Makin' Sourdough Bread

A few months back, I made some Sourdough Starter.  If you aren't familiar, it's basically flour, yeast, and a little sugar or honey.  And it's ALIVE.  Some people have sourdough starter that is decades old.  When you use it, you replenish it so that you never run out and the mixture gets more and more pungent and flavorful as time goes by.  You still have to "feed" it even if you're not using it in order to keep it alive.  It's like a gooey goldfish or a delicate houseplant (neither of which I have had any luck with, so who am I kidding?)  

Since its creation, my Starter is actually doing fine, so maybe it's harder to kill than I thought.  Every couple of weekends I pull it out and add a spoonful of sugar.  That's the food.  I also leave it on the counter at room temperature overnight when I feed it.  It doesn't like to eat the sugar unless it's warm.  

So far I have had great luck using it in breads and pizza dough.  I began with the basic sourdough bread recipe from my old Better Homes & Gardens cookbook but then I've boldly branched out and added some starter to some other recipes as well.  Recently I was gifted with a Kitchen-Aid mixer (thank you Missy and Kate! You guys are awesome!) and added starter to the (white bread) recipe that they suggest.  The results were perfect and sour-licious!

Today, I decided to make some sourdough bread, basic recipe again, but forgot to add the starter!  The resulting loaves were stunted to say the least, and sort of inexplicably yellowish.  I have no idea what happened there, just that the moment I asked myself "when was I supposed to add the starter?" it was too late!

This is the Starter.

Finished loaf!

It's definitely worth the wait.  

It takes more than 10 days to make the starter because the ingredients have to ferment.  Neat, huh?

How to make sourdough starter:

1 pkg. yeast dissolved in 1/2 c. warm water (105-115 degrees)

Stir in 2 cups warm water, 2 cups all-purpose flour, and 1 tbsp. sugar or honey and mix everything until it's nice and smooth.  Cover the bowl with a cheesecloth, then leave it on the counter for 5-10 days, stirring it a few times a day.  When that's done, you can put it in a jar and store it in the fridge.  When you want to bake with it, let it get to room temperature before you use it.  For example, I will take mine out of the fridge on Friday night or early Saturday morning if I know I'll be baking on the weekend.  After you use it (most recipes call for about a cup of starter) you replenish it by adding 3/4 c. flour and 3/4 c. water and 1 tsp sugar.  Stir it up and leave it at room temp overnight.  If you end up not using it and replenishing it regularly you just need to feed with a spoonful of sugar every 10 days or so to keep it going. 

 

Bathing in Olive Oil is gross

OK, so my new favorite soap is Kiss My Face olive oil based soap.  It is the most wonderful thing if you are like me and would rather not have overpoweringly scented products.  Ever since I started making my own cleaning products, I've decided it's kind of nice when something smells like nothing at all.  So, of course I wondered whether I could use pure olive oil on my skin instead of moisturizing lotion.  

"Of course," said The Google.  

Jeri Hall famously rubbed her pregnancy belly with olive oil to avoid stretch marks, remember?  All sources agreed that a couple of spoonfuls in my bathwater would soften my skin to the nth degree.  I got my olive oil and ran the bath water, carefully adding the "couple of tablespoons" to the running water.  

The events that followed can best be described as a public service.  

 It's one of those "I tried it, so you don't have to" moments.  

Do as I say not as I regretfully did.  

The first sensation is the smell.  It was so olive-oily that it attracted the dogs.  They obviously thought I was cooking up a big tub of mama soup.  Seriously, a couple of carrots, some celery, etc. would not have seemed out of place.  I kept having to shoo them away throughout the entire (horrible) process.

Step One:  I slid into the tub.  

LITERALLY.  

Apparently "a couple of tablespoons" is waaaay too much oil.  I made a mental note to try this again only with much less oil.  (Which I did by the way, and the results were similar enough that it's not worth discussing separately.)  

I remember taking baths at grandma's house when I was little.  Always there was a capful of Avon's "Skin So Soft" added to the water.  One reason for this, grandma explained, was to eliminate the potential for a grimy bathtub ring once you let the water out.  That did hold true with the "Skin So Soft", but what about with the olive oil, you ask?  

