Pumpkin Donuts

Fruit

On Thursday evening we went to the San Luis Obispo farmers market. It is quite the event. There are several blocks of produce and several blocks of food booths. Unfortunately I forgot to take any pictures while we were there. We bought several exotic fruits while we were there. I did take pictures of those when we got home.

Colorful fruit


Blood orange. I think these are so pretty inside.


Strawberry guava


Passionfruit(purple) and Pineapple guava(green) The pinapple guava is my favorite, it has a sweet, tart and tropical flavor.


Kumquats a tiny citrus that you eat whole, peel and all

Crepes with Raspberries

For breakfast one morning we had crepes filled with goat cheese with raspberry sauce. They turned out delicious.

Jam and Cheese

I made a few jars of apricot jam the other day. I have also been enjoying making easy goat cheese. All you have to do is heat a gallon of milk to 190 degrees and add 1/4 cup vinegar. When it forms curds just strain it through a colander lined with cheesecloth then hang to drain for several hours. It turns out great every time!

Apricot Jam

Draining the cheese

Fresh Goat's Milk Cheese

Stir-Fry for Dinner

The other evening I made a stir-fry dinner with veggies that all came from our garden. I love cooking with fresh produce from the garden. It makes it so much more fun, and colorful! We had purple string beans, red skinned carrots, striped beets, leafy bak choy, and turnips.

The colorful veggies ready for the pan.

Cosmic purple carrots.

Chioggia beets. Aren't they pretty?

Kitchen Projects

We all had fun in the kitchen while Melissa was here too. One day we made up a batch of raspberry jam and canned it. Another day we made some mozzerella cheese. I have a few more pictures to put on of the jam making but forgot to take any of making cheese.

The Garden Grows

The garden is growing well now. These are pictures taken over the last few weeks. We are also just starting to get ripe rasperries. Yum!


Fresh peas

Colorful carrots...

and radishes

Green tomatoes

Bush beans

Tomato blossom

Pumpkin

The corn patch

Potato blossoms

Lettuce

Outdoor Dinner

One evening after planting in the garden we had a fun dinner outside. We roasted our turkey franks in the fire and brought out all the condiments. We finished up just in time as it started to rain.

The Bread Recipe, at Last

Here is the recipe for the bread I posted about awhile ago. Several of you have been asking for it. I actually got it from Mother Earth News. I used 1/2 tsp. yeast in mine. I also tried it with whole wheat flour. It didn't rise quite as much as the first time,but was still good.


1/4 tsp active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting. You may use white, whole wheat or a combination of the two.
1 1/2 tsp salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran for dusting

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Add the flour and salt, stirring until blended. The dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let the dough rest at least 8 hours, preferably 12 to 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.
The dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it. Sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let it rest for about 15 minutes.
Using just enough flour to keep the dough from sticking to the work surface or to your fingers, gently shape it into a ball. Generously coat a clean dish towel with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal. Put the seam side of the dough down on the towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another towel and let rise for about 1 to 2 hours. When it’s ready, the dough will have doubled in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.
At least 20 minutes before the dough is ready, heat oven to 475 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in the oven as it heats. When the dough is ready, carefully remove the pot from the oven and lift off the lid. Slide your hand under the towel and turn the dough over into the pot, seam side up. The dough will lose its shape a bit in the process, but that’s OK. Give the pan a firm shake or two to help distribute the dough evenly, but don’t worry if it’s not perfect; it will straighten out as it bakes.
Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and bake another 15 to 20 minutes, until the loaf is beautifully browned. Remove the bread from the Dutch oven and let it cool on a rack for at least 1 hour before slicing.

Crusty Bread

I found a recipe in a magazine for bubbly, crusty bread so I gave it a try. It turned out wonderful! I have never made bread that was so much like bread from a good bakery before.

At Home

Setting up our new home has been a lot of fun. It has been fun to cook our meals in our kitchen and eat at our table. Dinner on the stove, we were surprised with a new stove from the Engells. It is wonderful to cook on.
Our dining room table set for dinner.

Andrew brought flowers home the first day he went to work. It was very sweet.