Julia's been away in Maine this week. My work did not allow that.
It has been a tiring several weeks at work, with briefs and court hearings, one with the Iowa Supreme Court. My first argument with them was in 1978. That is/was a long time ago.
I did spend a lot of time with my plants yesterday. I got started at 6. When you do that you feel pretty good when you have gotten a lot done and it is only 9 in the morning.
This was the gem of the week. It is a cattleya that I thought was the same plant as the while one that had been blooming for several week.
Here is the white one, with the picture taken yesterday.
The new one has a greenish tint to it. I suppose it could just be how it looks when it has just opened. I do not think so. I will tell you next week.
But it is a nice subtile contrast to the all white one.
Also blooming for the first time was this Coelogyne viscoas. That is pronounced
see-LODGE-uh-nee
We divided several of this plant 3 weeks ago. We now have about 8. This was the first to bloom.
I have been working on my pronunciation of orchid names. Some you just have to say the name more than 50 times to imbed it in your memory.
Outside, the kale keeps going. I think we are past cabbage worm season.
Croton Magnificent is rather grand. It seems to have passed the leave drop state and is now busy procreating and growing new leaves.
In this picture you see some little fllowers and the new griwth.
The new growth on all the crotons usually comes out green.
These pictures give you an idea of what the hoyas look like, with their tendrils reaching 4-5feet at time. Watering the big plants is a pain.
Hoyas seem to be popular. I stopped by a local nursery yesterday to see if anything was left. It was mostly Christmas trees and wreaths and other greeneries. But they have indoor plants including a bunch of hoyas, some quite nice. Then I looked at the prices. They were $50 and more. There never have been bargains at that place, but really. Mail order for smaller plants does seem the way to go.
Speaking of hoyas I did something yesterday I had not done before. I planted some hoya seed. One of the plants produced some seeds. They looked like milkweed seeds, that once they the pod opened up the seeds blew all over. Hoyas, afterall, are in the same family, Apocynaceae.
I am trying this being told that the seed will sprout in 7-10 days. I do not like the seeds where the directions talk in terms of months.
The winter farmer's market has begun. That mean another African violet, this one named Cabbage Patch. If you get to the marker over the next 5 months check out the person selling nicely potted violets for $5/ each.
Julia's recipe
Bread in Maine
I have been in Maine this week. We made old favorites - letter cookies, brownies, chocolate chip cookies, red thai curry, chicken alphabet soup. I also made one new thing. A recipe for a yeast bread that takes only four ingredients, no kneading and no shaping. It did take a lot of time, but I have had unscheduled time while here. I found the recipe on the back of a package of King Arthur bread flour.
The ingredients:
5 cups bread flour (I used King Arthur, naturally);
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast (not a typo);
2-1/4 teaspoons salt; and
2-2/3 cups cool water.
That's it. Four ingredients, in surprising proportions.
Step 1: mix everything all at once in a big bowl with a wooden spoon.
Step 2: Cover the mixing bowl with a towel (the bunnies were a nice choice, but any towel will do). Put the bowl in a cool environment (about 70 degrees) and let it sit for 10 hours.
Yes, 10 hours. Or 12 hours or overnight. I made the dough at about 8 am so we went with 10 hours.
After 10 hours, the dough had risen and was soft.
Step 3: Prepare a baking vessel. I got a 4-1/2 quart Dutch oven for baking. As recommended in the recipe.
I sprayed the pot with no-stick spray and then put in about 1/2 cup of cornmeal to coat both the bottom and part way up the sides.
Step 3-1/2: After the pot was prepared, I gently loosened the dough form the bowl.
And plopped it into the pot. I ootched it a little - but not much. It was not evenly distributed, which did not matter.
Step 4: Cover the Dutch oven with its lid and let the dough rise some more - 1-1/2 to 2 hours this time.
At the 1-1/2 hour mark, I turned the oven on to 450 degrees. There was a pizza stone in the oven. Strictly optional.
Step 5: Bake for 45 minutes. Then take the lid off the Dutch oven and bake for another 10 minutes or so.
Done!
We turned it out of the Dutch oven onto a cooling rack after just a few minutes and let it cool completely.
The recipe took a lot of inactive time and yielded a chewy, crispy loaf that tasted great with a bit of butter.
It does require some planning to be ready for a particular occasion. But it is a very easy recipe, and there is nothing like homemade bread.
Odds and End
There is a dentist office across the street from our house. This was blooming this weekend. Maggie pointed it out to me. I had missed it. It is in a sheltered southeast location.
Now what you have all been waiting for. Pictures from Maine.
I am told it was not always this quiet.
I am trying not to read about politics. I feel obligated however to look at the Times every few days to know a little bit about events outside of Washington.
Be safe.
Be kind.
We can get through the next few years.
Remember the pleasants stuff, including your friends.
The picture contest is coming.
Philip
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