Friday, September 18, 2009

Come and Gone and Going

A and J called this afternoon just after I had finished the Great Putting Away of 2009. They were bombing along the A71 in a northerly direction about 30 minutes away from us. They had faithfully taken in most of what I had told them were some of the major sights with varying degrees of success. They did enjoy the Pot Du Gard roman bridge and the Millieu Causeway across the Tarn Gorge. AND...they enjoyed the quality of French Rest Areas...called Aires that have service stations attached to restaurants and shops selling local products. I think they had a great time and did it in an restful and yet very active way. They used the ETAP Hotel chain to save hotel expense and ate in local cafes and bars which always keeps the food expense low as well. I was/am impressed. So they arrived at Maison Blanche about 3pm and charged their batteries for the cell phones and computers, had a beer and laid out the tales of their discoveries. Kelly went to Dave and Sue's place shortly after they arrived and returned about 5 minutes after they had left bound to the ETAP outside of CDG in Paris. Here's our picture together a couple of days ago.


___

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

A Bread Making Disaster of Sorts


You know I like...no...LOVE making bread. I have been at it for a while now...last year actually, and have had many, many successes. I make it so that we have our daily bread everyday as fresh as humanly and machinely possible. I bake every other day on an average and sometimes more often than that. Most of my loaves are hand formed and not confined to a bread pan, just shaped after the kneading and final rise and put in the oven at 400 degrees for about 25 minutes. That's it...no proofing of yeast, no exact measuring of flour, salt, oils and butter or water. I use a Bluesky 40 Euro bread machine to do the mixing then I remove the loaf and proceed toi use the folding method for 4 turns of 45 minutes each. l'viola! Bread. Using my current supply of ingredients it has been just about impossible to fail, good loaves with each baking cycle have been the result...until yesterday. What happened yesterday? A giant break with traditional success is what. The bread as made in the usual way...lets do it for you here:
1.25 cups H2O
2 cups Bread Flour
1 cup Semolina flour
2 teaspoons dry yeast
2 Tablespoons sugar or molasses
2 Tablespoons butter or Margarine or Olive Oil
3/4 Tablespoon fine salt
That's it. Nothing more, no seeds, no nuts, no wholewheat...
results...a brick, doorstop or bookend or wallhanging...but nothing to eat and enjoy.
Oh yes I am one to not throw stuff away...so I tried to pretend it was "alright" this morning when Kelly ask me for some to have her smoked salmon with...but the telltale density running throught the loaf told the tale...this is shit!
So today, an hour ago, I proofed the yeast to check if it was still with the living,
weighed the flour and much more carefully assembled the ingredients as I have never done in the last few months. We will see soon what hath my hard work wrought.
____

Later...All ok, she is arisen! The proofing at 104 degrees F caused quite a foam after about 10 minutes. I added the other ingredients and turned on the trusty dough cycle of the Bluesky breadmaker. 1hr and 30 minutes later...I have a loaf of quite risen bread! Cool...now I just need to sneak it ever so carefully into the 400 degree F Champion oven (My Baker's Pride-like gem of 200lbs of cast iron and enamel coated with Nansulate) and wait 25 minutes for a result. Careful now...don't drop it! It's jelly like slack condition makes it quite a case for collapse if one isn't careful. A beauty! It's portrait is the image above...so my arrogance had gotten me away from the basics a bit too far, now I know better once again. Patience!
Bye for now!

Monday, September 14, 2009

New Guests, New Challenges...Nothing New



One day off from our last visitors whom we know well and love equally so with only one stranger, a boyfriend in the midst of the rest. Now we have a known somewhat and an unknown and us...and we are running out of time and the patience it takes to be decent hosts to decent guests. So much to do in this our last week in France until when? I dunno this time as we have decided to "go for it", rent the Swamphouse after all and try for a long term visa so we can stay a full year, or two or ??? Three. The little house had to be cleared of all remaining "stuff", a couple of beds, matresses, a pot hanging rack firmly afixed to a wall, a coat rack similarly adjoined and a few more odds and ends. It's all out now thanks to our new young muscle-bound male guests and D and S who lent us the trailer with their car attached with them inside to do the final clearing of Dix. Out, across town then into the rear of 35 and emptying took but a few minutes with all working to get it down. Up and down the two flights of stairs we went carrying all manner of stuff to place it in the appropriate spots in the attic under the roof which we will (hopefully) get repaired this winter. That has to be arranged this week too.
___

All of the above with Furry's rabies shot and inspection by her Vet in preparation for the trip to California once again. She's so good with the vet as he is with her. She, at first, is very resistant to coming out of her carrier...as she is in being put INTO it...but once coaxed out by hand and elbow grease she is calm and cool and very, very collected. We aren't but she is. He feels for problems, cysts, tumors, lumps and bumps, reads her ID chip and checks her eyes and ears as well...all the while she sits and ignores each insult. Very queen-like. Then she got a brand new shiny Pet Passport...a blue document that looks just like a passport from the EU but meant for Kats and dogs and other pets and thier vets. Cool as can be I think.

___

The Guests went off with S of S&D fame this morning to Bourges for a tour of the Geant supermarket, Leroy Merlin and downtown ancient Bourges. I joked with them that she had to be back home by MIDNIGHT! I asked Kelly if S was going to wear high-heels for the occassion! LOL! (She's about 55 and The Guys, each ver handsome are in thier early 30's! Ooo La La!)

___

Tonight a classic Lute dish...Spaghetti and Meatballs w/Puttanesca (Whore) Sauce. Sugo alla Puttanesca. The meatballs are Lamb and Veal ground coarsely with anise, bread crumbs and red pepper in my own version of this classy Sicilian meal. Look it up online and give it a try! I suggest you use Bucatini as the spaghetti if you can get it or some other larger noodle, even a fetucinni or rigatoni would be good.