When I was growing up, I spent a lot of time at my Grandparents house in Methuen, MA. They and my Great Aunt Gladys were hardy New England folks. Born in the late 1800s and early 1900s they kept to the lifestyle they were used to. They kept animals for milk, eggs and meat. They gardened and did all their own canning for the Winter. I remember blueberry pies, scones and muffins made from blueberries we had picked during the warm season and the "older folks" had canned. There was always something simmering on the stove, or baking in the oven.
Just last week I was going through an old recipe box and happened upon a recipe that I thought was lost and gone forever. My Great Aunt Gladys (born in 1893) loved home made bread, but was somewhat impatient for the finished product, which as you know can take up to three or four hours, so she came up with a recipe for what she called one hour rolls, a yeast bread that takes a little over an hour start to finish. You have the delicious aroma or fresh bread baking, and the luscious flavor in a very short time. I have decided to share this recipe with you. Here it is, and here's to you Aunt Gladys.
One Hour Rolls
1 Cup warm milk (around 100-110 degrees)
1 Tsp salt
2 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp dry yeast, or 2 pkgs dry yeast
2 1/2 Cups enriched flour (can be made with whole wheat or white)
aprox 2 Tbsp butter
Mix all ingredients together until it makes a sticky dough, flour your hands and cut dough into 6 or more rolls. I roll them between my hands to make a smoother roll. Place them on a buttered cookie or baking sheet. Brush the tops with butter and let them rise for the 15 or so minutes it takes for your oven to reach just shy of 400 degrees. I set it for halfway between 375 and 400. Then bake for 15 minutes til golden.
Devour with butter, and with your favorite, soup, stew, chili or as a hamburger roll or sandwich.
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Almost Spring 3/4/2013
It is 6:43, and I have just come in from feeding the horses. It's light out. The air is fairly mild, and smells of Spring, even though there are light fluffy snow flakes drifting down.
Bright red Cardinals are staking their claims. Their bright, clear songs fill the morning, as they flit from, bush to bush, and tree to tree.
The snow is melting, and the driveway, walkways and aisles have turned to a mud, as have the trails. It's at this time of year that I think we should have named the place Boggy Bottoms instead of hideaway meadows. This is also the time of year that my thoughts turn to gardening. The days are lengthening, and the ground is thawing. I am planning on putting in a lot of heirloom varieties this Spring; Brandywine tomatoes, Amish Paste tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, (can you tell I love tomatoes) assorted lettuces, herbs, radishes, green beans, zucchini squash, summer squash, pickling cucumbers, sweet peas, egg plant, swiss chard, spinach, as well as establishing beds of asparagus, and rhubarb. I'd also like to put in a strawberry pyramid, and begin a dwarf orchard.
Once the frost is all the way out of the ground, we're planning on building a hen house, and fenced in yard for somewhere around 16 chickens. The goat house, fenced yard and the goats will come probably next year. Little by little we are becoming a homestead. In time we'll plant low bush blueberries, raspberries, and some assorted grape vines. Mmmmmmm homemade raspberry jam...the essence of a summer day.
We are still going strong with the fire wood. We have had to cut as we needed it all Winter long and we have learned two things; Number one, that we CAN do it, even in the worst of weather, and number two...we never want to do it this way again...EVER. We can cut, split and haul all Winter to replace the supply as we use it, but we will have a backlog (no pun intended) to use if we get sick, or injured and can't harvest...or there's six feet of snow in the woods.
Well, that's about it for today. Have a great day everyone.
Bright red Cardinals are staking their claims. Their bright, clear songs fill the morning, as they flit from, bush to bush, and tree to tree.
