Tag Archives: sourdough

TUESDAY MORNINGS

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I’ve come to love my winter Tuesday mornings. I look forward to playing Wordle and Spelling Bee each morning. On Tuesdays I have an added bonus of an online class on Canadian history. Contrary to my previous belief that Canadian history is boring, it is very exciting and interesting. Tuesday mornings I also do my sourdough bread. It wasn’t ready for the oven today but it was still wonderful to feel and shape the dough. It was soft and alive in my hands. It sits chilling in the fridge, waiting for the morrow.

Now I’m basking in sunshine, tapping out my words on the keyboard. What makes a good day is having something to look forward to – anything that tickles our fancy. It tickles away those early morning aches and pains. If not, it makes them bearable so that we can get on with the day. It is still January. The forecast is for above temperatures of 4 – 6℃ above 0 next week. I’ve detached myself from much skiing this winter. There’s not much snow. The tracks are not good. I’m very happy to say that my plantar fasciitis is almost gone but it would be wise not to over tax my feet and ankles. So I’m cool.

It looks like we might have an early spring. It is not too early to think about starting peppers and eggplants. They take a long time to mature. I can think about germinating some snow peas. They like it cool. So do radishes. It is almost February. Soon I can take my lettuce into the greenhouse. I can device a little greenhouse in the greenhouse for them. There’s so many things to experiment with. We are only limited by our imaginations.

Here’s my effort in reworking my tree painting. Not sure I like it but I understood the rational in using the reference photo and I grew to love the photo. It taught me the rule of thirds, to paint background first and then the tree trunks and branches. I might rework it again. I can do that. It is acrylics.

Trees – original
Trees – reworked

Day 23 – the Ultimate Blog Challenge

NO SUCH THING AS FAILURE

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Guess what I did this morning? Last week I started making sourdough bread again. It was so successful I’m making Tuesdays a sourdough bake day. Not to waste a hot oven I decided to do my regular whole wheat loaves, too. I made the dough the day before so it would be ready this morning. My idea was to bag the dough and put it in the fridge overnight. I had previous experience of knowing that the dough still rises in the fridge. I thought putting it in a ziplock bag plus fastening it with elastic should contain it. Wrong! The expanding dough broke the elastic and was trying to ooze out of the bag. So I squished it down and tied it up and put it in the freezer overnight.

Nature calling at 3:30 am got me out of bed. I remembered my dough and got it out on the counter. It was thawed when I got up at 7. I did give it some time proofing in the oven. And then some time on the counter. But it was a BIG ball of dough, slow to warm. I decided to put them into 6 loaf pans. They sat for an hour while the sourdough was baking. My raisin sourdough came out just perfect. It slid out without a hitch onto the rack.

I can’t say the same for the whole wheat loaves. They are smaller and denser than normal. But they are not terrible. We usually toast them anyways. They will be equally filling. It was not a failure either. I am learning about chilling and freezing dough. I shall try some different tactics next time. It’s nice to be able to make bread over a couple of days.

This sourdough was half white and half whole wheat flour. It stands up better. The white was wetter and looser, harder to handle. I will try some spelt flour next time. There’s much to experiment and learn. So ends day 16 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge. I missed yesterday. I was tired. It’s good to take a rest. It’s not I must, only I must not miss two days in a row.

NO TURNING ON A DIME

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Photo by Creative Workshop on Pexels.com

It’s a balmy -26℃ outside now at almost 6 pm. The temperature is slowly warming up though this morning Environment Canada still recorded -36℃ and with wind chill, it was -50℃. It was no wonder I couldn’t turn on a dime today. I couldn’t quite get with it and wasted the morning away. I never got lunch made till 1 pm. Now I am sweating the small stuff and writing for day 14 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge.

I just have to listen to my body sometimes. When it doesn’t want to listen to my mind, there’s no pushing. Am I making excuses? Possibly. Some days are like that. More days than I like. I haven’t been totally idle. Sunday is when I go over to my parent’s and do the vacuuming and whatever they let me do. I was suppose to supervise my mother’s bathing, too, to minimize risk of accidents. That lasted only a couple of times. Then she would do it before I got there. Now she’s bathing the day before. Well, what can I do? She is spunky with a mind of her own.

