Project "BackDate": #1

When Jason and I first started dating, we were in high school.  Which we all know translates to lack of actual dating. (Fries from McDonalds and shooting off fireworks in the abandoned part of the neighborhood do not qualify as a date...no matter how in love you are.)  We graduated from high school, dated at a distance for 2 years in college, and then moved into together to finish school. By the time we moved to San Diego, we had been together so long, dating seemed silly.  We lived together, we hung out together...why date? 

Well, I have always longed for the anticipation and excitement of a date, and with the birth of Lily, we felt it as important to have quality time with each other, as it was to make quality time as a family.

So Jason and I decided to go "backdate" our dating life, and re-date each other.  The idea is that we have to be inventive by having dates at home instead of always getting a babysitter.  The rules are simple.

*Two dates per month, with each of us "taking" a date.
*No more than one "babysitter date" per 6 weeks.
*Have everything prepared for the date (i.e. don't send Elizabeth out while you're bathing Charlie to pick up a movie...)

Other than that, it's totally open to the "dater's" imagination!

So, we had our first backdate this past Saturday, and I was at bat.  Jason had earlier in the week said he wanted to have bread, and then the next night he said he actually wanted to learn how to make bread, so, ta-da!  A date was created.  I bought coffee and tea (yeah for the Anniversary Blends at Peet's), and prepared ingredients for both a quick sweet bread that I thought was sure to interest him (Guiness bread anyone?) and a rising bread, which I knew he would enjoy for the "punching" quality.  Plus it had the words "honey" and "wheat" in the title.  He's a sucker for these two things.


I was sous chef to Jason, curbing my desire to take over while he baked, and he roughed about 5 minutes of kneading before he "offered" for me to take over!  How generous.  Poor Jason was so disappointed to find out that he was only allowed to punch the dough down once, but got over it, in anticipation of homemade bread.



While we waited, I inspired Jason to make cinnamon butter, and he had fun mixing and adding (and repeatedly tasting), to get just the right butter to cinnamon to honey ratio.

Unfortunately, neither bread was very good.  The sweet bread too chewy (not a big enough swig from the can before pouring it in, I think) and the honey wheat was rather dull...not enough salt.  Regardless, we had a great time getting dirty, trying something new, and enjoying the spoils of our date.  Even if it wasn't that good...the butter was divine. :)

Looking forward to Jason's date in a week or so!