I have wonderful news: I have begun baking my own bread! It is such a satisfying (and tasty) journey to undertake. Bread singing from the oven making your house smell warm and yummy is a euphoric experience indeed. And I've not just begun baking any bread, bread from a sourdough starter. This is a traditional method of cultivating natural yeast and good bacteria by simply combining flour and water. By "feeding" this mixture everyday the yeast and bacteria thrive, creating a nuanced addition that will give your bread character and depth. The starter will also act as the leavening agent in your bread, thus not needing yeast (for some breads you can still add dry yeast, more on that later). Like a good wine that has been aged, starter will continue to develop and mature the longer it is kept alive. It also makes your bread have a lower glycemic effect on the body, making it a healthier option. Now, when I say "sourdough" I don't mean San Francisco sourdough, but a "sour" starter that gives artisan breads that wonderful tangy essence. Now, without getting into the scientific details too much here (check out this, this, and this for more details if you're so inclined), I'll give you the run-down of baking with starter and all the wonderful possibilities that lie ahead.

As there are many upon many resources for baking bread, I will merely outline the resources I've found useful and the "bear bones" minimum I've used to begin baking.

Specialty equipment needed:

A digital scale. This one, while inexpensive, works just fine as it can be in ounces, grams, or pounds and can measure down to 0.1g. And it comes in so many fun colors!
A container with lid to store your starter in. I use a Weck jar.
A plastic dough scraper such as this one.
A bench scraper. Makes clean-up much easier also.
Baker's stone. I have a round pizza stone that I've used, which has been ok. Just make sure you line it with parchment first. Also, if making unformed loaves, a Dutch oven works just as well.
A Lame (knife to score the bread with). Note: do not use a kitchen knife. You will end up dragging the dough and not cutting through properly.
Baker's Couche. The picture is pretty self-explanatory. Used for gently holding the shape of baguettes during a rise.

First, you need to make a starter, unless you have a friend and fellow baker that is willing to give you some, or a baker from whom you can purchase said starter. This takes about 4-5 days, depending on the time of year. It is getting to be the chiller part of fall here in Atlanta, which isn't the ideal time to start your starter, summer and late spring are the ideal, but it will work. It just might take an extra day or two. But be patient, the wild yeast in the flour will be growing. I followed this website* step-by-step and ended up with a wonderful bubbly starter within a week. I actually scratched my first attempt at this starter due to my starter not doubling after the Day 3 additions. After the second day, it bubbled up and more than doubled, but then seem to be "dead" after day three. Therefore, during the second go-around and same problem, I added the "shot" of rye flour and water he talks about and low and behold, I had a wonderful, bubbly starter within hours. Once you have your starter completed you will need to "feed" it to keep it alive and from going moldy. So that you don't end up with a monstrous yeasty thing eating you out of house and home you want to discard a portion of the starter before feeding it to keep it at a consistent and manageable volume. You can either use the discarded portion to bake with (see below about making a sponge), give it to another aspiring baker, or simply throw it out. To feed my starter, I reserve 25g starter (about 2 sloppy Tablespoons), 25g water (2 TB + 1 tsp.), and 25g flour (1/4 cup). *The aforementioned website is also a wonderful resource for anything bread-baking related, including discussions about the best equipment, etc.

A quick note about flour: King Arthur's All Purpose Flour is the best widely available flour to use for baking and your starter as it's made from wild wheat. Organic and unbleached is always preferable in any flour you choose, but make sure you are using flour made from ground wild wheat if living in the USA. If in France, the flour is perfect for baking, so go nuts.

Once you are the proud owner of a bubbly baby starter, you can begin baking. Keep in mind that your first few loaves will be less than wonderful, but they WILL improve. The starter takes about a month to fully develop. And your practice and techniques will take even longer. So, keep at it and the good news is: you can eat up your bread along the way! My first few loaves were very dense, but tasted wonderful.

The evening before I want to bake bread, I make my SPONGE. This is the portion removed from the starter before feeding to which you add, yup! You guessed it. Flour and water. I typically do all the starter minus 2 TB. plus 6 TB filtered water and 1/2 cup flour. Feed your starter as normal, unless you typically feed it in the morning, then just wait until morning, minus throwing out the excess as you've just done that the night before. Let them both sit at room temperature overnight.

In the morning, you can begin your dough following whatever formula you choose. Here are a few recipes for pan au levain: Chocolate and Zucchini, Sourdough Home, and The Fresh Loaf. This last recipe is given in volume, not in weight so if you don't have a scale you can use this. However, I highly recommend a scale for accuracy and trouble-shooting purposes. I have followed Chocolate and Zucchini's recipe with great success. It's actually a very easy process, and just takes time. She also includes great links to videos and other resources throughout this post.

