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Wednesday, May 4, 2016

Just a couple of things


These are the two loaves of sourdough rye bread I baked over the weekend. Kris, I'm working on typing up the recipe, and will hopefully get it up later this week. The bread is very yummy, and has no added sugar or fat (except what I rub on the tops of the loaves after baking). I didn't buy enough rye flour, so my loaves came out a little heavier on the all-purpose flour. This recipe really needs about 1  1/4 lbs of rye flour (I only had about 3/4 lb).


First radishes from the garden this season. I've had trouble growing radishes before. This year I took extra efforts with them. I worked a bit of veggie fertilizer into the soil before planting the seeds. Then as soon as the seedlings were big enough to survive being moved, I thinned them, and put the displaced seedlings into bare spots. I think doing both things helped. Radishes don't usually size-up for me. Maybe our soil had been depleted?

I sliced the roots to add to the garden salad for dinner last night. And then with the green tops, I shredded them and added to the soup. A soup, salad and bread supper.

Soup was made from the chicken bones leftover from the night before, with the radish greens, tops of celery, pumpkin, canned green beans, barley and garden sage added to the broth and meat. The salad was a toss of lettuce from the garden, radishes and chive blossoms, dressed in homemade creamy vinaigrette. The creamy vinaigrette was simply chive blossom vinegar, oil, mayo, garlic granules, salt and pepper. And the bread, well that was this week's freebie at Fred Meyer. It was a white bread, which I don't care for. But I turned it into garlic toast.

So, all in all, a pretty frugal dinner, and no one left the table hungry, as there was plenty of everything.

13 comments:

  1. That bread looks delicious, Lili! I'm not fond of a big rye flavor but some is good. I don't want to buy a 5 lb. bag and then end up not using it.

    I have a sourdough starter in my fridge. I'm not sure I am caring for it properly but I still use it all the time and it's about 3 years old. I actually got it from a friendship bread starter but began feeding it like a sourdough starter so it has become that. I'm hoping this is what it has become. I feed it about 24 hours or more before I intend to use it but I never scoop any out to discard because I can't see throwing away anything. I feed it when I take it out of the fridge and then let it sit the 24 hours. At this point, I use it except for a little in the bottom of the jar. I put that in the fridge and wait for the next time I need it. Am I doing it wrong? There just has to be an easy way to work with starter. And I always use yeast with my bread when I use a starter and I know some don't because the starter is the "yeast" that makes bread rise. I just feel it needs a bit of yeast.

    Alice

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    Replies
    1. I keep forgetting stuff. I ended up going to get groceries last night. We were out of milk but hubby said to just go get what we needed and not worry how the bills will get paid. They always get paid and God always makes sure there is enough in the book to cover it all. He's right so we have groceries though not many food stuff. Mostly things like TP, paper towels, kitty litter, garbage bags and then a little milk and yogurt, OJ.

      Alice

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    2. Hi Alice,
      your husband is right that God does and will provide. I think you both have the right attitude, being prudent, but also understanding that God takes care of us.

      For the sourdough starter, there are a coupe of things you may not know. If you did make too much starter for yourself, or you wanted to refresh your current batch, (by feeding it for a couple of days, allowing it to sit out on the counter, as if you were going to use it), and then would have surplus, you can use the starter in sourdough pancakes. Here's my recipe for sourdough pancakes:
      http://www.creativesavv.com/2012/06/sourdough-starter-day-5-pancakes.html
      It uses 2 cups of starter
      To use your starter without any extra yeast, you may need to refresh it, as well. This is San Francisco sourdough -- the long-sponge method:
      http://www.creativesavv.com/2012/06/san-francisco-sourdough-bread-starter.html

      I don't think it matters much how you made your starter, as it now is acting as a sourdough starter, through months/years of feeding it only water and flour. And if your method of only keeping a small amount of starter is working for you, then I say keep at it. I generally keep about 1 to 1 1/2 cups of starter in my container in the fridge. I get it out the night before using, feed it some flour and water, and then the next day I measure out 1 cup for bread, feed the remaining, let sit on the counter for an hour, and then refrigerate. If you lose this starter, you can make another one. In the left hand side-bar here are instructions for making a sourdough starter. Spring, summer and fall are the best months to make a starter, as the house is warm enough to get it going well. Most of us keep our homes fairly cool in winter.

      Have a great day, Alice!

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  2. Your loaves did a better job of rising than mine did! They look scrumptious. I look forward to getting your recipe. I picked up a crockpot baking book from the library and it has a rye loaf recipe--I noticed it also uses molasses and thought about what you told me about needed an acidic ingredient. I have a 5# bag so I am committed to trying more loaves.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Kris,
      It sounds like you'll be trying a few rye recipes out! I've wondered about crockpot baking. Does the bread come out "steamed" in texture, of dry, like traditional oven baking? There are some kinds of breads that are supposed to be kind of steamed, so this might be a good thing. Let us know if you find anything particularly good in that book!

      Delete
  3. I love the flavor of rye and, after seeing the picture, I am craving rye toast. Looking forward to your recipe!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Anne,
      Toasted rye bread is my favorite way to eat rye. I think toasting really brings out the flavor. If you bake the sourdough rye, let me know what you think.

      Have a great day, Anne!

      Delete
  4. I just love how creative you are with your resources. :)
    Have a great day.
    P.S. My brother is in his new apartment. Now we are working
    on getting him the things he needs the most to live there.
    Thank You.
    Patti

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Patti,
      I'm so glad to hear that about your brother. Wishing you well in getting the rest of his needs met for his new apartment!

      Have a great day, Patti!

      Delete
  5. Those are the prettiest radishes I've ever seen. Your efforts seem to have paid off.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi live and learn,
      I've never been able to grow them in my garden before. I hope this is a good sign for future radishes!
      Have a great day, live and learn!

      Delete
  6. I have never had success with radishes. They get infested with worms before they are ready to eat. I just gave up trying.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi frugal spinster,
      Oh yes, the worms. I've had problems with those as well. I did have to cut off one part of one of the radishes. But the rest were very good all the way through. I'm hoping it won't be too much of an issue with the rest of them. I'll see when I see. But I did read somewhere that the key is get them growing quickly.

      Have a great day, frugal spinster!

      Delete

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