whimsically, me

There and back again.

I lost count how many times I’ve started and stopped blogging since 2001. I’ve made friends and burned bridges; discovered new interests and grew as a person.

Now, on the verge of stepping into “adulthood” (read: real apartment and a dog on the way), I’ve decided to clean up this space and focus on documenting a new chapter of my life. Now with more personal vomit and lots and lots and lots of Samoyed videos/photos.

Stay tuned!

Homemade Honey Whole Wheat Pretzels

My experience with baking consisted of two attempts prior to this. They both happened during the first year of college. A friend and I decided it would be a smashing idea to use the leftover sweet potatoes and make some sweet potato buns with it. The result was amazing. Armed with nothing but the directions and our bare hands, we set forth into the world of baking, completely unaware of the long hours ahead of us.

The result from that attempt was amazing. There is something magical about the first time you smell freshly baked bread. So, like all college freshmen after acing a daunting task, we got cocky and planned to bake an angel food cake. Needless to say, it was a disaster. We never figured out what went wrong but our cake was more of a cracker but I suspected it was because we didn’t have an electric mixer so the consistency was off.

Now in my own kitchen, and with more confidence in cooking as a whole. I decided to tackle the pretzel. The result was surprisingly good and I didn’t expect making pretzels would be so easy. Granted, I still don’t have that elusive electric mixer, but it turned out just fine. I’ve included the recipe for the honey whole wheat pretzel below if any adventurous bakers care to whip some up themselves. It’s well worth it, I promise!

Adapted from Honest Cooking & The Food Network

Ingredients:

• 1 1/3 cups warm (110 to 115 degrees F) water
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 package fast acting yeast
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 ounces unsalted butter, melted *1/4 cup honey
• Vegetable oil, for pan *10 cups water
• 1/3 cup baking soda (Snippet’s notes: Do NOT put this in the mix. It is for the boiling water!!)
• 1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water
• Pretzel salt

Directions:

1. Combine the water, salt, yeast, flour, butter and honey. (I did this part by hand since I have no electric mixer, so if you do own an electric mixer, please refer to the original recipe for settings!)
2. Remove the dough from the bowl, clean the bowl and then oil it well with vegetable oil.
3. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and sit in a warm place for approximately 50 to 55 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.
4. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
5. Line 2 half-sheet pans with parchment paper and lightly brush with the vegetable oil. Set aside.
6. Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8-quart saucepan or roasting pan.
7. In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface and divide into 8. equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 24-inch rope.
8. Make a U-shape with the rope, holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other and press onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Place onto the parchment-lined half sheet pan.
9. Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 by 1, for 30 seconds.
10. Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula.
11. Return to the half sheet pan, brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg yolk and water mixture and sprinkle with the pretzel salt.
12. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.

New Holy Grail Puppy

May I present to you this stunning creature:

I give you permission to pick up your jaw up from the floor now.

What you see before you, ladies and gentlemen, is a long-haired Weimaraner. Before you get all snooty and tell me “but Weimaraners are a short-haired breed” I must interject and inform you that they actually do come in the long-haired persuasion. Since the long-haired gene is recessive, these beauties equal the blondes or gingers (aka mutants) of the dog world.

It’s no secret that I am a rabid dog lover. When I walk down the street, my impeccable dog stalking senses allow me to pinpoint these tailwaggers from a mile away. My reaction when they come within petting range is how some women react when they see a baby. Most owners would politely smile while I make baby noises at their dogs while on the inside they are scowling at me out of jealousy. Haters gonna hate.

Strangely, my boyfriend still finds this behavior extremely adorable. So when we decided it was time to add a darling puppy to our little family, I was absolutely delighted.

I did not know this variation of Weimaraner’s existed until I was researching the intelligence of each dog breed to narrow down a breed for my future Sterling*.

Weimaraners come in at #21 (I cannot believe a Pomeranian is in the top 10) which isn’t too shabby. Poor Cavalier King Charles Spaniels—my favorite breed—are tied at #44 with three other dogs. I know. Pomeranian are smarter than both of these breeds. Flabbergasted.

I then happily typed “long hair Weimaraners breeders” into Google like any technologically advanced person would to see if there are any located within a reasonable vicinity. I also scourged the AKC’s official web site and tracked down the national Weimaraner club so I can get a breeder’s referral or additional local clubs.

After a couple of hours of fruitless searching, I have come to the conclusion that the long-haired Weimaraner 1. is impossible to find and 2. will cost me an arm, a leg and possibly that mythical pot of gold at the end of the rainbow if I do find a breeder. I took this as a sign that perhaps this union was not meant to be. If all else fails, I guess I could just scoop up a yapyap dog and pretend I’m an heiress/socialite.

*Naming my future dog after Sterling Mallory Archer is bamf.