Donnas Maple Oatbread

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons water (70 to 80 degrees)
1/3 cup maple syrup 
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup quick-cooking oats
2 1/2 cups bread flour
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

The recipe was originally for a bread maker but I use my Kitchen aid mixer and it comes out so very good!

1. take 1/2 cup of warm water in a small bowl sprinkle the yeast on top and let set for 15 minutes 

2. add the oats, flour and salt to the bowl mix and then make a well in the center , 
add the dissolved yeast and water to the well . Gently stir incorporating a small about of the flour to make a sticky dough, cover and let set for 20 mintues ( the dough should rise by then )

3.add the remaining 1/4 cup plus 2 tbs water
the maple syrup and oil

mix well , sometimes I find I need to add just a sprinkle more of flour as you just want the dough to be dry enough that you can touch it and form it in a ball with out getting your hands all sticky..ha!

cover and let rise for one hour.

punch down ( I put it back in the mixer) then grease a bread pan , add the dough and let rise again until doubled.

bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.

how green does/will my Garden Grow? Part VI

Yesterday my son in law Kyle came up to help me with the greenhouse again. We got all the rest of the ribs up secured inside and out AND got the Shell on , oh my what a job, it seemed easy enough cut a piece of plastic 20x 25 and pull it over the top. Sure that worked but now how do you keep it from coming off??? We first tried staples but realized after a VERY SHORT while that staples were just going to come out. Even though Kyle was really enjoying using my stapler on the compressor. ( Boys, they just like tools eh?)
Anyhow after much debate we finally came up with securing the bottoms by screwing a row of 2x4's to the bottom which would catch the plastic with the screws but also hold it tight with the 2x4's we worked from 10:30AM til 3:30PM with a short break for lunch!

Wow it was really looking like a greenhouse now! I still wasn't totally sure how I was going to do the ends but I would tackle that tomorrow!

So how would I tackle this tomorrow..hmmm

I felt really good , it was really coming together.










So I slept on it and thing I had an idea about how to put the ends on. Lets see how it turns out.

So the east side had enough plastic over hanging that I just wrapped it over and tacked it down with the plywood I finished it off with on the bottoms since we do get SNOW here in the winter.
I built a door for the west side and I was pretty pleased that indeed it did fit!  I put the hinges on thought hmm maybe I'll be done for the day.

Our dog Bandit found a nice spot in one of the raised beds to keep cool.

One side all done!

Heck the door even works..:) Oh I am happy! I decided to not be fancy with the door latch, I just stuck a 2x4 up on the corner , wanna open it? Just slide the 2x4 up..:) works for me!


I was thinking I was going to be "done for the day" but after I had dinner I thought , hmm its still light out maybe I could get the other door finish if I get started now. So the boys and I went back outside to do some more work.

Oh I was more happy! Yes another door finished , the main construction was finally finished!

Yep that door works too..:)

The humidity was already going up.

Now all that is left to do is make some shelving to start our seedlings on. I need a couple steel barrels, I'm going to fill them with water and surround them with big stones in hopes to help hold the heat in, I also have a compost pile in there between two of the raised beds.  Then I'll line the lower part with plastic inside and top it with with crushed stone. That will be something my husband can help me with I'm sure!  
so I"m done working on it for a few days, My back can use the rest! Tomorrow I need to weed the gardens, make some pickles and mow the lawn!

how green does/will my Garden Grow? Part V

Well.....I have discovered that building a 12x18' building (greenhouse) is a bit harder than I planned seeing as though I really didn't have plans other than a drawing. Harder still seeing as though the spot I put it is sloped not only north /south but also east /west.  But I am happily gaining ground and so glad I am using 3" screws since not only do I think it will be stronger but next year if I want to change some of the inside support structure it will be so much easier to "rip it out" .

So my daughter and her husband came up on Sunday and they helped me cut all 40- 4" strips of plywood and we got all the North side strips up, what a big job!

Today I put up the last two horizontal supports - the ones I was working on when I kept dropping everything on my head!
They are up and everything is level so I'm happy!  Now its ready to put up the south facing ribs!

Meanwhile we've got so many tomatoes! The ones in the greenhouse have been taking a beating with me dropping things on them but still they are loaded!
We'll be canning tomatoes like crazy soon!

I'm thinking when I'm done doing this I could build a barn..ha!
Here you can see all the plywood strips that Kyle cut up for me, what a great help!  They are screwed on together but one is above the side support and one is below it.

The back side will have plywood on the bottom edge , this side will have plastic but in the winter I'll put plywood up over the top of it to protect it from the drifting snow.






So tomorrow we'll get the rest of the "ribs" up and I'll get the plywood on the back and ends I hope , then I need to make a door for the west side and a window that will open on the East side. Still lots to do but by then end of tomorrow I should be able to put the plastic over the top!

