Friday, February 15, 2013


 I began this February 13, Wednesday.

Up at 4 AM,  took Sugar out for a short meander.....it was just around freezing  then.  We got a very light snow it was already beginning to melt.  It will  all be gone by this evening.  Our high is supposed to hit 50°.

We do like this pattern of fronts rolling in every few days with some moisture. It all counts up.

Good news! My tiller is ready to be picked up.  I am sure the ground is too wet to work but I will be checking it closely until I find a good day.

Bad news!  the truck that was supposed to be fixed and we would never have that problem again (just not starting once in a while....then starting a few hours later), we had that problem yesterday.....DH took it back;  he said a loose wire but he didn't really know the answer....bring it back if it fails again.  I think we are about ready to take it to be dealer.  We are hearing stories about 2005 model Chevrolets having this problem.  Surely,  the dealer will know what to do.  The truck just has about 65,000 miles one it and has lots of wonderful features like leather seats, club cab, heated seats.....I priced a new one for $45,000.....that means lots of repairs can be put into this one.....it will be the first that I can remember of anything needing attention.

Cooking

I haven't made anything special but got some comments about the bread  so I thought I would share some things I have learned along the way.

I keep my yeast (SAF l lb) in an airtight container in the freezer.  I use directly from it.  I don't keep any in the fridge.

Flours:  Once I began using KA, I know longer have to add any enhancers to  the dough, no gluten,rarely ascorbic acid (crushed V-C), no dough enhancer mixes.  I without fail get great rise from both white and whole wheat (half white; half whole wheat) breads.

I keep the white whole wheat flour in the freezer, but not the white bread flour.  I do use KA bread flour, if not I would use the enhancers,

I use whatever sweetener at hand no matter what the recipe calls for, honey, sugar, brown sugar, or even molasses  in whole wheat.

I use butter or lard for the shortening; usually butter.

I almost always make it from the beginning using my large Kitchen Aid mixer.....sometimes I get it out at the last and knead a few times just to keep my hand in....and to smooth the dough, but the major kneading is done  by the machine.   That may be cheating but I hope it will keep me making bread into my ripe old (older) age.

I use any of my bread doughs for hamburger or hot dog buns, but I do have a special dough (refrigerator) that I use for rolls or coffee cake or other sweet rolls.  I have a special recipe I now use for cinnamon rolls.

Thursday,

Nothing special.   I milked.  She was down just a little.  I got brave and  let Sugar run free for a while.  She  finally came to me and was rewarded with a bit of raw hamburger.  I am going to do that again today.

We picked up the tiller, it started and ran smoothly.  There was a loose wire on the truck; I doubt that was the problem but it goes to the dealer the next time.

Friday

The next two days are going to be  too cold for me to do anything outside!  I will set my box of lettuce seedlings out in the sun when it warms up.  It is hovering near freezing right now.

Photo

This is a garden idea:  tuck edibles here and there in flower beds; this is right by the back door where I have now started an herb bed.  I will do lettuce here again and maybe a few green onions and spinach.  It can be a salad and herb bed.

5 comments:

  1. I like your salad and herb bed idea. I grow thyme, but usually forget to harvest it before it blooms as I'm supposed to do according to what I've read. Also grow Egyptian Walking Onions. Problems like those with the truck are SO annoying. Good luck.

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  2. I loved reading this post about your life there on the farm. Glad you got the tiller and your truck back and both running. Hopefully no more problems with the truck.

    Having your veggies and herbs with flowers is great.

    We've had rain since yesterday, really heavy rains yesterday, cold weather is expected tonight and for the next couple of nights as well.

    Love and hugs to you ~ FlowerLady

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  3. Glenda,

    Thank you for the information on the yeast, I have 3 more bricks. I will be placing them in the freezer in an air tight container.

    I'm very happy to hear you have your tiller back in working order, now we can only wish time would fly so we can get to gardening outside :-)

    Beautiful flowers and some health looking lettuce, I'm surprised it didn't freeze.

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  4. Glad the tiller is willing and raring to go and, hopefully, it only WAS a loose wire in the truck. I used to tuck veg amongst the flowers but with the deer now I've got to corral all my produce in one place - easier to protect w/fencing. Glenda, do you catch rainwater at all?

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  5. I keep my yeast in the freezer, too, but I have a jar that I keep in the refrigerator door that only holds a cup and I fill that with yeast and use out of that. I get Red Star yeast by the two-pound bag from Amazon and I'm happy with it. I use dough enhancer with some recipes, but not with any bread that has been made with potato. I'm considering using potato AS a dough enhancer in some bread recipes that don't rise well without an extra boost.

    I love having an herb garden just outside the kitchen door. Nothing like fresh basil leaves mixed among sliced tomatoes or fresh sage for chicken soup or pork sausage.

    Our rule of thumb for trading in a vehicle is when it's costing us as much for repairs as a monthly auto loan would cost. I hope the loose wire was the thing that was wrong. We generally keep a vehicle at least ten years. Longer now, since we don't put a lot of mileage on anymore. Things wear out from weather conditions and passage of time, like hoses, wiper blades, tires, but generally just keeping up the maintenance is sufficient to keep a vehicle "alive" for a long time. I would like to have a small, gas-efficient car for beating around in. Our Silverado is such a gas hog. But not sure it would pay for itself in savings. There'd be insurance, taxes and tags, maintenance.

    I'm really ready for spring, I know you are, too. Hugs XOXOXO

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