Tag Archives: bread making

Simple Sunday

Posted in Blood test, bread, California, home stuff, Uncategorized by

A cold brisk morning but sunny. We had to take the Santa Fe to the park because Buggie’s starter finally died. Actually, it died yesterday at the park:( so we had to have AAA tow it home). So I guess that’s moved up on our list of what has to be done. Oh well, we knew it was coming. Now though, we’ll have to have it towed to Auburn to the shop. I was hoping to avoid this expense right now but I guess it’s what needs to be done.

I headed out to the gym and did my weights. I came straight home and now am writing this and then do a few chores.

I’m trying get my sourdough active and it seem to be taking a while. The house is on the cooler side so maybe that’s it. I’ll add some more flour a little later and see if that does the trick. I wanted to try the recipe in “The Slow Rise” for baguettes. The author is the guy who started Bread Alone in New York. His recipes are mostly ones I wouldn’t do but the baguette one seemed easy enough.

Tomorrow I have my labs and then I plan on going to the pool if it goes quickly. As long as I can get to the pool by 8:40 it’ll work. Otherwise, the pool closes for lap swimming at 9:25. I’ve never stayed that late so it would interesting to see what happens.

I need to write up a menu plan for the week. last week I used up quite a few freezer things so I want to do that again this week.

Things to use:

a frozen pizza

some chicken

a package of spanakopita

beans

I see what happens!

menu

Simple Sunday

Posted in bread, budgets, California, cooking, Flylady, Halloween, Pantry, seasonal things, Walking by

A rainy simple Sunday. I’m grateful for the rain. Fire season is safely over. It’s hard to sense whether we are in for a hard winter or mild. With global warming, I guess all bets are off. Still, it is such a strange October to have temperatures close to 90 degrees. That’s never happened before.

We started out with our walk and it hadn’t started raining yet. It was quite balmy in fact. A very nice quiet walk. Most of the Canada geese are gone and the 3 little white duckies are gone too.

I came home and got the KBS bread maker going with a whole wheat sourdough. It seemed to not display the menu right and I had to do a reset that B figured out. Not sure what is the problem but I’ll have to check how long before it is that I can return it if necessary. It did go to the dough cycle after the reset. ?? humm, we’ll see. Anyway, it’s doing it’s first rise in the bread pan.

I did some weights at the gym and didn’t stop anywhere except our PO box. I’ve had 2 things lost this week and yesterday a VERY expensive Ebay item(christmas) it said delivered but no one came up to the house. So I’m freaking out a little as to where it is but can’t call the post office till Monday. Our post office has gone down hill this last year with things continually being lost, damaged, put in wrong boxes etc. I’m not sure what their problem is. But also, the person from E bay was not very nice and essentially said too bad. But I will open a dispute if it doesn’t show up. Anyone have an ebay item lost/not show up and get a dispute resolved. If it was just a few bucks I wouldn’t mind but this is in the 100’s. A very specific item.

My house tidying up is almost done. I just need to finish the kitchen. There’s one small load of laundry going. I vacuumed yesterday so that’s done. this week with Flylady, it’s the bedroom zone. I plan on moving all the rest of my canning jars out to the garden shed as I don’t plan on doing anything soon. I know I want do at least one other shelf stable meal, but haven’t decided what yet. We did love the white bean stew. Plus, it was vegetarian so B could have it.

Another blogger was showing some Halloween decorations she had out and I said I’d post a few photos of my 1940’s collection.

This one is probably 1950’s.

Vintage are items are VERY pricey as I’m guessing a lot of it got used and then tossed.

Simple Sunday

Posted in California, home stuff, Sashiko, Uncategorized, Walking by

A lovely fall morning. I feel pretty good this morning. Most of the dex has worn off and isn’t affecting me too much. We had a nice walk without anyone there again. It’s kind of weird since the two nice ladies haven’t been there all week. Maybe they’re on vacation. It’s pretty dark when we get there but daylight savings is less than a month away so that’ll change things.

