Gratuitous Swan Photos

Storm's Coming

The Saga Of The Sourdough

I made the whole wheat sourdough bread on Tuesday. If you remember, I started this project a week ago. I did get a little frustrated working with the starter - the constant feedings, the schedule, etc. I decided to start with a fairly basic recipe, so I made the "Pain au Levain with Whole Wheat" from King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking. The recipe is simple and it contains a tiny bit of honey. I do like honey.

The sourdough dough is a bit fussy. From what I've read, this is true of most wild yeast breads and it is compounded by the extra rise time that many whole grain breads require. I was sorta prepared for that, since I normally make whole wheat or multi-grain breads. But, this took all of that to a new level.

After the almost-week of preparing the starter, it was time to mix things up. The first step is to mix the levain (the starter) with the flour and water and letting it rest for about 20 minutes. Whole grain breads tend to need this rest period for autolyse.


After many rests and folds (sort of like punching down the dough), it is time to shape the loaves for their final rise. Wet doughs like this one are typically placed in a brotform. I lack one of these wonderful contraptions, so I do the common improvisation of lining a bowl with a cloth towel that is well floured. This recipe makes two small loaves. I didn't have two bowls with the same shape/size, so I saw this as a chance to see what works best. I used a medium pyrex bowl and a tall metal colander.

Two and a half hours later (these things take longer with this type of bread).

The bowl had a flatter, larger base whereas the colander was narrower at the bottom, thus creating a taller loaf.

You can sort of see it in this picture, but the height difference really isn't as apparent. The dough on the left is actually taller. One observation: At this point I was annoyed by the time spent and all of the stops and starts with all of the different rests and rises. The result is that I hurried to get the loaves in the oven. I didn't brush off as much of the loose flour as I should have. I also did a lousy job of slashing the bread, something I normally enjoy doing. I'll admit it; I like using super sharp blades.

Yeah, the one from the bowl is just flopping shapelessly, where as the more upright colander formed a sturdier loaf that is also the prettier of the two.

Note the aftermath of the bad slashing technique. Also, had I properly brushed off the excess flour, the loaves wouldn't be so white. Instead, a light flouring would have produced a caramel-like color.

Obviously, I can't eat this much bread at once so one loaf is destined for the freezer.

The crumb isn't too bad. This is the flatter loaf, by the way. Now if I had just done something about that white powder - it reminds me a little too much of confectioner's sugar and that isn't something I like to associate with bread. Plus, it leaves my cutting boards and counters messy.

Some strawberry jam seemed appropriate.

It is very tasty. I definitely like it. However, it reminds me of another bread recipe that I've made in the past, a recipe that is significantly less work. If I make this again (and I very well might), I think that I might try to make one larger loaf. The bowl shape might work better with more dough in it. These loaves aren't big, so the amount of dough in that bowl really didn't fill it as much as it could have. I would rather have a taller bread because it is easier to deal with when making sandwiches. I can always cut a larger loaf in half, freezing one half for later.

Swan Update

The swans came by the dock yesterday evening, so I took a few more pictures. This one shows what I think is one of the most interesting aspects of their behavior. You can see that the swan in the top left corner has its leg tucked under its wing and sticking out the opposite side. They do this sometimes, and I'm not sure why. The first time I saw it, I thought something had happened to the swan, but then it put its leg back in the water. I am not this flexible.

Here's a picture of the cygnets up-close.

This next picture shows the swan version of baby wearing. They were pretty far out when I took this picture so it is hard to see, but the little white cygnet is actually resting on the back of the parent, between the wings.

This pair of ducks regularly stops by the dock. I'm assuming it's the same pair - they stop by every single day, sometimes more than once. I'll be looking out towards the lake and see them swimming near the dock. Then, they sit in the water for a minute or so facing the dock. Then one flies up onto the dock. Once it is settled, the other flies up onto the dock. It would be much more amusing if they didn't leave little "presents" after each visit. The dock is a duck toilet.


I caught this one by accident.

Does This Mean It's Done?

Clearly, I'm easily amused.

Monsters Of The Shallows

Music Meme

Maude tagged me for the music meme that's been going around. Here are the rules:

List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they're not any good, but they must be songs you're really enjoying now, shaping your spring summer. Post these instructions in your blog along with the your seven songs. Then tag seven other people to see what they're listening to.

This could get strange. I've been regressing a lot lately, music-wise.

1. "Since You're Gone" by The Cars ~ For some reason I always end up listening to The Cars at the beginning of every spring/summer.

2."London" by The Smiths ~ Like I said, some serious regression here, but it has a good beat!

3. "The Love Cats" by The Cure - Getting worse, isn't it? ;-) I almost listed "Why Can't I Be You." It's been in the running lately.

4. "Wave of Mutilation" by Pixies

5. "Rock Lobster" by The B-52's ~ Only because I keep hearing it on my satellite radio and can't pass it by. Actually, I think I can blame xm for instigating a lot of this.

