good morning good friends. I hope and pray that y'all are doing ok today and that you've got all you're Thanksgiving cook done or just about done. I have a couple of dishes I need to get made today and then we'll be set for stuffing our faces. hahahaha when I got up this morning it was 40* here in my neck of the woods. I guess it's gonna be cold here for a few days. I've got to get my garlic covered up and I think I'll get my experimental taters pulled up and see what is underneath. I'm kinda excited to see, if anything grew from this experiment being so late in the fall. some of my fall crops that I planted got frost bit and I don't think they're gonna come out of it. most of it it's just experimenting anyway, but I like to see it all grow. so we'll see what happens with it all. I hope y'all have a wonderful day.
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let's do a quick "2 minutes in the kitchen with me" this morning. I had to make some bread yesterday and I was looking for different bread machine recipe. something that had almond flour in it. I found the perfect recipe of "Allrecipes dot com" website and the name of it is Bread Machine Almond Bread. it was the first recipe I looked at. I looked at several and they had too many ingredients. when I look at a list of ingredients as long as my leg, it's a total turnoff!! this one was perfect.
I did need some whole wheat flour. So off to kroger to get that and then back home to get the bread machine fired up.
I'll not list the ingredients as you can find the recipe on all recipes, but I will list my changes to this recipe. a recipe is a basic guideline and I use what I have. I will make sure I have the main ingredients, but everything else is pretty subjective. hahaha
one of the ingredients was almond oil. I don't have almond oil, but I do have avocado oil (and they both start with "a", so that's good, right? 🤣🤣🤣) not knowing anything about almond oil, I decided I would add about a 1/2 tsp of almond extract, so I put that in the oil. (hahaha) may use a full tsp next time.
another ingredient I didn't have, but thought I did have was xanthan gum, a thickener. I thought I had some, but alas, I had to bring out the guar gum. the amount changes for the guar gum. I had to use 1 and 1/2 times the amount of guar gum and I mixed it in the oil before adding it to the other wet ingredients. it did get the oil thick and I had to make sure to get all of it scraped out of the condiment cup.
this recipe also calls for honey, so I used some of my raw honey. it was crystalized, but it is still perfectly wonderful, so I put it in the wet ingredients.
then mixed all the dry ingredients minus the yeast and put in the pan, wet ingredients first, then dry ingredients, with the yeast sprinkle on top.
I told you all of that to tell you this, this was the best bread I've done in a LONG time!!!! when the dough cycle went off, the dough was almost at the lid of the bread machine. next time I make it I will try to remember to take pictures of each step. I was really impressed.
if you know anything about making bread, you know that it's difficult to get whole wheat bread to rise, much less with the addition of almond flour. I just knew it was probably gonna be a waste of time and ingredients. NOT, in a big way!!! I'm so thrilled. I love to be able to have different breads from time to time, so this will be in my rotation now. plus, it's a high protein bread. that's a huge win.
the recipe was to make 12 rolls. when I seen how much it had risen, I knew I was gonna get more. I quartered the dough and then quartered each piece again. for the larger rolls, I just rolled them out in short logs and sliced them into 4 pieces and I stood them up on end and pressed down with my palm and that's why they look like they do. next time I may work the dough up a little before I flatten them into buns. I made 8 buns and 8 rolls. the buns are so large that I may try to get 20 from the next batch and I can freeze some.
I'll be the first to admit that my rolls and buns are not the prettiest, but I'll be the first to say that looks aren't everything. taste is though, and these are really good.
we did sample one and it was pretty yummy. so head over to allrecipes and get that recipe and see how you can do with making some almond bread, if you're interested.
and once again, I'll be the first one to admit, they are NOT the prettiest rolls I've ever made, but they are pretty fine tasting. my next batch will be prettier. hahahaha
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I just can't remember if I have shared this with y'all or not. if I have please forgive me. but I hope it's some encouragement for you to try something when others say it can't be done. try it.
