odd pain management

I have had arthritis pain since I was an early teen.  The fibromylagia came later.  It means that I look like Grandmother Turtle trying to move with the world on her shoulders many times.  This week has been one of them.  Add an infection in since Wednesday, and it is all I can do to get through the day.  

Yes, I have worked with doctors and  naturopaths and I am much better then I was.  But there are times, like now, where a quote I saw fully explains the pain.  "It is not just pain.  It's a complete physical, mental and emotional assault on your body."  - Jamie Wingo.  

I just keep trying to move forward.  My non-corporate work really helps with the pain.  If I could bend, I would be in the garden today, but if I were to bend over to pull a weed, I would have to wait for someone to find me to get me back up.  Just pain.  

So I put my hands in dough.

Bara Brith, waffles, cornetti.

I washed fiber so I may have some to spin when we go to the mountain next weekend.  Whether I am in shape or not,  I will go to the mountain.  In a car.  With Koda Bear, his dog, and my Beloved.  We will leave Koda Bear and his dog with the Tall Short Person at the end of the week.  The last news I had about my Grandmother was she was doing better so I hope to see her.

I know, odd.

sourdough waffles

The boyos really like sourdough pancakes.  They are really easy for me so I have no problems making pancakes for them.  Or setting it up so they can add eggs and make them themselves when I am off at work.  But once in a while I do like a nice waffle.  I had been thinking that it would not be that hard to take my sourdough pancake recipe and switch it to waffles.  I have noticed that waffle recipes seem to increase the amount of fat in them.  I have always thought that is to try to limit sticking to the waffle iron.

I was on instagram last week and @local_milk had posted a picture of her sourdough waffles, giving an outline of what she did and saying she used Rhulman's ratios for pancakes as a base.  Like I thought, the basis was to increase fat and there I would have it.  I was actually thinking the flavors from my cornetti would also be good in a waffle, the orange and vanilla.  I was out of orange so vanilla it was.

May I say these were some of the lightest waffles I have had?  And I let them bake a bit so there was a crispness to them.  You do not have to do that but that is what I like.  Next time, I hope to have an orange in the house to give try.  That with "black sugar" (sugared berries, talk to Koda Bear about that name), so good it would be (we have a lot of Yoda around here).

sourdough waffles

sourdough starter

3/4 cup water

1 cup flour

1 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup melted butter

1/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups flour

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

At least a day ahead of when you wish to make the waffles, freshen the starter by mixing the starter, 3/4 cup water, and 1 cup flour in a medium bowl.  Cover and let sit at least 8 hours until bubbly.  Remove about 2 tablespoons of starter for your next sourdough experience.

In the starter, mix in the buttermilk, melted butter, sugar, vanilla, salt, and two cups flour.  Cover, let sit over night until you are ready to bake.

In the morning, heat up your waffle iron and oil they way that works the best for you.  While the iron is heating, mix the two eggs and the baking soda into the batter.  Let sit a minute.  It will grow on you.  Pour about a cup of batter per waffle into the iron.  Bake until it is what you like.  Like I said, I like crispy which is longer then most people like.

Serve with "black sugar" (sugared cut strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries).

Enjoy.

Update on my Grandmother.  The last I heard she was actually doing better but I have not received the latest update yet.  My Mother was supposed to go down and see here yesterday.  I do not know if no news is good or bad but prayers are still appreciated very much.

everyday bread

I have been thinking for some time that I need to write down my current every day bread recipe.  When I was getting texted about the the time I was getting ready to go to bed about what the next steps were, that made the decision for me.  My everyday bread is based on the Tassajara Bread Book (by Edward Espe Brown) pastry recipe but it is every changing for what I put in it.  When Koda Bear is eating jam sandwiches on a regular basis, I put an egg in it.  If I have heavy whipping cream that might be turning soon, that is fluid in the recipe.

I started laughing at myself because I was thinking this recipe is very fluid.  Right after the last sentence.  It truly is but this is current stopping place.

everyday bread

Note:  I will put my some of the possibilities in the ingredient list.  Depending on what  you put in the dough will change the amount of flour you need.  My french bread style. 

sourdough starter

3/4 cup water

1 cup flour

1 cup milk (this could be water or non-dairy milk or buttermilk or heavy whipping cream)

1 egg

1/4 cup sugar (white or brown)

1/4 cup butter (or another oil, I use olive a lot)

2 teaspoons salt (this can vary but bread tastes very bad without salt unless you were raised that way!)

5 cups flour.

The night before (or morning), mix the starter, 1 cup flour, and 3/4 cup water in a large bowl.  Cover.  When it is bubbly in the morning, take a couple tablespoons out for next time.

To the starter, add the milk, egg, sugar, and butter.  Mix well but do not worry about butter lumps currently.  Mix in two cups of flour.  Cover and let get bubbly and the dough raises.  This may take an hour or two in a warm house. 

When bubbly, mix in the salt.  The butter should be soft enough to start to break up.  Mix in two cups of flour.  The batter should be becoming a soft dough.  You want a dough that is stiff enough to knead but still very soft.  Add a bit more flour possibly.  Turn out onto a clean floured counter or in a bread trough and knead until smooth.  Place in a large bowl and cover.  Let rise until double.

Punch down.  At this point you can shape or let the dough rise again.  The second rise actually makes the bread keep longer.  I normally do and it takes another couple hours (covered).

Butter a loaf pan or two, dependent on the size of the loaves you wish.  Shape the dough to fit in the pans.  Cover and let rise until puffy.

Once puffy, put the loaves into a 350 degree Fahrenheit oven and bake for 1 hour.  I do not preheat which is part of why the length of time for the baking.

Enjoy!

quiet weekend

It was a full but quiet weekend.  I did not finish many tasks but I did a lot.  There was spinning and sewing, errands run.  I actually got some time in the garden.  Between all the rain and heat I will never get caught up but that gardening currently.  Letting the garden get away from you at all means many hours weeding.  I just do not have many hours.  Especially in the morning when it is cooler and less insects.

I am enjoying the zinnias and there are turnips to add to the fish and chips I am planning for dinner soon.

If I could get into the garden soon, I know it would help with the worry about my Grandmother.  She took a fall or falls this weekend.  She is hospitalized and the is that there is brain bleeds.  If so, the action taken will be bringing in Hospice.  At 104, that is the best decision but it does make me sad.  In many ways, I would love to be like her when I "grow up."  Either of my Grandmothers truly.  So prayers, good thoughts for the best path please.  

quilts laid out

Every time I sew, I make nine squares.  I may have mentioned this in the past.  It means I always have a quilt in the works.  Sometimes I just sew nine squares.  Sometimes I sew nine squares while I make other things.

When the building for work was closed mid week, Koda Bear and Miss A went to the Children's Museum.  Yes, it was open during a tropical storm and they had a great time because there was hardly anyone there.  I took the quiet to lay out two quilts.  It was actually very nice not to have a small boy helping.

Now I did have help from my Beloved.

His color sense is not mine so these quilts are not quite what I would have made.  But that is okay.  I am actually making cashmere and cotton squares right now.  All solids.  I may make a quilt and keep it for myself.  Or I might not.  I will see.