Tuesday, January 18, 2022

If You're Cold, They're Cold- Bring 'Em In. Or At Least Throw An Old Tablecloth Over them


 This morning Jessie texted to ask if anyone had any good recipes for whole wheat bread. One of my old favorites immediately came to mind and I went in search of it. I got out the old but reliable cookbook you see above which came out in 1971 and it opened up to the page I was looking for as if by magic but actually from a spine cracked from much use. 


I sent the recipe to Jessie along with another one that didn't need corn flour in it but just looking at this old favorite made me long to taste it again and before the afternoon was over I had made up the dough for a loaf of my own. This bread comes close to the bread they served at Hanuman Conscious Cookery, a restaurant in Denver where I first ate what I would call whole foods. I've written about this place before. It was owned and run by some religious group that espoused natural, organically grown foods long before those words were even considered as belonging together. And honest to god, the meals those white-turbaned, white robed, obviously extremely enlightened people served were beyond amazing. What I wouldn't give for some of their mung bean casserole, one of their salads with the sesame seed and tamari dressing, their broccoli on toast with a sauce that resembled but far exceeded that of what one uses for Lobster Newberg. Every ingredient was a perfect example of that particular food whether it was a stalk of broccoli, a piece of bread, or a sesame seed. 
Swoon. 
Anyway, so this bread comes close to what they served and we are going to eat it tonight. 
I'm pretty excited. 
I have to tell you that last night's pot pie was a major triumph. 




Oh, for the good old days before I learned to make pastry crust in the Cuisinart. Since I have begun using that particular machine for my pie dough, I have become a menace to society. Y'all- I can make a pie crust. It was so good that all day I've been throwing the idea around in my head of a restaurant called Pot Pie
But no, I will not be doing that. 

It's supposed to get down to 28 degrees F. (around -2 in C.) here tonight. Which is very, very cold for us. It actually froze last night and I know this because some of my firespike got nipped. In fact, it's going to be chilly for the next week. 


Frankly, I'm glad. Maybe my greens will stop bolting. 

I spent some time today covering up porch plants with old sheets and blankets and tablecloths and moving a few plants inside or on the back porch where I may cover them out of an abundance of caution, as they say. The back porch is more protected than the front porch but still- I would hate to lose some of my babies. 



I also picked the peppers because if it gets really cold, those plants will finally die and the peppers on them will just sort of melt. 


I haven't bought a pepper in the store since last July! I've put all of those in the refrigerator and I think they may last me another two months. I also picked greens as you can see- collards and mustards and they are cooking now. 

And that's what I've been doing today. Time-tripping on food memories, protecting plants, making hippie bread and hippie soul food greens. I washed some rugs and did some serious sweeping. As opposed to light-hearted sweeping? 

Here's a picture of Jack who was soaking up some sun on the back porch earlier today. 


As far as I know, none of the Lily household is testing positive yet and Owen is doing well. 
Let's hope it stays that way. 

Keep cozy y'all. 

Love...Ms. Moon

20 comments:

  1. Today was warm and is supposed to be tomorrow but then back to being cold again. Supposed to get down to 29˚ Friday night so I'll be covering a few things. I have a couple of old hippie cookbooks. Not that one but you wouldn't know it from the color and font. Looks about the same. Glad Owen is doing well. So are Autumn and Robin. Jade and I think the baby has it,been stopped up, coughing, and crying for two days but the parents are in denial even though my grandson has it.

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    1. Yeah, we're going to be a little warmer and then get a lot chillier. Our 29 is forecast for Sunday which is the way it usually works. We get what you got two days after.
      They should test that baby. Damn.

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  2. Your potpie is a beauty. I still haven't mastered the art of a flaky pastry crust. My mother made the best crust I have ever encountered, but alas, I did not inherit that ability. Chilly here for us with another low of 66 expected tonight. I have 2 blankets on the bed . . .

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    1. Haha! TWO blankets on the bed! I've been sleeping under my down comforter. I love sleeping when it's cold.
      I always said the same thing about my mother and me and pastry crust but since I started making it in the food processor, I have become quite adept.

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  3. glad Owen doing well.....your pie is gorgeous.....and 29 is absolutely cruel for you, comparatively. Cover those plants! I know you have done so. Can't believe you still have beautiful peppers and greens to pick! they'd likely be *done* tomorrow if your temp gets as cold as predicted. Stay warm and safe
    Susan M

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    1. The greens survive the freezing temperatures but yes, the pepper plants are a mush mess today. But I sure have a lot of peppers in the refrigerator!

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  4. I am so hungry right now!! You - I want to marry you...that pie looks amazing.
    The peppers look amazing too, and Jack , with the sunshine through his velvet ears is wonderful. I would like to paint that but pretty sure I could not get the glow right.
    I miss hippie food so much.

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    1. Hippie food is good food, isn't it? I don't know why people make fun of hippies. We sure did introduce a lot of very good things that are completely accepted as the way it should be to our culture. Plus- the music.

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  5. That's quite the nick in Jack's ear!
    I miss making bread.

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    1. Yeah, he got that from a fight. He's always up for a good battle.

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  6. That pot pie looks like a cookbook illustration. Just lovely.
    I'm glad the family's holding up ok. And you, gosh, an earth mom today with the plant tending, the nostalgic baking and all. It sounds like an excellent day.

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    1. It was a good day. I didn't do that much but the things I did felt nurturing.

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  7. Serious sweeping is when you get into corners and under the furniture. That almost never happens here, only when the dust bunnies crawl out and hold dance parties in the middle of the room.

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    1. Haha! I did do a little sweeping under the bed but I didn't go a great job. Eh, good enough.

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  8. Those old cookery books are the best aren't they! I have a Good Housekeeping book I bought when I still lived in the UK (over 40 years ago - ouch). The pages are filthy, because that's where the best recipes are, and I don't think I've ever found a bad recipe in it! I'm so glad Owen is doing fine and that the others are still negative! Oh, and I love that flower pot on the table! So prettyè

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    1. I have a cookbook that my mother learned to cook from! "Young America's Cooks." 1938. It's a fantastic cookbook that covers the bases and it's got a lot of very cool photos in it with both girls and boys cooking which was very forward thinking!
      I do love that fern that you mention. It's a beauty.

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  9. Your pastry looks amazing. I watched Julie and Julia a few years ago and decided I needed to learn how to make pies. I spent the whole summer making pastry and it worked, I can make very good piecrust now, but I don't really like pies very much:)

    I like old cookbooks too. I have a few that go back to the 1940's but the oldest was published in 1905. I collect old nursing texts too, they're pretty funny sometimes but some things haven't changed in nursing, like how to make a bed or put someone on a bed pan.

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    1. How about savory pies and quiches? I like those as much or more as sweet pies.
      You know- you're totally right about some things not changing in nursing. Same with cooking! I used to read old Midwifery texts and they had excellent advice in them. One though, had a short section on how to perform last rites if there was no priest available before a death occurred! They don't teach that anymore, I would assume.

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  10. We're getting down to 27 degrees tomorrow night. All our tender plants are already in, except the Chinese banana, and we'll cover that.

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