The Continuing Sourdough Saga

Here's where I stop counting the loaves... That last one was very tasty by the way. It was a tad under done, but made a fabulous toast.

Now I want to start making it more than white bread, but not ready for whole wheat starter yet (maybe someday.) The coarse ground mini-loaf was ok but not perfect. It was tasty when cut into cubes and served with artichoke dip.

Now I'm trying a loaf with only 1/4 cup ww, ground in the blender again, but to a finer texture. So far it's a lovely dough, and seems to be rising well.

Maybe some day I'll be able to replace our $4.50/loaf grocery store multi-grain.

Since I'll be baking nearly weekly, there are a couple more thing I want to try.

- Sprouted wheat / other grains
- Multi-grain flour (look into a mill!)
- A small amount of grape nuts, soaked in milk first (I like muffins made this way)
- Brown rice ground into flour?


-- Posted From My iPhone

Crochet by Candle Light

On Tuesday the storm took out our power. We had breakfast by candle light, and it was still out when we came home, but it came back on at around 10. So far it hasn't gone out again, but it's still stormy.



Fortunately I had a project I could almost do in the dark, but a little backlighting was nice :)

The lightning and thunder were spectacular that morning! Being in a little valley, we could really hear the close ones rumble.

-- Posted From My iPhone

Sourdough Gets Better

First off, I saw not one but two gorgeous sunsets tonight. One I captured in town with my iPhone, wishing I'd had my slr on me. After it went grey I headed up the mountain and got to see the rest of it, which was just as stunning, but with more gold than pink.





I was given an Amish Friendship Bread starter before Christmas. Never having had one before, I did a little research. Long story short, I just cannot get past the instant pudding mix, nor the _cup_ of oil.

Not trying to look a gift horse in the mouth, but I decided to try something else. I fed it like sourdough for awhile, and then started baking. I've made pancakes that were pretty tasty (imho.)

The first loaf was tasty, and rose well in a glass loaf pan. However, it wasn't very sour, more like traditional white bread. The second loaf I tried flat on a pan, and didn't give it enough time for a second rise, so it's not very tall. But it's tasty, and finally has the distinct sourdough flavor.





In the backround is loaf 2, and in my hand is a small third loaf. I made it half whole wheat, ground in my blender. It's very coarse, maybe too much so. I may be looking for a small wheat grinder soon....

Here's hoping it bakes well!

After I get this kitten off my lap, I can go finish my chores for the evening =)

-- Posted From My iPhone

Me vs. The Ironing Board

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! I've been busy, and haven't sat down to post in ages. Tonight, though, I want to tell about how I conquered my ironing board.

Before I get to that, look at my surprise super awesome present from my husband! I am now the proud owner of a Canon Rebel T1i.

On to the ironing board. It's been stuck in the "up" position for the better part of a year, when the lever came out. I did a little searching online, because I couldn't see immediately how to put it back in, and got frustrated with the results. The "hire someone," and "just buy a new one (several times if needed)" attitude was a little irritating. Not to mention wasteful in the second case. It turns out it's not that difficult, it was just hard to see the mechanism!

If you just need to see where the lever goes, look at the last picture.

Otherwise here is an illustrated guide to replacing the lever in an ironing board.


This is what it looked like when the board was stuck open. You can see the metal plate covering the horizontal beam, making it hard to see anything except the vertical rod which has notches on the top (from use)

This is what the mechanism looks like, once it's been collapsed slightly. You can see the ratchet design, the plate with a spring underneath. The plate has an oval opening with the spring pushing it up, but when you press in the direction of the arrow, it becomes a circle, allowing it to move. This is why it will open but not close, in this case.

Here is a shot looking at the open board again. The arrow points to that same plate, which needs to be pushed toward the flat end of the ironing board with a screwdriver (or the original lever, which worked for me)

Once you get it open, here is where the lever gets put back. The dotted line shows the lever behind that horizontal bar.

This is how I made sure the lever wasn't going to fall out again. I think the small tab to the left of my pliers was supposed to hold it in place, but with both of them covering the lever, it should stay in place.

Action shot!

Hopefully this helps others with the same problem.

And hooray for not wasting a few dollars, and not creating extra waste!

Thanks for all the positive comments so far! I'm so glad this has been helpful for so many people.

Check out my Etsy shop