Homemade Dutch Oven

I enjoy baking fresh bread at and admittedly do less in the summer months.

But, now that cooler weather is arriving, a return to home baking is coming not only in the form of bread, but also popovers, pizza, muffins and more. 

Baking is true comfort, not only does it provide me with a sense of accomplishment, but we get to eat the results. There's nothing quite like fresh-baked bread with butter or enjoyed with a meal.

Years ago, I owned a bread machine (long gone) and also have used a cast iron Dutch oven. But, there's nothing more needed than loaf pans and metal binder clips to bake an easy, no-knead, quick-rising bread. 

The recipe is mixed in a single bowl and baked in a homemade dutch oven created from two 9x5-inch loaf pans and two metal binder clips. 

Other things needed are a plastic mixing spoon, spatula, salt, instant yeast, bread flour, water, glass bowl, measuring cup, sesame seeds (optional):

• 12 oz warm water
• 1 tsp instant yeast
• 1-1/2 tsp salt
• 3 C bread flour
• sesame seeds (optional)

Turn on the hot water, when it gets warm, rinse a glass bowl then dry. Fill the measuring cup with 14 oz warm water (105°F to 110°F) and pour into bowl.

Sprinkle instant yeast on top of the water, add salt, stir to combine. Add bread flour by dropping it along the side of the bowl so it doesn't splash.

Stir to combine using the spoon handle, scrape bowl along the sides to bring the flour into the center of bowl. Scrape the bowl side with the spatula.

Tumble the dough with the spoon handle to thoroughly mix wet and dry dough. The dough will be what's called a shaggy dough.

Cover the dough bowl with plastic wrap and place it in a warm spot to rise. Hint: an oven with the door closed and the light turned on is a perfect proofing spot.

Proof for 1-1/2 hours, after this time the dough should have doubled.

Spray the two loaf pans with a non-stick spray.

Use the spoon handle to pull and de-gas the dough, scrape the bowl sides with a spatula. Sprinkle some flour on the dough and roll to coat. Sprinkle 2 TBSP of sesame seeds (optional) on top of the wet dough. 

Pour the dough into the prepared pan. There's no need to shape the dough to the pan as it will expand with the second rise. 

Place the second loaf pan on top, secure the ends with two binder clips. Keep pans clipped together and proof 30 minutes for second rise.

Before the end of the second rise, move an oven rack to the lower third position and preheat to 400℉.

Bake 35 minutes at 400℉ with the top pan on. Carefully remove the clips and top pan using oven proof gloves. Bake for 5-10 minutes to finish the crust.

Remove from pan and cool completely on rack before cutting and enjoying homemade bread.

Recipe courtesy of Steve Gamelin who hosts a YouTube channel, artisanbreadwithsteve.

How We Celebrated

First, Thank You to everyone who extended well wishes on our 27th wedding anniversary this past Friday. We enjoyed reading all the comments and appreciated all of them. 

We had a very enjoyable anniversary weekend from Friday evening to Sunday morning even without venturing out of state. We ate some foods that while normally do not, except, of course, for the ice cream

Our weekend celebration started Friday evening with the Celebration of Life event for Sue's husband who passed away in 2022. We met her on our Alaska cruise last August and have stayed in contact since. We'll reconnect with her in December when she visits family in NH.

Pop's Clam Shell, Alton Bay, NH

On Saturday we took a road trip to Alton Bay, NH for our first and only lobster roll of this waning summer season. Our destination was Pop's Clam Shell, a road side eatery popular with tourists and locals serving local fresh seafood and summertime favorites and unlike many fast-food places, everything is made in-house. Pop's is open seasonally and will be closing shortly after Labor Day. It's been family-owned and operated for 40 years and often has three generations of family working within. 

Lobster rolls, onion rings, coleslaw from Pop's

Aside from enjoying lobster rolls, we had the pleasure of another meet-up with fellow blogger Erika and her husband, Dave. We all enjoyed lunch on the rooftop deck at Pop's.

