It is August Again

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And it is close to my birthday. For the last several weeks I have been collecting recipes and techniques wherever I could find them. This one for croissants and particularly the dough is intriguing. I have made the version form the Virginia bakery that they call pastry dough which makes great coffee cakes. This dough could be a great substitute and I will try it after I get home from what is developing into another great trip to Oregon to visit my sister.

Croissant Dough

in food processor — 2 ¼ C flour, 2 tsp. yeast, 1 ½ tsp. salt,2 Tbsp. Sugar

Mix the dough: In a medium bowl or 2-cup liquid measure, whisk together the water, milk, and egg. In a food processor, blend together the flour, yeast, salt, and sugar until well combined. Add the cold butter, and pulse 10 to 12 times at 1-second intervals, until the butter is in small pea-sized pieces. Transfer the contents of the food processor to a large bowl. Add the water-milk-egg mixture, and, using a spatula, stir until you have a wet, sticky mass. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 2 hours (but ideally for 24 hours) or up to 4 days.

Roll it out: Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and divide it into two equal portions, each roughly 384 grams. Pat each portion into a rough square. Set one aside while you begin working on the next: using flour as needed, roll the square out, flipping it as needed to prevent sticking, until you have a shape 10- to 11-inches wide/tall — it’s OK if, at this point, it looks a little misshapen. Fold the dough envelope-style: the top third down over the dough, then the bottom third up. Then fold the right third of the dough from right to left and then from left to right, to ultimately create a square. (see photos for reference). You’ve now completed one set of folds. Repeat this process 3 more times: roll the dough out into a large, thin square, then fold the dough envelope-style from top to bottom and from right to left. By the end of the four sets, the dough will be smooth, and there should be little to no visible signs of butter flecking the dough.

Chill it: Transfer the folded dough to an airtight container and transfer to the fridge for at least 30 minutes (but ideally 24 hours) or up to 2 days. At this point, the dough can be frozen. Repeat with the remaining portion of the dough.

Make pastries: From here, proceed with any of the recipes suggested above or any recipe calling for a croissant-like dough.

for the croissants — flour for dusting 2 egg yolks 2 tablespoons heavy cream pinch sea salt

To make croissants: Using flour as needed and working with one portion at a time, roll the dough into an 8×12-inch rectangle. Cut the dough in half vertically to create two long rectangles, each 4 inches wide. Then cut each rectangle diagonally to create 4 triangles. Starting at the flat end, coil up each triangle into a croissant shape, ending with the tip tucked underneath. Transfer the croissants to a parchment-lined sheet pan. Cover them with a pan — I use a turned-over 10×14-inch pan — to prevent them from drying out. Repeat with the remaining dough.

Proof: Let the croissants proof at room temperature (ideally between 75ºF and 80ºF) for roughly 2 hours. If your kitchen is colder, this may take longer; if it’s warmer, it may take less time. The coils are ready to bake when they have nearly doubled in size and feel marshmallowy to the touch.

Prepare the oven and make the egg wash: Preheat the oven to 425ºF. If you have two ovens, preheat both of them — I prefer to bake one pan of croissants at a time to ensure they bake/brown evenly. In a small bowl, whisk together the yolks, heavy cream, and salt. Working with one pan at a time, brush each croissant with the egg wash, then wait 5 minutes. If you are working with one oven, wait to brush the other set of croissants until the first pan is nearly finished baking.

Bake the croissants: Transfer the pan to the oven, immediately lower the temperature to 400ºF, and bake for roughly 15 minutes, or until the croissants are golden brown to your liking. Remove the pan from the oven and transfer the croissants to a cooling rack. Let the croissants rest briefly before serving. Repeat with the remaining pan of croissants.

The final product that I want to try is what Virginia Bakery called a fruit pocket. When I made these last, Cheryl was still alive.

I rolled out a piece of dough to about a 9 inch by 9 inch square. I used parchment paper to line an 8 inch square pan. The square of dough I laid across the 8 inch pan turned 45 degrees and allowed it to flop over the edge of the pan. Tuck the dough into the corners and pour in your favorite fruit filling and fold the corners into the middle. Pinch the corners shut as necessary to contain the fruit goodness and let everybody rest and proof for a few minutes – maybe 30. Fire up the oven to 400oF. When the bell goes off pop the fruit pocket in the oven for 30 – 40 minutes. Your choice of brownness.

