The latest loaf

So I've taken it a bit easier this week. I did make some tasty breakfasts (another oatmeal mix and german apple pancakes), though, and I baked...twice.
The first was for our "Superbowl Party." I wanted to make something I could dig into a bit w/o skyrocketing past my limit for today. So I took the King Arthur Flour "Basic Muffin" recipe (the version with some oatmeal) and transformed it into something sort of vegan. No, I'm not vegan, but those folks know how to take a good dessert and make it into something like a good breakfast food for the rest of us. I used leftover baby food carrots and pureed prunes instead of oil and eggs. Then I tossed in chopped walnuts and raisins. And...it's actually quite good. This time Clerie and the kids all liked my crazy experiment.
The second was my next bread. I did Reinhart's Italian bread. Don't know how it tastes yet (update: had some this morning; tasty and chewy), but I was excited to just make the stuff, and it looks pretty for a beginner like me. A lay person like myself would say "ooh, that bread looks like something you'd buy at the store." A bread aficionado would point out at least seven mistakes I made at various stages of the baking process, but I won't bore you with them. I'll just let you guess.

Our superbowl party, since you were wondering, went well. We had a frozen pizza (cooked on the baking tiles, hurray), rice crispy treats, nachos, Capri suns (because they're more exciting than drinking out of a cup), air popped popcorn, and my crazy muffins. Jonathan and Addy were in heaven, just being able to snack on this smorgasborg. We put a big bowl of popcorn on the floor, and Addi looked up with this expression as if to say, "really!?"
We asked our family fantasy football expert Andy whom to root for, and he was cheering for the Packers, so we joined in. (I felt dirty cheering for them. I remember them beating the Philadelphia Eagles back in the day...) They won, which was quite convenient for us. Jonathan soaked up the excitement and multiplied it. I can't believe the kid went to bed.
His reading's getting just great. And he makes surprising stuff out of legos. It's fun to see how creative kids are. Inspiring, really.
And here's a picture of Addi, the other day. Just thought it was cute. (Yes, I made that bread, too.)