Category: Initial post

Well, folks. We have been without electricity for over an hour now, and the whole condo is silent. There is the occasional sound, from downstairs, in the garages, somewhere. Eerie, I am telling you. It is as if everyone is still sleeping, while it is just after noon.

I do have to tell you, though, I went to check the fermenting vegetables this morning. When I opened the jar with the yellow, and, green bell peppers, the whole top of the liquid starting spewing these tiny effervescent bubbles, by the thousands. It was very impressive, and satisfying, to say the least. A few hours later, when I showed Ivan, they were still bubbling, profusely. Amazing, is all I can say.

The power returned for about two minutes, then went off again, for another forty five minutes, or so. Now, we are all good.

Here is a photo of the Einkorn berries having sprouted. Now, they are in the Smart Oven, dehydrating, getting ready to be hand milled into flour.

Einkorn is a difficult grain to bake with as it has a different type of gluten structure; one that does not allow for much rise, or spring, in a bread loaf. It is that fact, the difference in gluten structure, that allows most people, though, not those with Celiac disease, to eat it without gastrointestinal distress.

Now that the Einkorn is sprouted, it changes the grains’ ability to be digested more easily, and has gone from a complex sugar, (carbohydrate), to a more simple sugar, again, easier to digest. Lovely, do you think?

Anyway, now that it is being dehydrated, it will be shelf stable in this form for quite a long time to come. Yay!

On to making bread, but only with one to two hundred grams mixed with four hundred grams of all purpose, or bread flours. I will let you know, in words, and photos, how things progress.

Until then, stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones.

Post script: the bird song today is absolutely fabulous. It is so completely different from the birds in the Midwest. Both are beautiful in their own ways. As I mentioned, they are just different. Both make my heart lighter, and bring a smile to my face.

A grilled slice of sourdough bread, half of an avocado, applied like butter, egg salad, and alfalfa sprouts. Need I say more? What a lunch.

E’s blood pressure is holding steady, so, that is a worry done, thank the good Lord.

Oh, Luis, and Martín are coming here in the next week. They have phase two of our remodel almost finished. Let me show you what is going to happen.

As you can see from the photos, we will have more storage, and, more space to display our much loved Mexican artifacts.

The flower box is deep enough to hide the plastic window boxes I bought to plant anything in, from herbs, to flowers. The dirt will all be contained within the plastic boxes, and those placed inside the wooden box. In the long run, dirt, directly in the wood box, would rot the wood, and that would not do.

Originally, we had thought that the hutch would have a black granite top on it to meld it with the kitchen countertops, and clear glass on the doors. We have changed our minds, about the granite. Now we think that, as it will be in the living room, with the oak shelving, etc., we will leave it plain. We will use it to display all of our beautiful Japanese, and Mexican dishes.

There will be the domino effect, once these few things are installed. The dishes will come out of the kitchen, and go into the hutch. The food staples, in the pantry, will go into the kitchen; the small appliances will come into the kitchen, into the cabinet under the fermentation station.

Where there is a drawer, holding the two plastic garbage buckets, there will be two drawers, like the two to its left. We need drawers, not garbage buckets. Those we have hanging on the drawers themselves; one for food wastes, and one for paper, and plastic, etc.

We are really starting to get organized, and will continue to do so when the new furnishings are installed. While we wait, patiently, for that to happen, stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones.

Winter is definitely over .

Today, which is actually, the fifth of March, it is eighty two degrees here, and getting hotter. The high today is supposed to be eighty four, in another hour. Yikes. I am melting.

Before we left home today, I had the opportunity to make another batch of kombucha, with fresh pineapple, ginger, and turmeric.

These should have lots of carbonation, as well as flavor. Much more so than the previous batch with the canned pineapple that is. Yuck.

I almost forgot to show you that I was able to switch from plastic to stainless steel spigots on our kombucha containers. Big deal, you say? Not so, I say. The plastic flip top spigot was really unwieldy, when it came to filling the smaller, sixteen ounce bottles for the second fermentation. I almost needed three hands to fill them.

Not anymore. The SS spigots turn at ninety degrees, so I do not have to hold the spigot open anymore. It may not seem like much to you, but, to me, it frees up my left hand, in case I need it to do something else; like, make the next bottle ready to be filled. It will speed up the process quite a bit.

Changing the subject, slightly, when we got home, I was able to finish my first “real” loaf of “artisanal” sourdough bread. The first of many, I am sure.

The above loaf of bread is not a lovely looking “crumb”, as the inside is called, but, it tastes really good. And, all made by hand. I suspect each loaf will get better, or, at the least, be another learning experience. If we cannot eat them, they will become bread crumbs, or, croutons, or, some such thing. None will go to waste.

This morning, I toasted a slice, buttered it with half of an avocado, added salsa, kosher salt, and, alfalfa sprouts. Absolutely delicious. I am already wondering what I will put on it for lunch, or dinner. Hmmm.

