Bread Fiasco

Breadmaking...without weighing scales this was always going to be a bit of a gamble, and using an oven that we're not entirely used to would also be a challenge. All in all, we were sceptical about what the bread would turn out like. However, the bread dough was made and kneaded until silky smooth, then left to prove. After 1/2 hour it hadn't grown. After 1 hour had passed Jon was smelling a rat. He double checked the tin of yeast we had bought from Ecomarche a few days before and, after a quick check on the Portugese translation, realised that it was not yeast, but baking powder.

We could have waited all day and it would have just sat there like one of Lovecraft's slumbering monsters.

All was not lost, the dough became flavoured flatbreads, one was made into basil and tomato, another became cheese and Marmite, and the third became cheese and mustard. They're harder/denser but will do for emergencies if we freeze them. Though, in actual fact, the basil and tomato didn't last much past tea time.

During the bread fiasco Jon made lemon curd, and we'll be sampling this for breakfast.

We also made our first visit outside our cosy home after dark. It got dark about 8.30ish last night as it was quite overcast during late afternoon. While the nights are definitely drawing in, we usually have light until 9 pm.

Jon drove carefully up the dark curving lanes and we eventually arrived in Oliveira do Hospital, where we had arranged to meet fellow geocachers. Team Fafnir are prolific in this area, and while we were back in England we were in contact with them - they offered to buy us a drink when we came over. Nuno and Reta were absolutely lovely people, and we hope to meet up with them again in the near future. Nuno teaches information technology, so we had that in common as an interest, as well as being crazy geocachers.

Today we have a drop of wet stuff falling from the sky, that we remember as being "rain". It's a welcome sight now as the ground is thirsty. This time of year the water reserves are encouraged to build up to help support the hot summers - there are two large water butts here that capture the rain from the roof. We will be logging when it rains etc, as this will help us look back on this record next year and help with our long term plans. And besides, it wouldn't be English not to mention it!