recycle

DIY Bread Machine Mix in Re-Useful Jars (and some desert island music)

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These bread mixes use six basic ingredients and cost only pennies per loaf. Having a mix ready to go makes the bread-making process super efficient and low-effort. A one-loaf mix fits perfectly in an 8oz instant coffee jar.

The tiny Tupperware cups hold the yeast, sugar and salt.
(I use instant coffee in my mochas, so I end up with about three empty jars per year. If you don’t use instant coffee, try empty 30 oz mayo jars. )

The mix ingredients are: Flour, sugar, yeast, salt, margarine and powdered milk (not pictured).

I like to make up four to six mixes at a time.

Here are the finished mixes lined up in the back of my frig.

The breadmaking process goes from mix and liquid, to the bread pan in two steps, to a finished loaf. (Of course the top of this loaf caved in slightly, because I was planning to take a picture. Sigh. )

Download the bread mix recipe here:

Basic Yeast Bread Mix for Bread MachineDownload

Preparedness tip:

When the pandemic was declared, the store shelves were immediately emptied of bread; and yeast, flour and other baking staples. Thereafter, they were unavailable or in short supply. As a regular bread maker, I had a supply of yeast and flour on hand, plus some DIY bread mixes made up; and a couple of freshly-made loaves in the freezer. Never expecting a pandemic or grocery shortage, I’d considered that modest stockpile to merely be a convenience. But it ended up getting me through the the shortage.

In addition to the bread mixes, I try to keep an extra unopened 4 oz jar of yeast in the frig, and a spare bag (or 2) of flour in the freezer, plus however much is in my flour canister. Flour came back to the store shelves fairly quickly, but four months into the shortage, I was down to less than half a jar of yeast. This month, jars of yeast finally came back to the store shelves. Even if you don’t do a lot of baking, don’t be afraid to buy yeast by the jar, and don’t worry if you can’t use it up before the sell-by date. In my experience, it keeps well past its sell-by date.

Slicing made easy.

Do you dislike slicing a bread machine loaf as much as I do? The loaf shape is awful for slicing. To make the process happier: Cut the loaf into quarters, and then slice and use one quarter at a time. The other three quarters go in the freezer. When I need one from the freezer, it thaws in just a few minutes, or 30 seconds in the microwave.

My bread machine is this one, which has been discontinued, but there are still some models in the Amazon warehouse. I’ve never been picky about what features are on my bread machine. I’d probably be happy with any machine at any price.

Desert Island Music!

(It’s the Slicethelife 2020 Album Draft!)

Which ten music albums would you want with you when stranded on a desert island? Ten bloggers (me included), are participating in a 10-round desert island ‘album draft’. Round 2 is currently underway. All of the album draft bloggers except me are ‘proper’ music bloggers; and some are musicians as well.

The link below will take you to a listing of the draft picks so far. Check in now and from time to time over the next eight weeks, to see what albums have been drafted and why they were selected. Feel free to drop us a comment about the picks.

2020 Album Draft

A selection from the Run-Sew-Read picks so far:

Orla oh la la

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Back in January, I purchased this Tilly and the Buttons ‘Orla’ top pattern.  It’s now September, and finally I’ve made an Orla top.   The pattern was a joy to use.  Orla sewing pattern - Tilly and the Buttons

I wanted to make a top with print sleeves and a solid colored torso.  This cotton upholstery fabric in my stash seemed right for the torso.  It was salvaged from sofa cushion covers I’d made years ago.  There were worn spots on the fabric, but there were enough good areas to carve out the body of a blouse from it.

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This Paris print cotton was something I simply liked when I saw it in the store, so I bought 1/2 yard for the sleeves.  My plan was to make a muslin shell to test the pattern, and if things turned out well, it would be a wearable muslin.

Paris print b RSR

Voila! A wearable muslin! 

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Where I deviated from the pattern:

  • Adjusted the sleeve length to a 3/4 sleeve.
  • Used a stand up/rolled collar instead of the pattern options.
  • Added a few gathers to the top of the sleeve rather than the pleat in the pattern.
  • The pattern suggests using lightweight drapey fabrics, but I used the heavy cotton, and I like the result.