Drizzle your favorite icing on top or yellow crumbs or cinnamon crumbs or whatever takes your fancy.

I love August with my sister.

Carpe Diem.

Discernment

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Dear Cheryl,

I have not written to you for awhile. You know that I miss you on and off. I never know when that will be. Now is one of those times.

Let me explain. Yesterday Debbie and I had a July 4th grill out spontaneously on the 6th because she was off that day and we wanted to do that. She invited Nancy (You remember Nancy from church? You used to put Kleenex in her basket when you forgot the where you put the money I gave you?) and Debbie’s daughter Sarah was there as well as Adam. Sarah’s new gentleman friend, Gavin and his son Conner came too. It was fun and we had hamburgers and corn and Tommy’s potatoes. (I wish you were here. You would have loved it.)

When Nancy left in the early evening, she asked me if I was ever coming back to church. My answer was and is, I don’t know.

When you were alive I knew it was important to you. I think for me it has never been as important to me as it was to you. Now that you are gone it has little importance for me. I realize now that the attraction to mass and church and being involved was driven by you and the kids and their early involvement. I am not sure that I have that same drive that you did. You were better at church than I am.

And now, church is changing again. As I write this I realize that the whole church thing was a stability in our life. It was an anchor. We both went. When you became sicker it was a need for me. I needed to take you there so that the constant of church was still there in your life and ours. All of the rest of our existence was shattering as we came to our end.

Nancy mentioned to Debbie as she left that she hoped she had not upset me by asking about church. She did not. But she did make me think about it. Today I am thinking about attending daily mass. That would put church back into my life on my own basis.

After searching another Nativity’s webpage, I found the information pictured here. My first impression is that Church of the Nativity is being slowly disassembled. And eventually this year, I guess, the five parishes will be something else – Transfiguration?

Another piece of our life will be gone.

I am still processing the fact that you are gone. It will be that way for the rest of my time here without you.

Debbie is great and I love her and I love being around her.

Today I am thinking about you and church and stability. It appears that Nativity has a daily mass on Tuesday and Friday at 8:15am. Daily is two days a week.

The universe is distracting today. I will review how many days make a weeks worth of days.

Thanks for listening to me today. I can hear you encouraging me to return to church without you. I will consider it. (I am in discernment.)

I will love you always,

Paul

Sometimes Poems and Stories Touch Us

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Poetry magazine came yesterday.

I subscribe to Poetry Magazine. It is always a happy surprise when it appears in my mailbox. The publication is ad free and is printed in a book format – about 5 1/2 by 9 inches or so. It ships via USPS in an apropriate size envelope.

Modern poetry speaks without rhyme. This one by David Kirby spoke to me.

Lately, because of other stories and novels that I am reading or have read, I have been thinking of Mom and Dad. They have been gone for some time now but when I read this free verse I heard Mom’s last words to me as I sat in her darkened room waiting to see if she would wake up.

After dinner I went to visit her. She was laying in bed tilted up a bit very obviously asleep. I sat quietly and waited in a nearby chair. She woke from her nap and squinted at me without her glasses. “Pauly, is that you?”

“Yes, Mom. I didn’t want to wake you.” I replied. She closed her eyes some more and there was silence as she rested. And then she said, “Thanks for all your help.” Those were her last words to me.

Carpe Diem

Let your mind wander

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One of Debbie’s favorite activities is to look at houses for sale. She sends me a link from the real estate broker site and refers to it as the house of the day. I tend to find it on Google maps and sometimes look on the county auditor’s site to examine its history both pricewise and ownership.

One little house we examined became a writing prompt and the following story came out.

Porter and Fannie

Porter and Fannie met in the summer of 1980. There was a neighborhood party that welcomed Porter to the neighborhood and celebrated July 4th.

Porter was a common sight shortly after he moved in to the apartment building down the block from Fannie. He had a well mannered corgi that he walked twice a day once in the early morning before going to work and once, sometimes twice, after dinner, both his own and Marshall’s. Marshall was the name of the corgi. Its full name was Howdy Marshall which was what Porter said when he found him wandering in his old neighborhood.

