Friday, October 20, 2006

Another Day Another Foccacia!

Or however you spell it.

Went to meet my new client yesterday, and I'm sure you will hear lots about her. My fervant prayer was to have someone this time that I could: Eat with. Cook For. TALK with. Laugh With. Make a Difference.

After those last clients who were anti-food, anti-conversation and anti-laughter, it was about time I got someone more akin with the reasons I got into caregiving to begin with!

This lady is only 62 but she had suffered a massive stroke when she was 42. Imagine that? She was in a care home for one solid year learning to walk again, talk, read, sit up, roll over, play dead.

Here's the part I want to vent about: When she finally was well enough to come home and take up life again with her dentist husband and two children, she discovered that her husband was a rat bastard of the First Degree. One evening as she was laying down recuperating he got all dressed up for a night on the town and he told her he was going out on a date! She said, "I didn't know married men went on dates!" And he told her that he wanted to do things with his life. Go skiing, go to concerts, surf, hike, play polo, do extreme bungee jumping. And she just didn't fit in with that plan. So he divorced her.

Can you imagine being 43 years old, facing the challenges of life after a massive stroke and having your husband dump you because being married to an invalid wasn't hip or trendy enough to suit his world vision?

So I had to bake her some foccacia bread:
Ready for the Oven
Yum!
Here is my recipe for it. It came from the web somewhere but it is tried and true, believe me. I've baked a hundred of them at least.
Easiest Focaccia Bread

INGREDIENTS:
· 1 teaspoon white sugar
· 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
· 1/3 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
· 2 cups all-purpose flour
· 2 tablespoons olive oil
· 1/4 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS:
1. In a small bowl, dissolve sugar and yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, combine the yeast mixture with flour; stir well to combine. Stir in additional water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until all of the flour is absorbed. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly for about 1 minute.
3. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 30 minutes.
4. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F
5. Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface; knead briefly. Pat or roll the dough into a sheet and place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Brush the dough with oil and sprinkle with salt.
6. Bake focaccia in preheated oven for 10 to 20 minutes, depending on desired crispness. If you like it moist and fluffy, then you'll have to wait just about 10 minutes. If you like it crunchier and darker in the outside, you may have to wait 20 minutes.

5 comments:

Junie Moon said...

Thank you for the recipe--it sounds so yummy!

Your client's ex-husband is a creep in the first degree. How horrid of him--there are days that I truly do not understand why people do some things they do. Well, maybe a certain part of his anatomy will fall off or something. After all, karma is the gift that keeps on giving (oops, myabe saying that will invoke some payback on me--oh well).

Janet said...

I will definitely try the foccacia recipe. I love bread in any shape, size or form!

That woman's husband is the worst kind of human being. It's all about them and never about anyone else. All I can say is she is probably better off without him.

Puss-in-Boots said...

Some people are so incredibly selfish, aren't they? That poor, poor lady. Still, she is so much better off without him.

The foccacia looks yum, may have to give that recipe a try as I am rather partial to foccacia.

Have a good day.

j.sterling said...

what a pussy. i hate men who don't have the backbone to stay around. selfish pricks.

end rant. lol

Carole Burant said...

I'm finally catching up on the posts I missed while I was away!! Oh dear, what an awful thing to happen to that poor woman...talk about being shot down when you're at your lowest! Hope he gets everything that's coming to him!! I'm glad she has you as her caregiver:-) That foccacia bread sure does look yummy and I've copied the recipe! I make my own homemade bread but never tried making foccacia bread! Hugs xox