The Agony and the Ecstasy
On Halloween, Ralphie made some absolutely stellar home-made caramel. It was so good that I took three pieces home with me and put them in the fridge.
Yesterday, Bart and I decided to watch some 24 and I took two squares of the caramel out with me. Since it had been in the fridge, it was stiff as could be, so I decided to let it sit for a while to soften up.
Then Bart asked for a bite. And then another bite. Fearing that all the caramel would be gone before it was soft enough to eat, I took a big bite. And suddenly everything felt wrong.
I’d popped out the permanent retainer attached to my bottom teeth. Yiiiiiiiiikes.
It’s a bit embarassing how sad I am about this. I got my bottom braces off about a year before the top ones, so I’ve had my retainer on the bottom, without interruption, for over six years now. It went to London with me. It was there when I got married. It was in every single BYU class I took. It was there for every one of my first kisses. There is no other item that I can say that about – no watch, no ring, no metal plate (not that I have one) – nothing. Am I so lame? Yes, completely lame. And also, completely sad.
Strangely, I now feel like I have less room in my mouth and that my tongue is constantly pushing up against my teeth. Also, there is a large sharp hunk of cement left on the back of my tooth and I keep scraping my tongue on it. Unpleasant, no?
Fortunately, I’m going home for Christmas and my dad can reattach it then. In the meantime, I need to find a dentist here to scrape off the cement and reattach it for now (one downside of having a dentist for a dad is that you pretty much don’t trust any other dentists).
For dinner, we had tuna sandwiches with a layer of mashed avocado on lovely warm homemade honey wheat bread (I do rock that much, yes) because it was nice and soft and wouldn’t move my poor unprotected teeth.
And bread? Is SO easy to make. You can make it too.
homemade honey wheat bread
Homemade Honey Wheat Bread
Bread seems daunting, but this is so easy and you'll never go back!
Ingredients
- 1 1/8 cups warm water
- 1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1/3 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups bread flour
- 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
Instructions
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Pour the water into mixing bowl and add yeast. Let sit for at least 30 seconds. Add all other ingredients except whole wheat flour. Stir until mixed and begin adding wheat flour until a dough forms and is elastic and not too sticky. Knead (or let your lovely graduation-gift KitchenAid mix it for you) for 10 minutes.
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Place dough in a bowl, cover with a cloth and let rise until doubled (usually about an hour). Punch down, knead quickly (just a minute or two), form into a loaf and place it in a greased bread pan.
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Set oven to 150 degrees, place bread inside and let rise about 45 minutes (or until it is a size you feel good about).
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Increase heat to 350 and cook bread for 30 minutes.
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Feel like a domestic goddess all day and remind your spouse frequently how totally fabulous you are for making homemade bread.
Feel like a domestic goddess all day and remind your spouse frequently how totally fabulous you are for making homemade bread.
Sorry about the retainer, but the caramel and homemade bread sound wonderful. Heather and I are in the midst of making a bunch of freezer meals to get us through the next few months. After that, it may be time to tackle some homemade bread.
How many first kisses can one have?
I didn’t know your Dad was a dentist… I have more appreciation for dentists now that my husband is in dental school. Does he do many extractions? David needs “real”teeth to work on. We’re having a hard time tracking some down.
Anyway that’s not the point of this comment… do you use a kitchenaide mixer to make your bread? Or do you just do it all by hand? I want to make bread but I have to wait for Christmas for my mixer and I haven’t made bread by hand simce I was a beehive. Should I try it anyway?
Janssen, I feel for you. I have a permanent retainer as well and I was pushing my tongue against my teeth as I read. Lucky that you’re dad’s a dentist though. And the homemade bread thing? I’m still not gonna do it. It may be easy but it takes TOO long. I don’t have the patience or focus for that. Oh well, I’ll live vicariously through you.
Wow, I never knew a retainer could have such sentimental value! The bread recipe sounds wonderful, I will have to try it.
That makes me laugh!
Is there anything better than the smell of freshly baked bread? No, no there is not.
Ouch! That sounds painful.