Author: alisahuntsman

lavender-vanilla panna cotta tart, pie # 35 of 52

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my life has been such a blur lately.  days pass by in what feels like minutes.  we watched both of our daughters cross the stage this summer, one from high school and the other from college.  we hosted celebrations with family members.  the carport never looked so festive.  there was a trash can turkey at one party and a barbecue at the other.  the girls beat a pinata to death and we all ate way too much!  somewhere in there, i went off to new york city and phili for media training and suddenly, my book has landed in nashville.  so, knowing very well that i am going to only get busier, i am even more determined to finish this 52 week challenge.  to prove the point, the 4 pies that needed to be made, are all done and have been for some time, all i need to do is get them posted here.  damn, blinked and lost another hour…

panna cotta has never been something that i just had to try.  but in an effort to keep this challenge interesting and varied, i decided to try it in a tart.  then i needed to make it different from every recipe i saw out there-that was the challenge.  a walk through my garden fixed that-with a hand full of lavender blooms and a fig tree full of ripe fruit, i had my inspiration; infuse the panna cotta with lavender and vanilla bean and serve it with fresh figs…

i decided to use buttermilk in the filling as well.  since it isn’t a good idea to heat buttermilk for long periods of time, i infused some heavy cream with lavender blossoms and vanilla beans.

 to make the crust, i toasted some almonds and chopped them finely and added them to a buttery crust dough.

 my absolute favorite trick for prebaking crusts-use large coffee filters.  if you can get them from a coffee shop or restaurant, you will not have to buy a huge quantity of them.  however, you can used several smaller ones to do the same job.  the filters are so strong that you can actually lift them out with your weights in them and not have to worry about it tearing.  but if you use marbles like i do, spoon them out just to be safe.

lavender-vanilla panna cotta tart
1 (6″) tart serving 4-6
tart dough
2/3 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup powdered sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
2 tablespoons almonds, sliced or slivered
2 tablespoons water
preheat the oven to 350.  toast the almonds until lightly golden, about 5 minutes, cool them completely before proceeding with the recipe.  place all the ingredients except the water into the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine and cut in the butter.  when it resembles a coarse meal with bits of almonds in it, add the water and pulse it until it comes together.  press the dough into a greased 6″ cake pan so that it is 3/4 of the way up the sides.  make sure the dough is distributed evenly around the pan.  line with a coffee filter, add pie weights and bake it until it is completely baked and lightly golden, about 30 minutes.  cool completely before making the filling.
panna cotta filling
1/4 of a vanilla bean
1 tablespoon lavender blooms-dried
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 teaspoon gelatin
1 tablespoon water
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup sugar
fresh fruit for garnish
place the vanilla bean, lavender and cream in a very small sauce pan and heat until it almost simmers.  remove from heat and allow to steep for at least 5 minutes (can also be done in the microwave but be careful since it is quick to boil).  soften the gelatin in the water while the cream steeps.  strain the cream into a bowl and add the gelatin, stir to melt it-if needed, gently heat the mixture in the microwave to melt it.  with a whisk, gently whisk in the buttermilk and the sugar and then pour the filling into the prepared crust.  refrigerate until set, at least 4 hours.  serve with your favorite fresh fruit, berries work best with the flavors in this recipe but you can also use figs or peaches.  if a sauce is desired, sweeten an extra cup of fruit and puree in a blender for a quick coulis.

a trip to times square with undercover steve

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after i was finished with all the media training, i had a chance to hang with my dopey brother-he likes to be called that; he says it’s a term of endearment…i like to indulge him in this fantasy and willingly comply with his request.  we were undecided of what we would do for the day and basically chose not to do anything but just hang out together, walking, talking and taking in the scenery.  first on the agenda, lunch.  after wandering around and passing up the shake shack-wow what a line…we settled in to a table for two indoors at the 5 napkin burger in lovely and scenic hell’s kitchen.

my dopey brother who was preparing to part ways with the stache.  it was a last meal of sorts and a 5 napkin burger and all of its 10oz of glory was a perfect send off.

 my dopey brother doing his best jason lee impersonation

 i really liked the way the restaurant was decorated.  the meat hooks were the perfect touch…

 loved the scales too

 ultimately, the thought of trying to eat a 10oz burger was too much for me, i ordered the veggie burger.  it appeared to be a home made pattie with beets which gave it a nice pink hue.  it was tasty but also quite large and i ended up eating just the patty and the fries.

 undercover steve enjoyed his burger too-his was beef and it looked tasty.  i should have asked about a kids menu

 the stashe loved the burger-here he is feeding it
after eating way more than was needed, we headed back out to wander the streets aimlessly
 loved this view-i could see all the way up to the chrysler building

 and of course, no trip to nyc is complete with out a wander through times square

 i really love the new lane closures to accommodate pedestrians and provide seating.  we parked ourselves on a bench and talked.  i thought that we might run out of things to say but we never did.  we talked about my book and his radio show, family, friends and so much more.

and no trip to times square is complete with out a sighting of the naked cowboy.  really???  get over yourself and put on some pants.  and on that note, we headed to penn station so i could catch my train to phili for the last leg of my trip-qvc training.

sorry to say but that is all i’ve got-no time for sight seeing.  now, i’m home and back to work and that means there is pie-stay tuned for that.

my trip to the big city

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last monday, i grabbed my overstuffed carry-on bag and headed to the airport with jesse for a few days of media training in new york city and philadelphia.  first on the agenda was to check in to the flatotel for our stay in manhattan.  with that out of the way, we quickly headed out in search of lunch-trickier than it sounds but only because there were simply too many choices!

