BREAD on MONDAY - Homemade Bread, No Matter What!

  A few months ago, my electric oven finally bit the dust. It completely went out, frying and sizzling as it died. The broiler part broke quite a long while back, but a few months back, the rest of it broke. Actually, I might have added to it. I was trying to "fix" it, when it finished breaking. It wasn't working right, though, that was for sure, because once it completely broke, my electric bill really dropped! So its breaking was probably a blessing in disguise.

I can't afford a new stove/oven right now (stove top broke years ago), so I have been playing around with alternative cooking methods. There really are quite a few of them, you know? We should never get so dependent on one cooking method that we don't know any other way to cook. We should always know how to use several options, for whatever reason we might need them.

I love my homemade breads, and I have been using a bread machine to make them, since my oven was broken. I have more than one bread machine, but I have been using my favorite, which is also my biggest one. One day, recently, I had it going and just a few minutes into its initial mixing/kneading cycle, I heard a really strange noise coming from it. I went to check and my favorite bread machine had broken!!! *cry - sniff* My other bread machine is considerably smaller, and I just did not feel like dragging it out of the closet, switching them around, and trying to start the cycle all over, plus it wouldn't have all fit into that machine.

So what did I decide to do? Well, I had had a nice fire going in my wood stove all day (with which I heat my house), and it was getting down to some really good coals, so I decided to cook my bread in there. I dumped the dough out onto a floured platter, kneaded it by hand, pinched it off into hot rolls, and placed them into a well oiled 2-quart cast iron Dutch oven. By the time they had risen to more than doubled, the coals in the wood stove were just right for baking.

I cleared out a space in the middle of the coals (if they are too close, they will quickly burn what you are cooking), placed the covered Dutch oven in the cleared out space, and in no time I had light, moist and delicious hot rolls ready! As soon as I pulled them out of the "oven" I thoroughly rubbed a stick of butter over them. They were crispy, crunchy on the very outside, and so light and fluffy on the inside. The were fantastic!!! I will definitely be doing this again.
And as an added plus, it didn't cost anything for utilities (electric) to bake this batch of bread because I already had the wood stove going to heat the house, with wood that came off of my property and my fiance had cut. So now, while it is cold, I am doing almost all of my cooking in that old wood stove and loving it! I love the food, and I love the reduced electric bill.
This should work with any Basic White Bread recipe. Just remember to shorten the baking time. 

HOT ROLLS baking in my wood stove.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

All of us at TwoFarmsOne wish you a safe, healthy, blessing filled and very merry Christmas!

Wordless Wednesday - Chocolate Cake

It doesn't have to be big nor fancy.

Wordless Wednesday

Don't Toss Those Iddy Biddy Pumpkins!

 Many of us get them each year, then toss them out right after Thanksgiving, sometimes even sooner.... those tiny little orange pumpkins that we use to adorn our tables and scatter amongst our Fall decorations and displays. They are so pretty and adorable. And kids love to paint faces on them for Halloween. But did you know that they are edible?!

Yes, they are just as edible as any Pie Pumpkin. Not only are they edible, but they are delicious!!! Inside, these pumpkins have a nice, thick wall. The seeds can be pulled out, cleaned, then saved for roasting or planting. But the pumpkins can be baked for a very tasty and nutritious meal. Bake several and scoop the soft meat out to make a delicious pie. They can be used for anything you would normally use pumpkins for.... they are pumpkins! It just might take a few of them. When baked, the meat of these wonderful little pumpkins is surprisingly sweet and very smooth and creamy. The texture is not at all stringy, just sweet and smooth. In fact, I find them to be even smoother and sweeter than many pie pumpkins.

There are many ways you can cook these pumpkins. You can even stuff the inside with your favorite meatloaf recipe and bake for adorable individual servings, but my favorite way is to just bake them as I do my Acorn Squash. Simply cut the tops off (much easier than you would think, but be careful that knife doesn't slip), remove the seeds (comes out easily and quickly), add a couple of your favorite ingredients, place the cut top back on, place in a shallow pan of water and bake. The following instructions is a little better detailed.

Baked Jack Be Little Pumpkins 

• A few Jack Be Little Pumpkins (those iddy biddy orange or white pumpkins)
• Butter
• Sugar
• Cinnamon
• Water

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Wash pumpkins thoroughly.

Slice tops off of pumpkins. I like to make the cut at a slight downward slant. 

Remove seeds from pumpkin and set aside for whatever later use you choose for them.

Place pumpkins in a shallow baking pan, leaving a little space between each pumpkin.

Inside each pumpkin, add a pat of butter, a spoon of sugar, and a small sprinkle of cinnamon. (I like to use the True Cinnamon). The amounts of each ingredient are strictly up to personal taste.

Place top back on each pumpkin.

Pour water into your baking pan, around the pumpkins, until water is about 1/2-inch deep in pan.

Place in preheated oven and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until pumpkins are tender and sugar filling has turned to syrup. Cook time will vary according to the size and number of your pumpkins. 

Serve hot with your favorite meal. I even like to eat them cold! These are so yummy!

Wordless Wednesday - 12/5

Homegrown Thanksgiving Salad

Wordless Wednesday