My First Sourdough!!

My first Sourdough Loaf

I've been making my own Artisan Bread for about a year now, but this is my first loaf of Sourdough… isn't she pretty??

I had found a Sourdough Starter recipe on Pinterest that didn't use any pre-prepared yeast, but rather relied on more natural processes to get yeast started, I like that.  You can find the recipe for that starter here.  I have since varied the starter a bit, and occasionally add a bit of local honey to spunk it up... once you get started you can try your own variations.  That said, I suggest you just start off with a basic starter.

I mentioned I’ve been making Artisan Bread for a while, I got started using Michael Ruhlman’s book Ratio, but have since diverged into my own way of doing things (I can never just leave things alone).  If you’re new to bread making I suggest this book as a starting point, he gives excellent information and advice.

My Sourdough Bread:

Fresh Tomato & Basil Soup

This is a simple soup that's tasty & low cal, this recipe makes 2 meal-sized servings or 4 side-servings.  This is a good lunch option, and some ideas follow the basic recipe to pump it up into more of a dinner option.

Ingredients

  2 tsp Better Than Bouillon Vegetable *

  2 cups water *

    (* optionally, 2 cups vegetable stock)

  4-5 Roma Tomatoes cut into 1/2" cubes

  1 cup grated Yellow Squash (Crook Neck or Zuchinni)

  Italian Spices (I like Penzeys Tuscan Sunset) & Salt & Pepper to taste

  2 Tbl (6-7 leaves) chopped fresh Basil

Throw everything but the Basil into a pot, bring to a boil then lower temp to simmer, simmer 1/2 hour. After cooking stir in chopped fresh Basil. Can be garnished with fresh grated Parmesan.

Variations:  Have Fun With It & Break The Rules!!!

I Love Penzeys!!

I have already posted a couple of my Spice recipes that I have come up with on my own, but I have to take a moment to brag about one of my favorite spots in the Twin Cities: Penzeys Spices


I love the local shop on Grand Ave in St Paul, I love going in and browsing, I love being able to look at and smell the spices… and the quality just can't be beat!!


If you have a local Penzeys I suggest you go see for yourself, and if you don't have one local follow my link above to their web site.


A good first spice to try, to convince yourself its worth the effort, is their Vietnamese Cinnamon… Its amazing, taste it right out of the jar and you'll see what I mean!


My recipes frequently call out Penzeys spices, but you can feel free to use your own brand/blend of choice.

Cajun Spice mix

I am not a Southern Girl… I grew up in the Southwest (San Diego area) and have lived the last several years in the Upper Midwest (Minnesota)… This recipe was handed down to me by a relative, so take it as it is…  I love it!!


Ingredients:
  2 Tbl Basil (dried)
  2 Tbl Oregano (dried)
  2 Tbl Paprica (ground)
  1 Tbl + 1 tsp Thyme (dried)
  2 tsp Cayenne (ground)
  2 tsp Garlic Powder
  2 tsp Mace (powder)
  2 bay leaves (dried whole)


Use a Mortar & Pestle or a small electric coffee grinder to grind this into a fine powder (I suggest the coffee grinder if you have an old one around that you're not planning to use for coffee anymore).

Ahhh… I feel better now…

I feel human now...

Ok, I've had my coffee… I ate some breakfast… and now its time to get back to work on this blog…

Its a gloomy rainy day here, I don't have any appointments or work to do, so I'm taking advantage of having a day to devote to getting some basic stuff up and working on my blog.

I'm trying to get off to a bit of a jump-start, to get things posted that I've shared in Facebook and pinned in Pinterest, after that I'll slow things down so that I'm just sharing new things as they come along.