bread machine

Whenever I am in a thrift store I see an entire junkyard of automatic bread machines (ABM hereafter). I've always wondered why they are so bad that people give them to Goodwill or whatever.

So I threatened that I would eventually buy one from the thrift store, max $10. No more. I read a few wikis and faqs and found some basic info. Came home with a Welbuilt ABM4110T .

Downside:
It's big: 9"x13"x14" and does 1#-2# loaves.
Had to find a manual online.

Upside:
Dead simple. Dump the ingredients: wet first, dry second, yeast on top
This thing makes great bread from scratch ingredients
Timers, different modes.
Fantastic crunchy crust.

I think the reason people don't use them is that it is easier to buy Wonder bread than to measure and dump ingredients. Plus there's that pesky actual crust... Also, it takes up a lot of counter space. I put it away after each loaf.

I have a gram scale for my homebrewing hobby, so this makes it trivial to weigh out small amounts of stuff. Here is my go-to ABM loaf recipe:

5.5 liquid oz water
1.25 teaspoon butter
2c flour
6.7g sugar
5.8g salt
6.8g yeast

Dump and press the button.

Zenna: dinner review

Dear Wife and I went to Zenna Thai/Vietnamese in Plano, just off 75. Actually, we went there twice.

The first was last Saturday evening. The interior is interesting and calming, service was gracious and the food was good.

The 20-something idiot kids at the next table were not good. I suppose they were UTD students on a binge (beer tower at the table) and their behaviour was abhorrent and very, very loud. They were screaming, shouting and (NOT making this up) spitting on the floor of the restaurant. WTF?

We knew not to confuse the place with the morons in it, so we went back with DW's sister. A wonderful experience all around.

Bottom line: go there, but not on a weekend night.







Zenna
2500 N Central Expy
Plano Tx 75074
214 473 9797

Bats is nice

Do not be afeared about the rabid bat in Richardson. Bats is good and eats lots of bugz.

Of course, don't go around touching dead, dying (or seemingly-healthy) wildlife, right?

I still haven't decided on a bat house design.