here's to fresh bread

Yesterday I convinced Corey to accompany me to the local Salvation Army to look at housewares. I've been collecting a few things here and there for the new apartment, which is only one month away from becoming a reality! I enjoy collecting glass and ceramic dishes one by one...of course, nothing really matches that way, but I think there's something nice about it. Maybe having mis-matchy dishes is something not many would appreciate, but when I see so many dishes I like, how can I settle on just one design? And vintage dishes are my favorite. I don't know, there's just something I like about opening up the cabinet and seeing a variety of colors and patterns, each handpicked from the thrift-store shelves. It feels nice to be able to reuse and treasure once-unwanted items, as well.

So, we went...I found $5 worth of coffee mugs, glass bowls, and tiny dip dishes (at least, that will be my use for them) which I'll post pictures of later (they're very adorable). Then, from a few feet away, I heard Corey say, "Hey, there are some breadmakers over here." He knew I'd been planning to buy one as an apartment-warming gift...ahem, to myself. I think he's excited about that because he knows I will be sharing fresh bread with him. After inspecting the three that were available--each at the price of just $5--we decided that one really stood out...it looked almost brand new, with a plastic wrapper still covering the keypad of programming buttons. So, we plugged it in to be sure that it worked, and when it came on just fine, I decided to make the purchase. I figured that if it didn't work (it was nonrefundable), it was at least worth a try before shelling out $55-$100 for a new one, and I'd just consider it a donation to Salvation Army. It's sitting on the kitchen counter now, waiting to be tested later today. Cross your fingers for me! I was even able to download the instruction manual/recipe book for free from Sunbeam's website. Here's to fresh-baked bread!

Update: The inaugural loaf is now baking! I chose to start off with one of my favorite bread recipes, a wheat bread from Betty Crocker (my mom's breadmaker is by Betty Crocker and has a recipe book with it). Here is the recipe for a 1.5 lb loaf:

9 oz. lukewarm water
1/2 Tbsp. salt
1/4 c. brown sugar
3 1/4 c. whole wheat flour
2 Tbsp. butter (I used Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Spread)
3 Tbsp. dry milk (I used 3 Tbsp. soy milk and cut out 3 Tbsp. of water)
1 packet dry active yeast

And to liven it up a little, I threw in a very easy add-in of 1/2 Tbsp garlic powder and 1 Tbsp dried Italian seasoning. This adds a delicious flavor of garlic and basil to the bread. The only downfall is the resulting bread isn't very good with peanut butter, and I do love a good slice of peanut butter toast.