Dining with the Bloggers - April 24th. 2007

At your service, it's Dining with the Bloggers, coming to you LIVE from Copenhagen!

Today, we're going to visit Susan. You probably know her as Farmgirl of the appropriately named Farmgirl Fare. She used to be a hardcore city chick, but these days, she lives with her donkey, dogs, cats and a herd of sheep (and a husband, no less) in Missouri. Farmgirl Fare is a foodblog, and then some. The most adorable stories about life on the farm, hilarious exchanges between chickens, gorgeous photos of farmlife and loads, loads more. I know there's a farmgirl hiding somewhere inside me, and there's no better place to live it out fully than at Susan's. If you don't know her already, you better get to know her - she's worth every minute.

The way Susan cooks is as local as it gets. Vegetables from the garden, beef from their own cattle - local and organic as far as possible. I know, it's probably a whole lotta darn hard work. But it also sounds fantastic. What I really love, though, are her posts on bread - as if raising sheep and all that isn't enbough, she's also building a small artisan bakery at the farm! And yes, I am a bread-fanatic, so of course, I'm eternally fascinated by this. If you're anything like me, you'll have to check out her tips on breadbaking here and you will have to keep an eye on Adventures in Bread, a site to which Susan is also a contributor. Her recipes are keepers - I've got the picture to prove it:

This is a version of her Oatmeal Toasting Bread. As the name suggests, it's got oats in it, and it toasts really well. Not that I think you need the toasting, 'cause even after two weeks in the freezer, it's still fantastic. Maybe the toasting qualities is what makes for this bread making the most fantastic croutons, though. It's a tad sweet and soft-crumbed, and I can't think of a reason why you shouldn't love this bread as much as I did. In mine, I left out the oat bran, and gave it a slow, cold rise, using less yeast. Oh yes, and I didn't have any old dough, so just used the variation without (and saved some for the next time, 'cause there surely will be a next time!)

Now, I'll wait patiently for Farmgirl's next bread recipe to be posted. I'm sure it'll be here soon... ;-)