By Request - Mrs Captains Flat Bread (Pizza)

I started a search for homemade flatbread after visiting "American Flatbread" in Burlington , Vermont.  They have the best flatbread I've ever tasted and there I learned to NOT call it Pizza..ha! The crust is just what they call it flat and its crisp. So going along with my make it myself mode  this is how I make it.

Take 2 Tablespoons of yeast and mix with 2 teaspoons of sugar. Add 1 cup of warm water, stir and let that sit for about 5 minutes, this should give you a nice foaming mixture. Add 3 tablespoons of olive oil.

In another bowl add 2 1/2 cups of flour and 2 teaspoons of salt add the yeast mixture to this ( I use my kitchen aide mixer with dough hook for this ) kneading the dough until I have a nice consistency. You may need to add more flour this is critical you need a soft dough that is smooth and elastic but not tough. I sometimes add a much as 1/4 cup more of flour during this kneading process.

Since I like my flatbreads to fix on my pizza stone I cut this dough in half  each half will make a small 12" flatbread.  take each half  and form into a ball by kneading in at the edges. Place on a pan which has been coated with olive oil and let the dough rest for about 20 minutes , you don't need to cover it.

After it has rested form it into a 12" round which is no more than 1/4" thick. Now I know that using a pizza stone your supposed to heat it first but I don't have one of those neat big wooden things to transfer it so I just dust the stone with cornmeal and place the dough on the cold stone.   add your toppings and bake for about 15 minutes.

Now toppings on a flatbread , less is better, you want the crust to be crispy and not soggy.
The photo I took of my flatbread is just asiago cheese with italian herbs, sundried tomatoes and pineapple.  no sauce.. I love it!

if you add sauce just use it sparely! Enjoy!

Its Pickle Time!

Okay , so my Greenhouse has taken a break since the last time I worked on it I dropped way to many things on my head.  I took a break and built a new center island in our kitchen....

Its not totally done yet, I still need to add a layer of cement board, some wood trim and some neat ceramic tile on top.  Then put a few coats of poly coat on the wood.  No, I haven't forgotten about the greenhouse but have to admit I got a bit discouraged, or frustrated the last time out there.  Hopefully Sunday I'll take another crack at it.

Meanwhile the vegetable garden is doing well, I've put up beets, peas and beans into our freezer and now the cukes are coming fast and furious. I do love eating them but the majority of them are going into pickles.  PICKLES...mmmmm 

This is how I go about doing ours....

Onions, Cukes and Sweet Red Peppers.

First you gotta go out in your garden and gather up some nice cukes long and slender.  I am also lucky enough to have some nice onions growing too, but admit to having to buy the red peppers.

Before I do anything I fill the canning pot with water and start it going. It might start boiling before I'm ready, if so I just turn it off or turn it down depending on how much longer before I'm ready for it. Course from now until the cukes are done I'll leave the canner on the stove full so it won't take long to warm up , plus I'm not wasting water refilling it. 

wash those veggies

Wash all the veggies really well, nothing worse then dirt in your pickles!

Nice clean veggies

After you've got them cleaned up slice them all up no thicker than about 1/4" I usually cut up about 3 cukes, then layer some sliced Onion and Peppers then sprinkle about  some pickling salt on top, then another 3 cukes , onions and peppers and more salt using about 1/3 cup for that quantity.

After you got the amount of veggies cut up you need then you need to cover the bowl with Ice.

Leave the ice on there for about an hour and a half. ( this is a good time to make a few loaves of Butter Honey Bread !)

Now you need to rinse the veggies off, drain them and rinse them again.
In a big pot on your stove, put 2 cups of sugar, 1 cup of vinegar and 1 tablespoon celery seeds. ( lots of time I double this to be sure I'll have enough if I cut up extra cukes) boil the mixture and once its boiling good, add the veggies and bring to another boil. While your waiting get your jars ready.

Its always nice to have a kitchen buddy with you while your cooking. Even if your buddy is just sleeping on a dish towel. :)

Wash your jars in hot hot water or if you prefer heat them in the oven at 250 for about 15 minutes. I usually wash mine and leave the lids and covers in the hot water until the jars are filled.  Fill the jars full with the pickle, onions and peppers then topping off with the liquid til 1/4 inch from the top, slide your spoon or knife around in the jar to remove air bubbles top off the jars with the lids and cover, usually I have a towel in my hand since the jars are quite hot now and it helps to be able to tighten the covers.

After all the jars are filled put them in the boiling water canner and process for 10 minutes.

Be careful  when removing the jars. You'll want to use some good rubber coated tongs. While the jars are cooling you should hear the "pop" of the lids and before storing the jars away push the top of the lids and be sure all have a good seal. You should be able to remove the cover and give the lid a gentle pull and it not come off.

Store jars in a dark place. They won't last long though these pickes are awesome!

The pickes I just made are on the left.  I like the bright clear brine for these versus the bread and butter pickles to the right that have some different spices which makes the brine more a yellow color. Both are good but I really like these tasty ones better, crunchy and sweet! 

Go make some pickles! :)