The disappearance of the final box of hoarded Christmas loot from the pantry shelf had all Homesteader’s thoughts turning to the reintroduction of Sage Words. A little investigation and counting backwards revealed that it was the turn of I, your humble scribe, to take on the role of Sage. Now, I confess to feeling a little smug and well prepared this time as, not so long ago when we were in the midst of revisiting Dr Who episodes past, the most sage-ily perfect words fell from Peter Capaldi’s lips and (miracle upon miracles) I reached for my phone and recorded them. Even now, I can’t hold back the smirk of one for whom the land of organised thought is a seldom visited place.
These words resonated with me; I mean, they’re good, sound advice. Being cruel is horrid and, in my experience, damages the perpetrator as much as the victim, while a coward is often lonely as folk struggle to trust someone who can’t be counted on to have your back. It is a great idea to steer clear of committing either of these.
But what I loved about The 12th Doctor’s utterance is, while you are directed to never do them, he then (because the clever old Timelord has known us Earthlings long enough to appreciate we’ll slip up from time to time) he tells us exactly how to fix up our mess. It’s so beautifully simple.
In the spirit of the chosen words, I then set about tackling something that strikes fear into my very being as our morning tea treat: bread. Foccacia to be precise. Yeast baking and I have a long history of being incompatible and that feeling of utter failure on regularly removing pancake, rock like objects from the oven over the years (“this time WILL be different”) is very keen. However, once we finished with the final episode of Dr Who we stumbled upon another (albeit totally different) series to fill that post meal, all-of-us-together viewing time: The Great British Bake Off. Now, we know this programme is currently a tad controversial but, as we’re only about to discover the winner of Series Two, we’re still in Mary Berry/Paul Hollywood happyland; a place from which we have witnessed quite a few bready triumphs and just as many disasters – most of which I could totally identify with. A little googling uncovered that Bread Maestro Paul Hollywood’s focaccia recipe.
Oh the crumb! The uneven texture! The chewiness! The taste!! Yes Paul, I followed the recipe and I just knew I “would not be going home this week.” The Homestead Smug-o-meter registered an all-time high as I lay it in front of the ravenous hoards.
No need to make amends this time; Courage paid off.
Union Homestead 
Awesome looking bread. Can’t go wrong with Paul and Mary.
The sage words reflect my classroom posters Muck Up, Own Up, Fix Up and Move on, because kids are kids and after all you go to school ( or the kitchen table) to learn 😃
Love it. Words worthy of the Homestead wall😊
I always use Paul’s recipe for foccacia too. I just need to find a recipe for holey, chewy ciabatta now
Show off😊
Surely Mr Hollywood has that covered too.
Love to you all from all of us xxx
Sounds like a first class success, well done indeed.
Thank you😊
Thrue sage words today!! And you are right, cruelty hurts the perpetrator too…and making amends is a skill that we should teach all children (and adults) from day one. That bread is too beautiful too eat! xo Johanna
Unfortunately, making amends seems to be viewed as a weakness when in truth it is the mark of someone being honest and true and gracious.
As for the bread, pretty it may been but it is long gone. x
Oh Congratulations! Well done! Yay! And what an amazing quote 🙂
Thank you😊 I was very pleased – its been a long time coming😊
There’ll be no stopping you now!
You want to be careful with that quantity of smugness in one day :). However, it does sound justified. Focaccia-oh my goodness, I’ll be right over. Except there’s probably none left. I have a British/now Canadian friend who was a self-avowed non-baker. The GBBO as she refers to it, has made a baker of her, though she hasn’t mentioned focaccia. I should double check – she lives a lot closer :). Love the quote – simple, elegant and profound. But I like the end of your first para even better – your way with words is quite often such a pleasure, and this is one of those moments. And I’m glad to see the Sage Words resurrected, I missed them (and the descriptions of tea).
Maybe your friend can cast her mind back to series two (I think they’re up to series 7 now) where nearly all the bakers neglected to follow Mr Hollywood’s focaccia recipe which led to him giving the feedback that turned the light on to my understanding of the whole yeast deal. It was one of those examples of knowing something without KNOWING it…if you know what I mean 🙂
Your kind words are very much appreciated, endangering the life of the Homestead Smug-o-Meter and making me a tad weary; pride coming before a fall and all that.
Hope all is well with you and yours
Terrific quote, terrific baking, perfectly justified reading on the smug-o-meter. Now for crumpets, there’s a real challenge.
Been there, tried that…I know my limits
Hi, Glad to read the reintroduction of weekly Sage Words is a success. Who is next on the roster? And will there be pressure to face their own baking fear???