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The green, green grass of home

The bounty from Swallow Crest Farm is not the only thing that is green around here. We’ve had plenty of rain this Spring and all that should be green is VERY green. The green is so intense that it glows.

This weekend is the first in several that had mostly sunshine. We have been enjoying it. Today was the warmest day at 70F – perfect!

Sunshine, fresh green grass – what more could a guy like Bob ask for?

It was a day for Bob’s favorite grassy-sunny spot on the edge of the woods, just north of the front porch.

He’s there…just to the right…a small yellow-orange bit – that’s Bob.

And the grass, the trees, the sky – beautiful.

The woods grasses are in tip-top shape as well. With the exception of the “thorn-in-my-side” thistle patch, I’ve been able to keep up with the few other weeds that populate the woods: hand pulling. Good exercise and with the abundant moisture, the few weeds I find let go of the ground easily.

Bear was out also…WITH Bob! They studiously ignore one another – both watching me. I sing and talk to them both. I am very pleased that Bear does not feel the need to do something about Bob and is content in his own space. Bob goes about his own business like he is the only creature in existence… true Bob!

A noise, a smell, a sound…and the beardog is on alert: stationed at Beardog Point looking out for trouble.

Our lives, our Sunday afternoon: enjoyed all together on the green, green grass of home.

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Pretzels for Bill

As told by my mother, ever since I posted the photo of my first pretzel, Bill has been saying that I have to make pretzels when I visit next. Bill typically does not say a thing just once :) !

Bill, I will happily make pretzels when I visit!! But here are a few more…in the name of perfecting the recipe and technique…

I was a grown up, middle aged adult when Bill became part of the family but he’s there with help and ideas when I need them, he was a professional photographer for a time and supports my photography plus gave me some beautiful books by Ansel Adams that I have learned from. He and my mother were foodies before that term was coined – and now we all enjoy sharing things we’ve learned, new things we try and cooking together when we can.

And he loves my Mama. So, pretzels for you, Bill, and Happy Father’s Day!

Love,
Liz, your wacky Montana step-daughter (that’s wacky, NOT wicked :)! )

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Cooking and eating from the garden: Week 5…and BAGELS!!

Week 5…I cannot believe it has been 5 weeks since I started getting fresh garden goodness from Swallow Crest Farm.

I cannot believe it is the middle of June!!!

But, life is good…life is beyond good, here in Northwest Montana…at least by my standards. The weather is perfect, the food is wonderful, Bob, Bear and I are healthy and happy.

So…week 5: red leaf lettuce, spring greens, spinach, green onions, bok choy and radishes

Featuring spinach…a calzone with spinach, pepperoni (uncured, no nitrates from Applegate Farm), goat cheese, monterey jack and a bit of my roasted vegetable marinara.

Spurred on by my neighbor’s chef salad mention…a salad of fresh greens, pepperoni and kalamata olives dressed with my pesto-ranch-green goddess dressing. A bit of parmesan and on the side: pickled cucumber, onion, radish, bok choy slaw.

The fresh spinach – it has been my favorite of the green abundance. I’ve used it like lettuce on sandwiches, blitzed it into pesto, processed it with a bit of olive oil and frozen it…AND added it to a breakfast scramble.

Yep!! This scramble: eggs, spinach and mushrooms scrambled on low in a mix of butter and olive oil…then topped with salsa from the garden (cilantro, tomatoes, green onions, jalapeno, cumin, lime juice, salt & pepper) and goat cheese.

AND…a bagel – HOMEMADE!!! – with a schmeer of goat cheese. YessirreeeBob – THAT is a good breakfast!

Have I mentioned that I’ve been making bagels???

After the pretzel roll/pretzel adventure of two weeks ago…I’ve been making bagels. And reading about making bagels. Experimenting. And making bagels.

I have made the following bagels:
sesame
poppy seed
everything (kind of…using a unique mix of seeds form King Arthur)
cinnamon raisin
cranberry
plain

I have not thrown out a single bagel.

I have learned some things and there is more I’d like to learn. But at the moment, I am NOT unhappy with my bagels.

I am using a high moisture, long rise, no knead dough with a mix derived and adapted from multiple sources and my own experimentation:

2 1/2 cups King Arthur Bread flour (I believe KA bread flour has the highest protein content of any flour available in the U.S.)
1/2 cup King Authur white whole wheat flour
3/4 T instant yeast
3/4 T sea salt
3/4 T sugar
1/2 T non diastatic malt powder (source is King Arthur….this is a barley derivative to assist in rising and texture)
1 1/2 – 1 3/4 cups of warm water

Stir all above to mix and cover with wrap. Put in warm spot to rise for 2-12 hours. Yes, you read correctly. If I make this on a warm day, I let it rise for several hours and then refrigerate. If I mix it in the evening, I leave it out overnight. My house is cool at typically 62-64F.

This is what it looks like after a bit. When it looks like this, I stir it, transfer it to a ceramic crock and put it in the refrigerator…dough for the week’s (or 2 weeks) bagel needs :) !

On baking day, for each bagel, grab a hardball (baseball) size piece of dough. Flour it a bit to make it easy to handle. Shape it into a circle maybe 3 inches in diameter. Punch a hole in the middle and stretch the ring to 5 or 6 inches in diameter = raw bagel. Let the bagel circle sit while you get water boiling and your oven to 450-470. For me…460-470 works best.

For the boiling water, you want a pan large enough to hold almost 2 inches of water and wide enough to allow all of your bagel rings to swim without touching. I use a large dutch oven if I’m making 3 bagels, but typically, I’m making 1 bagel and I use a medium saucepan.

When the water is boiling vigourously, I add a mix of the malt powder, baking soda a sugar to the water. For 1 bagel, I use 1/2 tsp malt, 1/2 tsp baking soda and 1 tsp sugar.

Gently slide the bagel ring(s) into the water. Turn over at 2 minutes.

Another 2 minutes and remove with a slotted spoon to a plate.

Brush with an egg wash (slightly beaten egg and a bit of water), top with seeds if desired and put those things into the oven!

I’ve baked them direct on a pizza stone, on parchment on the stone, on parchment on cookie sheet…I can’t tell the difference and since I have a small upper oven that heats very quickly, I’ve mostly been baking on parchment on a cookie sheet in that top oven.

BAGELS!!…homemade bagels. They are a good thing.

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Late Spring evening

One week of Spring left.

Sunset, as we approach the Summer solstice, is 9:40ish. There is light in the sky until after 10:00 p.m. Sunrise is 5:30 a.m. The days are long and the nights are short.

We are having a very typical Montana June with cool temperatures, off and on rain, overcast alternating with sun breaks. When the sun does break, the light is typically a photographer’s dream light: crystal clear, excellent contrast and a vividness to every color. It doesn’t hurt that with the rain, the fields and yards and woods glow with a green that looks like it came out of the Crayola box. Ditto the blue of the sky and white of the clouds.

Bear and I walked the loop, just after 8:00 p.m.

The sun lit the valley tree tops as dark clouds skirted the mountain tops. It was quiet. Crickets chirped, a light breeze stirred the air, a few birds sang, our footsteps and thoughts…softly accompanied us…

Late Spring evening.

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Let sleeping dogs lie

I went to make the bed, but found it occupied.

“Yes, I am quite comfortable. Thank you for asking.”

“You are leaving now, right?”