the pasta from yesterday

The pasta from yesterday is stupidly simple but a bit of work and patience.  It really stands up well to the richness of the venison ragu.

Pasta

2 cups flour

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon (with the possibility of more) water

Put the flour and water in a bowl and mix.  Knead until smooth, about ten minutes.  Let rest at least 30 minutes (this is vital!).

Roll out and shape into the past you wish.  I wanted noodles so that is what I did.  Bring a pot of water to boil, with a teaspoon or two of salt add.  Drop in the pasta and cook until al dente.

Yumminess with the sauce!  This is my go to pasta recipe for meat sauces now.

venison rib ragu

My Beloved went hunting between Christmas and New Years.  He and the two boys he went with came back with two deer, two wild hogs, one jackrabbit, and multiple chukar ( a type of bird).  They split the hunt up between them.  We got part of the venison ribs.  I had just come across a recipe for a rib sauce using pork and decided to try it with the venison.

Rib Sauce

2 pounds ribs (here I am using vension)

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 garlic cloves smashed and halved

1 1/2 plus teaspoons salt

28 ounce can fire roasted whole tomatoes

8 - 10 basil leaves

1 cup wine

1/8 teaspoon ground chipolte

1/8 teaspoon ground ancho

In a large dutch oven over medium heat, put in the oil and let heat.  Add the ribs and let brown.  Throw in the garlic, salt, chipolte, and ancho and mix into the oil with the drippings.  Add the tomatoes and mush them up in your hands as you add them.  You do not want whole tomatoes in this but you get a better canned tomato if you buy whole canned tomatoes instead of crushed.

This is how it will look before you add the wine.  Not very rich looking.  If you do not wish to add wine, add 1 cup of vegetable broth and just cook gently over a low heat until it is the right consistency for pasta.

Or add the cup of wine and let simmer.  Cook over a low heat until the meat falls right off the bones.

This is a picture of when I had not simmered some of the water off.  You can simmer some of the water off and make it even richer.  I pulled the bones out and the meat fell right off so we could not have the ribs as a second course.

Instead, the bones went to Bandit, the tall short person's dog, and we had a lovely rib sauce over homemade noodles.  The noodles were not made with eggs (tomorrow, I promise) and I really thought that helped.  All I know was there was not much left in the pot when all was said and done!

bread and company

If you could not tell, the last couple weeks at work have been crazy.  We had friends over to dinner last night, twelve in all.

It was a simple meal of lasagna and bread, salad and cookies.  There was homemade soda and wine for any one who wished it.  Friends brought the salad, cookies, and wine and I made the rest.  I can feed twelve for close to $20 range.  A lot of it is about patience.  And the healing laughter as well.

Some of the teasing was that I used the small pan.  No one every believes the size of the large pan until they see it!  But there was not teasing about the bread.  Three loaves disappeared.  It was a simple Italian that I found in the cookbook My Calabria by Rosetta Costantino.  I tweaked it a bit.  I did not use their starter but used my sourdough starter and I changed the baking a bit.  And the raising temperatures and times.  My Beloved would call this I changed it a lot.  Fairly normal.  Recipes are just blueprints.....

Italian bread

Sourdough starter (starter, 1 cup flour, 1 cup water.  Let sit 8 hours.  Take out two to four tablespoons for next time)

3 pounds flour

8 teaspoons sea salt

3 3/4 cup water

In a very large bowl, refresh  your starter.  Make sure to take out some for next time before you get started with the rest of this.

Measure in the water, flour, and salt and start stirring.  This dough becomes very thick so you will need to put your hands it and start kneading.  You do not wish to add anymore flour or water.  This will be very soft, or what is know as wet.

You wish to knead this until all the flour is mixed in and the dough is very smooth.  I never take it out my bowl which tells you how big the bowl needs to be and how wet the dough is!

Now, I let this next stage take about eight to ten hours in about 55 to 65 degrees temperature.  I covered the dough and let it have a nice cold slow rise.  The recipe called for a warmer faster rise of 2 1/2 to 3 hours.  This gives you an idea of the leeway you have with bread dough.  Just ask my Beloved.  He is always so surprised.

When the dough has doubled (slooowwwwlllyyy!!! please!), shape into three loaves.  I put them on floured baking stones at this point and covered them again.  I let them rise slowly one more time for another cold slow rise.  Just six hours this time.  A little faster.

Preheat the oven at 500 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes.  Put the bread in.  Lower the temperature to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.  Bake for 15 minutes.  Lower the temperature on more time to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.  Bake for 35 minutes.  This gives the artisanal crust.

But if you are like my family and like a softer crust, put the loaves in a 350 degree oven and bake for 1 hour.  You want a golden crust but the crust is softer.

If you can, wait twenty minutes before cutting.  The bread will be just that much better.  But do please notice, I said if you can!  Twelve people, with other yumminess in front of them, went through three loaves with maybe three slices leftover.

Patience is the key!

The pictures are actually from two different batches.  The bread with the candles is what got eaten.  I think people thought they went to heaven!

and how is the weaving going?

Working is interesting currently.  Because of decisions that have been made, you can see the train wreck that is coming but there is no real place to hide.   I need a place of peace.  

This my workspace after work.  Candles.  A small rug to sit on.  A cup of tea.  Weaving to work.  I wove until the sun went down.  The candles are lit for peace and to keep the misquotes from carrying me away.  I am finding the weaving very restful.  Yes, I have learned much and I have much to learn.  It is not perfect but is alright.  

I can see all the pieces that make this task successful that I do not see at work often enough.  A plan is put in place.  Adequate resources are acquired.  A process is followed.  The process does not change midflow but continues to the end.  You analyze the process as you go along and see if you can make changes to improve it.  Then look at the end result and decide how you need to change it for next time.

 

Many more rows to go and many more learnings but it makes me happy.

I caved

My Beloved asked for handmade socks.  I tried crocheting them but I was just not pleased.  I took the yarn down to the weaving/spinning/knitting/crocheting store I like and got knitting needles.  Yes, you heard right. Knitting.  Ugh!

The last time I knitted was when my tall short person was not even born yet.  It just has never appealed to me and I have found it extremely frustrating in the past.  But crocheted socks just do not make the grade.

I did have to laugh at myself when the kind lady pulled out the 2 to 3 double pointed needles to match the yarn I had.  I am always making a challenge for myself, am I not?  It is Cascade Yarns' Heritage sock yarn in a dark green.  It is very fine, almost a lace weight.  As a beginning yarn, not what I would suggest!  This is why I laughed at myself.  I do appreciate the wooden needles though!  I always use wooden crochet hooks anymore.

I pulled out my copy of Elizabeth Zimmerman's Knitting Workshop for guidance, watched a few videos on the internet, and got started.  And you know what?

It has not gone too badly.  I have ribbing (I am working on a ribbed sock pattern).  I will not say it is perfect, or even pretty, but after over twenty five years, not too bad.  I even dropped a few stitches and was able to repair them.  It is a good thing I was crocheting with this yarn first!

And I did not get as frustrated as I did last time.  Maybe time was just needed.