Broa

it's a portuguese cornbread in case you didn't know. i didn't. never heard of it. but i saw a recipe for it in "artisan bread in 5 minutes a day" (which i borrowed from the library) and knew i wanted to try it. it's a cornbread that uses yeast rather than baking soda or baking powder like the cornbreads i'm used to. and, i had recently spotted a portuguese chorizo & kale & potato soup recipe i wanted to try called caldo verde, so my menu for sunday was set. and to make it even better, i invited a certain soup ho and a certain fellow who reminds me of a certain clumsy vampire-wanne-be over to join me in sampling these portuguese goods and watch the game. the good news is that the bread was quite good. not so good news is that it didn't cook all the way through. i decided it was done based on time, color, and the thump test. i should've gone the extra step and penetrated the loaf with a thermometer. oh, well. the outside was completely done and that's what we ate, and i thought it was good. and so was the soup. i've never cooked with or, to my knowdledge, even eaten kale before. we always used it as a garnish in a restaurant i had worked in, and that sorta ruined me for ever thinking of it as real food. what i learned is that kale tastes good, but it's worse than leeks to clean. oh, what a pain. but a tasty, simple (other than kale-cleaning) soup. it's worth repeating, methinks--both bread & soup.

CYA: Marian & Taylor Go To The Burrow

NOTE: if you did not jump to this chapter as a result of the Choose Your Adventure story, please go here before reading any further!


"can we go to The Burrow?" marian jumped up & down. "i [heart] mrs. weasely!"

"sure!" hermione grinned. "mrs. w loves having company."

"yay!"

marian and taylor stood on either side of hermione as she disapparated them out of the Pub and into the kitchen of The Burrow, home of the red-headed weasley family.

"hermione!" mrs. weasley ran forward to give her a hug, her floured hands leaving white prints on the back of her shirt.

"mrs. weasley, these are my friends marian and taylor," hermione motioned to them when she was finally released.

"welcome, welcome!" mrs. weasley, er, welcomed them with a, you know, welcoming smile.

marian held out her notebook. "may i have your autograph? i'm your #1 fan!"

"a fan of mine? i've never heard of anything so silly," she said, though obviously pleased as she sent a quill flying over to scribble into her notebook.

mrs. weasley put her hands on her hips and inspected them. "you look a little pale, dears. first time apparating, yes?"

they nodded, and taylor added, "plus, i'm a vampire, so i'm naturally pale."

"a vampire? but it's broad daylight!" she narrowed her eyes. "are you sure you're a real vampire?"

"well, i'm more of a special kind of vampire," taylor admitted with a blush. "don't worry, i'm quite benign."

"he's special all right," marian confirmed, earning a giggle from hermione.

"i see. well, why don't you go out back, taylor, and see if your special powers can help neville and tonks remove the garden gnomes. they've become an awful nuisance!"

"yes, ma'am," taylor grinned and ran out back. they soon heard a THUD! and an "OUCH!"

"oh, dear," mrs. weasley sounded mildly worried. "i hope he'll be okay. neville and tonks are both rather, well, clumsy."

hermione and marian giggled. "they'll get on famously, mrs. weasley."

she smiled and waved her wand, sending a platter with a teapot, cups, and plates of scones floating into the other room. "why don't you go join ron and harry and have some tea while i finish up in here?"

"yes, mrs. weasley."

they followed the tea and scones and found ron & harry hunkered over a chessboard, watching a white knight ride over to plunge his lance into the black queen.

"that's totally barbaric!" marian & hermione exclaimed at the same time.

ron looked up and grinned. "that's wizard chess." he reached out to grab a scone and took a big bite, then held his hand out to marian. "i'm ron, ron weasley."

CRASH!

marian dodged a couple of crumbs, then took his hand. "i'm marian elfman. nice to meet you."

harry stood and greeted her. "yeah, nice to meet you. i'm harry--"

"potter, i know!" marian said a little breathlessly. "can i see your scar? and get your autograph?"
"um, okay," harry muttered, shoving his bangs aside for marian's inspection as he sent a quill over to write in her notebook.

"wicked!" marian looked in awe at the scar. "it really looks like a lightening bolt!"

"do you want my autograph, too?" ron asked.

"um, okay," marian muttered.

"OUCH!"

"is it true?" mr. weasley burst in, looking excitedly at marian. "i understand we have a muggle in the house!"

marian beamed. "yes, mr. weasley! it's a pleasure to meet you!" she handed him her notebook and Sharpie®. "may i get your autograph?"

he held up the Sharpie® and pulled off the cap with a look bordering on rapture. "genius!" he wrote in her notebook with a flourish, then examined the wire spiraling along the edge to hold the pages together. "what extraordinary craftsmanship these muggles possess!"

he reached into a bag and pulled out a rectangular box. "perhaps you can help me with this? we can't determine if it has been tampered with."

"dad works for the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office," ron explained.

marian read the box and clapped her hands. "it's the settlers of catan!"

"what's that?"

"only the best board game ever," marian & hermione said at the same time.

"UNGH! BLOODY HELL!"

"a game? so they aren't real settlers that have been enchanted?"

marian shook her head. "no, sir. players vie for resources such as wood, ore, and lumber in order to build an economic empire."

"what, there aren't any battles?" ron asked.

"no, ronald," hermione rolled her eyes. "not all games are about bloodshed & violence."

