Friday, August 14, 2015

2015 Fair - One entry = TWO ribbons

This year, I decided to try entering my bread in the 2015 county fair.  I researched all the rules and regulations, and decided that I would enter my white yeast bread, my wheat bread, and maybe one of my artisans bread.  But, 3 days before I needed to start baking my breads I became very sick with the worst summer head cold.  I hadn't had a summer cold in over 5 years, and this one really knocked me out.  Finally the day before entry day, I finally was able to make 1 turn of dough for my wheat bread, (enough for 2 loafs of bread).  I chose what I though would be my best chance for at least 2nd place.  The next day, I filled out all the paperwork, placed my bread on the required plating, and drove over to the fair grounds and entered my bread,  I was so nervous and my hands were shaking.  That evening Dave and I cut into the second loaf of bread and each had a slice for dinner.  It was so delicious, and inside was perfect, (no holes).  I was very proud of the the 2nd loaf, and hoped the loaf I turned in was just as nice.  That's the thing about bread making, you never know what lays inside, until you cut off the end piece and then remove that first slice.  Does it have a large hole?  Did I get all the carbon dioxide out when I rolled my loaf for the baking pan?  And when you take a bite - will it have that wonderful slight nutty flavor from the wheat, that all good homemade bread should have?  All part of the criteria that judges are looking for, besides the exterior color, shape, and size of the loaf.  And the worse part was, I wouldn't know the results for at least 2 more days.  The judges all do their work in secrecy, with no outsiders allowed, (not even the fair supervisors).  And how do you know what the results are?  You have to go the the fair and look for your entry.  So three days later, Dave and I drove over to the fair, walked through all the exhibits to find the baked goods, then finally found mine!  And what do you know!
There was my bread, on the top of it's own pedestal, with a FIRST PLACE, BLUE RIBBON !!  I was stunned.

But then my heart sank when I saw the hole inside the bread.  Especially when the loaf we ate at home had no holes.  Why didn't I turn in the other loaf?  Then Dave reminded me that I still won 1st Place.  I looked over some of the other exhibits, and thought quietly to myself, "if I hadn't been so sick, I think I could have won the artisans bread division, (there was NO 1st place, and the 2nd place entry had a burnt top and was kind of sloppy), and I might even have won with my white bread, (it took 2nd place at the STATE FAIR last year).  But I was so happy with the blue ribbon hanging off my loaf of wheat bread.
The supervisor saw me hanging over the chain, (used to keep fair goers away from the entries), looking at my entry, so she walked over and asked, "do you have an entry here?".  I said "yes, and I won 1st place", (smiling big).  She smiled and said, "we're not supposed to do this, but if you want to stand by your entry, I'll take a photo for you".  Boy do I !!  She then said, if you want, you can flip over the entry tag and read the judges notes. Yes  I did, and the notes on the back said, "good taste, well made, crust just a little too brown, but overall a well made loaf of bread".

So I guess, the judge also liked my bread as much as my family and friends.  Dave laughed and said, now you can hang that ribbon up with all the other fair ribbons you've won.  Then the BIG surprise came when I went back after the fair to pick up my ribbon...
I found out that I had also won the "Mayor's Choice Home Arts" award, out of ALL then entries in all of the Home Arts entries, (i.e.:  cross stitching, baking, canning, etc.).  When they told me, I started to cry.  They said the mayor turned to the supervisor and said, "what do you think?".  She said that she replied, "What do you think, Mr. Mayor?".  And he said, "this is just like my mom's bread!, It get's my ribbon."  AND, asked the fair supervisor for my information, and said they are going to contact me to do an interview about my bread baking!.  I was so overcome with emotion.

And to think, I almost didn't enter the bread, because I wasn't feeling well.  I'm so glad I at least had one entry this year.


Friday, May 15, 2015

GREAT NEW Gardening Tip - starting tomatoes

For years, I have always planted my tomatoes from seed starts.  I would start the end of March, (using egg cartons), then move the little seedlings from the egg cartons to larger  pots in April.  By May, my tomato plants would be ready to set out in the garden.

I saved so much over buying plants from the garden and big box stores.  But I also took a chance on losing the seedlings from not enough water to too much water, and I had to harden the plants off before setting them out.  Then one day I read an article about cutting 2 months off of the amount of time needed for starting tomato plants.  I decided - hey! this is something I'm going to give a try and let everyone know if it works or not.

 First you need to find the kind of tomato plant that you want in your garden. You can go to a garden center, (here I went out to my garden), and gently pick off  a shoot stem.  NOT the main stem, (we always call these shoots the sucker plants - as the plant would mature, we would pinch them off to let the plant's energy go directly into setting fruit).
 So, here is a side shoot.
 Now place the side shoot in some water in a sunny window.  Change the water every couple of days, as needed.
 As you can see, after a couple of weeks, I now have a nice healthy tomato transplant ready to place in dirt.  That little side shoot had grown nice healthy roots.
 I've planted the seedling in some potting soil and it is looking very nice after only three weeks.  Normally, I would only have a tiny, tiny little sprout with 2 or 3 leaves still sitting in the egg carton.  But I already have a transplant sitting out in the sun.
Here is a seedling that I started THREE MONTHS ago, and as you can see - it is out in the sun, but still very spindly, and does NOT have the nice bushy shape as the side shoot I started 3 weeks ago.

NOTE:  I will still continue to start my Heirloom tomatoes from seeds, since I don't want to lose those varieties.  But for the average tomatoes this is my new method.

