Sunday, January 13, 2008

I can't, I didn't, I won't

I just cannot readjust to the time here. I've slept 10 hours a night for the last three nights. I know that's not totally healthy, but god it feels good. I also haven't left the house, though I almost had to yesterday when I was making a recipe. It called for "baking powder". I had "baking soda" but not powder. I decided to use that instead, to decent results. What's the difference anyway?

I didn't post yesterday because I was determined to catch up on the blogroll. Geez some people are prolific (I'm not mentioning names, you know who you are.) it took me hours to get through. Obviously I can't make 500 comments or it'd have taken me weeks, but at least I feel all caught up on the doings of the blog buddies.

I won't pay much attention to the election press and posts. It's already permeating way too much media space, and really, can't we just wait until the darn candidates have been decided? I really didn't know what I was missing until I moved up here. We never know exactly when an election will take place, and when it's called, there are 30 days of campaigning before it's held. All the nonsense crammed into four weeks - as it should be. It all seems like so much navel-gazing to me, this years long fixation with the presidential election in the US.

21 comments:

The Wisdom of Wislon said...

It's good to listen to your body and treat it like a temple...what like never go there!!

sorry I digress:>)
xx

Cooper said...

I have been nesting for the past 24hours, too. I rather shamefully admit that I am the proud new owner of a Wii! Yes, I know. But who knew it would be so much fun! Ummm, I mean so much fun for my little guys... lol

Anonymous said...

I am so tired of all the political banter. You are so lucky you get to watch from afar as our Democracy dissolves before us. King George is watching with a great deal of interest. If it looks like a Republican may not win he will declare war on Iran and martial law here at home. Sorry no elections. Thank you your royal hiney! Ed

Anonymous said...

I personally detest politics only second to politicians. I do like the idea of restricting the campaigns to 30 days prior to an election... that would help tremendously. Maybe, we need to have you return to the states and help reform the system that has run afoul. Plus it would help to have a pretty face in the process, come on back down won't you?

As for sleep and rest, I've been fighting a cold and getting too much sleep myself. Anytime I go out west for more than a day or so the return back east is brutal on me, far worse than it used to be; it's bad to start getting old isn't it?

Hope you have a wonderful week, and thanks for not delving into a political diatribe!

-C

bardelf said...

Considering that most Americans and Canadians do not get nearly enough rest, I would say a few days of hibernating is very smart.

Rox said...

Did you hear Barack Obama say he was going to talk to the "president of Canada"?? Um, dude, he's not a president. Yikes.

I've only left the house twice in this past week and only because I had to!

A Lewis said...

B Powder is the thing that gives it the ERECTION...right? Soda? I'm gonna have to Google this one.
When we lived in Anchorage, I found myself sleeping more and more as the winter went along. Thankfully, THE DAYS ARE GETTING LONGER ALREADY!

Patrick said...

I've been hibernating a bit too, and realize that I often do the first few weeks of January. I didn't get out of the house yesterday until just after sundown. Of course it's been unseasonably warm here for a few days, thus increasing the surreality.

I have often wished we did the thirty days only campaign. The UK does something similar, doesn't it? Oh, the stuff we'd be spared. I imagine we'd run a risk of people voting emotionally (reacting to whatever crisis is most recent) but is that any different from what happens now? Not that I can see. Sigh.

bob said...

I still haven't really gotten back off North America time, and it's been almost three weeks. I guess if I were teaching it would be a necessity, but school is very slow right now and I'm enjoying being on my own schedule and getting lots of sleep.

Then again, it'll all be out of whack again in a few days when we get to Phuket. But I can at least sleep in the sun there. Wheeeee.

GayProf said...

What annoys me most is that the election stuff is distracting us from the fact that we still have a lunatic in the White House right now. It's not like he suddenly stopped doing crap. Nobody is paying attention, though, because they are very concerned about whether Obama is serving waffles to union reps or Clinton is making coffee in Anytown, USA.