"OUCH!"

marian looked toward the back garden and made a face. "gardening seems to be, though."

hermione sighed. "we'd better go rescue them."

they walked outside and found taylor limping, neville bleeding, tonks with her hand stuck in a knot in a tree, and a dozen garden gnomes snickering at them.
marian grabbed the wand out of hermione's pocket. "evictus varmints!"

Click here if it worked

Click here if it didn't

Pain de Mira

this is actually the Potato, Cheddar & Chive Bread from reinhart's BBA, a recipe i've been eyeing for quite a while, but since mira is a notorious (and self-confessed) potato ho & cheese ho (not to mention ham ho), i thought the above name more appropriate :)

it's a sourdough-spiked-with-yeast loaf, and it's as good as it looks. what you do is roll out a hunk of dough after it's risen, lay slices of cheddar cheese on it, then roll it up. after it has proofed for an hour, you slash (or score) it to the depth of the cheese so that when it bake, the cheese comes out and forms that brown, bubbly grigne that you see there. so good, and perfect with the ham i baked today (sorry, mira. i'll make it up to you).

Sourdough Biscuits

yep, yet another way to use up sourdough starter rather than throw it out. i used this recipe. if were to click on and read said recipe, you'll see that after you cut into the round biscuit shape, you're supposed to dip them in warm bacon grease, place them in a pan, and let them rise another 1/2 hour. i used melted butter instead. but i gotta tell you, they didn't rise much, and the didn't get any oven rise, either. and with 1/2 of starter, baking soda, and baking powder, i expected them to rise more than they did and be a little fluffier than they were. so, they were a little flat and a little tough. they certainly weren't maddog's red sage biscuits, nor did i expect them to be. if you read the recipe, you'll see that there is no butter, lard, or shortening cut into the dough (just the dip at the end). when will the bizarre sourdough experiments stop? probably soon.

CYA: Juliet & The Darter Go Right

NOTE: if you did not jump to this chapter as a result of the Choose Your Adventure story, please go here before reading any further!


they turned to the right and made their way down the hall. they checked the first room they came to.

"hello gorgeous!"

they peered into the next room.

"hey, sweetheart! want a beer?"

the next room they looked into prompted a shout of, "show us your ta-tas!"

"i see college hasn't changed much," juliet murmured.

"look, a directory!" the darter pointed.

they checked and discovered that dr. bell's office was in the next floor up. they rushed up the stairs and located the room, bursting through the door. they saw mr. franklin seated at a table across from another man--presumably alexander graham bell--with a ouija board between them.

"mr. franklin, we found you!"

the men of science looked up in surprise as the interruption. "hello, miss juliet! oh, and dat. my word, i forgot all about the time. i hope i didn't get everybody stirred up."

"aren't you the ravishing creature!" the other man said as he stood and extended a hand out to juliet. "i'm dr. bell, but you can call me al."

"the pleasure is mine, al," juliet blushed.

"mr franklin, i think we should get you back to the Pub. everyone really is worried about you."

their colonial friend nodded. "yes, yes, it's time. besides, we weren't having any luck conjuring the spirit of leonardo da vinci."

"goodbye, al!" juliet waved.

"goodbye, miss juliet! parting is such sweet sorrow, is it not?"

"he's a regular romeo, isn't he?" mr. franklin noted as they left.


THE END
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Dear Reader,

You have reached the end of your adventure. I hope you enjoyed it! If not, well, you only have yourself to blame because, you know, you chose it yourself. Also, since you--not I--chose this adventure, it did not really take place in the Burkieverse and, therefore, will not have any continuity with the regular Poor Yorick's Pub chapters. Thanks for playing and, if you're in the mood to try another adventure, go back to the beginning and choose a different path!

Sourdough Ciabatta

this is the fourth different ciabatta recipe i've tried. they've all been good, including this one today, though it's my least favorite of the four (my favorite being this one). i didn't include the optional sun-dried tomatoes because, frankly, i don't care much for sun-dried tomatoes. so many people seem to love them, but...i don't. love tomatoes, though. love 'em. anyway, this was on okay bread, just kind of bland. i'll find another sourdough ciabatta recipe somewhere and try it. i'll bring some into work tomorrow.

Gracious Loser

texas tech 39, texas 33

what a tough game. tech outplayed us the entire game, yet we still almost won. would have if our guy had simply held on to the interception that landed right in his hands. all credit to tech.

(Don't Look, Ben!) Baked Sourdough Corn Dogs

yeah. in my quest to find interesting things to do with sourdough, i was thinking about sourdough cornbread, and then i remembered this post (don't look at that post either, ben; they put ketchup on it *shudder*) i saw about baked corn dogs. you'll note that i'm calling them "corn" dogs like the rest of the non-texan world does, rather than the texas preferred "corny" dogs. that's because these were not very good. that's just a step above awful. check out the great homesick texan's posting (if you're still here, ben, look at this one. you'll cry tears of yearning and joy.) about corny dogs for what they should really look like, and to learn a little about them. i don't like to fry, and i held out hope that, while it wouldn't be anything like Fletcher's, it could still be good (the way those baked donuts i made were good). wrong. i shan't be doing this again. incidentally, it was the second bread disaster today. the other was using leftover sourdough bread i had to make cheesy bread pudding. that was awful, which is just a step above revolting. blech. there was one success, though. i used some of the other leftover sourdough bread i had to make pappa al pomodoro, or bread & tomato soup. this was very good, and worth doing again.