After staying up late to bake two loaves of sourdough bread on Thursday night, I mixed up a batch of dough for English Muffins. I love this recipe because you put it in the fridge overnight and bake them the next morning. And, it makes three dozen smaller muffins or two-and-a-half dozen regular sized ones. I used my electric skillet this time. I had more control over the temperature. And, I could cook a dozen at a time. You cook them on one side for about seven minutes, turn them over, pop the lid on, and cook another seven minutes. Then I put them back on the baking sheet and put them in a 350 degree oven for about nine minutes. They were perfect, and...I can freeze them and have fresh English Muffins for the next three weeks!
On this day last year, I arrived in Colorado to spend a month with my kids and grandkids and to visit my brother. We were preparing for my younger daughter’s wedding and there were lots of fun activities and visits planned. I wrote on July 2, 2019 about the dance mothers and daughters do and how my relationships with my daughters have evolved and healed over the years.
Oh....it’s July. I feel like we should be peeking around the corner very carefully...you know, just in case it’s a trap!
So, I went to the doctor yesterday. All the usual precautions...wear a mask, don’t arrive more than fifteen minutes before your appointment, practice social distancing, no one can come with you. No problem...this was my “Great Escape”....my master plan for getting a few hours on my own.
Ugh...yesterday was Monday.....ALL day. It was one of those days when nothing I touched worked right. I went out for a walk around the property before breakfast. The oats were done and Mr. FixIt couldn’t find me. I could hear him yelling that breakfast was ready, but he couldn’t hear me because the air conditioning unit was running. I walked up to the house, went in, and sat down at the bar in the kitchen. I thought maybe he had gone around front so I sat and waited. All of a sudden, I heard him yelling in the bedroom and scared me half to death. He was yelling out the bedroom window for me and I thought he’d fallen or something. Oy.
I finished all the mowing on Saturday so I didn’t have anything on my schedule but online church yesterday. I puttered around in the garden. I watered all the tomato plants with the epsom salt solution. I trimmed some wild growth along the back fence that’s threatening the garden with too much shade. There’s a deer wandering around with a bum leg and I checked on her. She seems to be eating and getting to the water in the creek ok so I’m just going to watch her for awhile. I fed the sourdough starter and made a great supper. We ate out on the deck which was lovely. Then took a long walk around the property. I wanted to show Mr. FixIt a fruit tree I found along the edge of the field. It looks like a peach. Or maybe a cherry. No fruit, though.
After my morning coffee, Mr. FixIt was on the phone when I walked by, blew him a kiss, and went out to mow. It was pretty hot out there, but I have learned how to mow with one hand and hold a huge golf umbrella with the other. I have to wear a mask because of all the allergens that get stirred up, so it’s kind of stuffy and sticky out there. I’ve figured out how to hold the umbrella just right to catch any hint of a breeze which makes the chore so much easier.
I was telling Mr. FixIt on the way home yesterday...when I get to stay a couple of days at the farm, I feel like I’ve had a week’s vacation. It’s not like I went out there and put my feet up for two days. There was mowing to be done. Cooking, cleaning, and laundry. But there’s something about that place that renews my energy. It’s magical.
I don’t understand it. My kitchen looks like I’ve cooked a meal for the 101st Airborne when I’m done making....anything. Egg sandwich? Clean the range. Thanksgiving Dinner? Disaster! Bake two loaves of bread, make a double batch of tofu, and a summer pasta salad and I have to run the dishwasher AND wash the dishes and run a load of dishtowels! And clean every surface, the sinks, and the floor. It’s ridiculous! I keep looking for the Kitchen Fairy to come and clean but so far, no luck.
This is the time of year where you can almost see the grass grow. Long, sunny days of hot, humid weather brings slow, steady growth. Add the rain that’s coming in the next three days and it’s going to get crazy out there! Mr. FixIt is still recuperating from his last stroke so he can’t really mow right now. I love mowing, so I don’t mind it at all. And, he is so appreciative. He always thanks me when I pick up the slack and tells me what a good job I’m doing. It makes it so much easier when you are appreciated.
We had a little social gathering last night. Just six people. Socially distanced. But, it was for dinner. This was my first attempt at cooking for company after Covid and I was a little nervous. I wanted to make sure our guests were comfortable with what I made, so I chose homemade pizza. I wore gloves during prep, and I wanted them to see that the food was untouched after baking.