Anonymous said...

Baking Powder has the leavening built in and Baking Soda doesn't. If you want the item your baking to rise use either Baking Powder or Baking Soda plus Yeast. Make sure the Powder is fresh because old Baking Powder has usually lost it's steam just like the rest of us. haha! Ed

Java said...

Politics: a bunch of bull shit that I try to ignore when possible.

Sleep: heavenly slumber. Send some of that extra sleep to Dantallion. (http://dantallion.com/canon/) He's having trouble with it.

Baking powder vs baking soda: Ed, I think you're misguided. Baking soda is a leavening agent, but not as effective as baking powder. Baking powder has baking soda in it, but also has cream of tartar. I have no idea what cream of tartar is, exactly, but I know what it does. When air pockets form in the substance (quick bread dough, whipped egg whites for example) the cream of tartar strengthens the wall of that bubble, making it firmer and less likely to collapse.
"Double acting" baking powder is so called because it causes the substance (batter, dough, whatever) to rise under two conditions, moisture and heat. When a recipe calls for baking powder, it usually says to mix the baking powder with the flour. Good idea, because that distributes it well throughout the stuff. Usually a recipe that uses baking powder instructs you to add the dry ingredients as one of the last steps. This is to minimize the time the baking powder is damp before it hits the hot oven. If it is allowed to stay damp for too long before being heated, the first action will cause it to begin rising and it will not work well in conjunction with the heat action because, I dunno, I guess it has already shot its wad. Or whatever.
And another thing or two about quick breads: You shouldn't over-work the batter/dough. The more you stir or mix it, the air pockets get messed up somehow and your final product will likely have gaping holes rather than even fluffiness, and the texture will be tough and/or chewy instead of soft like it should be. On the other hand, yeast breads should be manipulated rather a lot, as this mixes the yeast spores into the structure of the dough better. Yeast works in a much different way than baking soda/powder, and requires a "sitting" time to rise. With quick breads they must go in the oven immediately after being mixed. Or else chaos will ensue. It will be ugly.

TJ said...

We also have short time, set elections here in Australia. The most recent election, which saw the ousting of John howard, took exactly 6 weeks from start to finish. I agree with you that the American version is a way to long drawn out process and in the end it is basically overkill. Don't even get me started on how I feel about all the millions of dollars each candidate spends and in my opinion wastes when they could be putting that money to better use for let's say health care, or education to name a few. See I told you not to get me started.

Rick Rockhill said...

I can't keep up with everyone's blogs either- it canbe exhausting a times!.

Also with you on the political landscape. I've definitely stay informed and vote, but in the meantime I want to ignore all the nonsense up until the vote itself!

fun blog btw

dpaste said...

Wow, I'm learning so much about baking just reading all these comments!

Anonymous said...

I wish the Canadians would export their system to us! This unending political haggle is ridiculous.

anabel said...

10 hours of sleep is unhealthy?
Uh-oh. What is your source here?

dawn said...

I think we focus so much on the elections, who is going to be in office, because it's a way to keep our hopes up, and keep our minds off the fact that the person who is in office right now is raping our country.

And sleeping 10 hours a night is perfect, don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

Snooze said...

I left a comment but it didn't last. Like David, I'm loving the comments on baking. I have never interchanged baking soda and baking powder. Baking powder is usually called for in recipes that do require more leavening. Baking soda is in cookies,brownies, etc.

Mark in DE said...

Like you I have never understood the difference between baking powder and baking soda. We just keep both in the cupboard.

I also agree with the way Canada holds there elections. 4 weeks of campaigning and that's it! This nauseating poll counting and strategy guessing has gotten so old, and the election isn't for another 10 months.

Mark :-)

Anonymous said...

I'm totally with Java about the baking powder, but I feel compelled to add that the reason that you manipulate yeast dough so much is that you are working the gluten in the flour which strengthens it. This improves the texture of the bread and helps trap the yeast bubbles in the dough as it cooks.