The Staff of Life

I have several containers of beef brisket in the freezer and no rolls! I then found a loaf of Rhodes Wheat Bread and remembered that another blogger (Anni) once posted about cutting a loaf into sections to make rolls for something....

After thawing the wheat loaf overnight, in  plastic bag with a little canola oil added, I cut it into 6 sections (oiling the knife) this morning, zapped the cupcake pan with some baking spray and now have wheat rolls! All set for a sandwich! I would never have thought to do this if it wasn't in an online blog from my friend in TX.

Oh it smells so good in here!

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Full Day

Remember I said I would put the bone broth kettle out to cool overnight so I could skim the fat off in the morning? Well, I forgot that I can't reach the top of the freezer where I had the Mister put it, and I also remember putting it into the car on the back deck. Oops! Sold car. I sure didn't want to temp the visiting forest critters! Well it ended up in the kitchen refrigerator after I moved things around to make space. Yes, there was a lot of fat to skim off this morning. It wasn't as easy to do as when it used to be hard, but I was able to do it. I found that the yellow split peas cooked down faster than the green ones, went mushier quicker, tried to stick to the bottom even! I had to do an extra amount of stirring. It was tasty but something was missing. I never salt or pepper it as I feel everyone has their own limits on condiment additions, but I did add a little black pepper. It was lunch in my pottery bowl and very filling. I'll stick to the green variety.

It went well with the fresh loaf of whole wheat bread that I baked this morning.

It is ready, after cooling down to put in the freezer. I leave room at the top for expansion. Nice yield!

I had a wonderful surprise from my family friend who took away the base of the ceramic tree and replaced the entire wiring system. He brought it over after dark and it was so wonderful to see it lit and pretty! Happy Dance! It will stay lit the entire season. I like it that much!

Early this morning I decorated it and now my world here is right.

Meatloaf for dinner tonight! I should have lined the pan with foil and now will have a cleanup. I forgot! Dang! Doesn't really matter - I make good meatloaf! I know it is done when the internal temperature reaches 160°. I usually make a bigger one, but this will keep me for a bit.

If anyone wants to help wash dishes and pots and utensils, my door is open. I could feed you too!

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Keeping Busy

Or at least trying to! It is very windy and only 42° at 11:00 AM. I have baked a dozen sugar cookies this morning. Yesterday I baked a loaf of the good frozen bread. White this time. The wheat loaf I baked about 10 days ago is almost gone. The thing with these breads after baking, is that they have to be stored in the refrigerator as they don't contain preservatives and I don't consume them quickly enough at room temperature to keep the mold away! The best part is that I won't run out of bread when I need some. This frozen style bakes really well and is easy peasy! Rhodes is the brand. There are packs of either 3 or 5 frozen loaves in a bag. The cost is about $1.00 per loaf and it is very good! 

The images below are from the internet

I  haven't tried the dinner rolls yet!

Good Day - Rough Day

Tuesday afternoon my dear friend delivered a loaf of her wonderful lemon poppyseed zucchini bread. It was wrapped in aluminum foil and it was still WARM! Great surprise! Needless to say I cut me a slice to have with supper.

Wednesday after my nap I dug out the old Daisy sealer and the roll of foodsaver plastic that my brother had given me when I couldn't find any more of the original type seal bags. *I blogged about this in the past. The thing is, the old bags were already sealed at one end and were individual items of two different sizes. It just another 'make-do' project now and has been useful several times - just a little more work. *Links to old blogs at the bottom here.

They have been popped into the freezer and I can have one slice at a time.

The 'rough day' part is that I went to the local health system to get my usual 8 week shoulder injection. The original orthopedic surgeon has retired and this was my second visit with the new fellow. The last time went ok, even though I had to have lumbar x-rays for a badly sprained back but the shoulder shot hit the mark well. Today he didn't seem to be sure of where to inject and was asking me where it should go. I only remember where the original guy did it so I indicated the area. After he removed the needle, he grabbed some gauze as the injection site was bleeding. (I am not on any blood thinners.) The bad thing was - are you ready? The blood stained the back neck of my brand new special mauve waffle weave shirt! It was the first time I wore it and did so, knowing it would stretch over the shoulder to make access easy. I couldn't wait to get home and rinse it out with cold water. Yes, it did come out.

