Savory Seasons: New Traditions Including Bread

The tree is down. The cat has spent the better part of the last two weeks tucked under the branches of that tree. He spent last evening sitting under the end table next to where the tree had been, probably wondering where it had gone. 

It's been a season of shifting traditions for us. Solidifying some fledgling traditions and adopting some new ones that will remain firmly in place. Watching our five year old granddaughter's delight in seeing her first performance of The Nutcracker has turned this into a yearly event.

Highfield Hall has been added to our traditions list. We were absolutely delighted with their concert this year. Aurea presented a program that included beautiful music, poetry, and a magical reading of A Child's Christmas In Wales. Visiting Highfield in all of it's seasonal finery is always a treat, but their holiday concert will be part of future seasons for us.

Not sure that adopting a new bread technique comes under the heading of a new tradition, but it is for me! Thanks to Gail Blakely's class at Highfield Hall, I learned to make no-knead bread. I've been making bread for thirty years and had certainly heard about the no-knead method, but had discounted it as something merely trendy. Wrong! 

The class is based on Jim Lahey's technique (My Bread, The Revolutionary No-Work, No-Knead Method.) The technique is on line and the book is readily available, but experiencing the class really inspired me to overcome my hesitation and become the convert that I am. This method produces great bread!

This blog has turned into a celebration of Highfield Hall, but maybe that's a good thing. We have a wonderful historical, cultural and culinary center right here in Falmouth, and I'd like to do a small part in encouraging everyone to support it and to take advantage of all that it has to offer.