Bread Making Tips

 
 
  I'm back to baking. Done in the morning, it keeps the whole house fragrant and warm throughout the day.

For this new bread recipe, I borrowed a neighbor's glass pan. It must be an antique, because it is larger than my 2 metal ones. This is whole wheat bread with Hi-Gluten bread flour. About Hi-Gluten: Bread flour is different from regular unbleached. It has a higher gluten content, which makes sense for the Hi-. This was my first time using this flour, purchased from the Amish store. The photos are of my stocked-up pantry.

With butter and honey, this is a thick bread and delicious. Next time, I'll use some wheat berries, sunflower seeds, etc. I had Salted Butter, which next time, I'll use Unsalted as it seemed a little mmm...salty. I also used their dry yeast, which is really, really active, probably good for bread machines. My daughter uses a bread machine and some of the flour is for her.

I am glad to see younger cooks settle into bread baking, either with machine or by hand. When at the Amish store, 3 young non-Amish women were buying up supplies and talking about their recipes. They apparently cook healthy and from scratch. They had been at the first store I visited and have to say that the Amish knives are the best ever. Note: If you ever visit one of their stores, do dress modestly in respect of their ways.

I've always loved baking, but like others, I love kneading the dough myself--it's good for thinking. This hi-gluten dough is not like that made of regular unbleached flour, when it comes to kneading. It has to remain sticky. But it's really sticky, which brings me to my first tips:
1. You need 2 big bowls for bread-making. One to mix, and the other to rise.
2. Use a big wooden spoon. If you don't have one, invest, because they are great.
3. If the recipe calls for melted butter, I suppose oil would do, and I do that sometimes, but melt the butter ahead of time--in time for it to cool a bit as you do not want to "kill" the yeast.

 
I use a really big shallow bowl and it's perfect for kneading and not gumming up the counter or plastic sheet. Love that bowl, something given out for promotion and I picked up at a yard sale for $1.

More Tips:
4. This is plain white bread with unbleached flour. It is easier to work than hi-gluten, but with egg and oil it is lighter.

5. Always oil your pans (or sometimes I bake as a round) and rising bowl before necessary. Your hands will be doughy and not good for grasping bowls or oil. So do that in advance.

6. After you've placed the dough in the rising bowl, try to get as much out of the mixing bowl as possible, prior to washing. Dough can really gum up your sink.

7. Cover the rising bowl and dough with a damp cloth and place in a warm area until double.

8. After baking brush tops with butter to keep soft. I usually have a stick ready, a little softer at room temperature and then rub it on, but you can melt the butter and brush on.

9. About that damp cloth: If the dough is sticky, it will stick to the cloth. Sometimes, I take that big spoon, or a utensil, put it crosswise over the bowl and drape the wet cloth over that.

10. I always bleach my tea towels. The photo is of a terry-type kitchen towel, but for breads, I usually like the smooth tea towels.

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Chicken Thighs

 
  More about my Thigh-Love later....

I've mentioned how much I admire Suzanne McMinn's Chickens in the Road blog several times here at My Jam Jar. She's really working hard at her blog, a professional, serving big needs, so far as I'm concerned. Lots of money saving tips there as well as good recipes. Super site.

Please do visit and then vote for her as a blogger. She's a professional and doing a good job. It just takes a click to help her. I am not a professional blogger, but love it and do appreciate her work.

IMHO, we can do more with less by watching what Suzanne is experiencing on her farm in WV. She has something new each day. I run 3 blogs, so I know how much work it is and truly appreciate her. Like myself, she takes all her photos, only hers are much better and she does have a staff, but she writes and works each day, very hard.

Now back to my Thigh-Love: While chicken breasts are great for diets, thighs give more umph to the blood and body. The photos are of 8 lbs. I skinned and froze them in individual packages. The skins can be used for broth--and btw, if you are using chicken breasts and deboning any chicken, do not toss the bones and scraps. Instead, make chicken broth by boiling. Chicken broth can be expensive and all you have to do is to sieve and pour into a jar for later use. Risotto and other dishes call for it, and it is a great smoother if you're into any cooking. Somewhere I heard that the U.S. is the only country in the world to toss chicken scraps, rather than using them.
(Okay, I admit, I get lazy, too. :)) I soak them in salt water to draw out whatever is possible.

