Where is the American Counterpart?

If you are reading this blog, odds are that you are aware of the grave economic situation looming over our country. You have an idea of how corrupt the American government has become. I, personally, am struggling with an answer to how we, as Americans, are going to overcome our economic problem and oust the government officials who have made it clear that our wants and desires as American citizens are NOT what they are voting for in Washington.

I am constantly looking for that ONE person who is going to stand up to this Administration and lead the Average Joe to victory in taking back our country before it implodes.

Where is the American version of Nigel Farage? Check this guy out:

Bosch Homemade Whole Wheat Bread Recipe

Enough with talking about Wifey's homemade wheat bread, here's the step by step recipe...

You will need:

• around 10 cups of ground flour
• 3 tbs Saf instant yeast
• 2 cups high gluten bread flour or 1/3 cup vital wheat gluten
• 3 tbs dough enhancer
• 2/3 cup honey
• 2/3 cup canola oil
• 2 tbs sea salt
• 6 cups warm water (~115 degrees)

She used her WhisperMill to grind her wheat. High on our lists of "wants" is a hand grinder, we just haven't found one we like that fits our budget yet.


WhisperMill filled with wheat berries.

View of ground wheat.

Added Vital Wheat Gluten

Added dough enhancer

Added yeast

Added honey

Added 6 cups of flour and salt.

Using Berkey filtered water for best taste, brought 6
cups of water up to around 115 degrees and added to Bosch.

Turn the machine to speed 1 and continue to add wheat flour only until the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl. When you can see the sides pull clean, as well as the dough coming clean from the bottom of the bowl, you know you have enough flour. Be careful not add too much flour.  The dough should be very sticky and does not come together at this point, but the bowl is clean.

Knead on speed 1 for 8-10 minutes or until the gluten has been developed. If you feel your dough is too dry, simply add a few tablespoons of water to moisten, always pulling the sides clean.  If dough starts sticking simply add a little white flour to take up the moisture.

Consult a YouTube video if you start to question whether
or not your dough looks right, like we did ;-)

Grease your bread pans. Wifey used a ziplock
baggy as a glove to spread butter.

Oil your hands, remove dough from mixer onto a slightly oiled counter, divide your dough into 4-5 large loaves depending on your pan size.

Shape loaves, and place in a well greased or sprayed (pam) pan, never use oil. Cover with a dry towel and let rise until dough has risen double or approx. 2 inches above the rim of the pan. This will take from 30 to 60 minutes depending on the room temperature.

Divide up the dough into five equal sections.

Put the dough in your greased pans.

Bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes, or until the inside temperature is 200 degrees. An instant read thermometer is very useful in telling whether your bread is done. Test after baking time is complete by taking bread out of its pan and pushing the thermometer into side or bottom of loaf. If not 200 degrees, place back in pan and bake another few minutes.

Cool on cooking racks before putting into bread bags. The recipe says the bread can be frozen up to 30 days without freezer burn but we've haven't had a loaf last 2 days before it gets eaten ;-)

Fresh out of the oven.

Bread fresh from the oven. Fluffy and airy. Delicious.

We bought our ingredients from a local store called Shar's in Gilbert, Arizona. This was the recipe they recommended and we are glad they did.  We've had red hard wheat and white hard wheat in two different batches. While the red tasted good, the white tasted better. I think next time we'll try more honey to sweeten the bread a little more.

How do YOU make homemade bread?

~OJD

Review: Remington 870 Knoxx Tactical

Stock photo of a Remington 870 Knoxx Tactical

First, the obligatory disclaimer: Everyone has their own opinion on which gun is the best gun for any given situation. The Remington 870P Knoxx Tactical happens to be my personal choice for home defense.  If you disagree, that's okay.  We CAN agree that A GUN is better than NO GUN for home defense.

Now, I did my research and read several opinions on which gun is best for my situation.  My situation being that I wanted a gun for home self defense.  I then consulted one of my best buds who is also a police officer.  He went through a website with me, gun by gun, and laid it all out.

After a short Q & A session, it was clear to me that the Remington 870 12GA was the gun I wanted.  My bud insisted on a few mods and advised me to never compromise on a gun. He said "There's a lot of things you can buy second hand for less money. Don't ever do it with your main weapons." 

He added a Knoxx SpecOps stock to add a great reduction in recoil.  A Blackhawk SpecOps Power Pack shell holder adds five shells to my 6 + 1 for a total of 12 shells. The black oxide finish make for a sleek and stealthy looking gun.

Shooting with my buds, wearing my "Hillbilly Gucci".

So far, I am VERY happy with the shotty.  At seven pounds, I can swing from target to target with little effort.  The weight also makes it fast from ready to shoulder.  This is a quality pump gun and I've put 200+ rounds through it so far with no problems. I like the pistol grip which allows for a quicker and more accurate follow up shot. The collapsable stock makes a huge difference in the recoil. 

I'll most likely be adding a SureFire Integrated Forend WeaponLight at some point in the future. It would be nice to see what I'm shooting at should there ever be an intruder in my house.  As this is my first gun, I need to spend a lot more time getting comfortable with it.  I will continue shooting with my police friends and taking in all the tips and tricks they have to offer. 

Which gun do YOU use for home defense?