The Storm that Didn't Happen

Erik and Mae and I were supposed to go to the farmer's market together yesterday. When I looked at the weather forecast the day before, it showed thunder and lightening beginning at 10:00 a.m. And, you know, I'm pretty intrepid, but I'm not up for electrocution by lightening. So, I texted Erik and Mae and asked them if they wanted to reschedule. They did. So it was kind of a surprise when it turned out to be a pretty nice morning yesterday. We probably could have gone, and the thunder and lightening was still supposed to start around 2:00 p.m. Only...that didn't happen either. What's a weather watcher to do?

Well, I'll tell you what I did: I baked bread. I mean, the power could go out or something and there I'd be with a house full of food and no freshly baked bread. Perish the thought.

I had to wait three hours to cut into it. Baking bread was a nice diversion while I dragged my feet getting started on the Gingerbread Village. Actually, I went back and re-read the posts from when I made the Happy Village two years ago. I wanted to remind myself of any trials or tribulations I'd written about. If you're interested in this process, the posts start right here. It was good to remind myself that this won't look anything like any kind of village until I start adding windows, roofs, and doors. You can see what I'm talking about at this post right here. So with all of these tips and reminders at hand, I started building the collage from the fabrics I'd cut the day before.

When I had taken it that far, it was time to cut the bread. After all that work on my quilt, I'd generated a powerful hunger for some plain white bread.

It was so soft and delicious...like the best Wonder Bread of your childhood. I could have eaten the whole loaf all by myself in one sitting, but I didn't. It's a very easy bread to make. Here's the recipe I used:

                     
American Sandwich Bread
from Bread Illustrated

2 1/2 cups  (13 1/4 oz.) bread flour
2 teaspoons  instant or rapid-rise yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons  salt
3/4  cup  (6 oz.) whole milk -- room temperature
1/3  cup  (2 2/3 oz.) water -- room temperature
2  tablespoons  unsalted butter -- melted
2  tablespoons  honey

Whisk flour, yeast, and salt together in bowl of a stand mixer. Whisk milk, water, melted butter, and honey in a 4-cup liquid measuring cup until honey has dissolved.

Using a dough hook on low speed, slowly add milk mixture to flour mixture and mix until cohesive dough starts to form and no dry flour remains, about 2 minutes, scraping down bowl as needed. Increase speed to medium-low and knead until dough is smooth and elastic and clears sides of bowl, about 8 minutes.

Transfer dough to a lightly floured counter and knead by hand to form a smooth, round ball, about 30 seconds. Place dough seam side down in lightly greased large bowl or container, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and let rise until doubled in size, 1 1/2 - 2 hours.

Grease 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan. Press down on dough to deflate. Turn dough out onto lightly floured counter (side of dough that was against bowl should now be facing up). Press and stretch dough into 8 x 6-inch rectangle, with long side parallel to counter edge.

Roll dough away from you into firm cylinder, keeping roll taut by tucking it under itself as you go. Pinch seam closed and place loaf seam side down in prepared pan, pressing dough gently into corners.

Cover loosely with greased plastic and let rise until loaf reaches 1 inch above lip of pan and dough springs back minimally when poked gently with your knuckle, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 350°F. Mist loaf with water and bake until deep golden brown and loaf registers 205-210°F, 35-40 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking.

Let loaf cool in pan for 15 minutes. Remove loaf from pan and let cool completely on wire rack, about 3 hours before serving.

NOTES : To make this a whole-wheat American Sandwich bread, reduce bread flour to 1 1/2 cups (8 1/4 oz.) and add 1 cup (5 1/2 oz.) whole-wheat flour and 3 tablespoons toasted wheat germ in step 1. Increase honey to 3 tablespoons.

* * * * * 

So, I continued awaiting the thunder and lightening, but there was still no rain...in fact, the skies were blue, and it was nice outside. I went out and took some pictures of the latest blooming things. I noticed the lilac is starting to bud out.

