Leeks, Crumble, and Bread....oh my

hey y'all, how are ya doing this morning?           we got back in from our brisk walk this morning and it was a most refreshing time for us.        I fixed us another cup of coffee and I'm sipping on mine as work on this blog post.        mine is decaf, but let me tell ya, it's by far better than nothing!!!       hahaha        when decaf is all ya can have, ya learn to appreciate it, quickly.         hahaha

what are y'all thinking of and dreaming of here lately?          all I can think of is my Baker Creek seed order that I placed Monday.          I can't wait for those seeds to get here.          that's what I think about and dream about.        hahaha            

oh, I have to tell ya, I'm not a gardener, but I know THE Master Gardener and we're always talking about what I'm trying to do.         I do believe that God reallys besses my efforts and I'm so thankful!!!

I hope and pray that we all have successful gardens this coming spring.        I'm looking forward to it if God blesses me with health for and time for another growing season.         I hope you're looking forward to it too.

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let's do another "2 minutes in the kitchen with me", ok.       so I recently made some rolls.         I bake a lot of bread and keep a lot of it in the freezer.          these started out to be just plain white flour, but I didn't have enough flour in my bin and I was in a hurry to get started.          so I used 1 cup of white flour and 2 cups whole wheat.          I didn't have any milk in the fridge, so I used powdered milk.       I didn't have any butter from the freezer, so I used the equivalent amount of EVOO.          the recipe didn't call for whole wheat germ, but I added it.           the recipe didn't call for vital wheat gluten, but I added a little.          the recipe called for honey, but I added the equivalent in monk fruit sweetener.      I guess egg, salt and yeast is the only thing I didn't substitute.    

my point in telling you all this is, don't be afraid to use what you have as long as it's half way in the ballpark of ingredients that you know will work.           I knew all those swaps and additions would work well, because I rarely follow a recipe to a T.           and these are all common swaps and additions for me.              I don't know that I've ever had this many swaps in one recipe, but it worked and I had no doubt about it.           I always make my dough in the bread machine on the dough setting.          it will run for about an hour and 34 minutes before it kicks off.          but I watch the dough real closely and when I know it's mixed well and in a beautiful ball, I'll take it out and make my rolls and let them rise and then bake.          it saves me at least an hour on making and baking the bread.          

one thing to remember is when you add items like I did, the whole wheat germ and vital wheat gluten, you'll probably have to add more liquid.           I had too and I knew I would, but I always let the dough tell me how much liquid to add.         and I add by 1 teaspoon at a time.           I let it get worked into the dough and if needed, I add another teaspoon till it looks like I know it should look.   

 I definitely don't do anything special to make my rolls, hahaha, as you can see that for yourself.         I don't care as much how they look as how they taste, and these are great!!           sometimes I forget how good whole wheat rolls are.          but these are good.    

so don't be afraid to adjust a recipe with what you have, if you don't have all the exact ingredients.      as long as you know they should work, then use what you have and add extra liquid one teaspoon at a time.           if you need to add more flour, add that one tablespoon at a time.         using small increments like that will help you get the adjustments correct and your dough to turn out good.         these will be the perfect hamburger buns or sandwich buns.        they  are good.    

1st pic-beautiful dough ball, 2nd pic-rolls made, 3rd pic-rolls have risen, 4th pic-done!!!

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here back, I got some black plums on sale.           we enjoy a plum crisp and that's what I've done with 2 of them so far.           I need to go back and get some more and get them on the dehydrator and have them for later on.            I had just finished up my jar of dehydrated plums and didn't even take pictures of it to share.           but I'll describe what I do and then when I get pictures, I'll share them.  

I always wash and cut the plum in half and then make 5 or 6 wedges from each half.        then I dice each slice into smaller portions.         when I put them on the dehydrator trays, I put one half of a plum kinda separate from the rest.       once they are all dry, I weigh that one portion and make a note of what the dried weight is and mark that on my jar.          when I get ready to use it for our plum crisps, I take out 2 portions (which is the equivalent of 1 plum) and put them in a 1/4 cup each, of boiling water and let them rehydrate for an hour or so.          (I try not use any more water than I think it will take to rehydrate because I don't want to lose any flavor when I drain them.)         then if there's any liquid left standing, I drain it off and then put my plum bits in some small strainers to finish draining real well. 

 

once that's done, I put the plum bits in the 2 custard dishes you see below that have already been buttered real well and set aside.         on top of the plum bits, I put about a tablespoon and a half of lemon juice.          then I sprinkle a tablespoon of monk fruit sweetener over the plum bits  in each dish.