I decided NOT to go into Anytime gym this morning and instead power washed the outside windows with the outside Windex. I’m really late on this since I do the windows once a quarter but not last quarter. It’s very easy to use the spray bottle attached to the hose.

I also started a loaf of whole wheat sandwich bread. Not sourdough just yeast. I almost always use King Arthur’s recipes. This one called for a 1/4 c veg oil which I thought was a lot but did it anyway just to see how the recipe turns out.

I’m rethinking a bread machine to make dough but not really sure yet. There are a couple of ones that I like that are in the $125 range so not like a Zojurushi. Unless I found another used Zoju I wouldn’t spend that much money for just doing the dough cycle. The one I looked at a Youtuber was using and liked that the pan was ceramic not teflon so that was interesting to me. We’ll see. mixing in the Kitchen aid is just as easy for the most part.

Here’s the quilt frame set up with the Japanese quilt on it.

I’m not trying to do perfect rows or anything, just quilting using the Sashiko stitching.

It may take a while….

Simple Sunday and blog anniversary

Posted in bread, California, cooking, Flylady, Myeloma by

I started my blog in April 2012. I really wanted to document how my life with Multiple Myeloma was. At that point, I had been on Revlimid for 2 years and would stay on that for 3 more years till it was no longer working.

I had already begun becoming more minimalist and had been decluttering using Flylady for a few years. I mostly wanted to journal using the blog as the forum because writing( in a notebook), a journal never appealed to me. It’s been a fun outlet for me. So here I am 11 years into blogging and about ready to start another round of Chemo( well, I hope not till fall).

Spring has sprung here in Northern California and it’s been quite nice. The trees are starting to pop out and our white camelia tree is blooming( very late I may add). We had the Ooni fired up for Friday night pizza and last night used the charcoal Weber for chicken and veggie dogs. Tonight, I plan on Spanish rice, chips, and Pico de Gallo, and some main dish. I might open a pressure canned jar of veggie stew.

This coming week is just regular stuff. I plan on trying to go to the gym and pool twice each. We’ll see. That’s a lot of driving so, I’ll just see how I feel.

I’m making a loaf of sandwich bread right now. I’ve been trying to not eat bread but the rest of the fam needs it so I used the Kitchen Aid and made a King Arthur recipe. My son thought his partner might like the Zojirushi so he took it down to their place. I actually feel good about letting it go. I guess the final question was did I have the space for it and really I didn’t. It was in the closet but now I’m using that space for something else. Plus, most of the bread I make is sourdough in the Dutch oven and I only used the bread maker for the dough cycle for sandwich bread.

I sorted thru most of my canning jars and I have plenty for this season. I think I’ll buy some lids though so I have extra. Probably Winco is the best place to get them.

Well, I’m off to finish the bedroom zone and get the bread in the oven.

Simple Sunday

Posted in bread, California, cooking, Flylady, prepper pantry, simple foods, Uncategorized by

Happy Lammas Day, the pagan celebration of the first harvest.

A very nice Sunday morning walk. Temperature around 70 degrees so not too hot at all. Yesterday we even sat out under the umbrella for half an hour and it was not too too hot. Today and all week it stays pretty much the same : around 93 degrees as the high.

Our water bill came in almost $40 less so we clearly have been watering less. Still high but that’s MV water.

Yesterday I did a bunch of cooking. I made a yummy ww bread in the Zojirushi( well the dough) since I bake it in the oven. Then I made homemade pie crust and a goat cheese quiche.

OOPS, who took a bite of the crust to test it???

This was the leftover cream and goat cheese mixture so I added some homegrown serrano peppers and it was delicious.

Delicious. I also put in brown rice in the zojirushi rice maker because we are having a rice salad tonight for dinner. I’m almost done with August’s menu.

This morning I’m making the pickled refrigerator jalapenos. I may see what else I can prep for the week. Maybe some chicken and / or baked tofu.

