Conversation with Erik: A Bath for the Fishies

Good morning,

Here's another Conversation with Erik, our almost one year old Labrador Retriever.  This time I am helping him clean the gold fish pond in our back yard garden.  Since he is not quite a year old, he hasn't done this before so this is a wonderful new experience for him.  

This picture story is especially for our six grandchildren who live near and far and everyone else who loves dogs. 

Very best,

Lois

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Conversation with Erik: A Bath for the Fishies

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Erik:  I think the fish need a bath.

 Me:  Oh?  Do you want to give the fish a bath today?

Erik:  Sure!  Looks like fun.  I just love water.

 Erik:  But this water doesn't smell like my water bowl!

Me:  No, it's time for Spring cleaning of the pond.

 Me:  It's warm enough now that it won't freeze again so we can remove the de-icer.

Erik:  Penny, would you like to help?
Penny:  No, thanks.  I've done that before.  I think I'll just sit over here in the driveway and catch some rays.

Erik:  OK, I'll just do it myself.  I'll put the siphon hose in and get rid of the old water.

Erik:  Mom, what are those?

Me:  Those are water lilies, Erik. They'll push big round leaves and  pretty flowers up through the water in a few weeks.

Erik:  The siphon is working.  The pond is emptying.  We're on a roll now!

 Erik:  Look!  The water is almost gone!

Me:  Erik, what are you going to do about those fishies?

Erik:  Uh, will you please take them out and give them a bath?

 Me:  Sure thing!  I'll be glad to help.  I'll just put the fishies in this red bucket until you finish cleaning the pond.  We better use some of this de-chlorination stuff, though, to keep the fishies comfy.

Me:  Look!  We have six already!  There are five more in there.
Erik:  Ohhhh!  May I play with them?

Me:  Uh, no.  They are busy taking a bath.

Erik:  Almost empty!

Erik:  Mom, will you scoop out that yucky stuff?
Me:  Sure, Erik, not a problem.

Erik:  Time to refill!  Clean water for the fishies!

 Erik:  It looks so clean!

Erik:  I like giving the fishies a bath!  They look so happy in there!

Me:  Good job, Erik!
Erik:  No problem.  What else can I do for you today?

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K&H Manufacturing Ultimate All-In-One Stock Tank De-Icer 1500-Watt Removable Floater Ring 

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Cardinals and Cantaloupe Seeds and Compost Bins

 Good morning,

A day or so ago, after emptying the container we keep in the kitchen to collect items to go to the compost bin, I looked out the back door and saw a beautiful cardinal helping himself to cantaloupe seeds.  I had my baby camera in my pocket and was so happy it captured that little guy even shooting through a window.  The images surely aren't perfect, but are nice to have.

The afternoon sun through the trees and the missing leaves on the bushes between the house and the compost bins allowed for these images to be taken from about 50 feet away. In a couple of weeks we won't be able to see the bins from the house because of all of the leaves on the bushes.

I put those three compost bins out there when we moved into this house in 1979.  It wasn't so much an environmental thing as it was a good-compost-for-the-flowers thing.

The rules for what go into the bins is "if it came from the earth, it goes back to the earth."   The kids helped so we all were involved in composting.

It's funny that when I put the bins out and started collecting yard clippings and kitchen vegetable waste, people thought I was nuts.  "Why are you doing that?"  "Won't it stink?"  "What will you do with that stuff?" 

The answers to the questions are:

1.  I'm doing it to recycle all the good nutrients that will make my flowers beautiful.


2.  No, it doesn't stink - there is only vegetable matter in there.

3.  These flowers are what I do with it.  :)

There are three bins, one each for rare, medium, and well done compost.  There's good drainage, plenty of rain to keep them wet, and we turn them as often as the mood strikes us.

The result is black gold for the garden and beautiful flowers.


Happy Spring!

Lois

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Canon PowerShot SD780IS12.1 MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.5-inch LCD (Black) 

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Ice Cascade in Tennessee

 

Good morning,

Here's a pretty image to share with those who may enjoy my musings here. 

My husband and I were fortunate to have dry weather between snow storms as we drove from the Port of Miami to Cincinnati three weeks ago.  The views on I-75 in the mountains of Tennessee were spectacular where there had recently been a great deal of snow and sub-freezing temperatures. 

I was surprised I was able to get the above image as I grabbed my Canon baby camera and caught this from the passenger seat of our car as my husband was driving at 65 miles per hour. 

 

Now there are signs of spring everywhere; these little daffs are in our front garden now.  Of course, we could have some more cold weather this year.