I got another sourdough bread in the making. This time half white flour and half whole wheat with raisins. I will have to pull the dough a few more times and let it sit in the cold oven overnight. Then tomorrow I will prep it to sit in the fridge will Tuesday. Then it will be bake day.

I start my acrylic painting class Friday. I am a little frazzled looking at my material list and gathering everything together. I am not excited yet. Just thinking, Why the hell am I doing this?

PASSIONS – Sourdough & Learning

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I am having an almost perfect day. I started the morning at 7 with kettle on the stove for a cup of tea. Then I got out the sourdough loaf that was chilling in the fridge. I dusted the inside of the cast iron Dutch oven with cornstarch before transferring the dough into it. Next, I scored the loaf, covered the Dutch oven and put it on top of my cast iron pizza pan. It all goes into the oven set at 450℉ for 55 minutes. That’s right. I started everything cold. No preheating anything. Saves energy and it turned out great. By 8 it was done and so was our breakfast.

The pizza pan underneath the Dutch oven somehow prevents the bread from sticking. The loaf came out pretty slick and allowed to chill. It made for a healthy tasty afternoon snack. It is my most successful sourdough. It is my first white flour loaf. Next one I try will be half white/half brown.

Baking bread is a wonderful to start the morning. The chill of the morning is warmed by the oven and aroma of bread baking. It was a perfect setting to receive my first online class titled: From First Among Equals to Elected Dictator: A Political History of. Canada, 1867- Present. Instructor: Dr. Jason Zorbas. Dr. Zorbas is an awesome lecturer. His classes are always filled. It is an in-person one as well as being on-line. On-line is a good option for me. I don’t have to run to catch a bus to the university. Parking on campus is difficult. I am finding, to my surprise, that Canadian history is très interesting.

PANCAKE SUNDAY

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It’s 10 am Sunday. 5℃ outside, 9℃ in the greenhouse. It was 4.3℃ at 7:30 this morning. I can leave things uncovered at night. But it would be just my luck that the temperature would plunge if I did that. I will be patient and careful till April. It will be good exercise walking back and forth to the greenhouse now that my ski season is over. I will keep up with the routines to keep my head and heart healthy.

Sundays are for bacon, eggs and sourdough pancakes. For a moment I had thought today was Saturday but then I remembered our breakfast. Where would we be without these time reminders? And Saturdays used to be swim mornings and breakfast at A&W after once or twice a month. Saturdays used to be dusting chores when I was a child. I had to do some laundry, too. That was before we had a washing machine. I learned to use a washboard and to rub the cloth between my hands. My mother was preparing me for when she had to go to the hospital to have my little brother. Even though my grandmother came to stay during that time, I was expected to do the chores.

My mother prepped me well for life. I know how to keep house, mend and sew, pay bills and not live beyond my means. I never had to cook though. I guess I learned from observation and trial and error when out on my own. Her passion for us was education. She made sure we had time for homework and studies. She only had the opportunity of Grade 3 in China but she never stopped learning. I guess I got the bug from her. If something catches my interest, I’m off investigating and experimenting. That’s how I got into the sourdough. It was a year or two before the Covid-19. It started with just a bit of water and flour. Thank goodness for Google and the generosity of people who want to share their knowledge. The little bits of water and flour grew and tranformed into loaves and pancakes. It’s somewhat magical. You can learn anything if you have a mind to.

A SLOW BAKE SATURDAY

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It’s Saturday morning shining down. I woke to a plus 1.5℃ in the greenhouse. It is now 2.9℃ and -3℃ outside at 9 am. I’m sounding like a weather station, aren’t I? I’m recording history, not trusting my memory. I’m at that age now where I have to put my medications in a pill box organizer. I’m at that age when tying my shoe laces and clipping my toe mails are also a problem. I have to rely on my wits and not my physical agility. Too bad I can’t have both at the same time.