I’ve been buying some more things for the prepper pantry. Yesterday I bought some extra cans of tomatoes, cannellini beans and some Herdez salsas that we like. I think the rising food costs are just going to keep rising and so I want to get some stuff now before the real increases start this fall. I don’t plan on going overboard and spending $1000 again but just the stuff I know we use.

We finished a good series on PBS mystery theatre, Tennison. We both liked her character of a young police woman in 1973? or 1972? Not sure the date but the music is great as well. Now we have to find something new. We only watch an hour or so of TV in the evening so a series lasts a while. Well, we stream it with Amazon Prime as we don’t have cable.

Flylady zone is the Entry Ways and dining room. I don’t add the dining room here as that is part of my living room zone. So I just do both doors to the house, sweep up, tidy plants, wash the windows if needed.

a change in the weather

Posted in bread, cooking, Uncategorized by

It actually rained here the other night. We woke up to everything watered down. All the yellow pollen washed away. It’s cooler but actually nice. Today our high will be around 60 so okay.

Update on the Instacart order. It was great. I got almost everything I ordered and was really pleased. It is more expensive with a tip but I definitely thought it was worth it. I will probably do at least one more before venturing to Costco.

We did a very early trip into Home Depot since they wouldn’t do the curbside pickup for the gate post. We bought one farm gate for one driveway but needed the post. I don’t plan on keeping the gate close all the time but I want the option especially when we’re not here. Our driveway is weird as it splits and goes straight into where we park and then to the right back to the barn. No one can ever figure out which way to go.  I think we will do the second gate in the fall.

We’re also planning to put up some privacy fencing. The neighbors behind the barn moved up here from the Sacramento area and have a lot of crap we can see. So we plan on putting up around a hundred feet of cedar fencing along that border.  Then we want to do the same for where our elderly neighbor( Leo) lives since when they sell I fear who will move in will be rednecks with 6 kids. So I want a fence along the driveway to block seeing over there.

I’m also thinking of doing a bulk meat order from someplace like Butcher Box. It’s supposed to be small ranchers and grass-fed meat. Has anyone done that?  Usually, I get organic from Costco but thought about doing something different.

I bought a food sealer thing on Amazon that vacuum seals food. I tried a few things yesterday and it looks like it would be great for rice, meat, cheese, etc.  I tried bread and it squished it flat so that didn’t work. I then read the manual and it said to freeze the bread first and then vacuum seal and put back in the freezer. So I’m going to try that today too.

 The chickies have quadrupled in size and are now out in the big girl’s pen. They are still separated but soon will mix with them.  We’re going to have lots of eggs by next spring:)

We’ve been watching Ozark on Netflix and it’s a good show. Dark, but good. Sorta like Breaking Bad was. Oh, plus on Hulu the funniest, Stan versus Evil is hilarious. Definitely lots of laughs.

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another loaf of sourdough…

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this is what it looks like in the proofing basket.

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some chocolate chip oatmeal cookies.

Good news and other things.

Posted in Blood test, bread, Myeloma, Uncategorized by

I finally got my lab results. Kappa light chains went up a point to 14.3, Lambda went up a point to 12.3, the ratio (important) went down to 1.16. So I am still in a great remission and I couldn’t be happier.  Another month to add to remission. YAAAAAY!!!

I also had my mammogram and it was all good.  I skipped last year and probably will skip next year too.  They used the new 3 -d imaging and it really was remarkable technology.

I had my flu shot and did have a fever reaction( not unusual). Thankfully it was at night and didn’t last too long. I usually do have a slight fever, but this was chills and then a stronger fever.  Perhaps the strain was different and my immune system reacted. It wasn’t the dose for those over 65 as the pharmacy hadn’t received those yet.

