My Raisin Sourdough Bread

It pays to rise early. It pays to have a plan. I can get a lot done by doing both and still have time to doodle, scroll and nod off. I was up by 6 this morning and had my sourdough folded and molded and in the fridge to chill by 6:30. I will bake it at 12:30. Sourdough bread is actually very easy to do. There’s no strenuous kneading and all the rest that goes with it. It takes me a good part of a day to make 6 loaves of bread. And I’m pooped at the end of it.

With sourdough the process takes 2 days but the steps takes little time. I am free to do other things in between. I’m not wiped out at the end. After breakfast, I finished trimming the grass in the front yard and worked at cutting out some of those hated creeping bellflowers. I’ve decided it’s a futile job to dig them out. I am sure their roots are deep and goes all the way to China. So it’s trimming and mulching to keep them at bay. There’s no point in killing myself over them. I will save my energy to plant some tomatoes later in the day.

It is almost the end of the day. I’ve taken my father out for coffee at the mall. We did a little shopping at the Dollar Store. I bought 2 plastic containers to store my log cabin quilt strips. It pays to be a little organized. One container for darks and the other one for lights. I’ve been just piling them on the table and digging, searching through them each time. It’s a bit time consuming. Let’s see if I can get my shit together. I haven’t sewn a quilt block for awhile now that planting time is here.

My raisin sourdough bread turned out pretty fine. After one small slice, I want another. Having little to no will power, I give in. Why not, eh? It’s fresh out of the oven. I might be paying the price when I weigh in tomorrow. I did lose 1.8 pounds this week. I’ve been doing some heavy duty gardening this week, burning alot of calories. All is good. I really, really enjoy the bread. Could eat another slice but I won’t.

COOKING WITH JAMIE OLIVER

Photo by Ron Lach on Pexels.com

Thanksgiving is coming up this weekend. I’m in a bit of a dither about the menu as I am hosting our family supper together. We’re all contributing but I still get into a lather. I am not great at ‘putting something on’. I am not a great cook but I’m not a terrible cook either. I tend to cook by whim – throw everything into a wok and stir the hell out of it. I seldom cook by recipes, not that I lack cookbooks. I have a whole drawful.

I have a whole collection of Company’s Coming, a collection of simple cooking started by Jean Pare in 1981. I haven’t looked at them since about that time. Those are not my oldest. I still have Joy of Cooking by Irma S. Rombauer and Marion Rombauer Becker. I’m not sure how old is but it cost only $1.95. It’s a paperback. The pages are yellowed and the print is mighty small. I have one book from Breast Friends. I’ve used a few recipes for cookies once or twice. Then there’s the Milleton Hall Cook Book, a book of recipes from members of the farming community near where I grew up. I have yet to use it. I could go on and on with my list but my latest acquistion is Jamie Oliver’s Comfort Food a Christmas present a few years ago.

It’s a beautiful book. I want to make those fabulous dishes but then I read the ingredients and instructions. I wonder if anyone goes beyond looking at the beautiful photos. I brought it out a few days ago, thinking I could find something to make for our Thanksgiving table. Jamie Oliver does not make a simple anything. There’s herbs and spices I’ve never heard of. There’s sauces, cheeses and a ton of other stuff. Nothing for potatoes. I went online and found a recipe for scalloped potatoes with ingredients I do have. Not by Jamie Oliver but good enough. Then I searched for a curried squash recipe and behold, one by Jamie! It’s called Pumpkin, chickpea & coconut curry. It looks do-able and I have most of the ingredients. I will make these 2 recipes tomorrow for Sunday. It will give me time to make something else if I fail. I think I shall try one recipe a month from his Comfort Food book to improve my cooking skills as well as my brain. I like to challenge myself.