make do and mend for tougher times

fuddle wrote: »

The food for free book by richard mabey that I had reserved by the library is no longer stocked. The email said they would charge me £11 to get it from another council so I have to make sure I get that cancelled.

£11 Thats just crazy...at that price you may as well buy the book or see if you can get get it second hand on Amazon...

Mishmogs and Possession - yikes! DH's job finishes on 31 July and if it takes him over a year to find another we will also be in a terrible mess. He has applied via some agencies for other things but no joy yet.

In spite of the gloom and doom I am trying to get excited about my new kitchen, which is being fitted next week. My lovely grandma left me a little bit of money when she passed away last year, and we were offered a very good price for the new one (over 80% off everything, including appliances). It seemed like a good idea at the time as both DH and I seemed to have secure jobs - huh! Hindsight is 20/20, as they say. Still, as my cooker is now completely dead, and as that very wise lady Fuddle once said, I can't very well be OS without a kitchen, I am kind of looking forward to it.

I don't know why but I find it very difficult to spend large amounts of money; it makes me feel ill and panicky, and wracked with guilt. In a way I am happier with my comfy, tatty old junk-shop furniture - I am not used to having new things. I bet I sound really ungrateful now, don't I? Sorry

Evie xx

smileyt wrote: »

I can sympathise with people having trouble with benefits. I claimed on 31st May and so far have been messed around so much I haven't received a penny of either JSA or HB. Luckily I have some money from the supported lodgings I do for my LGBT charity, which covers the rent and council tax. The rest is all coming out of my savings and my storecupboard. It's a bl**dy good job I'm so frugal or I'd be in a right mess now.

It has just rained torrentially for over an hour. It was supposed to be lovely here today and for the next few days. Well, it has stopped now so I am going to dash out with the dogs before it starts again.

Thinking of having a civil ceremony ..... to my wellies. You're all invited, bring copious quantities of tea and cake! xxx

It's serious ...no wonder many of us are going to the Dr for AD's...I haven't yet. There's another cost I have forgotten to add into future costs for me. Paying of prescription drugs that I have to take, no choice(approx £50 a month)even if you buy a pre prescription certificate you still have to find £100 annually.

Your mention of wellingtons has reminded me to put them back on my list of things to buy...whilst I can...

Well done with the bread fuddle - see practice makes perfect .

Can't remember who wanted the 5 min bread recipe, here it is:

-= Exported from BigOven =-

5 minute bread

Authors: Jeff Hertzberg and Zoë Francois

Chuck in a large bowl: 3 cups water, 1T yeast, 1T salt and 6.5cups of plain flour.
Mix until combined.
Cover loosely.
Let rest for 2hrs.
Shove it in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

To bake: take out some dough using as light a touch as possible.
Leave it to rise for about an hour on an oven tray.
Put an empty baking tin in the oven and heat oven to max.
When oven is hot, put the tray with dough in it and pour some hot water in the baking tin.
Bake until golden (depends on the size of your loaf ...about 30min for me)

Right, there you have it: no copyright breach as it's in my own words and it's a simplified version anyway.

Having said that, seriously guys just type 'Master boule recipe' into Google and you get the original recipe.

=============================

Master Bread Recipe
from "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day"

Ingredients
Preparation time: 15 minutes to prepare enough dough for four loaves, to be baked over four days. Each daily loaf will average 5 minutes of active preparation time.

Makes four 1-pound loaves

3 cups lukewarm water (about 100º F)
1 1/2 tablespoons granulated yeast
1 1/2 tablespoons kosher or other coarse salt
6 1/2 cups all-purpose white flour (no need to sift)
Cornmeal for the pizza peel

1.In a 5-quart bowl, mix the yeast, water and salt. Add all the flour, then use a wooden spoon to mix until all ingredients are uniformly moist. It is not necessary to knead or continue mixing once the ingredients are uniformly moist. This will produce a loose and very wet dough.

2.Cover with a lid (not airtight). Allow the mixture to rise at room temperature until it begins to collapse, about 2 hours, but no more than 5 hours.

3. After rising, the dough can be baked immediately, or covered (non completely airtight) and refrigerated up to 14 days. The dough will be easier to work with after at least 3 hours refrigeration.

4. On baking day, prepare a pizza peel by sprinkling it liberally with cornmeal to prevent the bread from sticking when you transfer it to the oven. Uncover the dough and sprinkle the surface with flour. Pull up and cut off a 1-pound (grapefruit-size) piece of dough (serrated knives are best). Store the remaining dough in the bowl and refrigerate for baking at another time.

5. Hold the mass of dough in your hands and add a little more flour as needed so it won't stick. Create a smooth ball of dough by gently pulling the sides down around to the bottom, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go. While shaping, most of the dusting flour will fall off. The bottom of the loaf may appear to be a collection of bunched ends, but it will flatten out during resting and baking. Shaping the loaf this way should take no more than 1 minute.

6.Place the dough on the pizza peel. Allow the loaf to rest for about 40 minutes. It does not need to be covered. The bread may not rise much during this time.

7. Twenty minutes before baking, place a pizza stone on the center rack of the oven. If you don't have a baking stone, use another baking sheet. Remove any upper racks. Place a broiler pan on a rack below the pizza stone or on the floor of the oven. Preheat oven to 450 F.

8. When the dough has rested for 40 minutes, dust the top liberally with flour, then use a serrated knife to slash a 1/4-inch-deep cross or tic-tac-toe pattern into the top.

9.Slide the loaf off the peel and onto the baking stone. Quickly but carefully pour 1 cup of hot water into the broiler tray and close the oven door.

10.Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the crust is nicely browned and firm to the touch. Allow the bread to cool completely, preferably on a wire cooling rack.

---

I have added the orig recipe to the end of the one I posted previously as there is a handy bit about how to handle the dough, which is quite soft. As it is an american recipe the ingredients are not ones that would be familiar here.

Now I am eating all those eggs at last they now say they are good for you...

http://www.zest.co.uk/zest-blog/eggs-get-healthier---official/3637.html