Sourdough

 

I was given some fantastic sourdough starter a few weeks ago. I immediately made some bread… or tried to. Unfortunately my bread was  a bit dense and not quite as airy as I wanted them to be so, the next weekend I set out a cup of starter and got started. After feeding my starter and putting the rest of my starter back in the fridge, I set it out overnight to see what would happen…

I was super surprised, I have never had such an active starter, it went from a few bubbles on Friday night to a living breathing creature on Saturday morning. I immediately got started. After visiting my starters parent batch and seeing and tasting the delicious airy  bread that it made I started asking questions. It turned out that the one ingredient that I was missing was vitamin C. So I went to the store and bought a bottle of chewable vitamin C, took one out and crushed it to bits. Then started on bread again.

After letting my starter and Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) with 1 1/2 cups of flour rest for 90 minutes I added a bit more flour and had a wonderful dough to knead for a few minutes. Then I let it rise for 2-3 hours inside our TV cabinet, ( the warmest non drafty place in the house.) Then I portioned the dough out and rounded it over to let it rest for a few minutes.

After letting the dough rest for a while I got my mini loaves and one large loaf ready to rise again. 2-3 hours later we were ready to bake. This time I got light airy bread! The recipe and sourdough starter both come from Sourdoughbreads.com. The instructions are a bit long but filled great information and you can buy starter from this website as well.

Lula’s January Postcard

Today is the day

 

Well out of 30 things I challenged myself with last year I have 12 left over. Some of the hardest things to complete were the year long items. I didn’t sketch everyday but I did draw and make more things this year than I have the past two years. I did not write a letter every month. I probably wrote a letter every other month.  Buying a piece of artwork was harder than I expected, I was very picky and still have not found anything that I really really want. I have to say I watched a lot  of movies this year, I didn’t make it to 200 but I did manage to watch 163 movies in 365 days which I think is quite an accomplishment.  I had a hard time deciding what and how to monogram something. I have finally decided on what I am going to monogram. The process alone is going to take quite a while, 7 inch letters made of entirely French knots is going to take me a couple weeks! I never got around to doing the self portrait or thinking about how I want to work on it, but that is definitely something I want to continue thinking about.

There are a lot of things that are not on this list that I did this year too.  I finally convinced Scott to get rid of our old ugly uncomfortable couch!!!! I have a new position at work, I made our advent calendar and few other things along the way. Just in cade you were wondering here is what I managed to do this year and what I still have left to do.

       12 months, 30 tasks, 1 big birthday

1. Complete a daily sketch, EVERYDAY, no matter how big, small, complicated or simple. This has not been completed. I may not have sketched everyday but I certainly sketched and created more this year than I have in the past 5 years.
2. Visit at least 4 local museums/art centers or galleries. Virginia Museum of Fine Art, The Chrysler, Contemporary Art Center of Virginia, The Anderson Gallery  (if you want to go let me know) Done!!! 
3.   Continue taking Lula’s  weekly picture and writing her weekly updates so that I can put them all together in a book at the end of her first year. Done. Hands down the best thing I did this year. I will never regret doing this and having it to look back at.
4. Make French macaroons. Done and delicious.
5. Monogram something myself.   Here is an example of what I am going to do….
6. Find a new home, color  and use for an old piece of furniture. A beautiful blue side table. 
7. Buy one piece of art directly from the artist.  Still looking for this, I’ve seen a few things but nothing that I really needed to have.
8. Learn a new technique/skill.  Done… if you need bacon I am your girl.
9. Sew something from a pattern.  I have drawn up numerous patterns this year to sew things from but I never went out and bought a pre-made pattern to sew with. 
10. Teach someone something new, outside of work. Done, taught my sister how to knit and how to draw a pattern for stuffed animals.  
11. Read 6 new books. DONE and now I am on my 8th 
12. Complete a self portrait.
13. Go through that closet full of that stuff that I will use one day and get rid of the stuff I will never use any day.  Done. everything has been sorted and donated or given away.
14. Make something with a material that I have never used or that I am afraid of. Done. Glass tiled our fireplace!
15. Go to a movie by myself.
16. Write an original recipe. Done.
17. Make a magnetic felt alphabet and paint a wall with magnetic paint. I have the alphabet but I think we will be using something other than magnetic paint.
18. Use my punch bowl and glasses.
19. Condense our CD library and update our digital music library. Done finally and Pandora is set too.
20. Make pickles and jam..   Done…twice! Strawberry jam and apricot jam, Asparagus pickles and pickled jalapenos.
21. Make one meal with only the items in our garden. This one did not happen since all we really had was jalapenos this year… but I definitely made use of them.
22. Scan in  all of our old photos  and finish our photo albums. DONE! Now I am getting them ready to archive on DVDs
23.   Write one letter a month, not an email, not a text and not a thank you note- a real letter with an envelope and a stamp. This one didn’t stick either. I wish it had.. but it didn’t.
24. Really celebrate New Year’s Eve for the first time in 4 years. No going to sleep before midnight. It may not be glamorous or exciting, but we are going to actually plan a lovely evening in.
25. Genuinely make an attempt to enjoy oysters in all forms, even raw. I have tried them raw, fried, roasted and grilled. I don’t hate them anymore but I don’t love them either. I even cooked them several times on my own. I think an honest attempt has been made.
26. Spend a day or two  in Williamsburg rediscovering a place I haven’t spent much time in for almost 7 years.
27. Watch all the movies on AFI’S 100 Years 100 Movies List and  EW’s New Classics Movie List  I am making my way through this one…. only 37 more left.
28. Bake cookies/cupcakes every month for birthdays at work.   Done.
29. Have tea with someone, at a tea house or my house. I have the place just haven’t had the time.
30. Celebrate my 30th birthday actually doing something I really want to do, not just what is easy and no baking my own birthday cake!  Done!! A day  at The Chrysler.

