Baking bread...

I know it's kinda sad, but I'm excited cuz I think I'm closing in on the ideal bread recipe.  Last year I gave a loaf of homemade bread as Christmas presents.  I got the recipe out of the handy dandy Betty Crocker cookbook....

This has been the go to book in my kitchen for decades.  Unfortunately, this isn't my original copy of the book.  I bought the first copy way back in the 80's.  But somewhere along the line that copy grew legs.  I don't like this edition as much  I think it's an earlier printing.  It still has all the conversion charts and general information.  I just don't like the layout.  But if you're new to cooking this book is a very wise investment.  It's loaded with lots of basic food facts and general information.  If you're a seasoned cook, it's got lots of interesting recipes.  There's usually a couple of different editions of this book in the cooking section at the bookstore.  There's usually a larger format hardbound version and you could probably find that and the paperback editions at most used bookstores.
But I digress...
Back to the bread.
I wasn't happy with that recipe.  It had a good flavor, but all the batches were on the dry, crumbly side.  I'm ultimately looking for a recipe that can be the daily bread and that recipe didn't hold up to slicing as well as I'd like.  I've tried a few other recipes and none of them were quite right for my daily bread.  The recipe was too complex or the flavor wasn't all it could be or the texture wasn't right, etc.  I'm not asking for much, really.  All I want is a recipe that doesn't require gadgets, a cooking degree from the Sorbonne, or a whole day to make.  A bread with light fluffy texture, good taste, that stands up to slicing and toasting.
That's not really that much.
My Grandma made bread like that.  I should be able to do it.

We're gonna sidetrack to a related topic, here.  Cuz this is where a general style preference kicks in.
I don't do gadgets when cooking.
A. I can't afford them.
B. They take up too much space.
C. As I reaffirmed the last time I experimented with a food processor, the labor saving devise is time consuming.  With the time it takes to setup and then clean said gadget, I coulda done it much easier and quicker the old fashioned way.
The fanciest I get gadget wise is a hand mixer.  I learned how to bake from my Grandma.  She rarely used even a mixer.
And maybe it's just me, but I find that most of the gadgets are way more work than a good knife.  You pull it out of the drawer and it's ready to use.  You rinse and wipe whit a sponge and it's clean.  Learn how to handle a knife correctly and you'll wonder why you ever bothered with anything else, for the most part.
I do use a hand grinder for nuts and the like, and I have a little grater for shredding.
And with a nod towards reality, if you can't cook without the gadgets, you really can't cook.  Go out to your kitchen, pretend you have no power and make a loaf of bread.  If you can't do that, what are you gonna do when a storm knocks out the power?
Yes, the kitchen here is electric.
And we have a barbeque and a fire pit, not to mention fireplaces.  I've got a dutch oven, I could still make a loaf of bread.
And the other thing about me that you should know when it comes to cooking, I don't follow directions, not exactly.  For me, they are more guidelines.  For example, when I make chocolate chip cookies, there's none of this 2 bowl crap.  I ain't dirtying a second bowl just so I can mix the dry ingredients separate from the wet.  It all gets thrown in one bowl.  Just like Grandma used to do....

So I usually end up adapting recipes to my style.
This recipe I got off the web somewhere.  I'm not sure where.
And I adapted it a bit.
I made it the first time the other night to accompany K's awesome chorizo corn chowder.  For which I will get the recipe and post it here.  The stuff was almost addictive.

Excellent meal for a cold day.
I was rushing and the batch got split into a bunch of oddly shaped loaf /rolls.  But it couldn't have been too bad, cuz there wasn't much left when I finally thought to take a picture last night.

The consistency is a little on the dense side.  But it had a good flavor.  It sliced well, and it stood up to chunky peanut butter pretty well.  Everybody liked it and we already have a list of  variations and additions to try.





So I decided to give it another go.
 I've found the basic recipe:

4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 teaspoons yeast (Or one package)
1 1/2 cups hot tap water
1 egg
1/3 cup softened butter

And now it's time to pursue the perfect batch.
I gathered my supplies and equipment:

I set the oven and buttered my bowl.
I'm a butter believer.  I don't do margarine.  Colored plastic isn't my thing.
And I use a trick my Grandma taught me.  I save the wrappers from the butter and use them to grease all the things that I'm called on to grease.

