Unintended Hiatus

Hello blogging world! I can't believe we haven't posted anything in 2 months. We have is that we been so busy enjoying our new spring projects and seemed to have forgotten to continue blogging.

Our biggest project was preparing our vegetable garden area. We had to fence it in to keep out large and small animals. So far no elk have jumped the fence into our garden area, even though we have seen that they've walked through our yard. We're hoping it stays that way! Dan also built 10 raised beds, filled them with soil, and then we started planting and transplanting. I admit that we transplanted our indoor starts too early. We had a great room to help the starts grow, but we didn't realize how big they were going to become! The plants were crowding each other so we finally decided to transplant them outside. Thankfully, they've been doing well even though the weather hasn't been ideal. We did learn our lesson and next year we will start our seeds a little later. Then it won't feel as urgent to plant them outside. 

Another big project is the beginning of our furniture building. Dan is currently building a bed frame for our room. I'm so thrilled that we're finally going to have a real bed frame. We've had a metal one for as long as we've been together. We'll make sure to post pictures and give the necessary information when that project is finished.

Lastly, we've been continuing our research about health and food. A few days ago we decided to try becoming vegans. It will be an interesting journey and we'll probably document some of it here. Dan and I are vegetarians so at least we are halfway there. We still have a lot to learn.

No Impact Man

No Impact Man is a film about Colin Beavan and his family changing their lives for one year to achieve zero impact on the environment. They start with buying local food, walking or biking everywhere, and getting rid of toxic chemicals. They slowly phase in more changes that become more difficult, especially hard when living in an apartment in New York City. They start a worm compost, shut off the electricity, which means no refrigerator, and wash their clothes in the bath tub.

Most of these changes are easier for Colin than his wife, who is reluctant toward these changes. It is interesting to watch how these changes affect two different people and even their daughter. While some of this is easy for most people to implement, it would be a bit difficult to shut off the electricity or wash clothes in the bath tub. The movie is entertaining and serves as a good reminder to be more conscious on how many resources we consume and how much waste we produce.

Check out the movie website at www.noimpactdoc.com

Honey-Whole Wheat Bread

Over the last few years, I've tried 5- 10 different bread recipes but this is the one I've had the most success with. In recent months I've been putting forth a lot more effort to make bread from scratch. I used to make it from scratch just because it tasted so good. Now I bake bread to replace buying bread from the store. This recipe makes 2 loaves and I'd like it to last us 2 weeks (usually freeze 1 loaf) but sometimes it lasts only about 1 week. Dan makes sandwiches to take to work every day and sometimes I do too.

This recipe is from Betty Crocker.

Prep: 35 min; Proof: 1hr 50 min; Bake: 45 min                     

Makes 2 loaves, 16 slices each

3 cups stone-ground whole wheat or graham flour

1/3 cup honey

1/4 cup shortening

1 tablespoon salt

2 packages regular yeast or quick active dry yeast

2 1/4 cups very warm water (120 degrees to 130 degrees)

3 to 4 cups all-purpose flour or bread flour

Margarine or butter, melted, if desired

1. Mix whole wheat flour, honey, shortening, salt and yeast in large bowl. Add warm water. Beat with electric mixer on low speed 1 minutes, scraping bowl frequently. Beat on medium speed 1 minute, scraping bowl frequently. Stir in remaining all-purpose flour, 1 cup at a time, to make dough easy to handle.

2. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface. Knead about 10 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Place in greased bowl and turn greased side up. Cover and let rise in warm place 40 to 60 minutes or until double. Dough is ready if indentation remains when touched.

3. Grease bottoms and sides of 2 loaf pans, 8.5 x 4.5 x 2.5 or 9 x 5 x 3 inches, with shortening.

4. Punch down dough and divide in half. Flatten each half with hands or rolling pin into rectangle, 18 x 9 inches, on lightly floured surface. Roll dough up tightly, beginning with 9-inch side, to form a loaf. Press with thumbs to seal after each turn. Pinch edge of dough into roll to seal. Fold ends under loaf. Place seam side down in pan. Brush loaves lightly with margarine. Cover and let rise in warm place 35 to 50 minutes or until double.