Not much else to tell you about today except that I also made home brewed Flor de Jamaica, or, Hibiscus flower, drink. It is not as sweet as the powdered mix we buy, called Zuko, which uses natural fruit. And, it has an almost grassy note to it, that will take a little getting used to, I fear.

While we are drinking our latest brew, stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones.

Another busy day for the both of us. I have been in the kitchen, and, Ivan, with Enrique.

I started by doing the usual sourdough starter feeding, then, went in search of my box of Einkorn wheat berries. I am in the mood to sprout, then dehydrate them, making them shelf stable for years to come.

I am soaking them overnight, then, will drain them, tomorrow, and place a mesh cap over the top of the jar. The jar is laid on its side and rotated daily, until the berries sprout, only a few days after starting.

After they sprout, I will put them in our Breville Smart Oven, on the dehydrate setting, for a few hours, until they are completely dried. After that, I will have to learn how to use them in bread making.

They are the “original”, ancient wheat berries, several thousands of years old, and, completely unmolested. The berry is actually a single grain, not the double grains of the current, genetically engineered wheat berries.

The modern grain of wheat has been modified for a couple of reasons; it has triple the amount of wheat berries on each stalk as it had originally, because of the need to mass produce bread for the US, in the forties, and, fifties; to grow lower to the ground, because the weight of the grains had a tendency to cause the shaft to fall over, spoiling the wheat, plus, the farming equipment necessary to harvest it is also low to the ground.

Einkorn wheat is able to grow taller as there are so few grains on each shaft, but are harvested with a combine, just like regular wheat.

What else did I do today, you ask? I finished our “fermentation station”. You already know about the kombucha batches, (though the bottles are almost invisible on the counter), I have added the jars of vegetables I am fermenting to the top shelf. Surprisingly enough, each jar contains just the vegetables, water, and salt. Each jar is weighed- the vegetables, plus the amount of water, then multiplied by two point five percent, which equals the amount of salt needed to ferment each jar. The veg needs to be completely submerged in the water; anything above the water will spoil, possibly spoiling the whole jar.

From left to right are two jars of Roma tomatoes with onion, garlic, and rosemary. The next jar contains cherry tomatoes with the same onions, garlic, and rosemary. The fourth jar has yellow and green peppers. The fifth jar has grape tomatoes, purple onions, and rosemary. The next jar is the Einkorn berries, then the sauerkraut. Neat, huh?

Last, but hardly the least important, are the EGG BITES!! Yessiree, I made fourteen of the little gems, and cannot wait until I can have one, or two, tomorrow morning.

E is spending the night tonight as he has been having blood pressure issues today; he should be better in the morning.

Until we know for sure, stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones.

As unproductive as the last several weeks have been, today, I believe I made up for them.

Up at eight thirty. Check. Apple cider vinegar with honey drank. Check. Vitamins, and, meds. taken. Check. On to the kitchen it is then.

The sourdough bread I want to make today is a simple loaf, from a loaf pan; nothing artisanal yet. That will come in time. Not quite enough confidence yet. This recipe calls for four hundred sixty four grams of fed starter, so that is how I started today. I fed the started two hundred fifty grams, each, of flour, and water, then watched it rise throughout the day. (Always better to have a little too much than not enough).

Since nine o’clock, when that was all taken care of, I got in my “groove”, as it were, and, peeled, cored, and sliced eight Granny Smith apples, for the much anticipated/dreaded Apple Squares. I absolutely despise the dough recipe. It just does not make enough dough, as far as I am concerned. It never has. Grrrrh.

When I finished rolling out the above dough, put it in the pan, (which is too large), I filled it with the sugared and cinnamoned apples, and topped those with butter, and, the other half of rolled out dough. I put it in the oven, and started on the bread.

The starter had risen beautifully, so I proceeded to combine the starter with the rest of the ingredients, and then on to kneading it for twenty minutes. Did I mention it needed to be kneaded for twenty minutes? I was going to use the Kitchen Aid, but it was all of ten feet away, in the pantry, under the new little table. As I did not want to lose my momentum, onto the lightly floured counter it came, to be loved for twenty minutes. (Could you hear the whine?)

The dough came together quite nicely. After the twenty minutes, it was very soft, and smooth. I put it in a marked, plastic, two quart container to let rise for one hour. (The marked container makes it easier to see when it has doubled in height).

Ivan, and I, invited Enrique for dinner, so, instead of the hamburger patties, that I would have made for just Ivan, and me, I made that into a meatloaf instead. I have some dehydrated Idahoan potatoes, and fresh asparagus. That is what we will have for dinner. Along with a slice of freshly made sourdough bread. And, Apple Squares for dessert.

Cannot wait to get into a couple of loaves of artisanal sourdough bread, because “the guys” are coming in a couple of days, to continue with the remodel. I would like to be able to give them each a loaf to take home.

