Flour On My Jeans

Recently I've been getting fresh, raw milk from a local dairy and since I get a gallon of the stuff twice a week now, I'm kind of scrambling to use it up quickly enough. Cooking for two is way different than for a family...you just don't eat as much!!

Anywho, yesterday I got to baking, one because I like it, two because I think my bread is better than the store's and three...I have way too much milk laying around!

I'm sure many of you make your own bread for longer than I've been around and it's delicious...so please don't be offended by this post. For those of you that don't bake all that often...this is not a hard recipe, give it a shot!

Start with a big 'ol jar of milk....yummm

I use honey to make the crust soft, but sugar makes it crispy...whatever you like...

Scald the milk, butter and honey (or sugar)...you know it's scalded when there's small bubbles around the rim of the saucepan

Dump your milk mixture in the biggest bowl you have, trust me, you're gonna need it, and add some cold water and two cups of flour. While it cools, get your yeast to proofing...

When your yeast is ready, aka foamy and puffy, your house will start to smell like bread! I always add a pinch of sugar at the beginning, seems to help it proof...

Throw the yeast into your milk mixture and then add enough flour to make a dough! You're getting to the point where kids and younger siblings are suddenly interested in helping... :)

Flour your counter, but if your counter is like mine, first close your eyes and sweep everything on it off and into the sink. There. Now you have room to get to work. Now knead that puppy for about 10 minutes! Yup! Use your muscles!! And if it feels sticky, it doesn't necessarily need more flour, you may just need to knead it more...haha...OK, I'm over the needing/kneading...moving on....

Wash and grease your ridiculously huge bowl, throw your beautifully smooth dough in there, turn it over to grease both sides and cover with a towel and put in a warm spot to rise for an hour...or until it's double it's size...

It'll look something like this...yum.

Punch your dough down, and repeat. At the end of the second rising, divide into four greased and floured loaf pans, let rise until double then pop into your hot oven. Bread is done when thumped it sounds hollow!! Just watch it when you leave your loaves to cool....

Because you might come back to find this!!!
Enjoy Dolls!

White Bread

2 cups milk
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup sugar or 1 cup honey
2 teaspoons salt
2 cups water
11 cups flour, approximately
2 packages active dried yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1 teaspoon sugar

Scald milk, butter, sugar or honey and salt. Put mixture in very large bowl and the water. Add 1 cup or so of flour. When mixture is lukewarm, dissolve the yeast in 1/4 cup of water with just a pinch of sugar. Let sit for 5 minutes to proof. When yeast is foamy, add to the milk mixture. Add enough flour to make a dough and knead for 10 minutes. Let rise twice, punching down between each rising then divide between 4 greased loaf pans. Let rise until double, bake in a 350 degree F oven for about an hour, until crusty brown and sound hollow when tapped. Allow to cool on racks.

Makes 4 loaves
Adapted from a 200 year old recipe from Scotland, via Tasha Tudor

Please share some of your favorite recipes with me!!

xo xo Liz

Free

Last year, when you left, I felt like this...

Now...it's like this....

xo xo Liz

Her Bucking Ballet

Once upon a time, not so long ago, there was a blonde cowboy-girl who worked on a ranch in a very cold valley called Tuscarora, NV.

The girl's boss had a daughter called Annie, and Annie was the toughest, coolest,  baby buckaroo barbie that this cowboy-girl has ever met.

And because these two were pals and maybe became giggly girls during long truck rides, a tradition was born.

Annie "Let's say the bronco song."

Blonde Cowboy-girl "You'll help me this time?"

Annie "No. You say it. But I...I...I'll say the end."

Blonde Cowboy-girl "OK."


So today's post is for Annie...you're the only one I'd do this for...so here's your bronco song cowgirl.
 :)

Talkin' Bronc Ballet Blues by Dave Stamey

At a hack stable or brandin' pen Any place you might find some bow legged men Ask any old hand He's bound to say he's got the answer To the bronc balletIf your pony breaks in two There are certain things a fellah' needs to do If you follow his advice right down to the letter Your buck off average is bound to get better Only problem is, you can't find two in a thousand of em' that'l tell you the same thing There're those who'll tell ya it's in your seat And the way a fellow holds his feet You gota sit back a little and drop your heels Try it one time son see how it feels Others say the thing to do Is jerk him sideways a time or two Pull his head around to the left or the right And break his momentum, he'll give up the fight Oh yeah, don't forget to stay loose Others say to rake some fur Get agressive use your spurs Just jab them gut hooks into his side And bust him into a run it's easier to ride Probably won't go through a fence Stay relaxed now don't get tense And if he happens to run you underneath a tree Remember decapitation is preferable to a buck off, 'cus that can be embarrassing Don't worry pard, I bet they can sew that ear back on Some call it shameful to grab the horn Others say there is no scorn For those of us that have to go pullin' leather Because stayin' aboard is always better Problem is it happens way too fast Ain't got a chance to grab your slack Gives a grunt and he leaves the ground N' farts you off n' drags you around Hard to catch your breath when that happens Thing is the guys that tell you this stuff They kind of like it when things get rough They say they don't want you to break your neck But they do enjoy watchin' a good wreck They been bucked off themselves a time or two Ain't about to make it any easier for you And the secret they're keepin to themselves of course The best way to handle a snorty horse Is to let some other idiot ride him If you see your stirrups slap together above the saddle horn you're probably bucked off

