Plantains and pretzels

I got off from school today because of the crazy weather so I spent some time cooking. For lunch I made fried plantains, which were just plantains sliced and fried in a little olive oil in a non-stick pan with a little brown sugar.


Later, to make up for my lack of math homework, I made some math oriented pretzels (yea, yea, I'm a big ol' dork) from another easy bread machine recipe. The shapes didn't hold up so well during the whole rising/boiling/baking process, but it was fun anyway.

We've had this recipe for a while. It was photo-copied out of a library book, but I'm not sure which one.

Pretzels
Makes about 8-10 pretzels

2/3 cup water
1 1/4 tablespoons oil
2 teaspoons sugar
1/3 teaspoon salt
2 cups all purpose flour
1-1 1/2 teaspoons yeast

Additionally you will need:
5 cups water
5 teaspoons baking soda
kosher salt or other topping

Add all ingredients from the first ingredient list in order into the bread machine and let it knead and rise in the machine. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Then divide and shape your pretzels. Cover and allow to rise for 45 minutes in a warm place.

In a non-aluminum pan bring 5 cups of water and 5 teaspoons of baking soda almost to a boil. Gently place the pretzels into the water and allow to cook for about 30 seconds on each side. Try not to let the water come to a full boil. Remove the pretzels with a slotted spoon and place on a greased baking sheet. Sprinkle with kosher salt or other desired toppings. Bake at 475°F for 10-12 minutes or until brown.

Preboiling and baking (note the shapes, from left to right, top to bottom: pi, random circle, delta x, infinity, sigma, integral sign, and another infinity):


After baking: