Back to Sourdough....I can't stay away!

So I seem to be a sucker for punishment. I had no real success with sourdough bread but I am finding my own too bland at the moment and the price of good sourdough leaves me breathless so I have been scouring the underbelly of the internet to find more about sourdough success. There is a whole world of information and passion out there just focusing on naturally leavened breads! I saw one heated debate where a forum poster stated that another poster's wife was the devil incarnate... somehow this was relevant to different styles of sourdough starter!
A very good resource is The Fresh Loaf and one from just around the corner from me from Oatlands Tasmania we have The Sourdough Companion . I have also been relying heavily on this River Cottage recipe.
I think I am getting there. First I discovered I was just being lazy and not feeding my starter enough. Here is my starter:

I cook the excess up as a big pancake for the chickens:

I made a sponge according to the river Cottage Recipe: 

 Then I sort of freaked out because my dough was too dry and I added more starter. 

This loaf was more successful than my previous attempt I have blogged about a couple of years ago but the bread was very dense and too sour still.

It looks good though....
I have another sponge with a better fed starter going as I type... fingers crossed..I really must try to stick to the directions more!

Thankful for the Sanctuary of my Home!

It seems an eternity since I blogged but I suppose it hasn't been really.

 It has been a frantic and not very enjoyable two weeks but rather than relive the stressful minutiae of very jolly thing going horrendously wrong (oh and throw in a week long bout of dreadful gastro which made me miss a paid dancing gig:() I will focus on the enjoyable parts of life.

The garden is growing well, the hazels and apples are well in leaf so I am really sure they are proper trees now, one apple is even blossoming, rather unwisely I feel, as it is really nowt more than a stick. The second lot of peas are growing well but I did give them some compost today as they look a bit pale and acerbic to me... so far we have silver beet, spinach, broad beans, carrots mixed with radishes, beetroot, red ribbed dandelion, chamomile, calendula, little gem lettuce, sunflowers, violas, chives and probably something else but I can't think what all growing away in the garden. 

 The compost heap is a great steaming pile which for once is a good thing! It is full of worms and I am bandicooting spadefuls out of the side of the pallet bin for my plants....as long as I keep turning it I have every faith it will all be good soon. Out there front I am winning a battle against the evils of "lords and ladies" which have spread everywhere and I am reclaiming my land, I have rescued some root bound boronia shrubs with gorgeous hot pink flowers from  the discount table at the local hardware shop and bought a spanky grevillia which has a very ordinary person name (Robyn something...). Using some recycled bricks I made a little platform in between and have bought a birdbath from the auctions as well as a real treat for us, a deco kitchen table and chairs and a kitchen dresser pantry with lead lighting. We are delighted as they really add character to our kitchen as well as helping me with storage (the dresser has a pantry and a built in bread box) and the Formica table is easier to clean than the cheap stained pine table we had before so with shrubs and new (old really actually quite old) furniture and a birdbath I am feeling that the place is less of a squalid hole than before...next I am working on the bathroom which is really dismal but really the whole thing needs to be rebuilt and I am just not going to do that. Maybe a new loo seat, a shower curtain and paint the dodgy bath surround.

 I have discovered the joy of making my own fruit buns which (with a little bread maker help) and they are better than but nearly indistinguishable from bakery buns. My little man insisted I make them but he didn't like the sugar glaze I made and so the next lot has none. The bread maker gets such a good workout, today I have made fruit buns and multi grain rolls, the bread is much nicer than the cheap stuff at the supermarket. I have made naan, pizza, savoury scrolls- I am yet to master pita or focaccia but I hope to soon. I gave up entirely on sourdough, it was way too much work and I really prefer a plain yeasted "rustic" style bread like a ciabatta rather than a sourdough anyway.

Speaking of giving up we sent the ducklings to a wildlife carer as two suddenly died for no discernible reason (which apparently they do frequently) so we wanted to give the remaining two a fighting chance by sending them away.

The chickens however are earning their keep and although they are still a bit pecky they look much better than they did when they arrived. They are keeping us in huge golden yoked eggs and I am ever so grateful!

I really enjoy reading everyone else's blogs as they help keep me grounded and inspired even when everything in "real " (i.e. the world outside my house) is going wrong. Keep on keeping on everyone!

A Very Beany Day

It seems that blogs are rife with people gushing about their children so I am warning you now this is a gushy children edition of the dull roar philosophy...
This morning I went to the boys' room and found Sir Talks A Lot (AKA Beany) tidying up all his toys. There was a perilous teetering pile looming from his toy box but he was determinedly tidying up... I was astonished and delighted!It set the tone for a day with a Very Helpful Little Man (and squeaking baby brother).
I managed to walk to the shops to buy free range eggs and blueberries (also coca cola for ailing Daddy Man and newspaper for me) and a toy puppy at the Salvation army shop for the good little man in question ("Mummy I also covered my mouth when I coughed and you didn't even haf ta tell me to!"), collect borage, nasturtium and calendula seeds, make a vegetable slice (with homegrown zucchini(now called courgette by me as it is easier for me to spell), capsicum from the neighbour-over-the back-fence (traded for some blackberries) spring onions and wild amaranth that I have recently identified in my garden...I also made a delicious courgette chocolate cake(next time more cocoa and less sugar) , the boys relished cleaning out the bowl!
Cap'n Beany (AKA Sir Talks A Lot) then asked if he could have his own garden so we found a bit of the front yard long neglected and laid a no-dig garden on top for his pleasure.

