Orange Beef Lo Mein

Pregnancy + morning sickness throughout the pregnancy = not much cooking. First because the energy required to cook was nonexistent, second because I wasn't much in the mood for eating, third because I didn't want to get sick on it.

Then: baby came out, my appetite returned, and Blue Apron finally had a menu in which all 3 meals looked good. So this week we got Blue Apron again, the first since November. Tonight I made the first meal: Orange Beef Lo Mein. Sounds good, right? Too bad for the husband and I. We've had better. Both when dining out and from my own kitchen. Sigh.

Started by prepping all the ingredients when Doug and Roland were at swim lessons. Asher (the new baby) was happily asleep in his swing so I took the opportunity to spend some time in the kitchen all by myself. Notice the sippy cups drying, the glass of beer (my very own homebrew), and the Nalgene bottle (Mama's gotta stay hydrated). It was quite nice to cut everything up and then put each ingredient it its own place. Finally, some cut and dry order to something (we haven't had that since we brought the new baby home). Plus, it's nice to start with all simple, easily identifiable ingredients and finish with a meal.

There were a few things during cooking that I thought could have been skipped. First - putting oil in the pan to cook the ground beef. Unless this was super lean (the package did not indicate), I really don't see a reason to oil a non-stick pan to cook ground beef. Pretty sure it has enough fat on its own. Second - wiping out the pan that I did put oil in, just to add new oil to cook the veggies. Maybe you're trying to avoid meat fat in favor of plant fat, but all I saw was a paper towel with a bunch of flavor on it. Should have read the directions closer, I definitely would have skipped that step. And third - using salt and pepper to season the finished dish. It was already cooked with soy sauce, why not use more in lieu of salt? Both are salty, but as the dish already contains soy a little more will probably be okay if you want salt. As it is, I rarely cook with extra salt, so I did skip the salt in this case, and we added soy sauce to taste when we sat down to eat.

Some additives might have been good here too: red or yellow bell pepper or thinly sliced carrot would have been an improvement both in flavor and appearance. And neither would have interfered with the flavors already in the dish.



And the finished meal. A little blurry, and boring to look at. Don't worry. It's not just boring because it's blurry. It's actually a boring looking meal. Did I do something wrong? Are my plating skills total junk? Do I need better dishes? Maybe. Or maybe it was a boring dish to look at. All the veggies were green or white. There was an orange when I started, but since only some zest and the juice are used there is no color. But it still smelled decent, we were hungry, and it was what I made for dinner.

Sadly, I won't be making this again. I will be looking for the main seasoning, or attempting to make it myself. It smelled awesome, and could have used more than came in the box. The ground beef was nice. But overall, this isn't something worth making again.

Meatball Subs and Salad

Tonight we tried our second meal from the Blue Apron box. Meatball Sub and Salad. The recipe is here if you're interested.

Again all the ingredients needed came in the box, except for the olive oil and salt. There was a ton of salad, we didn't finish that. The subs were HUGE. Hard to see with the pic I took, but each one took up an entire plate. I couldn't finish mine, and that was sharing with a toddler who thinks it's his job to eat as much as possible off of my plate.

While salad was pretty good (basic salad but with homemade dressing) the subs were not great. Doug finished his, but we both agreed that there could have been more seasoning. And the meatballs were plenty big enough, even though I made the mixture into 10 meatballs instead of 8.

I think if I were to make meatball subs again I would use my own recipe for meatballs - even though this had Italian seasoning in it, it pretty much just tasted like beef. And the tomato sauce could have used a little more seasoning - garlic and onions were a great start, but it needed a little more. Maybe some basil or something. I suppose I had that in the cupboard, but just as when I was making the salad, I thought it would be good just to try the recipe as it was sent - otherwise the salad would have had feta cheese and tomatoes added to it as well (especially since I already had both in the fridge).

So, this recipe sounded good, and the ingredients looked good, but it seemed to need a little more than it came with.

