Daring Bakers Challenge: Sourdough Bread

December's Daring Bakers Challenge was a wonderful choice for this holiday season.  No sweet and crazy desserts.  No expensive ingredients that take a bite out of the Christmas gift budget.  Just flour and water.  Flour and water.

That's right.  We got to make our own sourdough starter from scratch!  If I'd known how easy it was to make a starter I don't think I would've taken so long to make my own sourdough bread.  It's really as simple as letting flour and water sit on the counter.  Together.  They do all the work for you.  Really!

My sourdough starter really got going on day 2 of the four day process.  It looked bubbly and smelled sour.  By day four, though, it only had one bubble.  Not to be deterred, I charged ahead and followed the directions for refreshing the leaven and making the dough.  I kneaded it by hand.  I let it rest.  I shaped it.  I let it rise.  Nothing.  NOTHING!  No bubbles.  No rising dough.  Just a flat lump.  Look. . . I baked it just to show you how brick-like it really was.

But I figured my starter just wasn't ready to make real bread yet.  So I fed it some more flour and water and popped it in the refrigerator for a week.  Then I tried again.  And this time it worked just like it was supposed to.  The bread rose beautifully.  It had a great texture and a bit of tang.  It was gobbled up before I could even think of making anything fancy out of it.  

So, my starter is still in my refrigerator.  Once a week I feed it a bit more flour and water.  I've named it Elphaba.  (Did you know people name their sourdough starters?)

Bread, anyone?

Martha Monday: Chicken and Dumplings

My mom doesn't make chicken and dumplings.  She's from Ohio.  I don't think they have chicken and dumplings in Ohio.

My first experience eating them was at a restaurant called Mrs. Winner's.  The chicken and dumplings were pretty good.  But the cinnamon rolls were even better.  I've seen chicken and dumplings at Cracker Barrel but I never order it.

I guess I just don't really like chicken and dumplings.

So, when Ana of Sweet Almond Tree picked this week's recipe, I wasn't inclined to make it.  But I figured it's not that far off from chicken noodle soup so I gave it a go.  Guess what?  I still don't like chicken and dumplings.  Or shall I say dumplings.  I don't like drop dumplings.  Even with all the herby goodness they were still weird.  Like eating a sponge.  My boys didn't like them either.

The soup part of the recipe, on the other hand was yummy.  And easy.  Add a few more vegetables and some noodles and you've got yourself a decent chicken noodle soup.  Bake some biscuits.  Dinner.

Applique Heart

Look at my newest sewing project!

I've been learning how to sew.  Remember?

Well, this t-shirt was actually pretty easy once I got all the right materials.  The fabric and t-shirt were easily chosen.  The iron-on webbing and the stabilizer required for this project were a little more difficult. Of course, if I had been willing to ask for help from the store clerk, I might have marched out with the right things the first time around.  Instead, it took me three trips to the craft store and one night of sewing to create this simple shirt.

But I am sooooooooooooo proud of myself.  I love wearing this shirt.  Because I made it!  I'm so very crafty!

(P.S.  The book I'm using to create my projects and learn to use my sewing machine is called Stitch by Stitch by Deborah Moebes.  I highly recommend it if you are a novice sewer like me.)