Gretch Runs

It's bread week on Great British Bake Off, which is when I always say things get real  on the show. In the past, the person who has won this week has usually gone pretty far (winning a lot of the time as well!). It seems like the people who know how to cook bread properly are just better all-around bakers! The challenges for this week were tough- first up the bakers had to make a focaccia (most of which looked amazing and delicious - I'm especially intrigued by Crystelle's roasted grape and feta! She's becoming one of my favorites for her unique flavors). Then was the technical, which was cheese and onion ciabatta breadsticks, and finally the Showstopping bread sculpture. It always blows my mind the amazing things the bakers can create out of bread! For the technical, I was excited to try out these breadsticks! I love olive and cheese, so these just sounded delicious from the start. To begin the recipe, I made the dough (and had to mix it by hand since I don't have

Good morning everyone! Today I'll be sharing the books that I read in September. This was a great month because I joined the library here, which means reading more physical books! I forgot how much more I enjoy reading them (even though it's much easier carrying around my Kindle). You can never run out of batteries in the middle of an exciting chapter with a real book. Here's a look at what I read this month with some real gems mixed in- The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren Olive Torres is used to being the unlucky twin: from inexplicable mishaps to a recent layoff, her life seems to be almost comically jinxed. By contrast, her sister Ami is an eternal champion . . . she even managed to finance her entire wedding by winning a slew of contests. Unfortunately for Olive, the only thing worse than constant bad luck is having to spend the wedding day with the best man (and her nemesis), Ethan Thomas. Olive braces herself for wedding hell, determined to put on a brave face, but

October really snuck up on me this year. I still feel like it's August (I can't seem to get the date right when someone asks me) and it's hard to believe that it's almost the holiday season! I'm really excited to see what fall in the south is going to be like, and if the past few weeks have been any indication it's going to be awesome. Bring on the hay rides and apple cider! September was such a great month and it's hard to pick a highlight, but I probably have to pick our trip to Asheville. It was such a rejuvenating trip- with a perfect mix of outdoor activities, sight-seeing and relaxation. We really lucked out on weather and everything was just perfection. I love having mountains and beaches so close by- it's one of the top reasons we picked our location- so it was great to actually take advantage of it!  You can read the recaps of my trip here , here , and here . Let's get into my annual and monthly goals.... 2021 Combined Miles January -  44 ru

We are moving right along into Week Two of the Great British Bake Off! This week is all about the biscuits- aka cookies. I love making them (and eating them) and always love the interesting and creative creations that the bakers come up with for the Showstoppers. First challenge for the bakers was a Brandy Snap- which sounded like a delicious test and one that I might try out myself. The Showstopper was a childhood toy recreated in biscuit form with some sort of interactive feature. I really loved Crystelle's vanity and Chig's snooker table- so clever and well made! In between these two bakes was the Technical, which was a Jammy Biscuit. This sounded really delicious and somewhat easy to make- two shortbread cookies with some buttercream and homemade raspberry jam in between. Yum!! Overall this was another pretty easy bake, but was all about timing and keeping the dough chilled. There's a lot of butter in the cookies, so if it's too soft the butter will all melt away an

Happy October everyone! It's definitely starting to feel more "fally" in North Carolina, and the weather has been absolutely perfect in my opinion. Give me chilly mornings and sunny afternoons every day! Last week was full of outdoor adventures, a fun night out, and spending time with some new friends. Here are some highlights! Monday Plans for the day (outside of work): Dan and I met up with some people for disc golf! This was a MeetUp that I was really excited to join for a while and it ended up being a blast. I also stopped at the library to pick up my first Book Club book, and watched Dancing with the Stars when I got home. One thing that went unexpected: I had really bad sleep all weekend and again last night and woke up feeling awful, so I took a half day off work. I still have so many sick days to use by the end of the year and just resting a bit in the morning made me feel so much better! Best part of the day: The park where we played disc golf was really gorgeo

It's the best time of the year- baking season! I wait all year long for Great British Bake Off to return to my Netflix screen and it's officially here. One of my highlights of 2020 (not that there was much to compete with...) was baking along with the episodes and trying out all of the technical bakes! Of course I have to do that again this year. Week one is starting out with cakes. The bakers were asked to make mini rolls for the Signature Challenge, and an Anti-Gravity Illusion Cake for the Showstopper. What I'm focusing on today (as usual) is the Technical- a Malt Loaf . Something I've never heard of but sounded so tasty and perfect for the cool, crisp days of fall that we're finally getting! The process was pretty simple but very interesting- I started by soaking dried fruit in hot black tea- using English Breakfast of course- and steaming it in the microwave. Once it was out I added baking soda which caused a chemical reaction (not sure exactly what happened b