The Penny Dropped But A Cow Is Still Needed!

1st taste of self-sufficiency.

Ask any bookworm about any subject and they will render an ( informed ) opinion and even go so far as to give you long winded instructions. Eh, I know, me too!

Having an orchard at hand bursting with delectable, plump and organic fruit it was only natural to make jam. Oh, and did we make jam. Our earth cellar is full and friends & acquaintances have had nice surprises for Birthdays and Christmas. To be honest, some of our jam creations ran the risk of having a bit of fungus on the rim where the lid sits. Only a few that is. The rest were perfect.

All through Autumn and Winter, Bob or I would brave the elements and our feral cat ( she lives above this earth cellar ) to replenish our need for jams. Oh, we made cherry, plum, apple, quince and blackberry. Simply delicious. The other day I discovered a different treasure in our cellar. For some reason I had forgotten that we had collected walnuts from our garden & a few others. Bags of them. By the way, if you were to buy them in the shop, 100 g of walnuts costs in the region of €5. My gosh, we are rich!

Anyway, coming back to the self - sufficiency bit: I was cracking open a few walnuts and realized we needed more bread. As I was weighing the flour, I got adventurous and added a handful of walnuts. Despite using the girl - scouts method of cracking open the walnuts ( an ordinary hammer and wooden board ) I luckily still possessed all my fingers. Please, you try it and see!

Anyone who bakes bread or has baked some before, knows the enticing power of a waft of bread baking in the oven. You know, if Bob and I didn't have to go to English class, we would have ripped the hot loaf of bread apart like a pack of hungry wolves. Is there anything better than homemade bread fresh from the oven? So fresh that cutting it won't do. Oh no, ripping is the only way. Before you know it half the loaf is history...

We were gone for two hours and the aroma greeting us was still enticing enough for us to head straight to the kitchen. Oh, I forgot my little trip to the earth cellar for a jar of plum jam to accompany the lashings of butter.

Set Einmachglas mit Deckel mit 6 St. 230ml Glas , Ersatzdeckel , Etiketten , Trichter und Holz Kochlöffel

The feeling of making your own bread and topping it with a generous dollop of your homemade jam is indescribable. In fact even if it were to taste iffy, it wouldn't matter a bit.

Ball Jar Heritage Collection Pint Jars with Lids and Bands, Set of 6

The only bit we could still master in the future is to make our own butter. Look, we have enough lawn and a stable to accommodate Miss Daisy the ( future ) cow, but I fear that Bob & I will more than likely engage in a bit of a daily tiff. You know, a tiff about who gets to clean Miss Daisy's stable...

Biggi

Our walnut bread. By the way, we only use whole wheat flour.

It tastes even better with our homemade plum jam...