L'été de blé- The Summer of Wheat

I just ordered ten pounds of wheat seeds. Not just any seeds, but heirloom, organic seeds. Two kinds. Hard spring and Hard red spring. Here's my plan. I'm hoping to plant, harvest and mill the wheat to create bread baked in the wood-fired oven. This really isn't anything new. In fact, many bakers are getting closer to the grain production process to help create the best grains possible for great artisan breads. It's new for me though.

Along with the seeds, I also ordered a sickle (medium to be exact), and two books. I'm starting from scratch. The first thing we need to figure out is where to plant the garden. Since we won't be treating the soil with any herbicides, I have to figure out how to plant the wheat to best reduce the weed invasion. In years past, the weeds won the tomato vs. weeds battle. This year I'm determined to have amber waves of grain swaying in the breeze.

I've read that birds will be attracted to the freshly planted grain, and a scarecrow will be necessary. How fun! There must be two. A boy scarecrow and a girl scarecrow. Oliver and Lisa seem like good names, don't they? One at each side of the garden. I almost want to call it a field, but I don't think this will qualify for field status. Plot sounds scientific, so for now I'm sticking with garden. A jardin joli. (pretty garden)

I'm expecting the seeds early next week. As soon as we can get the soil ready, the seeds can be planted. I'm looking for a great name for this project. Grain Garden has potential since the abbreviation is GiGi- and I love that! There should also be a really wonderful quote. There are two that caught my attention. "Every woman needs a blowtorch". Julia Child; and "You must do the thing you think you cannot do". Eleanor Roosevelt. It's a little random, but so is deciding to grow wheat! I hope you'll cross your fingers and join me in the journey to create bread, from scratch... Really, from scratch.

Winter Snow Day News

Happy February!

It's a snowy day and I'm looking for the perfect recipe to enjoy during a blizzard. I decided to look through Around My French Table, by Dorie Greenspan (AMFT). As I looked at soups and stews, I wondered if Ms. Greenspan had a website. Ta-da! Through the wonders of a quick internet search, I found it.

After looking around the site and entering my email address for updates,I clicked on the "French Fridays with Dorie". A group of cooks creating her dishes from AMFT and blogging. How fun! I've registered and hope to have the password soon to join the fun. I hope that you'll join me on this journey! I know it's sort of Julie and Julia, but to have the author participating in the process will be great.

For those of you who already own the book, I know you share my love of the book. It's been the hit of the season. In fact, it's a topic at many get-togethers. For those that don't yet have a copy, I encourage you to take the plunge. One of the rules of the "Friday" group is that the recipes stay in the book.


I look forward to sharing the journey as I cook my way through to book with people from all over the world.

For all then iPad owners and bread bakers... Check out Michael Ruhlman's Basic Bread Baking app. Very nice and only $1.99