6. "She's Electric" by Oasis ~ OK, this just makes me laugh.

7. "Know Your Rights" by The Clash ~ I really have absolutely no reason or excuse for this. It just popped into my head the other day and I needed to hear it - several times.

(I'll ask y'all not to mention the fact that I was listening to old Kate Bush the other day)

I think I have now thoroughly embarrassed myself. I'm not tagging anyone because, to be honest, I'm too lazy. That, and I completely forget who has and who has not done this meme. So, if you want to, go to it!

Accountability Blogging

This isn't all academic:

• Feed sourdough starter before bed (it is just after midnight) Done
  
• Wake up and prepare for the day Done
  
• Prepare to make the whole wheat sourdough! Done
  
• Between rests and rises (for the dough, not me) sort through dissertation files related to historical backdrop for the diss Should still do more, but there was progress
  
• Take note of what was left out of the introduction to this material in the diss and see what needs to be included, left out, explicated, etc. See Above
  
• Bake the bread Done
  
• Prepare for next day's dissertation work Close enough
  
• Read more Vanity Fair Soon
  

Photo Mosaic Meme

I was tagged by elle to do this mosaic meme.

The rules from Aaminah:

a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker.

1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One Word to describe you.
12. Your flickr name.

Here's mine:


I tag anyone who wants to play!

This And That

It's been a semi-busy week here at the lake. Now, since there is a ladder attached to the end of the dock you might think that we swim in this area. No.

This is the scene down below. What? Just a few little weeds, you say. Maybe, but you'll also sink to somewhere between mid-calf and your knees if you decide to step in that muck. For sandy beach-like lake bottom, a person can either take a tube or a raft quite a bit straight out, or boat to a lovely area nearby (close enough to peddle boat out).


But I haven't been swimming this week. It was actually a bit chilly out, and the days it was warm it rained.

So, I did some dissertating (not enough). I put my last bookshelf together, so now my books are corralled and I feel like I have some sense of order around me. I ran to the nursery for my dad, who couldn't find any green bell pepper plants anywhere in the parents' town. Of course, I had to pick up a couple goodies for myself. This sage plant needed a home. I took the picture right after I transplanted it, so it looks a little sad, but it is now healthy and settled.


I also decided that this oregano plant needed a home. Granted, it's a home where it will be snipped of its fragrant leaves, but that's the way it is.


And, here's a quick update on some of the other plants. Actually, they are all bigger now than they are in these pictures. I took the pictures on Wednesday, and we've had lots of sun and intermittent rain since then, so the tomato plants in particular have just exploded. They both have buds or blooms now.



My sourdough starter seems to be active. I'm going to try it out on Monday or Tuesday. Unless this is so spectacular that I'll want it all of the time, I don't think I will be doing this regularly. Keeping the starter fed on schedule is a pain, to be sure, but what really annoys me is how much waste there is in the process. For those who haven't made a wild yeast starter before, it involves getting rid of part of the starter every time it gets fed. Of course, that waste could be used to grow more starters, but that could get out of control for home bakers like me, especially since I am baking bread for myself alone.

Of course, I couldn't wait for the sourdough starter before having some homemade bread. I used to make yeast breads a lot, but I haven't for several years. The kitchen in my apartment was minuscule. Not only did I lack counter top space to work, but I also didn't have room to store different flours and other essential ingredients. I thought I should start out with something basic, so I decided to make half a recipe of the pain de campagne in Peter Reinhart's The Bread Baker's Apprentice. Here's the pre-ferment resting the night before.



I had forgotten how much I love kneading dough. I need to remember what dough is suppose to feel like at the different stages of gluten development. Some of it came back, but I second guessed myself a time or two.


Of course, the best part is the final product. Mmmmm...bread!



I love bread, but I'm also terribly picky about what breads I eat. When I was a kid, I wouldn't eat bread. This was not so wonderful for the parents packing my school lunches. I didn't realize that I did like bread (aside from homemade - I'd always eat that) until visiting relatives who, during that decade, would have been considered health nuts. My aunt made a sandwich for me and, since I was 17 and reasonably polite, chose to eat it despite the presence of bread. I liked it. I started to realize that it wasn't bread I disliked, it was the horrendous white wonder bread-type breads that pervade midwestern supermarkets throughout my childhood. Even the alleged wheat breads were basically the same thing, only brownish.

It wasn't that I hated bread; I just had a sophisticated palate. Well, maybe. I like real wheat breads and multi-grain breads. I like homemade white breads. When I studied in Germany and Austria I was in bread heaven - there were corner bakeries everywhere! I think that what I don't like is the hyper-processed mass of preservatives that some people call bread. I know of a bakery for one of these alleged breads that people say they love to go by because of how "good" it smells. When I go by it, my stomach turns. Seriously. It doesn't smell like bread to me. I think I must be sensitive to all of those other ingredients that aren't really food. That's the only explanation I can come up with.

