These last few sunny days have brought the bees out of their hive, dancing happily in the warmth and seeking out every scrap of pollen they can find. There aren’t many of them left, but they seem a hearty bunch, and we’re hopeful that this will be a successful hive for us at last.
The recipe I use for challah is adapted from the Cheese Board Collective cookbook–it’s straightforward, fairly quick, and most importantly, delicious!
In a pot, gently warm 1 cup water and 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter until butter is melted. Remove from heat and let cool until liquid is around 110 degrees F (warm, but not hot). Meanwhile, in a large bowl, stir together 4 1/2 cups flour (I use 1 cup whole wheat bread flour and 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour), 1/2 cup sugar, 2 tsp salt, and 2 Tbsp active dry yeast. Make a well in the middle, break in 3 eggs, and beat eggs lightly. Pour in butter/water and mix until dough ball forms. Turn out onto a floured board and knead 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Place in an oiled bowl, cover with a damp towel, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk. Divide dough into 6 equal pieces and braid into 2 loaves. Let rise on a greased cookie sheet for about 45 minutes. If desired, combine 1 egg yolk and 1 Tbsp water and brush over loaves. Bake at 375 for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown.
This recipe doubles beautifully (why make 2 loaves of challah when you could make 4… or 6…), and makes the BEST French toast.
It’s hard for me to resist a good challenge, especially one that lets me make up my own rules. Jessica at Three Rivers Homestead is challenging herself and anyone who wants to join her to stay away from grocery stores and clean out the pantry! This is something I’ve been working on over the past year already, because grocery shopping can be a real pain when you live an hour’s drive from town and have a full schedule keeping you busy throughout the week. Filling our freezers with meat and stocking the pantry with dry goods has allowed me to go up to 3 weeks without going to a grocery store, but then when I do go, not only is it exhausting but I’m also tempted to add so many unnecessary things to my cart. In fact, after one of my recent shopping trips, I realized that most of my purchases were “treats”–things like chips, granola bars, fancy cheese, etc. Other than fresh produce and fish, I don’t really need to go to the store regularly. We have plenty of lamb, beef, and chicken to get us through months of meals, and I’m able to get nearly everything else I need from Azure Standard.
So I’m joining this pantry challenge, with the long-term goal of avoiding grocery stores as much as possible and the short-term goal of cleaning out the freezer and pantry to use up things that have been languishing there for too long. I’ll be adding more items to my Azure orders, starting a subscription for Ballerina Farm ‘s pork, and looking for a good local source for fish and seafood. The girls and I will be making snacks and treats from scratch rather than buying over-packaged junk. I’ll continue to buy raw milk from our neighbors and make as many dairy products from it as I can. If we do need things like fresh produce or cheese, I’ll try to get most of it from Fred Meyer, since I don’t like shopping there and am less likely to indulge in impulse buys! I’ll also look ahead to the gardening year and plan better for growing and preserving the things we like best to eat.
I’ll probably post updates here and there to let you know how it’s going and to keep myself accountable! If you want to join or follow along, check out @threerivershomestead and #threeriverschallenge on Instagram.
Currently harvesting: kale, chard, rhubarb, blueberries, herbs, red romaine, snap peas
Harvesting soon: romaine, tomatoes, sweet peppers, broccoli, garlic, scallions, shelling peas, cabbages, blackberries
Coming along nicely: beans, potatoes, carrots, pumpkins, winter squash, zucchini, cucumbers, hot peppers
Sad failure: leeks, radishes (?!?), strawberries
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Stillmeadow Farm 