(no subject)
I feel like we've been living in another century - or at least partly (after all, there's wireless in this one :D - these past two weeks. Cooking on a woodstove, doing laundry in a wringer-washer, hand-cranked ice cream, hand-pressed apple cider... The other day, the guys cut the neutral line in the main electric circuit that went through our kitchen, and it didn't faze us a bit! We shut off the lights, the fridge grumbled and revved, and our lovely wood stove went right on cooking supper without a blink.
I love, really really love, (as well as thoroughly enjoy) cooking on a woodstove. Of course, it's very handy to have an oven thermometer - I wouldn't want to try it without. I didn't try making bread in it, but I did bake muffins and they turned out great. I can't really say I've done all that much personal cooking on it - though I made sausage gravy for breakfast - because most of the cooking has been someone else's plan, and I've just watched the fire and stirred and chopped as needed. But I did make both plum and chokecherry syrup, and applesauce all myself. (That makes it sound like I did no cooking either - that's not right... I done cooked! Lots! I spent most of my time in the kitchen!) Anyways, suffice it to say, I likes the wood stove. It's great fun, as well as warm and cozy. (Ok, so I don't really want to try using it mid-summer either.)
AND, I think that Anna and I can justly claim to be the first ever to make caramel mocha macchiatos on a woodstove. :D Did I forget to mention I made caramel sauce? It was for the ice cream, but there was plenty left over. We made extra strong coffee, stirred hot cocoa mix into it, and heated the milk to steaming on the stovetop. Here's the recipe: 1 squirt of Hershey's chocolate syrup. 3 tsps of caramel sauce. Pour aforemade coffee in to about 2/3 full. Froth steamed milk in a 1 cup glass measuring cup with a teeny-tiny battery run frother, and fill the rest of the cup. Stir around a bit and serve. We got rave reviews.
Every day, I've thought of things that would be fun to post - but every night, I am too tired to type anything at all. Or think, for that matter. And the thinking's the difficult part. So... uh... I can't remember all the best bits.
There's a bear that frequents the plum orchard.
Dan came flying out in his snazzy red helicopter (over which I drooled and drooled).
We slept outside several nights. It was gorgeous - I grudged having to go to sleep for wanting to watch the stars. I saw several brief shooting stars, and one that went across nearly half the sky.
Oh! And if you're wondering - we picked the apples and plums and chokecherries ourselves. :) Any minute, a covered wagon should be coming up the valley...
I love, really really love, (as well as thoroughly enjoy) cooking on a woodstove. Of course, it's very handy to have an oven thermometer - I wouldn't want to try it without. I didn't try making bread in it, but I did bake muffins and they turned out great. I can't really say I've done all that much personal cooking on it - though I made sausage gravy for breakfast - because most of the cooking has been someone else's plan, and I've just watched the fire and stirred and chopped as needed. But I did make both plum and chokecherry syrup, and applesauce all myself. (That makes it sound like I did no cooking either - that's not right... I done cooked! Lots! I spent most of my time in the kitchen!) Anyways, suffice it to say, I likes the wood stove. It's great fun, as well as warm and cozy. (Ok, so I don't really want to try using it mid-summer either.)
AND, I think that Anna and I can justly claim to be the first ever to make caramel mocha macchiatos on a woodstove. :D Did I forget to mention I made caramel sauce? It was for the ice cream, but there was plenty left over. We made extra strong coffee, stirred hot cocoa mix into it, and heated the milk to steaming on the stovetop. Here's the recipe: 1 squirt of Hershey's chocolate syrup. 3 tsps of caramel sauce. Pour aforemade coffee in to about 2/3 full. Froth steamed milk in a 1 cup glass measuring cup with a teeny-tiny battery run frother, and fill the rest of the cup. Stir around a bit and serve. We got rave reviews.
Every day, I've thought of things that would be fun to post - but every night, I am too tired to type anything at all. Or think, for that matter. And the thinking's the difficult part. So... uh... I can't remember all the best bits.
There's a bear that frequents the plum orchard.
Dan came flying out in his snazzy red helicopter (over which I drooled and drooled).
We slept outside several nights. It was gorgeous - I grudged having to go to sleep for wanting to watch the stars. I saw several brief shooting stars, and one that went across nearly half the sky.
Oh! And if you're wondering - we picked the apples and plums and chokecherries ourselves. :) Any minute, a covered wagon should be coming up the valley...