Just a short post to show you what Julia bought on her way back from work. Isn’t it great? It’s heart-shaped and full of cheese which, I think, makes it the world’s greatest Valentine’s Day present.
She also brought back some organic stoneground spelt flour from her trip to Green’s Mill. I’m not so keen on that. Spelt has a tendency to be disappointing, as it is not as easy to work with as wheat, and because I’m quite heavy-handed. That, of course, is another problem. I’ve given up baking because the kneading causes painful hands so I’m going to have to dig the breadmaker out from under a pile of kitchen junk.
I was actually looking at bread-making mixes in the supermarket last night as I’m feeling the urge to bake. Last night I managed to resist the feeling, but now I’m cornered.
It seems strange that only a couple of years ago we were baking twice a week or more on the farm. We also made nettle soup in the spring, which I haven’t done for the last couple of years. I’m thinking I may have a go at nettle soup again, and plant more herbs at home. Our rosemary grows well, but we could do with a bit of variety.
I’ll leave you with another picture of the cheese – taken with a flash this time. It doesn’t really make it look any better, but it allows me to use two virtually identical pictures. I am very lazy, and it’s hard to make a bag of flour look interesting.
The best ever Valentine Present again.
Cheese! A sure way to a man’s heart. 🙂
And his arteries! 🙂
Yes! 🙂
🙂
I once spent a delightful morning trudging around Bergerac seeking spelt bread for Elizabeth. It spelt pain.
🙂
A cheese valentine sounds like a good alternative to chocolate. 🙂
I hope we will be trying it tonight. Last night we had pudding and now that we are dieting we can’t have cheese and pudding on the same night. 🙂
Have you tried Dan Lepard’s method of bread making. It is very light on kneading and gets very good results. I use it for tea cakes as my hands can’t take too much kneading.
I’d forgotten about recipes which didn’t need much kneading. I used to have a recipe where you mixed it and left it to rise overnight. It worked well, though it was a bit rustic – the only problem was timing.
My daughter in law uses that method.
This must be a sign for me to start baking again.
Oh, nice! But for one crazy, heart-thumping moment I thought Julia had brought home a…puppy!
That would have been ironic after I just spent six weeks laughing at the shop owner – his wife bought a puppy for Christmas and he and the cat feel like they are under siege.
Oh, those puppies! They certainly bring, ahem, life to a household. But then they settle into doghood, and nothing could be finer.
…except a cat. 🙂