October got here very fast! Once again we are joining Sherry (and friends!) for another look back at what went on in the kitchen, what I cooked as well as any updates on the blog. It has been a busy month, but let's see what really went on...
All the silicone coated baking pans were purged out, and are being replaced with stainless steel or glass. Stainless steel baking pans are a bit pricy, so I started with 4 loaf pans for bread baking day and a set of three flat baking pans. I would like a 9inch pan for small cakes, and a pie pan or two. But I have some ideas for being creative when I bake muffins without a muffin tin...that is, until I finish my bakeware collection.
I was able to produce five new posts in September, and update 16 older posts with new photographs and better structured paragraphs as well as new and updated information. The new posts include:
And the biggest change in food preparations for September is that I am back to baking our daily bread! It had been almost 2 years from leaving Wyoming to be National Park Service volunteers to a working kitchen with an oven here in East Texas, with no bread baking. Getting back to baking and the first batch, was a bit rough, but I did start, and that brought a smile to my face!
Remember the bakeware purge? Well for the first bake I did not have loaf pans and baked all four loaves in a very large glass pan...
The stainless steel loaf pans are a bit more squat compared to the previous 4 pans I had used for years. Making my finished loaves of bread a little bit wider and a little bit shorter in the pan. Requiring a keen eye to know when the dough is doubled and not past that point! But I actually think I prefer this new shape.
Baking bread is my gift of love to my family.
It is something I take pride in and I am very happy to be baking once again! Right now I have a four loaf recipe started. After soaking overnight, I will finish it in the morning. And so far I love the new stainless steel loaf pans!
My first bake in early September was tasty but it certainly showed that I was two years rusty! The second bake went much better and the texture was excellent! I decided for this batch it was time to add a little something to the loaves. I have wheat berries soaking overnight to drain and add to the dough during the kneading process. In the morning I will test the softness of the soaked berries if they are too chewy I might simmer them for a minute or two.
Our weather was so hot in September cooking did in fact, seem like a chore.
But trust me, we were sure hungry each night. Mainly because I/we are spending a lot of time in the garden building more garden beds as the material, become available. Materials become available? Yes, we are thinning out some of the smaller trees on the property, and they are being used in the construction of the garden beds. Plus there is always watering, weeding, and dreaming! Our second crop of cucumbers is in bloom, and I have to tell you that I have never eaten so many cucumbers, until I grew my own!
In other kitchen news, we will have sweet potatoes to harvest soon.
And most of them will be pressure canned as we do not have a root cellar. I have plans for a cold closet for food storage, but two or three other tasks are in line first. The cold closet is next on my list of must haves...and what will need to be completed. A second planting of zucchini is blooming also. Since we did not have a big crop with the first planting, I will try my hand at pollinating the female flowers. While we have lots of pollinators flying around the property, they seem to prefer other plants to the zucchini.
We did successfully transplant three bell pepper plants into pots to winter over. And we currently have 4 pineapple plants growing. We do hope to have two garden beds, with four pineapple plants each, soon. I have to tell you it is quite a chore to have to eat a fresh pineapple to plant the top crown in the garden and make Tepache from the rind!
Ooppps, I almost forgot to share this photo of our pineapple bed!
Oh and the biggest kitchen/food/garden news from around here!
We have been enjoying Golden Melons from seeds saved from a Costco melon and planted right here in East Texas. I believe the melon was originally purchased during a Costco run while were still working as NPS volunteers or possibly waiting for the WY house to be repaired after the winter damage...either way, it is one tasty melon! While the garden has not been a super heavy provider of food, we have learned a lot about seed saving, and growing pineapple beds from the top crown, learning to love cucumbers and getting a lot of great exercise.
I am feeling the pressure to get everything done, because we have plans!
Plans for a family 5 day cruise in December! Between building a fenced in area for the chickens (about half done now), strengthening up our hail cover over the caravan (we are under some big trees that drop branches in a storm) and keeping the garden going, I am also dreaming about my first cruise! I needed a Passport (done) and now I need to get a few new items to wear, that are a bit more suited for a cruise. Turns out, my daily blue jeans and turned back long sleeves shirt will not do!
And that about wraps up September! Thank you so much for stopping by, I sure appreciate it.
