Our Last Year Part 2

Part one was moving one of the large concrete blocks into position for the burn barrel. 

 

This next block will be moved to the front of the dog run. This dog run will be transformed to a wood shed, and then to a green house. This may help to explain the reason for the move. Now the wood shed is getting the trusses up for the roof and the slab for the front is not there yet.

As you can see the wood has now been removed, and the slab is now in place.

 

The tables and sink are being built and the roof and siding will be installed.

The finished product is now ready for covering.

Yes we now have the green house roofed and the sides covered. Just put in a couple of windows for ventilations.

Left side in the rear.  One on the right side and with the front door we have a 6'x 20' green house.  You all might have noticed this was built with fencing metal. So have any of you figured how Tiger and I attached the roof trusses and the plastic siding? 

Think of a sandwich. Maybe that will give you a clue. Tiger and I aren't telling. But it has held up to 4o mph winds and rain that comes down in buckets. Since this is Christmas Tiger and I wish you all a Very Merry Christmas and hope you all are in good health and are safe. I guess we all survived the  end of the world. If not I'm the only one and your not really there…..?

Our Last Year, Part 1

Ancient Egypt;

I'm sure your all thinking, what dose ancient Egypt have to do with working around or on property. Well lets see now, If you are alone and working on any kind of a project around property you need to really be aware of what you can do and what you can't do, or what type of tools you have at you disposal. Like how would you move a block of concrete that is 40"x 47"x 6".  Now think about this. You convert the inches to feet and then (a little math here) you would have 6.53 cubic feet. Concrete weights about 145 pound per cubic foot. So you have 946.65 pounds of concrete to move. You can't break the concrete up cause your going to use the slabs. You can't use a truck because of the soft soil, you don't have a tractor that can pull that much weight, and you have no way of renting anything that would do the job for you. (Isn't this fun)  What you do have is several tie down straps that you use to secure things on your truck. You have a pry bar and you have a heavy duty chain, and some round post  about 3" in diameter and 6' long.  And yes you did find a come-a-long in your toolbox. Have you figured what Egypt has to do with it yet?  (You didn't peek did you?)

This is one of three blocks that I moved to a new location. You can see the round post and how I used them. I'm going to use this block to place the burn barrel on. It will be moved about 150 feet. 

 

  

So you get an idea of how ancient Egypt, has played a part in this project. I sure wished that  a lot more Egyptians would have showed up to help me. I tell you, it's hard to find a good Egyptian when you really need one.  Now you've can see where the first block was placed, and I will show  the others in later projects.  As you can see Tiger has his Frisbee out and ready to play so I guess we will have to sign off .

Hope this finds you all safe and in good health. Till the next time from Tiger and Stu

Beer Bread and Turnovers

I got an e-mail the other day from a nephew, asking about where my Blog updates were.  Thanks for the alert Bud. I guess I've been doing everything except, keeping everyone informed of what's going on with Tiger and me.  I hadn't realized it has been five months since my last blog. So for my #1, that sent me a beer bread recipe, thank you. I did use it and I did make it come out the first try. It made a hearty bread. I used a private reserve beer and the bread was just great. However I do think we have the the recipe for Bisquick.

The bread taste to me like the biscuits I make from using Bisquick flour. But the bread stayed firm an didn't crumble like biscuits do. It also lasted for several days with out turning green. The bread sliced good and grills up nice for grilled ham and cheese sandwiches. So thank you #1 and please accept my apology for taking so long to get the results back to you.  Tiger is looking at me like ….( I told you so).

                                         

While I was making the bread I also made an apricot  pie. It turned out just like I like them. Just great.

                                  Now if this is making you hungry just wait till you see the Apple Turnovers.  Yep that's what Tiger and I did today. In fact we make a bakers dozen and gave half to Roger and Sheila.

                  Not bad for using my little pot lid. It measures just about 5 3/4 inches.

                          As you can see Tiger and I have been busy with cooking. He is getting much better at letting me know if I'm using to much sugar.  So now folks you all know that we are fine and I'll try not to let our Blog get so far behind.

