Tag Archives: Tartine sourdough bread

Friday things

Posted in bread, camping, cooking, instant pot recipes, Uncategorized by

Well, let’s see. The week was dark and stormy( kidding … a reference to “Throw Momma from the Train”)! Actually it was pretty dark and stormy yesterday for the morning and then it lightened up by afternoon. Today it’s freezing this morning but sunny and should be a nice day with highs in the mid 50’s.

It was an okay week. I really felt depressed most of it but today I feel brighter.

I didn’t make bread this week so this morning I’m baking a couple of Tartine boules so that will give us some bread for toast or grilled cheese.

I only went to our Holiday market this week for a few things and I think I spent $45. I needed a gift card for our garbage guy and a holder and I bought an inexpensive bottle of Cabernet for him.

I also started writing out a list of projects for 2021 and where we could possibly go camping. Capitola for sure if the SB is open, Nevada Beach also. I’d like to get to Bodega to camp too. That’s usually booked way in advance since it’s right on the beach and all the big RVer’s want the spots. I might check that out today.

Last night I made a polenta lasagna and it was really good. I used the IP to make the polenta and then Rao’s sauce( which is in my opinion the best on the market.) Costco has the best deals on a 2 pack for about $10 something. Then I used grated mozzarella on top. We all liked it and I think because it was so easy, I’ll add to my menu rotation.

When I menu plan, I write up a menu for the whole month and then check off what I made. I also add in space for a new recipe so I can try something new. I also add in 2 nights of takeout. We already had the pizza this month so that leaves one left. Some months, especially with the pandemic, we didn’t do any take out at all.

Tonight is supposed to be pizza night but since we had that Italian polenta last night I’m going to bake the frozen nut loaf. I made some cranberry sauce from frozen cranberries and I’ll do some mashed potatoes and a veggie. that should do it.

Five on Friday( ok, it might be more)!!

Posted in bread, cooking, home stuff, minimalism, Political things, Uncategorized, Walking by

What a week it has been, but I think with Arizona now going for Biden officially, it’s a done deal.

Trump and his narcissistic personality just can’t admit defeat. Sad, really. Like a kid who just can’t/won’t grow up.

And how his loyal believers even think what they think is beyond me. Honestly, I think they are missing some DNA strand the rest of us have that filters humility, honesty, civility and on and on.

Well, on to this week. Today it’s supposed to rain and right now it’s cloudy but the temperature is nice, mid forties. Earlier things week we were at 32 degrees and it was freezing and walking was tough. The path had some ice and was tricky to navigate. We haven’t seen ‘the jerk’ so either he’s very early or on vacation. Either way, it’s lovely to walk with his frantic weird energy. As a matter of fact, there are 2 other couples that walk and they are so pleasant and nice with a “good morning” or “hello”.

I picked a small order from Walmart yesterday. Mostly we needed the small Coleman propane bottles for our “Buddy” heater which we use when we sit out on the sun porch and it’s cold. Walmart has the best prices with a 4 pack at $13.57. I picked a few groceries but not much.

I also went into Target for Christmas lights but they didn’t have the Target brand out yet, so the next day I did a pickup for them as it showed on the website. I did pick up some blue lights that we use throughout the winter on the outside by the front door. Right now the orange/fall ones are still up but I’ll have B take them done this coming week. I’ve moved most of the pumpkins away from the 2 doors and have put the small Christmas type trees by one.

I’m thinking of doing a bay laurel wreath for the front door as we have a nice big tree in the front yard that we planted when we first moved here so it is 25 years old. I will add a red ribbon.

The bread making frenzy continues and the loaves and my starter is doing great. Again, it’s truly the Tartine recipe that does the best bread.

Each recipe does make 2 loaves, so I just cut the second one and freeze the slices. Speaking of which, I knicked my finger cutting the top of the loaf the other day. Not a bad cut but the top of the loaves are very crunchy and so I bought these gloves so it wouldn’t happen again. so far they work great.

I dropped off a Goodwill load this week. No waiting this time. I guess the great purge of 2020 is over for now. They even brought a cart for you to put your stuff in. Before you had to take everything out of your bags and separate it. It was kinda a pain.

I also decided to take the TV in my office space off the wall and get rid of the DVD player there too. I bought( at Target) a quite compact Sony DVD blu ray for the DVD’s I want to keep. ( Shirley Valentine,I see you).

One of my absolutely favorite YouTubers is a young woman in New Zealand ,who is the most sincere person I’ve seen on YT yet. She is the ultimate minimalist and quite inspiring. Minimom really walks her talk and does not put out regurgitated stuff like some YT’s like Life at Home Taoist style who doesn’t even really know what a Taoist is.

Even though she(Minimom) is only in her 30’s with 2 small children she really puts it out there without the other crap. So it took her saying her house/condo was too small for 2 TVs and the light bulb went on for me. I don’t need that 2nd TV when I walk 20 feet into the front room and watch a DVD. We did need the new player though as this TV is newer than the old one and wouldn’t hook to old DVD player.

Anyway, if you are into minimalism and watch youtube, go to her channel.

On Edge!!!

Posted in bread, budgets, Political things, Uncategorized by

It’s Friday and we are still waiting for the results. Crazy.

All the articles in the Wash. Post about the Senate still having control is worrisome. McConnell, the asshole, will block everything. Is there any recourse?? I don’t know honestly, but hope someone can figure it out.