Like the bowl that the dough goes into to rise.  There's usually enough butter left on the wrappers that 1 or 2 will butter just about anything.  Just whip the wrappers around the bowl or pan and then toss.  Saves time and money.

The first step is mix the flour and the rest of the dry ingredients together.  So into the bowl goes 2 cups flour, 1/3 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon salt,  2 1/4 teaspoons yeast.
I buy yeast in a jar.  It stays in the fridge and keeps for a very long time.  I like the jar.  If you are using the little packages, 2 1/4 teaspoons is one package.
Mix the sugar and the flour well, otherwise the flour will have a tendency to clump.
Next blend in 1/3 cup softened butter.

Make sure your butter is very soft, not melted but almost melted.
Now the recipe I was using was written for a bread mixer.  As I said, I don't do gadgets.  So this is where I really started changing things.  The first time I used a hand mixer.  But that's only gonna work through the 3rd cup of flour.  So the second time I just used a wooden spoon to mix it up.  I didn't notice any difference in the bread.

When the butter is well blended add 1 1/2 cups hot tap water.

The recipe called for the water as hot as it comes out of the tap.  Out here our hot water is on the verge of scalding so I backed it off a little.  You want it hot but not boiling or anything.

Add the egg and blend well.
Then add the last 2 cups flour.

The recipe said to let the mixer knead the dough for 10 mins.  Since I wasn't using a bread mixer there's no way that was gonna happen.  Kneading it by hand was a bit different.
This recipe makes a very wet, sticky dough.  I added four when I was kneading, and did the best I could to keep the dough from sticking.  I only kneaded it a minuet or two.  I was afraid to overwork it.
After kneading I wrangled the dough into the buttered bowl, turned it to coat the dough, covered it, and left it to rise for 2 hours.

Our kitchen is a little on the cool side so I let it rise just a little longer.

Can't really tell from the picture, but it was about doubled in size.
Then I punched it down.

And turned it out onto a heavily floured board, and added in quite a bit more flour during the kneading and shaping.

I didn't work it too much, it was starting to feel a little rubbery.
For this try, I split the dough in half and put it into 2 greased loaf pans.

 

Cover and leave it to rise again, till it doubles in size.
The recipe called for a 350 degree oven, but didn't give a time for baking.  All it said was just till the bread was starting to turn brown.  Which means that I'm checking the bread every 5 mins.  Next time I'm gonna let it go for 10 mins. before I check it the first time.  Our oven is a little funky and I'm still trying to get used to it.  Things cook a little unevenly, and it's best to shift things around during baking.  I let these bake till they were a little browned.  One loaf baked for about 18 mins.  The second was in for about 22 mins.
Right out of the oven they looked and smelled pretty good.

Both had a good flavor.
But one of the loaves had an unbaked cave in the middle of the loaf.

I scraped all the unbaked dough out of the center and the rest of the loaf was fine.

 
  The second loaf was fine.

Good flavor, fair texture, and it sliced well.

It made a very good PB&J.
So this run was a qualified success.
I think my Grandma would be proud.

 

Next time I'm not going to use the pans, and I'm not going to split the dough.  I'm just gonna shape the whole batch into a loaf and bake it on a cookie sheet.  I'm not going to keep opening the oven to check the color.  I'm gonna plan on baking it for 20 mins. and play it by ear.

I'm also going to make a batch for our Thanksgiving dinner and try it as dinner rolls.

We're getting there.  I think this is a recipe that would be good for daily bread.  I've just gotta work out the kinks.

Starting again....

