A Surprise Flood

A Surprise Flood

We have made good(ish) progress on the coop! Although we still have a long way to go, Sam installed windows, and he figured out a way to get the nesting box lid to stay up! It is going to be AMAZING if we can ever get it finished!

The chickens are getting so big, now! 

As you all might have guessed from the title of this post, we discovered a flood in our basement this weekend. Luckily, it was not very big, and only a few things got ruined. Our dehumidifier got disconnected from the HVAC unit and spewed water from the air all of the floor. Lovely. It took a boat load of towels to clean up the mess.

 

Speaking of large bodies of water, look what we got for the pups! Sam and I went kayaking two weekends ago, and we decided that next time we wanted to bring the puppies. We bought then these adorable life jackets, and they are ready to go on our next adventures with us!

Kayaking was really fun. The river was shallow, only about knee deep. The waters were cool, and the current wasn’t too strong. It reminded us a lot of Kentucky and was a much needed break from our hectic lives!

We have abandoned the lettuce in the garden. It is now monstrous in height, and I am trying to force it to flower so that I can collect seeds for next year. However, our peas are blooming and making peas. We should also be able to eat a couple servings of kale here in the near future.

And look at this beautiful piece of garden artwork. An onion flower. So pretty!

The herb garden is also growing beautifully despite us not watering it enough.

Sam and I ran out of our good olive oil and after being spoiled by it, I’m not impressed by the olive oil we have now. We decided to spice it up, so we grabbed some basil, oregano and sage from the garden and plopped it down in the bottle to infuse for a few weeks. It’s going to be delicious!!

We also fiinnnallly got around to planting potatoes that had been sitting in my kitchen for so long that they were making leaves. See?

We actually had so many potatoes that I didn’t plant them all because we don’t have enough room in the melon pit.

And guess what we had for dinner last night!? Pizza. There are a number of reasons I never get to eat pizza: 1) we live too far out for delivery, 2) Sam and I rarely eat out these days, and 3) Sam doesn’t like pizza. All of these reasons can be overcome with homemade pizza! Yes, Sam actually likes my pizza. Maybe not love, (but he will get there, muahaha!). The trick for him is to make a thin, crunchy, not sweet crust and to use an alfredo sauce instead of a red sauce. The result is a delicious pizza that I get to enjoy for breakfast and lunch the next day! Just look at this beautiful crust!!

And it’s fairly healthy for you, too! It’s a half wheat crust with herbs kneaded into it. Brushing the outer edge with garlic butter before AND after baking probably detracts from the healthiness, but…I like to splurge every now and then!

Ta da!

  

AMAZING PIZZA DOUGH RECIPE!

(Actually it’s from a book called Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingslover. A book I highly recommend!)

This makes two 12-inch pizzas, so I usually half the recipe for Sam and I.

INGREDIENTS 

3 TSP yeast

1 ½ cups of warm water

3 TBS olive oil

2 ½ cups of white flour

2 cups of whole wheat flour

MY ADDITIONS

½ TSP- 1 TSP each of your favorite herbs (I usually use rosemary, basil and oregano)

2 TBS of wheat germ for extra healthiness

Additional water if needed because of the wheat germ

INSTRUCTIONS

 Dissolve the yeast into the water and add the oil and salt.
 In a medium sized bowl, mix the flour, wheat germ and herbs together.
 Make a well in the center, then pour in the water mixture.
 Mix until mostly together then plop onto a floured surface and knead until smooth.
 Cover and let rise for about thirty minutes.

TO USE

           First, place pizza stone or another cookie sheet into the oven and preheat to 450 F.

      On either a cookie sheet or a pizza peel, heavily sprinkle flour and corn meal.

      Place the pizza dough on this surface, then roll out into a circle until it is the thickness of your choice. Sam and I like it thin because it gets nice and crispy when you bake it. Roll or fold in the edges to make the crust.

      Spread your sauce, pile your toppings toppings, and cover with cheese.

      Brush edges of crust with garlic butter

      Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the cheese is melted and beginning to brown

      Remove pizza from oven and brush edges with garlic butter again.

      Devour!