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What have I done today? Reported branches hitting against the roof overnight to the management because I figured they would want to know so they could trim them to prevent roof damage. But the maintenance guy came by and doesn't believe it's possible, guess he wasn't awake at 1:30 am listening to branches slamming into his roof for a good 15 minutes or more. If it happens again tonight, I'll go outside and take a movie of it as proof (if it wakes me up again and make as much noise as last night.)

Also let DIL know about granddaughter's driving school class this Saturday. My oh my, she's old enough to drive! Well she has been for awhile, but she can't get a license if she doesn't go to driving school, so we signed her up. Funny her parents plan to give her a car for graduation, but did nothing about signing her up for driving school even though it is a state requirement. Of course my son comes from a different state where in our time never required driving school training in order to become a licensed driver (I think they do now, but not then, and anyway we all had drivers training in high school anyway.) And DIL learned to drive in another country so was never faced with a driving school requirement. So I guess they just did not realize.
 
I spent more time today cleaning up my soaping area chaos and finally made some sourdough bread. Between making soap and the holidays, my poor starter had been languishing. It took a few days to wake up my favorite microbial ecosystem, but now it’s good as new!

387CAAD0-F2EF-4066-8D83-81C51347F3B1.jpeg
 
Haha! I thought it was a giant cookie at first glance! Sourdough bread is much better and that one looks delicious! :)

My fun today was working, making shampoo and wondering why my last batch of soap is still Charmin squeezable. :)
 
Steve85569 said:
It LIVES!!!
A good sourdough starter is hard to get going and a shame to lose.
I need to get one going this year again...
Click to expand...
I got this one going about 5 years ago. My main recipe is a hybrid from KAF, which has some yeast in it. I’m mostly going for the flavor and the crust. It’s hard to find good bread in rural Virginia.
 
Mobjack Bay said:
I spent more time today cleaning up my soaping area chaos and finally made some sourdough bread. Between making soap and the holidays, my poor starter had been languishing. It took a few days to wake up my favorite microbial ecosystem, but now it’s good as new!

View attachment 43211
Click to expand...
Looks good!! Mine is going on three years old. I revive it a couple times a year just to keep it going strong. I've had no problems getting it back up and ready to go, as attested by the three jars of discard in my fridge.

"my favorite microbial ecosystem".... I love that!
 
Misschief said:
Weekends are my unwind time; anyone who knows me knows that one of my favourite ways to unwind is to spend time in my kitchen. It's 2:00 p.m. now and so far today I've:
  1. Made Rhubarb Cobbler with rhubarb from the garden
  2. Made two loaves of Sourdough Whole Wheat bread
  3. Made a batch of biscuits to go along with lunch
  4. Started a batch of fermented cranberries
  5. Started the back ribs for dinner
  6. Two loads of laundry (with one hung on the line outside in the gorgeous sunshine)
  7. Three loads of dishes (I don't have a dishwasher)
Now to decide what to have with the ribs.
What did YOU do?
Click to expand...

How do you ferment cranberries and what do you use it for.
Wonder if I could color soap with it?
Do you have a good recipe for sourdough? Please share

Soapy thang today: getting my basic old fashioned lye soap ingredients ready. Using an ancient recipe from Milineum soaps from Delaney sisters. They add ammonia, borax & washing soda. Tried it and does it work!! Adding pumice too. Lemon juice & EO helps pH a little.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Sally Scheibner said:
How do you ferment cranberries and what do you use it for.
Wonder if I could color soap with it?
Do you have a good recipe for sourdough? Please share
Click to expand...
I made it instead of Cranberry Sauce (which I do not like) for Thanksgiving. It was SO good, especially on crackers with a bit of cream cheese. It would be a waste to use it in soap. Seriously, this stuff is really good!

Here's the recipe: https://www.makesauerkraut.com/fermented-cranberries/#1_Cranberry-Orange_Relish

As for the sourdough, I followed the instructions on the King Arthur Flour website.
https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/sourdough-starter-recipe

My sourdough is now almost 3 years old and going strong. I don't bake with it every week but it comes back to life pretty quickly.
 