Marshall was so well mannered and friendly Porter was certain that his owner was nearby. That started a thorough but unfruitful search for its owner. No one near where Porter lived at the time recognized Marshall.

Porter was a walker and a sometimes jogger. That day he was walking and enjoying the January sun. Marshall appeared from behind some bushes in a nearby front yard wearing a collar with a star shaped badge that had no identifying information so Porter assumed the dog belonged to the house. Marshall reinforced that by following him up the steps and sitting beside him as he pressed the doorbell.

“Good morning! Just walking by and I think your corgi has gotten out.”, he said to the young woman who answered the door. Marshall sat happily nearby with a big dog smile and his tongue hanging sideways.

“Nope. Not mine. He’s cute though. I don’t think he belongs to anyone around here. I’ve never seen him before.”, she replied. “I’m Tammy, by the way.”

“Porter”, he replied. “No one that you know of has a corgi?”

“No. Sorry.”

“Well, I guess I’ll keep looking. Thanks for your help.” Porter turned to go and Marshall followed him.

“I know you want to be here but I can’t keep you. No dogs where I live. I’m not sure I can have a pet. And why aren’t you wearing any ID?”, he said to the dog. Some of this was vocally and some of this conversation was mental but as he knelt down to examine the corgi more closely he realized that Marshall was injured on his hind quarters. “Did some one snatch you and you got away? Does that hurt?” He reached out to pet the dog and examine his injury. The little animal stood patiently while Porter did his examination. Porter picked the dog up and crossed the street towards the block that his building was on.

When he got home he tracked down a nearby vet and found that he could take Marshall there that afternoon.

Marshall’s injuries where minor. The vet remarked that the injury to it rear leg could have easily happened when the dog was shoved out of a car door. And after listening to Porter’s story about how he came to be in possession of the dog he remarked, “No charge.” Porter left with Marshall happily wagging his tail. The vet had given him no shots.

Porter spent the next few weeks posting printed notices and placing the same information on Facebook and other social media platforms to no avail. Perhaps the vet was right. Some one had tossed Marshall from a car when they were done taking care of him. Who could have done such a thing? Marshall, Porter was by this time calling the dog Marshall and the dog would alert to that name when Porter said it out loud, for his part acted as though he had found his master back. Lots of tail wagging and excited play demonstrated this behavior daily to Porter.

Porter had not owned a dog before and had not even considered it but something in him now extended an attachment and connection to this creature smaller than him. His landlord, when Porter inquired, told him that dogs where not allowed but that he could temporarily house the dog while he sought out the true owner. As it became more and more apparent that Marshall was a castaway, Porter started looking for a new place to be with the corgi.

He found an apartment in a building in a neighborhood with which he was unfamiliar. This area was closer to his office and fortuitously he could, if he chose, ride his bike to work. As he settled into his new situation he walked Marshall everywhere he could nearby. This neighborhood he usually drove his SUV through on the way to and from work. As he roamed with Marshall, he looked at the buildings and houses. He said hello and talked to the people.

There were several other neighbors with dogs. Marshall also made contact with much butt sniffing and sometimes friendly, sometimes unfriendly noises. These encounters consumed enough time that eventually Porter became known to the neighborhood and conversations beyond a hand wave were commonplace. Dog owners have a special bond and that camaraderie extends to other owners.

A few months after Porter had moved in, he passed by Fannie’s house. She was weeding her garden and Marshall gently crept up next to her to examine her activity. Porter was distracted by a phone call as he was walking the dog after work. Marshal had taken his extendable leash all the way to the end before Porter noticed. Porter almost tripped over it. Fannie petted Marshall.

“Aren’t you cute!” she said to Marshall. Marshall wagged his tail in response.

“His name is Marshall”, said Porter. “I am Porter. I hope he didn’t surprise you.”

“Howdy, Marshall!” said Fannie to the corgi. “I’m Fannie. It’s a great evening for a walk.” she said to Porter taking off her glove to shake hands.

“Howdy Marshall is his full name. It’s what I said to him when I found him walking in my old neighborhood.”

They chatted for awhile about dogs and flowers. Marshall politely stretched out the leash to get mostly out of site near a tree to defecate.