Yes, it's been awhile.
Turns out that 2013 is not a year conducive to consistent blogging.
But 2013 has been a year of great change and I have a precious short span of focus.
The biggest change of 2013 is relocation.
And this is one of the longest moves in history.  It's been going on since the spring and there's no end in sight.  But I have officially moved.
Back in June I posted Home of the future.... to Picasa.  The album starts with pictures of the outside of the house and the property, cuz that's all I had access to when the pictures were taken.  The next run is the night we got the keys, and then there's pictures of the horses coming home, cuz they moved in before anyone else did.
And slowly the home of the future has morphed into the home of the present...
I have to be honest I had reservations about this move.  I'm not really sure how much I'm giving up to make this move and things are really complicated.
But, this is a step closer to what I want.
And I do believe in the philosophy of following your bliss.  So I'm following it, regardless of what it costs.
I still have reservations.  But so far so good.
So I have to up date my status.  I'm now sharing a large house with 1 person, three dogs, I'm not sure how many cats, four horses, and 1 teenager every other weekend.
I'm still an economic spy.
I'm still not making much money.
I'm still disgusted with the current political and social situation in this country.  FaceBook has been the main outlet for political muses of late.
I really want to get the Blog up and running again, and I'm still beating myself up for spending sooo much time on this post.  I keep telling myself that if I just kept up with it it wouldn't take so long.
We'll see.  For right now I will be happy that there's 3 new albums on Picassa and content myself with making another start.
This move has taken me closer to off grid than the Granite house ever could.  I like it out here.  It's comfortable and fun and we've had some really good food!  I've taken more pictures this year, and for me, that is a good thing.

Life in the home of the present....

So, for today, I'm going with Poi Dog Pondering and taking things as they come.  Hope you all have a good day.




 Oh, yeah, the third Picassa album is:

Gorilla Gardening: Down & Dirty Land Survey

But it's just pictures.  I'm not gonna do that post right now.
Right now I'm gonna go make bread.  I said I was gonna make bread, and if I don't make the bread I'm afraid my house mates might lynch me....

Return to Monday...

I know, technically, it's not Monday anymore.  This Monday passed about 6 mins. ago.  But I ain't been to bed yet...
Looking back I realized that there was a time when I was doing a sorta Monday summation post.  I'm making a stab at resurrecting that convention.  We'll see how it goes....
This Monday was good.  It was bright and sunny and cool.  I've been lucky that there's been a long stretch where I've not been conditioning the air in any way, shape, or form.  There's been a couple days that were hot enough to make me consider it, and most mornings lately I've resisted the temptation of heat.  But it's been comfortable enough without.  If it hits 87 tomorrow, I'll be turning the air conditioning on.
I finished 3 jobs yesterday so I could take today and tomorrow off.  These are designated house days.  Today I got side tracked updating music files.  That was the entertainment portion of the day.
And I did accomplish something I've been wanting to do for a while.
More music added to the Sansa clip.  I really like that little piece of tech.  Makes my life a lot more interesting.  I've got hours of music on it and it isn't even half full yet.  I hadn't worked on the long term project of getting all my CDs ripped and rating all the songs in my collection in a long time.  So I don't feel too bad about the time spent.
I got the kitchen cleaned up, moved laundry along, and remade the bed.
Tomorrow I need to get out early and mow the lawn.  The tree limbs are out of the garden, so I can really get started on that.
There's still all sorts of stuff to do.  I've got 3 jobs due by next Sunday.  So I'll be venturing out to St. Peters on Wednesday.
Today was a fun day.  I got to listen to some good music and I spent the evening hanging out with one of my best friends.  So it's all good, for now.
I'm still robbing Peter to Paul, but I catch Peter up occasionally.  So I'm holding my own, treading time.
But it's late and I've got to get to bed...

Poking around the drive....

A doodle that I put together using pictures of Ashron.  It seems a fitting to tribute to ol' Ash- a-cat. the music is a snippet of George Harrison's Breath Away From Heaven,  One of my favorite songs.

From the Pragmatic Party...

It’s time to start thinking about the present and dealing with the shit.

How we got here is not the priority, and it doesn’t matter what the founding fathers believed or wanted.  We are here, now.  The country is in extremely sad shape, and it’s time we start cleaning up the mess.  Our infantile empire is starting to show and it’s already on life support.  We need to make some radical changes.

I’m not fond of people who complain with no ideas, so here are some ideas….

 We need an overhaul of the welfare system.

I fully believe that we should provide for every citizen in this country.  We have the capacity, and no one should be homeless or hungry.  However, there ain’t no such thing as a free ride.  If you want to address all the complaints of free loading, you introduce a work requirement and change how the support is delivered.

