Our Keurig is pretty cool. It makes crema – the golden-brown foam on espresso. To get good crema, you can raise the base to bring the cup closer to the spout. Today I learned a lesson: make sure the base is locked in place. I broke my favorite mug this morning because the base wasn’t secure, and the cup fell before I could grab it. Thankfully, it was empty. From now on, I’ll double-check the base before putting my cup down. I’m still bummed my favorite cup is gone.
I think I’ve got the hang of feeding the animals while Karissa’s in San Diego. I’ve been giving Emily and Sandy half a can of food each and a full can to O’Malley. Karissa said it should be the opposite: Sandy and O’Malley get half a can each, and Emily gets a full one. That doesn’t make sense to me. O’Malley is the biggest, and Emily and Sandy are smaller. Yesterday, I noticed O’Malley didn’t finish his food but ate from the others’ bowls. This morning, I gave him a full can. I’ll check later to see if he finished. If not, I’ll switch to half a can. All three cats have a bowl of dry food if they get hungry during the day.
I think I’ve got the dogs’ feeding schedule down. I might have been overfeeding Merlin at first. Karissa told me he gets two cups of food, so that’s what I do now.
I also need to make a store run soon to pick up some bread flour. I’m thinking around noon, so I can grab the mail while I’m out. I don’t have any packages coming, so there haven’t been any delivery notices, but the mail should be in by then. It’s been three days since I last checked it, so it’s probably time. I get the USPS Informed Delivery emails every morning, so I can see what’s coming. If it’s just junk mail, I usually wait another day – but today seems like a good time to go.
Alex and I went to the store earlier, and I picked up some bread flour. Now it’s time to start baking!
While I was in the middle of making the bread, Tommy asked if I wanted to make cookies for tomorrow. Of course I do – I love cookies! So, while the bread was on its first rise, I whipped up a batch of chocolate chip cookie dough. It’s chilling in the fridge now, and the bread is on its second rise. It goes through three in total, with kneading and shaping in between each one.
For now, I’m going to study some cybersecurity while the bread continues to rise.
Okay, the bread is on its final rise now. While that’s happening, I’ll preheat the Dutch oven so it’s nice and warm when it’s time to bake.
The bread is in the oven now, filling the kitchen with that cozy, fresh-baked smell. I’m watching some YouTube while it bakes – just ten more minutes before I lower the temperature and let it bake for another twenty-five. I’m not sure what we’re having for dinner yet, but I think I’ll make myself a cup of tea while I finish up with the bread.
