Sunday, May 06, 2012

Dough, lemongrass and starter.

1. I really don't like making doughy things -- I can hardly stand the feeling of it, particularly the early stickiness. But I really do believe it's helpful to work dough with your hands so you can feel what's going on, and I do know that some people love the process. I've been practising, hoping that as I get to know the ways of flour, I'll get over it. Today I made playdough in the morning and shortbread biscuits in the afternoon. I reckon that's two steps nearer mastering it.

2. I scatter a few drops of lemongrass oil around the kitchen as I mop the floor.

3. To lift the lid of the sourdough crock and smell (and hear) the bubbly starter. (The sourdough culture arrived by post earlier this week from an old school friend. As well as being generous with his breadmaking technology, Chris is generous with his time and technological expertise because he is involved with an opensource mapping project, Open Street Map.)

Coffee, right there and advent calendar.

1. The coffee this morning is very tasty. There is no particular reason that we can discern. Perhaps we were just ready for it, and our bisc...