Right now, chicken hind quarters are selling for $.39/lb at one of our local stores. Really a good deal. Some high end restaurants use whole hind quarters, so think of the mark-up on those. If buying hind quarters, I would cut thigh from drumstick and pass the drumsticks onto a daughter with children or her husband to grill.

As for thighs, I "Butterbud" them for oven cooking, grill them with lemon pepper, use them for chicken noodle, etc., or braise and use with chinese vegetables and buckwheat noodles/soy sauce/etc. sprinkle with sunflower seeds. (That happens to be my favorite dish.) If you're a hot-wing fan, I imagine you could use these somehow. No idea how. :)

All it takes is more energy to do what Suzanne is doing. Please do vote for her as she is a professional and it does help her. And many of us are returning to homestyle for help with today's tight budgets.

I'm working on draft dodgers now. More on that later.

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Sewing Again

 
 
 
I'm so inspired by Suzanne McMinn's Chicken in the Road blog that is absolutely filled with good ideas for home/food/crafts, etc. Please visit her. She's working on a draft-dodger idea that just may be on my list, too.

More of us are returning to homemaking, despite working women, too. (Excuse me, men. I know you work hard, too and many are really good fix-it guys.)

Author Samantha Hunter creates bags to admire. I'll probably never get that far, but love to view her creations.

I'm a career novelist, but a grandmother, too. So I'm enjoying a return somewhat to when my 3 daughters were young and I made long dresses for them, and bonnets, too. I'm relearning the how-tos :) For instance, this dress was a combination of 2 patterns and I cut the sleeves with more of a "hump" to give more gathering at the shoulder. The ties are for the back. I used to make doll clothes, too and those Barbie dresses were no fun. This doll is due for some scrap sewing, if I have the time. Yes, she's mine. Her name is Annie and my granddaughters play with her.

These buttons really set this dress off. I'd been saving them.

One granddaughter's dress was posted earlier, but this one is just finished. Well, almost. Her mother will have to hem to fit. Her mother, my daughter, is a really good seamstress and is still using the old Pfaff used to sew her clothes and many, many more things. If the wrist-elastic is too large, she can fold at the wrist and place a matching button to hold it. These dresses are made for growth, so I hope she takes a deep hem.

Back in the day, we made more clothing than buying, or at least out in the country. I need to hunt pictures of my daughters, dressed in their long dresses and bonnets. I had a ruffler with that old Pfaff and wanted to add a ruffle at the bottom, but time was short. Maybe next time.

Now, with growing children, many trade or use thrift shops, or shop discount places.

So far, my new-used Viking is performing great, but sometimes I think it is smarter than I. My cabinet Singer is great, too, though it is not so hot on fine fabrics. I just used the Viking to repair a polyester blouse and it was great. Do you know that almost every woman who sews very much has 2 machines? Usually an old dog for heavy duty and one for finer work? I didn't and thought I was excessive to have 2.

On cold winter nights, I enjoy sewing by the fireplace. My portable sewing machine, rests on a rolling typing table and it's all very cozy with either a TV movie or music.

While visiting Hobby Lobby for material, etc., I saw a woman buying huge amounts of ribbon on sale. She makes headbands trimmed in ribbon with bows. I ran her down and asked how.

So that's on my list, too. :)

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Busy Fall

 
 
 
With summer harvest sliding away, I've been busy freezing and cooking. Yesterday was cold/rainy and a pot of chicken noodle soup hit the spot. One of my to-dos is to actually make noodles as my mother did. But Chef Mario did an excellent job on his recent spot with Emeril, so I'm ready to try that. Or I might borrow my daughter's pasta maker.

I love to steam corn for dinner. A steamer (I love kitchen appliances) makes them perfectly. Suzanne McMinn's blog, Chickens in the Road, is super and I learned how she makes creamed corn there, trying with these very nice ears purchased from the Amish farmers' market. Do visit Suzanne's blog as you're certain to learn something, decorating with weeds, candlemaking, sewing, foods, etc. Her story about the "Slanted House" is really heart-warming.

Then, because zuchinni was so great at the market, I made spaghetti sauce with tomatoes and fresh herbs, right off the porch planters. If you haven't tried growing fresh herbs, i.e. chives/basil/parsley do try. You'd be amazed at how great they taste. I'm sorry the frost is moving in, as bye-bye basil, so great in cold pasta dishes, too.

