I went out just now and inspected my two colonies of bees. Here is what I found:
I don’t know how to keep a smoker lit. This turned out not to matter, as both colonies were very mellow even with minimal smoke.
Somehow (probably by mixing up the order of the inner cover, top feeder (this style) and telescoping cover. I had the inner cover on top of the top feeder, which is surely backwards.) I managed to rig it so lots of bees in both colonies got into the sugar syrup and drowned.
Colony One appears to be thriving despite this. There are a couple frames of drawn-out comb with a good assortment of pollen, honey and eggs.
Colony Two appears to be queenless. There are a couple of frames of drawn-out comb with pollen and honey, but no eggs.
I’m going to talk to Laura and see what she recommends.
We built a tandoor today out of a garbage can and a flower pot! It will take a while before I’m any good at making the naan look pretty, but it sure tastes good!
Back when Rachel’s brother Anders lived with us, I baked a Tarte Tatin every monday night. Here is the pâte sucrée recipe I use for a single tart. (I just measured the lovely Le Creuset Tarte Tatin pan Rachel bought me, and it’s 9 1/4 in. internal diameter.)
1 1/2 c flour
1/2 c salted butter
2 tbsp sugar
1 egg
5 tbsp water
Dump everything into a mixer bowl and mix with the paddle until everything draws up into a ball. Place ball in a Ziploc bag or some plastic wrap and chill for a couple of hours. (Chilling isn’t strictly necessary, but it makes the dough easier to work.)
That’s it!
If I were doing this without a mixer, I’d probably do it cookie-style: Soften the butter a little, cream it together with sugar, add the egg and water, stir in the flour a little at a time. The pre-chilling consistency turns out pretty much exactly like cookie dough (same ingredients minus the leavening.)
I borrowed my dad’s copy of Flatbreads and Flavors and got inspired to throw together this very loose interpretation of their Azeri kofta soup. Measure nothing! Eat with your fingers!
I made a blind-baked pâte brisée shell and filled it with honey caramel.
1c honey
1/2c salted butter
1c heavy cream
Bring the butter and honey up to 240degF. Whisk in the cream. Allow to cool. Fill shell. The filling will be liquid at room temperature. Do not panic. Refrigerate until set. Serve cool.
It was delicious, but I’m damned if I can photograph it.
I completed my wood-fired oven this summer after around 120 hours of work. I documented the project in an instructable that has been viewed 13,000 times so far.
It took us a couple of firings before we were able to make delicious pizza and crostata. We haven’t yet figured out how to achieve the perfect temperature and steam balance for sourdough, but that will presumably come with practice.
As always happens, the social benefits of the project (talking to builders and bakers during the research phase, asking for help during the building phase, feeding people, receiving comments from readers) have been more rewarding than the project itself. Here’s to years of baking parties!