“I’m sorry about that.” Porter told Fannie as he stooped to recover Marshall’s business into a plastic bag he brought with him specifically for the purpose.

“It’s okay. The neighborhood dogs like that spot. Not everyone cleans up after their dog. Thank you for doing that.”

It was an early summer evening in late June. Fannie and Porter talked for almost an hour during that first encounter. When the neighborhood 4th of July celebration was announced by her neighbors she volunteered her backyard which was on the corner and the next time she saw Porter and Marshall, she invited him and Marshall to the party.

In the evening dusk of the 4th when the neighborhood children were agitating and nagging their Dads to start the fireworks show. Porter and Fannie drifted off the corner porch to watch the show. Marshall sat for a minute and looked at Porter. Eventually the corgi positioned himself under their side-by-side chairs and waited anxiously while watching several kids with sparklers. If corgis could speak he might say, “Keep those sparklers in the street!”

The universe put them together at just the right time.

Love bloomed at that party. Marshall had a home with humans. He was unafraid of the fireworks show. He felt safe and fell asleep.

Where does fiction come from? This little story just came out of my fingers thinking about Porter and Fannie. Their names are on the county auditor’s site as previous owners of the house that Debbie sent one morning.

Carpe Diem.

Red Flag for Cardiac Disease

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ED as a Precursor to Cardiac Disease

Erectile dysfunction is not a trivial symptom and not necessarily normal as men get older. This information for me is new and eye-opening.

After my recent heart issues, surgery and eventual recovery I have spent hours reading various medical articles in addition to my usual Wall Street Journal and New York Times early morning perusal of the newsy items presented there. During one of these excursions I tripped over (my phrase for it) an article about erectile dysfunction which is a topic of discussion every man gets during an annual physical with his primary care person.

In my case it is often phrased – Do you experience erectile dysfunction? And my answer often is – I am a 76 year old man, what do you think? I have often, maybe always, made a joke about it and the young female medical assistant who is filing in the standard questions required by the medical hierarchy laughs along with me.

A few days ago I discovered this gem from the Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/medical-professionals/urology/news/erectile-dysfunction-a-vital-sign-for-cardiovascular-health/mac-20585074

The 2023 Princeton IV (P4) consensus guidelines bring a game-changing message to clinicians: Erectile dysfunction (ED) is not just a quality-of-life issue but also a red flag for cardiovascular disease (CVD). This multidisciplinary expert panel urges healthcare professionals to view ED as a risk-enhancing marker for silent coronary artery disease (CAD), especially in younger men who appear otherwise healthy. The consensus guidelines were published in a 2024 issue of The Journal of Sexual Medicine.

More: Why ED deserves serious attention

ED often occurs 2 to 5 years before men experience heart attacks. Because the penile arteries are only 1 to 2 mm wide, they’re among the first vessels to show signs of atherosclerosis. In many cases, ED is the earliest — and only — visible symptom of cardiovascular disease.

Wow. Had I an inkling of this connection I would have asked for a cardiac stress test. Or maybe this test referred to next.

The P4 panel recommendations confirm that ED is a strong, independent predictor of cardiac events, even when traditional risk factors such as cholesterol, diabetes and blood pressure are controlled for. In short, ED is the body’s “check engine light” for heart disease.

New guidelines: Reassess risk with better tools

Dr. Kohler and the P4 team advocate using coronary artery calcium (CAC) scoring in patients with ED and borderline (5% to 7.5%) or intermediate (7.5% to 20%) 10-year atherosclerotic CVD risk. This quick, noninvasive CT scan is one of the most sensitive and specific ways to detect subclinical CAD, especially in patients ages 40 to 60, whose risk is often underestimated.

Finding a high CAC score (above 100) can lead to early intervention: statins, aspirin, lifestyle counseling and, in some cases, cardiology referral. This single test can turn a routine men’s health visit into a lifesaving diagnosis.

Too late for me. I found my blockage while riding on my favorite bike trail. I could have found it before that day. I’m complaining about not figuring it out sooner. And perhaps my own complacency is complicit here. PCPs only see their patients once or twice a year and it is up to the patient to discuss the things that are not working correctly. (Men generally are shy about discussing their reproductive equipment. I am no exception.)

Both of my parents had heart problems. Mom had bypass graft surgery in her mid-seventies and lived to be 95.