#27 Watch all the movies on AFI’s 100 Years 100 Movies list and EW’s New Classics List

 

So I did not get to watch all 200 movies but I did watch 163 movies in 365 days!!! Only 37 left to watch, not bad for a year.

EW’S New Classics List

1. Pulp Fiction (1994)   8/02/2011
2. The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001-03)      1. 2/10/2011 2. 5/24/2011   3.  5/25/2011
3. Titanic (1997) 9/24/2011
4. Blue Velvet (1986)  1/17/2012
5. Toy Story (1995)  5/30/2011
6. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
7. Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)  2/25/2011 
8. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)   1/22/2012
9. Die Hard (1988)  7/31/2011
10. Moulin Rouge (2001) 6/30/2011
11. This Is Spinal Tap (1984) 1/28/2012
12. The Matrix (1999)  6/1/2011
13. GoodFellas (1990)  4/28/2011
14. Crumb (1995) 3/16/2011
15. Edward Scissorhands (1990) 8/17/2011 
16. Boogie Nights (1997)   2/1/2012
17. Jerry Maguire (1996)  3/16/2011
18. Do the Right Thing (1989)   5/25/2011
19. Casino Royale (2006) 5/01/2011
20. The Lion King (1994) 10/20/2011
21. Schindler's List (1993)  5/24/2011
22. Rushmore (1998) 9/24/2011
23. Memento (2001)   3/29/2011   
24. A Room With a View (1986)  4/5/2011
25. Shrek (2001)  9/4/2011
26. Hoop Dreams (1994) 1/12/2012
27. Aliens (1986) 1/29/2012
28. Wings of Desire (1988)  5/24/2011
29. The Bourne Supremacy (2004) 9/72011
30. When Harry Met Sally... (1989)  2/17/2011
31. Brokeback Mountain (2005) 7/18/2011 
32. Fight Club (1999)  7/06/2011
33. The Breakfast Club (1985) 7/18/2011
34.  Fargo   (1996)  10/31/2011
35. The Incredibles (2004)  5/24/2011
36. Spider-Man 2 (2004)  2/7/2012
37. Pretty Woman (1990) 7/18/2011 
38. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) 8/23/2011
39. The Sixth Sense (1999)     2/9/2011
40. Speed (1994)  8/17/2011
41. Dazed and Confused (1993) 9/7/2011
42. Clueless (1995)  7/20/2011
43. Gladiator (2000) 9/7/2011
44. The Player (1992)
45. Rain Man (1988) 8/09/2011
46. Children of Men (2006) 9/23/2011
47. Men in Black (1997)  10/30/2011
48. Scarface (1983) 11/30/2011
49. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) 2/1/2012
50. The Piano (1993)  8/22/2011
51. There Will Be Blood (2007)   9/7/2011
52. The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad (1988)  4/06/2011
53. The Truman Show (1998) 10/4/2011
54. Fatal Attraction (1987) 2/2/2012
55. Risky Business (1983)  3/1/2011
56. The Lives of Others (2006)
57. There’s Something About Mary (1998)   12/02/2011
58. Ghostbusters (1984) 1/28/2012
59. L.A. Confidential (1997) 11/17/2012
60. Scream (1996)  10/29/2011
61. Beverly Hills Cop (1984)  3/6/2011
62. sex, lies and videotape (1989)
63. Big (1988) 2/23/11
64. No Country For Old Men (2007)   3/12/2011
65. Dirty Dancing (1987)  11/11/2011
66. Natural Born Killers (1994)
67. Donnie Brasco (1997) 2/26/2011
68. Witness (1985)
69. All About My Mother (1999)
70. Broadcast News (1987)  5/25/2011
71. Unforgiven (1992)
72. Thelma & Louise (1991) 3/24/2011 
73. Office Space (1999)   10/24/2011
74. Drugstore Cowboy (1989)
75. Out of Africa (1985)  11/20/2011
76. The Departed (2006)  7/23/2011
77. Sid and Nancy (1986)   5/16/2011
78. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
79. Waiting for Guffman (1996) 10/1/2011
80. Michael Clayton (2007) 3/2/2011
81. Moonstruck (1987) 8/16/2011
82. Lost in Translation (2003)   8/30/2011
83. Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn (1987)
84. Sideways (2004)  9/1/2011
85. The 40 Year-Old Virgin (2005)  4/5/2011
86. Y Tu Mamá También (2002) 8/22/2011
87. Swingers (1996)  01/10/2012
88. Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997) 7/21/2011
89. Breaking the Waves (1996)
90. Napoleon Dynamite (2004)   6/23/2011
91. Back to the Future (1985)
92. Menace II Society (1993)
93. Ed Wood (1994)
94. Full Metal Jacket (1987)  12/05.2011
95. In the Mood for Love (2001)  12/07/2011
96. Far From Heaven (2002) 5/24/2011
97. Glory (1989)  12/10/2011
98. The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)  8/30/2011
99. The Blair Witch Project (1999)
100. South Park: Bigger Longer & Uncut (1999)