Once you have become somewhat comfortable with your starter, venture out into other fun recipes, such as baguettes! Here is the post I used to bake my baguettes with great success. He details the process out simply and includes lots of videos like how to properly score and knead that are great for the home baker. At the beginning of the post are links to books as well.

If you so choose to venture into bread baking, and I hope you do, don't be intimidated by the process. There are tons of resources available and it is definitely a labor of love. Trial and error will be your mantra for a while. But like I mentioned earlier, you get to eat your "errors" along the way which will be delicious!

Here's a list of a few terms I didn't know before venturing into baking:

Crumb: the interior structure of the bread, the holes and their consistency
Shaggy: when referring to a dough and it's non-uniformity
De-gassing: working the air bubbles out of a dough
100% hydration: this refers to the starter. By adding equal parts water and flour to starter, you end up with a "100% hydration"

Happy baking, and pass the butter!

Devonly,

Yours.

I'm taking advantage of these last few days of summer and the berries that were on sale in my local super market to make a tart. This a perfect combination of late summer and early fall. The raspberries are a nod to the warm summer months that are coming to an end and the walnut tart is warm and homey, reminiscent of my favorite holiday cookie. Together they balance out the flavors of the transitioning season and go great with the cooler evenings and changing leaves. See recipe below.

We just returned from a whirl-wind trip to Seattle and enjoyed some fabulous summer weather they've been having. It's amazing how accustomed I am to the heat after only being in Atlanta for one summer. They're "heat wave" was my paradise. A sunny day in Seattle is about the closest thing to heaven on earth.

Ethan had his first visit to the ocean and dipped his toes in the big beautiful blue for the first time. He didn't seem as excited as I was for him. He also had his first boat ride, complete with ridiculous (but safe!) life vest. We all laughed heartily at his expense.

I miss Seattle more and more each time I visit, but when I return to Atlanta, I sigh a bit of tired relief and feel like I am home. I was going over in my mind how I could have two homes across the country from one another and make it work. I haven't come up with a solution yet. Or the money for the plane tickets!

And finally, just because I can't resist:

Raspberry Tart with Honeyed Goat Cheese and Walnut Crust

Ingredients:

3/4 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 stick butter (1/2 cup), melted

1 tsp. salt

1/2 cup powdered sugar

6 oz. goat cheese (or cream cheese, if desired), left at room temperature for 1 hour 

2 TB honey

2 pints raspberries

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a food processor, finely chop the walnuts. Add in the salt, sugar, and flour and process until combined. Add in the melted butter and pulse until the dough just comes together. 
3. Pour the walnut dough into a greased tart pan and press firmly on the bottom and up the sides with your fingers. Bake 12-20 minutes, watching carefully that it doesn't burn. Cool completely.
4. In the food processor, process the goat cheese until soft. Add in the honey and pulse until combined. Spread along the top of the cooled tart crust. 
5. Top with raspberries. Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Devonly,

Yours

 

After a summer season of eating light, fresh meals, I crave baking something hardy and warm. I look forward all year to summer's fresh produce yet when the days start getting shorter again I can't wait to get in my kitchen and bake. My oven gets lonely and it's my duty to comfort it. Growing up in California, Mexican fare was not just a cuisine, it was a food group. If ever I get a whiff of fried tortillas, melty cheese, and pepper and onion-spiked tomatoes I get a little nostalgic about my childhood and want nothing less than a plate full of melty cheese-topped goodness always with a side of refried bean and rice. And a margarita never hurts either. One of my many summer jobs was busing tables at a Chevy's. While by today's culinary standards Chevy's may not be more than a glorified fast-food taco place, it was THE place to be when going out in the little town I grew up in. Which says a lot about my background! While "California Mexican" is not true Mexican (it's more like fresh Tex-Mex), it's what I think of as Mexican, except for the fish taco stands we used to stop at in Encinada...YUM.

These fresh take on enchiladas are packed full of healthy vegetables and delicious to boot. But like I said earlier, cover anything with Mexican-flavors and top it with melty cheese and I'm one happy girl. But next time you want to make something warm, satisfying, and south-of-the-boarder, give these a try. You might just start speaking Espanol! !Ole!

This recipe makes A LOT. Like a lot a lot. You can easily cut it in half, which would make an almost-full 9x13 baking dish full. I like to top mine with mashed avocado, sour cream, and some toasted pepitas, which are just pumpkin seeds, and a sprig of cilantro. 

