Recipe for a Relaxing Evening

Ingredients:

Bread dough
Dogs
Cats
Fiancé
Great book to read
TV online

For a truly enjoyable evening, take the ingredients for two loaves of homemade white bread, mix them together, knead them until your arms are sore, and then let them rise. Watch TV until your fiancé comes home.

When fiancé arrives, just as bread dough is ready to be punched down and shaped into loaves, greet him in the garage with the dogs, kiss him hello, and talk about your days together while he reads through his mail. Be a true multi-tasker, and while talking, put the salmon in the broiler, put together the ingredients for some instant cheesy mashed potatoes, and put them in the microwave for ten minutes. Punch down the bread dough and separate it into two loaves, then let it rest for five minutes while you sit at table with fiancé, talking to the man who is your best friend, lover and future husband all wrapped up in one.

Hear the timer go off, announcing that the potatoes are done. This also means that your bread dough is ready to be shaped, so ask your fiancé to check the salmon, while you form the bread dough into a loaf shape. Finish that and put it next to the heater to rise again, while the fiancé sets the table. Eat at the table! For the first time in months. Once you have enjoyed the salmon and potatoes, and some nice dinner conversation, clear the table and go into the living room.

At this point the fiancé will go into the bedroom to watch a DVD that he got in the mail that day, while you stay in the living room and read a great book. When you get tired of reading, watch an episode of Bones online while petting a cat. Finally, at 8:35 or so, put the bread dough in the oven, because it has finally risen enough to be baked. Continue to pet cats and dogs while watching TV online until the bread is done – take it out, declare it perfect, spread some butter on top of it, and put it on racks to cool. Salivate over the idea of warm from the oven homemade bread. Mmmm.

Wait for a whole five minutes before you cut into it and eat two slices, generously topped with margarine. Declare your bread baking curse to officially be over, because you have now made two different recipes in the last three weeks, and they both came out perfect. Yum.

Fiancé, who fell asleep watching his DVD comes out of the bedroom. Hug fiancé. Get ready for bed, and hit the hay, happy to have spent a relaxing evening at home.