Our back room/dining room looks like a seamstress exploded in it. Scraps of fabric, ends of threads, pins littering the floor like little landmines and in the centre of it all, overseeing the carnage, sits the sewing machine.

Yes, we’ve been sewing. DmentD introduced me to the wonders of costume making, from a pattern! Crazy as it sounds, all the random bits and pieces I’ve sewed in the past few years, mostly for kit and costumes, and not once had I even considered using a pattern.

Our friends were having a Pirate Party, to celebrate International Talk Like A Pirate Day (yesterday if you wanted to know!) and we decided it was about time we set out and created permanent pirate costumes, rather than pulling stuff together out of our wardrobes. DmentD went right out and found a pattern he liked and we set about finding fabrics for him.

Initially I was going to bluff my way through, making up the skirt as I went along and ripping the seams out an old peasant blouse to create a new one in a nicer fabric. We went out to the Goodwill and I found a wonderful tablecloth and curtain I could use, and then for my main skirt used the curtains DmentD made for a Halloween a couple of years ago.

I made the skirt, that was no problems. The blouse eluded me though, despite leaving super large seam allowances, and the blouse being huge in the first place, somehow the tops of the sleeve came out too small. But hooray, we still had a week left so I went and found myself a pattern I could use. I still had plenty of tablecloth left, all I needed was some bias tape and elastic and I managed to pull the shirt out in a few days.

DmentD’s costume took a little longer, and you can see why. Making the shirt, trousers and the jacket himself, a lot of time and effort went into making sure it was just so. Plus his pattern, by some evil vindictiveness, made no sense whatsoever, and large proportions of time were spent with the pieces in hand trying to figure out just what the instructions meant. Thankfully, my pattern makes a little more sense!

The party was last night, costumes were finished just in time, and a fun night was had. I had experimented with a recipe for sticky buns for the party, and for peppermint patties, both turned out well, but I think the sticky buns were a definite success, within 5 or ten minutes of me taking them out the oven (I baked them, then put them in the oven to reheat once we got to the party) the first pan of them was gone. For the first time I think I managed to make just the right amount, they all went and no one was left wanting more. I think the reheating them added to the taste, as they had been cooked, then sat in the pan soaking up all the syrup before being reheated, so they came out gooey and with plenty of syrup, but not with too much syrup which went all over the place.

Today we were back at the Joann’s for more fabric (I think that store has become our second home in the past couple of weeks). While I am very happy with my pirate costume, I want to change it up a little for the ren fair, so I’m going to be making the skirt and the bodice from the pattern. For the skirt I found a nice, heavy duty, green twill and the bodice is going to be double sided, so I have a choice of colours. I’ll be letting you know how it goes. We had much fun at the store trying to use some vouchers I had, the discount had come off one of the cheaper items rather than the more costly fabric that I wanted it off of, so it all had to be returned (except for the item that had the discount) then all put through again using another voucher making sure it came off the right item this time. It still confuses me that tax isn’t included in the price, I always forget that I need to do the maths and add it on top when I’m trying to figure out how much I can buy!

Also had to go pick up a refill of my pill.. It irritates me that I have to pay for that here. General health care I can understand, and maybe I’ve just been lucky, but on the visits that I’ve had I’ve felt that I can see the difference in service that I’m getting by paying for my care. Even prescriptions I can understand (although I was getting them free in Wales I would have been having to pay for them soon), but birth control is the one thing that bugs me when I have to pay for it, the one thing I’m sat resenting the fact that I have to pay when I didn’t have to in the UK.. It’s not even as if it’s a whole lot I’m paying ($4 a month).. I dunno, I guess it comes down to what you’re used to and what you’re not, and I am most definitely not used to the idea of paying for birth control!

Coming back from Joann’s we found a peacock on our lawn!

Anyone who has visited us will know our neighbourhood contains a peacock. You can hear him most days, usually around dusk, but sometimes at other random hours. But in the year I’ve been here I had yet to see him (if it wasn’t for hearing him regularly I would have been doubting his existence), I think I caught a glimpse of a peahen once when I was out cycling but that was it. And today, there he was, majestically strolling across the front lawn!

6oz Butter
6oz Sugar
1 Egg
Milk As Needed
6oz Flour

Temperature 350F/180C
Grease and line two 8″ 1″ deep tins

Cream together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.
Beat in the egg then fold in the flour.
Add milk until dropping consistency.
Split between the two tins and spread out.
Bake until pale golden.

Once cool sandwich together with jam and buttercream, or fresh berries and whipped cream.

