Busy Day

I took the rototiller and rake to the four garden plots this afternoon. (I'm trying to get the pictures of that but for whatever reason my email won't cooperate.) The idea was to get everything done before tonight's rains arrived. I managed to do that but as I finished I heard some rumbling from thunderstorms that moved to our south and east. Needless to say the humidity was quite high and I sweat line a beast!  

The area that's grayed out is part of the lawn where the utility trailer was parked. I raked and seeded that using stuff I had from a couple of years ago. If it grows, fine. If it doesn't, that's okay too. The rains won't hurt! The area fenced in on the right is Terry's herb garden and where we had some very prolific cherry tomatoes and peppers last year.

This large plot (8' x 16') was nothing but string beans last year and it was a flop for some reason.

The lower unfenced plot is only about 3' x 16' and was home to our zucchini and cucumbers the last couple of years. The plot on the left held cherry, Big Boy, and Early Girl tomatoes. Both produced copious amounts of fruit.

 

 

(Well, the first pic is a bit wonky but the others are okay.)

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After dinner I decided to use some of my sourdough starter to make a loaf of bread. The recipe is easy as it only requires one cup of starter, one cup of water, a teaspoon of salt, and 3-1/2 cups of flour. You knead that in a mixer for about 25 minutes until the dough is elastic and a little glossy then throw it into a greased bowl over night to rise. (The air temps need to be around 70-72 degrees.) The dough should double over 8 to 12 hours.

The next day you plop it on the counter and watch it for a half hour. Should it flatten much you knead/fold in some more flour. If it pretty much keeps its shape you don't need to add anything. Just put it on a floured surface and stretch and fold the edges in three or four times.Turn the folds down and shape as you see fit. I will be putting mine into a greased loaf pan. Then it will get covered and let to rise for 3-4 hours until it's nearly doubled again.

Then you put it in a cool oven and turn the heat up to 375 degrees. Bake for about 70 minutes until the top of the loaf is slightly brown and check the interior temp of the loaf. I think 180 degrees on the inside is about right. We'll find out tomorrow afternoon!