While I build up my courage, stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones.

We bought some new plants the other day, for our condo. The poinsettia’s we bought in December both have white powdery mildew, for some reason, so they are going to the garbage.

We bought two different colors of primrose, one of my favorite indoor flowers, (they were five dollars each), and, one of the first of many bromeliads. The one in the third photo is called a Neoregelia Carolinae. This is what they all look like.

Our next acquisition will be very small cacti, and, tiny succulents of varying sizes, shapes and colors. I want to put them all around the condo. Hopefully, this weekend, we will have shelves in the living room, and, possibly, the new hutch. Who knows? We are happy for the surprise.

Now is the time to start bringing color into our living areas. We have been too long with the beautiful white all around us. It has always been our intention to have pops of color accenting our white background. Little by little, that is happening.

While we wait, patiently, to see what of the remodeling comes next, stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones.

I have, once again, rearranged the kitchen counter. I cannot stand leaving things in one place for very long. I think I get bored.

Think of it this way- if you rearrange things in a room, the room is new again; not the same room that it was. It is like moving to a new place, except you did not have to move.

So, this simple reconfiguration allows me more open counter space to form dough for bread, or roll out crust for apple squares.

It also allows me to stay in one place while I prepare food. I can go from the cutting board to the stove without wasting steps. Let me show you.

Now that I am exercising, again, and watching what I eat, let me show you what I had for lunch, and dinner yesterday. It was too much for one meal. Hah! I never thought I would ever say that.

It was delicious, and made for a better choice than the quesadillas I had originally planned to eat.

We are sitting under an umbrella, outside our favorite Toks, waiting to have poblano soup, and lemonade. While we wait, stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones.

You cannot guess what I did this week; for the first time in ages.

If you guessed that I actually cleaned something, you would be correct. That was mean of you, but not the surprise.

I found an app called Fitter, that is taking me, slowly, back into exercising. I did one fifteen minutes of tabata the other day which left me short of breath but not really feeling better. Yesterday I did fifteen minutes of Fitter, and, today, I feel more compact, less Jobba the Hutt.

This time, I feel that I am in the correct mindset to see this through. The warmer weather is going to be here soon and I do not want to endure it at thirty pounds overweight.

Now, for those of you that guessed I actually cleaned something, shame on you for thinking such a thing. That said, let me show you what I did. Hopefully I have a “before” to go with the “after”. Nope.

We were hardly able to get through from the kitchen to the pantry. There was stuff everywhere. After an hour, or so, I finished, then had to lie down for an hour.

I still have trouble with dizziness, looking up, putting something on a shelf above my head; or, if I am on my knees, looking around for something underneath something. I break out in a dripping sweat, am nauseated, feel like I am going to lose control of my bodily functions, on top of my already spinning universe. Good times, right?

Fortunately, a good lie down helps, after about an hour or so.

I have yet to finish cleaning the bathrooms, and dusting. I hate dusting. I need to finish, though, before the end of the week.

Luis texted yesterday that he, and Martín, are finished with several of the pieces we contracted, and we be here to install same.

While we wait, stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones.

Happy birthday Mom.

Over the past weekend, Ivan, and “the guys”, Enrique and Jesús, went to the Carnitas shop, again, and bought a ton of carnitas, which were promptly distributed amongst the throng. Philanthropy, if it can be called that, especially during a pandemic, is essential.

They bought buche, (stomach lining), maciza, (the loin), cuerito, (skin, but not fried into chicharrón). They got blue corn tortillas, which were beautifully warm, and fresh; red, and green salsas, chopped onions, chopped cilantro/parsley mix, (yuck), and a liter of Coca Cola.

It is such a pleasant surprise to eat carnitas. And, who does not like pig? I think I would eat pork more often than beef, any day of the week. And do.

Not much more to report today, so I will end with my mantra. Stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones.

The other day, after replenishing our staples, I used the half purple cabbage we bought, and, made a small batch of sauerkraut with it. I added some peeled carrots to it as well.

Very simple recipe: shred your cabbage, weigh it, place it in a container big enough to mix it around, add three tablespoons of salt for every five pounds of cabbage, and mash it down every thirty minutes. It will give off water, so you need to mix it up then mash it. Continue mashing it until it is a softer consistency. Do not drain it, however.

When it is soft, place it in whatever container you would like, (I put it in a half gallon jar so I can watch it ferment). The contents need to be submerged completely, or they will spoil. I have put one of my new shower caps (I bought one hundred, the smallest amount I could find online), in the top of the jar, on top of the cabbage, and filled it with water, to maintain pressure. This will allow the carbon dioxide bubbles, that are given off during the fermentation process, an escape.

This will take about two to three weeks to ferment to a point when I want to taste it. Hopefully, it will be sour enough to be enjoyable. I will let you know.

Until then, stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones.

Happy birthday Dad.