So the continuing saga of my name change. I decided to go down to the Legal Clinic in Roseville for advice on how to fill in the forms. So I read it’s only open 9-12. So off I go. I get there( after getting completely lost), and go thru security and the deputy asks if I have an appt. So I say no, I thought it was all walk-in.  Oh well, after looking around at the masses waiting with appts, I just let came home and booked the appointment for this coming week. So another trip to Roseville.  Then to file it’s almost $500 and it has to be published in a paper for 4 consecutive weeks. So it’s going to be a while.

The fall weather is definitely here and we even have a chance of rain next week. It’s also way cooler today.  WE’ll need to have some small wood for the wood stove ready as I think we will need ‘a twinkly fire’ as I call them.

Our neighbor’s house is for sale at $399,999. It’s a 3 bedroom 2 bath. It’s on the smaller side of 1400 sq feet although that is a lot bigger than ours. It’s a nice piece of property but not a lot of usable land it’s mostly a hill. But I think it will sell quickly as we are right in town within walking of the PO, store, cafe, park etc. I just hope it’s not obnoxious neighbors.  The man who lived there( and is now dead), was a real asshole. He tried sueing all the neighbors( not us) because the road is actually on his property but of course we all have easements. But there were many yelling matches with this man and the Sheriff was called in numerous times. As he got older and he did lose the lawsuit, he backed off but was still a complete jerk. In the end, the EMT’s were at his house 2-3 times a week before he finally went into care.  Well, it’s a new chapter and I guess we will see.

 

I’m making a minestrone with the very last of our tomatoes and zucchini and whatever else I can get in there. Plus I’m going to roast a chicken in the oven. I made another loaf of bread the other day and this time used 1/3 whole wheat and it was really nice. Having the bread knife so sharp I can slice real sandwich slices. Very exciting is this life of mine!!!-

Tell-me-what-is-it-you-plan-to-do-with-your-one-wild-and-precious-lifeMake Bread!! Walk!!! Cook!! Read!!! Drink Wine!! (not in that order, but maybe!!!

A rainy May day.

Posted in bread, simple foods, Uncategorized by

Unusual to have a rain in May like this but it’s quite nice as it’s watering the lawn and all the plants.

I’ve just stayed inside working on starting another leaven for a few loaves of Tartine bread and tidying up.

I tried making Peter Reinhart’s bread the other day, and it was a flop. It had a quite good taste but was too hard and didn’t brown up nicely. The main difference between the two is the dutch oven. With Tartine, you make the starter(leaven) and then lots of other steps, but the final dough is baked in the dutch oven not, just straight on the steel.

So I’m back to Tartines recipe which always looks beautiful.

IMG_1209

I’m caught up on laundry and mopped the kitchen floor.

My son finished his final for the semester and he and B are headed down to Las Vegas to see Elton John’s last performance on that piano.  This is his birthday present. The tickets were not cheap:(

But they should have a fun time of it as there are lots of museums to visit and LV has nice weather usually.

Tomorrow, I’ll hit the gym and then I have a number of errands to run like getting bird seed, a few groceries, Home Depot for some garden soil and who knows what else.

Dinner is double stuffed potatoes from the freezer and some breaded cod fillets. Maybe a salad if I’m inspired.

Simple Sunday​

Posted in bread, cooking, decluttering, minimalism, simplicity, Uncategorized by

Another gorgeous day. The air is crisp and smells lovely of mowed grass and split oak.

B and Z used the wood splitter(rented) for about 5 hours and did most all f the huge oak we had taken down last year. He still needs to do another round with pine. We should be good for wood for 2 years maybe. In the future, we plan to switch to a propane fireplace but that’s aways off yet. Projects are getting done and it ‘s always a nice sense of accomplishment.  I think as we’ve become more minimalistic there’s less to take care of in some cases as we’ve gotten rid of a lot. Around the property, there are still some areas to take care of but it’s mostly garden and drought resistance plants with a little patch of lawn. The barn is ongoing, as it’s always needing to be tidied and decluttered. But it is progressing. I’m going to pare down the Christmas stuff, even more, this year. Right now I have 3 bins of stuff and I ‘d like it to be 2.  My new motto is ONE LESS BIN.  which actually has worked pretty well in all of my storage areas.

