Accidental Sour Dough Bread

The most wonderful bread popped out of my oven this morning.  While admitting to having a hormonally challenged day on Monday, I made a batch of bread and forgot to add the yeast.  I discovered this when, after two hours, the dough hadn't expanded in the teeniest bit.  Not wanting to throw it in the trash, I decided to kneed in the missing yeast.  I gave the dough a good buttering and covered the bowl with a (recycled) plastic bag AND a dish towel.  It sat all yesterday ever so slowly expanding.  I think I punched it down once or twice.  By bedtime (Tuesday) .. it was a nice height .. but I forgot/ran out of time to bake the bread.  Early this morning (deranged and lacking sleep) I divided the dough in two rounds and set it for a final rise.   Heaven .. it gave off the most nutty rich sourdough scent to my entire house.  The bread has that sheen that a good commercial loaf is famous for.  This may be my new easy method of making sourdough bread .. without having to mess with a starter (only next time I won't be getting up in the middle of the night to bake it).

Keeping A Food Supply

I'm having a hard time using the veggies I've stored away in the freezer and pantry while it's still summer.  Not wanting to 'run out' of supplies this winter before it even turns cold, this week I'm going to use up ALL of the zucchini from the garden, finish up our lettuce and start picking some more green cabbage.  Sorry corn and green beans .. you'll just have to wait a few more months!

This weekend I made a big batch of beef stock by roasting bare bones cut in two inch pieces in a moderately hot oven (400F) for two hours.  Then simmering with carrots, onions and celery for an hour .. then sticking the whole pot in the oven at 225F overnight.  It makes the richest brown broth for French onion soup and for added flavor to gravies.  I have stored it in the freezer in 3 cup units. 

We are already running low on pickles .. when my kids come home for a visit .. that's the first thing they ask for .. after a hug from mom.

Beef Stock Recipe
Benefits of Broth

Fast Forward Two Years In The Garden

Spring 2009

Spring 2010

Fall 2010

Spring 2011

May 2011

May 2011

July 2011

 A quick trip in pictures watching the garden develop from primitive to ordered.  It has filled out even more beautifully with lots of flowers.  Will post more pics when my computer is fixed.

Back To School Shopping ...

... on a budget.

Our youngest son Nathan (the possessor of an extra chromosome) heads back to school on Tuesday.  We put off buying his new shoes and clothes due to time restraints until today.  He's is and is not picky about clothes; insisting on wearing what he calls 'soft pants' (LOL).  Basically anything with a stretchy waist .. no snaps or zippers.  I suppose having as many abdominal surgeries as he's had (about 10) .. entitles him to wear only 'soft pants'.  Now my little four year old grandson insists on only wearing 'soft pants' ... it's rather a crack up how he imitates his big uncle .. and probably a little worrisome to his mother ;)    Uncle and nephew play together several days a week .. they shall be good life long companions.

We set aside $75 a month for clothes for our family of three.  This seems to be a good amount as we are not one to shop for labels.  Nathan's shoes were on sale .. and his pants were $5/ea.  He picked out three new character t-shirts and two packages of socks.  He often gets gift cards for Walmart .. so this helped.  My total for the outing was about $60 .. plus he had a little to spend on a gift card.  Thankfully he has a closet full of other shirts to add variety to his wardrobe.  We'll send him to school with the same backpack as last year.

Nathan ... a few years ago

I don't know how I shopped when all four kids lived at home .. but I do remember setting aside a limit and if they insisted on certain 'brands' that were out of our budget, they had to earn the extra money. 

$75 a month ads up quickly when you shop only a few times a year for clothing and shoes.  Sometimes we even pick up new and almost new items at garage sales and thrift stores.  What's your best money saving tip for clothes shopping?

I've Cooled Down .. a bit

Mrs. Mac Cooling Off .. in a little bit of powder ;)

The weather turned a nice temp .. we got some rain .. I took a few days off from my break-neck pace .. and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel (sorta .. tomatoes are ripening up;).  My computer is REALLY acting up now and not allowing me to transfer any pictures from the camera .. says I'm not the administrator .. which is a lie ;(  but I can't talk any sense into the hard drive/memory.  About ready to get a new one .. (again).

Today was budget day.  That means I work out a budget for the whole month and spend on paper all the money at one time .. ending with zero money.  I have so many categories and cash envelopes .. it's hard to mess up or omit something.  Doing this helps to have the money already set aside in the bank when the bills arrive .. say for example life or car insurance.  By setting aside 1/6th of a semi-annual payment each month..  I can pay for it in full and save a little by not having to make installments.   I LOVE/LIKE budgeting because it really makes a person think twice before buying something if it's not allocated ... makes saying NO much easier :)

We just bought our quarter of beef for the year .. this was budgeted and made it less painful to fork over a large chunk of money since we had been saving for a long time.  In this economy, living without a budget would be scary.  If I could go back in time .. I'd do a better job of teaching my kids how to budget; not all of them got the benefit of seeing and living through a written spending plan.

Well .. if I need to buy a new laptop .. or at minimum get this one fixed, I'd better start setting aside some funds. 

I'm Nearing The Breaking Point ...