OH - and how will I continue this - I have decided that this fall when I pull up my plants for the year, I will pick a couple of side shoots that are the best looking and start my transplants indoors.  By January I will have very nice looking plants in pots ready to go, and by Spring I can set them outside with hot caps over them.  A much FASTER way to get earlier tomatoes than anything I've every seen.

I guess you can teach a "old gardener" new tricks after all these years.

Monday, March 16, 2015

My sister, Lorena

Saturday afternoon, I received a call from my aunt informing me that my youngest sister, (Lorena Elizabeth), had died.  She was only 53 years old.  The 5th child of 7 and the youngest girl in the family, (she was born on May 20th, and named after our great-aunt).  Out of all 7 of us siblings, she and I looked the most alike.  Most people who saw her would say that she was my reincarnation, just a few years younger.  She found out early that she didn't like the formal education system, and dropped out of school when she was 16.  So she had a pretty hard life.  She also found out at a very young age that she had a inherited the family gene for alcoholism and also took up smoking in her very early teens.  She loved her beer!  These 2 things did not help make her early life very easy.  But in the last few years she was doing good conquering the demons.  Some thought she was a hard person, and had a foul mouth, (from the years of bar hangouts).  But in spite of her faults, I saw her good side.  She was truthful, (I never found any story she told to be a lie), she didn't steal, (she would ask you if she could have something),  Although many of my family members were quick to blame her when things came up missing, she would call me and tell me how they found out that someone else took the item and no one ever apologized to her.  I know that helped to harden her a little more.  Even though there was almost 7 years age difference, she was the sister I was closest to.  We never lost touch, always talked every couple of months.  I always thought of her as the "family newsletter".  She kept everyone informed of what needed to be told about the goings on in the family.  And she was quick to tell me many times that I needed to come home for a visit before it was too late, (now it's too late).  We always ended our conversations with "I love you and miss you".  And we both really did mean it.  Sometimes I would get frustrated when the phone would ring at 1 AM, and it would be Lorena, (drunk, calling to see how I was doing).  But I always took her call and spent however much time she wanted to talk, talking about whatever she wanted to talk about.  I am grateful that I spent that time with her, I got to know my little sister so well.  I got to see things through her eyes.  She had 2 children, (a girl, Lisa and a boy, Steven).  She was a grandmother to 2.  I remember how she laughed over the phone at being a grandma and finally catching up with me.  She was divorced for the last 15 years, and about 5 years ago moved into my mom and dad's house to help out.  She was there to help my dad when my mom passed away, and for the last 2 1/12 years was taking care of everything in the house for my dad, (all the cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc.).  She once remarked, "she felt more like his unpaid maid than his daughter".  On Friday evening she went to bed, (just fine), and passed way in her sleep, (the same way my mom did).  On Saturday, my Dad felt like she was sleeping in too long, so at noon he went to wake her and found her cold.

They say that death will strike you three times in a row.  Last month I lost an aunt who was like my mom, and this month I lost the sister I am closest to.  My heart can not take another lost right now, even though I know they are both in a better place, (and I rejoice in that thought).

 I love you sis, and I miss you.  Take care, say hi to mom.

Friday, January 30, 2015

Aunt Mae


Yesterday afternoon I received a call that my Aunt Mae had passed away.  She was one of 2 living children, of the 13 children born to James and Emma Hosey, in Sutton WV.  She was born on April 4, 1923 and would have turned 92 this year.  She came from a hard life, being the oldest girl in the family.  And while some, (myself included), could tell stories about how she had a way of putting you in your place and cutting you quick with her fast tongue, she was also the most loving and caring woman I would ever come to know in my lifetime.  From the time I was a small toddler until I was a teenager, I spent every summer, (starting the day after school let out until labor day weekend), in WV with my Aunt Mae and Uncle Minter.  She was more my mother than my own mother.  Even though she never physically bore children of her own, she had many, many children in all her nieces and nephews, and in their children.  And she loved everyone of us as if we were her own children.  When I got my first car at 18, it was no surprise that my first road trip was to Aunt Mae and Uncle Minter's.  And every month, I made at least one trip, (no matter what the weather conditions), to see my family.  And when money was tight, they always told me "if you can get down here, we'll make sure you have the gas to get home".  And no matter when you arrived, you could be sure that you would have good food, a nice clean bed, and your car was loaded up with good homemade food to take back home to "tide you over and help you out".  Aunt Mae never forgot your birthday.  Every year, (until I got married), I always got a card with a new $5.00 bill inside.  She would write for me to "buy myself lunch, on her".  Little did she know, (or maybe she did!), that during the very lean times that $5 was what bought the groceries to feed my son and I, and the car full of her canned goods was what we needed to survive until my next trip, when I returned with her empty jars. And when she met Dave - oh she fell in love with him immediately!  He was suddenly one of her "youngons'", (as she called all of us).   When her nieces and nephews all grew up and got busy with their lives, she opened her home to foster boys.  The state worker would show up with one or two, and they would stay for 6 months to a year.  Then one day the state worker showed up with two ragged, dog-eared boys named Russell and Danny.  These two stayed from the time they were 8 years old until they were grown men.  Russell never left!  He live with his "maw" right up until today.  After Uncle Minter died, Russell saw that Maw got to town to do her shopping, got to her doctor appointments, and as her health declined got her medications when she needed them.  Russell was her son!  Today many of us of all ages across the country are mourning for our Aunt Mae, and grieving along with Russell for the woman who helped feed, clothed and loved us when we all needed it the most.  Rest in peace Aunt Mae, you were very much loved by all of us also.