Sour Dough Starter Failure

Yikes!
Well, don't leave your starter on your woodstove mantle over night! I forgot to check on it before I went to sleep and it all bubbled over...... what a stinky mess we found in the morning.

Actually, the smell was so bad that when my husband was putting more wood on the fire in the middle of the night, he feared that our dog had thrown up.

Ok, so sour dough starter part 2 -
I made it again from the beginning and now it is upstairs in the room above the woodstove where it stays a nice comfortable temperature.
So the lesson learned is do not leave your starter unattended in a very warm place.

I will keep you updated and look forward to hearing from others who are working on their own starter.

Blessings, Tonya

Make Your Own Sour Dough Starter

"But how do you make the sour dough?" Mrs. Boast asked.

"You start it," said Ma, "by putting some flour and warm water in a jar and letting it stand till it sours."

"Then when you use it, always leave a little," said Laura. "And put in the scraps of biscuit dough, like this, and more warm water," Laura put in the warm water, "and cover it," she put the clean cloth and the plate on the jar, "and just set it in a warm place, "she set it in its place on the shelf by the stove. "And it's always ready to use, whenever you want it."

from By the Shores of Silver Lake

The last time I used sour dough starter a friend had given me some. Well, I let that go during our move and want to make sour dough bread again from time to time.

A sour dough starter is a leaven that develops from microscopic wild yeast and bacteria present in the air.

I found this recipe in The Little House Cookbook and wanted to share my experience with making the starter.

To begin you need:

1 1/4 cup unbleached white flour

1 cup bloodwarm water

Quart sized glass mason jar or similar

Cheescloth or muslin with rubberband for cover

Mix the flour and water in the jar and stir with the end of a wooden spoon. I covered the jar with a cut out piece of unbleached muslin and secured with a rubber band. Then the jar was placed on our mantle by the woodstove.

The batter must be warmed, but not hot - between 80 - 95 degrees F. Let the jar stand until the batter bubbles and rises. This may take anywhere from overnight to a week, depending on how warm it gets. Bubbles in the dough and expanded volume, or rising, are the chief signs that the starter is "alive" and working. The aroma should be pleasantly sour, the texture tacky. If after several days the batter has developed only a bad smell, throw it out and start again.

After your starter is "alive", store in the refrigerator if it will not be used for a couple of days. Your starter must also be fed. Every day add 1 T. flour and nearly 1 T. warm water and stir. Leave out for a few hours. Return to refrigerator.

When using the sour dough starter, always leave about 1/2 cup - 1 cup in the jar. You will then need to add another 1 cup flour and 3/4 cup warm water to build the starter back up.

I will share how my starter is doing tomorrow and what I do next with it as well as a recipe or two as I bake with it.

Warm wishes,

Tonya

A Little of This and a Little of That

Our days are always so full....

knitting and needle felting valentine gnomes

sewing more hearts for winter newsletters

making winter swags for doors

reading lovely notes from far away friends

(this beautiful watercolor painted notecard comes from herondance.org)

collecting these adorable spruce cones on our daily walks

What are you filling your winter days doing?

Warm wishes,

Tonya

(There is a very nice tutorial on making your own wooden knitting needles here.)

Simple Birthday

With six children and keeping in mind the impact of what we do on the environment and our financial means, we keep birthdays simple.

When the children are old enough, the get decide what I will serve them for each meal on their special day and what activities they would like to do, usually right here at home.

Sunday was Abraham's second birthday. It was made more special by having my mother and step-father here from Connecticut and his godparents which are our neighbors.

~ Abraham eating his breakfast with his birthday crown on.~

~We enjoyed cake and ice cream.~

~his gift of beeswax crayons in a handmade wool felt holder~

Abraham is truly a joy. He is happy, outgoing, loves to "talk" with people, and give big hugs. We are truly blessed.

Here is the birthday cake recipe I usually bake.

Vanilla Yogurt Cake

2 1/4 c. flour

1 t. baking powder

1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

5 T. oil or melted butter

1 cup sugar (organic sugar cane or raw sugar)

2 eggs

1 t. vanilla

1 cup vanilla yogurt

I combine the wet ingredients and whisk together and then add the dry ingredients. Mix well. Pour into a pan and bake at 350 degrees. The time will vary depending on the kind of pan used. I like using my pan with the tube in the middle and that needs to bake for about 50 minutes.

Enjoy and warm wishes, Tonya

Skating, Skating....

We have a little pond in front of our homestead that is not only wonderful for ducks we plan to get in the spring, but ice skating in the winter. It has been sufficiently cold the past few days after a bit of a warm up for the skating to begin again. Such simple fun for all of our family and friends. A late afternoon doesn't usually pass, when the pond is safe, that a game of hockey isn't played.

None of our children take any formal lessons or play on hockey teams, but they love to skate.

As I was sitting at my secretary looking out our window at the pond, I was filled with gratitude to watch all six of our children and my husband out on the pond. Even the little one was was playing on the edges.

Have a wonderful weekend. We have a birthday celebration to prepare for. Abraham turns two on Sunday and my mom and step-father will be arriving from southern New England to help celebrate.

Warm wishes, Tonya

Beeswax Candle and Heart Holder Tutorial

My daughters enjoyed making these hand dipped beeswax candles and salt dough heart candleholders.

For the Salt Dough -

1 cup flour

1/4 cup salt

1/2 cup water

Knead together for about five minutes.

Roll out to the approximate thickness of your cookie cutter, about 1 - 1/2 inches thick and cut out hearts.

We chose to use a small heart to cut 3/4 of the way down into the heart to form the candle "holder".

We also baked and painted these little hearts.

After your candle holders are done, bake at 325 degrees for about 40 minutes. The little hearts will be done sooner and will start to turn light brown.

When cooled - paint! We used acrylic paints.

Now on to the candles ~

Hand Dipped Beeswax Tapers

You will need:

Number 2 Wick (about 9 inches per candle)

6 ounces of beeswax

tin can (about six of small can of beans/soup)

(I have added a kit of 6 - one ounce bars of organic beeswax and 3 - nine inch lengths of cotton number two wick to our family's handwork shop.)

Melt the beeswax in a small tin can in a pan filled with about 2 inches of water that has been heated to near boiling. I added 3 of the of one ounce bars of beeswax until they melted and then added the other three bars. We heat our water on the woodstove, but a regular stove top is just fine.

After the wax melts, move your pan to a safe area for your child or children to work. Leave the can in the hot water. Tie the wick to the middle of a pencil, letting the majority of the wick hang down. Dip the wick into the can of wax and make sure it touches the bottom. Just move in and out in one fluid motion. Hold the wick over the pot for a moment to catch drips..

...and then have your child walk around a certain area to cool. I set up some chairs to walk around. After the first two dips you might want to help your child by straightening the wick just a bit.

Continue until candle is thick enough to fit into your handmade heart holder.

Enjoy!

Warm wishes,

Tonya

A Single Candle

"There is not enough darkness in all the world to put out the light of even one small candle."

~Robert Alden

I just love this quote. God has given each of us a voice and we can each be filled with his Light and make a difference like the light of one small candle.

A peaceful Sunday to all.

Warm wishes, Tonya