I'm Back...

So, it's been over a month since I've blogged.  Guess what?  I didn't really miss it, and so far none of you have indicated that you've been longing for a blog update.  Hmmm...  I have, however, often thought, "I should blog about that."  I've caught onto the Pinterest craze and I find it's much easier to share recipes there.  The problem is that pinterest isn't a place to share my recipe adjustments, pictures, full opinions, etc.

So, this morning finds me up bright and early, anxiously waiting to go get my first cavity filled.  I kind of feel like damaged goods; my perfect dental health has gone out the window.  And I don't dare google what chemicals are used in the filling material, for that might really send me over the edge.  Coincidentally, I'm sitting here eating a super sugary treat, wondering where I went wrong.  I guess I want to give that pesky tooth invagination (seriously, that's the word the dentist kept using) its last hurrah before it is drilled away and filled with toxic cement.

With that lovely lead in, let me tell you about something far more wonderful than cavities, fillings, or a barrel of monkeys.  I took on a little baking challenge yesterday, and thank goodness, I conquered it.  Chocolate babka takes a lot of time, patience and ingredients, but there was nothing really difficult about it.  I originally found a recipe in the Food Network Magazine, but the Smitten Kitchen version seemed easier and used ingredients that I had on hand.

Check out the photos that go with the recipe because: 1. They are much better quality than I could come up with,  2.  I forgot to take photos of the different steps, and 3.  Believe it or not, I was (attempting) to parent my children throughout the process, which took my energy away from photographing and focussed it on, oh, I don't know, cleaning up puddles of urine from a potty training 2 year old.

For a blog post about a lovely butter and chocolate dessert, I've made too many gross references to bodily issues in our house.  I'm sorry.  On to the goods.

The scene

 One final rise

Do you see the evidence of impatient kids?

Mini-loaves, fresh from the oven

 They unmolded beautifully

One of my taste testers

 The kitchen floor- our favorite spot to dine.

 Packaged and ready to be delivered to friends.

 Had I been patient enough to let it cool, it wouldn't be so squished. 

The verdict:

It was totally worth the time and work, but be warned that it makes a lot of bread (2 large + 3 mini loaves).  In my house, this is a dangerous thing.  If I bake it, I will eat it.  Some has been given away, some frozen, some eaten.  After reading reviews on the recipe site, I learned that you should be able to make 1/3 or 2/3 of the recipe without issues, and that the bread (baked or unbaked) freezes well.  Also, some reviewers said the filling was too sweet, so I used 1/2 cup brown sugar (because I ran out of white) instead of 1 cup granulated.  I also used bags of ghiradelli chocolate chips for the filling, which I made in the food processor.  I dumped about half of the streusel topping because it seemed like way too much, but it didn't seem like much when baked.  Otherwise, I'd follow the recipe as written.  

And now, I'm off to the dentist.