Saturday morning. I used to go swimming Saturday mornings not so long ago. It’s a has been. Then I took up the skis. Now it will be another has been until next winter or the next snowfall. I wonder if I can be as enthusiastic and dedicated on a bicycle. I’m not skilled, agile or at home on it at tall. I even fell off a tricycle once. I used to walk Sheba every day. Now I’m walking my fingers on the keyboard. I’m still exercising.

It is Saturday morning. I’m slow but not quite at a standstill. I couldn’t talk myself into tackling my sourdough tout suite upon wakening as I had planned the night before. But it is divided, folded, shaped into 2 loaves. They are dusted with cornstarch, wrapped and chilling in the fridge. They will be baked after my regular loaves this afternoon or evening. It is going to be a slow bake Saturday. Now for my second cup of tea.

MORNING CONVERSATIONS

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Another morning, another second cup of tea. It’s warmer both in and out of the greenhouse. I’m very hopeful my tomatoes will thrive and bear fruit by June. I’m not exactly thriving. Another slow morning. I think I am a bit under the weather. I will give myself a break today and stay off the ski trails. They are not their best anyways. It has just been an outing to stretch my legs the last two days. Even the Wildwood Golf Course was a bust. I had a few almost oops! But the fresh air, open space and the sky was worth the effort. It was a little country inside the city.

I’m happy to find my way back to the keyboard. These morning conversations are helping me to start the day. They’re a help for my mental health. I can mutter away and not bother any ears except the ones that want the bothering. I can get things off my chest, brain storm and start a creative process. They also help me by keeping track of things, a journal of gardening, cooking and whatever I have been doing. They’re kin to Julie Cameron’s Morning Pages. I like to use whatever tools I find to make life easier and more fulfilling. I love learning.

I’m learning it works to talk myself through difficult tasks. I ask myself what is it that makes it hard. Then I ask myself to describe and do each step. I try not to label myself lazy anymore, that it is just my brain thing. Thus, my laundry is folded and most of it put away. I still have those idiosyncrasies where I can’t put everything away or quite finish a job. I can work on that. I’ve fed Oscar, my sourdough starter, readying for starting some dough this afternoon. I’ve been trying for the last couple of days but haven’t muster enough energy. Today is the day.

My brother has just texted me telling me that our parents got their first Covid vaccines. Everything was very organized. It’s a huge relief. The sun is up and shining right on the greenhouse roof. It is -5℃ outside and 1.8℃ in the greenhouse. I’m looking forward to a great day.

GUT AND BRAIN

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Thursday, January 23, 2020. It’s a sourdough bread making day 1 of 2 or 3. It’s a slow methodical process. So why am I doing it? Why don’t I bake the normal loaves? I do. It was during the July Ultimate Blog Challenge that I got on the ferment bug and gut health. First it was the kimchi. You can Google it and find tons of recipes. My favourite is this kale kimchi. Then I started making my own yogurt. After a couple of months of eating kimchi, I noticed that I was digesting the yogurt better. Somewhere in there I was introduced to sourdough by the Zero Waste Chef. This is the recipe I use from her site. The recipe is based on Michael Pollen’s recipe from his book Cooked.

Back to the why. It would be so much easier and less work to just buy it. But the thing is, I like learning and doing difficult things. It is good for my brain as long as I have the instructions in print. I learn everything best that way. I’m a dyslexic listener. Don’t bother giving me verbal directions or instructions on anything. I will stop listening after the first right turn. I will be lost from the get on. And I won’t be able to find my way home.

Almost the end of another day – day 23 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge. I’m still here, coming to my keyboard a little earlier. My sourdough loaves are formed and chilling overnight in the fridge. They are my 6th batch. My best ones so far. Morning will tell if I’m right. I’ve been investigating different recipes and websites and fiddling and changing the procedures a little. Bread making is flexible and forgiving. So far, no matter the outcome, the bread is always delicious. Life can be that way, too, if I let it.