y'all know I dehydrate, a lot, because you've seen most of the pictures I've taken of all I do and have dehydrated. I love to experiment. 3 or 4 years ago someone posed the question, "can you use dehydrated seeds to grow a plant?" good question. that spring, I took some seeds from the bottom of a pepper jar where I had dehydrated peppers at 130*. I planted those seeds. nothing came up. by the time fall rolled around, I had some more freshly dehydrated seeds from freshly dehydrated peppers set at 125*. I planted a couple of those. nothing came up. now, I'm not the greatest gardener. I do mostly what I do swinging by the seat of my britches. hahaha that's just how I roll. hahaha plus, I pray. a LOT. God hears those prayers.
the next season, I tried some pepper seeds dehydrated at 120*. well, you guessed it, those didn't come up. but, I am tenacious if not just a whole lot stubborn. I wasn't about to give up and I didn't. so, I lowered my temps down to 115*. up to this point, I haven't told you what kind of pepper seeds I was trying to grow. if you have ever gotten any of those really long sweet bell peppers from aldi, multicolor in a bag, then you know what I'm talking about. some of them are 10 to 12 inches long and very delicious. now we shall proceed.
so back to the first question, "can you grow produce from dehydrated seeds?" well, I personally took that as a challenge to find out, and I did. that summer, I has a pepper plant on my deck, in a pot, that had at least 2 peppers on it and one of them was almost as long as my hand and the other pepper wasn't far behind. so, with a resounding YES, it can be done!!!
I also didn't tell you that I got screamed at on facebook for trying to encourage someone to find out what can be done with dehydrated seeds, if anything. that was all the encouragement I needed, getting yelled at, that made me say "watch me!!!" well, the person that yelled will never know the success I had. and another thing that I was yelled at about by the same person was for using pepper seeds from a store bought pepper. "they will NEVER grow!!!" is what I heard, from that same person. they said that seeds in store bought produce is NOT viable, they have been treated, and they are hybrid and will not produce anything. that person will never know what I accomplished in my little deck garden.
well, you know my motto, "something is better than nothing". thanks to this person, that has become my motto. so when you see that motto, you'll know the story behind it and the determination that led to that motto. I was bound and determined to grow peppers from the seeds of the peppers from aldi. my experiment for next year will be to see what the second generation pepper will look like. determination always pays off!!!
I said all of that to say this. while being screamed at is what gave me the bullheaded determination to find out for myself what can be done, if you ask me a question, my encouragement will be to "try it". I'll NEVER encourage you to try something that is dangerous, or something that will make someone sick, or something that could hurt someone. I'll never do that and will encourage you NOT to attempt anything that could have a bad outcome. but, I will always encourage someone to experiment. we can all learn from each others experiments. needless to say, I was pretty upset and hot under the collar, but I determined to use that as the fuel to find out what can be done.
people will also say that you can't grow potatoes from grocery store potatoes. I call manure on that too. why? because I have!!! they also say you can't grow ginger from a store bought piece of ginger. guess what, YOU CAN!!!! turmeric root, absolutely you can grow it!!! if you've ever noticed any of these items, they all get sprouts. that's all they need. pop it in a pot and you can grow it. people just spout off about something they have never tried because someone said it can't be done. "it can't be done" is all the encouragement I need to prove it can be done. I've grown it all and more. and I'm not even a good gardener. but I know the Master Gardener and He helps me!!! He is my encouragement when everyone around says "it can't be done". scripture says "I can do all things thru Christ who strengthens me!" I stick by that.
this is my opinion on veggies and fruit. fresh is best, frozen is next best, then I think dehydrated is 3 place. why, simply because it has not been as heated as home canned or store bought canned goods. heating damages some of the nutritional values of produce. and especially dropping my temps from 130* down to 115* will really help preserve more of the nutritional values in the produce, at least until it's cooked. but this is all just my ideas. I do know at 130*, some things can change colors from the sugars caramelizing. at 115*, I've not had anything change colors. everything maintains the colors it was when I was washing and prepping. for me, that's a win.
