The last two weeks were pretty busy weeks in our household.  Loaves were flying out the door of my house this week and a few too many were staying.  In addition, I did a little website maintenance you may or may not have noticed, published my second Youtube video which was less tutorial and more just fun (for me at least!), and finally did some great catching up, saying goodbye, and prepping for next week’s big back to school moment for my kids.

Here is a little recap.

First, the website.  I created some subpages for the different bread items so you don’t have to scroll through an endlessly long menu to see the different bread (and taking liberties here, cakes and other just for fun things).  Currently, categories are: Artisan Loaves, Daily Breads, Enriched  Breads, Flat breads, Just for Fun, and Quick Breads.   Feel free to send any other ideas my way.

Second, the Youtube video.  This was just silly and fun, but it was Wednesday morning and I had baked a few loaves before work (overnight final rise in the fridge) and they were singing!  Singing is this thing that fanatical bread bakers talk about it.  If the crust is really crusty and the loaf is done well, it crackles as it cools in the most amazing way.  Yes, I recorded it and posted it.  And yes, I am laughing at myself, but I still did it.

Now the loaves!

This current week was one of those rare weeks where I had people I wanted to gift loaves to stacked on top of each other.  So I basically did  3 giveaways this week.

The first was a to a good friend visiting from out of the area.  Actually, that describes 2 of my giveaways this week.  The first was the country bread I can’t get over right now and went to a wonderful woman and her amazing daughter who is possibly the cutest 3-year-old currently throwing sass on Instagram.  We did a brief driveway visit as she had things to get to and so did I, but I got to see her daughter in living color and I got to give my friend a hug.  It was wonderful!

The second giveaway was more of a feast where friends came to me, featuring a few different breads: country style and rosemary raisin.  Another good friend, visiting from Boston was here, and she and few other lovely ladies came for a good old-fashioned hang out.  Listen, people, we talked till after 11 pm…on a work night.  If you are in your twenties, don’t worry about that sentence, but someday, you won’t be.  Let me tell you 5:30 am was never more shocking than the next morning.  Lucky enough, coffee and warm memories will see you through.  It was absolutely worth it!

The final giveaway was to our amazing nanny/babysitter/chief orchestrator of fun for my kids this summer.  Yes, my son is 13 and a babysitter is not needed.  But here is the thing–I want my kids to actually like each other when they get through this here childhood thing.  And leaving them home alone for hours during the day is a no go.  I mean, I know they have manners.  We talk about them, and there are dazzling displays of them when their friends or guests are over.  But put the two together, and it’s like not just manners, but humanity goes out the window.  It’s a little lord of the flies meets mean girls.

Bonus, the babysitter not only keeps them alive, civil, and fed, but she does actual fun things with them.  Water Park Wednesday!  Tuesdays at the beach!  Hammocking!  This last one is exactly what you think it is, but you go to parks to find the right tree…the energy and open-mindedness that this takes boggles my mind.  If left to me I would think about finding the hammock, think about loading them in the car with their waters and all the “go to the bathroom,” and “yes, you have to wear shoes,” etc., all to just to drive while they ask “where are we going?”  Then I would think about having to get out and find trees to tie up said hammock?  Nevermind arbitrating who laid in it first?  Nope.  There is the couch dear child.  Lay.

As a parent, I cannot tackle those fun things all in the same week (month?).  I am a marathon runner in this parenting thing.  But pay a wonderful and youth and bam, they can do the ultra fun short sprints of awesomeness.  And they deserve my gratitude and bread for it for sure.

And now for a few new recipes!

In honor of above awesomeness, our babysitter extraordinaire was gifted this zucchini bread.  I have been waiting to share this zucchini bread since I started this little project.  It was probably the second thing I learned how to bake and will be a forever favorite both for its ease to make (1 bowl!) and its deliciousness.  I had to wait until August when you were positively drowning in zucchini to offer it.  But August is here and zucchini is everywhere.  Please make some, and please use the dates in it.  Don’t be tempted to skip them just because they seem odd or you are creeped out by them.  They are amazing and necessary.

The other recipe I shared last week is basically the opposite of zucchini bread in that it is a baking project.  As in, it takes pretty much most of the weekend to put together.  But, boy, is it worth it and people will be amazed at what you created with your own hands.  Bonus, you can make them ahead and freeze them for lazy weekends another time.  Make Ahead Croissants.  Give them a shot when you are looking for a baking project!

I hope you all have a lovely weekend!  I am off to tackle the list of remaining to-dos before school starts on Monday, and to embrace the cruel rub of saying goodbye to another summer, to lazy mornings, to hammocking, and to no homework.  It was fun while it lasted!