Thursday, July 28, 2011

Happy Birthday, Otis!

Last year about this time, I did a search for a bread recipe that would be similar to the dark bread from the Otis Cafe, and lo and behold I found the actual recipe, complete with directions for making the sourdough starter.  Because sourdough starter lives, breathes, and needs to be fed, it seemed only right to name the starter, so Otis it is.  Our Otis is now a year old and little bits have been given to other folks who want to make the wonderful dark bread from the Otis Cafe, or some other sour dough recipe.

Otis is stored in a plastic yogurt container, and gets fed on a weekly basis, equal parts of flour and water.  I have occasionally had a pre-coffee mental breakdown where I think Otis is yogurt.  Not pretty. 

I read that sourdough starter should never be touched by metal, so need to use a wooden spoon to stir it.  Not sure what would happen with metal.  Does anyone know?

Sourdough starter right after being fed.
The Taste of Oregon Blog  has the brown bread recipe and the directions for creating sourdough starter.  I don't have a picture of the brown bread, but love making it, because unlike most breads, it doesn't have to rise, and always always turns out exactly right.
The bread in this picture is  traditional sourdough and takes a minimum of two days to make.  The first day you make a sour dough sponge, letting it grow overnight, and then it takes two more risings before it is baked, but the end result is worth the wait.  Each step is fast and easy, but it does have to hang out for awhile to develop the flavors.  I tried several different recipes for sourdough bread before I settled on this one as my "go to" recipe.  If interested in the recipe, let me know via comment.

 It is amazing that some sourdough starters have been around for years and years.  I am happy that this one has managed to survive one year.  It's pretty weird when the directions for a house sitter include, "Please feed 1/4 cup water and flour to Otis, the sourdough starter that lives in the yogurt container."  Happy birthday, Otis.

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Colors of Summer

Rock garden with sedums and other plants that need little water. 
Jack tore down part of the wall yesterday.  
Caught a mouse in the wall.  One gulp.

Best Sweet Peas I have ever grown.  
Right by the front porch, I throw the grey water  from the kitchen sink on them.   
Recently have been collecting the grey water rather than letting it run down the drain.  
I am amazed and ashamed at how often I need to empty the 2.5 gallon collection container.

Day Lillies.  I love this dark brownish red color.  

Cone Flowers/Echinachea.  The color of ripe tomatoes.  Yummy.

Sedums are  all in bloom.  
The bees -honey, bumble, and small native - love them.  
Walk outside and you can hear the rumble and buzz of hundreds of bees.

Guest house (Just goofing!)


Walnut trees have a lot of nuts.  
Will they have the time to mature?
 Last year we had no nuts. None. Nada.
 The year before that we had enough to commercially dry and market.  Go figure.
Bluebabies are doing well.  
Parents are starting to build a second nest.  

The early blueberries are ripe.  
Picked 6 quarts this morning.

Perhaps I will make some blueberry chutney.

Yarrow


Thanks for taking a walk around the yard with me.

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Empty nest.....

The baby Western Bluebirds fledged Thursday.  There are three of them.
These two baby bluebirds stay together.  

This third baby bluebird is a bit more adventurous.  He is already attempting to catch bugs for himself.

Baby Western Bluebirds with attitude.
We have had bluebirds nesting here for several years now.
While taking these pictures, the parent bluebirds watched the entire time, but didn't seem bothered.  And the babes weren't antsy at all.  Of course, they have had tractors, mowing machines and the hay baler operating not too far from their box.

Bluebirds make me feel rich!  Western Bluebirds had been in decline due to loss of habitat, but seem to be making a comeback.  Yeah!

While I was taking these pics, some cedar waxwings came to hang out on the magnolia.  They are always on the move. Difficult to get a good pic.  They look like bandits with their black masks.
Cedar Waxwing
We are back to rainy cold weather here. This picture is an indicator of crazy weather patterns.
Sweet peas in full bloom at the same time as lavender?
This is just not the way it is suppose to be.  However, nice to have the wonderful sweet pea perfume and lavender scent at the same time.

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

A Blowout Is Not Always A Party!

Have you ever been driving down the road and come upon a farm truck hauling a trailer filled with hay, seen smoke coming from the trailer tire, and thought, "I'm sure glad that's not us."

OR

Perhaps you have come upon that same truck and trailer, pulled over alongside a windy country road, with log trucks barreling down upon them, as they unload 3 tons of hay from the trailer and on to pickups, and again thought, "I'm sure glad that's not us."

Well......yesterday, that was us.

Monday, July 11, 2011

The Week In Black and White

Wow!  It has been a week since last post.  Where did those 7 days go?  I remember Gramma saying that time went faster as you got older.  I thought that was a pretty crazy idea when I was nine.  Not so anymore.  So here is this past week in pictures.
This week has been all about hay! 
Selling hay in a glutted market is not easy.  Fortunately it is really good hay, so people who have come for one ton have come back to buy a second or third ton.

The book in hand?  A Pacific Northwest Wildflower book.
Jack wears himself out looking for mice under every bale.
Pallets waiting in the barn for hay

Besides hay........
There are moles to be caught.....

Laundry to be hung.....

Baby bluebirds to be fledged (probably within the next 3 days)......

Flower beds to be weeded.....

Veggie barrels to be tended....

And nests to be shared.
I found this very dainty little nest out in the lawn.  I don't think it had been used.  Maybe blown out of a  tree by a gust of wind.  It is made out of very fine dry grass and Jackson's hair.  We found one last year made with Libby's hair.

Monday, July 4, 2011

Celebrate the 4th with a Pool Party

The big boys know how to celebrate a holiday!
A Pool Party

Lots of Food

Good Company & Conversation
The only thing missing is the beer.
Happy Independence Day.

Friday, July 1, 2011

Cookin' up a mess of greens!

Jackson in front of all those yummy grape leaves.
 Mr. Shoulder to the Grindstone makes the best stuffed grape leaves....his mamma's recipe.  He throws any extra grape leaves into the sauce, which got me to thinking about other uses for grape leaves.  I scanned the web for grape leaf recipes....100's of variations of stuffed grape leaves, but little else.  Seems a shame for something that has few calories and is nutritious to have only one use or variations thereof.  So I decided to use them as a green.  You know the old fashioned southern green recipes that cook for a long time with a ham hock.

It worked!Saute some onions in butter, a little garlic. Throw in a piece of ham, bacon or a ham hock and a glass of water or stock (veggie or chicken). Shred a mess of fresh new grape leaves (I used a quarter of a pound.  Perfect for two people.) and cook on low for a couple of hours.  Five minutes before serving, add some lemon juice (vinegar?) and a drop or two of hot sauce. Serve with bread or cornbread to sop up the juice.
Any other ideas for grape leaves?