The barn is ongoing, as it’s always needing to be tidied and decluttered. But it is progressing. I’m going to pare down the Christmas stuff, even more, this year. Right now I have 3 bins of stuff and I ‘d like it to be 2.  My new motto is ONE LESS BIN.  which actually has worked pretty well in all of my storage areas. I also prefer to decorate with natural things like pinecones, branches, rocks, corn stalks ( for fall) and other seasonal natural things. I use to have lots of fall crap but when I started decluttering I just let it go. I find the process quite interesting from a psychological perspective. It’s as if layers keep coming off.  That’s one reason, I think. KonMarie isn’t just a one-shot deal. If I did that and nothing else, I think at different points I’d feel joy in some things and then later not.

There have been many many things I never thought I’d get rid of a few years ago and now I’m like meh, I don’t need or want this any more. So it is a process.

This week I’m in the living room zone (which we call a front room) (probably from another era), so I had B move my Heywood back under the TV and moved out the dest/table that I had there. It’s one less piece of furniture. Right now it’s on the sun porch, but I’ll take it too the thrift store in a few weeks after I think about could it be repurposed somewhere. It’s kinda a nice mid century looking table but not old. I actually got it at Target like 4 years ago.  So we’ll see. Each week I’m in a different zone, I try and do one thing for the area. Either declutter or just re look at how the space is being used. Of course, each zone gets a deep clean.

I got out the Zojurishi and have a loaf of sourdough baking right now. It’s bread season and I usually start off by using the bread machine and then move on to just using the Kitchen aid mixer and letting it do its thing in a bowl.

I also made spaghetti sauce for Sunday Supper. One is a meat sauce and the other marinara. I’ll boil some thin spaghetti and make a salad.

Today was a gym day. I went alone as my daughter wasnt feeling great.

 

 

Friday Stuff

Posted in cooking, decluttering, minimalism, Uncategorized by

The sauerkraut seems to be bubbling fine. I tasted it this morning and it’s sour. Tomorrow I’ll taste again and then put in the fridge.  So far it is an easy thing to do. In the fridge it’ll last for a few months the recipe said. I also got out the Zojirushi to make some sourdough bread. It’s a small loaf and came out good. I haven’t been making bread as it’s been too hot and we just haven’t been eating much.

This morning I had to go down to Costco to pick up Bonnie’s anti-seizure pills. ( Bonnie is one of the border collies my daughter adopted a year ago. Shortly after bringing her to her forever home she had some seizures so this is a monthly expense for my daughter.

So I picked up laundry soap, toothpaste, TP and a few other nonfood items.  So now I won’t need to go next week.

Then I went to the gym for a short workout and then home to feed the dogs and do some of the chores my husband usually does. ( goat, chickens, pool, etc)

I’ve been decluttering and moving some things around. I decluttered dishes. and I’ll box them up to go the pet thrift store.  Then I moved my Melmac set into the cabinet so it’s not on the pantry shelf. Also, washed most of my mason jars and will move them into my closet pantry. Once again, trying to reduce the visual stuff and just reduce.

I find minimalism and decluttering such an interesting process of releasing layers of things. I’m sure it’s related to inner things and how at times we hold on to things and then poof, one day they just don’t matter anymore.  Tomorrow I’m not going out except maybe to drop off this load so I’m heading out to the barn to tidy and do some organizing. I’m hoping my son gets this flea market thing he’s doing organized as I’d like to move that stuff out.

I know one thing is that it’s not a one-shot deal but really an ongoing process.  Even with the Kon Mari method, which I have done, 6 months later there is still decluttering going on.

It’s been another lovely day. A little warm 93 or so, but not too bad.

Tonight is pizza night.