I miss her whenever I throw away a cardboard box.

Carpe Diem.

Flights to Portland

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After talking to my sister for awhile this morning I fell down the rabbit hole of – How much money to fly two people to Oregon in August? Leaving out the thought of what jet fuel might cost the airlines three months hence I searched the four airlines sites that I usually search before locking down flights to the Pacific Northwest from the Rust Belt in mid to late summer.

It looks like $750 – $800 round trip for the seat I want to sit in for four to five hours. Frontier is still searching. Their website has a cute little circle of death whirly twirly thing going with a brown bear in the middle. They are headquartered in Denver. Their website is afraid to say, “No Flights on those dates”.

Today’s activity will be to see if the Frontier site ever responds to my request. So far it has been 20+ minutes. Expedia responded within seconds. They must own all of the effective coders.

These things, like website efficacy interest me.

In the world of used cars – don’t let the guy who wants to buy something off of the lot get away before making a deal.

I quit waiting for Frontier to get back to me.

Carpe Diem

Scrapbooks and Journaling, Taking Note

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Scrapbooks

I save little snippets, tickets and programs, thinking one day I will create a scrapbook of several of the things that I have done in my life. Why do I do this and why do I never get started? These thoughts jumped into my head as I was sorting through the detritus of pill bottles and the paper that comes with them and reloading my weekly pill box.

This could be a scrapbook, I said to myself as I looked at my cardiac logbook/diary from Mercy Health. I brought this book with me to my last follow-up visit with the cardio-thoracic surgery folks and the NP that I saw that day remarked that people rarely bring the book with them to the doctor. It plainly states to bring this log to the post op visits. Do people not read well?

Do I want a scrapbook of my heart attack? This binder collects everything in one spot. BPs, heart rate, exercise (I lied a little), how many times I blew into the lung gizmo and how many times I sucked on the other lung gizmo. A book that I could open a few years hence and reminisce. Do people do that? Do I want to do that?

Jake the exercise guy came today dismiss me from the follow up exercise program that came with my CABG surgery five weeks ago. He asked me to do a few specific exercises to assess my recovery and during that activity I noticed a small book sticking out from behind my IKEA bookcase I bought several years ago. After the exercise I pulled it from behind the shelves and discovered it was a small photo album that I had purchased for Cheryl many years ago. She had placed in it photographs of the grand children. She did this at the beginning of her dementia years to remember who they were as small children. They were pictures that she liked. As her mind deteriorated she added a few other notes and an obituary of some unknown (to me) person carefully trimmed from the newspaper. She had created a sort of scrapbook.

Now that I have discovered it and recovered it from its hiding place, I will return it to the collection of similar items that I separated from the other random assemblies in her office when she went to stay in memory care.

The small booklet and exercise papers and Jake’s dismissal paper and the Mercy Health binder and log that I meticulously kept up and later discovered the material was dated and they needed to update, I put together on a shelf (and called it macaroni like Yankee doodle). Perhaps one day hence I will look through it all and reminisce. But I suspect not.

Like the closet full of old checks and check statements I think that in a few years I will skim over it and recycle it into the nearest trash receptacle. I will be able to look in the bathroom mirror at my scar and reminisce.

The little picture album with random notes will await my return in the tub of family memories.

Carpe Scrapbook Diem.

Back To Baking

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More Bread Recipes

Recovery gives me a lot of time to think about breads and cooking. It occurs to me that I am more recovered from this heart thing than I realize. I spend more time reading recipes. I have more interest in doing that and making those. It occurs to me that I am once again focused on living.

Changes in attitude are small and subtle.

Interest in in other things beyond yourself and what you feel leads to renewed interest in life.

Two breads: Same Recipe, Different Technique

4-Ingredient Homemade Bread

Only FOUR ingredients! Anyone can make this crusty, bakery-style bread at home. I’m sharing this recipe in exchange for a simple “Yum” — Recipe in First Comment → as you can tell from this text I spent a great deal of empty time cruising through Facebook and YouTube. Both of the next recipes are in the category of what I think of as psuedo-sourdough. Yeast spores exist everywhere. When I get excited in winter to make sourdough I start with whole wheat flour (usually Bob’s Red Mill or King Arthur).

