Doughnuts

I'm really out of the habit of writing. There was a time when I used to write in a journal at least twice a day. Now, I don't even keep a journal. So much for the idea of filling out fifty of them by the time I die! I wonder how many other goals I'll miss in life. The good news is, I've already achieved things that never made it to my list of goals. For example: doughnut making. I learned how to make glazed doughnuts yesterday and it was only in the past couple of weeks I even knew I wanted to learn how to make them. It all started with reading "Farmer Boy" out loud by Laura Ingalls. In this book you see a farmer's wife back then spent a good portion of her time in the kitchen. I think the health of this country would change drastically (in a good direction), by the way, if every wife/mother spent even half that much time in the kitchen. Almanzo's mother kept the pantry full of things like pies and doughnuts! Reading this story out loud to my children gives me a sweet tooth about half the time. She made all sorts of healthy things to eat, too, but the pies and doughnuts are what stand out to me. It was the inspiration to my own personal doughnut making experience. The one thing I learned that you should know about doughnut making is that the temperature of the oil is the most important part. If you don't have it just right your doughnuts will either absorb a lot of oil (if the temp is too low) or they will cook the outside and leave a very doughy middle. 350 degrees was the best temperature for my doughnuts. I made the mistake of letting the oil get too hot at first and not knowing the importance of the temperature I cooked about 10 with it too high. I figured out my grave mistake when I ate one. It was one of those ewww gooey experiences. I just threw them back in the hot oil (after bringing it back down 50 degrees) glaze and all and cooked them thoroughly. I ruined my oil for future uses, though.