This week was a bit quieter for us after the very busy week before. However, another baby made his arrival at the end of the week. Our dear friends son and daughter-in-law were expecting at the same time as our family was, due date within a week of each other. It was such fun to anticipate the babies arrivals with each other. Their son is our godson so we happily call the new baby our grand-god-son. Anyway, we are very excited for them as we were for us and know that he has arrived into a family that will love him to bits and we so look forward to meeting him soon. The dust is settling a bit in Asheville with Edie settling into a routine with her family. We continue to chat or FaceTime pretty much every day which makes it feel as if they are not so far away.
The bears continue to invade our space. I had begun to think that the bears were retreating back into the woods but that is not the case. Yesterday we were watching the neighbor kids ride their bikes down the street and the dogs were barking, at them we thought, but it turned out they were barking at a rather large bear that was in our neighbors yard. He/she proceeded to run across the street and into the woods behind our house. There are no bird feeders out anymore so I am still hoping that at some point they will go back into the woods and leave us alone.
Walking This Week
When we are in Canada we have a couple of very favorite walks/hikes that we like to do when we have lots of time. One of them is called, to us, The Minton Church Walk. It is up a big hill and then across through farm fields and up and down dirt roads ending with a stretch through the woods to home. It is approximately six miles long. We have been looking for that walk here. We knew it had to be close by but only recently did we find it. Katie and I did it Sunday afternoon and it came out to 7.45 miles with a couple of really challenging hills. The views were spectacular and we are both thrilled to have found it. Mostly dirt roads with a good trail through the woods at the beginning and at the end. We also found a swimming hole for the dogs in two different places where there was running water. I am very leary of standing water, you just never know how ugly that can be. Both dogs were able to get lots of drinking water and able to have a swim to cool off although the day was perfect at 57 degrees and breezy. Unfortunately I am suffering a bit with a sore heel so I didn’t walk as fast as I might otherwise have done but I made it. I am afraid it is Plantar Fasciitis what little I know of the syndrome but I am not surprised after all the walking that I do. However, I am more than convinced it is because I did not have really good shoes to walk in last month which is when it started. I now have new shoes and hope that wearing them will eventually fix the problem.
Update on Jenny Lane
Not much happened on the house front this week. We seem to be in a waiting mode. We are waiting for windows to be delivered and we are waiting for the equipment to arrive that will start the work on the foundation for the porch. In addition, we are waiting for the new propane tank to be buried – same equipment that will participate in the porch work. We are waiting. Patiently. However, we are caring for what we have. Work went on in the vegetable garden which is really beginning to show some exciting growth. Libby is learning how to mow the lawn and she did a wonderful job her first time. It is not always self-evident what you need to do. Things are growing fast and we are excited to see things come up. The line of beets is now obvious. Today we planted lots of herbs around the edge of the gardens. The basil is in as is the lavender and sage and cilantro and rosemary. We already have lots of mint, oh we have so much mint we don’t know what to do with it. We also have tons of oregano and thyme. It is going to be fun to harvest some of this. In fact, word is out we are harvesting some of the spinach for tonight’s dinner.
New Recipe This Week
I tried something different this week. I read a recipe for English Muffin Bread and decided to give it a try. To be honest, I am not totally happy with the outcome. It tastes pretty good but it is way too dense. I think I had too much flour and not enough liquid but I am willing to give it another try. It does make really good toast but again it is too heavy for my liking. Here is the recipe, maybe you will have better luck. It is not hard and it doesn’t take too long to make.
Ingredients
- 3 cups (361g) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
- 1 tablespoon (14g) sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon instant yeast
- 1 cup (227g) milk
- 1/4 cup (57g) water
- 2 tablespoons (25g) vegetable oil or olive oil
- cornmeal, to sprinkle in pan
Instructions
- Whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and instant yeast in a large mixing bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer.
- Combine the milk, water, and oil in a separate, microwave-safe bowl, and heat to between 120°F and 130°F. Be sure to stir the liquid well before measuring its temperature; you want an accurate reading. If you don’t have a thermometer, the liquid will feel quite hot (hotter than lukewarm), but not so hot that it would be uncomfortable as bath water.
- Pour the hot liquid over the dry ingredients in the mixing bowl and mix until thoroughly combined.
- Using an electric beater, or stand mixer with beater attachment, beat at high speed for 1 minute; the dough will be smooth and very soft. If you don’t have an electric mixer, beat by hand for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and starting to become elastic.
- Lightly grease an 8 1/2″ x 4 1/2″ loaf pan, and sprinkle the bottom and sides with cornmeal.
- Scoop the soft dough into the pan, leveling it in the pan as much as possible.
- Cover the pan, and let the dough rise till it’s just barely crowned over the rim of the pan. When you look at the rim of the pan from eye level, you should see the dough, but it shouldn’t be more than, say, 1/4″ over the rim. This will take about 45 minutes to 1 hour, if you heated the liquid to the correct temperature and your kitchen isn’t very cold. While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Remove the cover, and bake the bread for 22 to 27 minutes, till it’s golden brown and its interior temperature is 190°F.
- Remove the bread from the oven, and after 5 minutes turn it out of the pan onto a rack to cool. Let the bread cool completely before slicing.