Mother Nature's beauty....  :)

Enjoy,

Lois

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Canon PowerShot SD780IS12.1 MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.5-inch LCD (Black)

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Jarlsberg Cheese Bread - Recipe

Good morning,

What makes this bread so special is the Norwegian Jarlsberg cheese from the small town of Jarlsberg, Norway.  Jarlsberg, near the mouth of Oslo Fjord is adjacent to Tønsberg, Norway, where my husband was born.  It's an old Viking area and Tønsberg is the oldest Viking town in Scandinavia.  In addition to its cheese, Jarlesberg is known for its horse racing.

Jarlsberg cheese is available in most grocery stores in the United States.  If you can't find it where you are, you can use Swiss cheese as a substitute, but don't tell my husband I told you that.  :)

So, with that little history about the cheese in this bread, I hope you'll try it and like it as much as we do.

Lois

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Jarlsberg Cheese Bread

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1 cup sourdough culture - If you don't have sourdough culture, use 1/2 cup flour and 1/2 cup water.  The dry yeast listed below will cause your bread to rise, but you won't have the sourdough flavor.

1 egg

2 T vegetable oil

1 t salt

2 t sugar

3 oz Jarlsberg cheese cut in small cubes

3 cups bread flour (or all purpose flour, but not self rising flour)

1 T dry yeast (I'm using this as a booster to the sourdough.  If you have plenty of time to wait for the natural sourdough to rise, you don't need the dry yeast.)
   
Yield: Two large loaves

Place all ingredients in large capacity bread machine in order given. Set on dough cycle and turn on.

The first dough cycle on most machines is about 40 minutes. Watch the action to be sure a dough ball forms at least 1/3 way through the cycle. Add a little flour or water if necessary to get the correct consistency.

When first dough cycle finished, remove from machine and place in a greased bowl for first rise. Place the bowl in a warm place such as the oven with the light, but no heat turned on. If you place it out on the counter in a warm place, cover with a damp cloth. This batch required about one and a half hours for the first rise. Keep in mind that the temperature in your kitchen and the mood of the yeast can change the time required for the dough to rise.

Spray 2 Italian loaf pans with vegetable oil. For this batch, I lined with aluminum foil, then sprayed the foil for ease in removing from pans after baking. Alternatively, spray two standard loaf pans.

After the first rise, knead by hand to remove bubbles, divide in half, form into loaves, and place in pans.

Place pans in oven once again - only the light on, no heat - for second rise. This second rise took about one and a half hours.

When ready to bake, remove the loaves from the oven while you preheat the oven to 350 F.

Make five angled slits across top of dough with knife.

Bake at 350 F for 45 minutes. The cheese cubes will melt into the bread.

Click here for more of my bread recipes.

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Fox Run 15 Inch x 4 Inch Italian Bread Pan
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Mesh and Ruffles Napkin Rings - Crochet

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

In honor of St. Patrick's Day here is a set of napkin rings you can use at home or take along as a hostess gift if you are invited out for dinner.

These work well for other holidays, too:  use these green napkin rings with yellow, pink, or lavender to dress your Easter table or red for your Christmas table.

These are so quick to make that you can easily knock out a set of four of them in just a couple of hours.

May you have the Luck of the Irish today!

Lois

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Crochet Napkin Rings

Materials:  E crochet hook, Royale Gemini Double Strand Crochet Cotton Thread Frosty Green/Oasis.  This thread is similar to size 3 thread.

 

Gauge in mesh stitch: 10 rows = 4"; 13 st = 2"

Mesh band:

Chain 15

Row 1: dc in 5th ch from hook (counts as first dc, ch 1), *skip one ch, ch 1, dc in next ch. Repeat from * across. (7 dc with 6 spaces between), ch 3, turn.

Row 2: dc in first ch 1 sp of previous row, ch 1, dc in next ch 1 sp, ch 1. Repeat from * across ending with dc in turning chain of previous row. (7 dc with 6 spaces between), ch 3 turn.

Repeat Row 2 until 16 rows are made. Do not break off.

Hold short ends of mesh band together and work through chain 1 spaces at end of row (rs). Sc in first space, ch 3, sc in same space, ch 3, sc in next space, ch 3, sc in same space ch 3. Repeat from * across end, then around side of work working sc, ch 3, sc, ch 3 in each space. At end of round, from back of ruffle at beg of round, make one sc in first space in round. Make a ss in same space. Break off.

With right side facing, join thread on other side of work. Work sc, ch 3, sc, ch 3 in side of each dc around. join in similar manner as other side. Break off.

Weave in ends.

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Aunt Lydia's Bamboo Crochet Thread Size 10 Zen Green 148-0661, 3 Item(s)/Order 

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Sourdough Bread - Recipe

Good morning,

Yesterday I published instructions to make your own sourdough culture.

