Bread or Celery?

Yesterday it snowed...lots. 

The snow storm limited our options for outdoor activities.  So, after shoveling, Seamus and I decided to make a loaf of fresh bread.  We have been experimenting with how to make bread maker bread taste more like store bought bread.  Ian thought that it might be that the density of the breads differ.  He suggested that we try using "bread machine" yeast instead of the more general "bread" yeast that I typically use.  Ian's hypothesis was that the bread machine yeast should make the bread rise faster which would result in a more fluffy, light consistency.  Well, the bread machine yeast certainly made the bread rise....and rise....and rise....until it was glued to the top of the bread maker and starting to ooze out of the cracks.  You know what they say about too much of a good thing.

One look at this sad excuse for a loaf and there is no doubt
that my bread making skills need more work.

Not only did this make quite the mess but it resulted in the condensation inside the bread maker dripping back on to the center of the loaf.  This created a gooey spot in the middle of the bread that did not cook. 

To most people this would be gross but can you see where Ian has been nibbling the sides?

Luckily the bread was so ridiculously tall that I simply cut off the top third and the remainder was edible.  Ian offered to eat the gooey part but ew.  I fed it to the compost instead. 

After our epic bread failure, Seamus and I decided Charlie and the sheep could likely use a pick-me-up since they spent the day standing outside in the snow.  We grabbed a few sticks of floppy celery from the fridge and headed out into the storm.  Despite having a least an inch of snow on their backs, the animals were in surprisingly good spirits. 

Their moods improved even more once they spied the sprigs of celery.

Munch, munch, munch.

Sniff, sniff, sniff.  CRUNCH!

It finally stopped snowing in the early hours of the morning.  Thankfully I had lots of help shoveling in order to make it down to the end of the driveway to wait for Liam's school bus.

It seems that winter is finally here.