So, my mom makes wonderful bread. We never ate store-bought bread growing up, and I remember these huge, fluffy loaves coming out of the oven by the half-dozen, just waiting to be sliced and slathered with butter. Truly great, nutritious, hearty bread.
After setting out on my own as a wife, one thing I always knew I would do was take that recipe with me, and provide my family with that same great, homemade bread. Unfortunately, making those big, fluffy loaves has turned out to be A LOT harder than I originally anticipated.
Every time I've tried this recipe (probably over 30 times in the last few years), I put in the same ingredients, in the same order, at the same temperature as my mom. The dough smells the same, proofs the same, usually feels the same, and even starts to rise the same. And then, after it's risen, I turn on the oven to bake it, and-bummer! The bread falls yet again! I have heard of cakes falling, but why is my bread falling??? I thought maybe it was a difference in altitude, but it's not that great of a difference. Then, I thought maybe it's the humidity here, but I've made it in other people's air-conditioned, de-humidified homes and it still falls. The only thing that's different is I don't grind my own flour and add it while still warm, but my mom didn't always do that....at least the bread still tastes good, but I am sure tired of mini-sandwiches and really missing those light, fluffy slices! When my mom comes for her visit in December, she is going to make me a batch of bread under my very scrutinizing eye, and prove to me that it can be successfully done in North Carolina, too!
Nothing too special, but a long-awaited project finally completed! Compost bins made from old pallets lined with chicken wire...and just in time for all the leaves to be gathered. I look forward to a well-fed and fruitful garden next year.
The newest addition to our yard. A MUCH-needed storage shed. I am too embarassed to show you the before picture of the tarp-covered mess we called the "garage," but very happy to have this sharp-looking solution in the yard instead.
Beautiful turnips coming up. These were always a staple in every garden I grew, even back in Junior High. I love eating them raw, and that's about the only way I like them. In my opinion, turnips are one of those mysterious vegetables (like cauliflower) that transform into something less than desirable after being cooked.
Five rows of carrots went in beside the turnips, but were extremely slow in coming up due to lack of rain. We'll see if they make up some size, and make it into the freezer before the hard frosts come.
So, I saved my favorite news for last. One of our hens went broody recently, and wouldn't let us take her eggs. After some coaxing, she let me replace her eggs with (hopefully) fertilized ones from a friend who's got roosters. We find out Wednesday or Thursday if she gets to be a mom! I've hatched eggs before in an incubator, but never gotten to see a chicken raise her own (well, sort of) young firsthand. I am so excited to watch her mothering instincts be put to use, and am glad she finally decided to start laying on the eggs before it got too cold!
I was waiting for one of them to do it all summer, and I finally got my wish. She's laying on 6 eggs, but if at least one hatches, I'll be happy. She got a little distracted the other day, and ran off. I kept ducking in the coop to make sure the eggs were still warm, nervously reminding her to come back. I finally had to remind her with a herding stick, and she squawked when she saw the eggs and climbed back on. I hope they didn't cool off too much, but we'll find out soon.~