I keep a mason jar full of "oatmeal crisp crumble topping" already prepared with everything but the butter.   the recipe for that is: 

Oatmeal crumble

1.5 cups of rolled oats, 

1 cup flour (can use almond flour or other gluten free flours), 

1 cup of monk fruit sweetener, 

1 tsp salt, 

1 tsp cinnamon and any other spices you may like. 

 

I usually opt for a pinch of nutmeg and cloves as well. 

  

I sprinkle on about 2 tablespoons of this topping.         next I slice a couple of thin pats of butter for each dish and cut those up into thin strips and dot it around on top of the crumble mix.        place the custard dishes on a baking sheet and pop in a 350* preheated oven  and bake for about 40 minutes.  watching to see that they don't burn.   this is so delectable.        and if you happen to have a little dab of ice cream, even better.          but believe me, this is good enough just by itself.   

the jar of crumble mix is good for any type of fruit you can think of.        depending on the fruit and the natural sweetness of your fruit, you may need to sprinkle a little more of the monkfruit sweetener (or what ever you use) on the fruit before you put the crumble mix on top.       don't skip the lemon juice (can use lime juice), it really helps to bring out flavor of the fruit and will also help in adding moisture to the crumble mix so it can form a pretty crunchy crust.   t     his doesn't make a huge serving per individual, but it's plenty for us.         

when I  make 2 small crumbles like this, when they're gone, they're gone.         we're not gonna over eat.          so we both like that.           and it's easy enough to make when I have the dehydrated fruit already prepped and the crumble already prepped.         it comes together pretty quickly when we decide we want a treat.          so be on the lookout for me to dehydrate some plums and then we will go over this again.

I make other crumbles, but always go back to our favorite one, the plum crumble.   it just has a flavor that we love.        hope y'all find this to be something you can enjoy too.

oh, and if you don't have a dab of ice cream to put on them, a tablespoon or so of coconut milk is really delicious as well.            you might want to try that.       
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I had been looking for some chair exercise and I came across this a few years ago and finally found it again and thought I would share it.          I don't remember where it came from, but the exercise are pretty good.          I do most of them quite frequently.

just start off slow and do what you know you can safely do and build up to 10 or 15 reps of each exercise.          if you can't get in floor, omit the last 2.          just take 10 minutes a day and do what you can do.          your body will appreciate it.
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I got a couple of leeks 2 or 3 years ago,  with the plans of dehydrating them.       and I did just that.  woohoo!!!          I washed them and cleaned them, (they are dirty as little pigs  hahaha).        I can't stree it enough that they really need to be washed well because each layer is full of grime and grit and sand. 

I cut the ends off and then I started slicing down the green part making 1/2 inch slices.          when I got to the white part, the bulb, I quartered it length ways and then kept up the 1/2 slices.        once all sliced, back into a good bath they went, to get all the dirt and grit out of them.  

then I washed them good again, rinsed and drained.          as I was cleaning them, I was also separating the layers good and then they went on the dehydrator at 115*.           several hours later they were crumble dry and I put all of it in a 2 quart mixing bowl.       about the time, they are NOT completely done until they are brittle and will crumble.        my rule of thumb is "cracker crisp, rock hard, bone dry".       it was full to the brim.          I started crushing and mashing it down and in a few seconds, it was condensed down to what you see in the picture.  

it's in a 16 ounce pickle jar and it's just over 1/2 full.          I'll be looking for more when I see them at a good value.          but I'm also gonna try to grow some.           I hope I'm not too late in getting seeds started.        25 to 45 weeks to maturity.            if they do grow, I can finish them up in my little greenhouse and the garage if necessary.           I'll see what I can do.  these will be delicious in all kinds of soups, stews and casseroles.         one thing that pops to mind is potato leek soup, now I can make that.            anyway, just wanted to share with y'all and maybe encourage someone to do something different.        dehydrate something.  

that 16 oz jar, half full quickly turned into a GALLON sized jar full to the brim!!!         it's delicious to use in soups and stews and casseroles.          also, when I get them at the store, I pick for leeks that have good root systems on them.       

I saved the bottom 1/4 inch of the leeks with the roots and I grew more greens from the root balls.        it works well with green onions too.         you can also save the root end of some of these artisan lettuces and regrow lettuce from them.        there are lots of things that we grow more from if we would just do it.         and I try to do just that.        I hope you'll give it a try too.
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this is it for now.           I hope you seen something here that will help you with bread making or making a crumble or dehydrating some leeks, also some exercises that you can do.        there is something for everyone.     hahaha        

I hope you invite God to be in your day today.          talk to Him about your problems, He's always listening.          be blessed today!!!         love, joy, peace and an abundance of hugs be yours today, patty