hand sewing

This is the season where I seem to have a lot of birthdays.  Or maybe it is better said that I have birthdays where I wish to deliver more then a card or flowers.  Since what most of what I have been working on is gifts, I cannot show the pictures until the end products are delivered.

I also have this tendency to plan more then I have actual time for.  Especially when Koda Bear is about.  But that is life.  I will make sure all parts of the presents are delivered but it might take until Christmas!  Then I start this all over again.

I have been dealing with first world problems this last week.  The internet to the house went down and I figured out a way to get around that today.  But it is very much a first world problem because I could have gone to the library.  I do not like to leave the house most of the time and it would have felt like there were too many people about.  And since my ant bites, my lungs have felt very congested.  It makes every bit harder.

There has been a snap decision made and adventuring is going to happen.  Starting tomorrow!  There is usually more planning in my life but that is not the norm this summer.  Everything seems very spur of the moment.  It is a nice place to be actually.  To have the luxury.  

So . . .  off to the mountain we go.  Maybe I can thrift some wool threads to fix a sweater.  Boyos will be around but not me.  I am also planning on bring back fir branches to play with dye.  I might just have room in the vehicle on the way back.  Who knows though!  

heritage grains

It has been an interesting week.  Boyos went camping but then Koda Bear ended up not feeling well.  Not feeling well with a low grade fever and just wanting to be held.  I do not mind all the cuddling but it does mean not much gets done. 

My garden is swamped in weeds after being gone, heat, and rain.  While pulling weeds, I found an ant bead and was bitten multiple times.  This should not be a big deal.  Yes, ant bites hurt.  Burn.  The problem is I have been bitten too many times and my body is reacting very badly.  My hands and feet are badly swollen, I got dopey, and my throat tightened.  I do try to be careful but I did not even see the pile until after I had been bitten.  The rest of my day was taking care of my bodies reaction.

Days like these just make me wish to bake bread.  But I bought flours from heritage grains recently and one of the flours is being troublesome.  It absorbs a lot of water after the dough is mixed.  It is a Sonora White whole wheat flour.  The Red Fife whole wheat did not react the same way.  I have add to rely  more on measurements then feel.  I do find letting all the liquid and just the Sonora flour rise together for a few hours does help.  

Bread baking is one of my meditation spaces, healing spaces so this has been very hard on me.  

But I am getting there.  I have been relying more on weights and technique then feel.  But that is what you have to do sometimes, go backwards to go forward.  

Especially when you are fulfilling a request.  Every week I am currently making a loaf of oatmeal bread (which also needed tweaking with the new flours) and a loaf of cranberry walnut bread.  The cranberry walnut bread is not a sweet quick bread but a yeasted loaf.  Not cake.  A loaf that has not sugar except what is in the cranberries.  

It is based off a loaf I purchased from Barrio Bread.  A bakery that is only 1100 miles away from one home, 1500 miles from the other.  Another spot I cannot get to every week.  Where Koda Bear asked, "Grandma, can you make this?" from the back seat of the car while adventuring.  He was eating the loaf.

Since I am not a sandwich person, I do not eat this bread on sandwiches.  But I eat it on and with everything else.  I do use it for open face sandwiches.  Salmon and cheese on top.  Or just cheese.  I like it as toast and with my eggs.  It is just a good bread.  It also satisfies the craving for sweet at times.

What I make is denser the Barrio Bread's.  Mostly because I put more walnuts and cranberries in it.  I like it!

cranberry walnut bread

sourdough starter

100 grams water

100 grams whole wheat flour

350 grams water

300 grams white whole wheat flour (or just all purpose white flour work here as well)

20 grams salt

200 grams whole wheat flour

130 grams cranberries (these can be chopped if you wish)

65 grams chopped walnuts

A bit of extra flour for folding

In a large bowl, mix the sourdough starter, 100 grams water, and 100 grams whole wheat flour together.  Cover and let sit overnight or for ten to fourteen hours.  Eight works too.

The next day, set a bit of the starter aside for next time.