5. Move oven rack to low position so that tops of pan will be in center of oven. Heat oven to 375 degrees.

6. Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until loaves are deep golden brown and sound hollow when tapped. Remove from pans to wire rack. Brush loaves with margarine, cool.

(Note: Allow bread to completely cool before slicing into pieces. This will help prevent in from becoming crumbly. Sometimes I do cut off an end piece just to have a quick taste!).

I'm hoping that after enough practice my loaves will come out more evenly shaped and the same size. But as long as the bread tastes good, the presentation doesn't matter.

Food Matters

In a continuing journey to educate ourselves about nutrition and eat in a healthy manner, we're always reading a book or watching a movie to both educate and motivate. Yesterday we watched a movie called Food Matters by Producer-Directors James Colquhoun and Laurentine ten Bosch. It's about 80 minutes long and is available from the library or their website, FoodMatters.tv 

The main point I got from the movie was the importance of eating the proper food to provide the necessary nutrition our bodies need. By eating natural foods that are full of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients our bodies will perform better. When we suffer malnutrition, our bodies are more susceptible to viruses and diseases. 

There is discussion in the film about the food and health care system. They argue that the medical field gets paid by treating illness and they don't make money by keeping people healthy. There is also a lack of nutrition education among the general population as well as a large number of doctors. They get in the practice of taking a pill for every sickness.

I found the movie to give good information and provide many reasons to take action against the current health system. Eating natural foods that have not been processed or modified feels like common sense to me. Right now the U.S. population spends a smaller percentage of their income on food than ever in history (less than 10%). Meanwhile, we spend more on health care for issues such as diabetes and heart disease. I'd rather spend more on the best food than going to the doctor. I enjoy eating great food and generally dislike going to the hospital. This is not to dis-credit doctors, they are amazing when it comes to surgery, rehabilitation, and saving lives, etc. The movie is just focusing on the nutrition and disease side.

Starting seeds indoors

    Last Thursday we started our first round of vegetable seeds inside. We planted Artichoke, Broccoli, Roma, San Marenzo, and Sweetie Tomatoes and Lettuce. We built a temporary table and installed florescent lights in a room that we don't use very much. We started with two trays that are 22" by 11" and that have a removable plastic cover that is used during germination only. Above the trays are two 4 foot florescent lights that are adjustable. It is best to keep the lights a few inches above the tops of the plants. The table was built with some scrap wood found in the garage. It measures 2.5' by 8'. This gives us plenty of room for planting and the trays.

    The germination time on the seed packets for all of the seeds was between 1-2 weeks. After 3 days we found the broccoli was the first to sprout and the San Marenzo Tomatoes were on day 4. The Artichoke and remaining tomatoes sprouted on the 5th and 6th day. We kept the temperature in the room about 70 degrees and watered about once a day with room temperature water. The lettuce required temperatures between 55 and 60 degrees to germinate, therefore, we kept them in another room. Our florescent lights are on a timer and remain on 16 hours a day.

    We feel good with our germination success. After 1 week:

Above: First Broccoli Sprout, 3 days old

Below: First San Marenzo Tomato 4 days old

Below are our veggies after 1 week

Top Left: Artichoke

Top Right: Broccoli

Bottom Left: San Marenzo Tomatoes

Bottom Right: Lettuce

Baking French Bread

Homemade French Bread is wonderfully delicious! Almost all the homemade breads I've tried have been good, but this French Bread is one I will continue to make and don't feel the need to search for another recipe. The only negatives of making this type of bread is the time (there's longer waiting times for the bread to rise) and the recipe I uses results in two loaves of bread. These two loaves seem like a lot until you put the slices out at a party until you see how quickly they disappear! Believe me, the last time I made this bread I brought it to a party and it was all gone within an hour. I felt so bad thinking I should have made more! I believe people tend to eat more when food is homemade. It isn't the norm to get the opportunity to indulge in homemade bread, so when it's offered, people love it!

