Finishing our Christmas Puzzle

On Christmas Day, we opened a puzzle that Grammar sent us.  We worked and worked and worked on the puzzle.  It was a wonderful gathering place in the middle of the living room several times a day.  We chatted around the puzzle, ate around the puzzle, waited for each other around the puzzle, complained about how hard the puzzle was ...  Everyone went home and the puzzle was only about 1/3 done.  Papa and I worked on the puzzle this past weekend and finished it!  Just one piece missing!

Western Bluebirds

At the ranch a couple of days ago, while I was talking on the phone with Whitney, I was looking toward the mountains and saw several beautiful purple blue birds jumping and flying close to the ground.  I found them in my Birds of North America book, Western Bluebirds, and it seems they are territorial.  I'm hopeful they will stay!  They are beautiful!

Magazines as Inspiration

I spent time today going through some old magazines.  Some were pitched, many were saved and dog-eared, and lots of pages of Arizona Highways dated 1994-1999 were torn out to be used as wrapping paper for small gifts.  Over the past year, two of my favorite magazines ceased publication.  They were Western Interiors and Cottage Living.  I am keeping all of them as each is filled with great ideas.

       

Architectural Digest is somewhat "over the top" but still full of good architectural ideas.  Veranda reminds me of my southern roots.  House Beautiful is a comfortable favorite.  Love my magazines! 

No-Knead Bread

I've made this recipe a few times over the past month with delicious results each time.  Enjoy!

No-Knead Bread


Published: November 8, 2006, New York Times
Adapted from Jim Lahey, Sullivan Street Bakery

Time: About 1½ hours plus 14 to 20 hours’ rising

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
¼ teaspoon instant yeast
1¼ teaspoons salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed.

1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.

3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

Yield: One 1½-pound loaf.

Holidays

The last two weeks have been busy.  I left the ranch on Tuesday, December 22, to go to Tucson to prepare for the arrival of our family.  I shopped for groceries, flowers, and last minute gifts, then spent a couple of days getting everything ready for arrivals.  Whitney, Corey, and Toby flew in from NYC on the morning of December 25, and Claire and David flew in from a visit with his family in Los Angeles that same day.  We visited Tohono Chul Park late that afternoon.  We hiked in Pima Canyon, baked cookies, played games, had a private viewing at the Center for Creative Photography at UA, the boys played golf, we worked on an impossible puzzle, and we enjoyed wonderful meals together.  Having our new grandson visit us for the first time was special all day every day.  Audrey and Dan flew in the night of December 28. 

The next day was Christmas!  Watching Toby open and play with his gifts was a highlight of the morning!  At six months, he is curious about everything and sweet as can be!  Papa made chinks for Toby and new leather handbags for the girls.  Stockings were full and everybody received gifts from their wish list.  We laugh every year at various wrapping jobs and Claire outdid herself this year with torn pieces of wrapping paper describing gifts that were in email inboxes.  Brenda and Newton, our next door neighbors joined us for Christmas brunch then Newton took photos of us all.  The boys played golf in the afternoon while the girls shopped a bit.  We had a late Christmas dinner.   The chocolate chess pie and maple pecan pie were highlights!

Our family party started to break up on the 30th when Claire and David flew back to DC.  Whitney, Corey, and Toby left for NYC on the 31st.  Audrey and Dan stayed a couple extra days, and we went to the ranch until January 3.  Time at the ranch was filled with playing games, long walks, feeding and brushing down Oscar and Pablo, cooking and eating.

Alas all good things come to an end.  These past two weeks have been wonderful family time.  I love my girls, their husbands, and grandson Toby.  I am a very lucky Lulu!