Ingredients:

1 butternut squash, roasted and mashed*

1 29-oz can tomato sauce

1 1/3 cup water

2 TB. chili powder

1/2 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. dried oregano

3 cloves minced garlic, divided

1 chipotle pepper in Abodo sauce, chopped

1/2 cup vegetable oil

20 corn tortillas

1 red onion, sliced thinly

1 pound jack cheese, shredded

8 oz. goat cheese

1 bag pre-washed baby spinach

1. Season the butternut squash with salt and pepper, set aside
2. Combine the tomato sauce, water, chili powder, cumin, oregano, 2 cloves garlic, and chipotle pepper in a sauce pan over medium high heat and simmer about 5 minutes stirring occasionally. 
3. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Ladle enough of the sauce into the bottom of a glass baking dish just to cover the bottom, set aside.
4. Heat the vegetable oil in a saute pan over medium heat and dip each tortilla in about 3 seconds on each side and place on a paper-towel lined sheet pan. This is to soften the tortillas and keep them from cracking.
5. In another saute pan, heat 1 TB oil and add the onion and 1 clove garlic. Saute until caramelized, set aside.
6. To assemble, dip a tortilla in the sauce and fill with a spoonful of the squash, a few onions, goat cheese, jack cheese, and a handful of spinach. Roll and place seam-side down in the baking dish. To make this easy, I use a small plate to place my tortilla on while I assemble them and carry them around the kitchen so I don't spill everything everywhere!
7. Once all the tortillas are assembled, ladle the remaining sauce over the top and sprinkle any remaining jack cheese over the top.
8. Bake 20 minutes or until cheese is melted. To make head: Cover with foil and bake 20 minutes, remove foil and bake another 5-10 or until cheese is melty.

 Devonly,

Yours

There are three things I could eat every day: Chips and salsa, apples, and ice cream. And since Ethan is very sensitive to dairy in my diet, ice cream has been banned for the time being. Which is a cruel, cruel thing to do during a Georgia summer. I am currently addicted to the DIY frozen yogurt shops and where we now live, we are within walking distance to THREE. However, most all are made from yogurt. Boo. And one can only have so much raspberry sorbet, albeit tasty. So I've been having my fill of popsicles and the like, but I miss that cold, creamy deliciousness. I recently discovered coconut sorbet and coconut popsicles, which still have that creamy element to them but without the dairy. So instead of running to the store every other day for more (you laugh, but it's true), I decided to make my own. I love making homemade ice cream and sorbet. Plus the perks are super tasty too!

This recipe can easily be made into popsicles as well, I would increase the coconut water by about a cup. And you can also add shredded coconut to the ice cream maker towards the end of it's doin' it's thang or top with toasted coconut too.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups coconut water

3/4 cup sugar

1 can coconut milk (not the low-fat kind)

2 tsp. coconut extract

1/4 tsp. salt

1 cup shredded coconut, if desired

1. Bring the coconut water and sugar to a boil in a saucepan, stirring occassionally until the sugar is dissolved.
2. Whisk together the coconut milk, extract, and salt in a bowl. Add in the water/sugar mixture and whisk to combine.
3. Refrigerate until cold, at least 3 hours and follow instructions on your ice cream maker until the consistency of frozen yogurt. Add coconut shavings in at this point, if desired, and store in an air-tight container in the freezer.

Yum. Enjoy!

Devony,

Yours

While it's a heart-warming and challenging story about civil rights and women breaking down barriers, I'm sad to say that lines in society still exist. While we have made wonderful progress, there is still much to be done. My perspective on the world has suddenly shifted dramatically since having a baby, quite without any warning. My once care-free and indestructible attitude has now turned to fear and panic. What if something happens to me? What if I get cancer and die too early? What if something happens to Ethan? I never would recover. I couldn't protect him if... I want to hide him from the world. From prejudices, racism, harm. I want to never see his smile fade or tears soak his cheeks because of cruelty. And I know that will never happen.

So what can I hope for then? I pray he learns in the midst of the world mercy, kindness, and generosity. I pray his heart be loyal, gentle, and pure. I guess what I'm trying to say is: you can't have rainbows without the rain. My little boy will encounter great adversity and all I can do is rock him, put on a Band-Aid and kiss the wound. This is going to be such a hard lesson for me to learn. I know now what my mother felt when she would look at us with tears in her eyes and say it was because she loved us so much. A mother's protective instinct is fierce. Yet like the birds, she still pushes them out of the nest, knowing they might fall, but will one day learn to fly. My little Ethan was born with wings, and I know he will one day soar. It will be the happiest and scariest day of my life. I just pray I have the privilege to watch it.

