What . The . F ?

I dream a lot. I'm one of those people that often remembers her dreams, unlike my DH, who rarely remembers what he dreams about. He says he doesn't have dreams, but I've told him that everyone dreams, it's just a matter of whether you remember them or not.

I also often have rather strange dreams. Usually I can decipher them. I can see how I dreamt about X because I was thinking about it or discussing it during the day. Or I have a dream about Y because I am fearful of it. My brain takes bits and pieces of events or things I come across during the day or week, and meshes them all together. They don't make any sense when you wake up and try to tell someone about them, but in a way, they make sense to me, or I can see what prompted the dream.

But every once in a while I have a dream that just makes me sit up and say, "What the HELL was that all about?"

Last night was such a night.

I dreamt I had driven the boys to the nearby city where DH works. It wasn't a planned trip, but somehow we just ended up there. Once we arrived, we spied DH sitting on the front steps of a building, somewhat looking like a town hall. He was speaking to a group of surrounding men. We waved, and decided to wait until he was finished to go and say hi.

At that point, I spotted a Canadian celebrity, Chef Michael Smith. I really like this guy in real life; I've always enjoyed his cooking shows, especially Chef At Home. I'm also extremely envious of his large, well-stocked, beautiful kitchen. However, it's been a very long time since I've watched his show, and I really haven't thought of the show or him at all lately, nor have I heard it mentioned.

As I approached dream Michael Smith to speak to him, I noticed that his face was disfigured. He appeared to have two extremely large tumors protruding off his cheek and forehead. They had to be at least 3 or 4 inches long, and in the shape of a termite mound, or skinny volcano. They were very red and sore-looking, with blood and pus at the tops.

Now comes the weird part. (That's not the weird part, you say?)

Attached to the two tumors were a couple of big black birds, like crows, and they were pecking at the tumors.

What The Hell??

Where does my brain come up with this stuff???

As I chatted with the chef, I ignored the huge disfigurement as if it were an unfortunate but somewhat normal problem. Then the next part I could remember was me asking him why he was here, when he normally lives in P.E.I. I then realized that his face was smooth and normal, and asked him what happened. Apparently some unknown time had passed as he replied that he had just been to the doctor for his treatment and she had lasered them, but that they would come back eventually. According to dream chef, he had a rare form of cancer and it attracts black birds!!

My mind is so messed up!!

As a side note, as I was googling the chef to come up with a link, I got to perusing his website and found a bread recipe I really want to try. Perhaps this weekend... It's a no-knead bread! I'm so intrigued...

Make this recipe your own with a blend of your favourite grains. Makes: 1 loaf of bread per recipe.

Preparation time:
Cooking time:
Yield: 0

Ingredients

For 1 normal loaf of Country Bread

• 2 cups all-purpose or bread flour
• 1 cup whole-wheat flour
• 1/2 cup any multi-grain mix
• 1/4 teaspoon of active dry yeast
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 1 5/8 cups of warm water

For 1 normal loaf of City Bread

• 3 cups all-purpose or bread flour
• 1/4 teaspoon of active dry yeast
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 1 5/8 cups of warm water

For 1 larger loaf of Country Bread

• 3 cups all-purpose or bread flour
• 1 cup whole-wheat flour
• 1/2 cup any multi-grain mix
• 1/2 teaspoon of active dry yeast
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 1/4 cups warm water

For 1 larger loaf of City Bread

• 4 cups all-purpose or bread flour
• 1/2 teaspoon of active dry yeast
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 1/4 cups warm water

Brown Butter

• 4 sticks of room temperature butter (sixteen ounces)

Directions

For traditional baking

1. Whisk the dry ingredients together thoroughly. Add the water and stir until a wet dough forms. Continue stirring until the dough incorporates all the loose flour in the bowl, about 60 seconds in total.
2. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and rest in a warm place for 18 hours. It will double in size, bubble and long gluten strands will form.
3. Knock the dough down and form it into a baking pan. Rest the dough a second time. In 2 to 3 hours it will rise again and double in size once more. Bake 45 minutes in an oven preheated to 425 degrees F.

For baking in a covered pot

1. Whisk the dry ingredients together thoroughly. Add the water and stir until a wet dough forms. Continue stirring until the dough incorporates all the loose flour in the bowl, about 60 seconds in total.
2. Cover the bowl with a towel and rest in a warm place for 12 to 18 hours. It will double in size, bubble and long gluten strands will form. Lightly flour your hands and the work surface then remove the dough from the bowl. Quickly form it into a ball. Thoroughly flour a cotton towel and rest the dough on it. Cover it with another floured cotton towel.
3. You may also rest the dough on a non-stick ‘Silpat’ mat and cover it with just one towel. Rest the dough a second time. In 2 to 3 hours it will rise again and double in size once more. A half an hour or so before the dough is ready preheat your oven to 450 degrees. You may use cast-iron, steel, enamel or ceramic.
4. When the dough has fully risen slide your hand under the towel and quickly invert the delicate dough into the hot pot. Shake the pot a bit to settle it then place the lid on the pot and start baking.
5. Bake for 30 minutes with the lid then remove it and bake for 15 minutes more.