Thursday, July 8, 2010

Small Successes--volume 73

1)  I am halfway through with a cotton sun top I am knitting for Gemma.  

2)  After my first batch of basil plants died over a month ago, I finally purchased some replacements and got them planted in the herb bed.  Hurray!  Because pesto is the essence of summer, and I make enormous amounts every summer, so that it can last all through the winter...

3)  I baked a wonderful loaf of bread.  Crispy crust, a chewy, moist crumb, the tiniest hint of sourdough...I could just live off fresh bread and fresh produce...I think it is time to do some homemade mozzarella again, too.


Now go over to Faith & Family Live and share your own Small Successes for the week...

8 comments:

  1. Your bread looks fabulous. I'm w/ you I can live off produce and great bread. Yum. Recipe? And do you freeze your pesto? I just had to replace my dead basil too after coming back from our trip. IT's just not summer w/out pesto. Yum.

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  2. very successful week! Good for you!

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  3. Nadja!! You know you can't post a delicious looking food without all of us begging for the recipe!

    Is that the "no knead 5 minute artisan bread" or something else? It looks beautiful!

    I'm raising basil for the first time ever this year (because my husband loves it), and the plants are fairly small and have all started flowering. Is that normal, or is that what's supposed to happen at the end of the summer?

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  4. It's just the basic loaf from Artisan Breads in 5 Minutes A Day, but I left some dough from the first batch in the container and let it "ripen" a bit before adding flour, water and yeast to the next batch. Then I let it sit in the fridge for several days. And I kept the dough wet enough that I could just barely handle it!

    And yes, I freeze loads of pesto! I make it in big batches and leave out the parmesan cheese, then I freeze 1/3 cup measures into little snack-sized ziplocks and lay them flat to freeze. I used pesto in something nearly weekly, and had it all through the winter months.

    Economizer tip: Pine nuts are yummy but prohibitive. Raw sunflower seed work well and are very healthy to boot, and are a lot cheaper!

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  5. Great week Nadja! I would love to know how to make mozzarella. that sounds absolutely fabulous!
    Enjoy your pesto...yummm...

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  6. One usually gets the best flavor from basil before the flowering, but to keep it going, pinch all the flowering heads off, otherwise the plant is pretty much done for after flowering!

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  7. i'm gonna have to get that book...
    that bread has me salivating!
    very great small successes, friend.
    i know you really have a list a mile long. but you're being humble!
    :)

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  8. That loaf of bread looks delicious! Our basil plants came close to death this weekend when they got coated in deck wash. We wound up having to buy new plants. It's not summer without fresh basil!

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