Bread

We have slowly yet ruthlessly cut out  all processed foods from our diet, and we recently hit a road block...bread. Have you ever noticed how hard it is to buy bread without three syllable words in the ingredients list?

Home baked bread, yummy yummy

Baking my own bread has always seemed way too intimidating and time consuming, but as my priority shifts to eating only simple foods, I make time and begin to bake bread. As a result we haven't bought bread in weeks!

NO-KNEAD YEAST BREAD

2 (1/4 oz.) packets yeast
1/4 cup warm water
3 tablespoons turbinado (fancy name for raw brown sugar)
1 tablespoon salt
3 cups + 3 cups flour, divided (we use wheat or unbleached)
1/3 cup vegetable or corn oil ( we use olive oil)

Directions:

1. To proof yeast, pour warm water into a small ceramic bowl and add the yeast, but don't stir. Set aside    
 (when it begins to foam slightly you know you got good yeast).

2. In a large bowl, pour hot water over turbinado and salt. Stir with a wooden spoon to completely    
dissolve.

3. Combine 3 cups of flour with the hot water mixture. Pour the oil on top of the dough mixture, add the
 yeast mixture on top of that, but do not stir.

4. Top with the remaining 3 cups flour and mix well. Begin with a wooden spoon and move into
squishing the dough with your hands. At this point the dough should be pliant and moist but not    gooey.

5. Cover the bowl with a damp towel (paper towels work great) and set aside to rise for at least 45
 minutes.

6. On a lightly floured surface, divide the risen dough in half. This recipe calls for no kneading, and others who use this recipe say they don't knead and it runs out fine. I do like to knead it a bit myself and give it a good couple of turns on the countertop before I put it into bread pans.

7. Flatten each half  and put into bread pans or on a cookie sheet, one for each loaf. Cover again with a moist towel and let rise again for another 45 minutes.

8. After the dough has risen the second time, preheat the oven to 375 F and bake for 23 minutes. Allow to cool and enjoy!

Makes 2 huge loaves.
Prep time 2 hours (mostly waiting for the bread to rise)
Cooking time 23 minutes

You can improvise and add your own seeds, herbs etc. You can also glaze the bread before baking for a crispy crust. I have found that the wheat flour breads come out denser and are a great complement to soups, while the unbleached is just a fluffy slice of heaven.

OTHERS

I wanted to share this great video. Here's a couple of regular people, sailing, working and livin! Love the photography and music, really inspired me to make more videos! Check it out and send them some love!

Ready, Set, Spring!

Baltimore is blooming! The new energy of Spring has arrived bringing with it longer days,  beautiful flowers and yes... boatwork!

We have not yet gotten into the full swing of it, and are still wiping away the warm sluggishness of winter. I really enjoyed winter this year, making full use of the hibernation instinct, burying myself into books and studies. I discovered a wonderful site called culture unplugged, that supplied me with fresh perspectives and insights. I dove into the research of  herbs, tinctures and teas, and found a great site where I mispronounced every botanical name on the list . I made my own laundry detergent, baked my first ever loaf of bread, and watched my mushroom batch develop a nasty case of mold. I began to oxygenate our water, did a 7 day fruit fast, and began cooking with coconut milk. I watched Travis make a  to- die- for cheese sauce out of papayas, durian muffins and a bitter melon dish that still has my mouth watering.  I downloaded free audio books and listened to books I would have never  read. I snuggled with Chopper and Billy and began learning the native american flute. Its been a really fun winter!

3M SRINKtape vs Seafarer tape. 3M wins!

But, the boats, the boats are calling! We took the cover off of Me Voy a couple of weeks backs. And here boaters, if you have stuck with me this far, here is your boat tip. When putting on the cover we had a choice of two tapes. One $70 a roll (the white one), one $16 dollars a roll  (the clear one). The cheaper one turned to dust after about three months, most of the seams gave way and we had to retape with the more expensive one. So there. If you don't want to spend the money and don't mind retaping, you can expect about a three month life span on the Seafarer tape.

Chopper has been a bad influence on us and has refused to let the beautiful Spring days be wasted on work. Bike rides, ball playing and beach exploration are on his list and he totally disregards the lists we made which look like this:

Me Voy:                                                                                     TARA:
install LPG water heater (propane heater)                                   paint section of overhead
Install sink foot pump                                                                  replace section of rub rail
install composting toilet                                                               re Sani Tred deck
get/install berth lights                                                                   bright work
make/ install hand rail/shelf                                                         paint guest stateroom
install cat door to to litter box (placed under the satee)                install composting toilet
install solar panels                                                                        install stern letters
install wind generator                                                                
build cockpit roof
redesign stantions to accomodate a gate
rebed stantions
bottom paint
install thru hull for cruise air
install cruise air

If you've seen our previous lists you'll know that this is really not bad. There is a lot of  install vs. build tasks, even though a boat install usually will involve some kind of destroy/build function, I still like seeing those coz generally they are relatively quick, in boat years that is.

So with the coming of April we will be putting it into a new gear.  We don't expect to accomplish all the things listed here before moving onto Me Voy. We are planning on moving aboard this April and putting Tara for sale shortly thereafter. This is going to be one exciting month!




* Just for the record both Travis and I agree that we like Chopper's list much better!