First we sprinkled some pelletised fowl manure, then laid a layer of wet paper, then more fowl manure, then a mulch of leaf mold (fallen leaves and alkanet which I am hoping will be nearly as good as Comfrey- which has been attacked by now squished caterpillar) then another sprinkle of manure, a layer of compost , some more manure and finally a good layer of straw. The manure was only a light sprinkle for each layer and each was helpfully watered by a little person ("That's right darling, good job ...whoops! Ok not on mummy's shoes!). Beany was really very helpful and it was a joy to work with him especially as gardening with him can leave me feeling very stressed and then guilty because I feel I have been too short tempered... He will be a great help when we give the same treatment to the rest of the front yard (see the above picture) Then we went inside and they had a finger food meal of vege slice, homegrown cherry tomatoes, whole meal pita bread and cheese whilst we watched their favourite show "Nigella Express" and "Gardening Australia" (What, me influence their viewing habits? Never!). Now they are tucked in bed (including the Daddy Man -AKA my Soul Mate and long suffering husband -who has been terribly knocked around by catching a flu whilst stressed)
I made my first attempt at courgette relish and I am a bit obsessed with it and worried that courgettes are going to have me fatten up considerably as I can't stop eating cheese and relish sandwiches, cheese and relish on crackers... cheese with relish on it and now courgette chocolate cake! I hope all my walking about and lazy gardening along with the odd bout of belly dancing keeps the wobbles at an appropriate level!
I might go watch The Empire Strikes Back for the 93rd (approx.) time or possibly some old episodes of Angel...decisions...decisions...

And So It Begins

First of all I would like to formally welcome you all to my first blog which is likely to be of no real interest to anyone but myself so if you happen to take the time to read it I am most gratified and hope it warrants any attention you may bestow upon it.
I have a busy life, not busy like most people's, no social calender, no office to trudge to every day, but busy with a new small business, two small children, a tumbledown house in a new state and the beginnings of a vegie garden messing up the long neglected back yard.
My long suffering and much adored husband and I moved from Sunny Queensland Gold Coast to Launceston Tasmania in January of this year and so I guess we are about to celebrate our one year anniversary in Tasmania.
We don't like waste here in our house and that is reflected in how we live our lives. Food and garden scraps are composted (food only after it is offered to the peculiar little Devon Rex cat who chooses to reside with us). Things are bought second hand where we can which is not only cheaper but means I don't feel guilty when I stain or break something and has the knock on effect of being better for the environment. To some it may seem I am an environmentalist at first glance if I am truthful it is our dislike of waste that has lead to our life style being of benefit to the planet and not a feeling of obligation to reduce my carbon footprint.
There, that feels better- what a confession- I am not a ramapant greenie, I just happen to act like one!
I of course bear no ill-will towards mother nature and am very fond of the beauty and bounty she supplies but it hasn't been my only motivation in changes I have made in my lifestyle.
We repair things when we can and repurpose things in a new way if we can.
I was always amazed at the amount of perfectly good things thrown out in the Gold Coast council cleanup- such a wasteful community up there- we have found Launceston is less like that and people are more understanding of a our mend and make do attitude.
I sound very pious and wholesome BUT I will confess that I struggle with things like keeping the house and garden in a reasonable state so I have invented my own philosophy-
The Dull Roar
it is basically an attempt to keep our heads over water domestically.
I will never have a display home clean home- even if it was just me I'm a grubby little devil who likes doing grubby things like cooking and gardening and the house would never stay clean and i also have two grubby little children and a much cleaner husband who also has grubby hobbies like renovating and repairing cars and don't forget the cat- did you know that dark Devon rex cats sneeze dark tears everywhere?
I do however recognise that a certain level of social responsibility and cleanliness is required so I am trying to work out a plan to keep the mess and rudeness down to a dull roar...
So far..
* Set the fabulous vintage kitchen timer to 15 mins and do something to help the tidiness and cleanliness. Washing pots and sweeping the floor, wiping benches generally takes less time than this.
*Time savers- food in the freezer for the boys day care lunches
-teaspoon of generic brand nappysoaker in the loo overnight to be flushed away in the morning.
-spraying the floor and cleaning with a damp towel (pushed around by my feet!) instead of mopping which never really worked.

hopefully I will build up a repertoire which will allow me to get on with running our business and doing the fun frugal stuff I enjoy, cooking, making my own salves, vegie gardening, newly interested and converted to jam making, make my own bread (use a cheaty machine- how I love it!)making my own yoghurt, cutting my boys hair (actually only one of the boys is fun to do haircuts on the other is tooo hoppity) making yoghurt....

I am looking at ways the Dull Roar Philosophy can be applied to other parts of life too...