Saturday, June 30, 2007

Fresh ground wheat

I made bread again this week. I used our new grain mill to grind the wheat (well, Mr. Gaia did), but I don't think it was ground finely enough - the texture was more like cornmeal.

The bread simply did not rise. I'm not sure why. I proofed the yeast, so I know it was good. I used my same recipe. The only difference was the flour. I'm hoping it wasn't the flour. That would really suck. I suspect the flour was really too coarse, but I don't know that that would have made that much difference. It still tastes good, it's just a little dense.

Today, Mr. Gaia cooked salmon in the solar oven. He sprinkled just a little dill on it with some salt. It was really, really good. When he finished that, he put in bratwurst and then we went for an 12.5 mile bike ride (took an hour and twenty minutes). It was perfect when we got back. Yummy and delish.

I've been really lazy lately. My house is a mess and I don't think I met any of my June goals. Shame on me. I'll soon be traveling to pick up my kids, so the blog will be quiet. I'll be going somewhere with no internet and no cell phone service. I'll bet you didn't know such a place still existed in the US, but it does.

3 comments:

Tanya Brown said...

Your culinary endeavors sound yummy! You're an inspiration to all who are toying with the idea of a solar oven.

I hope you have a lovely and safe trip, and get some rest.

Tanya Brown said...

Gaia, I have kind of a dimwitted question. About what are the internal dimensions of your solar oven? I'm thinking of building one out of cardboard boxes just to try out.

Thanks,
T

Gaia said...

I wasn't sure what the dimensions are, so I measure it. From my inexpert measuring, it appears to be 14"x14" and is around 9" deep. It's not flat, the top is angled, so the 9" is very approximate. What's cool about this oven is that it has a little tray that keeps the food level even when you tilt it more.