The plum tree is in full bloom now. We should get some plums this year if the sunshine and bee activity keep up.

Also, we're pretty excited about our dogwood tree. We planted this tree many moons ago...it was one of the first things we planted when we moved in nearly 16 years ago. It was a much smaller tree then, and we didn't realize that there is almost nothing deer love more than a tasty dogwood tree. On its first night, they ate the tree down to a poor little nubbin of a tree trunk. After that, we put a fence around it, but it took years for it to recover from that initial munching. Fast forward to now, and it's a fairly sizable tree. It has lots of flower buds on it this year, and in the past couple of days, it's taken on a pink tinge.

Closer up, you can see that the flowers are beginning to open. I think this might be the best year yet for the dogwood tree.

While I was looking at the dogwood, this downy woodpecker showed up at the feeder. He played a little game of hide and seek with me circling around that pole.

Eventually, hunger got the best of him and he went after the suet. Also, I could hear another woodpecker pecking in a tree nearby. Perhaps we have a nest? I looked, but I couldn't see a nest nor the other bird.

After that, I went back to reading old blog posts about the Happy Village. There was an intervening period where I was waiting for the arrival of some glue I needed to finish the project. Then I was able to get back at it. The finishing up posts start right here, and continue here until it's finished up right here. It was good to review because I noted in the old posts that I was dragging my feet about working on this, just as I was yesterday. With that in mind, I finished up the collage before calling it quits yesterday.

Today I'll start adding roofs, doors, and windows, and hopefully, it will start to look more like an actual village.

With all the weeding, sewing, and baking I've been doing, you might wonder if I'm not neglecting my housework. Or maybe not...I haven't been...wondering, that is. I know for sure and certain that I have been. It's always an interesting exercise in getting to know one's limits when one's spouse is gone for a while. Just how much filth can I tolerate before giving in and getting out a broom or a dust cloth? And while I can't give a specific answer, I can tell you that I've reached my limit. Today I must do something related to housekeeping or else move into a motel for the duration. Which would you do?

As for my absentee spouse, he's found a couple of items about the trailer he wants to take up with the dealer before leaving South Carolina. There is a wiring problem and a problem with the roof, both of which will need to be repaired at some point in time. It's all under warranty, and so it's really a matter of documentation for now. That means he'll stay in South Carolina at least until Monday, and then he'll start heading for home. Whether "heading for home" will involve returning to the Indiana manufacturer for repairs is an unresolved question. He's liking the trailer, however. I'm excited for him to get home so I can see it too.

High Fiber Day

Well, if you read my post yesterday, then you know I was just itching to get at my housework. And, really, in just a very few minutes, you've scratched that itch plenty enough to last for a month, if you're lucky. So I needed something to keep me occupied in the process. Enter bread-baking. Where flour is concerned, it's enough to know you'll be undoing any housework you just did within a matter of minutes.

As I've mentioned before, bread-baking is like quilting in that I have a to-do list now of breads I want to bake. Yesterday, I decided it was time to try a good old American sandwich loaf. White bread. My chosen recipe came from this book that just recently made its way onto my bookshelf:

It was a simple bread that could be made in about 5 hours. I first whisked bread flour, salt, and rapid-rise yeast in the bowl of my mixer. Then I whisked whole milk, water, honey, and a little melted butter in a separate bowl. Then I turned on my mixer with the dough hook and slowly poured the liquid ingredients into the dry. It took about two minutes for all the dry flour to be incorporated and then I let it knead for another 8 minutes.

It made a nice soft dough that was put into a large bowl to rise for two hours. Isn't it cute? 

After two hours, it looked like this...and maybe it doesn't look like it's doubled in volume to you, but it has.

Then I stretched it into a 6 x 8 rectangle and rolled it into a tight little log. It went into a loaf pan where it was allowed to rise for another 90 minutes.

Then into a 350°F oven for 35 minutes and Voila! Isn't that gorgeous?