Sally Scheibner said:
Soapy thang today: getting my basic old fashioned lye soap ingredients ready. Using an ancient recipe from Milineum soaps from Delaney sisters. They add ammonia, borax & washing soda. Tried it and does it work!! Adding pumice too. Lemon juice & EO helps pH a little.
Click to expand...
Actually Lemon juice only raises superfat because it will react with the lye leaving less lye to react with your fats. Essentials oils do not help with ph.
You can read more about adding acids to soaps here.
https://classicbells.com/soap/soapyStuff.asp
 
Misschief said:
I made it instead of Cranberry Sauce (which I do not like) for Thanksgiving. It was SO good, especially on crackers with a bit of cream cheese. It would be a waste to use it in soap. Seriously, this stuff is really good!

Here's the recipe: https://www.makesauerkraut.com/fermented-cranberries/#1_Cranberry-Orange_Relish

As for the sourdough, I followed the instructions on the King Arthur Flour website.
https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/sourdough-starter-recipe

My sourdough is now almost 3 years old and going strong. I don't bake with it every week but it comes back to life pretty quickly.
Click to expand...
The sauerkraut website will be a rabbit hole for me. I am totally fascinated by microbial processes in food.

@Sally Scheibner the recipe I use is here: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/multigrain-sourdough-boule-recipe
It’s really good with their Harvest Grains Blend, or you can use rolled oats, ground flax, hemp seed hearts, or any grain that doesn’t have to be cooked to really soften it up. For example, don’t use wheat berries or coarsely ground oats unless you cook them in advance.
 
Misschief said:
I made it instead of Cranberry Sauce (which I do not like) for Thanksgiving. It was SO good, especially on crackers with a bit of cream cheese. It would be a waste to use it in soap. Seriously, this stuff is really good!

Here's the recipe: https://www.makesauerkraut.com/fermented-cranberries/#1_Cranberry-Orange_Relish

As for the sourdough, I followed the instructions on the King Arthur Flour website.
https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/sourdough-starter-recipe

My sourdough is now almost 3 years old and going strong. I don't bake with it every week but it comes back to life pretty quickly.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the info. I love trying new recipes and love cranberries and bread. Have a great new year!

cmzaha said:
Actually Lemon juice only raises superfat because it will react with the lye leaving less lye to react with your fats. Essentials oils do not help with ph.
You can read more about adding acids to soaps here.
https://classicbells.com/soap/soapyStuff.asp
Click to expand...

I did not know that. Thank you for that info and site to learn more.
 
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Mobjack Bay said:
Those look yummy. White and whole wheat? Do you bake every week?
I also make a French Apple cake with sourdough batter!
Click to expand...

Thanks. The loaf is honey oat and the other is 1/3 wheat and 2/3 white. I bake several times a week and give most of it away. Over the Christmas period I took several weeks off and baked a ton of bread...way too much. The cool thing about bread is that you can tinker just like you can with soap, but you don't have to wait 6 weeks to see how it turned out :D
 
Curtis said:
Thanks. The loaf is honey oat and the other is 1/3 wheat and 2/3 white. I bake several times a week and give most of it away. Over the Christmas period I took several weeks off and baked a ton of bread...way too much. The cool thing about bread is that you can tinker just like you can with soap, but you don't have to wait 6 weeks to see how it turned out :D
Click to expand...
We can’t even wait for the bread to cool down before we eat entirely too much of it.
 
Went out for lunch... Steaks, by request.. Coz it's the 17th birthday of the love of my life, my first (and only for 14yrs lol) born, my big baby, my kuya (older bro in Filipino).

Before that, my aunts and cousins surprised him with cake, entering the house clapping and singing. He is after all, their first grandson and nephew. Check out his face(s) lol
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I failed at making honey roasted peanuts. My technique was way off as I only heated the sugar up to firm ball stage. Still, it was a tasty fail. Next time, I'll stick to what I know and make a toffee.
 

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