Wow. I didn't mean to go on about bread like that. And I have to say, I've been ridiculously domestic lately. Something is very wrong. Still to come, a Vanity Fair reading update!

Sometimes People Are Stupid

It is raining right now. While I haven't actually seen any lightning, there has been a whole lot of thunder.

So, why are there idiots out on the lake, making no movement towards shore, waiting around under their canopies like giant lightning rods on the water?

Current Projects (Aside From The Diss)

Project One: Tackling the stack of books I own but have not read. Tonight I will start reading Vanity Fair. I bought it with every intention of reading it, but then I got busy and then distracted and then other books caught my eye. Yes, I am fickle and easily distracted by shiny new books. I've decided to read it slowly, as it was meant to be read. This means that I might be reading other books during this period. Of course, if I get caught up in it, this plan might not work, but I think it will.

I do this with other books, particularly the ones I read to keep up my German. It isn't because I'm not engaged with the book - I choose fun children's and YA German novels to read. By reading slowly - a chapter a week or a chapter a month - I get more mileage out of the book. They can be expensive to buy since I choose fairly recent books that aren't readily available at the library. Sometimes I can locate used copies that ship from the US, but more often than not I end up using Amazon.de. Anyway, the pace is fast enough for me to remember where I am in the text and keep up with the language. It isn't as good as practicing every day, but it helps.

Project Two: I am experimenting with a whole wheat sourdough starter. I've made plenty of pre-ferments in my day, but this is my first try at homemade starter. I mixed my first batch of flour and water tonight, covered the container, and set it on the counter. I'll keep feeding it the next few days and hope that bubbles start to appear. If they do, there might just be a picture. If not...well, I suppose a container of flat flour and water mixture isn't all that exciting. Here's hoping the wild yeastie beasties get to work! Yes, I said yeastie beasties - that is what I call it when baking with the kidlets. I like to remind them that yeast is a living organism.

I'm thinking of trying out some beer bread recipes, too. Lately, I've really been craving naan, too. I've never made it and I don't know if I could do justice to the wonderful examples of it I have consumed in the past. So many bread varieties, so little time.

Swans and Cygnets

Here they are! Not long after I wrote the previous post, I looked out the window and saw the swans by the neighbor's dock.

It was hard to get pictures of the cygnets. They stayed close to mom and dad and were constantly in motion.



When observing and photographing swans, it is important to remember that they are very territorial. The swan does not recognize the dock I am standing on as mine. Rather, it is an obstruction in the swans' feeding ground and I am an intruder. They leave the neighbor's dock and move towards me.

Very quickly! I'm backing slowly off the dock towards the shore, but they keep coming. If they are true to form, that is the cobb leading the way and the pen following with the cygnets. The swan did hiss at me. I kept my distance - swans aren't just territorial; they can be downright aggressive.

Pretty as they are, I did not want that coming any closer to me than necessary. An angry swan can do some damage.

Some Photos

Here is the view of the lake.



There was one lone dandelion that survived my father's attempt at chemical warfare, but my mother pulled it out of the ground the day after I took this picture.



These are my plants on the other side of the house, by the channel.

The pink brandywine tomato

The black krim tomato



Basil



Rosemary


Some bell peppers (the first two)


Parsley and Thyme on the patio (they require less sunlight)



Today I made corn muffins! They will be tasty toasted with honey for breakfast! I made them with white whole wheat flour to raise the level of whole grains. Even if you aren't fond of whole wheat, white whole wheat isn't as strong and the cornmeal flavor tends to cover it, anyway.





I also roasted a chicken. It is the best, juiciest chicken I have ever roasted. It was a natural bird - it wasn't injected with stuff like some are - so I need to figure out just what I did to get this result. I suspect that it is because I covered it sooner than normal because I really didn't care if the skin looked "presentation ready." (I realize it would have been prettier if I had trussed it, too.) Oh, and you know how know how you shouldn't go to the grocery store when you are hungry? Well, I did and I think that is the only reason why I ended up with a 6 1/2 pound chicken! Much bigger than necessary - this should last a while.


I used these freshly cut and rinsed herbs for flavor, along with some kosher salt and pepper.



I love having fresh herbs to cook with. At the grocery store, one package of fresh herbs costs more than one of my plants, so it is nice to have room for a few plants.

And yes, I have pink counters and gray cabinets. The cottage was built in 1956 and the kitchen's color scheme reflects that.

In other news, there are two swans that regularly make a pass by the dock. I keep meaning to get a picture of them. Today, I discovered another reason to get a photo. While I was cooking, I looked out the window and saw them swimming by. They were further out than some other times, so I didn't run out and try to get a picture, but then I saw something else. I pulled out the binoculars and saw a baby swan! And then I saw another one!! Two baby swans!!! There will be pictures as soon as I can get some decent ones.