Then, there's another sewing machine, a Viking Lily, used. I couldn't resist. Purchased from the Springfield Singer Center, it comes with a 90-day guarantee, so I'm trying all the feet and have already mended a few things my old cabinet Singer 717 Scholastic model would have chewed to bits.

I think Lily is smarter than I am. The book is a necessity, so I hope I never lose it. The Lily is a quilting machine, but I doubt that I'll get so far.

Last year, I lit up the fireplace insert, hauled out a typing table and placed a portable machine on it to make gifts. Really enjoyed that. This year, I'm hoping to do the same.

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Italian Prune Plums

  Where, oh where are my little Italian plums?

With jam-making upon me, I want to make my mother's recipe of plums, pineapple and walnuts.

I can find plenty of black plums, big/ripe/juicy, but Italians (sometimes called Prune Plums) have a firmer flesh and seem to be more tasty.

So far, I've only made strawberry as that is a family favorite. But not mine. I love raspberry and am not a fan of jellies, with all the good stuff sucked out. A good thick jam can be used as an ice cream topping, or in yogurt.

I'm hunting those Italian plums now, but if I have to, I'll use black or red plums.

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Back to Making Play Clothes

 
This "prairie dress" was my first since my daughters were children, and that was a long, long, time ago. This birthday gift for a 5 year-old is unhemmed, waiting to be fitted. It has a Peter Pan collar, 3 buttons at the neck and string ties for the back. I didn't have enough for the bonnet, but am hunting for the same fabric.

They have daughters now and I wanted to start sewing the fun stuff again. In case you haven't experienced going back to sewing after years, it isn't that easy. I'd forgotten all the little things I'd done, like cutting more of a high curve to make a more puffy sleeve.

While struggling with measurements, I blended two patterns together and it should be easier next time. I have one more to make.

My old sewing machine, refurbished and in a cabinet, sewed perfectly.

So anyway, it was fun to make this dress after years of not sewing.

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New Frig Shopping

With my 18-year old Amana frig still spitting out ice cubes, but dying (so said the repair man), I started shopping for new. Not so easy in this area, where we are very low on independent appliance stores and high in major lines, such as Home Depot, Lowes, etc. Quite the little experience...

First, I shopped online, getting tips such as economy and top freezer models were recommended. Of course, the Energy Saver models ranked high. Given the small space that is built into my kitchen cabinets, I also shopped dimensions.

In retrospect, I learned quite a bit, stuff I wished I'd known going into my shopping spree; it also ended in getting a small 7 cubic foot freezer.

My basic take after returning two refrigerators and finally just taking my best shot, is that salesmen and delivery men need tutoring programs on adjusting the ice maker's water shut-off valve, what kind of line goes into the machine, what temperature to start a new one, the time allowed before new ice cubes start filling the bins, etc.

Quite the little journey, shopping for a major appliance now. Most brands are family-related, glass shelves are not in the low end, and more dual controls are in the side-by-sides, etc., which were too big for my kitchen space.

I do not believe the quality is as it was. Ah, yes, Energy Savers. Some of the material is based on 2007 figures, and mine runs 20 minutes of every hour, although different defrost pans/whatever, compressors, etc. 20 minutes of every hour.

My old Amana shot out those ice cubes. This one is taking forever and I'll be using trays, which I haven't used since forever. It's not that much of a hardship, but I was expecting better. As to my old Amana, which was hauled off in the process. I've learned it went to the "cruncher". RIP Amana.

The Cruncher may be why there is a shortage of used large appliances in this area, such as when I went shopping for a cooktop for my basement canning. So if remodeling, the old still-living major appliance is hauled off to The Cruncher. Now that is a shame, because Habitat for Humanity and others, even second-hand places could sell them.

Speaking of Habitat for Humanity: I visited for the first time recently and did pick up an excellent electric coil cooktop for basement canning. I was really impressed and will return for some Formica scraps to use in my basement kitchen set-up.

So much for the journey, I wish I could start all afresh. I'm putting back the magnets, recipes, and family pictures today and hoping they will heal this one, under warranty, as it pops and crackles, crying out for attention. Can't wait for my Energy Saver electric bill.

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