Sometimes You Feel Like A Nut - Almond Joy Yeast Bread

So ... I did manage to take the Strange Yeast Thing to the next stage in its evolution ... a proper, well-risen, frankly gorgeous, slightly sweet yeast bread that is really easy to make, and worth the wait to allow it to cool before slicing.

This is good lightly toasted and buttered

We have had to do so much work around the house lately, just a reminder that this baby is 90 years old, and at the time it was first constructed, there were no building codes nor sneaky little building inspectors snapping pictures with their iPhones and sending you nastygrams in the mail.  Okay, that hasn't happened for a very long time, thank Bast.  The whole damn house has had to be rewired, and the underground sprinkler reclaimed. Sod has been pulled up, and concrete has been fractured in pursuit of proper plumbing. And speaking of plumbing, let's not forget that it wasn't all that long ago when  Josephine the Plumber had to dig up a good part of the front lawn.  Nevertheless,  I love this old house in a way I did not love my other houses, because this house has character. It is imperfect, and that is something I understand all too well.

Speaking of imperfect, I think I lost more weight.  I don't always trust our scale, although I'm not sure why, or perhaps it is that I simply can't believe my weight continues to go down.  I'm sure there are many folks out there who envy me - there was a time I would have envied myself - but clearly, this is not a healthy situation.  Now I have spoken with several friends who also had the gastric bypass about the same time I did, and they have had various complications, some similar to mine.  Then there are a few others I am aware of who had the surgery, but did not lose nor keep off the weight. I wonder if anyone really knows why.

I still can't eat, but I had an oddly enjoyable day.  We went to Home Depot for a few more herbs and vegetables, and then I went home and played in the dirt.  I took breaks, I drank lots of water, I rearranged the herbs in a way that made sense to my obsessive-compulsive nature.  Towards the end,  I found myself telling off someone whom I dislike very much, all in my head, of course, and it was quite emotionally cleansing.  I used to do that quite a bit back when I rode the Long Island Railroad - so much time to kill between Jamaica and Ronkonkoma.  Felt good to pound this person's face into the dirt.  Positively therapeutic.

Waiting under the bread machine

Here's the bread recipe:

1 - 13.5 oz. can of unsweetened coconut milk plus enough water to bring it to 1 3/4 cups
1 - 9 oz. package Jiffy golden cake mix
3 cups bread flour
1/2 teaspoon coconut extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
4 tablespoons butter
2 1/2 teaspoons bread machine yeast
1/2 cup sweetened coconut
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

Settings: Sweet, Light Crust

Always follow the bread machine manufacturer's directions for adding ingredients.  I added mine in the order I have them listed, adding even the chocolate at the very beginning.  This made it more like a bread and less like a cake.  If you prefer to add the chips when the machine's beeper tells you to do so, be my guest.  Just let me know how it comes out, okay?