Trip to PCBeach and Recipe #A14 Homemade Pretzels

We had a great quick trip to Panama City Beach last weekend....but boy are we tired - STILL! I never realized how taking a quick trip (even though it is a 6 hour drive) can wipe you out, or maybe I'm just getting older. I remember when we would just get up and go. Now, we have to plan a little before we hit the open road, but it was all worth it. The weather was great, the water was like bath water and the room we got was wonderful. With mom and Lowell already down there, it was nice to get to spend some time with them. Kevin loved playing football in the ocean with Grandaddy and searching for shells with Mamaw. Ken and I loved that Kevin wasn't constantly complaining "there's no one to play with". We actually went out to eat both nights we were there! And....we had no problems with Kevin's allergies. We did, however, stay out way too late and on all nights, didn't get into bed till almost 1am. Maybe that's why we are mostly tired. Who knew laying out in the sun on the beach all day could exhaust you. AWWWW...the life of a beach bum.

The room was great! Kevin got his bunk beds. The only thing that kind of freaked me out was the fact that we were on the 19th floor. If you know me, you know that I don't particularly like heights. It's not that I'm afraid of the height, it's the faith in the people that made these buildings. I didn't sleep very well the first night, constantly thinking how this building could collapse. As for the balcony, I was afraid the railing would come loose. But by the 2nd day, I learned to relax and love the fact that we could see for miles. It was great!

I think I'll take a break on planning any more trips right now. Believe it or not though, Ken even mentioned wanting to take another quick weekend trip back to the beach soon. Of course, since the weather will be getting cooler, he said that Savannah would be fine too. Doesn't this man know that's like throwing a lit match into a forest. What he is going to get started if he gives green lights like that. I love to plan and take trips!!!

We do, however, still have 2 more trips in the future. September 11-13 is our Food Allergy Retreat in KY. We can't wait to get to see all our friends and just have fun....without everything having to revolve around food! Then Disney is Sept 25- Oct 4. We've decided to extend the trip 2 extra days for travel. Kevin barely made it to PCB. When you're in a rush, it's pretty hard on a kid to ride nonstop. Since we will be busting it to get to Orlando (we have an 8pm dinner reservation that first night), we've decided to drive half way and get a room that Friday. Then drive in the rest of the way on Saturday. That will put us getting there earlier and maybe getting to go to the park a little. Then, when we leave, we are going to again stop halfway and drive the rest on Sunday. I've already booked the rooms through Priceline. I love Priceline! You can get rooms for around $50-60 dollars in nice places, but the problem is, you never know what you're going to get until after they accept your offer. THEN they tell you where you're staying. But the key is, choose a high star rating and that narrows your chances down. I first do a search of the star ratings in that area and bid on the one I like. We got La Quinta in Valdosta that Friday night and a Country Inn & Suites in Cordelle that following Saturday night. One thing to remember though, once your offer is accepted, call the hotel directly to make sure you get the beds you want and if you prefer non-smoking. For some reason, Priceline always sticks you in a King room. That would be great if it was just Ken and I. But I always switch to 2 Queens to accommodate Kevin too. Just thought I'd throw in some tips on that (<:

OK....the recipe I have for you today is Homemade Pretzels. I converted an old recipe I had to an allergy free version and they are wonderful. They take a little time, since you are working with a raised yeast recipe. But believe me, the smell and the taste of these soft chewy pretzels....you'll be making them often!


Soft Pretzels

1 ¼ cup warm water
2 ¼ teaspoons dry yeast
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1 ½ teaspoons salt
3 ¼ cups bread flour (can substitute with all-purpose flour)
1 tablespoon oil
¼ cup hot water
1 teaspoon sugar
Course salt
3 tablespoons soy butter, melted

Put warm water in a large bowl and sprinkle in yeast. Wait 5 minutes, then stir in the brown sugar, the 1 ½ tsp salt, and 2 cups of the flour. Stir the mixture vigorously with a wooden spoon.

Stir in enough of the remaining flour to make a semi firm dough. Turn dough out onto floured surface and knead for 8 minutes. Keep surface coated with flour to prevent sticking.

Pour oil in a large bowl and add dough, coating all sides. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and set in warm place until dough is nearly doubled in size, around 30-45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 450.

Turn dough onto floured surface and knead for 1 minutes, divide in half. Place other half back in bowl and cover.

Divide dough into 3 balls. Roll each ball into a long rope, around 30” long. Shape into pretzel shape by making a circle and twisting the ends, then flipping the ends over the top of the circle. Place on a greased baking sheet, around 2-3” apart.


Combine the hot water and 1 tsp sugar in a small bowl. Lightly brush sugar water over pretzels with a pastry brush. Sprinkle with salt. Bake for 12-15 minutes. While warm, remove to wire rack and brush with melted soy butter. Repeat with remaining dough.


Makes 6 large pretzels