Waste Not Want Not

After my horrible ordeal with the Sour Dough Bread being a miserable flop again, I broke the loaf up into large hunks and tossed it out into the yard for the birds. I figured either they would eat it or if not the squirrels would surely enjoy it. If neither of them wanted to partake of this bounty, I'd give it to the dog next door!  Since she is part shepherd and part wolf, I figured she would love it! A far cry from the dog food that she normally gets.

I checked yesterday evening and the backyard was filled with birds, swooping in and pecking away at the bread. This morning not one morsel is left out there!

I did make another loaf of regular white bread in my bread machine last night. I could hardly wait for it to come out of the machine. I love the smell and taste of warm bread!

That's It, I've Had It!

No more attempts at making Sour Dough Bread using a natural starter without any yeast!  In fact, I am going back to anything but Sour Dough from now on! I have tried and tried repeatedly and the loaf before this one came out hard as a rock  or a brick, whichever you want to compare it to!  Reminded me of the very first attempt I made at baking just plain regular old bread when I first got married!  Poor new husband, didn't know he married a woman who could barely boil water without burning it!  I do think that the first "french fried eggs" I made for him sorta gave that fact away though!  Anyway, back to the bread, I didn't start that project until late in the evening, and when it said to punch it down, put it into the bread pans and let it rise again, I didn't do that. I figured it could rise as it cooked!  Needless to say, I had two wonderful bricks in about an hour!

That is how I am feeling about this Sour Dough Bread at the moment. Now mind you, I've tried several different recipes from several different cookbooks and I really do know how to read instructions. So much for trying to be economical and make bread without having to use yeast all the time. I made an Artisan Loaf tonight, the outer crust was so hard I almost broke the bread knife trying to slice into it. Once I got it cut, the inside is gummy and gooey and it cooked for 45 minutes like the instructions said!  Oh well, back to the bread maker in the morning!

I hope the birds will eat it! 

Life's Little Pleasures

Spring has sprung! The sun is shining, spreading its warmth all over my little city. It is about 72 degrees outside and the air smells fresh and clean.I can hardly hear the noise of the traffic on the busy street which is four blocks away and I am truly enjoying the serenity and almost silence of the day. I decided to walk up to the store, just a couple of blocks away, to get a few things for dinner  and to enjoy the feel of concrete under my feet instead of the ice and snow of several weeks ago.

On the way back, my neighbor was out sitting on her porch enjoying the sunshine so I stopped to say hello and visit for awhile. It was good to see her home since she'd been in the hospital for about a week in ICU with double pneumonia. Pretty scary stuff for such a young woman of only 34! Even though she is still not 100%, some congestion still in one lung, she is on antibiotics and feeling much better. It was good to see her smiling and on the mend.

As I came around to the corner of my yard, I noticed a profusion of yellow flowers in the flower beds. There are multitudes of Jonquils/Daffodils growing. Many are in full bloom and others are still buds, waiting for another day before they spring forth into bloom. I was able to gather enough flowers, a good sized hand full, put them in a vase and set them here on the desk in my office. What a beautiful reminder that spring is here at last!

I love fresh flowers from the garden and from my own garden makes them all the more special. As many of you know from reading previous posts on my blog, I am not the world's best gardener. The things that I don't have to mess with seem to survive the best. The things that require watering I think I "over love" because my vegetable garden last year, I tended to and it died.

Now I am going to grab a fresh cup of coffee, go out and sit on the bench on my front porch and soak up some of this gorgeous sunshine.  Live is good!