It was hard to wait to cut into it, but I waited about 2/3 the designated time...a heroic effort if I do say so myself. It's very soft and so delicious, and I'll just say that it smelled heavenly.

It was really pretty easy to make...painless, you might say. I'll definitely be making this again and again. It's the sandwich bread of my dreams. There's also a way to make it whole wheat by substituting some whole wheat flour for the white flour, adding a little toasted wheat germ, and a little bit more honey. Yum. The loaf is half gone now, so I'll be making it again very soon.

Yesterday's mail was a treasure trove. I'm gearing up to make a baby quilt for a friend's grandbaby due in June. The request was for an elephant theme done up in pastel grays and aquas. I did a quick search for an elephant baby quilt and came up with this Mommy & Me pattern.

Cute, huh? I have plenty of fabrics already in my stash to use for this, but I needed something for the back and something for those large polka dots. As long as I was looking, I also found a pastel gray for the background behind the elephants. I'll use stuff from my stash for the rest, but these are the fabrics I purchased. The one on the left is for the quilt back.

"Aqua" is kind of a hard color. Is it blue? Is it green? Is it aquamarine? Anyway...I'm trusting my fabric choices will be good enough.

As for the rest, here are some other goodies I picked up, mostly so that I could qualify for free shipping. I was thinking about the Solstice blocks coming up. The one on the right below was purchased as a possibility for an April Fool's Day block. I already did one for Matthew's birthday on April 2nd, and so an April Fool's Day block would be a week late. On the other hand...my quilt, so my rules.

The one on the left above is for an Easter-themed block, but also, I want to make this little table runner recently published on the Moda Bake Shop. Did you see this? The "recipe" is right here.

It's a little late to be starting quilts for Easter, but this will go together quickly, and then I'll be ready for an Easter table next year.

But that's not all. I was still thinking about the Solstice Challenge when I chose these fabrics. I think these will help make a celebration block for Mike's retirement.

And then there's this, which was the one disappointment from the lot of them. I got this for an "April Showers bring May Flowers" block, but this is minky! I knew I would do that eventually. I totally missed the fact that it was minky. It's hardly worth the effort to return it, and so now I'm stuck with it.  

Finally, I was on the lookout for fabrics that might work with my scrub jay quilt. The one on the left will be great in some of the gray parts, and the one on the right will work for the blues, of course.

So today is Smitty's 5th birthday. I know...hard to believe he was once little like this, isn't it?

We're celebrating with a trip to the vet. I know he'll be thrilled about that. He just needs his rabies vaccine, and so it'll be a quick trip. Even so, the ride in the car is the same distance, which is to say, too far. Commence me-howling now. After that, one more housekeeping chore, and then I'm going to get started on my little bunny table runner.

This and That

My day was filled with a bunch of different activities yesterday. I first finished off the Appalachian Memories block. This is the "Spinning Star" block.

It's the 9th of 12 blocks. Here are all the blocks I have for this quilt so far.

When that was finished, Smitty and I got out for a walk. We chattered at a few birds and squirrels and ate some grass. He was also nibbling at some dandelion greens. They're very nutritious, and you should always eat your greens.

While we were out, we checked on the peonies. They're all doing well. This is the largest so far.

Also, we noticed the cherry trees are budded out, but not flowering yet. I'm hoping the warm and dry weather forecast for the coming week will have them bursting into bloom.

Back inside, I started working at sewing together the bonus triangles. I'm arranging them by size. The 2-3/4 inch sandwich bag was bursting at the seams, and so I moved those into a plastic shoebox. The rest still have plenty of room. They range in size from 1-1/2 inches to 3-1/4 inches.

Sadie was willing to help with the organization, but I discouraged her from this by opening the clubhouse. I have an idea that's what she wanted anyway since she knows her organizational skills are not propurrly appurreciated.

The job of trimming HST's to size always gives me tendonitis in my left wrist. Yesterday, I sewed these 20 at a time, and then trimmed what I'd done before sewing more. All-in-all, I think I did at least 100. Still, there is no dent in the bag.

