More of the same, added the 1/3 - 1/3. The goop is still looking glossy and bubbly, and smelling nice. However, I still see no sign of the elastic strands I'm supposed to get when I lift the spatula out of the mixture. It is feeling a little thicker when I stir it though. Tempted to try and do something with it, but that may be jumping the gun. Will probably be sensible and leave it until the weekend - no time to bake before then anyway!

Tags: bread, kitchen, projects
Current Mood: tired

Woot, I think it's doing what it should! I added the 1/3 - 1/3 ingredients again and also transferred the mix to a bigger jar (as I was running out of room). I think the bigger jar may have helped - more surface area maybe? Anyway, this evening the liquid (which was pooling 1/2 and inch thick on top in the small jar) is staying much more mixed in and there are nice little bubbles on top of the mix, rather like the surface of a pancake that's ready to be flipped over. I think it might be starting to get there. Now apparently I just "rinse and repeat" until it develops a stringy consistency when the spatula is lifted out of it, possibly rises a bit and starts to smell a bit like ripe apples.

Tags: bread, kitchen, projects
Current Mood: excited

From our Christmas trip up north. I took lots of photos of the tannery, printery and bindery but haven't done much labeling (to try and avoid showing too much bookbinding ignorance). ;-)

Photos here.

Info on Pompallier House here.

Tags: random stuff, travel
Current Mood: awake

At least some of my home garden garlic and spring onions have white rot. This is a bit of a disaster. This pathogen destroys these crops and can live up to 20 years in the soil, even when there is no host plant grown there. The wet-then-hot-then-wet-then-hot weather conditions we've had this summer have provided the perfect conditions for it to flourish.

I've got the garlic planted in three different spots and the spring onions are in two other spots. I've found it in two places so far (one lot of garlic and one lot of spring onions) - I'm really hoping it's confined to these places. What this means in practice is:

a) I'm going to need to start my garlic from new bulb stock next winter. Even if I get some of the crop surviving this summer, I can't risk it carrying the spores and spreading it to new bits of the garden next winter.

b) I'm going to have to get a whole lot more vigilant about tool hygiene and avoiding soil transference from one part of the garden to another. Any waste from these plants can't go in the compost, either.

c) I'm not going to be able to plant any alliums in the bits of the garden where I've found the pathogen.

All I can do for the current crop is avoid watering it and hope conditions dry out a bit. I think a fair bit of it's already a lost cause, though. Oh well, it's a good example to use in my Pests and Diseases assignment (gotta look for that silver lining)...

Tags: bhu, garden
Current Mood: worried

Today I once again added 1/3 C tepid water to my starter, followed by 1/3 cup flour. Stirred with rubber spatula until smooth, scraped down sides of jar. Not much activity going on in there yet - apparently sometime soon I can expect a certain amount of rising and bubbling, but all is quiet on the Western Front so far. Still smells nice and warm-flour-ish - no hint of nastiness so I'm hopeful it's just being slow to get going (which, from what mmy_me suggested, may be because I failed to use the "jump start" rye flour). It's all very interesting, anyway!

Mmmm, stir-fry with fresh garden courgettes, broad beans, runner beans, peas and carrots for tea, followed by a bowl of fresh-picked raspberries and (bought) vanilla icecream. I have not the icecream making foo (yet, anyway).

Soooo good...

Tags: bread, garden, kitchen, projects
Current Mood: sleepy

Today after its stirrings at 8-hourly intervals (between which the mixture settled into a clear layer on top of a opaque layer) my starter had small bubbles forming and a pleasant warm-flour-ish smell. This is apparently all good from what I've read.

I added 1/3 C tepid water and the mixture bubbled up a bit as I mixed it up. I then added 1/3 C more flour, mixed it in and scraped down the sides of the jar with a rubber spatula.

Now the lid goes back on and we repeat the 8-hourly mixing. Apparently it may start rising a bit between now and tomorrow.

A southerly has just come through. Quite a dramatic change from the hot morning.

Tags: bread, kitchen, projects
Current Mood: chipper

Sometimes you get a surprising amount done by just pootlin' around. This afternoon I've started my sourdough starter, made (bought yeast) bread rolls, watered most of the garden (still in progress) picked all the peas that went over-the-top while we were away and started them drying for winter soups, picked 6 cups of blackcurrants (not bad for a lil' two-year-old bush), picked and pickled a whole bunch of beetroot, scoffed handfuls of raspberries straight off the bushes (I was going to do something with them, honest, but they called their siren call...) and persuaded Holly for the first time in ages to get out of her hutch and get some exercise (Madame has been favouring her boudoir of late).

Now, what shall I do with my little blackcurrant harvest?

Tags: bunnies, garden, kitchen
Current Mood: hot

Today I've started the 10-day process of cultivating a sourdough starter - specifically, a French-style levain liquide.

There are lots of types of sourdough, not all of them sour-tasting. Many French breads are examples of non-sour sourdoughs. There are also lots of ways of cultivating a sourdough starter - I've picked one I liked the sound of but there are many methods out there. So, here we go!

Day One: Activate the Culture.

Put 2/3 cup water (bottled/filtered if you live anywhere other than Chch) and 6 tbsp unbleached stoneground flour in a wide-mouthed jar. (If you're feeling fancy half of this flour can be rye flour, but I don't have any.) Mix until smooth-ish. Put the lid on the jar loosely. (You can use a bowl and plastic wrap.) Let stand at room temp. Stir for 30 secs at 8 and 16 hours. This should start the wild yeast and bacteria doin' their thing.

Will try and post daily updates/instructions. :-)

Tags: bread, kitchen, projects
Current Mood: creative

I'm not sure I've ever actually made a New Year's resolution before. It's probably terribly unfashionable, but since when have I cared about that? So, having had a good thunk about it, I think my resolutions are to:

- continue my very imperfect quest to tread more lightly on the Earth. This encompass food (ethical, seasonal, local etc), transport, gardening and health choices, amongst others.

- stress less about the things which don't matter and take the time to enjoy and nurture the things (and people) that do.

- grow MORE vege!

- grow my own sourdough starter and learn to make sourdough bread and other sourdough baked goods. :-)

That'll do. I'd hate to get carried away. :-p

In other news, it's a very windy nor-west night - windy enough that the wind has ripped the catch off one of the lounge windows. Lucky the glass didn't break - the window was slamming open and shut quite dramatically.

Tags: random stuff
Current Mood: creative