cardamombread1

There were three loaves… but, um, we kinda ate one right out of the oven.

I’m not sure what got into me today. But I woke up with that over-acheiver mentality that sometimes possesses me in my sleep. I swear, it’s IZ whispering to me as I snore, “Sweetie, you should really bake something tomorrow.” I wake up, a list drafted in my sleep, and it always contains more than I can achieve in one day—and apparently an agenda item to “bake.”

And evidently, bake something just as over achieving as my delusional to-do list. What is it about Nissua recipes? Three loaves… everyone one of them? How many  Finnish babies do you think I have anyhow? (that’s a trick question, we’re Danes) Ok, so my teenage boy counts as two, but really, three loaves? What are we going to do with three loaves of Cardamom bread?

So I got productive today. Laundry and errands and even a Spiritual Direction meeting—all the while working the steps that is bread baking.

I have to tell you, I’m feeling pretty smug today. I have no business feeling smug, because only yesterday in my multi-tasking frenzy (it’s a trend this time of year) I over-looked a potentially embarrassing flaw in one of Mireio’s glasses. And then last Friday, on an equally “I can do it all” time warp of a day, I managed to bake under baked brownies—those darn things spent 45 minutes in the oven and still were slushy in the middle. So, really, I have no right being all “I can DO this!” But, I can’t really help myself. I baked bread, people. Three loaves of delightfully airy bread and I didn’t burn down the house. Or forget the laundry. Or mess anything up. I homeschooled the kid, flirted with the husband, signaled before turning, and managed to sit down for afternoon coffee and a slice of bread.

Of course, I totally forgot to put on mascara and the dog still isn’t bathed, but we won’t dwell on that.

As for three loaves of bread and what we’re going to do with them…. well, turns out, that’s not so much a problem. The first loaf is already gone, the second is iced for dessert, and the third? Can you say French Toast in the morning, baby? Yeah, IZ, I’m talking to you.

For all you bread baking enthusiasts: I started with this recipe: Finnish Nissua. But then I ran amok, altered the recipe, and well, you know the drill, click here for a recipe card: Cardamom Bread