Mix in 350 grams of water.  Mix in 300 grams of white whole wheat flour.  Cover and let sit for a couple hours.  This is where I am using the Sorona flour which absorbs a lot of water but I find it works with any flour.

After the dough has sat for a couple hours, it should be bubbly.  Mix in the salt.  Mix in about 150 grams of the remaining flour.  Dust a clean surface with the rest of the flour and knead the dough until smooth.  Cover and let sit for about an hour.   I usually put the dough in a bowl.

After the hour is up, flatten the dough.  Fold a long edge a third of the way across the dough.  Fold the other long edge across the dough that has been already folded over.  Fold one short end into the center.  Fold the other short end into the center.  Fold the dough into itself along that crease.  You should have a squat cube.  Set in a bowl, cover, and let rest for an hour.

Do this flattening again.

After the previous wait, flatten the dough.  Spread the cranberries on it.  Fold the long edges in.  Knead the dough up into a roll.  I sometimes divide the cranberries into a couple of groups and do this with each group.  Add the walnuts in the same way.  In the end, of the dough in a rough ball.  Let sit for another hour.

After the dough sits for another hour, flatten again.  Put in a plastic bag with lots of room.  Put it in the refrigerator overnight.

The next day, take the pan or pot you will back in and line with parchment paper.  I have been using a vintage cast iron porridge pot.

Take the dough from the refrigerator.  Shape into a better ball or a loaf shape if you can.  Put it into your pan or pot.  Cover.  Let rise until there is not spring back when you push your finger into it.  

Put the pot into the oven.  Turn the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Bake for one hour.

The loaf should sound hollow when it is done.

If you can, wait until the bread has cooled before you cut into it.

I have prettier pictures but this crazy little loaf called to me.  There are also pictures of slices other places but this is about what I could do today.  And eat bread.  I can eat toast and tea today.  Even with all the strangeness, life is good.

Thick bread with stuff on top

I have said it in this space before that I really do not like much pizza.  I like the pizza I make.  So there was much surpise when I suggested pizza for lunch out in Bellingham.  The novelty made it happen.  

Goat Mountain Pizza.  Pizza is bought by the pound so you can have as little or as much as you wish.  The toppings are not what most people think as traditional but they are what I like.  It is a thick crust, similar to a foccacia, pizza.  It is good bread with stuff on top which is my best type of pizza.  

Since most of my life I cannot just run to downtown Bellingham for pizza, I made some at home.  This is the type of pizza for me which means I could eat pizza once a week or more.  In the shop, I had potato and bacon, and walnut, carmelized onions, and stilton.  I did a combination of the two but may figure the walnut one out just by itself.  I am also thinking the carnitas pizza could be an interesting experiment even though I did not try that one.

Again, simply good bread with stuff on top.

potato, bacon, and carmelized onion pizza

one recipe of foccacia dough (just the dough portion of this recipe, no fruit.  a plain dough)

one potato, washed and thinly sliced.  I used a Yukon gold.

one onion, peeled and sliced

two slices of thick cut bacon, diced

4 ounces of hard mozzarella, grated

pepper

olive oil

Start the dough at least six hours before you wish to eat.

An hour and half before eating, line a quarter sheet pan with parchment paper.  Press in the dough and let rise for an hour (or more).

In a cast iron skillet, heat the olive oil over low heat.  Add the onion.  Sauté gently until carmelized.  This should take about 20 or 30 minutes to have a true carmelization happening.  

Put the sliced potato in a bowl.  Drizzle with a bit of olive oil.  Sprinkle with a pinch of pepper.  Toss until the potatoes are well coated.  Set aside.

In another cast iron pan, about ten minutes before the onions are ready, put the diced bacon.  Cook until brown.  

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

When the dough has risen, sprinkle with the carmelized onion.  Sprinkle with the cheese.  Lay the potatoes over it.  Sprinkle the bacon over all.

Put the pizza in the oven and back for 30 to 40 minutes.  Until the edges are brown and the potatoes are to your favorite doneness.  That potato doneness can be debated I have learned.

Let the pizza cool for five minutes.  Remove from the pan.  Cut and serve.

It was lovely!  I have been wanting more since which is just not me.