*two links below

OLD Food Sealer

My Two Loaves

Baking and Waiting for Warmer Weather

I bake about two loaves a week. We sure do love this bread! It slices nicely when laid on its side too! I  have a slicing guide contraption but would rather use my eye. It probably won't raise as well when warmer weather comes and the propane stove is resting for the season. Currently I put it on the rug in front of that stove for its rise before oven baking. 

I am keeping my Mother's Day gifts indoors until it is warmer outdoors. They sure do love the morning sun shining on their counter space in the morning. My Missy brought these over for me to enjoy with a lovely hand-written card. She's so caring!

Our yard guy was planning to remove the porch swing cover and the golf car cover yesterday, but it rained and they were just too wet to fold and bag for summer storage in the shed. He also was also going to apply the annual preservative on James. Our spiritual guardian has not sported his forsythia garland nor his flower one yet as he has been undergoing repairs. I wonder what he thinks about his nakedness! All I can can say at the moment is that the pollen will be washed off due to more raining this coming weekend and next week.   Cheezzzz!

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Saturday Happenings

The Mister fell AGAIN this morning as he was walking cross the living room to the kitchen to refill the humidifier container. It seems that when he is carrying something in one hand it puts his balance off enough to cause the fall. This time a nasty elbow skin tear. Lots of blood. He simply does NOT pay attention and moves along without thinking. He did not trip! He just fell over. I watched it happen. DANG do I EVER HATE cleaning up the bloody messes. I have to move a kitchen chair next to him so he can pull himself up to a standing position. 

Today it's raining and I have been busy - before the fall - slicing and dicing fresh carrots and celery in prep for stew or soup or something. I also have a loaf of bread just out of the oven. It is the frozen style and bakes really well and is easy peasy! Rhodes is the brand. There are packs of either 3 or 5 frozen loaves in a bag. The cost is about $1.00 per loaf and it is very good!

Now back to nurse duty as most of the bleeding has stopped and  bandaging is required. See attached photos of injury.

Hangin' in here....Not a happy camper. 

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This 'N That

I found this graphic on a blog that is written daily by one of my favorite TV anchors on our "go-to-station" WNEP. Andy Palumbo is really a gentleman with wit and humor and also seriousness in the correct places and time. His blogs can be very thought provoking. Andy's blog link 

Now for my quandary... Should I really pick up my eye drop prescription renewal now even though it is the beginning of the year and I haven't met my co-pay amount at all - or even come close to it? 

I have had it refilled twice last year and each time the cost was $42.20. I thought it wasn't covered and that those charges were the full cost. Wrong. That was the co-pay!  When I called to see if it was ready for pickup, the pharmacist alerted to me that the cost would be $119.81!  I probably should pay the price as I need it, but will treasure each and every drop. One little bottle will last two months if I only use it in the "scratchiest" eye! I feel like I'm a between a rock and a hard place and besides that - it is cold.

I baked my 2nd loaf of bread this morning. It is a frozen product and, though not really as tasty as I remember 'from-scratch' yeast bread. It costs just under $1.00 a loaf, slices easily and toasts well. it is OK and it smells really nice in here. Sometimes we just need an olfactory boost.

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The Mister fell today when his cane gave way while he was walking to the drop box at the library to return my borrowed books. He is not hurt too bad, but had to have help to get up and now his hand is badly bruised. Nothing seems to be broken so he's home free-------AGAIN!

That's it! That's enough! Click on image if you care to see images larger.
 

Bread in My New Pot

My new small bread baker pot was put to work today. I used 1/2 of a recipe and I must tell you it was a fun journey for me. I did the Italian version.

First of all it went into the cold oven like it was supposed to, and I had just turned on the heat when I realized I forgot the sugar! Oh well, I continued on waiting for the time to pass and pulled it out to cool. It smelled wonderful. I flipped it over onto cooling rack and it was all I could do to NOT take a bite before I took the pictures. Let me tell you - THIS IS BREAD! It's not pretty, but wow is it good! Of course it was tasted!! The omission of sugar wasn't major. We'll have it with supper, probably buttered and dipped into cream of tomato soup. Next, of course I plan to experiment with other concoctions, even pot pies, scalloped vegetables and baked apples. Oh the choices! I intend to look for more and different easy bread recipes as well. 

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RECIPE for ONE small bread baker pot.                  Enough for two people.

