Adventures of the soft pretzel...

Yes, it has been a long time. So long that I can't even remember when I attempted to make soft pretzels. A week ago? Maybe two. I know that it was in the midst of the Phillies excitement because I decided to make pretzels, a truly Philly food, to celebrate the successes of the Phillies. Well, the world series is over and the Phillies are defeated, but I am proud of them. So now, I will post my pretzel adventure.

Let me start my saying the the Philly pretzel is an art form I knew I would not master. It is a thing of beauty and culinary genius. These are not mine. These are the real deal.



But I wanted to try it out. There were missteps, for sure. But it was not a total disaster. I started by putting the yeast in hot water. It was supposed to foam but this is all I got.


So perhaps this had an effect on the final product. I also ran out of regular flour and substituted with whole wheat flour. I think these two things together contributed to a pretzel that was too dense.

I mixed the dough which was kind of fun but also annoyingly messy.



Then I let it rise. I think the yeast was not active enough because it did not rise that much. I also did not have a big bowl so I had to let it rise in a pot while I used the big pot to boil the solution for the next step. So there was not that much room to let it rise.



I then rolled the pretzels and let them rise, which is what the recipe said.
But when I went to transfer the pretzels to the boiling water, they stuck together and the shape was compromised so I needed to re-roll them. This must also have made them too dense.


I boiled the pretzels in baking soda and sugar. This is supposed to make them golden brown and crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.

I then had to make the salt stick. I ended up using the dreaded egg.


I hate using eggs. When they are cracked they remind me of a monster.

Please, if anyone knows a substitute sticky substance that actually works, let me know. But for this project, I used this grossness:

After baking, the pretzels did come out nice and golden-brown.

The taste was not horrible but they were just so heavy. Way too dense.


Hopefully I will do better next time. I feel it is my duty as someone from Philly to make a good soft pretzel.

Green Soup and Glee!

Last night I made some Green Soup! Yup, it is very green. I got the recipe at 101 Cookbooks.com here. I usually don't follow recipes, but this time I was pretty exact. I started with sweet potato. I boiled it.


Then I chopped up the onion and caramelized them in a pan.


Chopped up some leeks. I always love leeks in soups. I am not even sure what the pure flavor of a leek is, but if you are making a soup, I say, "Throw it in there!"


Then I added some green chard and spinach.


And then I added some vegetable stock to ... well, I wanted to say "beef it up," but that would be weird on a vegan food blog. I added vegetable stock to give it body.


The recipe said you can leave it chunky or puree it. It looks a lot prettier when left chunky, but in terms of taste it was better pureed. Getting a chunk of chard was a little bitter. Much better when all the flavors hit your mouth at once. So, into the blender it went.


And it came out green! It tasted pretty good. The ginger made it a little stringy, but I liked having the ginger taste. Oh, and ya know how I had one plate to my name (which is no longer the case)? Well, I only have one bowl, too. My sister has some dishes, but for the most part we only eat out of our own. So here is the soup.


And I have plenty.


I watched the TV show Glee while I ate it. I like the show. I am often disappointed in the musical numbers because I think they could be a lot better. I don't like how it looks so much like they are lip syncing. I wish it looked more like they were singing in the moment.

Jane Lynch is AMAZING on the show. She is the reason I am into the show. She is hilarious. Favorite quote from the episode Vitamin D:

"Oh dear god, stop talking. I'm trying to desperately to ignore the treacly, sweet inanity of your asinine conversation, but now I've got bile in my mouth and I will hold my tongue no further."

Love Jane Lynch!

On another note, here are some good foods I have eaten of late that I did not cook but hope to cook soon!

This carrot cookie was so good. I got it at the Union Square farmer's market. It was perfect for breaking the fast at Yom Kippur.


And, the best for last! THE GIANT PRETZEL!!!! This was great. I got it at Amy's Bread! I hope to make soft pretzels soon. being from Philly, I am kind of obsessed with them. Don't worry, I did not eat this alone. My sister helped (a little). :) It was real good. Not from Philly, that was clear. But it was good.


Till next time...