Defined

Vegetarian: n. A bad hunter. Someone who survives by consuming not food, but the stuff
that food eats.

The vegetarian was forced to subsist on slower prey, such as the
broccoli and carrot.

Originally via Urban Dictionary

Trix

Mouthwatering

Are you sick of hearing about my bread yet? Well, maybe I'll give you a break after this. I think I've finally hit my mark.

Here's the loaves that I made earlier this week with the whole wheat starter that I made:




I'm thinking that's about the best rise I can expect from whole grain bread. And it's totally edible and has a great flavor. I just wish I could get that fantastic high rise and structure...

Last week I got an envelope in the mail from Northwest Sourdough. Hmmm... I thought, I don't remember ordering anything from them... When I opened it, I found that it was a starter sent as a gift from my dear sister-in-law (sister-in-law-in-law? Nathan's sister-in-law? Nathan's brother's wife, anyway). I was thrilled! So I got some real bread flour (from the store! and white!) and got the starter going. Yesterday, I mixed up the bread, today I baked it.

And here's what I ended up with:






Oh. Yeah. Baby.

THAT is what I've been going for. HUGE oven-spring. Great flavor! Beautiful bubbles! Chewy crumb, crunchy crust.

I have arrived.



I was shocked, really, but the trick is in the white flour, of course. I've made very little white bread in my time. Whole wheat is just more difficult, that's all there is to it.

But it surely won't hurt to have white sourdough as a treat, too...

And I love that I've got my artisan style totally improvised. I use a pizza stone with a roasting lid instead of a brick oven, a spray bottle instead of steam injection for humidity, some old baskets that I had around lined with cloth from an old men's dress shirt instead of bannetons for proofing, a razor blade instead of a lamé for slashing, a sheet pan and parchment paper instead of a bread peel... and my old propane oven. Works for me!

And might I say? Yum. Just yum.

Buddies

Thankful

I try to make a point of thankfulness. I'm not very good at it, but here's where I'm at:

~I'm thankful that I didn't oversleep and I got up and got the turkey well stuffed, pinned, trussed, garlic buttered (under the skin!), salted, peppered and in the oven in time to go to church for a very good (if sparsely populated) service.

~I'm thankful that I could play the Matins liturgy kinda-sorta well enough for people to sing it (which we only do once a year, regrettably) and not get lost.

~I'm thankful to have an extra fridge, even if it malfunctioned and froze the back of my turkey.

~I'm thankful that even though the turkey took much longer to cook than calculated, it still got on the table with all the other food hot and ready before my poor husband ate his own leg.

~I'm thankful that even though I was missing my (side of the) family quite painfully, I still have wonderful friends and family-of-the-in-law-sort who make long trips to come here and eat my food.




~I'm thankful that my dear mother-in-law washes all my dishes when she comes here!

~I'm thankful that Jonah had some pals for the day.



(cute ones, too!)



~I'm thankful that Jonah gets time with his Opa (the man of the hour, let me tell you) and his Oma, and even managed to share them a little bit.






~I'm thankful that Nathan got that possum before it deprived me of any more eggs and hens.

~I'm thankful that my husband spent the day-after checking off some items on my honey-do list such as fixing my water softener (with the magic wand he's been hiding somewhere... or lost for a while? I dunno, but anyway, he fiddled with it and it started working and I'm looking forward to seeing if my clothes will stay white and uh-holey like they don't when your hardess rating is 383) and (partially) installing a light fixture and spreading old horse manure on my garden.



Blessings run abundant.

Shuddering with Rage and Disgust

I just went outside, it was around 6:20, to lock up my chickens and feed the cats. I did that quickly then went to check behind a straw bale where a couple of chickens lay their eggs every day. There were no eggs there this morning, which was odd, but I figured they would be there tonight. And they were, but when I shined my flashlight there, I also saw a big, nasty 'possum EATING. MY. EGGS. Yuck!!! It's probably the same one that assaulted my poor girls a week or so ago and made off with a Silkie hen (who was the Mommy to a half-grown chick who is now an orphan and very put-upon by the other chickens because she has no one to protect her). And I bet he ate the eggs last night, too.

I had no weapon at my disposal (such as a post-hole digger that my husband relies upon for such instances I kid you not) and no husband at home to call upon.

This is war. (For Nathan, that is. I'm just declaring it for him.)

Oh, and I am SO glad I looked with my flashlight before just sticking my hand back there like I usually do.

Hmph.

The mail lady just drove right by us! She snubbed us! How rude!

Oh, wait... I'm working on not being so pessimistic.

Um... Oh! It was so kind of her not to bring us any more bills!



Optimism-- I haz it!