The Perfect Sourdough

Grandpa Ben gave me some of his sourdough start while we were in Utah over the 4th of July. Technically this is a photo of my first loaf, which was ok. However the second one had a mishap when shaping/rising so it wasn't very pretty and didn't deserve a photo. But, have no fear, even though I worried the whole time it baked, it tasted amazing. The crust was dark and crunchy, the inside squishy, moist and perfectly sour.
The coolest thing about sourdough start is that you can replace the yeast in any bread with sourdough start, replacing the yeast won't make the bread taste like sourdough it will just take over as the leavener. The only ingredients in this bread were sourdough start, flour, water, salt. It does take about 2 days to fully proof, you can add a little yeast to speed things up, but the time is totally worth it. YUM!
Update: I made another loaf!! and though the second one was still the best as far as taste goes, this one was the best looking. I took this on my phone, so the crust is much darker brown than this.

Labor Day Weekend

Three-day weekends keep me alive. Especially this one, it was perfect. Seattle hit 80 for 9 days straight a new record for September. All summer we broke coldest-temp records and finally September we have nine days of Eden. I haven't been convinced that Seattle is worth those 9 days of paradise, but I'll tell you what I wouldn't leave Seattle for anywhere or anyone in the world when it's sunny and 80.

It's a miracle I stepped out of the sun long enough to take these photos of our weekend at the cove. I wish cameras could capture the light sparking off the water and shimmering through the tree leaves, the perfect light breeze and my complete nirvana.

Off the patio

Since then, the weather has become distinctively fall-ish. I've put my sweats on and curled up on the couch with a hot mug of licorice tea. It's good too, but I'm feeling a lack of vitamin-d in my life.