Posts
He serenaded me with his toy piano while I made Brioche.
He strolled with me to check out the Overland Community Garden.
He went with Melanie and I to the secret-location Creve Couer Crabapple tree we pick fruit from every year. We had some laughs, some new experiences, and a good nap too.
The Brioche:
It proofed beautifully, but Spelt lacks the necessary elasticity to produce a nice round dome on a risen loaf - at least, I've found that to be true. Part of it is preference. I'd rather have a tender, moist loaf that's not perfectly shaped than a nicely domed loaf that is too dry in the crumb from too much flour. Maybe one of you bakers out there has got some knowledge I lack about this phenomenon.
We had some for lunch, along with. . .
Concord grapes! Harold's first ones. I was squeezing the soft core into his mouth and holding on to the skin (and for you nervous parents out there, I was selecting only the smallest ones for this - to avoid a choking hazard.) He'd chew a few times, then smile, and down the hatch they'd go. As you can see, he was ready for more.
The Overland Community Garden is in its first year, so we went to check it out and see if anyone was there working, since it was such a beautiful day. It was devoid of gardeners, but you can see they've got a good start.
One plot caught my interest.
Linda has been hard at work.
I think I see radishes (a lot of 'em,) cauliflower, and collard greens. But I'm an amateur - what do you see?
Harold liked the ornamental grasses growing on the edge of the lot.
All that walking made us tired, so we rested awhile.
Afterwards, we visited my parents and then walked to the tree, which is so loaded this year I can't believe it. I would guess a couple hundred pounds of crabapples. In past years, we've always made jelly, and sometimes tarts. This year I'm thinking Crabapple Clafoutis for Pomme - Bryan and I tried one three weeks ago but the fruit wasn't ripe. But now they're ready. (For such a small fruit they can take a long time to mature.)
For some reason, the sight of the boughs shaking and the fruit falling into the bag was hilarious to Harold.
All in all, a beautiful day.
Now, in an addendum to our story, I made this discovery on the front porch back at home.
It has been so long since I've seen a wooly-bear caterpillar, that I wasn't sure if this was one. Also, is this specimen particularly wooly, or just the usual thread count? Our friends at Wikipedia lay out the folklore surrounding the woolly-bear and its appearance, but I think this one I found must be a different species. The body shape is more like an elongated hedgehog than a worm with fur - also, no brown band in the center.
If all goes well, I'll have some crabapple jelly put up in the pantry, to spread on brioche on a mid-winter's morn.
No comments:
Post a Comment