I sewed a few more after I took that picture, but the bag doesn't change at all. I have an idea all the bonus triangles in the universe are flying into the sewing room and stuffing themselves into the bag when I'm not looking. What do you think? It only makes sense when you realize that COVID-19 can bring the entire planet to a standstill without ever showing itself. So, it follows that bonus triangles could be stalking the earth in the same invisible way...invisible except when they're inside a zip-lock bag...which is like their kryptonite...and then they can no longer maintain their cloaking capabilities. Not that my imagination is running away with me or anything. I just think we can never be too careful about such things. Bonus triangles, in particular, have always seemed a little sinister to me. But, I digress.

Meanwhile, back in the kitchen, I had bread rising. When it came out of the oven, it looked like this.

This is American Sandwich Bread, or plain old white bread, if you prefer. It's so soft inside...like store-bought bread. It's made with whole milk, rapid-rise yeast, honey, and white bread flour. You can make it a whole-wheat loaf by using whole wheat flour. It's a very easy bread to make, although I'm told yeast is hard to come by these days. I'm nearly out of instant yeast, so I'll be on the hunt for more the next time I'm out.

Today I'm roasting a turkey. Originally, we were going to smoke the turkey for a family get-together, but that isn't happening now. Still, the turkey is thawed, and so I'll roast it in the oven. I'm not doing the whole Thanksgiving thing...just a 7-layer salad, mashed potatoes, and roasted asparagus. It was supposed to be a dinner to celebrate Matthew's birthday, and so he requested the 7-layer salad.

Also today, I'll start the hand embroidery for the Dancing Chickens and Flying Pigs block, and get back to my bonus triangles if my wrist will allow. I'm determined to get them sewn together, even if they don't end up in a quilt top just yet. What's on your agenda for today?

Food Processing

It turned out to be a gorgeous day yesterday. There was a little bit of a breeze blowing, which made it sweater weather, but oh my gosh. How great to see the sun! It was a perfect day to head off to the Beaverton Farmers Market with Mae. We looked at one another in disbelief when we realized it had been a full year since we'd attended the Farmers Market. Erik, Mae, and I love going together, but Erik's work schedule has made it hard for us to settle on a day when we can all go. I think Mae and I have decided to do the heavy lifting where the market is concerned and be grateful when Erik can join us too.

We're still in the winter market season, and so it was a small market compared with what we find in summer. Also, we arrived before it was officially opened, and so nothing was for sale when we arrived. We waited about ten minutes, but used the time to peruse what was available. The flowers are always so pretty this time of year.

It was very tempting to pick up a bouquet, but I kept my hands in my pockets.

Once the market was opened, the first stop was something for breakfast. I had this veggie quesadilla.

It was so yummy, and the hot sauce on top was flavorful, but still spicy enough to give me a runny nose. Mae had something similar, but hers had the addition of a scrambled egg.

It was good to see the chanterelles, and that put me in mind of some Chanterelle Mushroom Risotto. We have it at least once per year when the conditions are right for the chanterelles. These are the first I've seen.

I picked up two baskets of those. The risotto also requires a bundle of chard. No problem...here's some right here.

Such a small market meant we were there just a short period of time. Mae picked up a few things, including some herbs from her herb garden, and then we headed for home. When I arrived, I noticed the vents on the top of the greenhouse had opened. This is very good for the lettuce. (You can see it there through the door window.)

Inside, I unloaded my little haul. I picked up a couple of russets to bake for last night's dinner, but I really wanted to get at my other two finds: pretty rhubarb, and daikon radishes.

Our farmers were sending us home with daikon radishes last season, and I never knew what to do with them until I discovered sweet daikon radish pickles. They are so yummy...among my favorite quick pickles, and so I wasted no time dispensing with those. There was no time to waste because I have to wait 72 hours before I can eat them, and I wanted to get the countdown started as quickly as possible.