Orange Shrimp

A few weeks ago Doug came home from school with the name of a company he heard advertised in one of the podcasts he likes. The company is called Blue Apron and they put together meals for you complete with recipes and then ship everything to your door. The podcast advertisement included a promo code to get you to try it out. After looking at the website we decided to give it a try. Our first box was about the equivalent to eating out for a meal, but would include enough for 3 meals. I usually try to prepare meals with leftovers so Doug has lunch for the next day or two, but this might be a good option for the days I don't have a dinner idea or I only care enough to throw a pizza in the oven.

Yesterday that first box arrived so last night I gave it a try.  Nearly all the ingredients came in the box.  The only thing I needed for this meal that wasn't included was olive oil (any cooking oil probably would have worked, I prefer olive oil) and salt (the recipe also called for pepper, but I almost never cook with the stuff - personal preference).



All the ingredients for the meal from the box. One ingredient I had never heard of before - Ponzu sauce. According to the recipe it is a soy sauce with vinegar for a kick. The recipe needed a tablespoon of sauce so the ingredients came with a tablespoon. Kinda wish it had come with more so we could try it again without buying a big bottle. Especially since I've never seen it in the store before and Medford is a little small for finding things unusual.



The ingredients have been prepped and are ready to go. Lots of chopping for this recipe.

The end result. The recipe made just enough for two servings. They weren't skimpy servings - we both felt full at the end - but Doug would have liked a bit more rice. Mostly because if there is rice he will eat a scoop plain after he has finished his main meal.  Pretty good once it all came together.  The orange sauce was good soaked into the rice. The shrimp were alright. Not my favorite protein, but Doug loves them and this was a good way to put them into a meal. They aren't something I would buy normally, so getting them as part of a box meant trying something I wouldn't usually cook. If flipping through a magazine I probably would have passed over a recipe like this altogether, so this was a good way to cook something I usually avoid and to try a recipe I probably would have overlooked. In which case the cost of the meal turned out to be a good deal.

Wool Sweater - Delicious

So, I've been drinking (and sharing) Wool Sweater. Pretty good winter warmer.

The first few I tried were drinkable, but not quite ready, even though it had been the 2-3 week bottle conditioning period. It took about 6-8 weeks for the flavor to develop all the way.

I've also been sharing with a group of friends we made here.  We have "Beer Club Friday" which means we all get together at someone's house, bring food and beer, and hang out.  Nearly everyone in the group has kids, most in the toddler/preschool age group.  A couple are still tiny babies, a few are old enough to be in school.  Kids get to play with kids, grown-ups get to socialize with grown-ups.  For the most part the kids get a room or somewhere outside to play and the adults look on as they chat with each other.

Wool Sweater is nearly gone, so time to get brewing again. Especially now that I have a group to share with.  Of course, it's gotten too warm for me to use the back room as a fermenting room.  But lucky me, for Mother's Day Doug got me a used refrigerator to be stored in the garage, just for brewing!  It's the size of our fridge/freezer combo upstairs, but it is all fridge.  Meaning room for at least two fermenters plus beer storage!

Wool Sweater - Bottling

Nearly 3 weeks after being shut in the bucket and it's time to see what's going on in there. Prying off the lid is an awkward task. I worry if I just try to rip it off things will slosh around too much. So I patiently lift a little, turn the bucket, lift a little more. Bucket probably goes around 3 or 4 times before the lid comes all the way up.

The initial smell was great. Then I noticed all the little bits of hops around the top of the bucket. Things that got stuck during the bubbling. Still a few hops floating too. That might have meant I could have put the lid back on and let it settle a few more days before bottling. But I didn't look it up. I already had everything ready and Daddy was looking after The Boy. Better get to work when I have the kitchen blocked off and all to myself.

Thing I need to remember next time: if the siphon hose has been stored coiled it is important to get it warm with hot water and relax those curls out. It is rather annoying (and difficult towards the end of the brew bucket) to try to keep the siphon end in the brew bucket out of the sediment while keeping the exit end of the siphon hose under the beer already in the bottling bucket. Especially when one is on the counter and the other is on the floor.