**By the way...that feather we found in our yard from a hawk that has been living in the treetops somewhere behind our house. I can hear his cries as I type this. There are so many new bird and insect sounds here in Atlanta. I feel like I'm in the middle of a jungle!

The happiest of Fridays to you.

Devonly, Yours.

Ingredients:

1 cup wheat bran

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

2 TB flax meal

2 TB wheat germ

1 TB baking powder

2 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 cup raisins

3 medium carrots, shredded

1/2 cup blackstrap molasses

2 eggs

1 cup rice milk (you can use regular milk or buttermilk if you don't have a dairy restriction)

2 TB vegetable oil

3/4 cup applesauce

1. 1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a muffin pan with papers or spray with non-stick cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, stir together the wheat bran and the next 6 ingredients (through the salt). add the raisins and carrots, stir to combine.
3. In a smaller bowl, combine the molasses, eggs, milk, oil, and applesauce. 
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, stirring until just combined.
5. Pour into the prepared pans and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. 

Makes about 15-16 muffins. Enjoy!

Devonly, Yours

So after a few weeks of dealing with tummy troubles and LOTS of crying (he's got really bad Gastro-Esophogeal Reflux as well as being sensitive to dairy in my diet), we're settling into a routine and getting acquainted with this little man. There's still lots of crying, but I'm beginning to understand what he needs when he cries and becoming quicker to pick up on his cues. Below is my birth story I had written up. I know it's long, but if you're interested I'm glad to share it with you.

I had been experiencing Braxton Hicks contractions sine the 18^th week of my pregnancy and was quite familiar with their sensation. In the week or so prior to going into labor I also started experiencing menstrual cramps and contractions that were a little stronger and sometimes fell in and out of a pattern. Friday, May 27^th, I was having consistent contractions and even alerted my doula what I was experiencing. However, it just didn’t “feel” like I was going into labor, they weren’t progressing, and I doubted anything was happening.

            Saturday the 28^th I was in a funky mood, feeling like a large blob and rather unproductive. I went to the art store and bought a new canvas, a large drawing pad, and some new oil paint to start a new painting. I also went grocery shopping for the next week. Feeling still “funky” when I got home, I made rice krispie treats and then took a nap. Jason and I went out to dinner and ate a nice Napolean pizza on the patio. We snuggled up in bed at home, listening to music and talking. He wanted cookies, so at 10:00pm I made him chocolate chip cookies. We were in bed by 11:00, which was later than normal for us, even for a weekend!

            At 1:00am on Sunday the 29^th, at 38 weeks 6 days gestational, I woke up to use the bathroom. Once back in bed, I got a rather strong contraction and when I moved over onto my side, my water broke. I wasn’t exactly sure that’s what had happened, so I went to the bathroom again and sat on the toilet. Fluid kept coming out in bursts without my control. It was clear with what looked like chunks of flaky dead skin. I called my mother-in-law to ask if my water had actually broken as hers did initially in both her labors. It had. I called my OB and let her know. I was Group B Streptococcus positive, so I needed to go straight to the hospital to start getting the antibiotics (penicillin). Jason quickly packed his hospital bag, I finished up mine, and we left. We stopped by the post office and the gas station on the way. It was a little after 2:00am and I called our families on the way to let them know. The entire time I was shaking uncontrollably from excitement and nerves.

            Once checked in at the hospital, our lovely nurse Diane got all our information and started the penicillin through the IV. I was starting to have mild contractions, but nothing stronger than I had had in the few days prior. I think because I was so nervous and shaking it kept the labor from getting a good start. I was checked and was 2cm dilated and 50% effaced. Once the first bag of penicillin had finished and we were all checked in, we started walking the halls and doing nipple stimulation, about 4:30 or 5:00am. The contractions were coming a little more frequent, but still very light.  We had to go back to the room every hour to be monitored for 20 minutes. Every time I would sit down or stop moving, the contractions would lighten up and almost go away.

            We continued to walk and do nipple stimulation whenever I wasn’t being monitored. Contractions began getting a little stronger, coming 3 minutes apart while walking, so our doula came to the hospital at 2:00pm. I was checked again and was 4-5cm dilated and 90%effaced. The doctor came in and started talking to me about needing Pitocin if I wasn’t in active labor by 18 hours after my water breaking. Annette, our doula, and I walked the halls some more while Jason tried to get some sleep. I was checked again at 5:45 and was 5cm dilated and 100% effaced. They needed to start Pitocin as I wasn’t progressing fast enough and my body hadn’t really kicked over into active labor. I was very nervous about this and feared that I would need an epidural to deal with the intensity that Pitocin creates, which I really wanted to avoid. Jason prayed for us, and the doctor agreed to start out very light on the Pitocin in hopes that it was the nudge my body needed to go into active labor.