so, I have learned that dehydrating at 115* will leave seeds viable to grow. I had 4 pepper plants that came up from 4 dehydrated pepper seeds. if you think about it, the soil can be that hot at times and seeds will still germinate. I also learned that seeds from peppers in the store can and will grow. as I said earlier, the experiment continues next year, if I get any seeds from these peppers. I also learned that you don't have to make others feel bad just for asking a valuable question. encouragement goes a long way. I only planted one of those plants and wish I planted all 4.
so I encourage you to try something that you have been wondering about. if it's not dangerous in any way, try it. you might prove to yourself that it can be done. I'll always be the one that says "try it" and then share your results. it's a great learning experience for us all. and as this story continues to unfold, I'll keep you posted on the outcome.
above all, do not hear me say, "trust next years garden to seeds in the bottom of jars that have been dehydrated". that's not what I'm saying. have viable seeds that you KNOW will grow. but, if you have seeds from a pepper that you didn't grow, save a few of those seeds. and if they haven't been dehydrated, then more than likely they will come up anyway. but even if they have been dehydrated, if the temp is low enough, 115*, those should come up based on my experience thus far.
just encourage others to try something, don't berate or belittle anyone for asking a question. and remember my motto, "something is better than nothing". encourage those around you to try something. as the old saying goes, "can't never did do anything".
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I've been re-sharing some of these past dehydrating projects and trying to give a little bit more info. you can see below, in the next segment, how I cut up the onions and the greens. if the bulb is larger in diameter than my index finger, I cut them down the center only to prevent case hardening. the blades, I just cut them to what ever length, trying for no longer than 1 inch. that's just my preference. as for temp setting, I set my machine at 110* or 115* and let it run till everything is crisp and then jar it up.
my rule of thumb has become, "rock hard, cracker crisp, bone dry". and that rule of thumb is actually ignoring time. I've had stuff on my dehydrator for 96 hours before. it wasn't ready to come off tile it was completely dry. if you're drying beans or peas, that's where "rock hard" comes in. "cracker crisp" means taking something and breaking it like a fresh cracker. if it breaks easily into 2 pieces, it's probably dry. "bone dry" is also getting something so dry that you can't break it and it won't flex even a little bit. you just can't break it and it won't bend. if it bends, it's not dry enough. take a bean or a pea and hit it with a hammer, if it doesn't shatter like hitting a rock with a hammer, it's not dry enough. take a slice of potato and if it doesn't break like a fresh saltine, it's not dry enough. and when you dehydrate a sweet potato wedge, if it's not bone dry, it's not dry enough.
that is my criteria for knowing when something is ready to be jarred up. also nothing I cut is ever thicker than 1/2 inch. any thicker, and we risk case hardening. that can set the stage for losing a whole jar of hard work. not funny at all. so if you can adopt my rule of thumb, you'all always be good to go and know that you've done all you can do.
when I am jarring up my goods, I try to use a size appropriate jar if I know I won't be dehydrating any more of that item in the near future. if you end up with 1 cup of an item, try to find a jar that will hold it all and give about an inch of shake room in the jar. shaking your jars from time to time, after the initial conditioning stage, is important. it allows you to see if anything is sticking to the sides of the jars and you can get a good visual to see if there is any mold in your jar.
one of the reasons for a size appropriate jar is that if you take a cup of product and put it in a 3 or 4 cup jar, you have all that space that is filled with air. air has moisture in it. in my area, it has a lot of moisture in it. the main purpose for dehydrating is to get rid of the moisture. so if you put a dab in a big jar, you have the worry then that the excess air in an extra large jar can cause some condensation on the inside of the jar. that's not good. so, that's why I try to use a size appropriate jar.
during the garden season, if I know I will be dehydrating quite a bit of one item, I don't worry about the larger jar, because I know over the course of a month of two, I'll fill it. so, I'm actually having my hands on that jar a lot and I'm seeing the content frequently and if I happen to notice any condensation, I can put everything back on the dehydrator before I have any loss. I'll say that I've never had to do that. but that is my game plan if and when it ever does happen. proper dehydration and proper conditioning will help prevent a lot of mishaps.
