My first bread and an incomplete post!

One of my posts from drafts (talking about July 4th, 2009 and the weekend after) -

I am back from a refreshing double bonanza of lovely times over the past two weekends. The weekend before the last - the July 4th one turned out to be memorable because one of my very best friends visited us with her family. It feels weird to be writing 'her family' because her hubby happens to be an old classmate and good friend too. So the new member in reality was her cute little seventeen-month old. Anu and I met after a gap of 3 long years but it really felt like we had seen each other just the previous day. I always seem to get this euphoric feeling only with friends that I am most comfortable at heart with and do not have to worry about anything. They arrived in the wee hours of Friday morning (July 3rd) and a beautiful four days whirred past us. Though we did make it a point to go places almost every day, we didn't do anything spectacular or crazy. But just hanging out with each other after eons of separation was sufficient to effuse our souls with bubbling spirits. I was particularly enchanted by how the boombox can instantly calm a seventeen month old with an inordinate fondness for music. Music of any sorts seems to make him go from absolutely refusing to swallow his tiny bite-sized morsels of food to sitting around and dancing to the tunes (that's when you sneak in some food into his mouth). In short, Pranav was a delight to be with and he made us laugh a lot with all his sweetly naughty antics. The one other highlight of that weekend was our seventh-floor apartment proving to be an excellent vantage point for watching fireworks on the night of 4th. As the adage goes, all good things have to come to an end, Monday night saw the entire family pack their bags and leave. Farewells always make me way too queasy and I despise them. But we assured ourselves this time around saying we would be meeting up soon enough. (I'll have to wait and watch to see if that prophecy comes true now.)

The following weekend was a planned trip to Yosemite - planned solely with the view of taking my dad around but which soon got morphed into a hearty party of eight of us when our friends accepted our trip plan with alacrity. We booked a family suite at Cedar Lodge and I should say I was quite impressed with the maintenance and cleanliness of the place. It was a comfortable stay in the wilderness that did a good job at erasing all signs of weariness from us folks who had driven for over 5 hours to get there Friday night. We awoke on Saturday morning to the soft chirping of birds on trees surrounding the cabin and within minutes got organized into a team making cheese-mint sandwiches for breakfast. (One good thing that is an undeniable part of nature trips is you are not counting calories simply because 1-you can't afford to and 2-you are feeling assured you are going to burn them off during the day. :)) We were fortunate to enjoy the company of yet another kid for this weekend - Sunitha's little one Sathvik (a three-year old this time). Sunitha and Ram were pretty efficient at having him all dressed and fed, well before the ETD. By a half past nine in the morning we were driving through the very scenic serpentine road (that culminates in the entrance to the Yosemite Park) alongside the gushing Merced river. My heart always does a little victory jig inside me while experiencing anything remotely mountain and to be at a place which clearly earns the privilege of one of THE BEST mountain parks where nature seems to be untouched by man's threat, was nothing less than experiencing heaven to me. When we were hiking back from Lake Mirror, we were pleasantly surprised to share the road with a hirsute bear cub for a few brief moments. Though you have an unknown fear gnawing away at some corner of your heart, you cannot ignore the sheer adrenaline rush you feel that makes you want more of it.

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Back to the present (March 24th 2012) - I don't remember the details vividly enough anymore to expound on that good trip of ours over two years ago. So one shall just say - Well! It was an absolutely relaxing and exhilarating trip one had during the first trimester of one's pregnancy. :) I was/and will continue to remain enamored by the pristine beauty of Yosemite.

If you know me really well, it wouldn't surprise you that my first bread was a focaccia. A focaccia - with olives, rosemary and lemon. I primarily used this and this to create my own version detailed below. I baked this over a year ago but I distinctly remember that both Vee and I enjoyed a slice of this every day for a week along with a hearty cup of oatmeal. We just couldn't get enough of it!

Focaccia just before sticking in the oven

Baked goodness - Olive-Rosemary Focaccia

Ingredients -

For the Dough -->

1) Active Dry Yeast - 1.5 tspns

2) All Purpose Flour - 2.125 cups

3) Warm Water - 1 cup

4) Salt - 1/2 tspn

5) Olive Oil - 1 tbspn

6) Extra Flour for dusting - a little

7) Cornmeal - a little

For the Topping -->

1) Kalamata Olives (pitted; sliced) - 1/4 cup

2) Black Olives (pitted; sliced) - 1/4 cup

3) Fresh Rosemary - a few sprigs

4) Olive Oil - 3 tbspns

5) Garlic Cloves - 3 (Thinly sliced or crushed)

6) Sea Salt - 1/2 tspn

7) Cracked Black Pepper - 1/2 tspn

Method -

1) Dissolve the yeast in warm water.
2) Take the solution from step 1 and fold together with half the flour, olive oil, sugar and salt.
3) Wrap the bowl and let it sit for 15-20 minutes in a warm place.
4) Mix in the remaining flour and knead well to make a soft pliable dough.
5) Refrigerate overnight.
6) The next day, the dough needs to sit again in a warm spot for 1-2 hours.

Shaping and Topping -->

7) Pour the dough on an oiled baking sheet (dusted with a little flour and cornmeal) and shape it like shown in pic.

8) Get creative with the toppings. :)

9) Stick it in a preheated oven at 425 degrees F for about 15-20 mins.

10) Let cool on a cooling rack before slicing through...