It's about -3c at 6:30 pm.
The Chickens
Well the big chickens (and turkey) are all snugged up in their freshly cleaned house dreaming of warmer spring days to come. The chicks have discovered the joys of flight and are flying all over the bathroom floor. Tonight I'm moving them into new digs. We have a box made of OSB that's sturdy and about 2ft by 4 ft. It's 2ft tall and we have a net for over the top to stop escapees, and to keep our love bird out. I'll get it inside and filled with fresh shavings for them after I'm done typing this. They are almost fully feathered out and since they're indoors at a controlled temperature, I'll gradually wean them off the heat lamp over the next few weeks and before the next batch of chicks need it. It's amazing how quickly these guys feathers came in. I must take some pics and post them for you to see.
In The Garden
Snow! So no digging today. Hans cme over with a present for me. A whole trailer load of rotted pony manure. The Young Men shovelled it into buckets and covered my garden 4 inches deep all over with it. Lovely! They were impressed that it didn't smell due to it already being partly broken down. I'll turn it all in next week or the week after. There's no rush. I also put a bunch of fireplace ashes onto it. I will do a soil test before planting to see if it needs any lime but other than that it should be good to go with a good digging of the top layers to blend all the manure, chicken house shavings, ashes, compost and everything with the soil. The kiwi vines are going to feast after years of neglect, last year excluded. They are planted permanently along the edge of the garden so they got a nice mulch of manure.
In the kitchen
Re-organizing. Did you ever have somebody help you move in? The church ladies unpacked my kitchen and I said "no problem, I'll re-organize it later". Well, it's been a year and the time has come to decide what stays and what goes. I've got more dishes than I need, extra pots and pans, and the kids never seem to put the dishes away in the same place twice. Drastic measures must be taken. I'm going to list them on Freecycle and see if anyone needs them. If they're not here, they can't get in the way. If I really want them then they need a home or to be put in storage in the basement.
It's that time of year again when we get food from the Bishops storehouse in Langley. Our branch shares the canner with other church groups (wards) on the island so we are able to buy bulk staples for really low prices and either just use them out of the big bags (like Costco) or seal them in the big #10 cans for long term storage. Like 20-30 years. They sell wheat, beans, rice, powdered milk, sugar, dehydrated apple slices, carrots and onions, pasta, potato flakes, oats etc. Very basic stuff, but it'll keep you alive in a pinch. We also store oil, flour, honey, and extra canned goods that we use on a regular basis like tomato sauce, veggies and tuna. It seems so daunting to think how much food you need even for a one month supply but if you just do a little at a time it adds up before you know it. You notice this most when you have to move house and haul it all with you!
Here's the 100% Whole Wheat Recipe I use. It's from Recipezaar
It's a nice basic recipe with no sugar. Please note that since it has no sugar to caramelize, it won't turn very brown when you toast it. It'll just get hard and warm. :)
Ingredients
- 3 cups water, lukewarm (100-115ºF)
- 3/4 teaspoon dry yeast
- 7 1/2-8 cups whole wheat flour
- 2 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 2 tablespoons oil
Directions
Proof yeast in half a cup of the water, with about a teaspoon of flour- let it sit, covered, until it becomes bubbly& active.
Combine the rest of the water with the yeast/water in a large bowl, and gradually add about half of the flour.
Stir the mixture about 100 times in the same direction, until it is well-mixed and strands are beginning to form.
Stir in the salt and oil.
Add the remaining flour half a cup at a time, stirring well, until it is too stiff to stir with a spoon.
Turn out onto a lightly floured board and knead for about 20 minutes, adding flour as nescessary to keep the dough from sticking to the board.When it has been sufficiently kneaded, cover it with a damp cloth for about 10 minutes and wash and grease the bowl.
After it has rested, knead the dough a few more times (it should feel really nice by now!) and place it in the bowl, covered with the damp cloth, a plastic bag, and maybe a plate.Let the dough rise until it springs back when you stick your finger in it, and it is about twice the size as it was before (this takes about 2 hours; longer or shorter depending on the room temperature- I prefer a longer (cooler) rise, because it allows the flavour to develop more... but sometimes you just don't have time for that sort of thing).
Deflate the dough by punching or kneading it a few times, and let it rise again- this time, it should take about half the amount of time as it did before.
When the dough has risen twice, deflate it again and cover it with the damp cloth again for about 10 minutes (to let the gluten relax, apparently.. it makes it easier to manage if you do this), then divide it into and shape it into loaves, buns, etc.
Let the shaped dough rise on a baking sheet or in a loaf-pan for about an hour maybe- it will rise a bit more in the oven.Slash the top of the bread if you want, so that it doesn't bust open in the oven.
Bake at 400º for 20 minutes, and then turn the oven down to 350º and bake for 20-30 minutes longer, until the loaf is a lovely brown and sounds hollow when you thump it on the bottom.(Buns and smaller loaves take a shorter time).Try to let the loaf cool (out side of the loaf pan, or it will get a bit soggy) before you tear into it.
Add yeast mix, half the flour and mix for 2 minutes. Add the oil and salt. Continue mixing and gradually add more of the flour until a good textured dough is formed. Watch it, it should not bee too sticky or too dry, just smooth. When the dough is done kneading, run the kneading cycle again. I push stop, and start again and it starts the cycle all over again. At the end of the second kneading cycle let it relax for 10 minutes and then transfer to a greased bowl and follow directions as above from step 7.
Have fun with it. I have another recipe I sometimes use so I'll go scrounge it up.
For dinner tonight we had hungry teenagers and the 6 of us. Dinner in a hurry was 4 onions chopped and fried with 1 tbsp butter and a dash of salt until carmelized. 12 European Weiners and 6 Hot Dogs (from the bulk section) with buns and trimmings. Cost $6.50 for 10 people. Leftovers will be added to beans and wieners tomorrow.
Well, kids are home from their hockey game now so back to work I go.
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