I use any and all jars I can get little fingers on. all sizes. when I get ready to use a jar, I inspect the rim of the jar carefully looking for any cracks and chips in the rim. then I inspect the lid. on store bought jars, there is a rubber gasket on the lid where it fits down on the rim of the jar. I also inspect that area carefully each time I open a jar and get ready to close it. keeping an eye on those areas of your jars will serve you well to prevent product loss. when you put the lids on, tighten them as tight as you can get them. they will be hard to get off, but you want that jar to have a good seal.
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this was from back in the summer and thought you might get some inspiration from it.
been working on some of my deck garden this week. getting things cleaned up a little. cutting out stuff that has done done it's "thang" for the season. already planted a few seeds for some late crops. we'll see what happens with that. but this morning, I got out and took out all my little onions.
you know, when you get green onions and you cut a little bit of the root end off, guess what, that's free food. it really is. if you was gonna toss it in the trash, and instead, you plant it, anything that comes up is "free food". who doesn't love that???
I had 16 that I had planted earlier this year and I have cut the tops off them so many times, probably 10 or 15 times. they grow like weeds. anyway, I got out and pulled them up and brought them in and cleaned them up and they are in my dehydrator as I type. yes and amen!!!! gotta love free food. just have to say that I also done the same thing with some of the lettuces that you get that still have root balls attached. just clip off the lettuce and place the root ball in water over night to wake it up and plant it and you have "free lettuce". I done that with 4 or 5 root balls and we had salads from them up until about a week and a half ago when it was so hot. I still have 2 heads of lettuce in the fridge with root balls and when I use the lettuce, I will grow some "free lettuce". can't beat free any day of the week. anyway, I took a few pics of my green onions and wanted to show y'all. hope you find some inspiration to grow some "free" food.
I ended up getting a gallon jar full of onion blades and it was all free food!!! what's not to love??
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Thanksgiving is just a day away, so I thought I would share this with y'all.
what are you thankful for? I am so thankful and blessed to still have my sweet Momma. back issues has kept me from seeing her as often as I have wanted to this summer and fall, but I cherish all the fun times and memories we have made over the years. my husband and I was laughing yesterday about some of our cruising adventures. we sure did have some fun and funny times. and we still laugh about those times and dream about going on another cruise, but that won't happen. laughs was high on the activities list for us and we did a lot of it and still do. 19 years has taken it's toll on both of us, but I wouldn't take anything for the memories we have. I hope and pray that all of y'all have some great memories to be thankful for during this season.
this was taken back in 2004 when Daddy was still alive and they was still living at the homeplace. a lot has changed since this picture, but we're all still thankful that we still our sweet Momma. she keeps plugging along and pushing thru the hard days, which is just about every day. so she is a Thanksgiving Blessing that I'm so thankful for.
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let's do another "2 minutes in the kitchen with me". I don't have a picture, but wish I did. back in the gardening season when my green beans was coming to an end, I picked the beans and tossed the plants. when I got done there wasn't enough to do anything with. literally about 10 to 15 green beans in varying sizes. I went about picking other things that needed to be picked at the time. when I got inside with them, so help me, I almost tossed those green beans in the trash. I couldn't, because I had grown them. I glanced to the right of my kitchen sink and I seen my honey and garlic ferment. I glanced at the kitchen table and I seen 2 ferments on it. I glanced back at the sink and there was a small jar that had just been washed and dried and just not put away yet. I broke the beans up and stuffed them in the jar, sliced some onion and put in a few pieces of red sweet peppers, all from my garden. I done a quick search on Mr Googlepants and found a quick salt brine and made it put it over the goodies in my jar and let it set for a little over 2 months. I put it in the fridge the other day and yesterday I pulled out a couple of those beans and some onion and pepper and OH MY WORD!!! it was awesome!!! next year, I plan on having jugs of that stuff!!! it is so good. this won't last me but just a few minutes in the grand scheme of things, but if I live to see another summer and fall, I'll have plenty to enjoy. that's just how simple it is to make something so delicious and good for you!!!