We need to work toward a new program where every able bodied person contributes something to the system for the aid.  Eventually I see this system becoming support mainly for young people making the transition to independent living.  But I believe the ideas will work well for much of our present population.

10 hours a week of some productive contribution will get you 3 hots and a cot.  We give this to the prison population for nothing, so I think we can extend it further.

And it’s literally just 3 hots and a cot.  I envision the cot being something like a coffin hotel; a foam floored space that’s big enough to lay flat in and sit up straight.  I’d design them with shelves and compartments built into the wall and provide a networked computer.  They’d be comfortable enough, but not too comfortable.

These would be housed in dorm style facilities.  The three hots would be severed in a cafeteria.  All food severed would meet basic nutritional requirements.  (New guidelines would stipulate that all material and supplies would be American made and obtained locally as much as possible.  Contracts would favor smaller business.)  Medical care would be provided on site (By doctors and medical students working off their public service.)  Child care would be provided through the schools.  Much like dorms there would be facilities for printing and other business services, and there would be an organized program of entertainment and events.  There would be public spaces provided both in door and out door.

I believe that such a facility would work equally well for students, people struggling to get back on their feet, and the differently abled in our society.

15 hours of service will get you a 12x12 room with a private bathroom.

20 hours gets the 12x12 with one small bedroom.

These would still be housed in dorm style complexes, and meals would still be in a cafeteria.  Accommodation in these complexes would also be available on a for rent bases with reasonable rates.

The people staying in these arrangements would be employed supporting the complexes.  Jobs would be assigned, with an effort to place people in work they would enjoy.  Somebody who hates kids wouldn’t be placed in the daycare.  As time goes on these complexes would maintain gardens.  People in this system would also take up things like picking up trash on the streets and along the highway.  We could start containing and recycling the trash that is blowing around our landscape.  We could use these civilian cores as a means to clean up and recover the inner cities.  Develop job training programs for construction and carpentry and maintenance with an emphasis on developing a sustainable life style.

It’s a way to clean up our streets, in more ways than one.

And I hear many of you groaning about how to control all this…

For now I can see this being controlled by a board made up of residents, contributors, and officials.  Surely some of the dorms that are already out there have regs that can be adapted.  But I'd keep it minimal, and the room is a private space, no surveillance allowed.  Everyone has a right to some privacy, weather we like it or not.

Cuz, I for one, don’t care that there are some slackers that will work their ten hours a week and then loaf the rest of the time.  Personally, I don’t care if they work their ten hours and spend the rest of their time zoned on their drug of choice.  If that makes them happy, so be it.  As long as they show up and do the work, they get the three hots and a cot.  Keeping the required number of hours fairly low, gives those with the ambition to find other employment, or pursue some other goal, the opportunity to do so.  This would be a major aid to the artistic community and also a pulse for scholarly pursuits.

Along with this I’d make education and basic job training non-profit.  Education through the doctorate level should be free, with the requirement that the student perform public service in exchange for the degree.

And only those that make the grades advance to the next level.  If you can’t maintain at least a C average, you don’t get the education.  Combine this with job training programs and apprenticeships, acknowledge that all work is respectable, regardless of what it is, and let people find the best place for themselves.

I have a very wise and intelligent friend that regrets the fact she choose collage over beauty school.  Maybe in a better system she would have chosen differently.

I think we need to scale some of modern life back, to build a network of smaller communities, to simplify and live local.  I would love to be able to walk to the corner shops and buy what I need for dinner tonight, fresh and cheap.  I think life would be better with a resurgence of main street, small farms, and mom & pop stores.

But, I think I’m done with thinking for now.

Cuz day light’s burning and there’s stuff I need to do…..

Movie review: The Great Race

Year:1965
Director: Blake Edwards
Country: USA
Studio: WB
Run Time:160m

Stars:  Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, Natalie Wood, Peter Falk, Keenan Wynn

Melodramatic adventure at its best! 

The Great  Race is pure melodrama in the true sense.  There's a villain, Jack Lemmon as Professor Fate, Tony Curtis is the dashing, manly hero The Great Leslie, and Natalie Wood, as Maggie Dubois, is the emancipated damsel, who won't give in to distress.  Set these characters in a colorful 1900's back drop and you have the makings of classic comedy.  From the slap stick interactions of Professor Fate and his henchman Max, effortlessly handled by Peter Falk (10 years before he hit it big with Colombo) to clever word play, it's all there.