AFI’S 100 Years 100 Movies List

1 Citizen Kane (1941) 9/24/2011
2 The Godfather (1972)   4/11/2011
3 Casablanca (1942)  4/28/2011
4 Raging Bull (1980)  10/6/2011
5 Singin' in the Rain (1952)   3/24/2011
6 Gone With the Wind (1939)  9/8/2011
7 Lawrence of Arabia (1962)   10/24/2011
8 Schindler's List (1993)  5/24/2011
9 Vertigo (1958)  2/15/2011
10 The Wizard of Oz (1939)
11 City Lights (1931)  10/25/2011
12 The Searchers (1956) 10/28/2011
13 Star Wars (1977) 10/29/2011
14 Psycho (1960) 8/28/2011 
15 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)   3/15/2011
16 Sunset Blvd. (1950)  9/23/2011
17 The Graduate (1967)   4/5/2011
18 The General (1927)  10/01/2011
19 On the Waterfront (1954)  10/5/2011
20 It's a Wonderful Life (1946) 11/29/2011
21 Chinatown (1974)  11/17/2011
22 Some Like It Hot (1959)   4.12.2011
23 The Grapes of Wrath (1940)  2/28/2011
24 E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) 10/17/2011
25 To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) 11/25/2011
26 Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)  7/12/2011
27 High Noon (1952)  4/29/2011
28 All About Eve (1950) 2/10/2011 
29 Double Indemnity (1944)  11/29/2011
30 Apocalypse Now (1979)  7/10/2011
31 The Maltese Falcon (1941) 11/28/2011
32 The Godfather Part II (1974) 6/21/2011
33 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)  9/1/2011
34 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
35 Annie Hall (1977) 7/13/2011
36 The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) 12/01/2011                                                                                        37 The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) 12/15/2011
38 The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) 12/16/2011
39 Dr. Strangelove (1964) 12/30/2011
40 The Sound of Music (1965) 01/13/2012
41 King Kong (1933) 01/13/2012
42 Bonnie and Clyde (1967)     4/8/2011
43 Midnight Cowboy (1969)  7/20/2011
44 The Philadelphia Story (1940)
45 Shane (1953)
46 It Happened One Night (1934) 12/17/2011
47 A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)   9/24/2011
48 Rear Window (1954) 10/4/2011
49 Intolerance (1916) 11/19/2011
50 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)   2/10/2011
51 West Side Story (1961) 10/6/2011
52 Taxi Driver (1976) 01/13/2012
53 The Deer Hunter (1978)  6/29/2011
54 M*A*S*H (1970)
55 North by Northwest (1959)
56 Jaws (1975)  11/2/2011
57 Rocky (1976) 10/6/2011
58 The Gold Rush(1925) 5/20/2011
59 Nashville (1975)  5/16/2011
Duck Soup (1933)  2/25/2011
61 Sullivan's Travels (1941)
62 American Graffiti (1973)  1/27/2012
63 Cabaret (1972)
64 Network (1976)   3/24/2011
65 The African Queen (1951) 6/21/2011
66 The Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)  6/5/2011
67 Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
68 Unforgiven (1992)
69 Tootsie (1982)  8/16/2011
70 A Clockwork Orange (1971) 1/03/2012
71 Saving Private Ryan (1998) 7/12/2011
72 The Shawshank Redemption (1994) 8/24/2011
73 Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
74 The Silence of the Lambs (1991) 1/22/2012
75 In the Heat of the Night (1967)
76 Forrest Gump (1994) 9/28/2011
77 All the President's Men (1976)
78 Modern Times (1936)
79 The Wild Bunch (1969) 11/12/2011
80 The Apartment (1960)
81 Spartacus (1970)
82 Sunrise (1927)
83 Titanic (1997) 10/5/2011
84 Easy Rider (1969)
85 A Night at the Opera (1935)
86 Platoon (1986)
87 12 Angry Men (1957)
88 Bringing Up Baby (1938)  9/8/2011
89 The Sixth Sense (1999)   2/9/2011
90 Swing Time (1936)
91 Sophie's Choice (1982) 3/4/2011 
92 Goodfellas (1990)  4/24/2011
93 The French Connection (1971) 1/26/2012
94 Pulp Fiction (1994)
95 The Last Picture Show (1971)
96 Do the Right Thing (1989) 5/25/2011
97 Blade Runner (1982) 1/26/2012
98 Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)
99 Toy Story (1995) 6/1/2011
100 Ben-Hur (1959)