Thus far, I've baked this bread to pair with lasagna, macaroni and cheese, soup, and as an appetizer. You can dip it in olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and spinach dip.

The recipe I used is from my Betty Crocker's cookbook.

Prep: 25 minutes; Proof: 3 Hours; Bake: 30 minutes; Makes 2 loaves, 12 slices each

3 to 3 1/2 cups all purpose or bread flour                 

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 package regular or quick active dry yeast

1 cup very warm water (120 - 130 degrees)

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Cornmeal

1 large egg white

1 tablespoon cold water

Poppy seed or sesame seed (if desired)

                                                                            

Instructions:

1. Mix 2 cups of the flour, the sugar, salt and yeast in large bowl. Add warm water and oil. Beat with electric mixer on low speed 1 minutes; scraping bowl frequently. Beat on medium speed 1 minute, scarping bowl frequently. Stir in remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, to make dough easy to handle (dough will be soft). Turn dough onto lightly floured surface. Knead dough about 5 minutes or until smooth and elastic.

2. Place dough in greased bowl and turn greased side up. Cover and let rise in warm place 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until double. (Rising time is longer than times for traditional breads, which gives the typical French bread texture). Dough is ready if indentation remains when touched.

 

The dough, pre-rise. I forgot to take a picture after the rise time.

3. Grease large cookie sheet with shortening; sprinkle with cornmeal.

4. Punch down dough and divide in half. Roll each half into rectangle, 15x8 inches, on lightly floured surface. Roll up tightly, beginning at 15-inch side, to form a loaf. Pinch edge of dough into roll and seal. Roll gently back and forth to taper ends. Place both loaves on cookie sheet.

 

Pre-rise 

5. Cut 1/4-inch-deep slashes across loaves at 2-inch intervals with sharp knife. Brush loaves with cold water. Let rise uncovered in warm place about 1 hour or until double.

 

After rising time

6. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Mix egg white and 1 tablespoon cold water; brush over loaves. Sprinkle poppy or sesame seed.

7. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until loaves are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped.

                                                   After baking for 25-30 minutes, ready to be sliced!

Building a Compost Bin

My favorite project so far is our Compost bin. We throw our kitchen scraps and yard waste into it and will use the finished compost for our vegetable garden. We chose to build a 3-bin system to handle the volume of material. We chose to build it out of cedar because it is naturally resistant to rot. It costs a little more to use cedar, but it will last longer and look better.

We built the 3-bin system shown on the University of Missouri website and the PDF instructions can be downloaded HERE. The instructions are very easy to follow. I did make a few changes such as adding a lid and using 2x2s to hold the slats from falling into the bin. The whole project only took about 2 hours.

My material list was:

Lumber-

4 - 2"x4"x12'

3 - 2"x4"x10'

2 - 2"x6"x8'

3 - 2"x2"x8'

6 - 1"x6"x8'

25'x36" 1/2" fencing

1 box of 2.5" wood screws

1 box of 1" U-nails(attach fencing)

To build the lid(optional):

2 - 4'x8' plywood

6 hinges

1/4" bolts for hinges

 Cheryl watching me struggle and taking a picture before she helps

Almost in place

Finished product with removable slats installed and leveled.

Eating Animals

The latest book I just finished reading was Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer. I've watched several movies and read a few books on our food system and how animals are raised, killed, and processed. However, this book has made a bigger impact than everything else to date. Enough that I have changed my opinions and consumption of meat and fish.

This book provided various information about the food production process in American. A few of the main points that stuck out for me was the condition animals are raised in factory farms, the ecological effects of commercial fishing, and the killing process in many slaughter houses.

A great aspect about this book is that while I read it, I felt like Foer was providing the reader with the information to make their own choice about eating meat. He understands that giving up meat and seafood may not be the ideal solution for everyone. He provides awareness of the issues that are present in the current system and uses the term, "Selective Omnivore". This is choosing to to eat meat from animals that were raised naturally and humanly.

I would recommend this book to those who want to learn more about where their food comes from.