Momma Said

Momma Said, “I think my pets are possessed!”  I have a dog that snores like a bear another dog that thinks she is a groundhog and a cat that wants to be a beautician.  My older dog Bailey is a “bit” overweight and when she sleeps, she snores like a bear.

The young dog Amber has excavated my entire back yard and turned it into a muddy swimming hole.  And Katie Kat has decided that at night she wants to sleep on top of my head.  If waking up in the middle of a hot flash with a 12 pound cat wrapped around your head is not bad enough, she has decided that she needs to groom my hair… ALL NIGHT!

That is right folks she wakes me up licking my hair.  I move her out of the way and before too long she is right back.  I have heard of people having cowlicks in their hair, but never a catlick.  Momma Said, “I wake up in the mornings with cat slobbers in my hair and look like I have combed it with an egg beater.”  I haven’t decided whether I live in a zoo or a circus.  I do have one cat that I think is normal, or as normal as a cat can be.

Speaking of my yard, I found a baby bird that had fallen out of the nest and died.  This is November, I didn’t think birds were still hatching young this close to winter.  The seasons are so messed up that it has everything thrown for a loop.  One day it is 70 degrees and the next it is in the 30’s.  My forsythia bush is blooming and I saw an azalea bush in bloom last week, along with geraniums and a hydrangea bush.  Momma Said, “This is not something you usually see in West Virginia in November.”

If we don’t get some cold weather that sticks around for awhile the fleas and ticks are going to eat all the animals alive.  I have heard from some early deer hunters and they say the deer are just covered with ticks.  That can’t be good for them and I don’t know if it affects the meat or not.  I will have to do some research with the DNR and find out about that.

Loaded Baked Potato Soup Recipe in Bread Bowls

 Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 15 small – russet potato
• ¹/₄ cup – butter, unsalted
• 3 teaspoon – Chicken Bouillon
• 1 stalk – green onion
• 2 clove – garlic
• ¹/₈ teaspoon – salt
• ¹/₈ teaspoon – black pepper, ground
• ¹/₄ cup – flour, all-purpose
• 4 cup – milk

OPTIONAL:

• ¹/₄ cup – cheddar cheese, shredded
• ¹/₄ slice – bacon per serving  cooked until crisp

BREAD:

• 3 cup – water
• 1 ¹/₂ tablespoon – salt
• 1 tablespoon – yeast, active dry
• 6 ¹/₂ cup – flour, all-purpose
• ¹/₄ cup – cornmeal, yellow

Directions

FOR THE SOUP:

1. Chop green onions and mince garlic.
2. Peel and cube the potatoes. Boil in a large pot just till underdone- about 15-20 minutes. Drain potatoes but reserve 2-4 cups of the water you boiled it in.
3. Add butter and bouillon paste to the empty pot. Saute green onions and garlic. Add salt and pepper to taste.
4. Add 1/4 cup of flour. Stir until smooth.
5. Add milk and potato water alternately, 1/2 cup- 1 cup at a time. Stir until thickened between each addition till it’s the consistency of a thick white sauce. Add the potatoes at the end.
6. Top with shredded cheese, cooked bacon pieces, and more green onions.

ARTISAN BREAD:

1. In a very large bowl, combine water, salt, and yeast. Mix flour into the water until it is all wet. Cover with a towel and let sit on the counter for 2-8 hours. Separate into 8 small balls. Using two cookie sheets, sprinkle with corn meal, and put four balls on each sheet. Separated.
2. Preheat an oven to 450. Put a pan on the bottom rack.  Slide pan with loaves onto middle rack then pour water into bottom pan, close oven quickly. The steam will get trapped in your oven. Cook for 20-30 minutes, or until brown on top.

Remove from oven and let cool.  When cool, cut top off each loaf and hollow out the insides like a pumpkin.  Fill with soup and use insides and top to dip.