Category Archives: bread

Saturday Stuff

Posted in bread, California, cooking, home stuff, Pantry, simple foods, Uncategorized by

No tree guys yesterday. I guess they got busy somewhere else. They might show up today though as they do work Saturdays.

It’s another sunny day but cold. The rain starts to come back in next week. I like the sun better but rain is always good. The yard needs some attention so with the sun my daughter can do some clean up. She actually does all the yard work except the little I do. When B is feeling good he does a lot too.

I plan on doing a pantry challenge till the end of the month. I have a list of quite a few things to use/make. I have quite a few freezer things that need to be used.

So far I have:

1.use the tortillas in the fridge( maybe quesadillas)

2.the 2 frozen pizzas

3. black bean burgers, I think there’s like 3 left

4.beef burger, this is a question mark. they’ve been in there a while and I’m not sure if they will taste ok. I think I’ll try one for lunch this week and see.

5.chicken broth in the freezer

6. vegetable won tons in the freezer

7. ravioli and Rao’s sauce for a ravioli bake with the mozzarella in the fridge

8. check if I have frozen beans

9. use the sauerkraut in the fridge with beef hot dogs( I think I have a few Kirkland ones in the freezer.) otherwise I’ll do baked tofu wth cheese.

10. english muffins in the freezer ( maybe a welsh rarebit night)

11. the double stuffed baked potatoes( 4 left)

12. fish from Alaskian Fish, there’s a pice of halibut,rockfish and 2 pieces of salmon

That’s all that comes to mind for now.

This morning I’m planning on making a sourdough ( get it started) and then wash the mirrors, dust, and mop.

It’s nice to have a relaxed morning at home.:)

Simple Sunday

Posted in books, bread, cancer, ikea by

A different morning. We went for a walk as usual but then I wanted to go to Ikea for a Hemnes that was on sale. It’s the 2 drawers one and I’ve been waiting for them to come back into stock. Plus they were 15% off so a very good deal. I plan on using this in my office area to corral odds and ends.

So there was no gym day and that’s okay. I wasn’t feeling it anyway.

This week is crazy with appts, which is my least favorite thing. But I’ll persevere through.

We’ve been watching ‘Slow Horses’ with Gary Oldman and it is sooo good. A little confusing at first but then you catch on. I just finished reading Ina Garten’s memoir and like it a lot. What a talented woman. Maybe a little over the top with a Type A personality but still I have a lot of respect for her.

I’m reading the new Thomas Perry book, ‘ Pro Bono’. Also excellent.

My son stayed overnight and did a deep clean of my car. It really needed it so I appreciate his effort.

After getting home, I started another Meyer lemon rosemary sourdough. This is a great recipe and seems to work every time.

Here’s the recipe:

88grams of starter

360 grams flour

236 grams water

11 grams salt

1 tsp yeast

Note: I think this recipe would work without the sourdough and just adjust flour and water for the 88 grams of starter and use more yeast.

Mix together to form a loose ball of dough, it will be shaggy. Let rest for 30 minutes and then start your fold and turns. Basically lifting one end of the dough over to the other side. I do this on all four sides if that makes sense. Let rest for 1 hour or so and repeat. I usually forget and just do a few more folds and turns when I remember.

Put in a bucket or bowl and refrigerate overnight. The next morning heat your oven to 475 and keep your dutch over in the oven to heat up. Then take the dough out of the bucket put on parchment paper and do a few tucks and turns( rolling the dough into a ball and turning to create some tension). Then I make a few cuts on the top and put it in the Dutch oven with the top on for 35 minutes. Take the top off and bake for another 15 or so. You can take an internal temp to check if it’s done. anywhere @ 200 degrees is right.

B is not feeling very well so I’m hoping it’s only a passing stomach thing but he’ll call down to Stanford tomorrow and explain what he’s feeling. Hopefully, it’s just a bug.

Well, back to house stuff and reading:)

Frugal Friday

Posted in bread, California, cash envelopes, cooking, frugalism, Uncategorized by

Groceries at Costco were $200. I bought a few things on sale like the breaded Talipa which is a great easy dinner option. Mostly things like milk, and eggs ( no shortage at Costco). I bought the organic 2 dozen pkt for $8.69. I also bought French roast coffee, seaweed snacks my daughter likes, Triscuits, nuts, cheese, asparagus, and a few items I wanted to try. One is a garlic spread( Toom)that’s supposed to be very good.

