Wine and Beer

Jeff and I spent the night last night in Omaha. He had a cricket match early this morning and rather than drive in at 5 this morning, we headed there last night. We stayed in my favorite hotel. An old Embassy Suites that has become a Doubletree. The rooms are huge and beautiful. The hotel was quiet. And breakfast was free. Even the pool and the hot tub (which we took advantage of) were warm.

The match was not warm. It was freezing. Drizzling and about 50, I spent most of the time huddled in my sweatshirt or watching from the car. It was not the best weather for a match. Jeff's team lost but they put up a great struggle. It could have gone either way.

But the weekend trip was invigorating. Jeff and I had some incredible talks this weekend. It was nice to just get away from everything together. I came home ready to do things. I've cleaned the kitchen, gone through some paperwork, started a box of things to get rid of, and finished putting away dishes. Right now I'm working my way through a bottle of Barefoot Pinot Grigio, one of my new favorite wines. It's a bit too dry for Jeff but I'm not complaining on having the bottle to myself. The other thing I'm doing is baking. After last week's banana bread I decided that I need to make more quick breads. This week it's beer bread.

I'm using the Super Secret Bierling Recipe for beer bread. It is:

3 cups Self-Rising Flour
4 1/2 Tbsp Sugar
12 oz Beer

Mix together until moist. 35 minutes at 350 degrees. Make sure to flour your loaf pan before baking.

Yep, that's it, that's the list. It's such an incredibly simple recipe and it's so tasty. Both Jeff and I prefer this yeasty bread a little undercooked. I love the soft interior and the slightly crisp crust. It has a unique flavor. I'm sure you can vary that depending on what beer is used. Most of the time I just use whatever is in the fridge, tonight Bud Light. So it's a wine and beer night. Following an incredible day. I'm so lucky.