Secret Santa 2017

December 2017 - Spectre hosts the first Secret Santa OTF has seen since 2012.
I'm supposed to come up with a present for Pheebs. The problem is that the form she filled out, while probably helpful for other people, isn't really helpful to me.
So, after several days of thinking about it, I eventually arrived at the conclusion that I had to do something that wasn't really covered by the questionnaire. The problem was - what.
Being from very different timezones, we hadn't met all that often, and nearly never really talked, so here I was, having to think of something still.

Here is the (possibly) useful information that I managed to get out of her Form:
  1. She likes food. Mostly because it keeps her alive. I completely agree.
  2. Her favourite band is a Melbourne independent one. Not being very talented in that area, it wasn't something I even considered.
  3. She likes literature and lists 7 books. I have heard of 3 - because they were made into movies. And out of those movies, I've only seen one.
  4. And finally, the reason she gives for not having any favourites.While not really helpful, I'm wishing I had entered a reason why my form wasn't very helpful either.
As you may notice, there wasn't much to work with for me. Well, I decided to go for the obvious direction: Food!

Next, I thought about what to do with food.
Eventually I decided to go for something Germany is known for. And no, not beer! While sometimes considered liquid breakfast, I don't count it as real food. Plus, I don't really know how to make it - you'd have to ask PV probably.

Sauerkraut also is associated with Germany, obviously - but it is pretty complicated to make, has a high failure-risk if made yourself, and takes several weeks. So, that was a no.
Bratwurst isn't something I'd make myself. Not without having and professional advice and gear. And certainly wouldn't try to tell anyone how it's done.

With all of this out of question, what's left ...

I decided to go for bread. Yes, that's right, bread also is something we Germans are known for.
This summer I started making my own bread - so I feel pretty confident there. Or did, until my first attempt to document the process failed - I blame Hobbie Murphy. The resulting bread certainly was edible, and even tasted good, but it fell in and was far too ... moist, compact, non-fluffy. I know my mistakes now - too long rising-time and probably a bit much water, too.
So, now, 5 hours before the reveal-event is scheduled, the second attempt is in the oven - and I hope it will come out good. Otherwise I'll end up writing an essay about why things just have to fail when you want to demonstrate them. Let's hope it doesn't come to that.