It's Alive!

Soon after we arrived in Utah we went to an outdoor festival with local artists, food and music. My family has a penchant for hand made one-of-a-kind mugs. You know when a mug is right for you, it fits your hand perfectly and feels just right. I love the idea that it is made from the dirt of the earth, just like us. We made our way over to the potter's stand and I found a perfect cup for me. 

After I purchased my lovely cup the potter and his wife offered me some sour dough starter that has been alive in their family since 1891! I made bread with it a couple of times and then parked it in the fridge. Life got busy and I ignored my poor starter for a couple of months. Last night I decided to take a peek at it. Eek! It was not a pretty sight. There was a pool of grey liquid on top that smelled of strong alcohol. I poured off the liquid and fed it with flour and goat milk in the hope that it may come back to life. It did! I left it to feed overnight and in the morning it was beautiful, active and sweet smelling once again. 

I proceeded to make some pretty tasty sourdough biscuits with it. (That intensely purple stuff is wild blueberry jam I made a few days ago.) I am always amazed at the transformative quality of microbes. Keep feeding the good guys and starve out the bad guys. 

God created our world (and our bodies) to renew itself. It will, if we give it what it needs.  When we're in need of even greater transformation, that same God can give us a turn on his potter's wheel. He can take a rancid old thing and build it back up to glorious life again.


1This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2"Go down to the potter's house, and there I will give you my message." 3So I went down to the potter's house, and I saw him working at the wheel. 4But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him. 5Then the word of the LORD came to me. 6He said, "Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?" declares the LORD. "Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel. 
Jeremiah 18:1-6

Good Friday/Baking Day

I started baking for Easter on Good Friday (Bad Friday as my girls refer to it). I planned to do some on Friday and some on Saturday, but one thing led to another and I went and did it all. Here are my traditional hot cross buns that we have every Good Friday for tea.

Another tradition for me and my Polish Easter meal, the Babka. Babka baking is one of the best smells.

Hot Dog Buns, not exactly the usual Easter fare at my house, but I wanted to have something to take to church on Friday night. Something to share that's easy to eat. I don't have TV but I do have a couple of Youtube channels I watch faithfully. One of the is Kumigar, The Dancing Chef. I recently saw her make these. She calls them "Sexy Buns", for me they are just hot dog buns. Anyway, they're a handy portable snack. 

I make chick and bunny shortbread cookies each year, but this is the first year I am really happy with them. They are always good (butter, sugar and flour-what's not to like?), but never that perfect shortbread I've always been looking for. Until now. I think I have it. Everyone in my house has dubbed these the best so far. They are from my newest favorite tea book, Vintage Tea Party. It's really good if you want traditional tried and true British tea recipes.  It's visually inspiring as well. All of the ingredients are measured out on a scale, the European way instead of using measuring cups. Maybe that's why they came out better. I like the easy cleanup of using a scale, one bowl and no cups to wash. I'm considering converting my American recipes to ounces after spending years converting the other way around!

Really Good Bread

I have been making bread for a few years. I like a French sort of bread, with a good crust and chewy inside. I thought I made good bread. Then I picked up this book at the library, it's called Flour Water Salt Yeast by Ken Forkish. I already knew that to get that kind of crust you need moisture. I have tried spritzing the oven with water or putting a pan of hot water in with the bread. Whatever I did, it never came out like this. This perfect crust is achieved by baking at a high temp in a covered crock. I must admit, I thought Ken's methods were a bit pretentious at first. In fact I sort of mocked him as I read parts of the book aloud to my daughter (she also shares my love of crusty bread). Ha! I said. "Well, I'll be the judge of that", I said. The verdict is in, Ken is right and his methods produce not just good bread, but really good bread.