The snow is melting, and the driveway, walkways and aisles have turned to a mud, as have the trails. It's at this time of year that I think we should have named the place Boggy Bottoms instead of hideaway meadows. This is also the time of year that my thoughts turn to gardening. The days are lengthening, and the ground is thawing. I am planning on putting in a lot of heirloom varieties this Spring; Brandywine tomatoes, Amish Paste tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, (can you tell I love tomatoes) assorted lettuces, herbs, radishes, green beans, zucchini squash, summer squash, pickling cucumbers, sweet peas, egg plant, swiss chard, spinach, as well as establishing beds of asparagus, and rhubarb. I'd also like to put in a strawberry pyramid, and begin a dwarf orchard.
Once the frost is all the way out of the ground, we're planning on building a hen house, and fenced in yard for somewhere around 16 chickens. The goat house, fenced yard and the goats will come probably next year. Little by little we are becoming a homestead. In time we'll plant low bush blueberries, raspberries, and some assorted grape vines. Mmmmmmm homemade raspberry jam...the essence of a summer day.
We are still going strong with the fire wood. We have had to cut as we needed it all Winter long and we have learned two things; Number one, that we CAN do it, even in the worst of weather, and number two...we never want to do it this way again...EVER. We can cut, split and haul all Winter to replace the supply as we use it, but we will have a backlog (no pun intended) to use if we get sick, or injured and can't harvest...or there's six feet of snow in the woods.
Well, that's about it for today. Have a great day everyone.
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Sunday Brunch
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Sunday, September 30, 2012
All is quiet
It is a much quieter morning this morning. The air is still and cool under an overcast sky. The tree was removed yesterday afternoon, and we are moving on to the next phase of rebuilding. We've been planning on re roofing the barns and the indoor arena. This is the perfect excuse to start. If we look upon it as an opportunity rather than a trial, then it's better.
We have found an amazing Arborist, who is a fair, decent, and honest man. He also does roofing. He'll come tomorrow and measure for an estimate.
The horses have been fed and are quietly browsing through their hay. I'm enjoying my first steaming cup of tea as I write. Chimney cleaning is the next task on the docket...then filling the wood racks...how I miss my wood stove in the light months. I will soon have a place to keep my tea kettle warm. A crackling wood fire is like a familiar entity, a comforting presence in the house.
We move forward. I am loosely planning a large pot of homemade chili, sweet cornbread, and an old fashioned barn raising. We'll see.
All is quiet on the western front.
We have found an amazing Arborist, who is a fair, decent, and honest man. He also does roofing. He'll come tomorrow and measure for an estimate.
The horses have been fed and are quietly browsing through their hay. I'm enjoying my first steaming cup of tea as I write. Chimney cleaning is the next task on the docket...then filling the wood racks...how I miss my wood stove in the light months. I will soon have a place to keep my tea kettle warm. A crackling wood fire is like a familiar entity, a comforting presence in the house.
We move forward. I am loosely planning a large pot of homemade chili, sweet cornbread, and an old fashioned barn raising. We'll see.
All is quiet on the western front.
Saturday, September 29, 2012
Big Tree Fell on our Barn! Chapter 2
The Arborist made short work of removing the tree from the barn :)
The damage is even more impressive now that it's uncovered!
The damage is even more impressive now that it's uncovered!
Big Tree Fell on our Barn!
Big oak tree fell on the barn last night and destroyed one of the stalls. Horses are OK. Building sustained pretty serious damage :(
We Heard a big crash just before midnight last night that shook the whole house. We went out to investigate, and found one of the horses loose in the yard. When we further investigated to see how she got loose, we discovered that a big red oak had fallen on her stall. She had a runout, and we don't know whether she was in the stall at the time, but, wherever she was, in her fright, she charged through the fence. Neither she, nor any of the other horses were hurt, but the building did sustain some pretty serious damage:
We Heard a big crash just before midnight last night that shook the whole house. We went out to investigate, and found one of the horses loose in the yard. When we further investigated to see how she got loose, we discovered that a big red oak had fallen on her stall. She had a runout, and we don't know whether she was in the stall at the time, but, wherever she was, in her fright, she charged through the fence. Neither she, nor any of the other horses were hurt, but the building did sustain some pretty serious damage:
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