Adventures in Sourdough

I've begun a sourdough starter.  What a learning opportunity (have I mentioned I'm the kid who liked school?)!  I've enjoyed researching the topic and I've enjoyed working with the sourdough.  I have pictures of two of the items I made.  The most beautiful, I forgot to photograph. :(

After much consideration about whether or not to start my own, obtain one from a local source or purchase from a company, I decided to purchase from King Arthur Flour.  It arrived 11 days ago and I've been playing with it ever since.  I really had no idea how much attention a starter is "supposed" to receive.  That being said, I've been able to give it attention and make some delicious items while working full time.


The first thing on the agenda, classic sourdough boules.  The recipe makes two, but I"m only showing one because it looks so good.  As we all know, I'm not an experienced food blogger and my pictures reflect that.  I think they turned out pretty well for my first attempt.  They were (cause they're gone) crispy and firm on the outside, with a satisfying thump.  The inside was moist and it had a good chewiness.  The only down side, was it lacked the sourdough tang.  It was really tasty, but did not have the tangy-ness you might expect when eating sourdough.  So, more research.

When feeding the sourdough, you discard half of the starter with every feed.  That's a lot of waste, which is disturbing to me, so recipes to use the discard became a priority. Luckily, there are lots of them. Obviously  I'm not the only person who thinks it's crazy to pitch half the starter. These waffles are one of the discard creations.  I hope the picture does it justice.  They were a caramel color, with the crispness and loft that makes waffles so appealing. In addition, these had that sourdough tang! Awesome. The waffle mix is a two step process, where you begin the night before and leave the 'sponge' on the counter till morning. Sounds intimidating, right. Starting them the night before was no big deal and finishing them this morning for breakfast was super easy. The best part is the dough bubbles and rises, when all the ingredients are added in the morning and it's fun to watch. It's also much lighter than my previous recipe, creating a light, crispy waffle.

I'm pretty excited about this sourdough adventure and this morning I'm going to make new boules with the starter testing some adjustments I've made to bring on the tang. The waffles give me hope.

Happy Saturday!

A thought to ponder this day...

Today is my son's birthday. Each birthday of my children is this wondrous moment to celebrate what were the very best days of my life. Meeting my kids face to face for the first time was magical and empowering and humbling in a way that is like nothing else I've ever experienced. It's an everyday miracle to be a parent.

As I was posting birthday love on fb this morning, I found this quote and I wanted to share:

“...if anything matters then everything matters. Because you are important, everything you do is important. Every time you forgive, the universe changes; every time you reach out and touch a heart or a life, the world changes; with every kindness and service, seen or unseen, my purposes are accomplished and nothing will be the same again.” William Paul Young

My List...

I finished my list. I woke up this morning inspired, which is the best time to do anything.

When I first posted about making a new list I thought I'd whip it right out, but each time I'd start, I ended up not writing anything or jotting one thing. Then I made a long list of anything that popped into my head, but that didn't feel right either. So, in the end, I took a step back, letting the ideas process in the back of my mind and then this morning I woke up and I was ready! I love it when that happens.

I ended up with 6 things on my list. It's a good number. How are you doing on your list? I thought I'd share some of the things on my list, for those who might be curious:

Work that is satisfying, rewarding and creative.
New windows for the house.
To be love.

“One word frees us of all the weight and pain of life: That word is love.” Sophocles

Sandwich topper

In researching fermented and pickled food online, I discovered this blog entry with a simple refrigerator vegetable pickle with a Vietnamese twist. It looked so good, I had to try it. The picture is my version. I actually made two, one in small jelly jar and the one pictured, which is a tall pint and a half. I'm admitting, right here and now, that I ate the entire little jar on my sandwiches last night. Embarrassing! But, they were different, delicious and crunchy and I could NOT Help Myself. Carrots, cucumber and daikon radish, in a sweet and sour pickle.

We had shredded chicken sliders, with the veggies as a topper. For me, the veggies were enough and I didn't add any other topping, though I think BBQ would be really good. The next time, and there will be a next time, I make these, I'm going to come up with some way to spice them up a little. They are good, but a little spice will make them great.

If you are looking for an easy and different twist, give these a try.  The most time is spent julienne-ing the veggies, but worth it.

Happy Sunday!

Science right in the kitchen

Who would've guessed, but there is science happening right in my kitchen.

These are the fermented foods from today: Another batch of sour pickles (yes, we totally love them), pico de gallo, garlic & dill carrots and ginger carrots.

If you look around the top of the carrot jars, you will see the bubbling action, which is the fermentation in process.  I'm using small glasses to hold them down. Though you can't see it, there is a small jar holding the pickles below the brine, too.

The pico de gallo is an experiment, I've been told it doesn't need to be under a brine. I'm cautiously optimistic. It smelled so freaking good that I had to make a second, small batch that I pretty much inhaled the moment it was mixed.

So, how is your list going? Did you make one? I started making one and then decided I needed a couple of days to ponder. Tomorrow is the day.

Tomorrow is also the day to try fermented ketchup. More science.

Also found on Pinterest:

Natural Abundance

This picture is today's harvested items. The last time I was in the garden to harvest was one week ago. Not an exaggeration. Last Thursday, I picked all the ripe veggies in the garden. Today I did the same. There are still more tomatoes and peppers out there - probably as many tomatoes as are pictured and even more peppers.

See the basket of grape tomatoes? All from one plant. And if you've been reading the blog, you know that I've already harvested a ton, which have been canned.

What's my point? All of these tomatoes and all the ones I've been picking since July are from just 4 tomato plants. Just four. One grape, one roma, two traditional. What's my point?

These plants illustrate the way life really is. Life is naturally abundant. If you disagree, I refer you back to the picture - remember 4 plants yielded all of this, in essence 4 seeds.

If life were not abundant, then a single seed would yield at most one fruit. As you can see, that isn't what happened.

Abundance is all around us, but when you are speeding through your day and your life, sometimes you miss it.  It's good to stop and take it all in.

This is a good thing to remember!

“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”

~ Eleanor Roosevelt