xo xo Liz 

Lovers, Friends and Colleagues

Hello Dolls! How's the week going for you? It can't hurry up fast enough for me...only 9 more days until Winnemucca Ranch Hand Rodeo...whoop whoop! :) Any of you planning on going?

I had fun searching for these pictures because each of the couples are exactly what they appear to be; lovers, friends and colleagues. The only thing that could possibly be better than being a bad-assed buckaroo barbie? Getting to work with the buckaroo you love....corny, yes. But oh so true.  :)

There's a new page on facebook, Buckaroo Barbie, not a group but an actual page. Like it please ladies and post some pics of real Buckaroo Barbies you know...be they someone you admire or yourself!

xo xo Liz

Dirty Girls

Laundry.

The bane of women's existence down through the passages of time.

Dreaded and postponed until the last minute, especially if there are cows, horses, cowboys, dirty ranch kids, dogs, chickens, dirt....you get the gist of what I'm saying here...we've all got it, we all hate it and we've all gotta do it.

Wouldn't you love it if this fantastic apparition of feminine charm and grace was you while you performed your household chores? Or maybe you do look like this and I'm just the one who looks a mess....hmmm.....interesting.....

This is exactly what my laundry room looks like...but only in my dreams.

Sigh.

The romantic side of a Buckaroo Barbie...



...and the not so romantic side. How would you like the smoke stinging your eyes, lye soap chapping your hands red, then hauling a few more buckets of water to rinse the dang whites clean?

When I moved out to my first cowboy job...I didn't have a washer and dryer. I tried going to the laundry mat a couple of times but I got scared of the meth heads in rapist vans following me home so I said screw it, bought a couple tubs from Wal- Mart and got to scrubbing. At first it wasn't so bad....but after a couple of months I had a healthy amount of respect for the women who did this their whole lives. Coming in tired, hungry and cold to kneel on the floor and wash dirty jeans was exhausting after a long days work.

Today, I did about 5 huge loads of laundry. In a washing machine and a dryer no less. And I was thankful for the technology...and my previous experiences with dirty laundry.

My hats off to you gals, past and present who don't have it as easy as I do now.

Till next time dolls,

xoxo Liz

Oh You Crazy Cowgirls

Hello, hello! I bet you thought I'd dropped off the face of the earth! Hope you enjoy these pictures and I'll be back soon....I have a horrible cooking bug today, let's see what kind of messes I can whip up!

xoxo Liz

Twist and Turn

Tonight is the coziest of cozy nights. It's nippy out for California and my topsy turvy family is all in one place for once. There's been laughter, cooking, lots of talking (you put three women in one house and what do you expect?!) and watching the littlest sister ready her gear for a bronc ride tomorrow. Broncs on the brain is a common affliction around this place. :)

Hope your tomorrow is the best of your week yet....and that you spend it with someone special.

G'Night dolls,

xoxo Liz

The Men Who Took The Time

Hello Dolls! Sorry it's been awhile since my last post...life ya know :)

Tonight's blog is dedicated to the men that took the time....

The father's in our lives who were kind enough to include us crazy, cowboy obsessed kids in their day to day work.

Here's to the men who sold their nicest bit and rode outside horses at night, just to afford a broke horse for their 6 year old girls. (Thanks daddy)

Here's to the men who took the time to teach us how to work the ground and cut a calf properly, showing us more than once and slowing things up a bit.

Here's to the men who cheerfully loaned their Schutte mecates, Tips saddles and Elsner bits to us kids at fair time.

Here's to the men who drug our tired butts back outside in the heat to finish pounding posts, teaching us first hand the value of hard work.

Here's to the men who taught us to back a trailer like a guy...and sacrificing a gate corner or two in the process.

Here's to the men who cared enough to threaten the boyfriends with bodily harm if a hair got out of place on our heads.

Here's to the men who took the time.....

We love you.

xoxo Liz

Just to get us excited...

I'm actually excited for the first time for Valentine's Day....what are you dolls planning on?

xoxo Liz