Till next time keep healthy and safe…From Tiger and Stu

Eating Healthy

The other day my sister, asked me how come I'm not fat. (As she put it portly). I asked her what brought up that question and she said all I do is make cakes, pies, cookies, and breads. So I explained to her that I make all those items and then give them away to friends, family, and keep a little for testing, and I work hard. ( I get up in the morning and answer emails, scan channels on TV, and take Tiger for his walk) that's hard work. Besides I cook my own food and eat healthy.  This made me wonder if the rest of you think the same way. So here is a typical menu for me. Like yesterday I made Fish & Chips for dinner, with beer.

Now see that is good eating. And I had enough left over for today at lunch. I really had a hanker'en for some fish & chips with a beer.

Classic Fish and Chips

Prep Time: 10 Min
Cook Time: 25 Min
Ready In: 45 Min
Yield 4 servings

Ingredients:
    * 4 large potatoes, peeled and cut into strips
    * 1 cup all-purpose flour
    * 1 teaspoon baking powder
    * 1 teaspoon salt
    * 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
    * 1 cup milk
    * 1 egg
    * 1 quart vegetable oil for frying
    * 1 1/2 pounds cod fillets

Directions:
   1. Place potatoes in a medium-size bowl of cold water. In a separate medium-size mixing bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, salt, and    pepper. Stir in the milk and egg; stir until the mixture is smooth. Let mixture stand for 20 minutes.
   2. Preheat the oil in a large pot or electric skillet to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
   3. Fry the potatoes in the hot oil until they are tender. Drain them on paper towels.
   4. Dredge the fish in the batter, one piece at a time, and place them in the hot oil. Fry until the fish is golden brown. If necessary, increase the heat to maintain the 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) temperature. Drain well on paper towels.
   5. Fry the potatoes again for 1 to 2 minutes for added crispness.

So with lunch finished for the day, I had to prepare dinner for tonight and make Tiger's food.  So I cooked a chicken leg for Tiger and added some Lamb Liver for a little taste change for him. (He loved it… Or he was really hungry). I decided to make Stromboli for dinner and Pizza for lunch tomorrow. 

Now that my fast food is ready for dinner tomorrow night, I'll have ready made pizza for lunch.

    Of course it is always correct to have a good beer or even a good wine with all meals.  Even when I make bread I will make a good grilled Ham & Cheese sandwich. And when I make Macaroni & Cheese, and Hamburgers, I'm eating the American way and it is healthy.

This weekend I'll make a beer bread from a recipe that my #1 sent me. (That is if I have any beer left). I'll tell you about it in the next blog.

Tiger and his new toy from Sis.   See how trim he is….LOL

Tell the next time keep safe and healthy.  Tiger and Stu

Amish Friendship Bread

I mentioned in my last blog update that the starter for the Amish Friendship bread wouldn't be ready till this Sunday. Well it is ready and I just thought I would bring you up to date on how it turned out. First it took 10 days for the starter to be ready. And no it isn't a sour dough. But it is more like a cake than a bread. In fact when you mix everything together it's more like a Banana bread dough. In fact if I was just looking at the batter, and not knowing, I would say it is Banana bread dough. However instead of Banana's it has apples in it. I'm passing on this recipe, because it is so good and so easy to make, If you decide to try it, you'll be  pleasantly surprised.

Amish Friendship Bread Starter

Yield 4 cups of starter
Prep Time: 30 Min
Ready In: 9 Days 40 Min

Ingredients

    * 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
    * 1/4 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
    * 3 cups all-purpose flour, divided
    * 3 cups white sugar, divided
    * 3 cups milk

Directions :

   1. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Let stand 10 minutes. In a 2 quart container glass, plastic or ceramic container, combine 1 cup flour and 1 cup sugar. Mix thoroughly or flour  will lump when milk is added. Slowly stir in 1 cup milk and dissolved yeast mixture. Cover loosely and let stand until bubbly. Consider this day 1 of the 10 day cycle. Leave loosely covered at room temperature.
   2. On days 2 thru 4; stir starter with a spoon. Day 5; stir in 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup milk. Days 6 thru 9; stir only.
   3. Day 10; stir in 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup milk. Remove 1 cup to make your first bread, give 2 cups to friends along with this recipe, and your favorite Amish Bread recipe. Store the remaining 1 cup starter in a container in the refrigerator, or begin the 10 day process over again (beginning with step 2).
Note: Once you have made the starter, you will consider it Day One, and thus ignore step 1 in this recipe and proceed with step 2. You can also freeze this starter in 1 cup measures for later use. Frozen starter will take at least 3 hours at room temperature to thaw before using.

