Author: Meg

Easily amused, never bored and constantly distracted. My creative pursuits include writing, drawing, painting and photography.

Reading For Writing

~ Meg ~ 87 Comments

I’m not one for making resolutions. However, I don’t avoid them if they seem like worthy goals. In that spirit, I have been taking on the Goodreads reading challenge each year. Personally, I think writers ought to be avid readers, as well. Reading is what inspired me to try writing so why on earth would I give it up?

Nevertheless, the more involved I’ve become in writing and blogging, the less time I’ve devoted to my books. Last year, I set the goal of reading 25 books for the Goodreads challenge: 2 per month (plus one). I am sorry to say, I fell short by 5 books. But with researching for my writing, I still did a lot of reading. At any rate, this year, I’ve lowered the bar to 20 books and I thought I’d share the ones I’ve chosen to read:

  1. A Line In the Sand – The Anglo-French Struggle For the Middle East, 1914-1918; James Barr
  2. Living – Henry Green
  3. Loving – Henry Green
  4. Party Going – Henry Green
  5. Madame Bovary – Gustave Flaubert
  6. Down and Out In Paris and London – George Orwell
  7. Storm Of Steel – Ernst Junger
  8. Devil’s Brood – Sharon Kay Penman
  9. The Man In the High Castle – Philip K. Dick
  10. The Mother Tongue – Bill Bryson
  11. The Gods of Guilt – Michael Connelly
  12. Princess Margaret: A Biography – Theo Aronson
  13. The Collected Poems of Ivor Gurney
  14. Blue Mars – Kim Stanley Robinson
  15. A Farewell To Arms – Ernest Hemingway
  16. Garden Of Lies – Eileen Goudge
  17. On Writing; A Memoir of the Craft – Stephen King
  18. W. B. Yeats and the Muses – Joseph Hassett (started, but not finished)
  19. The Crimes of Love – The Marquis de Sade (started but not finished)
  20. The Bell Jar – Sylvia Plath (started but not finished)

If I manage that, I will clear the precariously stacked pile on my bedside table! Yes, I still read paper books. I consume books in three formats, actually: paper, e-book and audio-book. I also usually have several going at the same time. For example, I listen to an audiobook while exercising, read one non-fiction/biography and one fiction book all at once. As long as I keep the genres distinct, I can keep from getting them confused.

So, my writer friends, what are you reading this year?

Artwork: ‘Serenity’ – Sheree Valentine Daines

Le Boulangerie (1) Baguette

~ Meg ~ 84 Comments

To accompany my novel in progress: Breaking Bread, welcome to Le Boulangerie!

There is no more appropriate bread to open this series with than the baguette. The most basic of breads, the simplest of ingredients and yet the most wonderful results. The composition of a traditional baguette is nothing more than flour, salt, yeast and water. You need no complicated tools, this can all be done by hand. Though it takes time to get from start to finish, most of that time is spent waiting for the rise. The actual working time is quite short. Here’s what you do:

We begin with a “starter” – a water/flour/yeast mixture that gives the yeast a head start in the consumption of the carbohydrates in the flour. The byproduct of ‘yeast eating sugar’ is CO2 and that is what makes bread rise.

Starter:
1 cup  flour
1/2 tsp yeast
1 1/4 cup lukewarm water (comfortable enough to dip a finger in)

Combine in a large bowl, cover and let rise 2-3 hours, until it gets bubbly.

When the starter has done its thing…

Add in:
1 tsp yeast
2 additional cups of flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
Enough water to make a smooth dough (usually not more than another 1/4 cup)

Hand form dough into a smooth ball. (Or you can use a stand mixer with a dough hook) Place dough ball in a bowl dusted with flour, dust top with flour. Cover bowl with a kitchen towel. Let rise 40 minutes or until doubled in size. 

When doubled, cut dough in half, keeping as much air in the dough as possible. Fold and roll dough pieces into 2 baguettes. Place on floured baking sheet*, cover and let rise an hour. 

Heat oven to 425. Just before placing baguettes into the oven, slash the tops of the loaves diagonally several times. Spritz with water to make the loaves nice and crusty. Bake 20-25 minutes, until golden brown.

*I actually use a baguette pan. I have a similar one for Italian loaves. These aren’t necessary but they do help make more uniform loaves. I hope these turn out for you if you try them. They are the perfect accompaniment to a hearty soup or stew. Bon appetit!