Focaccia and Cinnamon Bun baking experiments

This weekend, and partially thanks to my mother, I got it in my head that I wanted to make Focaccia bread.  I grabbed the ingredients I needed and tried it out.

It all went pretty well, and the results were damn delicious.  It made a pretty huge loaf, and it was gone within a couple of hours. I had a little help, to be sure, but it was mostly me chowing down.

Left to my own devices, I swear, all I do is eat!

At any rate, bolstered by my success yesterday, I decided I’d have a go at making cinnamon buns.  I used esentially the same recipe as yesterday, with a few minor tweaks (I didn’t think olive oil would go as well in a cinnamon bun).

I don’t think I’ve ever made cinnamon buns before, so I was mostly just winging it.  They’re simple enough, so it went pretty easy.  My prep time and cleanup were considerably faster than yesterday, too, which is a bonus.

Baking bread products makes a disaster of the kitchen, as I’m sure you would assume.

Here’s the finished product.  As you can see, the one in the bottom right tried to jump ship, for whatever reason.  I also had a bit of an issue with the brown sugar bubbling over the pan, but that should just mean that they’re extra gooey on the bottom, which is a bonus.

And here we are with the finished cinnamon buns, replete with cream cheese icing. Sorry to the vegans and gluten intolerant among us, but this is just the best way to serve ‘em.

I just finished one of them, and I’m going back for seconds.  These things are deadly.

The rest of the photos from my weekend baking experiments can be found here on my flickr stream.

...ever since inspector gadget

Now, typically (and I make no bones about it) I’m pretty much an Apple fanboy, but after seeing some of this concept & design work for Microsoft’s (allegedly) forthcoming notebook-style tablet, I’m pretty much slavering.

It’s exactly devices like these I’ve been wishing and waiting for, ever since seeing Penny’s Computer-book in Inspector Gadget as a kid.

I don’t know when/if this thing is coming out, but on thing is certain: I want one!

You can read Gizmodo’s writeup on the tablet, including a concept video of how the user interface might work here.

Being tested, in many regards.

Heading out to the OLC HQ to write my first test for my English course. Wish me luck!

Things have been exceptionally hectic recently now that i’m trying to run the ice cream production centre sans-ken. Sure, I’ve been able to do much of the production planning for a while now, but this is the first time I’ve really had to do it without Ken (my former manager) to fall back on if I screw up. It’s been hectic, but it’s worth a try, right?