An old man wearing a floral shirt sat on a couch with a book in his left hand and his granddaughter at his right. The seven year old girl leaned in towards her Grandpa's soft body. She adjusted her pink glasses and laughed, loudly, at her favorite parts. While the store around them fluttered with women darting from one pile of sweaters to the next, these two took joy in each other and in the magic of words.
After leaving Anthropologie, the scene of this inter-generational exchange, I saw another young girl, this one on crutches, hobbling across Lamar Avenue. Her mother walked forward, stopped, turned around to check her daughter's progress, and the pair made it across just in time.
In the grocery store, I found a pack of schoolgirls, donning their girl scout attire and joyfully pulling boxes and cans off of the neatly arranged shelves. Their laughter lifted across the aisles, meandered through the frozen food, and danced with the piles of apples and artichokes.
To be a young girl again, I thought.
After leaving Anthropologie, the scene of this inter-generational exchange, I saw another young girl, this one on crutches, hobbling across Lamar Avenue. Her mother walked forward, stopped, turned around to check her daughter's progress, and the pair made it across just in time.
In the grocery store, I found a pack of schoolgirls, donning their girl scout attire and joyfully pulling boxes and cans off of the neatly arranged shelves. Their laughter lifted across the aisles, meandered through the frozen food, and danced with the piles of apples and artichokes.
To be a young girl again, I thought.
Which of course made me remember all those afternoons with my younger sister. All those days of playing dress-up, of running through sprinklers, of taking our bikes around the block one more time.
To be a young girl again...to enjoy a doughnut without knowing if its good or bad for you....to look at the world with eager expectation and no fear....to hobble along in crutches with a big smile on your face...to sink in next to your grandpa and hear your favorite book read, again and again.
I suppose I'm nostalgic for childhood because the more adult emotions of grief and anxiety and fear have been all too present in these past months.
But I also suppose that these adult emotions make me savor even more the afternoons when I feel the warmth of the sun and not the burn...the evenings when I fall asleep next to my husband and wake up with his arms around my shoulders...the mornings when the fear of night feels so shallow compared to the songbirds and the smell of freshly ground coffee.
It is these adult emotions that make my heart swell in joy when I see these young girls growing and expanding in the world.
To be a young girl again...to enjoy a doughnut without knowing if its good or bad for you....to look at the world with eager expectation and no fear....to hobble along in crutches with a big smile on your face...to sink in next to your grandpa and hear your favorite book read, again and again.
I suppose I'm nostalgic for childhood because the more adult emotions of grief and anxiety and fear have been all too present in these past months.
But I also suppose that these adult emotions make me savor even more the afternoons when I feel the warmth of the sun and not the burn...the evenings when I fall asleep next to my husband and wake up with his arms around my shoulders...the mornings when the fear of night feels so shallow compared to the songbirds and the smell of freshly ground coffee.
It is these adult emotions that make my heart swell in joy when I see these young girls growing and expanding in the world.
For most people, food evokes memories. Memories of childhood, of a special night, of a person you love.
These pretzels remind my sweet husband of a place and a time. They remind him of his father, of being a little boy, of walking with his wife through the streets of Philadelphia with a pretzel and mustard in hand.
They remind me of being young, of tearing off huge chunks of life with no fear that the source will run dry. These pretzels are childhood.
These pretzels remind my sweet husband of a place and a time. They remind him of his father, of being a little boy, of walking with his wife through the streets of Philadelphia with a pretzel and mustard in hand.
They remind me of being young, of tearing off huge chunks of life with no fear that the source will run dry. These pretzels are childhood.
My sweet baby sister...and her best buddy, Matt.
Soft Pretzels
*From Food Network
1 1/2 cups warm (110 to 115 degrees F) water
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 package active dry yeast
22 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 4 1/2 cups
2 ounces unsalted butter, melted
Vegetable oil, for pan
10 cups water
2/3 cup baking soda
1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water
Pretzel salt
Combine the water, sugar and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam. Add the flour and butter and, using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until well combined. Change to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl, clean the bowl and then oil it well with vegetable oil. 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.
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line 2 half-sheet pans with parchment paper and lightly brush with the vegetable oil. Set aside.
Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8-quart saucepan or roasting pan.
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. 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.
Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 by 1, for 30 seconds. Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula. 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. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.
Always,
Monet
Anecdotes and Apple Cores
*From Food Network
1 1/2 cups warm (110 to 115 degrees F) water
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 package active dry yeast
22 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 4 1/2 cups
2 ounces unsalted butter, melted
Vegetable oil, for pan
10 cups water
2/3 cup baking soda
1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water
Pretzel salt
Combine the water, sugar and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam. Add the flour and butter and, using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until well combined. Change to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl, clean the bowl and then oil it well with vegetable oil. 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.
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line 2 half-sheet pans with parchment paper and lightly brush with the vegetable oil. Set aside.
Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8-quart saucepan or roasting pan.
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. 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.
Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 by 1, for 30 seconds. Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula. 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. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.
Always,
Monet
Anecdotes and Apple Cores
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