With that and my TJ’s trip, I’m already at $400 so I’ll need to be careful for the next couple of weeks.

Next week I have a dental cleaning so that’s out of pocket. But I am going to sign up for their dental plan which is $400. That covers 2 cleanings and other stuff so it seems like a good deal.

Today is the national No Spend Day. I hope it has an impact, especially on Amazon, Walmart, etc. During the pandemic, I liked Walmart’s pickup service and used it a lot. But since then I haven’t even been back.

I got gas at Costco so that’s always a savings.

I bought a Christmas gift for my son. An Easton Press copy of ‘A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthurs’s Court. ” That was Ebay and was $28.00. I haven’t started my Christmas envelope yet, but I’ll write this down. This year is going to be even more minimal as nobody really wants anything. So I’ll do a few gifts each like the Easton Press and East Fork Pottery.

This is the Lemon Meyer rosemary Sourdough. Wow was that good.

This is the newly rearranged office area with the couch on the opposite wall so I can open the sunroom doors.

Here are two of the newly reupholstered Heywood chairs. We got all 5 done. One is my office chair.

This is the dirty cover. Uck!! I guess it’s been about 3-4 years since I did these. I use painter drop cloth material.

They are certainly not professional but work for us.

Today is Dex day and I don’t have a lot planned but I am going to try and wash the inside sunroom windows.

Frugal Friday

Posted in bread, budgeting, budgets, California, cooking by

The biggest expense this week was my dental appointment. It was quite a bit but then what isn’t these days. It needed to be done so. I still have a cleaning in March and I’m planning on signing up for their dental saver program. It’s $400 a year and covers 2 cleanings and lots of other stuff. It seems a good deal.

Then I went to Costco earlier this week and that was around $200. That shop will last us a while until we need coffee again. Food was less because B picked some socks, and I picked up the new Dawn spray cleaner and there was something else nonfood.

I drove to Sacramento for my doctor’s appt, which uses more gas. I have enough gas in the Santa Fe until I go back to the pool which I think will be Monday. i have labs early Monday and plan to go to the pool afterwards.

Not a very frugal week but manageable.

Today I opted to stay home and do some extra house needs. I washed my office windows, and dusted baseboards. I also started sourdough baguette loaf for tomorrow. Last night I roasted a chicken and made homemade mac and cheese. Tonight I think I’ll make a frozen Costco pizza. It’s a new brand they had and I’d like to try it. I think it said made in Italy.

It’s a beautiful sunny day with a temperature of 62 degrees. I’m looking to put a chair in the sunroom so I can sit out there. right now, I don’t have the little loveseat because Tux is sleeping out there in a cat bed and he’s not fixed. therefore he’s spraying although we haven’t seen him spray out there. I’m thinking of a used Poang chair from market place. I’ll have to look at listings.

Frugal Friday

Posted in books, bread, budgeting, budgets, California, decluttering, freezer cooking, frugalism, simple foods, velcade by

The week was overall frugal. I didn’t need gas yet in Santa Fe. I’ll fill up at Costco next week.

I went to the gym and library before my Velcade shot. Gettting books at the library always saves me from buying some random cookbook( a weakness(. I looked at two already, and there’s nothing I’d cook from them. They’re pretty books, but not how I cook. For instance, last night, we shared a steamed artichoke, and I made an us omelet to share with sprouts, cheese, salsa, and sour cream. We eat fairly simply.

I went to Costco after swimming on Wednesday and spent $250 or so. Some of that was snack/foodstuff for my daughter to take to work. She doesn’t get a full lunch break because of her hours, so I bought some beef sticks, egg bites (Kirkland brand), and something else I can’t remember. The two kinds of beef sticks were expensive, grass feed. I’ve actually never had one, so I can’t tell you if they’re any good, but as a high-protein snack, I could see it working. Organic eggs were 7.99 for 2 dozen.