Today I'm sharing the recipe for sourdough bread that is such a favorite in our home. Each sourdough enthusiast has a different twist on this process, but the basics are always the same.

Enjoy some great bread today!  Comments or questions?  Please ask. 

Lois

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Sour Dough Bread - Recipe

2 cups sourdough culture

1 egg

1 t salt

1 t sugar

2.5 cups flour

Place all ingredients in large capacity bread machine in order given. Set on dough cycle and turn on.

The first dough cycle on most machines is about 40 minutes. Watch the action to be sure a dough ball forms at least 1/3 way through the cycle. Add a little flour or water if necessary to get the correct consistency.

When first dough cycle finished, remove from machine and place in a greased bowl for first rise. Place the bowl in a warm place such as the oven with the light, but no heat turned on. If you place it out on the counter in a warm place, cover with a damp cloth. This batch required about three hours for the first rise. Keep in mind that the temperature in your kitchen and the mood of the sour dough yeast can change the time required for the dough to rise.

After the first rise, knead the dough to remove bubbles, then roll in corn meal. Place it in a bowl for a second rise. This will take about two additional hours.

I used a clay baker for this large round loaf of sourdough bread. When you see the dough has just about finished rising for the second time, preheat the empty baker itself to 450 F degrees.  I use my second oven for this while the dough is still in the bowl rising in the other oven.

When it is finished rising the second time, invert onto a a large plate, then gently slide it to the bottom plate of the preheated clay baker, cover, and place in 450 F oven for 30 minutes. Turn temperature down to 350 and bake for an additional 1.5 hours.

There is no commercial yeast in this recipe so the flavor will be that of the sourdough itself.  It will have a different sourdough flavor from one part of the world to another.  You can purchase sourdough cultures or make your own sourdough culture per the instructions in yesterday's article.

You can also make this recipe without the egg, salt, and sugar to have the most basic sourdough bread possible, but I prefer those ingredients to add a little texture and flavor to the finished product.

Click here for more of my bread recipes.

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Romertopf Clay Baker 111 

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Sourdough Culture - or - How to Grow Your Own Yeastie Beasties

Good morning,

I've been making sourdough bread for more years than I can remember.  I have always made my own culture and once kept the same culture going for years.  The death of a refrigerator ended that batch, but it wasn't hard to start a new one. 

Sourdough culture is so very easy to make as long as you can be consistent and patient.  The consistency is being sure to add to it each day and the patience is being able to wait to use it.  If you master both of those, you'll have some terrific bread.

These images were taken over a period of five days.

Here is what you'll need:

A container. It can be plastic or crockery, but not metal. I like this 2 qt. Roseville jar. 

A plate to cover the jar. Don't cover the jar tightly. Gasses from the sourdough have to be able to escape.

1 cup flour, 1 cup water

Nothing else! Some "recipes" for sourdough include all kinds of "stuff." To make real sourdough, all you need is flour and water, just like the pioneer days in the US and all the ages everywhere else before that.

 

Mix it up. Lumpy is just fine.

 

Cover it, but don't seal it tight. Set it on your kitchen counter.  

 

Day 2 - Bubbles! The yeastie beasties are at work! Mix often. A table knife works well to scrape the sides of the jar. Add a half cup water and half cup flour. Some directions tell you to throw away half of your batch before adding to it each day.

  

More bubbles! It's all going very well.

 

Stir often during the day.  

 

Day 3. Lots of bubbles! Wow! We're on a roll. It still smells sweet. Perhaps we'll get the sourdough smell by tomorrow. 

Add another half cup water and half cup flour. Mix it up.

 

By evening there are a lot more bubbles.  Mix it up!

 

Day 4: We now have a layer of clear liquid on the top. Just stir it in.

 

Add another half cup of flour and half cup of water.  Mix it up!

 

It all smells like sour dough now!

 

Day 5: It's ready! Lots of bubbles, and it smells and looks right. 

And, here it is the evening of Day 5.  It looks right and smells wonderful. 

 

If you don't use your sourdough every day, keep it in the refrigerator in a tightly covered jar.  Take it out every few days and feed it some flour and water to keep those beasties alive.  If you use your sourdough every day, you can leave it out on the counter, but be sure to remember to feed and water it daily.  I make it one of the routine things I do in the kitchen every morning and it's easy to remember to take good care of those beasties that make such great bread. 

 

You can purchase sourdough culture, but only you can make a culture that will have the yeast from the air where you live.  Each part of the world has it's own "flavor" of sourdough that occurs because of the differences in the yeast in the air.  

Questions?  Please ask!  Just click that comment link below.

Tomorrow I'll make sourdough bread!  Stop back tomorrow for the recipe and pictures. 

Very best,

Lois

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Classic Sourdoughs: A Home Baker's Handbook
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