227g Butter
300g Sugar
2 Eggs
490g AP Flour
0.25tsp Salt
1tsp Baking Powder

Temperature 350F/180C

Cream together butter and sugar.
Mix in the eggs, and then the flour salt and baking powder.
Knead into a soft dough.
Wrap and chill for at least an hour.
Roll out and cut as desired.
Bake for 10-15 minutes until just before they turn brown for a soft cookie, until they have gone brown around the edges for a crunchier cookie. Don’t let them get completely brown.

Friday was it, the big day, the one we’d been waiting for.

The day to drive down to San Antonio and face immigration.

I was supposed to be driving us down, but in the end DmentD did, and a good job too. It rained heavily the entire way down. And while he does an admirable job of not getting too controlling when I’m driving usually, he’s not used to me driving in the rain yet and still gets a little on edge. So we saved everyone’s nerves by him driving!

We left really early so we could stop and get an oil change before we left town, leaving Austin not long after 9. We got into San Antonio just after 10 making good time.

We scouted out the building and where we needed to park etc which took a little bit of finding and then tried to find a Starbucks to sit and read for a couple of hours. It was harder to find a Starbucks than to find the immigration building! After searching google maps on our phones we found one (with sofas) and settled in to try and relax!

We headed out to get to the building an hour early, they let you in 45 minutes before your appointment. We had to go though a security check, get bags scanned and go through the metal detector. The guard was friendly, and we chatted a little before he took my appointment letter and we headed into the waiting room.

We sat and waited and read and waited some more, we got called about quarter to two, so only 15 minutes after the appointment time, much better than we expected. The woman took us upstairs and had us sit on a sofa for another fifteen minutes while she did something!

We got called into her office, we had to swear to tell the truth and then we could sit. We had taken a box full of everything we might possibly need with us, ID of every conceivable type, all the forms we sent them initially, all the evidence we sent them, copies of everything to give them if they wanted, the wedding photo album etc. The only thing we took out of there was my ID. She had a huge file, full of everything related to us, all that we sent them, the security checks etc.

She took my passport, work permit and social security card and copied them, along with DmentD’s driving license (at that point I got optimistic as she took my I-94 out of my passport and stapled it to our file – the I-94 is what I would need to hand in at the airport to let them know I had left should they be throwing me out!).

She went through a couple of our forms, asked DmentD his date of birth, full name, address and then my date of birth, had he been married, any children and checked his phone number. Then checked my full name, phone number, had I been married and parents first names. All details they had, but they were verifying. She made a note on my file when I said I was no longer a student and asked where I was working.

Then she started telling us that we would need to file to make the green card permanent in a year and nine months, and in two years and nine months I can start filing for citizenship if I want. It was after that that she told us she was approving it (after about 5 minutes in there).

She took my work permit and my advanced parole and stamped and sealed my passport which will work in the interim until my green card actually comes through (two to three weeks), so I just need to remember to keep it on me at all times.

We then talked a little more, she apologised for us bringing in so very much and then not needing any of it, but she did say that it’s what they like to see as it shows we put effort in and took it seriously, and it looks a lot more legitimate that walking in with a little file (which we did see). We talked about the fact we hadn’t gotten a lawyer to do all the work, we had researched it and figured it out and she praised us for it, said we had done a very good job of it and made it very easy for them as it was all there and they didn’t need anything extra, it was all cut and clear.

And then we left! All done! *grins* When we got back into Austin we celebrated with cheap Thai food *grins*

It’s definitely a whole weight off of our minds, more so than we had realised I think. And thankfully the whole process has gone a lot quicker than we were anticipating, and than research was telling us. A total of four months, not bad at all.

6oz Starter
17oz Bread Flour
10oz Water
3oz Raw Wheat Germ
1.5tsp Sea Salt

Temperature 450F

Mix the starter, bread flour, water and wheat germ until combined.
Leave to sit for 10 minutes.
Add the salt and knead until fully developed.
Place in a greased bowl to ferment.
Knock back, shape on a greased (or lined with cornmeal) tray.
Leave to proof.
Bake

You can dust this loaf with flour before baking if you desire.

8oz Starter
7.8oz Bread Flour
1tsp Salt
1Tbsp Olive Oil

Temperature 450F
Makes two 12-14″ crusts

Mix the starter with most of the flour and the olive oil. Start to mix, add the rest of the flour if the dough looks too wet, add a touch of warm water if it looks too dry.
Once the dough is combined then add the salt (never add the salt directly on top of the starter, it will kill the yeast).
Knead for approximately 10 minutes, or until smooth and the gluten is fully developed.
Divide into two even balls and place in greased bowls. Roll around the bowl a little to fully coat the ball in oil.
Cover and leave to rise.
Roll out and stretch onto the (well greased) pan you’re using.
It’s now ready to make pizza!

Technically this dough doesn’t need any proofing at all. However leaving it to proof for a couple of hours will help develop the sour flavour.