And now for the recipe for the bread. The easy part.

Amish Friendship Bread

Prep Time: 20 Min
Cook Time: 50 Min
Ready In: 1 Hr 10 Min

Ingredients:
    * 2 cups all-purpose flour
    * 1 cup white sugar
    * 2 teaspoons baking powder
    * 1 teaspoon baking soda
    * 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
    * 1 teaspoon salt
    * 1 cup Amish Friendship Bread Starter
    * 3 eggs
    * 2/3 cup vegetable oil
    * 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
    * 1 cup chopped walnuts
    * 2 apples - peeled, cored and finely chopped

Directions:
   1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease two 9x5 inch loaf pans. Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon,    baking soda and salt, set aside
   2. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the Amish Friendship  Starter, eggs, oil and vanilla. Gradually stir in the sifted ingredients until just blended. Finally stir in the chopped nuts  and apples. Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared pans.
   3. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a loaf comes out clean.

I didn't have any fresh apples to put in my bread so I just put in a 10-oz. can of apple pie filling.  It turned out great. I don't know where it got the brown color from. I did bake it for 60 minutes instead of 50, But that might just be my oven characteristics.

Hope you all give it a try.  It was wonderful.

Till the next time keep healthy and safe. From Tiger and Stu

The Bread man

Here it is April already and still raining in Oregon. It's really hard for Tiger,  he wants to run, jump, and do things that Dog's do. So to keep him busy I've been teaching him how to bake and cook. Needless to say he is a bit slow to learn this. He hates it when I have him knead the bread and the dough gets caught in his paw's. Of course I don't really appreciate that either.  He likes stomping grapes and making wine better.   I think he's a lot better at morel support.

I really like cinnamon rolls, so we gave that a try first. They turned out just like you would buy in the local bakery.  Of course it something turns out right, you just keep going. So I decided to make sourdough bread. Well I didn't know you have to make a starter. But it didn't take me long to learn what to do. (I love the internet).  

 

 

 

Talk about planning ahead. It take about 10 days or better to make a sourdough starter.  It reminds me of the flour and water "paste" we use to make in school. I'm sure you remember that.  But for all the trouble and the time involved it turned out to make a great bread. Just a light hint of sour taste. Next time I'll let it get riper. Maybe let it sit longer and get it more sour. But it is good this way, even Tiger tried a piece. I don't think he is much into bread. But he likes it with butter and or peanut butter.  So while waiting for the starter to age and the rain to quit, we had to make something that wouldn't take so long to get ready.

So I decided to make an Amish Friendship Bread. Guess what!! It takes 10 days for an Amish Starter. So I started that too. I've never tried Amish Friendship bread before. I wonder if it's a sourdough? I'm on my sixth day so I won't know till this Sunday.  

 

Now we have two starters going and this is turning into a baby sitting job. You have to stir them everyday and feed them. Damn, I feel like a father to a bunch of bacteria. I think I'm suppose to burp this stuff too.

 

Tiger and I decided to make Raisin Cinnamon bread in between the feedings and burps. Now this is something you can make and eat the same day. Boy is it good. My sis likes it and mom likes it and even Roger liked it. And Tiger likes it as well and I guess raisin's are good for dogs? I haven't read any different. I don't give him much because of the sugar and cinnamon.   I ended up making 3 loathes. So sis got one, I got one, and I ate one while testing the goods. LOL  

Now Sheila wants to raise chickens. She is looking to have a dozen eggs every morning and fryers for dinner.  And a lot of Chicken..S--t for the garden..she has been looking online for chicken coops and has decided that she needs one on wheels to move around the yard so she won't have to shovel the Chicken..S—t. Can you imagine being a chicken and waking up in the morning to find out you and your home have been moved to a new neighbor hood. They have to get to know the neighbors all over again.  And when they just get to feeling comfy, you up and move them and their home again.  I don't think they would lay alot of eggs, but you wouldn't have to shovel alot of Chicken..S—t either.