One thing that did go better this time: I bought the right sanitizing stuff. So everything only needed a minute rather than 30.

In the end I have 40 bottles (6 of them 22 oz) and a half bottle. Not sure what will happen with the half, but the beer was in there and it was just as easy to cap it as pour it out. So I guess I'll find out. Fewer bottles than my last batch, but more was left behind in the brewing bucket this time for two reasons - more sediment and the sediment wasn't as compact as last time (another reason I think I could have waited a few more days).

Now me and my tastebuds wait. 2 weeks according to the instruction sheet. Eat all the sugars and fart lots little yeasties! I want my beer bubbly and not sweet.

Wool Sweater

It's a winter warmer!

No, not something you wear. But if you drink enough of it you'll feel warm. Maybe. This is my second homebrew. The first was a pale ale. The super friendly guy at my local brew shop recommended the pale ale kit after I made a face at the suggestion I make an amber brew for my first batch. Not that I have anything against amber beers, I just prefer a little more in my glass. I asked then about making a winter ale, but he thought I'd be better off doing something a little more simple for my first time through the mechanics of getting a 5 gallon batch of beer made. He was right, and the beer was good (still is really, I've still got a few left).

Back to this batch. Doug had a great gift idea for Christmas - beer ingredients. I even got them before Christmas because we exchanged gifts early. But the beer making had to wait since we were headed North to the Seattle area for the holidays. After the holidays there were a couple weekends in Portland followed by a couple of weeks helping Roland get over surgery. Which means that finally, in the middle of February, I got to spend an afternoon brewing in the kitchen.

This time, instead of a neat little booklet outlining each step, I had a one-page photo copied recipe laid out in an outline style. Good thing I've done this before.

I started with 2.5 pounds of grain, freshly milled the day before. My 5 gallon brew pot was filled pretty full once I got enough water to steep the grain plus the grain in there. After steeping for about 30 minutes directions told me to increase the water level to 4 gallons. Now it was really full! In went the malt extracts (both liquid and dried). Then some hops. Then more hops. Then more hops again. Hooray for hops! And the combined boiling time was nearly 2 hours. In which we learned a fun thing about our smoke detector: humidity WILL set it off. Repeatedly. Prepare yourself to open windows, flap around kitchen towels, and consider removing the damn battery by the end of the batch. (Good thing this smoke detector wasn't in our apartment in Hawaii. And maybe that's why we didn't have one.)

Then into the bucket to bubble away - hopefully unmolested by the tiny human in the house. Smelled pretty good going in.

New Kitchen

We've moved. Not recently, but since I last updated sometime in the middle of 2013. New apartment in a new state. And the kitchen? Not so tiny any more, but still not all that big.

Actually, it's still kinda tiny. I can't store all my kitchen stuff in the kitchen. There would be more "kitchen" space in the kitchen if it weren't for the full-size washer and dryer right next to the fridge. But with the cloth diapering I'll happily trade some needed cupboard and counter space for a place for the machines that clean the diapers.

And in the new kitchen? A new hobby! Homebrewing to be exact. Today I brewed my second batch. First was a pale ale. Today was a winter warmer. I'll write more on that later. First I wanted you to know that I am still here - and that 'here' is a new place.

Challenge: Coffee Cake

For whatever reason I woke up the other day wanting coffee cake.  I'm not even really sure what the coffee cake I had in mind tastes like anymore.  But I do remember my mom having a recipe for coffee cake, and at least a couple of times when I was a kid she made it for breakfast.  I knew it had a crumbly top and a cakey bottom, but beyond that I had no idea what this would look like.  Luckily, Google knows everything if you just know how to ask.  Or so I thought.

