Well... I must say on that first loaf of bread (see below post) I didn't wait for my bread machine to do the WHOLE dough "thing" (after already waiting 4 hours for it to sponge) and so I dumped it in a pan and baked it...(it was near 9pm and I was headed to bed) so it also didn't RISE in the pan for an hour or whatever but CHECK THIS OUT...   MAJOR improvement...   and imagine if I'd have followed directions!!

The delima?   Holy Smokes it took FOREVER!!!  Not sure if I could do that.. especially for 1 loaf at a time!!  In a few days I may play around and try to do the sponge method with my Bosch... and try to get a FEW loaves at one time... we'll see?

I also have another question... my 6 loaves cooled and I turned them upside down to cool a bit more...and when I came back into the kitchen... the centers (bottom) were all FALLEN IN!!  WHY???  Why oh why...they are not very TALL to begin with and then when they fall.....it makes me wanna cry!!

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I didn't share this yesterday because some of you probably can guess already that sometimes I am a bit of a Ms. Visionary....as I really like to JUMP on to things and then quickly putter out!!    Well yesterday morning I was really thinking how much I LOVE this site...and would LOVE to incorporate more of this thinking in to our daily life.  These 2 articles REALLY caught my eye....  the Locavore pledge  and 25 Ways to Save Money on Food

I have a local place to buy MILK (even raw...not sure we will buy raw)

I have a local place to buy beef.

I can buy some meat chickens easy enough

I have LOTS of places, CSA's (my pastor even), farmers market, my front yard to buy FRESH vegetables....

So WHY oh WHY did I go to Walmart yesterday and get my groceries??    (sadly-- time and convienence)  I need dh to get on board 100% and things tend to go forward on an on going basis THEN.

Do any of you STRIVE to purposefully buy items as LOCAL as possible???  Or even to grown MOST of your own?  I'd love to know.... 

Although I did forget I requested THIS book from my libary and what a timely response...it arrived yesterday... i read it last year and REALLY enjoyed it but I plan on reading it MUCH slower and digesting and applying a bit more this time around....

There is even a website for the book...  

Now for my disclaimer:  I don't remember exactly the outlook the author had in this book...I like the practical application.... this morning I do beleive I read the work "karma" and sometimes books like this-- get back to our roots do go a bit "new age"....but I just kick it to the side....  so that is my disclaimer--

Just to wet your appetite if you arent' sure this is the book for you here are a few excerpts:

First of all it all begins when her and her husband move from sunny, HOT, DRY AZ to southern Virginia...

She mentions in the beginning her highest shopping goal was to get their food CLOSE to home-- to KNOW the person who grew it and often that would be themselves...

She then mentioned some important information many people overlook which are very important to this endevor include:

when is your first frost?

when is your last frost?

Which crops can be planted before the last frost?

which crops must wait?

what an asparagus patch looks like in August

Most importantly--  what animals and vegetables thrive in your immediate region--and how to live well on those with little else beyond a bag of flower, a pinch of salt and a handful of coffee....

A great book IMHO to read right about now as we are waiting for our rototiller to be finished and for hubby to get that ground DUG up!!  A big motivator!!

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Posted by http://5happycampers.blogspot.com/

We garden as much as possiable. And do lots of canning. We can't raise any animals because we live in town. But We have friends who raise beef. Didn't get a chance to get in that this year but we plan on it next. We have a great farmers market here. We also have quite a few fruit picking places. We didn't do it last year..I was hugely pregnant and on light bed rest. :) Also great berry picking farms. Of course our garden is organic, but nothing else is yet, It is very expensive to do that here and I have slowly started to pick up a couple things at New Seasons Market, but so spendy! Right now we get milk, eggs and cheese through a gov. WIC program. Because it is free we use it. It saves us lots of money. If we did not have this program, I would try to go organic in this area. I would love to find someone with meat chickens and even some lamb would be nice. I have only eaten it once and really liked it. Also, I was raised on rabbits. My grandfather raised meat rabbits. Of course till I was older I thought it was chicken. (I loved the rabbits as pets!) So that is another option. Okay enoough rambleing. Have a great weekend!

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