Basic White Bread

  Low on bread, I made three loaves the other day. The recipe was in mom's Mennonite Community  Cookbook (1950). I won't post the recipe here because the book is still available. Look on page 3.

 Mom made notes on the recipe and I wish I had read  them before starting. She mentioned making half a recipe. Good idea since the recipe "makes 3 large or 4 medium loaves". That's way too much dough to work with, plus I only have three standard bread pans.

 But once I started I kept going and the result was delicious bread, although a bit too much (Tom doesn't eat it). The loaves are a bit crusty and  even tough, but that's what I like. Something I  can sink my teeth into!

A finished loaf

 Wow! Did that dough ever rise well! My largest mixing bowl almost failed to contain it.

 Here's my three loaves. I made two in my metal bread pans and used a Corning glass pan for the third.

 Look how the largest loaf spilled over the pan during baking. I probably didn't  do a great job of dividing the dough but the result was wonderful.

 Here's a side view of the largest loaf. I've been having it for breakfast each morning this week. It's great with blueberry preserves.

 I couldn't live without bread, especially homemade. If I ever become gluten intolerant, just shoot me. My life will be over anyway.

We Visit Stockslager's

  It might even be a little late for us but Tom suggested our annual trip to Stockslager's last weekend and I suggested waiting for a weekday when things wouldn't be quite so busy. And it worked out perfectly. There were few cars and a spattering of rain drops probably convinced others to stay away.

 My goal was to buy the vegetable plants we'd need for this season. We bought tomatoes, peppers, zucchini and butternut squash. We don't have room in our garden for more.

 It's always a joy to shop there. The colors are almost blinding. Tom brought home several large potted plants for his house, too. So now the garden is tilled and soon our vegetables will be underway.

Mug Cake (One Minute)

  I saw a recipe on Facebook for a 1-Minute Mug Cake and saved it. Today I had for myself a slice of pineapple pie but nothing for Tom (he doesn't care for cream pies). I made the mug cake in a ramekin.

There's just six ingredients:

4 tbsp flour
4 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp baking powder
3 tbsp milk
2 tbsp oil
a few drops of vanilla extract

 I just mixed everything (thoroughly!) in the ramekin and microwaved it for 1-1/2 minutes, I placed a paper plate over the top to prevent splattering but it was both unneeded and prevented the top of the cake from billowing up properly.

But in that time it was perfectly risen and done.

 Tom thought it was a little bland and suggested the addition of fresh blueberries to the batter. Why not? Or a few chocolate morsels? I think it could be improved visually with a dusting of powdered sugar.

 In any case, it's an almost-instant recipe for a dessert.

Miss Parker is TWO

 We first met Parker on the first day of summer in 2023. She was a little thing, about four pounds.

June 20, 2023 - Day one with Parker

 Last year on her first birthday she had changed considerably. Technically she was no longer a pup but a full-fledged dog.

 April 29, 2024 - Parker's First Birthday

 This year, for her second birthday, Tom picked a bouquet of spring flowers. The lady we bought her from, sent a card.

The day before her second birthday

 Parker sniffed Tom's flowers

 Parker's second birthday found her scheduled for a grooming (it wasn't planned that way). She goes every two months to Pro Paws in Germantown where Autumn always makes her look pretty.

 Tom bought her a plush pelican with three blue fish in its mouth. Parker promptly removed the fish and scattered them about the living room.

 Autumn gave Parker a bow with hearts.

 What a loving and lovely dog Miss Parker is!

French Coconut Pie

  The picture along with the recipe certainly got my attention though I see now that they added toasted coconut flakes to the top. It would be nice if that had been part of the recipe. Still, the pie is very good.

 The recipe can be found here.

 The pie just out of the oven looks like this ...

 The look reminds me more of Southern Pie than Coconut Pie but the taste certainly confirms what it is.

 As usual, I first melted the butter, added the sugar and eggs and pretty much just went down the list of ingredients top to bottom. It mixes easily and is liquid enough to poor from the mixing bowl into the pie shell (I used a frozen grocery store brand). The crust seems a bit tough but it's not objectionable.

 I let it bake 45 minutes and it tested done.

Zoom with Astronaut Fred Haise

  I was invited as an observer to a Zoom meeting today between Apollo 13 astronaut Fred Haise by Valley View science teacher Jill Weaver and her class of middle school students. Running an hour, from 10 am to 11 am, it was a fascinating and personal look at the Apollo 13 disaster which happened almost exactly 55 years ago. Haise is now 91.

The meeting was moderated by Logan Jaeren, a collector of space mission patches.

 Valley View Junior High School students met in their gym and were able to ask Haise questions about his life.

 "Apollo 14 and 16 almost did not land," said Haise. But problems were solved and the missions went ahead. Apollo 13 was faced with an explosion of an oxygen tank and Haise knew right away the mission was over.

 Haise also flew the Space Shuttle Enterprise during its "Approach and Landing Tests" in late 1977.

 When the Apollo 13 tank exploded, said Haise, "Lovel and I were in the landing craft. The LM served as a lifeboat to bring them safely home.

Apollo 13 Command Module credit: NASA

 How tight was the LM with three astronauts when it was designed for just two? "We weren't sure cramped," Haise said,  He explained that the earlier Gemini spacecraft provided an even more confined space.

 The return trip home was cold. "I wore three sets of underwear," he said.

 Haise signed off the Zoom meeting by sharing the screen with h is beloved dog. I believe he said the name was Tito.

 Only three (above) attended the meeting by Zoom.

Valley View Science Teacher Jill Weaver

Fred Haise  credit: NASA

 The Apollo 13 crew landed safely on April 17, 1970.

Fred Haise (l-r), Jim Lovell and Jack Swigert

Primatologist Mireya Mayor at Victoria Theater

  Earlier this week my childhood buddy, Steve Simmons, called and asked whether I'd be interested in attending a presentation at the Victoria Theater on Saturday.

 Here's what Google had to say about it:

"Primatologist Mireya Mayor will be speaking at the Victoria Theatre in Dayton, Ohio. The event, part of Dayton Live's Perspectives Speaker Series, will focus on Mayor's experiences as a primatologist, explorer, and National Geographic Channel wildlife correspondent. Mayor will share her journey from an NFL cheerleader to a world-renowned scientist, including her co-discovery of the world's smallest primate in Madagascar."

 His wife usually attends these events with Steve but she had a scheduling conflict on this day. Steve knows I'm interested in nature and science so I was a good fit.

 The presentation was called "Pink Boots and a Machete".

Mireya Mayor took questions after her presentation

Before the event

Meeting the public after the event

 Mayor is known for a number of TV programs including Expedition Africa, Wild Nights, Cuba - A New Island, Mystery Gorillas and currently Expedition Bigfoot.

 The program lasted about an hour and a half. Both Steve and I enjoyed it very much. Mayor works without notes and has a very personal style.