Turns out Google might know too much sometimes, while still no knowing the exact thing I'm looking for.  The recipe my mom used might be out there somewhere, or it might be something that was tweaked and handed down.  If I asked my mom she could probably tell me, but calling your mom who is 4 time zones away while she is at work and can't answer the phone and wanting coffee cake NOW is not conducive to getting said coffee cake.  In addition to wanting coffee cake, I am also on pantry restriction.  I can't buy anything new for the pantry because I'm in the middle of packing up my entire apartment.  So I had to find a recipe that would work with what I had on hand.

Of course I found nothing, and my want was growing stronger so I was either going to have to give up the search or make up my own thing.  I went with the latter.  I figured I had nothing to lose, so if it was gross we could just throw it out.  Not like you can donate open used boxes of things anyway.

What I ended up with turned out pretty good.  Not sure how soon I'll make it again, as the cake was Bisquick based and that is not something typically found in my kitchen.

*UPDATE*
Of course now we've actually moved, and before I finished this entry. The basics of the cake were a simple cake like concoction made from Bisquick mix. The topping was a simple Apple Crisp crumble topping. In the event that I find my handwritten note about this recipe or make something like it again I'll update this post again.

Until then, just enjoy the picture of cake.

In Limbo

So, lots has been going on since my last post.  I started working full-time, which cut into my desire to cook.  Then I got pregnant and a combination of tiredness and morning sickness took away all my cooking mojo.  Now that I'm feeling up to cooking again we are inbetween homes.  We've been lucky enough to have friends with space for us to stay, but it just isn't the same as having your own kitchen.  All my spices have been given away and my tools are in storage.  But I have been cooking again, so there might be something to share soon.

Homemade Chili Seasoning

Last time I went on a big grocery trip, I planned a menu and made a shopping list.  Chili was not on it.  At some point yesterday though I decided that we must have chili for dinner, and I would use the TVP to keep it vegetarian.  I thought to myself "surely I have beans and tomatoes on hand, and I can figure out chili seasoning..."

The recipe I found that most closely resembled what I thought I was looking for still needed some tweaking to fit personal preferences.  Mostly because I am too wimpy to handle any kind of heat.  And I dislike black pepper in just about EVERYTHING.  I think it tastes like dirt.  Yes, I know what dirt tastes like (thank you, Basic Training).

Here is what I came up with for the best chili seasoning:
(adapted from mybakingaddiction)

4 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion flakes
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
dash of cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon oregano
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
2 tablespoons ground cumin
3 teaspoons sea salt

Mix together all ingredients.  Makes about 1/2 cup.

 

Mmmm, chili seasoning with no hidden ingredients.  Store in an air tight container.

Now for the Vegetarian (actually Vegan) Chili:

Start with Onions.  I used 6, but they were small.  They came from the Farmer's Market in Haleiwa. Don't be fooled by their tiny size.  Half way through I had to take a break for onion tears.  Chop them up and saute them in olive oil. 

TVP = Textured Vegetable Protein.  This ingredient is best not thought about.  When I think about it too much, I end up thinking of the scene in The Matrix where everyone is eating the slop that gives them all the nutrients they need.  So you can pretend to be sci-fi about it, or you can use ground meat. (Note: there will be no Vegan Super Powers gained by eating meat)  I used 1 cup of TVP and 2 cups of water.  Throw it in with the onions once they cooked as much as you like them.

Beans.  I used what I had on hand.  Which was 2 cans of black beans and 1 can of kidney beans.  Make sure you rinse those things.  Bean sludge is disgusting.  Add to the onion/TVP mixture.

 Throw in a can of diced tomatoes, including the juice in the can.  2 (8oz) cans of tomato sauce should be added too.  Unless you like dry chili.  Then add 2 tablespoons of the chili seasoning mixture.  Or more if you want.  This would also be a good time to add more heat if you can handle it.

Yum, finished chili.  The TVP looks like ground turkey.  Because of the chili seasoning it tastes like chili.  However, TVP all alone is gross.  Like tofu all alone.  You just shouldn't do it.

Limoncello Sorbet

A recipe for Limoncello popsicles got me all excited for a lemony treat. Of course, popsicles sounded silly given the fact my kitchen is equipped with an ice cream/sorbet maker. Doug always seems interested in Limoncello gelato when it can be found. That option didn't seem likely though; all the recipes were too high in rich dairy products for his consumption. So... sorbet!

