Famine

I ran out of dog food this morning. Yes, the supermarket is only a few blocks away, but do you know how damn hot it is outside? I do not have a death wish, thank you very much.
Of course, the dogs, all three of them, are acting as if the famine had reached Miami. They come and whine at me, then they go lick their empty, sad bowls as if I were purposely hiding their food.
I am boiling them some pasta so that I am not followed around by wide puppy-dog eyes (you know the ones I mean) all day long. They love pasta so there should be no complaints.

I took Barbossa out this morning and he refused to move. At all. I was sitting there like an idiot watching what could have easily been a snake made out of marble. He did not even deign to flick his tongue out.

I am probably going to be baking this afternoon. I have my eye set on a particular bread recipe, so I'll post it if I do it and also, hopefully, a good picture.

Here is the recipe for nut filled sweet bread:

3 1/4 cups flour
1/3 cup butter
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup warm water
1 package fast-active yeast
2 whole eggs
1 egg yolk
For filling:
1 1/4 cup chopped pecans
2 tbsp. butter

Place yeast in warm water, let dissolve. Add sugar, milk, eggs, egg yolk, butter, salt. Slowly add the flour. Knead and place in a warm place to rise until doubled (about two hours). While the dough rises, place chopped pecans in skillet with the butter and cook until browned.
Knead bread again. Make dough into whatever shape you like, and spread filling on one side of it. Fold the other part of the dough over the filling and let rise in warm place until double, again. Bake at 325 F. 30-35 minutes.

Bread and Water

That is Miss Topkapi, as I like to call her. Yes, she is drinking water out of a glass. This is what I mean by having the most spoiled snakes on the planet. She has a water bowl in her cage, of course, and for about the first year, she used to drink out of that. She would wait until I grabbed the bowl, cleaned it and then put fresh water. She would then drink, all stretched out in her cage, first the water droplets around the bowl and then lightly placing her mouth into the water.
I don't know how it happened, but somehow she got hooked on water glasses. Every morning, when I take her out to let her walk around a bit, she starts looking around. I then have to get a glass, it could even be a teacup, and pour her fresh water. I have to hold her though, otherwise she doesn't drink.
This is beyond adorable, except when for some reason I am out of town and I have someone else taking care of her. She just doesn't drink. It seems ridiculous, and I hope that if she gets very thirsty she will drink, but it worries me anyways. My sister and I went to New Orleans for a week and I had my mother looking after my snakes. When we came back I took her out and she drank water for about half an hour. She is sooo spoiled!
Here is a closeup


Anyways, right this minute I have bread baking in the oven and it smells delicious. It's my first attempt at bread, so we'll see how it comes out. I'll include a picture as soon as it is done, and also the recipe.

Okay, here is the recipe for Brioche

1 pkg. active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup butter
2 tbs. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
3 eggs
1 egg yolk
3 1/4 cups flour
Egg Glaze: 1 egg yolk beaten with 1 tbs.milk

Sprinkle yeast into water, stir until dissolved. Heat milk, just warm. Beat butter, add sugar, salt, eggs, and egg yolk. Add milk and yeast mixture. Add the flour gradually. Knead on lightly floured board. Place in greased bowl. Butter top of dough and cover with towel. Let rise until double about an hour and a half. Knead again. Shape into ball or braid, place in greased pan, let rise 40 minutes. Brush with egg glaze, and bake at 375 F oven 30-35 minutes, or until loaf sounds hollow.