Till the next time, keep healthy and safe.  From Tiger and Stu

Weather Man

Ok !! The weather forecast is out for this week. It says  it will  be  a high of 50  and a low of 37 for the week. The winds will be at 20 to 30 mph, with gust to 40 to 50 mph. Chance of rain 60%. Other than the winds, much like the rest of this month has been. However on my calendar  Spring is starting on the 20th of March, just a week away.  This doesn't seem that bad. Even if your a farmer you don't have to worry about snow or freezing weather, per our weather man.

The winds were quite strong during the day and night, We lost power several times. The last time was about 7pm yesterday. It felt like the winds were blowing closer to 70 and 80 mph.  Tiger and I woke this morning and still no power, but the winds have stopped. So I think its time to start the generator up before we lose everything in the refrigerator. When I open the door all I can see is white stuff. Yeah you guessed it, "snow". Not just a little snow, its more like about 5 inches of the stuff.

 

Tiger is in 7th heaven with this stuff.  Of course there is a squirrel out here some where.  Maybe behind the wood pile?

I know this sounds fun and it is to Tiger. But our plants have been uncovered by the high winds, and then covered with 5 inches of snow. As you can see we may have lost this start of the garden. Radishes, Beets, Onions, Garlic, Carrots, and Chives. We lost the cover to the wood shed as well.  So it looks like Tiger and I really have some work to do. Hope we can save most of our plants. Meanwhile we have no power except for the generator and no water because of the freeze. Its noon time already.

 

 

(Don't believe the weather man".

 

Tiger and I are well and having fun.

 

 

Hope this fines you all in good health and safe.  So till the next time,  From Tiger and Stu

New Years Resolutions

Top 10 New Year's Resolutions

                                                             Make a plan and follow it to the Tee . 

1. More Time with Family & Friends
Recent polls shows that more than 50% of Americans vow to appreciate loved ones and spend more time with family and friends this year.

   Plan: Move in, It eliminates the rent, utilities and the food bill. WOW!!!

2. Exercise
Regular exercise has been associated with more health benefits than anything else known to man. Studies show that it reduces the risk of some cancers, increases longevity, helps achieve and maintain weight loss, enhances mood, lowers blood pressure, and even improves arthritis. In short, exercise keeps you healthy and makes you look and feel better. Plan: Work out more.

 

3. Weight Loss
Over 66 percent of adult Americans are considered overweight or obese by recent studies, Weight loss is one of the most popular New Year's resolutions.   Plan: Get rid of the scales.

4. Quit Smoking
If you have resolved to stamp out your smoking habit. Even if you've tried to quit before and failed, don't worry about it. On average, smokers try about four times before they quit for good.  Plan: Stay away from open flames.

5. Enjoy Life More
"Enjoying life more" has become a popular resolution in recent years. It's an important step to a happier and healthier you.  Plan: Quit working

6. Quit Drinking
Most people use the New Year as an reason to finally stop drinking, but most are not ready to make such a drastic change all at once. Many heavy drinkers fail to quit cold turkey but do much better when they taper gradually, or even learn to moderate their drinking.

Plan: Cut your drinking in half, Don't drink while sleeping.

7. Get Out of Debt
Money is a big source of stress through out most of life.     Plan: See resolution #1.

8. Learn Something New

Education to be one of the easiest, most motivating New Year's resolutions to keep. Plan: Get new recipe.

9. Help Others
This is a popular, non-selfish New Year's resolution.   Plan: Offer more advise.

10. Get Organized
Organization can be a very reasonable goal.  Plan: Get bigger trash can.

Till the next time stay healthy and safe. 

Happy New Years from Tiger and Stu