Finding a recipe is easy. Unless you are me. Then you notice that about half the recipes you are finding suggest doing things one way, while the other half suggest another way. Many have ingredients you don't want to use or omit ingredients you do want. Solution? Take some notes about the things you like and head to the kitchen without a recipe.

Turns out the basic idea for sorbet is all you need. Some type of fruit juice and/or fruit puree and simple syrup will do the trick. The amounts of each depend on personal preference for flavor and consistency. Your simple syrup can be made with lots of sugar or a little, but it is important to cook the sugar into simple syrup. Otherwise your sorbet will be gritty instead of smooth.  Flavored liquors can be added to help boost the flavor and to help keep the sorbet from turning into a giant ice cube. Or in the case of Limoncello sorbet, to give the treat the nice bright lemon flavor of Limoncello.

So enough about my method and onto my recipe (makes about ten 1/2 cup servings):
2 cups water
1 1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup Limoncello
Zest of two lemons
1 cup lemon juice (preferably fresh squeezed)

1. Mix water and sugar over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat.
2. Mix Lemoncello, lemon juice, and lemon zest. When sugar mixture has cooled to room temperature, add to Limoncello mixture. Refrigerate 2 hours.
3. Follow ice cream maker directions with mixture.

(just so you know, I ate this scoop after taking its picture)

Ta da! Limoncello sorbet. If you want, you can pour a shot of Limoncello over each serving. We ate it without, and it was wonderful. No sharing from this batch, though I may make some for the next potluck get-together. And I'm already having ideas about other fruit/Limoncello combinations.

Millet Salad

As mentioned yesterday, I was planning on Tabbouleh for dinner last night. But the recipe looked rather bland, so the only part I followed were the directions for cooking millet.

I started by toasting 1 cup of whole millet in a tiny amount of oil.  After a few minutes of toasting, I filled the pan with water, brought it to a boil, then simmered the millet for about 15 minutes.  When it was finished simmering, I drained, rinsed, and drained again.  Had to get it cold before mixing with veggies.

Meanwhile, I chopped veggies.  Lots of veggies: tomato, cucumber, onion, garlic, and bell pepper.  I had about 1 1/2 cups of chopped tomato, 1 1/2 cups of chopped cucumber, 1 cup of chopped green onion, and 1 1/2 cups chopped pepper.  Plus a few cloves of garlic.

Add about 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup lime juice, 1/2 cup crumbled feta, and 1 tsp dried cilantro.  Give it all a stir and store in the fridge until the millet is done.  None of these measurements are accurate.  I poured olive oil and lemon juice straight from the bottle.  Same with the cilantro.  And the cheese was the end of a container.  I also added salt.  Before putting in the fridge I tried a bite and it tasted great so I left it alone.

Add the millet and eat.  Turned out pretty good.  Doug thought the onion was a little heavy.  I really liked the sweetness of the bell pepper.  We both agreed less olive oil and more cheese would be an improvement.

Veggie Fare

Doug mentioned while we were on the mainland this summer that he would like to try eating vegetarian more often.  Maybe even more often than not.  As someone who ate primarily vegetarian (because it was easy and I was lazy) in college, I have no problem with this.  We're not doing it because we feel bad for animals.  In fact, bacon is my primary reason for not being vegetarian.  If I could make the entire pig into bacon and waste none of it on pork chops, I would.  Then there are the lambs.  If it weren't for needing fiber for my knitting habit, I would eat ALL of them.

But, back to the vegetarian thing.  It won't be 100%.  Some meals will be planned with meat.  Many will not.  And I'm using the term lightly.  Eggs and dairy are just fine.  Fish is a grey area.  I might call bacon seasoning and pretend it isn't meat.  Doug said he'd like to try to be about 90% meatless.

