Homemade bread and chicken soup

Ah, did you step in for a bite to eat? You’re welcome at my table anytime. Don’t promise anything fancy, but it will be healthy! (By the way, that’s creamed ricotta cheese that I put on my bread – not butter!)

This deceptively “simple”  lunch took more effort than it would seem. It’s no open a can or package meal, that’s for sure. I cooked, yesterday all the chicken bones and broth with the rice and vegetables for 8 hours to make the chicken and rice soup, that I only had to heat up today, adding in some scraps of meat, of course.

I spent several hours in the morning making the bread. It is oatmeal and flaxseed with whole wheat. It’s nice since it uses no oil or eggs and just enough honey to “feed” the yeast. I am frustrated on the bread score, because it never bakes quite right, since my oven is horrible. It never gets hot enough to really make it soft and done on the inside with a crunchy crust on the outside. Short of spend a couple thousand on a new oven, I can only think that my solution is to consider getting a bread machine, but I won’t rush it. I am going to try the bread in a slow cooker and see how that works out. I just don’t think the slow cooker will make a nice crust and that’s the best part!  A really big disappointment has been that my processor has a dough hook that is totally useless. It gets gummed up and stops running. I may try the other attachment and see if it works.

I also made green juice. Been on that kick for a couple of weeks now. Today it was spinach and carrot and apple and cucumber. João thought it was kind of bitter, but I didn’t think so. I find the kale or lettuce much more bitter. I’m a picky eater and I have grown to love this juice. I just really hate cleaning all the vegetables and then hate even more scrubbing the juicer.

Whether it’s from the juice or some other cause, I’ve lost weight lately, which is odd since I’ve stopped exercising to give my back a chance to heal. My back has quit hurting, so I could go back to exercise, but I have to work up my nerve to do so. Maybe I’ve been losing muscle mass. Trust me, I never just lose weight for no reason!  But then who is complaining?

Today is a holiday here, but I am doing some studying for my messages at the conference for senior citizens next week. João is the main speaker, but guess so I could come along, they asked me to give one message and do one workshop. I also hope to do a little painting. It’s definitely a nice day for a holiday.