I Guess It's Finally Spring

  

    I guess it's finally spring here. Or at least I hope so because we've got a lot of veggies in the garden and I would hate to lose them to a late frost. All we need is some crookneck and pan-patty squash, cucumbers, and for the tai peppers seeds to finally sprout. I still have some herbs and flowers to plant and a couple of plants that need to be transplanted. but for the most part we're on track.

  So far this has been a very strange year, most of the country is still frozen, normally this far south we've had plants in the ground for at least a month, but not this year. It was too cold for seeds to sprout in the green house.

   After two years some of my Dutch Irises finally bloomed! And they bloomed double! They are so pretty, no idea if the white ones died or are late bloomers but so far six of them are blue with yellow spots. Here is a picture of the first four to bloom. They are in pots on the porch so I have a very good view of them. The Hummingbirds love them.
 The Grapefruit is covered in blooms, but that last late frost killed the apple's blossoms. It was covered. We're horrified, but at least a couple stayed. And my Gladiolas are reluctantly pushing above the surface. 

                        Thank you for reading Bats Bizarre's offical blog. Have a bat-tastic day!
                                    
                 

Make Your Own Sourdough Pizza

 
  Sourdough makes for a fantastic pizza crust; crisp enough for my thin crust loving mother yet bread like enough for me, who personally thinks thin crust tastes like a cardboard cracker. Plus if you make the full recipe you get enough dough for a pizza and a loaf of bread. All you have to do is follow the recipe for bread I shared last week until after you knead the dough then you roll it flat and put it on a cookie sheet covered with cornmeal. Then put on your tomato sauce and toppings on and bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes.  Find the recipe for bread here: http://batsbizarre.blogspot.com/2014/03/make-your-own-sourdough-bread.html

A good tomato sauce isn't very hard either. Simply combine about 3/4 of a can of tomato paste with about a half a cup of water -basicly enough to make it spradable- a sprinkling of oregano, basil, garlic powder, sugar, salt, and pepper, or whatever seasonings you prefer in a sauce pan over low heat for a few minutes so the flavors mesh. -We don't measuer much here, you just have to taste the sauce and make sure the seasonings are right.-

The topings are up to you. We like an everything kind of pizza. Anchoves, onions, spinach, peppers, olives, sausage, even kale. If we have any freash, we like to add exrta basil and sliced tomatos. You have to fry the breakfast sausage seperately before adding it and the onions and bell peppers taste better if you caramelize them first, but everything else can go on as is. Then cover everything with cheese, mom and I use Monterey Jack and a little Romano, but any readly melting cheese is good. Try putting some kale on top of the cheese too. It's crunchy and good!


                     Thank you for reading Bats Bizarre's offical blog. Have a bat-tastic day!


                               

        

Inscriblio Cordless Engraving Tool

  When I found an Incriblio cordless engraving tool on sale at the craft store the other day I knew I had to buy it. I have been wanting to get into engraving and/or metal stamping for a while now, and for six dollars how could I say no? It engraves on glass, metal, stone, ceramic, plastic, acrylic, wood, leather, and more. (no idea what the and more covers, I mean what wasn't mentioned on that list?)  

   It takes 4 AAA batterers. Which I forgot to buy that day, and , of course, it turned out I only had one at home. (Most of my stuff uses AAs.) So, I had to wait a couple days to try it out. But I have been working with it on and off for about six days now and I think it's really cool. It has a nice weight, not too heavy to work with, not so light feels it cheap. It's not balanced; most of the weight is in back, but if you hold it like a pencil the heavy end rest securely and comfortably on your hand.  

   When working with it you should prop your arm on something stable, like the edge of the table you're working on. Because you need a steady hand for this. The inscriblio tends to try to wiggle when I work with it.
    I find it's easier to work with if you don't press too hard and just score the surface lightly at first then go over the lines a few more times to deepen your engravings.

  

    Wolfram finds it very interesting. Every time I start it he runs up and sticks his little grey tabby head as close to the device as he can; staring at it and smelling it. My mom has suggested it sounds like a dying animal to him. (He is very bird crazy. Just this morning he tried to take a swing at a Blue Jay through the window.)  

   I've practiced on an old soda can, a piece of glass I found in the chicken house, and have engraved a small 'J' on my Anchor clasp choker prototype. When I did that it exposed the copper under the sliver coating so I'm not sure I will be signing all my metal work. But I have been writing 'Wood' on all of our metal tools. Like the ladder.

    I can't wait to get my hands on some of those metal disks they sell for engraving. I have some plans for jewelry using those and/or beads. Hopefully I will be unveiling them soon.







            Thank you for reading Bats Bizarre's offical blog. Have a bat-tastic day!

    

Make your own Sourdough Bread

   This is the recipe I use to make Sourdough Bread. Last time I forgot to slash the tops of the loafs and it fell in the oven. Not that it's been raising that well lately, I hope that the warm weather will help with that.
  When the bread gets to the half way point during the second raise you'll need to prop the towel up to keep it from sticking to the bread. I had that happen to me; it was terrible.

   It freezes well. Pop the bread into a freezer bag and you're good to go. I had the cut the heel off to fit it in the bag.
 
   Click here for the printer ready version: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OsTFbYIgEztd53zKKzGTzwqT1nVfNlSlHqZwmjsVhcU/edit?usp=sharing
 

                                                Sourdough Bread


   1 package active dry yeast                         1 1/2 cups sourdough starter
  1cup warm water                                       5 cups flour (more or less)    
   2 Tablespoons                                           2 teaspoons salt


     In a large mixing bowl sprinkle yeast over warm water. Leave it to dissolve for five minutes.
Stir in sugar, sourdough starter, four cups flour, and salt. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and leave to raise in a warm place for 1 1/2 hours. Turn the dough out onto a floured board and mix in about one cup flour until the dough is no longer sticky. Knead until satiny, about five minutes. Shape the dough into two loaves and place in a loaf pan sprayed with non-stick cooking spray or on a cookie sheet covered in corn meal for a flatter, round loaf. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and let raise again for 1 1/2 hours. Slash the tops of the bread with a sharp knife so the loaf doesn't fall. Brush the tops with melted butter for a shiny finish. Bake at 400 for 40 to 50 minutes. Set on a rack to cool.


                       Thank you for reading Bats Bizarre's offical blog. Have a bat-tastic day!