Compost

I have learned a little about compost the past few days. I am growing food and food storage in my back yard (more about this to follow), and would like to have my own compost pile. I have always thought compost would be way to complicated for me (at least for now), but I have discovered that it can be fairly simple. In a nutshell, here is what is needed:

1. Space to put the compost
2. A variety of organic material. Variety is the key word, here. I plan to use primarily grass clippings, leaves, dirt (good because it has little critters), and food scraps.
3. Water the compost pile regularly when it is hot.
4. Turn the compost pile each week.

Some helpful websites I have found:
http://vegweb.com/composting/
http://www.gardenguides.com/2143-guide-composting.html

I will let you know how it turns out!

My Food Storage Philosophy

My philosophy on food storage is simple: store what you eat, and eat what you store. I frequently talk to people who store food that they don't have a clue what to do with. They either buy food simply because it seems like a good price, or they buy food (such as wheat) because they think that they should have it, but they really have no intention of using it. My #1 rule of food storage: Only buy food if you are going to eat it before it goes bad.

Wheat Bread

I created this recipe by combining several other recipes, because I wanted a wheat bread recipe that was quick, easy, did not include a lot of unusual ingredients, and that was light. In the process I learned several things about wheat bread. First, if you want 100% wheat bread to be light, you have to use an electric mixer with a dough hook. Otherwise, you have to add a lot more flour. Second, unlike when making white bread, you add the flour then 10 minutes later it comes away from the sides of the bowl. (When making white bread in a KitchenAid, you keep adding flour until the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl.) 


Recipe revisited here.

Whole Wheat Bread

6 ½ cups whole wheat flour

1 ¼ T yeast

2 1/3 cups lukewarm water

1 T salt

1 egg

1/3 cup oil

2 T + 2 tsp molasses (or honey)

2 T + 2 tsp honey

1 ¼ T bottled lemon juice

Remove egg from refrigerator and set on counter. Mix 3 ½ cups flour and yeast together in an electric mixer with dough hook attached. (On a KitchenAid, you should never exceed speed 2 when using the dough hook.) Add water all at once, and mix for one minute, scraping sides as needed. Cover with a dish towel and let rest for 10 minutes. Add salt, egg, oil, molasses, honey, and lemon juice, and mix for one minute. Add remaining 3 cups of flour, one cup at a time, mixing between each cup. Beat until dough comes away from the sides of the bowl (mostly), about 10 minutes. If after 11 minutes dough has not come away from the edges of the bowl, you may add additional flour, a couple of tablespoons at a time. The dough should feel a little sticky, but soft.

Preheat oven for 1 minute (at any temperature), then turn off oven. Divide dough, and, with oiled hands, place in 2 oiled 8x4 inch bread pans. (You may shape the dough if you wish, but it is not required.) Let rise in warm oven for 10-15 minutes, or until dough reaches the top of the bread pans. Do not remove bread from oven. Turn oven on to 350ºF, and bake for 30 minutes. Remove bread from pans, and cool on racks.