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour

• 1½ cups warm water

• 1 tsp salt

• ½ tsp instant yeast (a small amount of yeast, so it will take awhile)

Directions

1. In a bowl, mix flour, salt, and yeast.

2. Add warm water and stir until a sticky dough forms.

3. Cover and let rest 8–12 hours (or overnight – awhile).

4. Preheat oven to 450°F (230°C) with a covered Dutch oven inside.

5. Carefully place dough into the hot pot, cover, and bake 30 minutes.

6. Remove lid and bake 10–15 minutes until golden and crusty.

7. Cool slightly, slice, and enjoy!

Crispy outside, soft inside—no kneading, no stress, perfect every time.– The Facebook comment and it works.

Another…

  • 1 ½ cups warm water
  • 1 tsp yeast
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 3 cups plain (all purpose) flour
  • 1 tsp salt

1. In the warm water, add your yeast and sugar and stir let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes until foamy (like me this chef likes to proof the yeast in sugar water. Carbs are carbs – I often use a small amount of flour.)

2. Put 3 cups of plain (all purpose) flour in a big bowl. Add one teaspoon of salt and mix. Add your yeast mixture and mix together. Should look like a shaggy mess. Let rest 30 minutes covered

3. Do the stretch and fold clockwise four times turning the dough as you do this, let it sit for 30 minutes and repeat three more times

4. Put the bread in the fridge and let it rest overnight

5. Take the bread out and let it sit to room temperature about one to 2 hours

6. Preheat your oven at 230°C, putting in your pot, which you will cook the bread in. Should (must) have a lid.

7. Put your dough on a flowered bench top and do one last stretch and fold then put it in a bowl with baking paper in it, and let it sit for two hours till it doubles in size (reverse 6 & 7 – my oven does not require 2 hours to heat up.)

8. Put it in your pot score the top of your dough and pop the lid on and into the oven for 30 minutes then take your lid off and cook for another 20 minutes

9. Let bread rest for 10 minutes before devouring – bread is best warm and directly from the oven.

The first reel I watched on Facebook was from a gentleman who measured everything in grams. 500g of flour, 400g of water. He insisted this was best. On my scale 500g of flour is 3 cups of it – maybe a smidge more depending on how it settles in the measuring cup. And 400g of water is 400ml which is a bit more than 1 ½ cups of water, more like 1.69 but close enough as they say.

This recipe has no oil or butter or any other fat which to me merely means you need to use it within 48 hours of baking it. It can be frozen for a couple of days but it becomes croutons pretty quickly.

The whole process is sped up by using the normal amount of yeast for this volume of flour which is about 2 ¼ teaspoons and using bottled water instead of tap water. This is a pretty basic recipe and is referred to as Pain Ordinaire in my bread book. The french knead their bread.

The lid traps much of the moisture in the loaf.

Carpe Diem.

Carpe Diem

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In keeping with my overall theme of seize the moment, I bid farewell to my commentary and narration of my heart attack and subsequent plumbing repairs and the recovery from all of that. God has given me an extended life. What will I do with it?

These past few days and weeks have been remarkably suited for riding. This single fact has caused me to be down a bit. I cannot ride. At first I felt little like riding but as I heal I become more anxious to do it every day. It is a goal. It is a quest. In February and in March I was beginning to ride a few miles and then a mile or so more before the universe made me stop and discover where the pain was coming from.

I need to work on stamina first. It is surprising how winded I get just walking around my little condo’s parking area. But I must pay attention to how my body is healing and what substances will help it to heal. In the hospital I was getting a calcium drip for a couple days. Debbie suggested that I should drink milk and eat cheese to accomplish a similar effect.

The simple joy of chocolate milk, I used to drink this as a child. In the hospital I was given Ensure. I found that the chocolate variety pleased my pallet. There is a chocolate variety of Bailey’s Irish Cream. Those two together can only improve the value and overall flavor profile of chocolate Ensure. This might be adult Ensure. I will try this later.

Mom said to me long ago after one of her hospital stays that Ensure or Boost is not too bad if you mix it with a little milk. It tasted like a low end milk shake.

I will drink more Ensure and maybe add some Bailey’s. And I will walk more. Stay tuned.

Carpe Diem.