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For bicycling and night activities, I incorporated some reflective elements.  I used reflective fabric for ‘hem tape’ on the sleeves.  At night, the hem can be flipped out for visibility.  There’s also a reflective covered button for the back closure.

A few more comments on the Orla pattern:  (I’ll definitely make more ‘Orlas’.)

  • The pattern size measurements ran true-to-large.  I’m so used to pattern measurements not working out, that I decided to make a larger size than the pattern info indicated.  Well, the pattern measurements were right on this time.  On the first fitting, the blouse was way too roomy.  I ended up taking it in two whole sizes, and could have gone down a third size.
  • The front curved darts are a pretty feature, and were easy to sew.  But they became a challenge when I had to downsize the garment.

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(Ghastly lighting in this new selfie spot! Yikes!)

disgust when you get that text GIF by Barstool Sports

This picture was my inspiration.  I saw it in a Liberty of London ad last year.  Obviously, I didn’t stick close to the image.  I still want to make a top similar to this.  Maybe for Spring.

Lace top print sleeves from Liberty 

Image may contain: 2 people

Recycle Routine (p.s. it’s easy and awesome!)

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Back in early April, I wrote that a change was coming to my household routine.  And now the details:  On April Fools Day, I cancelled my weekly residential curbside garbage service, and replaced it with a DIY recycle routine.  Before the switch, I spent several weeks considering:

  • What I was throwing away each week (i.e., the number and type of items discarded, and the volume);
  • How much I was paying for weekly curbside garbage service ($56 quarterly);
  • How many times I wasn’t home on garbage pickup day, or merely forgot to set the bin at the curb;
  • How much an occasional trip to the landfill would cost in money and inconvenience ($25 per load, apx five miles away, open on weekends).

Then I decided to give the recycle routine a 3-month trial period.  I began taking all of my paper, glass, metal, and most plastics to the local recycle center.  Yard clippings got mulched and/or composted.  I was already composting food waste.

Recycle bins

The Verdict:  This isn’t foolish; it’s awesome!  I never want to go back to curbside garbage service.  I feel good about recycling and being more aware of buying non-recyclable stuff.  Correction:  I feel great about it.  I save a little bit of money, but that’s not even the biggest benefit.  The routine is better and easier.  Honest!

The recycle center is less than a mile from my house, and is open 3 days a week.  Gone is the problem of being away on garbage day, or forgetting to put the bin out at the curb.

The recycle center is like a reverse grocery store.  You park, put your items in the grocery cart, push the cart around to the various labeled disposal bins, and drop off your items.  I’m in and out of the recycle center in 2-5 minutes.

Recycle1

About that curbside garbage bin:  I no longer have the big, ugly, dirty garbage service bin in my yard.  Instead, I have three small baskets under a kitchen cabinet, for paper, plastic and ‘other’.  The ‘other’ basket holds cans, foil and glass.

Recycle bins kitchen--RSR

The biggest volume of my weekly curbside garbage was weeds and bush trimmings.  Those now get mulched and/or composted, thanks in part to the little chipper-shredder I bought with the initial savings from the cancelled garbage service.

chipper shredder-RSR

There are some items the recycle center won’t take, such as Styrofoam and cheese wrappers.  I seldom get styrofoam packaging, and I don’t consume a lot of cheese.  When I do have a cheese wrapper, I take it with me on my next trip to the grocery store, and put it in the garbage can at the store entrance.  In other words, I take it back to the place where I bought it.  Is that ethical?  I’m still contemplating that.  I store other non-recyclables out of the way in my shed, for taking to the landfill.  I’ve only had to make one trip to the landfill so far, and had a free coupon for it.

Has this new recycle routine changed how I shop?  Yes, a little bit.  For instance, recently, I was trying to choose between two brands of whole wheat flour; each the same price.  Then I noticed that one was in a paper package, but the other in non-recyclable, cheese-wrapper-type plastic.  So, aha, I chose the paper package.

How good do I feel about my recycle routine?  The recycle center reminds me at the end of every visit.

Recycling Center sign-RSR

Something new I learned:  Disposable wipes contain plastic.