Anniversary ice cream treats

After a short walk around Alton Bay and watching a demonstration of water skiing, we enjoyed a celebration dessert of ice cream sundaes.

Omelets breakfasts at Midfield Cafe, Nashua, NH

Capping off the weekend, we went for Sunday breakfast at Midfield Cafe in Nashua. What sets it apart from other local breakfast places is the view. If you're lucky enough to get a window seat you can watch small planes landing and taking off while dining. Unfortunately, Sundays are the busiest day and we missed out on window seating this time.

Cards are always displayed on our LR bookcase

Our living room bookcase has anniversary cards on display replacing the recent birthday cards for Grenville's July birthday.

We're planning to take a short New England road trip after the upcoming U.S. Labor Day holiday. The first of several long-distance adventures will start in mid-September. These will not be auto trips, but will include planes and boats. More to come later.

Celebrating 27 Years

It was that many years that we said I do in our home state of NJ. We're still celebrating every year day and this year’s anniversary date will be no exception as you will learn below.

People often are surprised to learn that we met on a dating site. This was years before the onset of online videos. Instead, we exchanged text messages for a couple of months before finally meeting in person. The card above was often sent back and forth in messages between us. Framed, it now has a spot on our bedroom wall. where we have a penguin theme going with cards.

Longtime friends, Sara and David, who know of our fondness for penguins have sent this same card for at least two anniversaries, so it's been framed for display as well.

This year they sent a different one, but also with a penguin theme. They know us so well.

This card traveled the farthest distance, across the pond, and was sent by Kath and Andrew, UK friends, who share the same wedding anniversary date. We met up with them in London a few years ago and hope to again next month when we will tour the Yorkshire Dales in the UK.

A previous post showed the many decorative signs in our apartment home. But, we also have a few magnets. These are two that I gave to Grenville (Patrick) after our marriage and they are still on display today after all these years.

Today, we're attending a Celebration of Life, ironically for a man (David) we never met. Granted, that sounds strange, but we met his wife/widow, Sue, on our Alaska cruise last year. She shared that they had lived in the Nashua, NH, area for years before relocating to AZ, which is why she's having the event a nearby town. A couple of others we met on the cruise will also be there, so we will know other attendees.

As for our anniversary celebration, we plan to on a road trip after the Labor Day holiday. Now, many New England locations are over crowded and/or over priced, mostly both.

Enjoy Your Weekend, Everyone

We're going to Pop's Clam Shell (Alton, NH) for our first & last lobster roll this year

Everywhere a Sign

We like signs, which you would readily see if you ever visited our apartment, as there's quite a varied collection. Signs are everywhere — above doorways, bedroom walls, kitchen walls, in the dining area, living room and in the entryway.

Since we can't invite everyone to our home, although you are always welcome, this post shows most of our sign and wall decor. The two below are in the entry.

These next two signs ↓ are in the kitchen area. To date, the first one hasn't deterred anyone from dining in our apartment. The second one is really so true.

The next signs ↓ are in the dining area above the wine glass holder and wine rack.

The two bathroom doorways and the bedroom doorways also have signs on top.

Our bedroom walls ↓ display a collection of signs, photo art and framed cards.

The bedroom also has these large decals on three walls; the last behind the headboard.

The wall hanging below is a handmade gift sent years ago by fellow blogger, Kathleen, and it's also on display in our bedroom.

Signs ↓ related to age and adulthood are displayed in the living room above bookcases.

This top shelf of a bookcase dedicated to a collection of penguin and snowmen also has a sign above it.

Our living room bookcases contain cookbooks and framed family photos with a few signs. A message composed with Scrabble tiles is displayed in front of Boyds bears figurines.

Our largest sign is a roadmap for life; it summarizes some of the sayings on many other signs. It's the final line on this sign that says it all.

We create messages using Scrabble tiles with magnets glued on the back and have a board with extra letters. Correct spelling is optional, if we get the meaning.

The outside entry to our apartment also has signage, which is rotated seasonally or by holidays. The top sign previously hung in our VA home, where we did have a back door.

