Let a Poem Rise...Break & Enjoy Poem #225

Dough in Morning

Photo by Amy LV

 Bread at Night

Photo by Amy LV

 

Yesterday we didn't have many groceries in the house, and I did not want to go shopping.  So...I made one of my favorite breads, the Easy, No-Knead Crusty Bread that I happily discovered in MOTHER EARTH NEWS two years ago, the bread that changed our lives.  With a cast iron dutch oven, three cups of flour, water, a package of yeast, and a pinch of salt, you have everything you need.  It rises all day long, so if you mix it in the morning, it bakes at night.  Delightful!  This bread is so perfect that we once gave the recipe to a friend as a wedding gift along with a Martha Stewart dutch oven.

Students - this is a how-to poem.  It teaches the reader a little bit about bread baking, and so it's really a nonfiction poem.  The idea came from something I do, something I know about.  What did you just do?  What do you know?  What might you teach someone else?  Our own knowledge bases can be joyful jumping-off points for writing.

I did have to do a wee bit of research into yeast in order to write this poem.  I didn't know that yeast are really fungi or how they die, so I went snooping around online to find all kinds of facts at KnowsWhy, Wikipedia,  and WiseGEEK.  Not until I began writing did I realize that this poem would follow the actual time line of dough to bread.

Here is a great book about baking bread, one I've had for a while.  This book has a wonderful website dedicated to all kinds of information about bread: games, recipes, activities, a DVD clip, you name it.

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Now I am off to eat some bread with butter.  And maybe honey. 

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Poem #88 Today! - Breakfast for Dinner

Good morning, Mag!  Where do you live?

This week, our family found a surprise on our front porch.  My mother sent us a Belgian waffle maker!  So now we will be able to make fat waffles and smother them in strawberries and whipped cream, all in the comfort of our own home.  Thank you, Mom!

Breakfast for dinner is a big hit at our house.  I could make six fancy dinners in a row (this would actually never happen), and if we had cereal on day seven...everyone would cheer.  There is something happy and cozy about breakfast foods.

I thought I'd poke around in Google-land to see if there was anything interesting to find about breakfast for dinner, and I found something amazing.  22, 166 people like "Breakfast for Dinner" on Facebook.  Isn't that funny?

Students - writing about favorite things is fun and easy too.  We can make lists of all kinds of favorites: foods, pieces of clothing, games, songs,  animals, books, ice cream flavors...  Then we can jump from any point on any list into a poem, essay, or story.

Back to food, this week I plan to make a chocolate chip coffee cake.  I'll also try to make the breakfast pizza at the top of this list of "Ten Ways to Eat Brinner (Breakfast for Dinner)".

In our house, one favorite "brinner" is the puffy pancake from this cookbook by Ann Hodgman which is as funny as it is recipe-good.  If you like garlic pretzels, Ann's recipe is super.

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What is YOUR family's favorite breakfast for dinner?  Write it in the comments below, and you'll be entered into a drawing to win a copy of this hilarious book that has nothing to do with poetry or writing...just food.  The drawing will be held on Thursday, July 1.

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MyPoWriYe #42 - Mint

Invasive?  Me?

Photo by Amy LV

Last week's featured edible plant was the dandelion.  This week it's mint!

You can find a very simple recipe for mint tea at Your Cup of Tea.  Sometimes we just take whole mint stalks and stuff them into a teapot.  Pour in hot water, add sugar, and yum!

Mint in gardens is both friend and enemy, much like an Amish Friendship Bread starter.  If you've ever received one of those baggies, you know what I mean.

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MyPoWriYe #35 - Dandelion Dot-to-Dot

The yellow polka dots are here, and with them the brightness of spring.  Yesterday's dandelions were almost blinding, singing out to be the subject of a poem.

Spring separates the dandelion cleavers from the dandelion leavers.  Last night at baseball, my husband kept popping dandelion flowers into his mouth.  Thinking him strange, I asked him to stop, but today I found a recipe for dandelion fritters at Learning Herbs.  

This afternoon, our children got off the school bus only to receive paper bags for "dandelion harvesting".  We made the fritters for dinner, and they were quite tasty (so tasty that I finished the cold ones at 10pm.)  We had dandelion cookies too, recipe courtesy of The Splendid Table, and our dandelion syrup from 5 Orange Potatoes is in the fridge cooling for step #2 tomorrow.  

Dandelion wine just may be next.  All free, free, free!  Now I, too, am a converted "dandelion leaver".  Eat your weeds!

Dandelion Designs

Photo by Amy LV

Dandelion Dinner

Blurry Photo by Amy LV

 Dandelion Dessert

Photo by Amy LV 

Please share in the comments if you have a favorite dandelion recipe.  It's that time of year!

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