Sunday 22 April 2012

Preparing to Bake and Plant






I can't take the sense of pride of away after finally making my very first loaf of sourdough (picture above).  Many years ago, I used to make loaves of labour intensive bread that involved much mixing, kneading, rising and loads of hard work to make many loaves of somewhat white, dense bread. More recently, I dabbled in preparing bread in a bread maker with variable results and with not a great deal of satisfaction with the end product given that my input into the production was so limited.

Last night and this morning I ventured off to Kate's http://vegetablevagabond.blogspot.com.au/ house  in Cygnet to learn the art and skill of making a good loaf of Sourdough.  We gathered all 7 of us around Kate's country kitchen table and learnt through her warm yet rigorous teaching the finer but unbelievably simple rules of producing a damned good sourdough.  On my return home this morning armed with my rising dough mix I prepared to bake my loaf in the oven.  Even as I placed the mixture onto the shelves I doubted that my end result would be all that Kate suggested it would be.  As you can see, the results were superb and tonight Ian and I enjoyed our loaf with the most amazing organic sunflower oil and dukkah available from Kate's store, brie, sliced meats, dips, cherry tomatoes from the garden and a bottle of red.  It was a meal reminiscent of our holiday in France last year.

Earlier in the day Ian and I headed off for a meal in one of Franklin's pubs the Lady Franklin I do believe the name was.  With our bellies way too full after a large and enjoyable meal we walked to Franklin antiques that has a plethora of rooms upstairs and down that you really need to reserve an afternoon to do it justice.  We wandered through the various rooms lusting after various pieces, being silly with vintage hats and outfits and reminiscing at the retro furniture that is now so valued but so commonplace and mundane in our growing up years.  At the rear of the antique shop is Jills Bloomers and search through them we did!  We left there armed with cottage garden plants you will see in the basket above, a beautiful bowl perfect for rising sough dough but oh so pretty and hand painted on the island of Jersey and an exquisite hand painted Italian plate.  

From there we headed off to Huonville for some less interesting grocery shopping and then purchased lots of veggie seedlings to plant in our garden. Planting out the celery, coriander, beetroot, silver beet, carrots and leeks will be my task for tomorrow.

One of the highlights of today was meeting people whom I have known through blogging but not actually met face to face.  Reading people's blog sites gives you such an insight into their worlds but the opportunity to finally meet face to face is fabulous.  Kate who led the course and Susan http://huonview.blogspot.com.au/ were only known in the world of cyberspace up until yesterday.  It was so lovely to meet them both after long admiring their writings and sharings on their sites.  Jo another participant in the course is also a blogger and though I've not read her blog I look forward to doing so in the future.  New friends, new skills and new explorations they have been my day.  Each day brings a closer connection to my new community and to our land.  Finally, the random shot of Gerberas above is there because they were bought more than a week ago from  in Cradoc and they continue to provide a splash of colour and happiness in our new home.










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