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| a rose rescued from the garden |
Our kitchen was a hive of industry this morning. Whilst I made a spicy tagine for supper Paul was busy making bread for lunch. When the country first went into lockdown everyone was buying flour and suddenly the supermarket shelves were bare. The only thing left on the shelf was a bag of spelt, a type of flour we were not very familiar with, but we bought it anyway. Spelt is a cereal grain but is different to wheat. The wholegrain flour is apparently easier to digest than wheat and is rich in vitamins and minerals.
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| spelt loaf |
Today Paul used a mix of 80% spelt and 20% ordinary bread flour to make the loaf. It made a denser loaf than normal but I really enjoyed the texture and nutty flavour. We ate it with cheese, tomatoes from the greenhouse and some mixed beans with pesto. I think I probably ate far too much.
Rick has been helping in the garden. Although he is a Pyrenean Mountain Dog, a herder, he has one of the characteristics of a Pointer, a term used to describe a gun dog that points at the game it is hunting. A couple of days ago he adopted his classic stance of freezing, with one paw raised, and his head pointing straight ahead, looking at something at the bottom of the garden hedge. On closer inspection we realised he had found a tiny harvest mouse, curled up in a ball. Rick made no attempt to touch the mouse but was clearly very pleased with his discovery. Paul managed to tempt Rick away from the terrified little creature with his favourite tennis ball.
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| harvest mouse |
What a delightful find. I was sad because I had a much-loved German Short haired Pointer for ten years before I had Tess, my border terrier. I called him Oscar and he was a delightful dog. I still miss him. The downside of keeping a dog.
ReplyDeleteThey can break your heart.
DeleteCute mouse. Good thing it wasn't our Tigger that found it; nothing but nothing would distract him from a mouse.
ReplyDeleteIt wouldn't have been so lucky if it was a pigeon, they are Rick's nemesis.
DeleteSpelt bread sounds interesting - I've never seen spelt flour in the store but will look for it.
ReplyDeleteI think we will buy it again.
DeleteThat reminds me of our late dog Bok. He found a mouse nest, and very gently lifted each baby mouse out, and placed them by the side of the nest. I'm not sure quite what he thought he was doing; but he did it beautifully. We left them in peace for Mummy mouse to put them all back again.
ReplyDeleteLady M spent the day making marmalade.
It always amazes me how gentle some dogs can be when they choose.
DeleteWhat a good boy Rick was to just show you where the mouse was, and not disturb it by having a good nose round!
ReplyDeleteWhenever I see a photo of your lovely home-made bread I want to have a go myself. Then promptly forget to buy the correct flour at the supermarket. There are bags of flour, ready mixed, specifically for bread making machines, but I'm not sure if they could be used without a machine.
We normally use ordinary bread flour, easy-bake yeast, salt, water and olive oil.
DeleteBeautiful loaf of bread. Paul's bread making is impressive, even experimenting with the recipe. Spicy tagine sounds delicious. Funny how Rick dislikes pigeons but the mouse was okay.
ReplyDeleteI find it very hard to resist newly baked bread.
DeleteTennis ball? When did Rick take up tennis? By the way, I was surprised to see you refer to Rick as a Pyrenean Mountain Dog. There used to be a Pyrenean Mountain Dog at the farm next to my brother's place in the foothills of the Pyrenees and he looked nothing like Rick. Go here:- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrenean_Mountain_Dog
ReplyDeleteRick is a Labrit - a Pyrenean Shepherd Dog. Sorry for the confusion. He is currently the star of the John Lewis tv advert.
DeleteI accept your apology and expect to recover from the distress caused in a few days.
DeleteIt's Thursday today ,,, again. Take care. Lesley
ReplyDeleteSo it is! x
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