            At 6:00pm I received 1ml of Pitocin. Almost immediately the contractions became stronger and consistent. Due to having Pitocin I needed to be consistently monitored so I couldn’t move far from the edge of my bed. They increased the Pitocin to 2ml 20 minutes later and 3ml an hour after that. At this point contractions were very strong and I needed to use deep guttural breathing to get through them. I would either sit on the birthing ball with Jason rubbing my back and Annette helping me breathe, or I would stand with Jason supporting me, always swaying and rocking my hips. I asked to be checked to see if we could maintain the level of Pitocin without increasing it further. It was 8:10pm and I was 6-7cm dilated. This was acceptable to the doctor and she let me stay at 3ml for the duration of the labor. They had moved me onto the bed to check me and Annette asked me to lay on my side with pillows supporting my knees for a while to give me a rest. This position hurt worse than when I was standing, and this was the point that I said I didn’t think I could keep going. For about 5 contractions, I begged for my husband and doula to listen to me that I couldn’t do it. They were gentle and encouraging and kept telling me that I was doing it and pushed me through. I was so thankful they did.

            I stood back up and from this point on I don’t think I barely opened my eyes. I was completely in the birthing zone and it took all my energy to focus and get through each contraction. As a contraction would start, I would hug Jason’s waist, push my head into his stomach or on his side, fall into a very low lunge, and make the “ooooo’s” and the “aahhhh’s” sounds to help me. Those noises were essential in helping me cope with the pain, but sometimes hard to maintain. I could feel my voice becoming high pitched and in spurts as the contraction became the most intense. I would sit on the ball in between contractions, resting my head against Jason’s chest as he sat on a stool and Annette the entire time behind me rubbing and doing pressure points.

At some point I began feeling the urge to push. This urge became stronger until I couldn’t not push. They moved me onto the bed and I asked to be on my hands and knees. I was checked again at 9:55pm and was 10cm on the left side and had a rim of 8cm on the right side.  By this point I couldn’t fight the urge to push and I vaguely became aware of lights coming on and people coming in the room, all the while I was facing the back of the bed still on my hands and knees. Jason had his arm across the pile of pillows and I used that as a bar to pull myself up on as I rocked back and forth with each contraction. At 10:30 I was checked again and was 10cm all around and the baby was at a +3 station. This marked the second stage of labor and I began pushing hard. With each contraction and even in between I would start pushing and my body took over to keep pushing hard. I felt his head come through, but his shoulder was stuck on my pubic bone. They had me turn over onto my back and continue pushing. The doctor had to reach inside me to dislodge his shoulder at which point I incurred a 1-2 degree tear. Quickly with one more push, Ethan was born at 10:46pm on Sunday the 29^th. Almost 22 hours after my water broke. He weighed 6 pounds, 14.6 ounces and was 19 ¾” long.

He was cleaned off and placed directly on my chest: blue, warm, and soft. I remember thinking at this point that I should be feeling something: overwhelming relief, love, admiration…but all I felt was a little guilty that I didn’t feel anything. That all changed once they rolled me down the hall to the recovery room and I got to hold my precious new baby on the way. Instantly I was overcome with a mother’s love. A love unlike any. I am so thankful that I had the support of my beloved husband and our doula. I couldn’t have done it without them. 22 hours and a lot of pain was still worth every minute and every contraction for our wonderful baby boy.

Makes 6-8 side servings, or 3 very gluttonous (Devon-sized) servings! This dish is super easy to double, triple...however much you need!

Ingredients:

1/2 personal size watermelon, cubed

3 medium peaches, cubed

2 medium size heirloom tomatoes (I like the green ones that contrast nicely with the fruit), cubed

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

1-2 large stalk's worth of basil leaves

1-2 large stalk's worth of mint leaves

Juice of 1 lime

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1 tsp. sugar

1/4 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. white wine vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil

1. Toss together the watermelon, peaches, tomato, and onion in a large bowl. Chiffonade the basil and mint and add to the fruit mixture.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk the remaining ingredients and toss with the watermelon mixture. Chill or serve at room temperature. 

Here's to summer, delicious produce, and friends. Enjoy!

Devonly,

Yours

(Disclaimer: I have to apologize up front: I had my camera set on the wrong setting...blerg...so the color/exposure is a little off and not what I really wanted. And instead of a true artist that wouldn't dare post something they're not totally proud of, I just love orchids so much I can't NOT post them! So, please be kind and take them with a grain of salt.)

Devonly,

Yours