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I enjoyed your reading your post and as always marvel at all of your hard work on your property and your cooking and baking. I've never used silicon.. It just reminds me too much of plastic and I could never decide whether or not it was healthy to use. Why did you get rid of it? After reading about your bread making, I'm feeling like I should get my bread machine out...but I won't.. I've got 24 for holiday dinner Thursday night, 12 for holiday lunch on Friday, and good friends visiting from Florida for dinner on Saturday night. I'm trying to pace my cooking so bread baking is out for this week. Great interesting post as usual. Thanks Melynda
ReplyDeleteJudee, thanks for stopping by, I began using lighter weight bakeware when I broke my left wrist while we lived in MT. I managed to do most everything I needed to do while the break healed, with exception of washing my own hair, due to how long it was! And then we started volunteering for NPS once again and the lighter bakeware worked great for our traveling lifestyle. But even with those two events in our lives, I really did not and do not like using any plastic in baking and cooking. And made the decision to simply purge anything with a coating of any kind, from the kitchen.
DeleteI’m impressed by growing pineapples — I’ve never lived in an appropriate climate. Your garden plans are impressive.
ReplyDeletebest, mae at maefood.blogspot.com
Mae, we are having a good time with the whole pineapple garden beds. It is completely by chance if the crown roots and takes off or dies, but honestly the crowns were always pitched to the compost or garbage, so there is no real investment. Thanks for stopping by, I appreciate it.
DeleteYour new pans look great. I also love how you bake all your own bread. I tend to only do that occasionally - and in winter.
ReplyDeleteJo Tracey, I am a carb based eater, they simply work for me. And bread along with all other grains are whole, organic and cooked in old time methods (soaking, etc). But bread is also a passion, I have baked at sea level, at 4500 feet (Montana and Wyoming), and now again at just above sea level here in East Texas. And I have learned what must be done, to get a tender loaf of bread. Imagine my surprise when I used sea level procedures at 4500 feet, nothing but inedible bricks that even the ducks at the duck pond did not want! Thanks so for stopping by, I appreciate it.
DeleteI really enjoyed your post and reading what you have been up to. I started sourdough breadmaking again this week too, and matching the dough to the size of my tins is still challenging me, but we have really enjoyed my sourdough bread this week. You are always doing lots of interesting things on your property.
ReplyDeleteHRK, thank you! I have a whole wheat sourdough starter going at this time, but I must be honest, sourdough and I are not good friends, apparently I still have some learning to do about using a starter....thank you for stopping by!
DeleteOh, I used to bake bread once a week also. Now, being only two, we just don't eat that much...but oh, my I do bake for the holidays, and my Grandmother's rolls are always a favorite. I agree with your pan choice, and we have a lot of glass, vintage pans here, and also ceramic which for first. Only aluminum pans I use are cupcake tins...which have papers in them anyway. Great challenge to switch out everything. Sandi
ReplyDeleteSandi I cannot imagine any holiday dinner without homemade bread! I always feel something is missing without a bowl of tender rolls on the table. I just ordered another pan for my bakeware stock, and next month will probably order the last two. Through the years I have worked commercially and privately as a cook, stainless steel is always the choice in a café, it was the only way to go!
DeleteI just started making fresh bread for sandwiches this past week and wow, the taste difference is incredible. It was so easy too!
ReplyDeleteJoanne, I am a true bread lover! If I have bread in the cupboard, I will always have something to eat and sustain me. Thanks so much for stopping by, I appreciate it.
DeleteI haven't baked in a while. I am hoping once the weather gets cooler that I get the desire to spend some time baking some desserts and yummy breads.
ReplyDeletewww.chezmireillefashiontravelmom.com
Mireille, I keep trying to get to some desserts, maybe when the garden slows down, thanks so much for stopping by!
DeleteI love the idea of bread as a love language. And hope you enjoy your sweet potato harvest. I also need to do a purge of my bakeware :)
ReplyDeleteTandy, thanks for stopping by. I should have completed the purge years ago, I am really liking the new Stainless Steel pans.
DeleteI really need to start baking bread myself. We love having bread with our meals. I know that making it fresh from home would be a lot less expensive and much healthier. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteKristen even though some days are too busy for bread baking (depending upon what else is needed done) when I pull it from the oven, I know it was the right use of my time. Thanks so much for stopping by, I sure appreciate it.
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