Approximately a year ago, in the first six weeks of class, we made a sourdough starter from grapes. We made ones in pairs then after they were going, once the grapes were removed, we put them all together and gave it the name of Bready Kruger.

During the weeks in class that we made bread we used Bready for all our sourdoughs, feeding him regularly to keep him bulked up. At the end of bread class, to save all of Bready from going down the drain we could take home as much as we liked, and were given some basic care instructions.

Since then Bready has lived in our fridge, being fed.. admittedly more sporadically than he should have been, but growing and living and staying alive. Being used occasionally, not as much as we would like, but with intentions to use him more.

Maybe it’s coincidence that we came up with this idea around Bready’s first birthday, maybe it’s some strange play on fate *grins* Either way we came up with a plan.

Where In The World Is Bready Kruger?

The aim, to spread Bready as far across the world as possible.

We bulked Bready up over the weekend and are drying him out. Then (after keeping some for ourselves in the freezer.. a sort of cryogenically frozen clone of Bready) we plan on sending him out, to friends, to family, to whoever wants him and wants to use him.

Then, once they have revitalised him, and brought him back to life, fed him up a bit, we want them to do the same thing, send him on to whoever wants him. Telling people to come to us and tell us where they have sent him, so we can add a pin to the map.

In the hope and dream that eventually we will go to that map and see those pins dotted all over the world.

Over the course of the next couple of weeks, I will be adding a new page up top, with details on how to care for Bready, how to dry him out and send him on, a few recipes on how you can use him, with links maybe to other sites that I’ve found useful. And finally, details on how to get us to send you some of Bready (this may involve sending up a stamped addressed envelope or something along those lines).

In the meantime, if you’re interested you can comment here, or email bready(at)eatbake(dot)com
(with appropriate reformatting to make the address work).

1.5lb Bread Flour
1oz Butter
1tsp Salt
1 Sachet Dried Yeast (0.5oz)
12oz Warm Water

Temperature 450F/230C
2lb Loaf Tin, oiled

Rub together the flour and butter. Stir in the salt.
Once the salt is thoroughly mixed in add the yeast.
Slowly add the water and form a dough.
Knead until smooth.
Place in an oiled bowl covered with cling film or a damp towel until it has doubled in size.
On a floured surface gently knock back and shape into the loaf tin.
Cover and leave to proof.
Bake for 35-40 minutes.

Where the recipe calls for warm water 80-90F/27-32C is ideal. Any hotter and you run the risk of killing the yeast. Yeast will die at 132F/55C. Cooler and it will take too long to activate.

Proofing is best in warm humid conditions. Letting it sit in the bathroom (covered of course) while you have a shower works surprisingly well! Letting it sit on the side in a cool kitchen will work, it’ll just take longer.

To test if bread is baked turn it out and knock on the bottom, if it sounds hollow it is done.
Alternatively probe it, an internal temperature of 200F/94C is done.

1 Packet Chocolate Chip Cookies
2-3oz Butter, Melted
500g Chocolate, Melted
3oz Sugar
200g Mascarpone
200g Plain Yoghurt
240ml Cream, Lightly Whipped

8″ Round tin

Crush the cookies and mix with the butter, press firmly into the base of the pan.
Cream together the sugar and mascarpone.
Stir in the chocolate and yoghurt.
Fold in the whipped cream.
Pour onto base, smooth the top.
Chill overnight.

We’ve been starting our Autumnal crop recently, I believe DmentD plans on going into detail so I won’t say too much. We recently transplanted the broccoli, sprouts and tomatoes from their starting trays into our little homemade paperbag pots. We intend on doing garlic and onions too. The pumpkins are.. going.. we’re not entirely sure what’s going on there. Either we’ll have them in time for Halloween or we won’t, either way we’ve learnt something.

The Jalapenos and Bells are just starting to flower and the Jalapenos are producing fruit. I took a selection of photos showing the process, the flower whole, the dead flower with the pepper just starting to push through. A small pepper with some flower buds and then finally the makings of a whole fruit!

The herbs have been doing well, the chives are finally starting to get going, after us spending several months sure they were about to die off any second now! We had so much basil, rosemary and mint we cut it down and dried some out in our shiny new dehydrator (thank you very much to DmentD’s Mum for that). It worked well, had them all dried out in a day at the lowest temperature. We then jarred them and vacuum sealed them to keep them fresh.

We have two dogs over our back fence.. one lovable and friendly, the other, friendly I’m sure, just a little noisy when you get too near the fence. We say hello to them though.

Last week I decorated a cake start to finish at work. It took two and a half hours.. half an hour over my alloted time for it! I didn’t do the writing, I’ve not been deemed good enough to be allowed to do that yet, but I did all the rest, I was fairly proud of it. Next to it is the invite I took the design and colours from.