There is a heel in every loaf.

Well, actually there are 2 heels in every loaf, but I am not sure how to spell heel.  I think this is right.  I like home baked bread. Like may not be a strong enough word for my love affair with baking.  I know I can get into the car and drive into town and find several bakeries most willing to take my money and give me a loaf of their bread, but some how that just seems so wrong. It will have all kinds of stuff in it to make it better than mine, but I gotta tell you, it always falls short of the mark.  Sure it is crusty and tasty and already baked, sometimes with an egg wash to make the crust even crustier.  Sad, because I like mine better. 

Mine is made with water, yeast, salt, sugar, oil, and flour.  That is it.  Nothing fancy and I don't have to scald, puree, or infuse anything.  I throw it all in a mixing bowl with a dough hook and 4 minutes later, the dough has climbed the hook and it is ready to be covered and let raise.  I usually make a couple double batches and set them to raise on the stove top.  When the pans are almost ready, I turn the oven to 355.  The bread bakes about 20 minutes or so.  Nothing is set in stone at my house except my naptime at 3:00 while Jeopardy is showing.

Now this little fellow decided he might like to try a piece of the heel on the first loaf out of the oven.  It was his own idea, not mine.  Something about the aroma of fresh baked bread is just more than a human can resist.  He just wasn't sure at first that eating a piece of bread was what he really wanted to do.  I did not push it because I like the heel best myself and there are only so many in a loaf.  So he took it.

And the rest is history.  He used to look for cheese puffs, or orange juice, but the aroma of fresh bread is his new mantra.  Bless his little tiny heart.

This little fellow is not real fond of meat and sweets are not his thing either.  Mostly he dines on fruit and cheese.  Kinda fun to have around.  Looks like I will be making bread for him for several more years before he figures out about junk food, but maybe not.

He does keep me on my toes and he is now trying to teach me to jump.  For the record, I am not learning that one very well.  I think it is this damned old age thing.  Not only am I not good at jumping, I don't even want to try.  It all seems pointless at this juncture.  So we shall engage in our little war of the wills until I either jump or he gives up.  

How ya' betting?

Sister Mary, the boy and girl, and Robin who I have known for years.

This is a happy little family outing.  Since it has been freezing cold since my sister Mary got here and snow is refusing to melt, we are becoming home bound.  So I saw on the weather that today was going to get up over the freezing mark and decided we should make a break!   I had to go give blood for my annual physical that I have every year and a half or so.  That meant I could not eat or drink till that chore was out of the way.

I thought it might be fun to meet the kids at Souper! Salad.  Bret is very fond of the Chicken Enchilada soup in there.  He actually will eat a little salad and thereby confuse his digestive system into thinking it got something healthy.  Amanda actually will eat a little salad and a vegetable on occasion without being threatened.

 So there are the three of them.  Mary ate two bowls of soup and a small salad, but what she is working on here is a bowl of ice cream with sprinkles and oreo cookies.   Amanda had to take off her jacket so she would not flip food on it.  We do know how to enjoy our food.

Now here is the surprise.  See this lovely lady?  No, not me!  The one on my left, your right.  That is Robin.  Now I know this means little to you, but she has worked here for many years.  That is not all.  I knew this young lady when she was 15 years old and attending Central High School here in Pueblo.  At that time she and my daughter, Dona, were friends.  As I recall, they were both kind of ornery, but not as ornery as some.  They did like to go to concerts.  Robin was dating a boy who actually had a car.  I think they later married, but I could not say for sure.  I do know she has some kids and a couple are still at home.

Every time I go to the Souper! Salad and run into Robin I vow I will get her phone number and I think I did once, but Lord only knows where that went.  I am going to get organized soon, very soon.  Right now, I am going to call Dona and see if she remembers Robin, but as I set here and think about this, I think I have already done that.  I think I do that every time I see Robin.  Got to be careful here or my kids will think I am getting senile.

So if you have never been to Souper! Salad  you should venture in to one.  I am pretty sure they are a national chain.  The salad bar is always crisp and cold with any addition you want.  The  four kinds of soup are hot and tasty.  Baked white and sweet potatoes.  An assortment of fresh baked breads.  Spaghetti, chili and pizza.  Lots of fruit, strawberry short cake.  Oh, I am getting fat thinking about it.

So, now it is night, and sister Mary is off to bed.  Bret and Amanda went some where for some reason.  My house is very quiet.  Scratch that!  They are home again and having a little discussion.  My little eyes are getting very heavy.  I need to go delete a bunch of stuff on the other side of this computer.  Think the last time I looked I had over 3000 emails in the old mail. 

So if you are in this fair city stop out at the Souper! Salad and see Robin.  Tell her Lou sent you and then give her a wink.  That should drive her nuts!   She is a very nice lady and she works very hard for her money, so be nice to her.  Thanks.



Here are the Apricot blooms I was telling you about!

Here you see the blooms on the Apricot tree.  I know some of you will think that means Spring is here and Winter is over, but I am sorry to say you may be mistaken. It has been my experience that here in Pueblo we only get a fruit crop about once every 7 years.  I can still remember getting Apricots off this tree and I can't remember things that happened seven years ago, so I am pretty sure the freezing stuff is not over.

But I do want to tell you where this tree came from. About 20 years ago we were working on a BLM (Bureau of Land Management) job in Paonia, Colorado.  That is over on the Western Slope where all the fruit comes from. The land is mostly for grazing cattle and recreation and such so it is mostly public land. On the public land grows all kinds of trees to include Apricot, Peach, Choke Cherry, Apple, and one called Sarviss Berry which is a lot like a Blueberry.  Anyway my dear husband picked a bread bag full of Apricots for me.  I made them into Apricot Jam and threw the pits out by the septic tank. Next Spring I had many Apricot Seedlings.  I planted 14 over at my mother-in-law's and planted 3 here. Still have them.

The Apricots are the first fruit trees to bloom in the Spring.  Also usually the first ones to get frosted, too.  Ok, that is the story for the day. Putting my tired old body to bed.