Oh my.  

The ring that was left around the tub was utterly disgusting.  Was I that dirty?  Of course not.  What was supposed to be a relaxing, skin softening and soothing activity became a slippery, dog shoving, gross gooey mess.  When I finally did make it back out of the tub and dried off, my skin did feel nice and soft, if a bit smelly.  I am not the biggest fan of olive oil, but a friend suggested that perhaps I've never had really good quality olive oil--that could very well be true.  

Anyhoo--I looked over at the tub in shock at the remains.  I think maybe I also shaved my legs while I was in there, so you can just imagine my horror.  If you have an enemy, a good way to get back at them would be to break into their house and bathe in their tub with a lot of olive oil and leave it.

I have blocked out most of the details of the cleanup but I know that I was scrubbing the tub for over half an hour just getting the goo out.  So gross.  And, yes, as I mentioned earlier I did try it again.  Sometimes I just don't learn the first time.  I'm just not that bright, I guess.  I kept thinking I just did something wrong.  Nope.  It was just the same regardless of how much oil was used.   

Here's me--sticking to showers from now on.

Put an Egg on It!

So... we have chickens and are always looking for new ways to use eggs.  I saw this cooking show once--it was Elie Kruger's--and she made this pizza that was basically this:  Crust, olive oil, then spinach.  

You then make a well in the spinach leaves and crack an egg into it.  

Then she put pancetta on top and a little cheese.  

We're vegetarian (except for the fish lately) so I put mushrooms on top instead.  You bake it and the eggs cook perfectly along with the pizza.  If you've never eaten  fresh eggs you have no idea how delicious those soft yolks can be.  

So, after making that style of pizza for a while, 

I thought I'd try some other ways to put an egg on it! 

Peanut sauce pizza with an egg on it!

This one had peanut sauce, mushrooms, and sauerkraut.  OMG it was sooooo good.  If you've never had peanut sauce in place of regular red sauce--seriously TRY it!  It's great!  That idea comes from FONG'S PIZZA in Des Moines which is probably the very best pizza I've ever eaten and there are endless combinations of sauces and toppings.  So good.  The sauerkraut is surprisingly delicious on a pizza--try it if you've never had it.  On this one I just spread the homemade dough (of course) on my rectangular baking stone.  That was just me being "lazy".  I didn't want to bother with making it round.  

I just realized that you can see in the photo the peanut sauce oozing out.  It is seriously making my mouth water.  I remember the taste of this pizza like it was yesterday.  Too much.  Whew.  Moving on...

Here was a frozen pizza that I added artichoke hearts and red pepper flakes and of course,  eggs.  It's funny that I used to marvel at those red pepper flakes on every table in pizza parlors.  I thought "Who would eat these horrible things????"  I was mystified.  

Now, I love them!  

Eggs are not just extra good on pizza--here's a time when I made "Beans & Rice"--a vegetarian staple, so I hear.  

I put an egg on it!

I like to pretend that I'm on a cooking show...

Here's how I made Beans & Rice that one time...

Onion, garlic, celery, carrot, some of those roasted peppers that I had in the freezer (see earlier post) sauteeing in some grapeseed oil.  

Then, I added some mushrooms (of course). 

Some tomatoes...

black beans and chili type spices like cumin, cayenne, etc.  

 

I used a premade blend.  Don't judge.

After it simmered with the spices I added the rice.

I cracked two eggs on top of the mixture and put the lid on!  I'm so excited!

The eggs baste themselves in the steam.  So pretty!

 

 Sour cream on the side is delicious!  

Tonight we put an egg on this freschetta pizza---->

It was so boring.  

Supposed to be spinach, mushroom, garlic.  

First things first--add more mushrooms.

And more spinach...

 Oops I broke one of the eggs.  

Oh, well.  It just looks stupid.  It won't taste stupid.

Don't forget the extra cheese!  Now since there are more toppings than the "box" knows about I added a couple of extra minutes to the baking time.  

Go until the eggs are done, 

the cheese is golden brown, 

and before the crust burns to a crisp.  

You'll feel it.