Today is a home day because of Dex, but I feel pretty good this morning. I plan on vacuuming, dusting some, and doing a bit of decluttering odds and ends. I also have a pack of Kirkland I need to use, so I’m thinking of some meatballs I can freeze. We( my daughter and I have decided to mostly cut beef out of our diets. We don’t eat it often, so it shouldn’t be hard at all. But I have this to use and one other in the freezer, and I don’t want to waste it. If we go out together, we definitely would think about an In an-Out burger, but that’s pretty rare for us to do.

The rain is supposed to come by noon today, and it looks nonstop for days. I think I’ll plan on some soup dinners with homemade sourdough.

Simple Sunday

Posted in bread, California, cancer, peritoneal mesothelomia, velcade by

I’m waiting for the oven to get to 475 so I can put the bread in. It takes a while with this oven. I’d like to get a new oven in the next year or so. Plus those knobs on the side are problematic. Anyway.

I went to the Auburn gym and there were ‘new’ people there. It was just getting busy when I left. I didn’t have to do anything in Auburn so I came straight home. It’s so nice not to have extra chores.

We had two more pieces of the Wild Alaskan fish I’d bought. This was the Coho salmon and sockeye. They were both very good. I made some couscous to go on the side. tonight, My son is coming over so I need to think about what I’m going to make. I might just do the Costco ravioli.

The week ahead looks a little busy with a dentist’s appt and then my Velcade. Plus, if I decide to do another gym or swim day. I haven’t decided yet.

My daughter has been planting the onion sets and garlic. She also started a bunch of tomatoes under grow lights. I’m sure glad she is the gardener. I like picking stuff but not planting stuff.

I hope we get a call from Stanford this week regarding his appt. I’d like to know when we’re going so we can book a hotel. As I’ve said, it has to be 2 nights minimum, and the first day down there, he has to go get labs as they want to use their labs and not UCD. So that will add to the day. Parking is an issue, so I may just drive around till he’s done at the lab. We still don’t even know where the hospital is. Where we went was the medical center, so we needed to get a map of that.

Well, that’s all I have today. I hope everyone is having a nice Sunday.

Wednesday-Midweek

Posted in bread, California, home stuff, swimming by

I bought a humidifier from Amazon to see how it might help with sleep apnea. My Apple watch showed it right on the line so that is an improvement. Plus, I didn’t wake up with a dry throat, so I think it will help. I’ll keep tracking it although Apple tracks for you, it’s the other stuff I’m doing that I’ll track.

Today is a swim day and I’m glad to be going. If I miss too many days I feel like a fish out of water:) After the pool, I may pop over to Winco but I’ll decide later. Otherwise, I’ll come straight home.

I have another sourdough ready to go so I’ll have someone at home(while I’m gone) start the oven to get it up to 475. It takes a while. This time I made one of my favorites the cheddar jalapeno. If we have the vegetable barley soup tonight that will be a good side.

I can’t even begin to process what the orange king is doing. Pardoning the Jan 6 felons is right up there with …I don’t even know. It’s so upsetting. I hope everything that he does comes back to haunt him. I can’t even begin to imagine how those Capital police families must feel. The betrayal and lack of morality are off the charts.

Here are the curtains I made for the sink. Barclay picked out this fabric. Since I love all things pinecones, it’s fitting.

Menu Monday

Posted in bread, cooking, home stuff, meal planning by

Last week ended up kind of a mish-mash of my menus. I did some and not others. Oh well, I’m flexible.

Last night I made a Mexican chicken dish and veggie Chicken patty dish. I grilled the chicken and then when it was done dumped the rest of the salsa in the pan and topped it with Monterey Jack cheese. I did the same in another pan for the veggie chicken patty. We had salad on the side. BTW, Wico has these new chicken veggie patties and for the price point, you can’t beat it compared to Quorn or another name brand.

Monday- I’m either doing fish or the Costco Slice beef, which is sous vide. The reason I’m not sure yet is my son is spending the night so I’ll see which he prefers. I have salad either way.

Tuesday: Quesadillas, beans, and cheese. If there’s any beef left over, I’ll toss that in, too. I bought 2 bags of avocados from Costco so if there are any ripe I’ll top with that. BTW, once the avocados start to ripen put them in the fridge. They will last weeks in there.

Wednesday- Vegetable Barley soup from Costco with homemade sourdough

Thursday- ravioli with marinara sauce with salad

Friday – pizza of some sort.