Bread Crock Recipe For Two

Plain Recipe Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups self-rising flour

1/4 cup sugar

*6 oz. of soda (any kind or anything with carbonation)

Do not over mix!

*(6 oz. of lemon lime soda (which is a neutral flavor) for Italian Style Bread)

Added Ingredients for

Italian style bread:

1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder

1 1/2 teaspoon of dried parsley flakes

1/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese

Do not over mix!

Remember to adjust the added ingredients

to your own taste preferences. (I did with the parm cheese!)

Instructions:

Mix ingredients in separate bowl

Grease the crock with vegetable shortening

Add mix to bread crock

Place in oven and heat to 350° F

(Do NOT pre-heat oven)

Bake 45-50 minutes or less until the top is turning brown.

Click on link below

A little background here

Crazy Weather

My little flowering plants are anxious to be outdoors, BUT...no can do. Tonight there is expected to be severe wind and rains. The temperature reached 76° today. Tomorrow there will be more rain and Sunday might be a good day to transfer them if the forecasts are wrong. More rain. The tuberous begonia that I started with a September leaf from the mother plant is now showing more buds, but is also growing too tall!

My window washer guy got 5 storm windows done on the outside. There are 13 here and he also has to do the inside (both sides) and the storm (inside) so his work is cut out for him.

Meanwhile back in the kitchen the baker has produced a nice loaf of white bread. It lays on its side to cool so the top doesn't get squished! I have a plastic thingy that has slots so when I slice it each slice will be even and straight. How about that! I have had it for many many years. (French Toast for supper!)

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Bread

No not $, REAL bread. I have always cut up left over or stale bread to make stuffing or bread puddings. I'm lucky not to be one of those who cannot tolerate bread or have to avoid it because of weight watching. The last time I saved some I made a bread pudding. Now my aim is to create stuffing or dressing, whichever you call it. I need just a little bit more. (see recipe) When I place a plateful on top of the heater to dry, Duckie promises not to eat any. 

Ingredients

3/4 cup diced onion
3 celery stalks diced (1/2-3/4 cup)
2 garlic cloves minced
2/3 cup butter
1⁄4 teaspoon black pepper
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
12 cups 1-inch stale bread cubes (1 large loaf french bread) 3-4 cups chicken broth
1 egg beaten
1⁄4 cup fresh parsley minced
3 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves-minced
3 teaspoons fresh sage-minced 

• Preheat oven to 350°
• Add bread cubes to a large bowl and set aside.
• Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat and sauté onions and celery until soft and translucent; about 5-6 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook for an additional minute.
• Add vegetables and fresh herbs to the bowl with the bread and stir.
• Whisk egg together with chicken broth, then pour over bread until it’s moist but not soggy. You may not need all of the broth. Season with salt and pepper.
• Pour bread mixture into a 13x9-inch buttered baking dish. Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 15- 20 minutes. Watch closely once uncovered so the top doesn’t burn. 

If you missed my bread pudding story and recipe, click on this link to see how it turned out. Bread Pudding

Baking Day

Feeling Susie Homemaker today so baked a new recipe. I have been saving this for a long time and today is THE DAY.

Baked and glazed

 Sliced with electric knife

 Test slice

 Served to Mister

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He said it is the best and most delicious blueberry concoction I have ever made! (I didn't use nuts)

RECIPE

Blueberry Lemon Bread

TOTAL TIME: Prep: 15 min. Bake: 1 hour + cooling   YIELD: 1 loaf

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice (I used freshly squeezed that I had frozen earlier)
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (If using frozen blueberries use without thawing to avoid coloring the batter.)
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)
• 2 tablespoons grated lemon zest
• GLAZE:
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/4 cup sugar

Directions

• 1. In a large bowl, beat the butter, sugar, lemon juice and eggs. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; stir into egg mixture alternately with milk, beating well after each addition. Fold in the blueberries, nuts and lemon zest.
• 2. Transfer to a greased 8x4-in. loaf pan. Bake at 350° for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack.
• 3. Combine glaze ingredients; drizzle over warm bread. Cool completely.

(I lined my pan with Release foil instead of greasing it. The foil was later put under the loaf to catch the drippings before spooning the glaze over the top.)

UPDATE! The trash collector took his slice home to eat with his dinner, the Mister ate 2 pieces after lunch, I ate one, and at 4PM our daughter visited and ate 2 more! They are going F A S T!!