Triumphant Return

To contact us Click HERE
For various unforeseen reasons involving the location of trees and nearby farm buildings, we were unable to get internet set up at our new place until today, despite having several companies come out and attempt installation.  As much as my sweetheart and I enjoy spending time together without interruption, and as much as neither of us is terribly interested in spending vast amounts of time staring at a computer screen, it has still been frustrating not to be able to keep up with world news or some of our friends who are hard to reach via non-web methods.  So we are very glad to be reconnected, and while there is some catching up to do, I plan to devote some time to this site, since I've been away from it for so long (the penny-pinching I mentioned in an earlier post was preparation for this move). 

We haven't moved all of our belongings yet, just the necessities, because our things have been scattered amongst so many friends and family for the past 18 months that it'll take us some time to visit the various cities and pick everything up.  So although we did bring about 5 kitchen boxes and I'm getting along fine with my cooking, a lot of that is 'making do'.  I only have one knife, for example, my 10" Global Chef's Knife that was a birthday gift.  Only one pot.  No toaster.  Et cetera. 

Something I forgot to take into account before we arrived was that we are now living at a higher elevation than we have been.  2,000 feet higher than the last place, 2,500 feet above sea level.  This is not HIGH-altitude, but it does make a difference.  The boiling point of water here, for example, is 207°F, not 212.  This means that any food that's boiling (pasta, for instance), must boil longer than it would at lower elevations, because it is cooking at a lower temperature.  The biggest difference will be in baked goods, which was what called the change to my attention in the first place, as I decided to make us some cookies and the recipe simply did not work.  I have some research to do, and my beloved has bravely agreed to accept his role as taste-tester, but from this point on all baking I do will be divided into two categories.  If I've modified an existing recipe to work at this altitude, I will list the original recipe, with notes as to my changes to make it successful here.  If I've written the recipe from scratch, I will explain that I can only speak to how it works here, and that lower elevations may have different results. 

Hunting season is almost upon us, and my sweetheart has gotten tags for every animal he put in for, so we'll be stocking up on a lot of game over the next few months.  There's also a distinct possibility of goat milk from the closest neighbor, which will likely mean goat cheese.  I've been reading some food-related books while without internet access, some I purchased and some provided to me in galley form by the publishers, and reviews will be forthcoming.  I also have my 60-day America's Test Kitchen Cooking School to discuss, and a few blog ideas that I've been jotting down over the last several weeks.  So there should be plenty of upcoming content here, in between trips to pick up the rest of our things and for fishing/hunting.  We're really very happy and having a lot of fun, and I look forward to letting that spill over here.