Tag Archives: bread making

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

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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.

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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.

 

What’s new?

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Well, I’ve been working on a Facebook page for our branch library in Applegate. It’s possibly going to be closed and it serves an enormous need in that area. the circulation there is small but the wi-fi is used constantly as are the public computers and the children’s program.  I personally don’t use this branch but Nevada county but that’s for personal reasons BUT I support this library in every way I can because I feel passionate about libraries especially small rural ones. Many people in the community would have no wi-fi access or access to a computer without this branch.  I’m a member of the FOAL and am going to be VP for the coming year as long as my health holds steady.

Then I’ve been washing the Ikea couch covers and today I’m doing the main cover. Last time I did them all at once and this way I’ve done the cushions first ( 2 days) and then today the cover.

Yesterday I made a loaf of bread and it came out very nice. I have professional loaf pan from williams sonoma but it’s 1  1/2lbs . So ususally when I make it in this the loaf just doesnt rise up that far but yesterday the recipe had 4 cups of flour so it was definetely a 1 1/2 loaf.

At least it’s been sunny out but still quite cold.

I’m heading to the gym today and then tomorrow I have an eye doctor appt. I guess I’ve decided to get the cataract surgery for my right eye. I have trouble seeing out of that eye so I’m sure it will be a big difference. With all the steriod use I’ve had I guess it caused some cataract stuff. I was going to hold off but really now is a better time since I’m not on any chemo drugs.  So that will probably be sometime this spring.

Dinner is spaghetti and meatballs.( for the meat eaters), just spaghetti for the veg.

Simple Sunday

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Well, after a whirlwind Saturday,cleaning ,do camp laundry, shopping for a few things at our local Holiday Market, today, I’m still cleaning.  It’s catch up. I’m making a loaf of bread too and planning our meals this week.

Everyone should be back home today from camping. My son goes back to work today and B has to work tomorrow. Also, my daughter heads back up to Truckee to the library. I have a load to take to Goodwill express today or tomorrow. Plus, if I need to pick up any groceries. Mostly, I think we have enough stuff. the garden is giving us some tomatoes but not enough to really freeze a lot so I may call a local produce shop to see if I can buy some ‘uglies’. These are the tomatoes not pretty enough to sell but great to can.

Good news/ bad news on the refi.  Somehow the people working on the refi got canned or left, so the loan having sat out in limbo for so long isn’t valid. But the good news is ,after finally speaking with someone,the rate will go down slightly and that means the payment will too.  I wish we didn’t have to do this but with the interest rate going up in October and considering retirement numbers we don’t have  a choice if we want to remain here. We do want to stay in our little house.  There’s not a lot of places we feel drawn to and where we do (Capitola) we would never be able to afford.  So, I think this is a good move for us.

I guess hindsight is 100% accurate since what has happened , happened. I certainly would do things way more frugally. Anyway, done is done.

It’s hot here again and our pool is a green liquid.  So no jumping in the pool….

Well, off to switch laundry and finish the kitchen.

Sunday thoughts

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Well, I guess I spoke to soon about feeling good on Thursday. That night around 2 or so I knew I had a small fever, a reaction tho the zometa. It wasn’t full blown like last time but still I didn’t feel well in the morning. The fever was gone in a few hours but I still had to work my 4 hour shift. Fridays are usually pretty slow so I knew I was ok.

Saturday I felt fine and I had a good day overall. My son made dinner so it was. Nice not to cook. It rained all day and everything is very wet. That’s a good thing. Today is dex Sunday so, I’m going to do a few Flylady things, make some bread and maybe a soup. Oh, and yogurt.

Well, I’m back, many hours later, made soup and bread but no yogurt. It seems I’ve been going since 7 am which I have, but the house still needs a little more putting together. Geez, how many hours is that, it’s 11:30 now.?.?