My last post was on the veggie pasta with homemade cheese.  Last night we had Rice Noodle Salad; eggs were the only animal product.  The recipe was fun because I used rice noodles for the first time.  At first I was a little concerned about the lime juice.  I could smell it in the sauce and worried it would be over powering.  It wasn't though, and Doug ended up eating 3 bowls of the stuff before he could stop himself.  He would have had more for lunch today, but he forgot his lunch at home.

Half way through his first bowl.

Tonight I'll be trying to make Tabbouleh with millet.  I've never used the grain before, but have a small amount on hand.  A recipe in the current issue of Vegetarian Times was my inspiration for what I plan on making.  The recipe itself looks rather bland, but I think I can fix it up with garlic, bell peppers, and cheese.  I'll let you know how it goes.

I Made Cheese!

I've always thought making cheese seemed like a fun idea. The dinner I made last night had a quick, 3 ingredient version of ricotta. It was super easy. I'll be making it again. The recipe it was in is called Linguine with Quick Lemon Ricotta.  The lemon flavor was different from anything I've made for dinner before, but not bad.  Next time I'll put in garlic instead.  We like that much better around here.

The actual cheese part was 2 cups 2% milk, 1/2 cup Greek yogurt, and 2 teaspoons of cider vinegar.  Microwave for 4 minutes on high in a quart-sized measuring cup, stir gently, and drain.

First, you need cheese cloth to make the recipe.  Having none on hand, I decided a coffee filter in a strainer would work just as well.  I was right.

The cheese as the whey drains out.

Finished cheese.  Ready for seasonings.  In this particular recipe that was salt and grated lemon rind.  I have a feeling that the smoked garlic salt we acquired in New Zealand will make a much better addition.

And next: pictures from the rest of the recipe...

Golden grape tomatoes, grown locally in Hawaii.  The recipe called for plain grape tomatoes, but I brought these home instead.

The joys of a teeny tiny kitchen - the pans are teeny tiny too.  You CAN cook a 12oz box of noodles in a 1.5qt pan, but it's kinda messy.  Now I remember why most pasta in the last few months has been shaped pasta instead of long noodles.  They cook easier in small pans.

The other veggies of the meal: summer squash, zucchini, and bell peppers.  Garlic was also added.

Ta Da! Dinner.

Adventures in Wine Opening

Before getting to the wine part, I need to share my excitement about buying a lamb roast.  While the cost was comparable to other decent cuts of meat at Costco, it was still a huge splurge for our grocery budget, but totally worth it in my mind.  I cut the thing in half to make two roasts.  Then each roast fed us several times,  so I really stretched out that lamb.  Sadly I took no pictures of the meals that followed.

The second half of the lamb roast does bring me to the wine adventure though.  I decided that the leftovers from the roast should be made into Shepherd's Pie.  The recipe calls for dry red wine.  I chose a bottle of Pinot Noir.  It had a cork.  I couldn't find my corkscrew.  Up until now, all wine bought to use at my house has had a screw top.  This was a problem.

I thought the problem would be solved by a quick stop at a cheap store. Turns out you shouldn't buy corkscrews at discount stores.  The one I bought was nothing like any corkscrew I've ever used before, but the directions looked easy enough.  I removed the packaging and the first thing that happened was the handle fell off.  No big deal, I could hold it in place to get the job done.

Then the glue holding the whole thing together gave out.  Ahh, now I know why this was marked down half price, in the discount store.  Now the screw is not attached to anything, and I'm holding some rather useless plastic.  Enter the Husband.

He managed to get the screw part into the cork.  Then put a bunch of effort into pulling it out.  But a screw without leverage won't budge.  I know: A hammer!!

 Trying to get the hammer lined up on the screw and bottle.

 I'm actually really nervous about wine going EVERYWHERE.

 Ta Da! Cork out of bottle.

Only one other time have I opened a bottle of wine without a proper cork removal device. It involved shoving the cork into the bottle with a wooden spoon.  It resulted in wine all over the kitchen, including the ceiling.

