sure it was me talking about the third time around that threw you off, since those questions mostly came in after this post.  So to put it definitively to rest:

NO, I am not pregnant. 

YES, we would like to have another.

NO, it will not be any time soon.

I am on a bit of a back to nature kick, what with the bread making and the growing stuff in the back yard and the cloth diapers, and one of the things we are experimenting with right now is natural family planning.  I'm learning a ton, and while I certainly don't recommend it if you're a teenager or not ready for the serious possibility of a baby, I'm kind of on board with not putting all this junk in your body. (By the way, I know this link is a pitch, but if you google some of the dangerous side effects of birth control, you might start to reconsider your position too.)

In a perfect world, we're looking forward to taking the kids to Disneyland next fall before trying for #3.  (They will be four and two... perfect ages for the Happiest Place on Earth!!!)  God willing, next year at about this time I'll get pregnant again and in 2015 the kids will have another sibling.  However, given that I'm not taking any synthetic methods to perfectly prevent it, the truth is that we're in a place where our "plan" might not come to pass. 

Incidentally, I had a bit of a scare two months ago that brought up just this issue.  Nothing came of it (a good thing, considering I'm still nursing and looking forward to someday again having more than 6 hours of sleep), but it forced both Casey and me to confront how we feel about having another baby.

The result? 

It turns out that - in case you haven't caught on before now - I love babies.  I'm not sure the day will ever come that I won't think this process is just the most amazing miracle.  And we both reached the conclusion that should we get pregnant, we will regard it as a huge blessing.  Another baby would absolutely not be an accident, even if it wasn't planned. 

In all honesty, it's a really nice place to be.  We're both incredibly content about our family, and excited to see what the future holds. 

Unless Casey actually got that secret vasectomy... in which case, I'm so using my Jedi mind tricks to make you forget that you ever read this. 

Things you asked, episode 1

I'm not especially good at responding to technology.

As in, my phone sits more often than not in my purse without ever once being looked at through the course of the day.  My e-mail is viewed at random and forgotten just as quickly.  I'm not one who subscribes to the idea that we have to be accessible 24/7.  

It's a flaw, for sure.  It's not very polite, and is definitely off-putting to some of my more tech savvy friends.  I can just hear the hair flip now: ugh, she didn't respond to my text and it has been an entire day!  Whatever, major loser!  She must hate me!  Well I hate her first.  I'm going to go buy some toilet paper to TP her house!

So in the interest of self preservation, and saving myself from having to fish soggy TP out of my tree, it's time to respond to some of the e-mails you have sent me.  Most of them are questions, which I will answer as honestly as I can.  And, in the mean time, I'm committed to checking my e-mail more frequently than once a month (just in case you have any more): melissa.strassner@gmail.com.  So ask away.

Episode 1:
I am not a baker, but I like your idea about baking bread.  What kind of bread machine do you use and where do you find your recipes?  Any tips for the reluctant baker?

Dear Reluctant Baker,

Here's the thing about baking bread: If I can do it, anyone can.  Honest. 

I use this machine:

Welbilt 4400

Which is the same model my grandmother had when I was growing up.  She found one at a garage sale and gifted it to me, and if it's any indication, I can't even find it on Amazon.  This one seems like it might be pretty close, but since I can't vouch for any other model than my circa-1995 one, I really couldn't advise you. 

Grandma also gifted me this book, which I love even though the recipes aren't designed for my bread machine.  I'm pretty sure it is for a Wolfgang Puck machine that can be purchased on HSN, because I absolutely did not come by my sick obsession with HSN on my own.  That was definitely an inherited trait which might have skipped a generation, since my mom doesn't seem to be afflicted. 

I usually make white bread, because A) it's easy and B) it's yummy.  Yes, that's the depth of my reasoning on the issue.  Here is a very simple recipe that has been modified to fit my machine.

White Sandwich Bread
1 cup water
1 TSPN apple cider vinegar
1 TBSP sugar
1/2 TBSP kosher salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 1/2 cups unbleached bread flour
2 heaping TSPN bread machine yeast

Here's where it gets tricky: Add all ingredients into the bread machine IN THE ORDER listed.  Select "Basic" and "Light" from the menu.  WALK AWAY from the bread machine.

So.... maybe not so tricky after all, right? 

I'm not a bread connoisseur and I'm not especially picky, but this is a solid and tasty loaf.  My only struggle with home bread making is the cutting part.  I suck at slicing the bread, and even with my electric knife my slices were all falling apart and uneven and looked like they had been cut by the love child of Freddy Krugar and Leatherface.  The tops were bigger than the bottoms, and every piece was a different size. It wasn't going to work.

To solve this probelm, I simply take my home-baked loaf to my local grocery store and ask the good folks at the bakery to run it through their slicer.  It works every time, and even though the guy at the checker line always tries to find a barcode and ring it up, we've never had a problem when I explain to him that I'm not stealing it.  Ta-Da!  Evenly sliced, home-baked bread.

Delicious. 

If this is something you're interested in but not sure about, I'd say just go for it.  Bread machines are not terribly expensive if you go about them the right way (although like anything else, they can get outrageously costly.  Think about your needs and budget and buy smart.  Don't be afraid of a used one at a great price!).  To make a single loaf, it seems like an expensive process, but if you do it regularly it's downright economical in the long run.  Don't be afraid to play with the recipe, either.  My original recipes were turning out way too heavy and dense, so I simply cut the flour and the yeast until I figured out a consistency that works for me and my family.  If you ruin a loaf in the process, so be it.  Make another!  That's the great thing about this. 

Plus, there is simply nothing better than the smell of freshly baked bread.  It's sooooo awesome.

Let me know if you try it, or if you have any tips or tricks of your own.