Yes, this post has lot of wall art and signage, but looking at these daily makes us happy and these days that's not such a bad thing.

Speaking of signs, does anyone remember the 1970s protest-rock song, Signs?

Performed by the Canadian rock group, Five Man Electrical Band, it was penned by the group's lead, Les Emmerson, who as he was traveling on Route 66 to Los Angeles from Canada, was offended by signs and billboards obscuring his view of the scenery. This reportedly led to his penning the tune which questions who had the right to make arbitrary rules interfering with nature and people. 

Signs was originally a B-side to an 1970 unsuccessful single, Hello Melinda Goodbye. After it was re-released as an A-side in 1971, it reached No. 4 on Canadian pop charts and No. 3 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. Overall, it ranked as the No. 24 song of 1971 selling over 2 million copies worldwide and garnering a gold record.

Five Man Electrical Band disbanded in 1975 after touring fatigue and member departures. Emmerson, the lead singer and songwriter, revived a local version of the band for live performances. He died in 2021 at age 77 from COVID-19 complications.

If anyone wants to listen to Signs, again, or for the first time, you can find it online,

Listen at the risk of having an ear worm the rest of the day.

Friday Funnies

Today's post is connected to a now famous movie line from the 1975 classic film, Jaws.

The actual line in the movie is: You're gonna need a bigger boat. However, it's widely mis-remembered as We're gonna need a bigger boat. 

And, I thought of that line recently after seeing this car with its load of two kayaks, only my take was: Maybe they need a bigger car ?

Maybe a bigger car is needed?

In the film, Chief Martin Brody (played by Roy Scheider) speaks the words after he gets a close-up look at the huge great white shark as it surfaces next to the boat owned and piloted by Captain Sam Quint (played by Robert Shaw).

But, did you know that line wasn't in the original script?

That's because it originated during film production since the production's support barge, which carried camera equipment and food, was too small for its load. What started as an inside joke became a line repeated among the cast and crew. Whenever anything went wrong on set, the crew would joke to the producers, You're gonna need a bigger boat.

During the actual filming, Scheider improvised the line during the shark encounter scene and director Steven Spielberg kept it in the final cut.

And, now you know — the rest of the story.

Enjoy Your Weekend, Everyone

It's a cooler and quieter weekend in Nashua, NH

Something Fishy

That's because our destination at the end of July was the New England Aquarium located on the waterfront in Boston, MA, it's one of the city's most popular attractions.

It's less than an hour from Nashua, NH, yet we'd never ben there in our 12 years of living in New England. Last month we visited as many local attractions as possible and the Aquarium was on our bucket list.

Entrance to the New England Aquarium, Boston, MA

Boston has been home to several aquariums since the 1880s, the most recent before this one was the South Boston Aquarium at Marine Park, which closed its doors in the 1950s. After that, Boston officials sought to spearhead a massive urban renewal effort that would replace earlier local aquariums with a world-class educational facility, reconnect a decaying industrial waterfront to the life of the city and also celebrate Boston’s maritime history.. 

Opened in June 1969, the New England Aquarium was built as one of the world's first modern, immersive aquariums and set a global standard for modern aquarium design. It spearheaded the development of Boston's once-neglected waterfront. Designed by the Massachusetts firm CambridgeSeven, old-style small glass boxes were replaced with a massive, four-story central core tank. A circular walkway lets visitors spiral downward while watching marine life up close. The design focused on a darker interior space to focus attention entirely on underwater life. 

Visitors walk a winding ramp inside the Aquarium

While the Aquarium may not seem like the most attractive building from the outside, the interior attractions and educational experiences are what received the majority of focus when it was being built. 

The concrete exterior building with its cavernous interior welcomed over 12,000 visitors on opening day and over 450,000 visitors during its first year. While the Aquarium doesn't provide an exact daily visitor count, it currently averages over 1.3 million annual visitors for an average of 3,500 to 4,000 visitors daily. Of course, these numbers change based on the season, weekends and school vacations. The day we visited, the Aquarium was crowded with summer camp groups and families.