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Isn't that the truth!!!!!! I will be making some more of this as the weather keeps changing and getting colder. this is everything but the sink soup. it has everything in it. lots of veggies and it's wonderful.
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I know I've shared this before, but we need to remember it.
The Israelites are at the Jordan River. Joshua and Caleb are coming back from Canaan to report on the possibilities and the potential that God has for them in the promised land. They are carrying a cluster of luscious grapes so large they have to use a pole to bring it. The children of Israel said, “Where did you get those grapes?” Joshua grinned and said “Right next door to the biggest giant you’ve ever seen.” Can’t you hear them? “Giants? Did you say giants?’ You mean, after all we’ve been through—after the Red Sea experience, after the earthquake for worshiping the golden calf, after the snakes came out to bite us for murmuring, after the plague for criticizing God’s cooking, after circling around in the wilderness for 40 years—now you’re telling us that in order to get the grapes we have to whip the giants?” Joshua said, “That’s about the size of it.”
In the book of Ephesians the church of Jesus Christ is presented as seven things. The sixth thing they are is the bride of Christ. The seventh thing they are is the army of God. The last form of the church on earth is as an army, advancing and conquering. Some of us would rather be lovers than fighters. We’d rather be the bride than be in the army. But if we’re going to have God’s blessing between here and the rapture, we’d better put on the whole armor of God—because it’s going to be a knuckle busting fist fight between here and the gates of glory. Give Satan no ground. We are the blood-bought church of Jesus Christ, the army of the Living God, and the victory is ours in Jesus’ name. Praise Him!!!!!!
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remembering Thanksgiving, what are you thankful for today? I'm always thankful for the presence of the Lord in my life every day. Thankful that He loved me enough to want me to be in relationship with Him. Praise His holy name.
as I came thru the kitchen this morning, I noticed some dishes in the sink left over from yesterday evening. not many, so I didn't wash them last night. I know, shame on me. hahaha anyway, the instant I seen those dishes, I was taken back to the days before I was married. coming from a big family, you didn't leave dishes in the sink, they had to be washed. doing dishes was something I always liked. Mom and I could get them knocked out in no time flat. it was like cleaning up after our own little army. hahaha but we never complained. my Momma's sister gave her a plaque years ago that hang between the 2 windows above the sink. I guess everyone in the household memorized it. she still has it. it says:
Thank God for dirty dishes
for they have a tale to tell.
While others may go hungry
we're still eating well.
With health, home and happiness
we surely shouldn't fuss,
For by the stack of evidence
God's been good to us.
not a day goes by that I don't think of that. and for the large family that we had, Momma always made wonderfully delicious meals. it didn't make any difference if it was beans, potatoes and cornbread, it was the best you could eat anywhere. if you was there at meal time, you pulled up a chair and joined us.
so, that's what I'm thankful for today. thru all the hard times we've seen, we've always had dishes to wash and that's because we always had food to eat. I don't know what the future looks like and I try not to worry about it. but I do know that we have and serve a very faithful God and He knows what the future looks like, because He's already there, making a way for us. so, if we have dirty dishes, be thankful and grateful for them and let's get them cleaned and ready for the next meal that He will provide. thank God for all His provisions, especially for dirty dishes because they do tell a story.
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well, I guess that's a rap for this blog post. I hope you're ready for Thanksgiving and have a lot of wonderful food in preparation for tomorrow. more than that, remember to thank God for all His blessings on you and family. without His provisions, we would all be destitute. I sure don't deserve His goodness, but I sure do appreciate it. hugs, love and blessings on all, patty
