Abundance

Restful Afternoon

After a busy morning and early afternoon, it's time to take a break and curl up on the loveseat under the ceiling fan with a tall glass of mango iced tea and work on my smocking.

Tonight's menu:

Grilled chicken with pineapple salsa; spinach salad; creamy parmesan rice (www.hillbillyhousewife.com); and fresh strawberries with homemade yogurt and pecan praline granola.

Off to stitch ...

E

Saturday around the house ...

While there is always much to be done around the house, today will be especially busy.  There is a need to reorganize and straighten out the guest room (also sewing/craft room), since I always seem to be in the midst of several projects at one time, for company tonight and, as well, because our beautiful seven-year-old niece will be coming up (next Saturday!) to stay with us for two weeks.  In addition, I need to make a fresh sweet pea salad for dinner tonight.  The boys (DH and DS) are out this morning for a round of golf and will be picking up a real treat for dinner:  steak!  We don't eat a lot of red meat simply because we prefer fish and poultry so having grilled steak is definitely a summertime treat for us.  The menu for dinner is grilled steak and potatoes (baked on the grill) with some sautéed mushrooms and onions, fresh sweet pea salad and a fresh-picked garden salad (both red and green romaine, some curly seeded Simpson and fresh baby spinach, along with some radishes).  I'm also baking today; some bread (three two-pound loaves and a dozen rolls) and Horsewoman's apricot muffins.  Thanks GP!  I love fresh apricots but can't seem to get them all eaten before they turn on me … Horsewoman's solution was sheer perfection!  When we went to the farm market last night, we picked up 12 pounds of local apricots (some for muffins; some for jam; and a few just for eatin') and 10 pounds of strawberries (for dessert tonight -- we like our strawberries topped with some homemade yogurt and still-warm-from-the-oven granola -- and some for jam).  It's wonderful to be able to pick up reasonably priced, fresh, in season fruit.  Hopefully we'll one day have enough room for our own fruits and not just veggies. 

Since it's supposed to be a really hot and muggy weekend, I got an early start in the kitchen today and, tomorrow, I can just throw some pork in the Crockpot for pulled pork sandwiches for dinner tomorrow night, leaving me time both before and after church for more relaxing and restful pursuits (and far cooler than cooking in a hot kitchen).  Back to the kitchen for me!  Have a wonderful weekend and stay cool!

E

Baking Today

At this moment my house smells of simmering tomato sauce and baking bread.  Tonight's dinner is spaghetti and meatballs, a fresh-from-the-garden green salad (well almost green ... gotta have my radishes from the garden), and some home-baked bread.  Since today is going to be quite warm, I got an early start on making the sauce and setting the dough to rise.  All should be complete and the kitchen tidied back up by about 1 PM.

Here's one of my favorite, easy bread recipes from Beard on Bread:

1.5 Tablespoons active dry yeast

1 Tablespoon granulated sugar (I use Sucanat)

2 cups warm water (110 - 115 degrees F.)

1 Tablespoon sea salt

5 cups all-purpose flour (or hard white wheat), plus 1 cup if necessary

3 Tablespoons yellow corn meal

1 Tablespoon egg white mixed with water

Combine the yeast with sugar and warm water in a large mixing bowl and allow to proof.  Mix the salt with the flour and add to the yeast mixture, one cup at a time, until you have a stiff dough.  Remove to a lightly floured board and knead until no longer sticky (about 10 minutes), adding flour as necessary.  Place in a buttered bowl and turn to coat the surface with butter.

Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk; one and a half to two hours.

Punch down the dough.  Turn out onto a floured surface and divide dough into two equal portions.  Shape dough into two long, French bread style loaves.  Place on a baking sheet that has been sprinkled with the corn meal but not buttered.  You can also use a pan designed for making French bread.  Slash the tops of the loaves diagonally in two or three places with a single-edged razor blade or sharp knife.  Brush the loaves with the egg white wash.  At this point, I usually sprinkle some sesame seeds over the tops of the loaves. 

Place in a COLD oven, set the temperature for 400 degrees F., and bake for 35 minutes or until golden brown and hollow sounding when the tops are tapped.

Try to allow the bread to cool a bit before slathering it with butter and gobbling it all up! 

Okay, off to stir the sauce and check on the bread! 

E