Then I started in on the rhubarb. It was roasted in order to make a Roasted Rhubarb and Ginger Streusel Tart. I've linked to the recipe there if you want to give this a try. You first cut the rhubarb into two-inch hunks and then macerate it in granulated sugar and salt. It takes about 30 minutes for the first step, and then it is roasted in a 400°F oven for about 25 minutes. When it comes out of the oven, it will have made a yummy rhubarb syrup.

That is separated out for use later. Meanwhile, you can get to work on the streusel topping and the crust. 

It is a bit of a production, and so I was doing other things throughout the day...checking the mail, for one thing. I was delighted to find this handmade gift from my dear friend Gail at Shedding the Wolf. Gail said this fabric made her think of me, and I couldn't be more thrilled with her handiwork. 

I'm not a person who carries a big heavy purse, but this nice little bag is going to come in so handy on our big trip this fall. Sometimes a gal just needs something larger than a pocket when going out shopping, and this bag is a perfect size for me.

But wait...check out the art work on that card:

It was done by Gail's grandson. What a great use of children's art! Does anybody else see a quilt in that? Love it!

So...well...I was all atwitter after opening that, but I needed to get back to finishing up the tart. The crust is made from flour, sugar, ground ginger, and lots of butter. It baked in a 300°F oven for about 35 minutes, which gives it the consistency of a delicious ginger cookie. When it's nicely browned, you add the roasted rhubarb and its syrup and then top it with a streusel topping. The topping has candied ginger in it, which gives it the nicest little bit of chewy goo. When it comes out of the oven after its final baking...voila! Isn't that pretty?

We had to set that aside and stare at it while we ate dinner. The kitties assumed their newest positions on sunny days...sunbathing in the sun's last rays.

After dinner, we cut into that tart, and mmm, mmm, mmm. It's just as pretty inside as it is outside.

I'm not a great fan of rhubarb, but I do like this tart. So yummy.

But you didn't think that was all I did in the kitchen yesterday, did you? No way! I had to try the whole-wheat version of the American sandwich bread I made last week. The same white bread recipe can be made whole wheat by substituting about 1/3 of the bread flour with whole-wheat flour, adding 3 tablespoons of wheat germ, and adding an extra tablespoon of honey. Even with the change in ingredients, this was so simple to make, and it behaved exactly the same way as its white bread flour cousin. And lookie there...such a pretty loaf.

It was so soft and delicious too. Soft like the white bread with a slightly nutty flavor. It is the sandwich bread I've been seeking, and easy enough to make on a regular basis. We don't have a lot of food I-eat-this-but-not-that's here at the Three Cats Ranch, but I do strive to get away from mass produced, commercially processed foods as much as possible. This is a bread recipe I could make several times a week. It requires minimal hands-on time, and it does what I expect it to do (unlike some other naughty recipes I've documented here on this blog).

So, I hadn't intended to spend the entire day in the kitchen, but some days it just works out like that. Give me a load of new ingredients, and they suck me into the kitchen and won't let go.

The weather isn't quite as nice today, but we're not expecting any rain until around 5:00. It was a pretty sunrise.

This morning, I finished hand-quilting the last of the quilt center for Mumm's the Word.

There's still much to do on this, but getting the center finished feels like a little victory.

Now, I'm switching to a little smaller hoop, and I'll start making my way from the southwest corner eastward around the outside edges. As I mentioned yesterday, I got a start on this earlier, but then decided to finish up the center first.

There's a little bit to finish in that corner, and then I'll continue with the borders around the outside edge. Can't wait to get this finished. It's going to be a really nice lap quilt.

So there was no sewing yesterday, but today I'll get back to the elephant baby quilt. It shouldn't take long to finish the quilt top, but I'm still awaiting delivery of the fabric I need for the elephant applique. When the baby quilt top is finished, I'll go back to adding the vine to a Quiltmaker's Garden.