{this moment}

Linking to Soulemama for :
"{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see."

. . . . . . . .

Happy Friday!

Ferment: Sourdough Starter

I am joining Tara Austen Weaver in her Sourdough Challenge found on her blog, Tea + Cookies.  My house is kept at a balmy 67 degrees in the winter, so I used her oven light method for my heat source.  I kept checking the temperature of my empty, light on oven throughout the day and was worried that I couldn't keep the starter at the recommended 70-80 degrees.  As seen in my photo above, I gave the starter a jump start in my open slow cooker, using the "warm" setting to get the starter to 80 degrees.  My meat thermometer is pierced through the plastic wrap, which is loosely covering my canning jar filled with starter.  I moved it to my unheated oven, where the light for the oven has kept it at 80 degrees.  I used 1/3 cup of rye flour and 1/4 of reverse osmosis water from our tap.  Let's hope this works!

 I have been reading about making a special sourdough starter, Biga, which uses grapes as part of the starter.  Our grapevine produced very well last summer and I hope to create my own biga this year.  I really like the thought of having a flavorful sourdough uniquely made by the fruits of my labor, so to speak.

Winter grapevine

Pizza will be the first use of my (hopefully) successful sourdough starter later this week.  I've placed my order for more spelt flour from our local coop and like spelt's multi grain aspects without being too heavy.  Other recipes that I hope to try:

Berkeley sourdough bread

Sourdough Black Forest Cake

Cranberry-Oat Sourdough Scones

Are you tempted to join the sourdough challenge?

{lemon love}

Lemons are playing a prominent role in our dishes these days.  This time of year really needs lemon's spark and it's cleansing abilities.  I keep one on the cutting board most days to add slices to water, tea, salads and fish dishes.

Here are some of the dishes that we hope to try soon:

::  Avgolemono by Cat Cora

::  This drink by Leon via Simply Cooked because we've had a rough weak, healthwise

::  Lamb Stew

I can't think of the last time that I made lemon bars and I'm looking for an interesting new recipe (maybe with a gluten free shortbread as it's base?).

What ingredient is prominent in your cooking these days?

{this moment}

Inspired by Soulemama:

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

A Warming Soup

I have been drawn to soups with spice and substance.  For me, the task of toasting whole spices and then grinding them makes a meal feel even more homemade.

This recipe called for toasting the cumin and for that task I use my grandmother's cast iron skillet.

Black Bean Soup with Chili, Coconut Milk and Lime
Adapted from Vegetable Soups from Deborah Madison's Kitchen

2 tablespoons sunflower seed or olive oil
1 small onion, finely diced
1 1/2 teaspoons toasted ground cumin seeds
1 teaspoon ground chipotle chile or minced chipotle in adobo, to taste
1/4 cup chopped cilantro, plus a little extra for garnish
Two 15 1/2 ounce cans black beans, preferably organic  (I used these)
1 can coconut milk (about 15 ounces)
Sea Salt
Juice of 1 to 2 limes, to taste

1.  Heat the oil in a wide soup pot, then add the onion, cumin, chile, and cilantro and cook over medium heat, stirring every so often, for about 5 minutes.  Add 1/2 cup water, lower the heat, and continue cooking until the onion is soft, about 12 minutes in all.

2.  Pour in the beans plus their liquid, 2 1/2 cups water, and the coconut milk.  Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes.

3.  Puree a cup or so of the beans and return it to the soup.  Or puree all of the beans if you prefer a smooth soup.  Season with salt and stir in the lime juice.  Serve garnished with a pinch of chopped cilantro.

Scenes from a green January day

Strawberry plants

Fungi

Grapevine

Green Moss

New Year's Day Eggs

Our first eggs of the year.  My photography does not do justice to the brilliance of the blue egg that was laid by one of our hens.  One of the lovely eggs was used for the Sweet Potato Caramel Cakes by One Haute Plate.  I substituted one whole baked sweet potato for the canned sweet potato called for in the recipe and also used my vanilla scented turbinado sugar for both the cake and the caramel.  They are delightful little cakes (shown below, dressed in -- yes-- a princess cupcake liner) and I think they would pair well with a stabilized whipped cream topping, as they are tender and light.