Game camera photos

My husband handed me a disc yesterday and asked me to post some of his game trail camera photos.  So, here they are!

This big buck has been hanging around our east property line since October.  He was still there a few days ago. 

Dang, it's been cold

Cold, wintry weather made a brief stop by earlier this week.  The mercury dipped down to 15F several nights in a row.  We even had snow.  That's very odd for Arkansas!

Today, it's a bit warmer.  It's 39F right now and we're supposed to have rain most of the day with a high of 45.  Cold and dreary weather.  A good day to stay in, bake some bread and make a pot of soup.  Potato soup, I think.  Yeah.  That sounds good.  I have a new bread recipe to try, Peasant bread.  It rises faster than the sourdough I've been making....

Potato Soup

Directions

1. In a Dutch oven, cook the bacon over medium heat until done. Remove bacon from pan, and set aside. Drain off all but 1/4 cup of the bacon grease.
2. Cook celery and onion in reserved bacon drippings until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, and continue cooking for 1 to 2 minutes. Add cubed potatoes, and toss to coat. Sauté for 3 to 4 minutes. Return bacon to the pan, and add enough chicken stock to just cover the potatoes. Cover, and simmer until potatoes are tender.
3. In a separate pan, melt butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour. Cook, stirring constantly, for 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in the heavy cream, tarragon, and cilantro. Bring the cream mixture to a boil, and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened. Stir the cream mixture into the potato mixture. Puree about 1/2 the soup, and return to the pan. Adjust seasonings to taste.

Peasant bread

Yield: 8 servings
 

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups unbleached bread flour
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
All-purpose flour, for dusting

Directions

Combine the bread flour, whole-wheat flour, yeast and salt in a large bowl. Add 1 1/2 cups lukewarm water (about 100 degrees F) and mix with your hands or a spoon until the dough comes together (it will be wet and sticky).  ( If you have extra time, refrigerate 12 to 24 hours; this is not necessary but will improve the flavor of the bread).

Let the dough rise, covered, at room temperature for about 3 hours; this rise is necessary whether you refrigerate the dough first or not. The surface will be bubbly after rising.

Generously dust a work surface with all-purpose flour. Turn the dough out onto the flour, then sprinkle flour on top. Fold the top and bottom of the dough into the center, then fold in the sides to make a free-form square. Use a dough scraper or a spatula to turn the dough over, then tuck the corners under to form a ball.  Generously dust with flour. Cover with a cotton kitchen towel (do not use terry cloth) and let rise at room temperature until doubled in size, 2 to 3 hours.

Position a rack in the bottom of the oven and place a 2- or 4-quart cast-iron or enameled Dutch oven (without the lid) on the rack. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F for at least 30 minutes. When the dough has doubled, carefully transfer the hot pot to a heatproof surface. Uncover the dough, quickly invert the dough into the pot (shake the pot to center the dough, if necessary). Cover with the lid and bake 30 minutes, then uncover and bake until brown and crusty, 15 to 30 more minutes. Turn out onto a rack to cool.
 

Courtesy of Food Network Magazine

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/no-knead-peasant-bread-recipe.html?oc=linkback

I've started on my charity knitting for this year.  I have 20 hats done.  I'm working on a baby blanket too, but I don't like how it's coming out so I think I'll unravel it and start again.  I think I'll do a mosaic type blanket with it.  Yeah.  That will make a good blanket for the bright colors in this yarn.