Adventures in Sourdough PLUS Blog Award

I'm starting a sourdough starter... or trying to.  I have some very sour smelling batter, but no bubbles.  I may try another batch at the same time using Professor Calvel's Instructions.  He seems to know his stuff.  If you try starting some sourdough now, we can make bread and cookies together!

NEXT-DAY UPDATE:  I have bubbles!  My starter doesn't stink anymore.  I might be ready to bake with it.  However, I feel an obligation to disclose that I cheated.  Yesterday I stopped feeding my starter and in the evening I added the tiniest pinch of dairy-free probiotics and about 6 grains of dry store-bought yeast.  I thought it might speed along the process of balancing the bacteria and the yeast, which is necessary to get past stinky sour and onto good beer sour.  Now I'm going to fold laundry while watching the sourdough episode of the Frugal Gourmet (In 3 parts on YouTube).  In part 3 he says "Talk to the dough!...  Grandma never needed to see a shrink ... Grandmas talked to their dough."


This week I was nominated for the Stylish Blogger Award by Healthy Eating for Ordinary People.  I am honored that my baby blog has been recognized as a happening spot in the Blogosphere!

So now it's my turn.  In order to accept this award I must:

Sugar Slashing Sunday

Welcome to the first edition of "Sugar Slashing Sunday!"  Every Sunday I plan to post a meal that won't spike your blood sugar, or a tip to help regulate blood sugar.  These posts will be tagged "diabetic friendly."  Thank G-d, most of my readers and I don't have diabetes, but we all need to watch our blood sugar.  We all want to be healthier and have more energy, naturally.  Stabilizing our blood sugar is the first step to keep our bodies working smoothly.

Did you know that insulin enhances learning and memory?  Insulin is important for regulating and metabolizing carbohydrates and fats.  If we are wasting our insulin on "busy work" -- taking care of simple sugars, often with no nutritional treasures attached -- our insulin can't do more important jobs.  In addition, when you eat simple sugars, your pancreas releases too much insulin quickly; but, because simple sugars are digested quickly, all that extra insulin gets bored when it's done with your snack.  Then it sends messages to your brain to feed you more!

Today's Challenge: Clean Your Oven, Read a Blog

Why wait for Spring (or Passover) for a little cleaning?  Freshen up your oven today!  I want to try a natural oven cleaner.  1. I don't like all the fumes and possible chemical residue of commercial products, and 2. I don't feel like going to the store, and I already have vinegar, baking soda, and other suggested natural cleansers.  The question now:  Which one??  I recently inherited Heloise from A to Z, in which Heloise says anything can be cleaned with vinegar and/or baking soda.  However, the only suggestions she had for ovens involved using window squeegees and ice scrapers.

Mrs. Clean has some great tips, but too many recipes and no reviews.  I just want to know which one works best.  Price plus effort divided by cleaning power.  I'm planning to try 5 T Baking Soda + 4 T White vinegar + 3 drops Liquid Dish Soap.  It doesn't use bleach, involve heating my oven, or force me to squeeze lemons I'd rather use for salad.

Our Olive Adventure Part 4: Dry Cure

Were you wondering what happened to the black olives I separated after Part 1 of our Adventure?  I started the process of dry curing them.  To learn more, watch the video:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cjw1AIEQrKY

Here's a picture of olives in the market:

Also see Part 1: Find Olives, Part 2: Pit and Soak,  Part 3: Brine, and Part 5: Fix Salty Olives.

Feeding Picky Eaters

My friend, Tammy, told me that her son is going through a finicky stage:

Image source: peterpiperpicked.com

"There are times he eats everything, and other times...he doesn't.  My son has a particular aversion to potatoes, unless they are of course Chips (French fries), so I tried to be creative and find a way to make him eat them.


He loves the game 'Mr Potato Head', so I baked a potato in the oven, a potato which matched the size of his toy, and cut up all sorts of veggies, which made up the various 'body parts' ANDDDDDDDD..... today my little one ate HALF a baked potato!!!!!! Whilst placing sliced olives as the eyes and shaped gamba (red bell pepper) for the mouth, etc."

Tammy also requested other sure-fire foods, "I thought I would share our lunchtime fun with you all,and in return, anyone who has a fun recipe that's a winner with their little ones, PLEASE SHARE!"

Best Podcasts of 2010 (PLUS Tutorial for Newbies)

Why am I sharing my favorite podcasts on my food blog?  Because while I am patiently choosing produce, chopping veggies, babysitting beans, or washing dishes, I am usually listening to my MP3 player.  Podcasts make boring chores fun.  They inspire, inform, make me laugh, or just keep me company.  I wanted to inspire you to check out a few podcasts.  If you're already a podcast veteran, please share your favorites!  I imagine my favorite podcast is still hiding out there somewhere.  This is what I'm currently listening to:

1. APM: The Splendid Table
2. WNYC's Radio Lab
3. This American Life (Chicago Public Media)
4. The Moth Podcast
5. Stuff You Missed in History Class (HowStuffWorks.com)
6. WAMU: The Diane Rehm Show
7. APM: The Story
8. Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing
9. Stuff Mom Never Told You (HowStuffWorks.com)
10. NPR: Fresh Air

Easy Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

DISCLAIMER: Maybe I had a really good squash. I can't promise your soup will be as amazing as mine.

Fenugreek & French Toast

I first learned about fenugreek (chilba/hilba in Hebrew) when someone suggested my mother try it to relieve acid reflux. She bought the raw spice, but never really knew how to use it.

The ancient Greeks, Romans, and Egyptians used fenugreek for both medicinal and culinary purposes. If you are interested in fenugreek for purely medicinal purposes, you can purchase it in pill form in most health food stores.

Pizza Night: Guest Post from my Mom & Dad

My mom, "Bubbe", is an artist and graphic designer; and she has a very special way of staying connected to my kids.  Several times a week she uses her computer to sketch something interesting going on in her life.  On the "Drawing of the Day" there is a note about the drawing, and often a question that causes the kids to write back or answer on the phone.  Below are yesterday's drawings.  At the bottom you will find my dad's recipe for the pizza dough, followed by my own toppings suggestions.  Happy Anniversary Lala & Zeide!

Dear Adele, Mordechai, and Talia,

Tonight we celebrated Lala and Zeide's wedding anniversary.  Grandpa and I invited them over for dinner.  Grandpa made pizza; four pizza pies to be exact.  This is the story about how grandpa made the pizzas.

First Grandpa got out the electric mixer.  He put flour, water, oil, sugar, yeast, and an egg into the mixer the blend them all together to make the dough.

 Then Grandpa decided that both he and the dough needed a rest.  Grandpa divided the dough into four pieces.  He rolled them into balls, placed them on a pan and let them rest in the refrigerator for several hours.  Grandpa rested in a chair in the living room.

Odds & Ends Afterlife: Five Bean Soup

Last week I made a hearty. delicious soup while shooting the most boring 15 minutes of video footage known to man.  I kept the soup and scrapped 13.5 minutes of video.  I added salt to the remaining 2.5 minutes, and here it is:


video url: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f94nRxNeU_0

Soup is a great way to use up little bits of grains or legumes that aren't enough for a full serving.