Every summer arrives with it's own workload .. and now that the workload is here, I'm dreaming about cool autumn days .. no lawn care .. no canning .. just lazing about for a few months.  Anyone else at the breaking point?  Here's to taking a break tomorrow and heading to the park, stopping for a cool drink at our favorite coffee house, shopping for school shoes and kicking back for awhile. 

Hoping to See ..

... a sea of red soon.

Yesterday I was watering the garden .. a 'chore' I enjoy doing by hand.  I had hopes of setting up a sprinkler system .. maybe another year .. but for now .. hand watering affords a better look-see at what's doing well and what needs to be pulled out of the garden on a more frequent basis.  And .. I spied a few tomatoes turning red!  So excited as the last two summers we've only had green ones picked just prior to the first frost.  Seems our oh so wet dreary spring has turned into a hot dry summer which has been good for the peppers and tomatoes.

Food Memories

equals = fond memories

Growing up we would trek across the country each summer landing smack dab in farming areas in Illinois and Nebraska.  We'd visit aunts and uncles (mostly great aunts and uncles) that still lived on big old farms.  One family raised hogs; the clinking of their feeders all night as I slept in a much too small youth bed in a guest room was quite interesting.  Pigs smell .. I remember that!  Another family had barn cats .. I would follow around with delight.  And, another family taught me how to milk a cow .. and eat farm fresh chicken for dinner .. ones that I'd been playing with in the yard earlier that day.  It seemed these families knew how to eat .. and eat well.  To remember the taste of just picked corn, pork roast, watermelon rind pickles, and everything made from food grown on the farms .. had quite an impact on my developing taste buds.  Then back to reality I'd go .. home and we'd have a typical 1970's style dinner of canned veggies and often noodles from a box with a sauce mix.  Maybe steak a few times a year (not very often) .. It was these early trips each summer that gave me the passion to develop my homemaking skills and learn how to try and replicate GREAT food.

With a little practice, a person can make healthy tasting meals with fresh ingredients grown in the backyard .. or picked up at the local farm.  Buying in season, in bulk, and learning how to store food for winter .. can all be achieved with practice .. one step at a time.  I recently read that it takes about ten years to learn the necessary skills to become more self sufficient.  Skills our not so distant ancestors knew how to perform as second nature can be nurtured with a little practice.  I wouldn't want to have to become totally reliant on my 'skills' to provide every need for my family.  But .. learning some gardening or cooking skills just makes good sense.  I've got my grandson with me three days a week.  You can bet I am nurturing his love for the garden by having him by my side as much as possible.  Last week he insisted eating a just pulled carrot like a bunny .. and even gnawed on it with his front teeth.  He will know where some of his food comes from .. and that is a step in the right direction.  Here's a quick little story about 'Growing Your Own Food: it's not elitist or impossible" .. enjoy  

Tomato, Tomato, Tomato

a previous year's harvest at TTGH

I'm eying my 30-40 tomato plants with great anticipation of a bumper crop come harvest time!  They are ALL still green .. but plumping up nicely.  Oh .. and the aroma of tomato leaves as you brush up against the plants .. well .. intoxicating.  Of course, this means a few 'mean' days of kitchen work canning and freezing are in order.  The saving grace of all the hard work done each summer is the anticipation of sitting back and enjoying the changing of the seasons.  Well .. I'm not quite done with summer .. but soon. 

Summer Goodness

... At The Thrifty Garden Home

Yesterday was a 'work hard in the yard' day.  Every so often we need to get control of summer growth .. read weeds .. and take a string trimmer to the landscape.  Every muscle aches and yet feels sort of good after the workout.  My mind is ever 'expanding' the garden space and making mental notes for next year (which should be written down .. and soon .. lest I forget).  The strawberry bed is taking up too much precious ground inside the fenced garden area.  I'm hoping to develop a new home for the plants.  I have my eye on an area to grow corn that gets long hours of sunlight each day.   Soon we should have tomatoes coming out of our ears from the 30 or so plants in our 'square foot garden' area .. it's amazing how tall they can grow if given a chance and a good sturdy trellis.  Every year our garden grows a little bit .. and we become better at tending it.

I love when the birds 'plant' giant sunflowers :)

Hopes for next year (read, 'what failed this year;): 

• Grow more cucumbers (find out what I'm doing wrong .. only one plant survived)
• Plant twice as many green beans (so I don't have to buy any from the farm to can)
• Add more soil to my deeper raised beds .. the sides cast shadows and cause some areas to have stunted growth
• Plant more peas (read .. enough to freeze once they're shelled as most get eaten while I'm working in the garden)
• Plant onions in the old garden .. they failed miserably in the raised beds
• Amend the raised beds to include a little clay for better water retention .. or mulch heavily with straw

A bumper crop of good sized heads of cabbage

Triumphs this year:

•   Green beans
•   Tomatoes (crossing fingers)
•   Raspberries
•   Strawberries
•   Greens
•   Celery
•   Herbs
•   Pumpkins & squash (a triumph because we don't have zucchini coming out of our ears;)
  
•   Peppers (still a work in progress)
•   Cabbage
•   Not a record .. but we have potatoes
•   Assortment of flowers to attract bees .. and the chipmunks didn't eat all of the gladiola bulbs :)

What's thriving (or failing) in your garden?