OK, I nearly burned the crust to a crisp, but let me tell you this was one fine pizza considering the tiny bit of effort involved.   

So good.  

Put an egg on it!

Makin' Super Cute Sweaters Without a Pattern!

So for the past several weeks, I've been attempting to knit sweaters without patterns!  I decided I wanted to knit a sweater with cables, so I went to Hobby Lobby and bought 3 skeins of "Fisherman's Wool".  Little did I realize just how much yarn those skeins contained.  As you will see it was enough to knit 2 sweaters!

SWEATER #1

I started by making a swatch of course.  That is always key, since the whole rest of the process relied on careful measuring in order to produce a really fitted garment.  After the swatch with my first cable pattern selection, I basically knitted a scarf and pinned it on the form.  This became my collar and front panels--a brilliant idea if I do say so myself!

I have no idea how to reorient this photo.  Here is the first piece pinned in place.

One thing I did here was to change the direction of the cable around the back of the neck, otherwise the two front pieces would appear to be going in different directions.

Changing directions of the cable by utilizing diamond shapes.

Then I knit two side pieces at the same time with 2 balls of yarn.  That way I did not have to keep track of how many rows I did, etc.  Both sides ended up the same length without having to think too much.  As I went along, I stopped often to hold it up to the dummy.  When I reached the appropriate length, I shaped the armhole.

I got creative with the back panel, trying to add shaping to the design which is quite flattering (I think) in the final product.

Shaping the back.

The sleeves use the same cable pattern, but are short--stopping at the elbow.  I love this length on me.

Sleeve detail.

I had the most difficulty in trying to set in the sleeve.  Measuring is so crucial here.  I ended up ripping apart 2 complete sleeves and starting over.  I finally made myself a paper pattern piece that fit perfectly and had success in fitting everything together.  Don't get me wrong, I had moments when I was sure it was going to just end up being a vest!

The final product.

I am really happy with the way it turned out.  My initial plan was to have a zipped closure with a deep V-neck, but when I went to the fabric store, I was really disappointed in their zipper choices.  I had really hoped for something "cuter" with an interesting pull.  No such luck.   It's never too late, though, so if anyone knows where to find more unique zippers, let me know!

SWEATER #2

So, like I said I had a LOT of yarn left over.  I started with a wide 4x4 rib at the bottom of the sweater.  My plan here was to knit a front, a back, and I would see whether I had enough for sleeves.  I love sleeveless tops, so it didn't really matter to me.  

The final product.

As you can see from the photo, I did a lovely criss-cross bit at the bustline.  I didn't have a proper edge, so it was actually rolling inward and did not look very good.  I knew I had to take care of that somehow, and I got the idea to add the narrow cable band.  I think it looks really cute!  It definitely adds a more polished look to the neckline.  If I had planned on doing it in the first place, I would have added a slipped stitch edge to aid in sewing it on.

Once I got that far, I tried to imagine what kind of sleeves would be cute.  I didn't have much of a design in mind when I started, just kind of made it up as I went along.  I thought short sleeves with a little keyhole would be adorable!  Here's the pattern piece I made:

Sleeve Pattern.

  

I actually did this sleeve twice too!  Ugh.  The first one I made was a bit too small.  No worries, it's just knitting, not rocket science.  I took it apart and tried again.  The sleeves turned out great!

I did a single crochet around the keyhole, then I did a skinny cable band and stitched that around the bottom of the sleeve.  Voila!  Super cute sweater #2!

I will also have you know that those two took every last bit of yarn I had--I even had to take apart my gauge swatch!  Although, is it a bit weird to have 2 sweaters made from the same yarn?  Well, too bad.  I've always been a bit weird, so I am fine with it. 

All in all, I am VERY happy with my creations!  What's better than making something you actually want to wear?

Homemade Yogurt

Ok.  I remember when I was in high school my mom tried making yogurt.  Honestly to this day I have no idea why she did it.   I decided that you sort of have to like the taste of PLAIN yogurt.  It's not sweet or fruity.  At best, it is a little like sour cream (the good stuff anyway).  I wanted to try to make my own, and here is my saga.