The Aquarium features 70 individual exhibits and is home to nearly 10,000 marine animals across four main levels. Exhibited species include harbor and northern fur seals, California sea lions, African and southern rockhopper penguins, giant Pacific octopuses, loggerhead and green sea turtles, and thousands of saltwater and freshwater fishes. 

Giant Ocean Tank, top view 

The Giant Ocean Tank, a 200,000-gallon cylindrical exhibit with a large Caribbean coral reef inside was built first and the rest of the aquarium was constructed around it. The tank features over 100 varieties of fish including stingrays and eels. In 2013, the tank underwent a massive renovation to upgrade its coral reef habitat and viewing spirals. Its permanent residents include a giant green sea turtle, loggerhead sea turtles, and hundreds of colorful tropical fish, reef-dwelling sharks, stingrays, and moray eels. Open and accessible for viewing at the top, the concrete tank is surrounded by a spiral walkway with 67 windows that allows visitors to see into the exhibit from every angle.

Myrtle, a giant sea turtle, is the star of the Ocean Tank

Myrtle, a large green sea turtle, is not only the star of the Giant Ocean Tank, but one of the aquarium’s largest residents at four and a half feet long and over 500 pounds. She took up residence in 1970 as a donation after the Provincetown Marine Aquarium closed. Myrtle is estimated to be 95 years old which puts her beyond the upper boundaries of the species’ longevity. Myrtle draws a crowd at her twice daily feedings of vegetables like romaine lettuce, Brussels sprouts and cucumbers, along with some fish and squid. 

The Indo-Reef Coral Exhibit is very colorful

The most colorful exhibit is the Indo-Pacific Coral Reef exhibit in the Tropical Gallery. It highlights vibrant warm-water marine ecosystems featuring colorful fish like tomato clownfish, longnose butterflyfish, and yellow garden eel. The floor-to-ceiling exhibit accentuates the biological richness of a coral reef, which can support thousands of fish species, sea turtles, sharks. Unfortunately, coral reefs are disappearing worldwide due to climate change and other factors.

Shark and Ray Touch Tank had many visitors

In 2011, the 25,000-gallon Shark and Ray Touch Tank became a permanent exhibit in the Aquarium's West Wing. Here, visitors can interact with multiple species of stingray and shark, including leopard whip rays and brown-banded bamboo sharks, in a naturalistic habitat. Both children and adults crowded around on the day of our visit, which is most likely a daily occurrence.

Sea jellies or jellyfish are beautiful

One of my favorite displays was the sea jellies, which aren't technically fish, and more commonly known as jellyfish. These are ancient marine animals consist of 95% water. They have no brain, heart, bones or eyes, and belong to the phylum Cnidaria. Sea jellies drift in every ocean and use pulsing bells and stinging tentacles to catch food. They group together in swarms called smacks. Their average lifespan is about a year.

Cnidaria is a major phylum of over 11,000 species of mostly aquatic, marine animals characterized by radial symmetry, a gelatinous body, and specialized stinging cells called cnidocytes to capture prey. Examples include jellyfish, corals, sea anemones, and hydras.

Electric eel

The electric eel (Electrophorus) is a South American freshwater fish known for generating powerful electric shocks of over 800 volts. It uses this electricity to hunt, navigate, and defend itself.

African penguins entertained visitors

The Aquarium is home to 50 African penguins and southern rockhopper penguins. Ironic as it sounds, the African Penguin lives in Africa. It is the only penguin species that breeds on the African continent. They can be viewed on several artificial rock islands and can be seen from the spiral walkway around the Giant Ocean Tank. Each penguin has a unique bracelet on one of its wings to identify them; females on their right wing, males on their left.

Napping sea lion

The New England Aquarium is open seven days a week year-round with some holiday closures. Our visit was at a reduced cost thanks to museum discounts funded by the Friends group of the Nashua Public Library of which we are supporters.