Short & Sweet

Another week has come and gone, and I'm still in bread class. It's the class that won't stop. It's like Shari Lewis is our instructor and Lamb Chop my teammate (This is the class that doesn't end. Yes, it goes on and on, my friend...). But wait. We don't work with lamb chops in the bakery. That would be down the hall in the culinary kitchens, and I wouldn't eat them even if we did, because I don't like them (Sam I Am), but I digress. Let me just get you up to date.

I need to say that I don't hate bread class. It's been fun. I've sampled all sorts of breads that I had never heard of prior to three weeks ago, but I'm ready to try something different, and I'm not alone. Though little has been said aloud, more and more students must be growing weary of bread, because they've started missing class in groups. On Monday of this week, four students were gone. Both Tuesday and Wednesday had missing students as well. It will be interesting to see who passes. I mean being tardy is one thing, but completely missing multiple days of a less than 20 day course is just asking for failure. Yes, I've been tardy in this class. Twice. And today was yet another very close call. Before I ever made it to the highway, I encountered this:

A train (and a dashboard that needs cleaning).

After waiting on the train, I had to crank up the volume louder than normal to focus on speeding across town. When I made it to the exit, I was out of time and all I had was four minutes to make the last half mile trek from the highway to the school, park and get in the kitchen. But I made it, and that's all that mattered.

My previous post mentioned a pecan recipe that had become my favorite. That recipe has been dethroned. The new fave is the classic cinnamon roll. I've always had a soft spot for cinnamon rolls, but I fell in love with them fresh and anew when we made them in class last week. We've made them multiple times since then (Making cinnamon rolls is an easy way to get rid of dough that needs using). The sad thing is that I have a hard time stopping once I get started. Add in a tall glass of cold milk, and it's a lost cause. Considering this and the fact that I eat Bueno nearly every day, I know that I need an intervention. I have to say goodbye to the cinnamon rolls. I actually threw a full pan of them in the trash yesterday to start the boycott. My tight fitting chef's jacket wouldn't let me have them, and nobody else in the class wanted them (because we're tired of breads). Thinking of letting go made me think of an old Elton John song about a yellow brick road, and I couldn't refrain from reworking the words a little.

When are you gonna slow down?
Get that fork out of your hand.
I should be out on the track.
I should have listened to my old chef.
You know you can't eat those forever.
It's gonna catch up with you.
Metabolism slows, getting kinda old.
This boy's too young to not be seeing his shoo-ooo-es.
So goodbye cinnamon roll.
I already have plenty jowls.
Can barely fit in my pants now.
I'm pushing back from the trough...

R.I.P.

There is so much more that has happened in the last week that I want to share, but I've grown tired and time won't stand still before me. I let the sun go down long before I was ready for it to, and now I need to sleep. Though sorry seems to be the hardest word to say, I'm saying it now.

In light of the great weather we've been having, gather some friends, find a patio and enjoy some happy grubbing!