I think I’m going to tune out politics after the final tally and just go about my life. At least if Biden wins we will have some sense of decency back in the White House. I can hardly take another minute of trump and his lies, deceit, undermining democracy and on and on.

We watched V is for Vendetta last night. If you haven’t seen it, you should . It is frightening to see what can happen when an authoritarian /dictator takes over. The story is takes place in London but still relevant especially when it references ex-America.( meaning America as we know it no longer exists).

Well, on to more mundane things. We went to Costco yesterday and spent $500. But half of that was Christmas stuff plus beer for B and Z. I tried to get most of the stuff I needed that was on coupon and did well. I got a new Crock Pot that was $10 off, cereal, yogurt, Kodiak pancake stuff. All in all, I saved $75.00. So I call that a win. We picked up a tin of cookies for our post office and a container of Caramels for another gift. We picked up 2 sets of pj’s for B and Z and I got the new Ina Garten cookbook for Christmas. So really food ended up about $250 I’d say.

We have our first cloudy cool day in like forever and it’s a wonderful change. It was supposed to rain and there were maybe 10 sprinkles but at least it’s cloudy.

I’ve been going full board on the sourdough bread. I decided to go back to Tartine and yes, even though it takes longer, it is the best. I’ll post some pictures once they are uploaded.

Well, I’m off to anxiety land waiting….

Another sad day…

Posted in Blood test, bread, pets, pets,cats,dogs,, Uncategorized by

We lost Finnie yesterday.

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4BC83E01-6F8F-4B89-835A-B8DAA105BC0A.jpegAlmost a month exactly from when Ollie died. Finnie seemed to be doing okay. We took him to the vet and he did a round of antibiotics but over this last week he got worse. We’re not really sure what it was but he was acting very weird and then confused and not very aware of things. So we called the vet and he went to kitty heaven. It’s been a hard last 9 months with both dogs and now both our cats. The cats were 17 years old and were adopted together so maybe they were so bonded or something. Anyway, it’s lonely in the morning without them yowling for cream and food. I’m sure we will get some kitties down the road but not for a while yet.

I think pets teach us so much about life and death. Plus they are just present. A lot to be learned from that alone.

The weather is still blah. Not sunny not rainy. Just grey. We walked this morning and only the one other dog walker was there so that was nice.

My labs came in and it’s okay. My kappa light chains went to 110mg/L so an 18 point increase and Lambda went down to 12mg/L. Looking back over my labs since 2015 my Lambda never did go out of normal range but that’s because my myeloma is kappa. So now the ratio is up to 9.23mg/L  So going up.

I’m planning to not go down to Sac at the end of the month but the assistant said we could do a video conference so that’s what I’ll do.  Really nothing different is going to be said until he’s ready for me to start treatment.  Sigh:(

I’m going to make some cookies today and then move some pantry stuff. My order of flour should be showing up today. That’s a good thing as I’m starting a Tartine bread leaven and will need the flour tomorrow.

 

 

Simple Sunday

Posted in cooking, Flylady, simple foods, Uncategorized, Walking by

The smoke from the fire has mostly moved out and the air quality is better. There’s a slight breeze which may not be good later in the day as it warms up.

I’ve been to the gym and am now home thinking about what next to do. Here’s the zucchini bread.

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It’s a really good recipe and it did puff up. I thought it was way to little batter in the pans but it was fine. I will make another batch this week as I have more zucchini coming in. I may go get some mini loaf pans.

Then here’s the Tartine bread

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It had a great sourdough flavor. I have another batch in the fridge that I’ll bake up this week as well.

I’m in the kitchen zone this week so I may start that today and get the cabinets windexed.

I’m cooking chicken tiki marsala in the crockpot and then later I will do some tofu in a pan. I’m planning on cooking some organic long grain white rice with it.

We went for a lovely walk in the park this morning. I sure do miss my daily walks but soon enoughI’ll get back to a more regular schedule.

Tomorrow I’m excited to go pick up my flat of blackberries from a local farm. I’m planning to make jam on Tuesday.

 

 

sourdough bread

Posted in bread, cooking, simple foods, Uncategorized by

I’ve got a terrific starter going that I made in the fall. It has been really useful and flavorful.

I’ve made pancakes and two days ago started on bread. I make the bread using the ‘Tartine’   bread book.

It’s really an easy recipe ONCE you get past the scientific stuff. But it does take making the leaven,then the autolyse, then the first rise, and then the final rise in the refrigerator.  Then you can bake the next day. I use Banneton  bread proofing basket.

It gives a nice pattern to the bread and holds it in shape too.

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The flour lines are from the proofing basket..

I’ve been making bread for over 40 years off and on. I started with the Tassajara bread book and Laurels kitchen.  Most of my loaves back then were heavy and more like bricks. But we ate them anyway(most of the time).

Breadmaking is an art form, for sure. But the real trick is to just keep trying and making lots of bread because you do start to get a feel for the bread. I make a number of different breads. This is the sourdough but I also make a sandwich bread in a loaf pan. I start that using the Kitchen Aid and then let rise in the bowl. Then bake in a Williams Sonoma professional loaf pan.

One thing I’ve learned is to get the best equipment you can afford and get the right tool for what you’re making. It really does make a world of difference.