Beep!! Beep!! From 2012

 Genuine New Mexico Roadrunner that I caught wandering around the apartment in Albuquerque in 2012.  Was not able to get too close unfortunately and was using a point & shoot.

09/14/2020 4 Grain Rye

 4 grain rye....sesame, fennel, caraway , poppy...2 tablespoons each in a 1.5 pound loaf (1.5 cups rye + 1.5 cups unbleached white bread flour) with brown sugar to feed the yeast.  This one came out great!  LOVE all the seeds!  Next time I think I'll try either honey or molasses rather than the brown sugar and see what that does.

09/02/2020 Partially Failed Experiment

I thought I could take the whole wheat 3 seed recipe and use rye flour and maybe it would rise a little more or a little less but nothing dramatic.  Well...I was wrong...managed to get about half the rise.  It tastes great...wonderful crust and not overly dense but I can see that I probably should take a rye recipe as the base if I don't want a midget 1.5 pound loaf.  This would be really good as a desert bread if I added some fruit.

08/26/2020 SUCCESS!

 Third loaf of 3 seed whole wheat.  First was using the recipe...1/2 whole wheat to bread flour and that came out too light...the loaf was huge for 1.5 pounds.  Second try was 1/1 and it came out as big and too light.  Third try (this one) was 2/1 and that did it...much smaller...a bit denser and IMO a much better loaf!  I need to try the same thing with rye maybe starting at 1/1 rye to bread flour.

August 8, 2020 KERMIT!

Walk outside in the morning to check out the temperature and humidity and walking back in by the door I see something bright and green!  Maybe Miss Piggy will show up too!

August 17/2020: They ALL Look Alike!

 Yes...I know...they do ALL look alike..can't help it...but it's still magic to me.  This one is 50-50 white bread flour & whole wheat with a heavy dose of 3 seeds...caraway, fennel and sesame.  And...fresh out of the machine with a bit of asiago cheese and some coffee from freshly ground beans...well...it's a VERY nice way to start the morning.

Seems like (hopefully) the worst of the summer heat is behind us.  Morning lows in the mid to high 60s which is a bit below average.

I REALLY need to try pizza dough and hard rolls...and I will need the oven for both.

Rye + Fennel Seeds + Brown Sugar August 11, 2020

 Fennel seeds arrived and it was time for another loaf...this one is rye + fennel seeds using brown sugar.  recipe called for honey but the brown sugar was closer and the measuring spoon is easier to clean.  The crust came out spectacularly good.  never had much luck with the crust (using a machine) at altitude in Colorado (~6,000 feet) even after compensating for the altitude.  oh well..I am here now and the machine is kicking ass...another wonderful loaf!

 

August 7, 2010 (Ten Years Ago)

 Out hiking in the desert and came across this local citizen....I do miss the high desert and the mountains.

Rainbow Albuquerque August 2006

Water in the arroyo after a storm...northeast Albuquerque August 2006.  Taken a few minutes apart...you can see the faint second rainbow to the left.

Slightly Modified Recipe

This loaf is 50/50 unbleached white bread flour and whole wheat. Recipe calls for honey and last time I used brown sugar...this time molasses. This loaf definitely has more color maybe due more to the molasses than the additional whole wheat.

Today's Loaf:

And the previous loaf which is definitely a different color. maybe I'll try honey next time and maybe a bit more whole wheat with 2 cups WW and 1 of bread flour.

Interior Progress

Been in the house a bit over a year and have probably rearranged the interior 2-3 times and hopefully I have finally gotten it right. The den is now a set up as an office and an area for electronics & programming and hopefully I am ready to start working on projects that I have carried around for decades. Using two 6 foot tables for flat space.

Test equipment out of boxes and it actually turns on after 2 decades of moves and storage!

More Than 10 Years of Hiking in NM

More Than 10 Years of Hiking in New Mexico and this is the only wildlife shot I managed to get.

1.5 pound Whole Wheat + Caraway Seeds

A fresh 1.5 pound loaf of whole wheat with caraway seeds. First time with this recipe which used 1 cup whole wheat and 2 cups unbleached white bread flour. Next time I think I'd do 50-50 WW/UWBF but I have no complaints. Recipe called for fennel seeds but since I did not have any I used what I had which was caraway seeds. I could have used sesame seeds but they are raw and would have required a quick roasting which would have required more effort than I was willing to put into this. Bread Machines are definitely for the lazy!

My First Walking Path

The apartment was northeast of here just into the hills and there were some really nice ropads to walk. Now I am south and in the flats and it's not near as interesting.

Transplants 06/01/2020

Started 8 carrot tops in water and down to 3 "runners" in the grow bag...have not managed to get any other gardening done...need to start some lettuce seeds for hydroponics and maybe a few things for dirt. I have grow lights so I can always take them in if they are in bags but it won't happen if I don't start the seeds!

A Bit Of Color 05/26/2020

Jed, Granny, Ellie May & Jethro

The neighbors probably think the Clampett's have moved in....gotta do wash and I don't like dryers...one nice thing about living in the high desert was you could hang things out to dry and even heavy towels would be dry in less than an hour.

Getting Organized

The house came with a 2,000 square foot metal building....commercial grade...power (200 amp), water & septic...really nice. Been trying to get it into useful shape and it's a bit more work than I had expected!

Clean and ready to move in:

Moved in:

Almost a 180 degree panorama 20 feet into the building...at least the floor is mostly clear!

Still have a LOT of work to do to figure out what is in all the boxes...decades of projects saved for when I had the time...I now have the time but do I have the energy?

Swedish Rye

A slightly different rye...don't know why this one seemed to bake to a darker color but the crust is great and the taste is wonderful...really outstanding when hot! I am certain really good bakers can do better but this really works for me and it's maybe ~$1.25/loaf for a 1.5-2.0 pound loaf!

Sesame Whole Wheat

Sesame Whole Wheat...2 Pounds!

SNOW!

02/08/2020 SNOW!

2 Pounds of Swedish Rye

OK...I'm lazy...ingredients into the machine and push the go button and 4 hours later out comes 2 pounds of Swedish Rye....almost zero prep. and zero mess/clean-up.