This movie would be on my desert island list. As many times as I've seen it, it's still fresh, funny, and entertaining.
And, for me, that's saying something.  Cuz I can't really remember the first time I saw it.  This is one of those movies I must have seen for the first time when I was very young.  It's always been there for me.  It's always been a movie I was re-watching.
And I've re-watched it many times.  Staying up late on a summer night to catch it on the late show back in the days when stations left the air at the end of the programing day.  Renting it on VHS on movie nights.  Getting a copy of it on DVD.



The costumes and sets are beautiful.  The music is enjoyable.  It's funny.
It's got the largest pie fight ever staged.  How can you go wrong?
Natalie Wood is wonderful and gorgeous as Maggie Dubois.  One of my all time favorite scenes is her entrance into the film, handcuffed to the door of the men's room.  Tony Curtis is the perfect clean-cut, all American hero.  Jack Lemmon plays Prof. Fate with just the right amount of sinister panache.  Falk as the put upon Max is my favorite.  Arthur O'Connell is excellent as the hapless editor.  Vivian Vance is delightful as his suffragette wife.  Larry Storch, of F Troop fame, does a funny turn as a bandit.
When my 13 year old friend said she wanted to see an adventure comedy this was the first movie I thought of.  She stayed with me yesterday while her parents were out and about and we hung out with the animals, ate junk food, and watched movies.  It was a great day!
And I'm happy to say she enjoyed it as much as I did.  This movie holds up well.  If you're looking for a fun, clean movie for family night I would recommend The Great Race.  If you're looking to relax and have a good laugh, this is your movie.



With Tony Curtis and Natalie Wood this movie gets extra points for eye candy for all sexes.

Grid jumping…

I have declared my intention of getting off The Grid, or TG for short.

So what I want to do is go OTG.

But I’m not bugging out anytime soon…

So, what can we do to subvert TG?

Awhile back I started recycling.  It’s not much but it is something.  Over half of what I throw away goes in the recycling.  I reuse things when I can, got some ideas for remaking a few things.  A lot less of what I waste is going into a landfill.  I compost most all scraps.  Either that or I feed them to the dogs.

And the compost helps the garden, which I really need to think about.

Which leads into the next step I’m taking in my subversion therapy, food. 

We all need to start thinking about how to provide for ourselves.  One of your largest expenditures is food.  Imagine all the money to be saved.   Ideally, to really go OTG, is to grow your own.  I do plant a garden every summer.  Last year between the heat and the tree, it didn’t produce much, but I did get enough for a few salads.  The ideal is for the garden to pay for itself.  One of the things to think about is planting enough so you have some for sale or trade.

Which leads me to another thought on how to subvert TG, cottage industry.

If you are so inclined you could plant a large garden and sell the veggies right out of the ground.

Or sell home canned goods.

If you can knit a good pair of socks or a blanket.  Consider turning that into something more.

And that leads into another step in changing the game.  I’m trying to shop local.  Ideally we need to shop as far down the food chain as possible.

If we really want to see the game change WE NEED TO STOP SHOPPING AT WALMART!!

I avoid giving Walmart money at every opportunity.

And even I’m not totally clean.  I’m in Walmart all the time for work and I have spent money there in the last month.  But I’m trying to stop….

I need to start getting to the Soulard more often.

I’ve started buying my meat from a local butcher shop.  I will shop at the farmers market just outside of town, when they open.  I go to K-mart or Dollar General for non grocery items.  I’m making plans with a couple of friends to drop more money at Costco.   I would love to go buy half a cow, but I don’t have the freezer for it.  If I could find someone local who made a decent pair of socks, I’d pay a little more for them….

Unfortunately, I do a lot of driving for work and still haven’t found a way to stop giving money to the oil companies.  I would love to get a smart car or a mini, or a Prius.  But I don’t make that kind of money.

Would love to put in wood burning heat and solar power, which is another way we could all go OTG, if you’ve got the money, or the know-how and the ability.

But I’m lacking in all of that, for right now.

Well tomorrow is another day, and need to get some sleep.