Olympic Pretzels & Strong is the New Pretty

February 11, 2018

Olympic Pretzels & Strong is the New Pretty

Hello there!

Happy Sunday, dear friends.

It's pretzel time over. But, not just any, old pretzels -- Olympic pretzels.

Pretzel rings

Two years ago, during the Summer Olympics in Brazil, we had the idea of making pretzel rings for our Olympics viewing party. It seemed like a reasonable endeavor -- watching athletes compete on the field while we tackled a new recipe at home. Sure, let's do it.

Image from our 2016 Brazil Summer Olympics Party

Apparently, they were a hit because she still remembers those delicious, soft baked treats. Although looking back, how could you forget a warm, salty pretzel, slathered with coarse, grainy mustard fresh from the oven? She passed on the mustard, but I didn't. With the 2018 Water Olympics gearing up, dreams of hot dancing pretzels pranced through my head all week long.

For days, we plotted on our pretzel-making scheme for the 2018 Winter games.

Pretzels are not complicated, just time-consuming. You start with a bowl of warm water, a tablespoon of sugar and some salt. Throw in a packet of yeast and sit back and wait for the magic to happen.

Science at work, baby. I know. Waiting is tough.

After the yeast starts to bubble, throw in some flour and melted butter. Mix it up and let it rise.

We tried our hands at shaping these like traditional pretzels. Um, not so sure if Paul Hollywood or Merry Berry from the Great British Bake-off would approve.

Into a pot of boiling water with baking soda each goes for a quick 30 second bath....

Then, into a 450 degree oven for approximately 10 minutes.

Hot pretzel yum

Now, sit back, relax and enjoy your hot pretzel.

Maybe even pour yourself a cold one...

Go for it! You deserve it!

Winning gold, baby.

Strong is the New Pretty.

Recently, a friend of ours bought our daughter this calendar for 2018. Strong is the new pretty, by Kate T. Parker. It's a celebration of girls being themselves and a daily reminder that strong takes many forms.

Turning the page each month and reading the inspirational captions has prompted us to discuss what it means to be strong and to remember that being yourself is beautiful.