~*~ How to Get a Job ~*~

My paternal grandmother painted this picture in 1915.

I kept the unframed watercolor tucked away among papers and books for many years, but in 2005 I had some Christmas money saved up and I decided it was time to get it framed.

I went to Hampton House Art & Frame in King, NC, and hemmed and hawed over mats and frames. The woman was very helpful and knowledgeable, but she listened to my ideas, too. Everything is top-notch quality to make sure the painting will be preserved and won't fade away with the effects of time, air, and light. I was (and am) delighted with the finished product.

Fast forward to 2009. I met a lady at the milk barn with the last name of Hampton and before long we connected via Facebook. A short while later, the little light bulb went on in my head and I confirmed that she was, indeed, part of the "Hampton House" family.

In January 2011, I sent this note to Lara Hampton: "It was good to see you this morning, Lara! And when I saw you, I had a few strange thoughts. I thought, 'There aren't very many artsy places in King ... except for Hampton House!' I thought, 'I might like to work there. I wonder if they're hiring?' Silly, I know ... but I'm serious. I have 11 years experience in typical office/receptionist work. I have no formal training in the art world but I'm quite artistic. Let me know if you should ever have an opening that I might be able to fill."

And here we are in the present day. We barely kept our heads above water when we were milking 30 cows; now we are milking six! (Never fear! Cows will start calving in about a month and we'll be back up to 24 - 30 in no time at all.) However, I seriously started wondering if I should start looking for a job. And I seriously questioned who in the world is going to hire a 61-year-old woman for a job that some young whipper-snapper would snag in no time flat!

So, in my usual style, I began praying: "Lord, if it's time for me to get a job, you're just going to have to drop it in my lap. That's all I know. Amen"

This past Saturday I got a note from Lara: "Hey Cindy, still interested in trying out a part time job?" (We had never spoken of the little note I had sent almost 2 years previously. You can imagine my shock!)

I went in this morning, met with the family, got the tour, and I'll start with a few hours on Thursday. I get to learn the whole framing business! Well, that's the plan, anyway. We'll see how it goes. One step at a time. I love it!!! (Oh, and let's keep it quiet about my being 61, okay?)

"Lord, You're AWESOME!! That's all I know. Amen" 

~*~ Bread & Butter ~*~

Piece of Cake? No, thanks! These days I'm really loving a slice of chewy, crusty bread, hot out of my very own oven. With a little advance planning, you can make your own tasty loaf. But you'll have to start it yesterday if you want to take it to grandma's today :-)

Although your oven will be plenty hot (450 degrees for about an hour and a half), you won't be sweating, because this is no-knead bread. That's right: no-knead bread! I found the recipe at Simply So Good, but the original recipe can be traced back to Jim Lahey of Sullivan Street Bakery, as reported in various issues of The New York Times.

The "Simply So Good" link above will show you lots of pictures and you can read the answers to many "Frequently Asked Questions" as well as multiple pages of comments. When I first started, I made three loaves in three days, each one better than the one before, so I'll give you the recipe and tell you what has worked for me. Then, maybe, it won't feel so scary the first time you try it.

Before we begin, let's talk about your bread pan. Put it away! In order to get a chewy, crusty loaf of bread, you'll need a pot with a close-fitting lid that can withstand 450 degrees. It can be a cast iron pot or the insert from your crock pot or a deep Pyrex baking dish. It must have a capacity of 3 to 6 quarts. Read the comments on the Simply So Good blog and you'll be amazed at what people have used. Key point to remember: 450 DEGREES!

Crusty Bread

3 cups unbleached flour

1-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon SAF instant yeast   

1-1/2 cups water

Here are my tips/notes regarding the ingredients. The flour doesn't have to be bread flour. The salt can be sea salt or kosher salt. Ordinary table salt should work, but I haven't tried it. I don't know what SAF instant yeast is! I use regular, granulated yeast dissolved in 1/4 cup of warm water. That way it is softened and ready to work quicker, perhaps more like instant yeast. And, actually, I've started using just slightly more yeast, more like a rounded 1/2 teaspoon. The amount of water is an estimate; and remember that you may have already used 1/4 cup in dissolving your yeast.

Let's get started. If you're dissolving your yeast in water, do that and set it aside. Whisk the flour and salt together in a large bowl and stir in your yeast. If you have the instant yeast, simply whisk the flour, salt, and dry yeast together. Now, stir in about a cup of water. If it looks too dry, slowly add some more (up to 1-1/2 cups total liquid) until it looks just right (slightly sticky rather than too dry). Don't worry about stirring it to death or making it look all smooth and pretty. Now cover your bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit on the counter for 12-18 hours. You have to plan ahead on this, obviously, but if it sits longer than 18 hours, no problem!

So ... now it's tomorrow! When I'm ready to start, I get out a piece of parchment paper, sprinkle it with some flour (not too much), and dump my dough onto the paper. Using my spatula, I fold the dough over on itself once, twice, or thrice, thereby working in just a little more flour. Using the spatula, I push the loaf into somewhat of a round ball. Then I cover it with the same piece of plastic wrap that had covered the bowl.

Preheat your oven to 450. According to the instructions that came with my Lodge cast iron pot, it shouldn't be subjected to rapid changes in temps, so I put the pot and lid in the oven while it is preheating. When the oven is preheated, put your EMPTY pot and lid in and let it heat for 30 minutes. (My pot and its lid are in the oven during the preheat time and then for another 30 minutes - close to 45 minutes total.)

Here's the beauty of working on parchment paper. When your pot has heated for 30 minutes, remove it from the oven (VERY CAREFULLY. IT IS HOT!!), remove the lid, and carefully lift your dough by the four corners of the parchment paper and place it in the pot. Cover the pot with the still-very-hot lid, put it back in the oven, and bake for 30 minutes.

At the end of 30 minutes, remove the HOT cover, and continue baking for 15 minutes more. Remove the extremely hot pot from the oven, and lift the parchment paper and the beautiful loaf of bread from the pot. Place on a cooling rack to cool.

Hey! What are those dark spots on my bread? Ah. I added craisins and almonds to this loaf. Mmmm. And in the loaf below, I used about a half cup of whole wheat flour in place of some of the white flour. Delicious!

If I can find some semolina flour that doesn't cost an arm and a leg, some of it will go in the next loaf I make. I'm also thinking about increasing the ingredients by half to result in a bigger boule. But that just means I'll be eating more bread. That's not a bad thing, is it??