More no knead bread

Yesterday I baked another loaf of the no knead bread, this time, an oval loaf  in my new, cast iron, oval pot.. It was still too big to fit in the toaster, so I'll have to stretch it a bit more next time. I let it proof 15 hours, then a 2 hour rise before baking and it had a beautiful crumb. I used half bread and half unbleached, all purpose flour - both King Arthur. There wasn't much difference between that and using all bread flour. The bread was just a hair heavier. Next loaf I'll use all all purpose flour. I also read that a tiny addition of vitamin c will help the bread rise more, so I'll try that as well. Bread making seems to be a good substitute for not being able to get in studio time right now and Jim is very happy that I'm using my free time in the kitchen. He loves this bread!

It's raining again and cooler than it's been. I got into the studio earlier to water plants and put some things away; but making pots will have to wait a bit longer.

Jim still needs me to do his chores,, so there isn't much free time or energy for more physical activity. He felt well enough the past two days to take Bodhi out for a walk once or twice. This morning he wants to try to drive to town to pick up the mail. It's only 3 miles each way so he should be OK. I gave him a good rub down with arnica which seems to help his injured back.

Last night we had wine for the first time since his accident. To make up for that time with no wine, he pulled out a really lovely bottle of Lytton Springs Zinfandel. We  threw caution to the wind and instead of having our usual 5 and 10 oz, we finished the bottle, without any guilt!

Today I'm going to make some banana nut bread. Jim's appetite seems to be returning, so tonight I'll make his favorite  pork chops au poivre with a cream, sherry reduction and oven roasted garlic rosemary potatoes and probably green beans. I think I still have a couple of packages from last seasons garden in the freezer.