Saturday- TBD

The sun is out today and it’s a lovely day to be home.

I’m still showing ( apple watch)somewhat elevated sleep dist indicating sleep apnea. There doesn’t seem to be any pattern as to why one day it’s not elevated and the next it is. Does anyone have sleep apnea and what did you do? If I could lose some weight I’m sure that would help:)

I probably should start on our taxes, but not today. 🙂

This was my last boule!

Mid week stuff

Posted in Blood test, bread, budgets, California, cancer, cooking, meal planning, swimming by

When I got to the pool Monday, the parking lot was fairly empty. It seems the warming pool was closed because of something so a lot of people weren’t there. Also, the lap lanes were not too crowded. I got my favorite lane by the stairs. I had a good swim and did 950 yards again. My guess is that’s about my limit right now. I was pretty tired when I got home.

I am really enjoying having the Apple watch. I didn’t think I’d like it as much as I do. Usually, I don’t like anything on my wrist but this has really helped me track my steps and swimming and the sleep stuff. I’d definitely recommend it if you’re on the fence.

The baguettes came out GREAT!

The recipe is straight forward and easy to follow. I wouldn’t buy the book though for just this recipe. I took a picture of the recipe to use later. Most of the other recipes are using more unusual grains like Eikorn which I don’t have. Still, this is a great recipe to have. I made this with rosemary and wowza!!

Today is a home day. Usually, I go to the gym but I don’t feel like driving. It’s still early yet so I may go to Costco and get a few things.

Here’s the front room without the rug. We took it up because it seemed every time we vacuumed it was full of lint and fibers. I think it was because the rug was a shag rug and it just had that stuff. I love the fact it’s so easy to clean and when I vacuumed there was very little stuff in the vacuum so my point was taken. I will get another rug eventually but it’ll be something like a Ruggable. I can’t afford that now, especially with the VW in the shop.

My labs came back with my Kappa up some to 19.8 so a bit of a jump from 18.2 but since I’m just over high normal, I’m not too worried. High normal is 19.4. It is what it is and every month there is some variation.

B has his labs today. He’s only going once a week now and all have been good. Tomorrow is the big day with the appt with Dr. Lee so we should have a good idea of what comes next.

The menu plan has changed a bit since I made it up. We had Boca burgers last night and tonight we’ll have the soup( pasta fagioli ). I used some of my canned beans, the Marcella, and kidney. I plan on canning more pintos very soon. It takes some planning and it is time-consuming with the pressure canner going.

Well, that’s it from mi casa.

Menu Monday and miscellany

Posted in Blood test, bread, California, cooking, meal planning, Political things by

The fires in SoCal are so awful. So many people lost everything. The power of nature is amazing and with fire, it’s hard to stop esp with the Santa Anna winds. Plus there are so many crazy people with conspiracy theories it’s enough to make you gag. Republicans keep spouting about not having enough water in fire hydrants. There’s plenty of water you idiots, but when there are dozens of hydrants being used there is of course going to be some effect. Geez, stick with the facts. It is concerning though with the orange man as president, will he be an asshole and withhold funds? Let us hope not for all of those people in LA that need it. Well, I try not to get sucked in but frankly, it is hard not to.

Menu for the week:

Last night we had the last of the breaded cod from the freezer with some fries and a salad.

Monday- I plan on making spaghetti with sauce and salad. I think I have some garlic bread in the freezer.

Tuesday- A freezer meal of chile rellenos, beans, and rice.

Wednesday- Baked tofu, with leftover potatoes from the freezer and broccoli.

Thursday- Soup, if I can get my act together. I wanted to make a Pasta Figlioli soup with Rancho Gordo beans.

Friday-Pizza, I really want to use up that frozen pizza but I haven’t made a homemade one in a long time so I may do that. I have a bag of 00 flour I can use.

Saturday- TBD???

I’m off for my labs and then swim. The warming pool is closed for maintenance so I’m not sure if that will impact the big pool. My backup plan is to go to the gym for a workout if it’s too busy. Mondays are like a box of chocolates, you never know what it’ll be.

My sourdough starter looks better this morning so I think when I get home I’ll make up the dough and then feed the other 2 I have in jars. ( I have 3 containers going to see which one does the best.)