Just a quick note to let everyone know I'm still alive and kicking. Nothing worth writing about is going on in my life lately, just the same old, same old. Boredom. Blah. It's not even winter yet, and I'm yearning for spring.
Yesterday I was so bored I decided to bake bread. I've been making all of our bread lately. Mr. Granny will only eat bread made with white flour, so I was making his and buying whole grain bread for myself, but after I happened upon this simple bread recipe from Hickory Holler Farm, I bought myself that perforated French bread pan and began making the 2 loaves of French and one loaf of pan bread from her recipe each week. The bread tastes soooo good! I love using the regular loaf for toast and, of course, the French loaves are great for garlic bread or just for dunking into big bowls of homemade soup. Anyway, boredom made me decide to bake and fill the freezer. I used my regular bread recipe, doubled, for one loaf of bread and a pan each of hamburger and hot dog buns. Then I made two loaves of french bread and one loaf of...well, it's still French bread but in a bread pan, a must-have for my morning toast.
Of course, I cannot resist eating this good bread. DUH! I've taken to weighing myself every morning, thanks to the bread. I've set a "danger" point where I'm still a couple of pounds below my desired top weight, and when I hit it I only have to watch what I eat for a day or two to get back to my lower desired weight. Since I've begun baking and consuming all that bread, I've hit that "danger" point about once a week! No gardening to keep me in shape, comfort food weather, white bread.....
I was going to go out and rake the front yard today. We had a little wind and a bit of rain last week, so the pine tree mess is back. Not even close to as bad as it was after that last big wind storm, but just rather tatty looking. Then I see this "Severe Weather" warning on my sidebar. I clicked on it, and sure enough...........
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PENDLETON HAS ISSUED A WIND ADVISORY... WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 10 PM THIS EVENING TO 4 PM PST SATURDAY.
* TIMING: WINDS WILL INCREASE THIS EVENING AND CONTINUE THROUGH MOST OF SATURDAY. THE WINDS WILL DIMINISH BY SATURDAY EVENING.
* WINDS: SOUTHWEST WINDS OF 25 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 50 MPH CAN BE EXPECTED.
Sigh. I might as well wait to clean up the mess, because it will be another big one.
The bread sounds so delicious! You are fortunate that you can control your weight as you describe. I don't envy your wind one little bit!
ReplyDeleteRay, it remains to be seen if I can get through the winter without my usual 10-20 pound gain!
DeleteWell, see, you said you were bored, and so this popped up to keep you busy raking. You wasted your wish-LOL! You should have wished for ????
ReplyDeleteA pool boy? Oh, that's right, I don't have a pool ;-)
DeleteI'll have to try that recipe! Random story - yesterday, I had lunch at the Omni Parker House hotel in Boston and was amazed by how delicious their rolls were, not knowing that I was eating at the birth place of parker house rolls. LOL. My eating companions also noted that we were eating 10 feet away from where JFK proposed to Jackie.
ReplyDeleteGees...you learn something new everyday. In any case, I'm making parker house rolls this weekend! They are delicious!
Thomas, my mother-in-law used to make delicious Parker House rolls! I remember trying them years ago, but mine didn't compare to hers and I never made them again.
DeleteGran, I found a recipe here:
Deletehttp://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/parker-house-rolls-recipe
and here -
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bobby-flay/parker-house-rolls-recipe/index.html
Maybe it's time to give it another go!
Which ones did you make, Thomas? How did they turn out? I used a King Arthur recipe for potato rolls a while back, and they were a complete disaster!
DeleteSilly. You are connected to the scale. I actually wish I had a scale. Not out of wanting to weight myself, but to weight the amount of wood I consume on a daily basis. Just scientific curiosity to figure out how many btus the place is actually using against forecast. :)
ReplyDeleteCloud, I figure it will be easier to stay on track than to gain 10-20 pounds and have to spend a month or two next spring trying to lose it again! That's what usually happens to me. I hope you are keeping warm.
DeleteGranny is at a thousand pounds! One thousand pounds!!! Her produce........not her.
DeleteLOL, 1st. Man! Yes, Cloud is correct. I have been connected to the scale this past year, both in body and in produce. I aim low for one and high for the other! I hit my goal for both this year. In fact, today I reached 200 consecutive days of actually being under my target (ideal) weight!
DeleteYou'll be back in that sexy 60's swimsuit before we know it!
DeleteHaha, 1st. I could get into it now, but I'd have to wear it upside down. ? Think about it :-D
DeleteOh, Gran and 1st. Is this another one of those times where I have to mention that I'll bring the mimosas??
DeleteHaha, Cloud! Are we ready for a paaaahty?
DeleteNothing beats fresh baked bread! At least you are keeping busy
ReplyDeleteMrs. P., today I kept busy by making a dozen jars of cherry jelly to go on all that homemade bread. Now that's how to lose some weight. NOT!
DeleteI was being good today. I made dahl with beans instead of lentils. And put in squash and some Chinese cabbage. And I didn't have any bread with it. Not even the cornbread sitting out and left over from the night before. I try not to make bread, because like you I eat it. Fresh bread from the oven is so delicious and I can't help myself. So if I just don't do it, I'm safe.
ReplyDeleteI think soon you will have something to do. I got my first catalog today from Pinetree. They are always so early. It won't be long until the rest start to show up over the next month.
Daphne, I have been trying to get some stuff out of the freezer so I'll have room for squash puree. Found two bags of cherries from last year, so I made jelly today....to go with the bread. And yes, I had to try it out! I need to get out and measure my garden beds so I can be ready to start planning next year's garden. I got my Pinetree catalog yesterday! Yep, the first catalog for the 2014 year.
DeleteHello Annie's Granny! I just saw that you are following my blog so I thought I would check your's out. Was so pleased to see that you also found the bread recipe and pan idea on Hickery Holler Farm Blog. I made the French bread last night and it was so good fresh from the oven!
ReplyDeleteJust wanted to say, "Hello"!
Gina
Gina, I have mine rising right now! I've only made the smaller loaves, using 2/3 of the dough for French loaves and the other 1/3 in a regular bread pan, but after reading your blog this morning, I'm trying the 2 larger French loaves. I'm also going to try tossing ice cubes onto the bottom of the oven when I put the bread in, rather than the pan of boiling water (I broke my good Pyrex baking dish when I poured boiling water into it the last time...what a mess I had, and I'm upping the baking temperature to 375 as mine really didn't get as brown and crispy as I'd have liked). We love these loaves, whether used for garlic bread or just sliced and toasted for breakfast. I did have a problem the first time I used the perforated pan. The bread rose and kind of fell over the outside. The next time I had my husband grab onto the outside edges and bend them up so they were about half an inch higher, and now the loaves stay put inside their respective sides!
Delete