Tuesday, May 8, 2012

The Sale Barn Again - a Rainy Day-Clematis and Lilies

Day before yesterday we got another 1/2 inch of rain.....on my recently tilled and dry garden.  A wonderful gift.

That meant yesterday was too wet to work outside in the garden so I made bagels....it doesn't take much to get me  cooking.  I am having two small ones with cream cheese with my coffee  right now.


From Blog May 2012


I was right at the stage of putting the dough in the bucket to raise when DH popped in the back door slightly wet from the showers and asked if I was  ready to go....Go where?  He had loaded a cow we wanted to sell and was sitting in the drive to go to the sale barn.  He always wants me to go with him. At first I thought I couldn't and then decided we could get  there and back in about an hour....the rise time.

Well, we almost made it.  The dough was just pushing the lid off the bucket  when we got back. It didn't hurt a thing.

Part of farm life is getting rid of animals that don't pay their way.....this heifer calved last year and we had to have the vet  with her.  He suggested then that she was probably damaged by the difficult delivery and we should move her on.....we did.  Mondays are Cow and Bull sale  day so off we went.  Next project will be rounding up more calves.

This is the first day of our 'cool down' and the high is supposed to be 70°.  A perfect day to work outside.
DH has promised to put up cattle panels in the new garden/orchard area and I will put the tomatoes back there.

I have all of the backyard garden tilled and will put peppers there.  I will also put pole beans and sweet corn  out....not all on one day!  but hopefully, this week.

I need to harvest the self-seeded cilantro and freeze for later salsa.  I also found several self-seeded basil plants and tomato plants.  That saves me some work.

Colorado Potato  Beetles showed up overnight on the potatoes.....I resorted to Sevin dust.  I suppose it is all washed off....I need to keep a close eye on that.  They can strip the plants quickly.  I wish I felt safe going completely au naturel, but certain pests are more than I know how to handle.

I am still fighting fireblight....cutting more limbs off the two trees most affected.   Now I see some of the papaver somniferums(poppies, annual) are curling over and turning black....looks exactly the same as the trees.  I am leaning heavily toward the idea of cutting down the pear tree that is so bad.

Flowers

The first of the lilies are blooming.  This one was recently rescued from being surrounded by weeds in the driveway bed.  It is Dani Arifin.



I see I missed a little cheet (on the right with the seed heads).

and the clematis, Harlow Carr,



This is a wonderful, vigorous clem.  The picture was taken on the garden side of the fence.  Most of the flowers on the garden fence bloom the most on the north side of the fence , the garden side, because the sun comes up and hits the fence first.  At first, I fought it and tried to tie various things to the other side, but it was a losing battle...then I thought OK, I can just enjoy the fence when I am gardening and sometimes that is a pretty long time.  I get to see dark pink roses and white and purple clems and soon white lilies while working which is very nice.  I think there are also two pink clems. 


Blog

I am trying to restructure the blog so finding things will be easier.  Bear with me while I do some trial and error working on this thing. 


8 comments:

  1. You have a full plate everyday don't you? Those are beautiful bagels, I can just taste them! Will have to try my hand at the recipe one of these day. I am kind of in a baking mood today! Enjoy this cooler weather...

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  2. Your bagels look fabulous. I've brewed some fresh coffee and figured I could jump in the truck in be there in 15 hours, LOL (just teasing). There's no gaurantee the coffee will still be warm!

    Sitting here infront of my computer day dreaming of fresh bagels and coffee :-(

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  3. Oh, Glenda, I am so wanting to try bagels, but I'm not sure I'm smart enough to tackle it. Do you use a specific recipe of yours to do them? They look devine.
    I am on hold for a few days in the garden because of colder weather we have had, including some frost, so everything is under the porch and in my little cheap greenhouse with the heat mats.
    Wish I was closer so I could get some of your healthy beef.
    Have a wonderful week, my friend.
    hugs

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    Replies
    1. This is from Thibault's Table blog and is the only recipe I have ever used.

      Bagels
      ======
      Source: Hors d'oeuvres Cook Book.

      I have typed it exactly as the recipe is printed in the book. If you have a bread machine or Kitchenaide by all means use it to do most of the kneading. I always like to finish the kneading by hand. You can also make these into normal size bagels. I have used this recipe for over 20 years. I have tried other recipes but this is my favourite one.

      2 cups warm water
      2 packages active dry yeast
      3 tablespoons sugar
      1 tablespoon salt
      about 5 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, unsifted
      3 quarts water with 1 tablespoon of sugar
      cornmeal
      1 egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water
      about 2 tablespoons poppy or sesame seeds.

      Stir together water and yeast in large bowl of electric mixer; let stand 5 minutes to soften yeast. Stir in the sugar and salt. Gradually mix in 4 cups of the flour and beat at medium speed for 5 minutes. With a spoon, stir in about 1 1/4 cups more flour to make a stiff dough. Turn out on a floured board and knead until smooth, elastic, and no longer sticky, (about 15 minutes); add more flour as needed to prevent sticking - dough should be firmer than for most other yeast breads. Place in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place until almost doubled ( about 40 minutes to 1 hour).

      Punch dough down and divide into thirds. Set 2/3 of dough aside on a floured board; cover with clear plastic. Form remaining 1/3 dough in a log and cut into 16 equal pieces.

      To shape, knead each piece into small ball and poke thumbs through centre. With one thumb in hole (hole should be at least 1/2 inch) work fingers around perimeter, shaping ball into a small donut- like shape about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Place bagels on a floured board or tray and let stand 20 minutes.

      Bring water-sugar mixture to a boil in a 4 to 5 quart pan; adjust heat to keep it boiling gently. Lightly grease a baking sheet and sprinkle with cornmeal. Lift bagels carefully and drop into water (about 6 at a time) boil gently for 1 minute turning only once (30 seconds each side). Lift out with slotted spoon and drain very briefly on paper towels, and place on baking sheet. Brush with 1/3 of the egg yolk glaze, sprinkle with seeds and bake in a 400° oven for 20 minutes or
      until richly browned. cool on racks.

      Repeat with remaining 2/3 dough (you may need to punch it down before shaping,) working with 1/3 at a time. Makes 48 cocktail size bagels, or 12 to 18 larger bagels.


      Note:

      Here is what I did to make Onion Cheese Bagels:

      I sauted some onions in butter just until tender. Not brown. After the dough had risen, I divided it into three parts. I took one of the parts, flattened it out and topped with some of the onions and some grated three year old white cheddar. Then I formed a log and divided it into 6 parts. Then I just proceeded to make 6 bagels and let them rise for about 20 minutes. After they were boiled I brushed them with the oil that the onions were cooked in and then topped them with some of the onions. The onions turned a little more brown then I would have liked so next time I will wait until half way through baking before adding the onions. I sprinkled some grated cheddar on top about 5 minutes before they were finished baking.

      Maybe you can copy and paste, if not let me know. It is very simple. I make them a little larger, getting 8 bagels from 1/3 dough or 24 from the recipe.

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  4. Our soil is still too wet for planting. I hope it dries out a little this week before the next rains come. I'm not planting much this year.

    You have the healthiest looking flowers! They are just beautiful!

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  5. I was admiring those bagels too...they look delicious!

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  6. Some day...perhaps next year, Glenda...our yard will begin to be a "yard". Love both those lilies and clematis!...:)JP

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  7. Thanks for adding the LABELs gadget. There's been times in the past that I'd go looking for certain topics and didn't always find them using the "Search this Blog" gadget. Now I can zip around easily. :-)

    Those bagels are picture perfect!

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