Lots of maintenance

The rest of our trip did not go as planned.  We were planning to go up to the mountain.  Do maintenance.  Hang out.  See our neighbors.  

My parents had a tree down.  Since my Dad had two knee replacements last year, the idea of him trying to take the tree out with a bow saw was not very appealing.  We ran up to our property and picked up a chain saw.  The next day we got to doing cleanup.

The tree was bigger then was thought.  Can I say the right size chain saw always seems to be on the wrong coast.

I got to clearing out paths.  Something else that did not happen while my Dad was recovering.  I found another downed tree.  It was much smaller.  I also felt like I was going a bit clipper happy but I got bit by too many salmon berries.  Anything could bite me, especially in the head, was gone!

Five hours later, my parents back yard was cleaned up.  It is actually a designated wild space so eagle and deer can have a bit of a habitat as houses go up in the area.  I do not use that movement every day so I was a bit tired at the end of it.

The next day, we went back to the mountain and did the same thing there.  Except in the rain.  I have whacked back so many salmon berries!  I also trimmed trees so vehicles could go up and down our road easier.  I have been threatening for two years to get another pair of muck boots and I did in Minnesota.  Can I say, best decision ever!  No sales tax and a breathable lining.  After ten hours in two days, I was very happy for both.

In Bellingham, I hit up the non-profit thrift store I like.  They thrift fabric.  Between them and the coupons I had at the quilt store in Snohomish, I came back with a lot of fabric for my quilts.  I did not go to the quilt store I like in Bellingham but that was probably a very good thing.

Back on the road happened.  It was much too soon for my liking.  We had to take the long way back because Koda Bear was coming back with us.  He is only here for a short time this time which always makes me a bit sad.

I will say after this trip, Houston home does not feel very right.  I even feel a bit displaced inside my workspaces.  It will get better.

North Dakota

The last week and a half have been interesting.  We went to Gilby, North Dakota to intern my Uncle's ashes.  Our family is such that it has taken two years so it was more like a reunion.  Not the best reason for a reunion but a reason.  

Because of that, we did spend a lot of time in cemetaries.  The Prespytarian church was kind enough to open their doors for us.  The family brought a lot of pictures to share and my Dad brought his candies.  He was told it felt like Christmas by cousins.  

We drove by the house where my Grandmother and Grandfather lived.  One of the sets of stairs I fell down when I was very small.  I may have traumatized cousins since I have heard the stories from both.

A cousin lives in the house my Great Grandfather built and was kind enough to let us all tramp through.  They did a wonderful job of renovation after my two bachelor great Uncles lived in it for years.  I do not like large homes and this is a large home but it is the first large home that has appealed to me.  The spaces are just cozy.  My Great Grandfather's family was a family of twelve.  But you can tell we are all related.  The house was built in 1917 and the bedrooms have closets.  It seems to be a genetic trait to think about storage.

I would have to say that I took more pictures of the peonies in the cemetaries then family.  I love peonies and they do not grow where I live in Texas.  They do grow in Gilby.  I had a cousin who wished to stay the whole summer there.  I do not blame him at all!

I do have to say that it was a beautiful area.  We actually camped in East Grand Forks which is in Minnesota.  We right on the river and took walks.  It was just a lovely time with family.

We drove my Dad home.  He asked to stop in Fargo, North Dakota because my Great Great Uncle Guv's drugstore has been moved there.  The sign is still up on Main Street in Gilby but this is his drugstore Bonanzaville Pioneer Village.  Those benches in back?  I have had ice cream sundaes at.  My favorite was his black and white.  One scoop of vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce and one scoop of chocolate ice cream with marshmallow sauce.  So good.  I used to buy candy for the right side of the shop and that register was used.  It is so strange to have childhood memories sitting in a museum setting.  Because to me this is life, not history.  Not pioneer!

The drive back to my parent's was uneventful.  We did stop and look over the Badlands.  We stopped and saw friends.  It is interesting to drive with my Dad because he has been back and forth over this region a lot.  There were many stories.  And there was much laughter with friends.  It was a good trip but it was just a portion of the trip.  Being back seems very strange!