Winning A Gift Certificate, Guest Post

I had a contest. I offered a prize, “$25 gift card to online retailer of your choice.” [Guess My Mystery Project]

The answer was Western Dressage. [The Mystery Project … Drumroll]

The closest guess was “Riding western.” [Guess, comment]. The winner was Meg McKinney. Here she is to tell us about it. Welcome, Meg.

Meg elsewhere on the blog, [Archives]. Photography website, Meg McKinney.

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The winning answer! Just as good as a blue ribbon!
Story and photographs by Meg McKinney

I was excited to learn that I won the gift certificate because I guessed the correct answer — Western riding lessons!

After reading about this challenge, I began to think – What have I never, ever heard read about in the blog, Virtual Brush Box (https://rodneyssaga.com)?

Hmmmmmmmm. Of all the many subjects – U.S. Pony Club, hunter-jumpers, saddle seat, carriage driving, American Saddlebreds, dressage, cross-country riding, feed buckets, geldings, mares, show jumping, side saddle, Rodney and Milton, horse care, chores, hay nets, art classes, photography classes, the blog itself, two Basset hounds – there still had to be something not blogged.

Think … think…. A-ha! Western riding – with big saddles, quarter horses, rodeos, roping, ground tie, neck reining, barrel racing, hackamore bridles, cowboy boots, chaps, the lope – I couldn’t recall any of these subjects in the blog.

The theme music for “Bonanza” came to mind and I submitted my entry.

Following notification, I had to decide where to spend my online gift certificate. This was too precious for run-of-the-mill-Amazon.

When paging through the King Arthur Baking website, and their The Baker’s Catalog, I daydream about creating wonderful foods. Any reason to justify a purchase – baking pans, sourdough starters, sourdough stoneware crocks, pizza stone, utensils, KAF flours, spices – will do.

Envisioning all manner of cooking and baking adventures, I finally narrowed my list to two items (adding a few dollars of my own) to the “King Arthur Baking Whole Grain Baking” cookbook and a red Heavy Duty Oven Mitt.

Upon arrival their arrival, I started reading the 600-page cookbook – and have a more chapters to look forward to — and selected Peach-Oatmeal Bread (page 57) for the first recipe to make.

I keep whole wheat flour, bread flour, and oatmeal on hand. I only needed a few ingredients from the grocery store, and then followed the instructions for mixing and baking.

It went like clockwork, and is both yummy-tasting and hearty, at the same time.

Checkout the kitchen photos – this oven mitt is probably the best one I’ve used yet.

More “Whole Grain Baking” is in my future.

With a red oven mitt, of course.

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