some of you may know this wonderful family. they are a joy to be around and not to mention photograph. they just moved into this cool neighborhood on top of a hill over looking sarajevo and it provided so many neat places to take pictures!

Shortly after I sat down on my flight from Denver to Atlanta a few weeks back, a man named “Rock” slid into my row and sat down in the window seat. Rock and I started to chat about our travels to Denver, etc., and after that he went on to talk about his job. When I asked Rock what he did for a living, he said, “Well, I’m a breader.” I wasn’t quite what that meant, and to be honest, I thought I heard him say, “Well, I’m a beggar.” He sure didn’t look like a beggar, so I knew I probably didn’t hear him right. After a few minutes I figure out that “breader” actually means someone who specializes in bread-making.

He went on to explain that he discovered his love for baking after he got out of the army and how it sparked a creative element in him that he never knew he had. Since I enjoy making bread myself (and grew up with a Mom who grinds her own wheat and makes everything from scratch), I was interested to find out what he had to say.

Along with being the Executive Bread Baker at The Flying Star cafe in Albuquerque, NM, Rock teaches baking classes at a nearby community college. His most recent classes were on the topic of pizza crust.

It just so happens that one of my Dad’s life-goals has been to figure out how to make Mellow Mushroom’s pizza crust—you know, that crusty, chewy, crust with just the right flavor. Well, I since we were on the topic of pizza crust anyway, I threw that fact out there and asked Rock if he had any suggestions. He smiled and then laughed and said, “I know exactly what they do. I know the secret.” I was all ears.. because how funny would it be to come back from a leadership conference in Colorado and tell my Dad that I met someone who actually knew the trick to Mellow Mushroom pizza crust!

Rock was so kind to share his tips and tricks to the perfect dough. The three basic elements to good crust consisted of: proofing the dough (letting it refrigerate for at least 3 days), using brown sugar, and using King Aurthur Sir Lancelot Hi-Gluten flour.

You can read more about Rock’s organic creations and the Flying Star Cafe at www.flyingstarcafe.com.

Dad has been at the grill mastering the perfect “grilled chicken barbeque pizza” and I must say that it’s absolutely delicious. Not only does he grill the onions and chicken to perfection in a cast iron skillet before topping the pizza, he makes his own homemade whole-wheat pizza crust!

Something else that’s new since my departure in September is little “Timmy.” I’ve been hearing about his crazy antics since October but had yet to meet this black, panther like kitty. Mom and Dad were driving around in North Georgia one afternoon when they stopped to look around at a little shop. The owner pointed to a little black cat and half jokingly said to them, “Do ya’ll need a kitty?” After explaining that they couldn’t help but keep him around with his sweet personality, Mom’s heart broke and she must have immediately made room for him in her heart (and our home!). This didn’t come as a surprise as Mom loves all animals, especially ones with winning personalities. They plopped him up into Dad’s Honda Element, headed home, and the rest is history.

turkey #2… his name was “Terry”

chocolate pumpkin muffins made from the leftover pumpkin

thanksgiving 2008!

Saying goodbye as Alexa’s husband picked her up

View of the Orthodox church from my balcony.

Barscarsija

I love these shoes (and I own two pair )!

Pigeon Square

I loved finding this little kitten!

Another interesting find was this old chair sitting in an alleyway. Wish I could have taken it home!

The Cathedral during Mass

Did I take this? Oops.

When first arriving in Sarajevo.. I visited this cafe almost everyday.

A favorite Bosnian past time.

Sunday afternoon in Gerbavica.