Road Trip

I found a slick little program called MaxiVista that lets me use my small netbook as a second monitor. I connect it to the work laptop via a crossover ethernet cable, and the software "tricks" the laptop into thinking there's another monitor attached. So I can extend (or mirror) the laptop screen onto the netbook and drag application windows between the two. Nice, and it has a remote control feature that let's me take over the netbook from the main laptop just by moving the mouse to the other screen.

This will make working in hotel rooms more efficient!

I've been in St. Louis this week, working with a bank client. I have a little more work to do at the hotel tonight and tomorrow -- then I head to Chicago. I have to be at another client on Monday.

I'll stop in Springfield IL tomorrow night. Sunday I'll tour the new Lincoln Library.

Real Food

Ok, I'm past my Sourdough phase. For now.

I found an oatmeal cake recipe in one of my Dutch Oven cookbooks, so I spent the afternoon on the BBQ patio. I used the 12 inch DO for the the cake and I did a pork roast in the 10 inch DO. It all came out well -- T & I had a feast in the evening.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cake

12 inch Dutch Oven

15 top coals

8 bottom coals

1 1/4 cups boiling water

1 cup regular oatmeal, uncooked

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened

3 eggs

1 3/4 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cocoa

1/4 teaspoon salt

12 ounces chocolate chips, divided

3/4 cup chopped walnuts

Grease the Dutch oven and set aside. In a mixing bowl, pour water over oatmeal. Allow to stand for 10 minutes. Add sugars and butter, stirring until the butter melts. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Sift flour, soda, cocoa and salt together. Add to the batter; mix well. Stir in half of the chocolate chips. Pour into the greased Dutch oven. Sprinkle top of cake with walnuts and remaining chocolate chips. Bake for about 40 minutes.

Sourdough Pancakes & NAS

Yes, that's right -- NAS as in Network Attached Storage. I worked all day yesterday on a better backup solution for our network here at the ranch -- for the business and personal files. I finally got everything working around 12:30 am.

I need to switch to cloud computing!

Anyway, I'm up early and ready to mix up the batter for Sourdough Pancakes:

Sourdough Pancakes

2 cups sourdough starter, room temperature
2 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoons warm water

In a large bowl, add sourdough starter, sugar, egg, and olive oil; mix well.

Dilute 1 teaspoon baking soda in 1 tablespoon of warm water. Add baking soda to batter just before you are ready to cook the pancakes. Fold gently into the sourdough batter (do not beat). This will cause a gentle foaming and rising action. Let the mixture bubble and foam a minute or two.

Heat up a lightly greased griddle until fairly hot; then pour batter onto the griddle. For each pancake, pour 1/4 to 1/2 cup batter onto hot griddle. Cook 1 to 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Serve on hot plates.

You can mix some fruit into the batter if you like – blueberries, bananas (sliced thin or mashed), strawberries, etc. If the fruit is juicy you may have to add some flour to the batter to thicken it.

New Paddocks

Two of the paddocks are done & now both of the boys have a private play area.

Black Cloud was so excited he couldn't eat his hay. He kept running into the stall to get a mouthful, then he'd run back to the paddock with a wad of hay in his mouth.

He was acting all cocky as though the paddocks were his idea.

Otis was even more excited -- he went in and out a couple of times like he couldn't believe it.

Then he started rolling around. He would roll once, then run around the paddock, then roll again.

I told them both we would have to raise their rent to cover the cost of the improvements. They didn't seem to care.

Sourdough Biscuits

Tried my hand at sourdough biscuits in the evening. Not bad, not bad. Can't wait to try them in a Dutch Oven over charcoal!

Tomorrow, sourdough pancakes??

Maybe!

After that I'll give it a rest. I don't want to become obsessed with sourdough.

Oops -- gotta go feed the starter!

==>SC

Paddock Posts & Cornbread

Well, the sourdough cornbread was worth mentioning, though I need practice. I used too low a temperature, I think, and cooked it too long.

Too windy for outdoor cooking. So I cheated and used the oven in the house. Eccch!

Mike is putting up the paddock fence posts now. Black Cloud and Otis are wondering what's going on.

Here's the cornbread recipe:

Sourdough Cornbread

1 ½ cups sourdough starter
3 eggs; beaten
2 ¼ cups canned milk
6 tsp. butter; melted
2 ¼ cups yellow corn meal
1 tsp. baking soda
3 Tbs. sugar
3/4tsp. salt

Mix sourdough starter, milk, corn meal, sugar, and eggs; stir well. Add melted butter, soda, and salt; stir until well mixed. Turn mixture into a lightly greased 12" Dutch oven and spread evenly.

Place lid on Dutch oven and bake using 12-14 briquettes bottom and 18-20 briquettes top for 25-30 minutes or until cornbread turns golden brown.

NOTE: For even browning make sure to turn the oven and lid 1/4 turn in opposite directions every 10 minutes.

Serve hot with honey butter.

Serves: 10-12

Post Holes

Big Tex got a workout again today. We picked up a post hole digger for Mike to use on the paddocks. So, post hole digging tomorrow plus some holes for a bunch of trees.

T is headed for Allentown tomorrow morning. She has a booth at the Horse Expo & will be selling her wares -- this is her first time out. We have our fingers crossed! If she makes a million I can retire and do ranch chores for the rest of my life!

Lumber for the porch will be delivered in about 2 weeks -- then the big project starts. No kayaking allowed until the stable has a porch!