Lula’s December Postcard

Making Macarons

With the help of Bakerella and Tartlette I can finally cross something else off my 30x30 list! I made French Marcarons. I have always wanted to make these super delicate and simple cookies, but they always seemed super hard and complicated. Now I know.. 4 ingredients and a little bit of patience and you have some very delicious treats.

You need 90g of aged egg whites, either 24 hours out loosely covered at room temperature or 3-5 days in the fridge.  Whip these until they are foamy and gradually add in 25g of granulated sugar until you have a glossy  meringue. Then in another bowl add 110g of ground almonds and 200 g powdered sugar and  fold in your meringue.  Fill a pastry bag with your batter and pipe small circles on a baking sheet ( you will need 2) lined with parchment or a silicone baking mat. Then let them sit out for 1 hour to harden your shells. I put a 1.5 inch circle out to help me make all the shells the same size.

Once your shells have rested for an hour they go into the oven at 300 for 18-20 mins.

Make sure to watch them towards the end I made some smaller shells the next day and they only needed 16-17 minutes. Hopefully once you pull them out you will find delicate crispy shells with beautiful feet and soft pillow like insides.

I whipped up a quick ganache and filled them.. then set to getting some egg whites aging for the next day to use up my last Meyer lemon for some mini macarons!

Lula’s Postcards: November

We have family and friends all over the place and we don’t get to travel as much as we would like to so instead of taking a weekly picture we are going to be “sending” a postcard to the people we miss to let them know how and what Lula is up to. In the end I hope we end up with another great book!

Soft Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies for November

I have been searching for the perfect soft chewy peanut butter cookie recipe and I think I finally found it thanks to Clockwork Lemon

Soft Peanut Butter Cookies from Clockwork Lemon

(adapted from Epicurious)

• 1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup smooth peanut butter (natural/unsweetened)
• 1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 1  large egg, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup peanut butter chips

1. Preheat the oven to 350 and grease some cookie trays.

2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

3. In a mixer's bowl cream together the butter, sugar, peanut butter, and egg until well combined then add the vanilla extract

4. With a wooden spoon or the mixer on a low setting mix the flour mixture in with the peanut butter mixture in three additions until just combined.

5. Roll out 1.5 tbsp balls of cookie dough and gently flatten with a fork.

6. Bake for ten minutes, rotating the cookie sheets after five minutes. Let cool on the tray until firm enough to move to a cooling rack.

Happy 1st Birthday Lula

 

We originally planned to have our birthday party outside but with 50 degree temperatures and strong winds we decided to move everything inside.

We used Lula’s quilt as a back drop for her party and posted up all of her weekly photos for everyone to take a look at.

                          We just had a few snacks since it was early afternoon. Mac and Cheese bites, Chicken Enchilada Puffs, Veggies and Dip, Goldfish and a Rainbow Cake.

Then the fun started.. we unwrapped presents and played with toys and other kids. Had a “little” cake. Lula was not as interested in the cake as she was in playing with the other kids. 

Then it was time for bed and Mom and Dad enjoyed a piece of cake to celebrate.

Happy 1st Birthday Lula!

 

It’s hard to imagine that this time last year you were not here yet. We were just getting to the hospital and a few short hours later we got to finally meet you. This year has been amazing, we have watched you grow and taught you so many new things. You have gone from brown hair and blue eyes to blonde hair and hazel eyes. You started out at 10lbs 4 oz and 21.5 inches long and now you are 19lbs and 27 inches long. You are a crawling speedster and everyday you make more progress on walking on your own. You  talk all the time and are very giggly and goofy. We love you and can’t wait to celebrate another year with you. Happy Birthday Lula Mae.