Absolutely No-Knead Bread

This is without doubt the simplest bread I have ever made; and it's taste and texture are awesome!  We love it dipped in herb-flavored Olive Oil.

Ingredients for 1 loaf:
(for 2 loaves just double the amounts)

3 C flour  (bread flour is best)
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. instant yeast
1 1/2 C warm water (no more than 105F)

Whisk the dry ingredients together to combine.

Add the water and using a wooden spoon or large spatula mix until loose and sticky.

Cover with plastic wrap and set in a draft free place overnight (18-24 hours).

Preheat oven and baking container at 400F for 30 minutes.

Pour dough into hot dutch oven, cover and bake 30 minutes; then remove cover, return to oven and bake another 15 minutes to crisp the crust.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

It's the day before Christmas and I wanted to take a moment to wish you all a very Merry Christmas!

Like most of you it has been hectic here with shopping and baking and visiting.  Last evening while picking up a few salad items for tonight's dinner I began speaking with the produce boy at the super-market about possibly getting some greens for our chickens.  He was so helpful.  After getting the manager's permission he provided us with a huge bag (the size of one of those big leaf bags) full of leafy green vegetables!  The girls will be so excited.  Since it's been difficult for them to find even a few blades of grass lately, they should welcome these treats.

Today I am baking two loaves of No-Knead Bread to take to our daughter's home tonight for Christmas eve dinner.  It is delicious and absolutely the easiest bread to make.  100% no kneading and only 4 ingredients which are combined with a spoon to make a somewhat moist batter, then it sits overnight 18-24 hours, after which it goes into an earthenware covered dish or a cast iron dutch oven for 45 minutes.  I will post the recipe for you later.

Yesterday I received the first of my seed catalogs.  I quickly browsed through it and I am looking forward to having more time to examine it.  Gurney's is offering $25 off orders of $50+; $50 off orders of $100 or more and $100 off orders of $200+.  Definitely worth looking into.

All for today.  It's time to get the bread into the oven and organize the gift bags into the car.... and so much more to do.  We are also driving out to central PA tomorrow to visit Nick's family and see our latest grandson for the first time!  Can't wait.

Have a safe and joyous holiday!

Farmaggedon a must watch documentary on Netflix

Yesterday I watched a documentary on NetFlix called Farmaggedon.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1609113/







It is about how the government has been spending millions of dollars putting small farms out of business and how they otherwise make life miserable for the little guys (us).

From confiscating a homeowner's food supply to confiscating and killing another's herd of sheep and taking all their equipment.  There are several more eye-opening and frightening stories which we all should watch.

We are already aware of towns where it's okay to grow just about anything except food in the front yard.  As well as the fact that each state has it's own rules about raw milk. 

Is it just a matter of time until a SWAT team shows up on our doorstep to shut down our backyard mini-farms and take away the contents of our root cellars, pantries, and our few chickens?

I recommend taking an hour to watch this video if you value your freedoms.

Sugar and a math question: When does 25 ÷ 5 not equal 5?

Recently I purchased a 25 pound bag of Imperial Sugar at Costco for $8.99.  Yesterday I separated the bag, planning to store the sugar in 5 pound bags.  I carefully measured and weighed each amount on my digital scale.  In the end I was left with 4 pounds for the remaining bag.  When did 25 lbs divided
by 5 not equal 5?   I ended with (4) 5 pound bags and (1) 4 pound bag.  No big deal you say. 

On its own, I would agree.  It amounts to a mere $.3596 for the missing pound of sugar.  However, at 3 million pounds (an amount Imperial sells while we are having our first cup of morning coffee) amounts to a staggering $1,078,800!  

Imperial owns in excess of 80% of the world market share with assets in over 100 locations around the world.

For one, I would like to know if this practice is that of Imperial Sugar Company, or is it a practice of short-changing product at Costco in the manner Walmart forces their suppliers to do in order to keep the prices lower than the competition.

Either way, it is once again the unaware public, us, who end up losing while the upper 10% fill their pockets with our money.

This is one of those topics which just sets me off ranting yet again.  Imperial does offer a $.50 coupon on the next purchase, which more than replaces cost of the missing pound, and if that were my only issue I would gladly use the coupon and move forward.  For me, however, it is more than the pennies, it is the principle that gnaws at me.  These corporations who feel it is alright to trick the public out of millions of dollars each day and no one suspects.

Isn't it enough they don't pay their fair share, if any, taxes?;  have the government in their pockets and the run the world?