 Doug snapped a picture of his food.  He mixed the potatoes into the gravy.  To be fair, much of the gravy bubbled up over the potatoes while cooking.  I will be making this recipe again, and looking for a proper corkscrew in the meantime.

Cooking in a Campervan - Part 2

Back to the food of the honeymoon.

Not actually something I cooked.  Rather it was something we found at Reefton, at the horse races.  A hamburger patty on a slice of bread with some grilled onions and tomato sauce.

Of course, had to get some chips and a soda.

Doug being annoyed again at such a tiny handle. Look at his giant man fingers! How is he supposed to pick that up?!

Lets give BeaNZ a chance.  (Turns out we've had better baked beans)

Mmmm.  Steak with caramelized garlic and red wine sauce.  Seeing this picture again makes me think I should be on the hunt for good steaks and a bottle of red wine.

Our last Farmer's Market.  Onions, avocado, bell pepper, zucchini, banana, mushrooms, and pirate ship coffee.  Their claim to fame was that they actually roasted their beans on a boat.  The coffee was alright, but not the best we had in NZ.

Just what is an "American Hotdog?"  Answer: a corndog.

More chips.  I love chips.

Roasted garlic and roasted garlic salt.  I'm not sure if we ripped this guy off or if he ripped us off, but the original deal was two bags of smoked salt, a head of smoked garlic, and a salt shaker.  I asked to exchange the salt shaker for an extra bag of salt and ended up walking away with four bags of smoked salt, two heads of smoked garlic, and no salt shaker.

One of the wineries did olive and olive oil tasting with their wine tasting.

Pretty tasty wine.  I asked if I could buy a glass, but they said they didn't have any to spare.

Another winery.  Had a great conversation about New Zealand with the woman who owned the place.  The conversation was so good she accidentally bagged a bottle of Pinot Gris for me instead of a bottle of Riesling.  Though the Pinot Gris was good, it didn't have the lemony finish of the Riesling, which was my favorite part.

Doug sniffing the smoked garlic.  I think he even told the clove it was to become dinner.

Oy! My lettuce is alive!!

A tiny plant.

Breakfast outside, the camper is getting cramped.

Easiest cleanup? Grill ALL THE THINGS.  Grilled onions, zucchini, bell pepper, and of course, LAMB.  All with a healthy sprinkling of that tasty smoked garlic salt.

A fancy last meal for the campervan: cup noodles and a glass of white.

Holy Giant Bread!

So, back to that starter I started 3 weeks ago...

 After 24 hours it was already starting to bubble nicely.  I think it helped that I put it in the oven over night with the light on.  It gets nice and warm in there with just the light.

For the next few days I continued to put it in the oven over night with the light on.  But on the 4th day it started looking flat.  It would be nice and bubbly after adding the 1/4 flour and 1/4 of water, but by morning all was still.  And when stirred it was very soupy.  So for a couple of days I skipped the water and only added flour.

That seemed to perk it up a bit again, but it would be flat by morning.  I decided it was because I was not feeding it enough.  And I stopped putting it in the oven, letting it get a bit cool at night (around 60 degrees).

When I got to two cups of starter I did a loaf of bread.

 The bread got HUGE.  My oven is small, 17 inches across on the inside, which means only my dinner plate sized stone fits within.  I started the loaf in the bread machine, no need to do all the mixing myself.  When the dough was ready for the final rise I put it on my little stone, covered it in plastic wrap and a kitchen towel, then finished the 30 minutes of the Dr. Who episode I was in the middle of.

I really thought it would take longer than 30 minutes for the loaf to double.  It did not.  And it continued to rise as I heated the oven.

 It's bigger than my head!

 Nice on the inside though, no big holes.

Nice texture too.

And: not too sour.  Could be for a couple of reasons.  Maybe my starter is too young.  Over time it may get more sour.  Or maybe the natural yeast in Hawaii just won't make all that sour of a loaf.  Either way, the starter now has a home in my fridge.  I'll give it a few more loaves before I decide how worthy it is.