Alphabet Soup

It's almost amusing to talk about the snow day we had a couple of weeks ago, considering that the temperature the last few days has been in the 70's!  Crazy, I know.  But anyway, we had a snow day at the beginning of the month.  Well, honestly, it was more of a snow-covered-ice with sub-zero windchill day.  The schools closed.  My husband even stayed home from work!  So, of course I wanted to bake.  And bake I did! I was able to cross making challah bread off my learn-to-do list , which was awesome!  My loaf of bread certainly wouldn't win any beauty contests, but it definitely tasted good.  I used this recipe from Red Star Yeast  (which I love by the way!), and I would use it again.  I mixed it up in the bread machine, then shaped it by hand and baked it in the oven.  I must make challah bread more often!! I also tried the Baking Illustrated chocolate chip cookies via Brown Eyed Baker .  I don't know...

Can you believe it's already 2010? I can't! I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy New Year!!! I don't have a new recipe to post today. It's not really a "resolution" post either, but I do have some plans for this year. Obviously the biggie will be adding a new baby to the family in April! But I also plan on crossing off some of the items on my Learn to Do List this year, and hopefully I can add some more items to it as I think of them. And this pretty much has nothing to do with cooking, but I'm planning on participating in Project 365 , where you document your day to day life by taking one picture every day. A little more info can be found here (or tons of places if you do a search for it!). Anyway, this really intrigued me and I'd like to do it. I don't plan on posting pictures every day, only once a week at most or maybe even just once a month. I may just post the pictures here on this blog...I'm not that sure I want to start a completely...

Okay, so I completely stole this idea from Megan of My Baking Adventures ( which, unfortunately her blog doesn't seem to be there anymore, Aug 2011 ). But it was such a fun idea, I couldn't help myself! So, here goes, but I'm sure this list will morph over time, as all of my lists have a tendency to do!! 1. Bagels 2. Challah February, 2011 3. Brioche 4. Fresh Pasta 5. Tiramisu 6. Cheesecake 7. Fresh Mozzarella 8. Pickles* 9. Red Velvet Cake 10. German Chocolate Cake 11. Tamales 12. Pecan Pralines 13. Divinity * Technically speaking, I have made pickles before, but not as an "adult". I helped my mom and grandmother make them when I was little. And now, a question for you: what are some things that you would put on your own "learn to do" list??