There were several attempts using a couple different methods.  Basically all you need to make yogurt is a little bit of yogurt and a milk.  Warm it up and keep it warm in order to jazz up the live cultures.  Sounds gross, I know.   And it is.

Here's what I tried...

#1.  The Crock Pot Method.  The directions said to heat up the milk and the yogurt starter, then turn off the crock pot and wrap it in a towel (to keep the warmth in) and leave it overnight.  Well.   I went to the health food store and bought a container of plain yogurt and a carton of goat's milk.  YES!  Goat's milk.  I thought, why not?  I'm already just being weird and experimenting, why not try goat's milk?  I love their cheese.  and yogurt.

When I re-read the recipe I'd found, once I'd gotten home with the goat's milk and began heating it up, I saw that it warned against "ultra-pasteurization" which the carton of goat's milk clearly boasted.  I still pressed on, followed the instructions to the letter, and ended up with the same thing I'd started with--milk mixed with yogurt.  Dammit.

#2  The Oven Light Method.  The idea here is that leaving the milk mixture in the oven with the bulb on will create enough heat to keep the cultures going.  For this trial, I chose regular (cow's) milk.  It was as "out of the ordinary" purchase for us as was the goat's milk.  I just figured that we'd get the best results from actual "milk".  I was wrong!  This did not thicken up like I expected real milk would.  Interesting.

#3  The Oven Light Method #2.  This time I used soymilk.  I was the most satisfied with the end result.  It was thickened much more than the regular milk.  My only critique of this one is that the yogurt does have a slightly sweet taste.  Even the original or "unflavored" soymilk does have a sweetness to it.  I prefer the least sweet version, and different brands vary.  My husband prefers the really sweet "vanilla" flavored varieties.

I love the idea of making my own yogurt on a regular basis.  I also tried the greek yogurt FAGE brand and am in love with it.  I want to put a little dollop on EVERYTHING.  So, if I can emulate that flavor, I'm in.  Otherwise, the sweet soymilk yogurt is fine, especially with a little fruit added.

Planting Garlic

Ok, I have no idea how some people can find the time to do their blogs.  

It's not as though I haven't continued living my awesomely blog-worthy lifestyle, it's just hard to take photos of it and then write something clever and such.  First of all, I cannot hold the camera still.  Second, for most of the time that I'm being awesome, there is no one around to witness it (hence the blog).  

Anyhoo--it looks like I haven't posted anything since November, so here's what I've been up to since then. 

In October actually I planted garlic.  Apparently October is the time to do it.

The LARGER the cloves on your bulb, the better.  Size DOES matter when it comes to garlic :)

I got a large organic bulb and planted the cloves, then did the same with an "elephant garlic".  I don't really do much cooking with the elephant garlic, but it's soooo good when you just give it a little drizzle of oil and roast it in the terra cotta thingy then spread it on some crusty bread.  

Here are my little cloves spaced a few inches apart in a raised bed filled with great compost-y soil.

Obviously, you're going to be on the edge of your seat until I harvest these guys.  I'll try to remember to update then.  I have grown garlic before with fair success, but when reading about it I learned I should plant it in October whereas I naturally might have done it in the spring.  I also learned that although I once let my garlic plants grow for more than a season before I harvested (thinking they would grow bigger) what I should have done was snip off the flowering part when it appears.  

The reason for snipping off the flowering parts is that the plant's energy would focus on the garlic bulb growing bigger.  

When I neglected to pop off the flowers, little "sets" formed near the base of the plant.  I think you could eat them or plant them too--they were like little round garlic cloves, but I'd rather let my bulbs grow bigger. 

Good Gravy!

Since Thanksgiving is approaching, I wanted to share with you my favorite vegetarian gravy recipe.  It's quick and easy to make and delicious too!

Here are the basics:

1/2 c. flour

1/4 c. nutritional yeast (from the health food store)

1/3 c. oil

1 1/2 c. water

3 Tbsp. Tamari

salt & pepper

Toast the yeast and flour until you can smell it.

Add the oil.

Cook and stir till bubbly.

Add the water and Tamari.  Whisk.

If it's too thick, you can add a little more water.

I LOVE IT.  Tastes like chicken (gravy).