bricklane curry house

we chose the brick lane curry house and were quickly seated.  as we perused the menu, i took a few photos.

 the place isn’t much bigger than the photo suggests-maybe 8-10 tables and at the time, we were the only two people in the place.

 love the use of colanders as a light fixture!

 we ordered prawns tikka masala for me and prawns goan for jesse.  it was all accompanied by curried vegetables, dal, rice and naan.  all of it was incredibly tasty.

 nothing says i enjoyed lunch more than an empty plate
at this point, we headed out into the rain and began our first adventure-the acquisition of an umbrella for jesse…this was followed by a stop in the moma shop and a stop at the hotel for rain jackets which we both thought to bring.  after a stop in a bead shop and for a drink (well we were off the clock so why not…) we headed to our final destination-eataly and it was only 30 blocks away…
the first thing i will say about eataly-overwhelming.  too much going on in one place to take it in in an hour.  too many people trying to do the same thing as you and also finding themselves overwhelmed-lots of stopped traffic in other words.  the second thing, with all of the potential this place has to wow you, it’s a bit disappointing that you aren’t.  most of what i saw was familiar to me and nothing seemed truly unique.  as jesse stated, i can eat proscuitto anywhere-proscuitto is proscuitto.  nothing reached out and grabbed me and yelled at me to try it.  we did indulge in gelato and i can only ask that they give a little more for the price.  even so, i really enjoyed the coconut gelato and the fig sorbetto that jesse had was equally wonderful.  with that said, here are some photos from our trip into eataly.
the first thing you encounter upon entering eataly is a beautiful display of fresh produce

 mushrooms-they always catch my attention

 jesse and his $17 glass of red wine-the moral of the photo, never ask the person selling the wine to pour you a glass of their favorite wine…

after departing eataly, we headed uptown where we made stops in magnolia bakery and hill country  chicken.  both stops were to feed our eyes!  we watched the baker in the window of magnolia bakery assemble an icebox cake and we drooled over the pies at hill country chicken.   we headed back to our hotel and got ready to head out for dinner.

maison on broadway

we sat outside and indulged ourselves in mussels and salads and then called it a night, at least i did.  it was off to bed for me and i slept like a rock!  but wait, there’s more to the story!  look for it tomorrow-my adventures with undercover steve…

sugar pie, honey bunch; #34 of 52

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in my quest for pies, i came across a recipe for hoosier pie, also called sugar pie.  it’s easy to see why it would be called sugar pie; sugar is one of only 4 ingredients in the filling.  i guess the hoosier part is some state’s way of saying, hey that’s our state pie!  well, what ever…it’s about 147 degrees outside with a humidity level near swamp stages and the simpler this weeks pie is, the better it is for all of us.  so grab the best of motown cd and crank up the four tops, it’s time to make some sugar pies!

prebaked mini pie shells mean a quick baking time for the pies.  the  quicker it is, the less it heats the house up…

 hard to believe but 4 ingredients is all it needed:  heavy cream, brown sugar, flour and vanilla.  the topping is optional but i think it added a little something something to it.

mini sugar pies
makes 8 mini pies
pies
1 package frozen mini pie shells (need 8 shells)
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup all purpose flour
2 cups heavy cream
2 teaspoons vanilla-use good quality since you will taste it
crumb topping, recipe follows
place the  pie shells on a sturdy baking tray and prebake them according to the directions on the package but lower the temperature to 325 to reduce the amount of browning.  turn the oven temperature up to 350.  in a mixing bowl, combine the brown sugar and the flour by whisking them until blended.  whisk in the cream and vanilla.  divide the filling evenly between the pie shells, sprinkle them with the topping and bake until almost completely set in the center, about 18-20 minutes.  can be served warm or chilled.
cinnamon pecan topping
makes 1/2 cup
1/4 cup all purpose flour
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
3 tablespoons chopped pecan pieces
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
combine the ingredients by rubbing them together with your fingers or a whisk.
so, i’m off to see the wizard-he’s currently residing just outside manhattan.  i will be back but in the meantime, check this out-my book!!!  and as always, if you bake them, they will eat them…but do send a photo, i will post it here.  bakinbabe116@aol.com

kiss my grits; a pie fit for a southern belle, #33 of 52

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after making more than 30 pies so far in this challenge, i decided to try something that i could also serve in the cafe.  for the last 7 years, i have made many pies and every now and then, i need something new for the showcase.  but what?  what flavor could i use?  would it be fruit or would it be custard?  i decided to look around me and see what the common ingredients were and go from there.  well, that’s when i saw the big bag of grits and it was enough to make me go, hmmm.  a quick google search revealed to me that  paula deen had beat me to the punch!  so i tried out her recipe but i had to make a change-i didn’t have any quick cooking grits at home.

on the left are the old fashioned yellow corn grits that are lurking in the cupboard in my kitchen and on the  right are some quick cooking white grits that are now keeping those yellow grits company.  the main differences arethe size; the yellow grits are more coarse which means longer cooking times and of course the white grits have been parcooked hence the name quick cooking grits.

i decided to cook them in milk, which according to my grits research is a traditional italian method for  cooking them.

and they cooked and cooked.   is it any wonder i went out to the store for quick cooking grits…

the first pie was not up to my expectations and this is the second pie.  i changed several ingredients in the recipe, omitted the flour and my pie came out nice and creamy and if you didn’t know it was grits, you might think it was coconut (but not flavorwise).

the biggest changes i made were to increase the amount of grits in the pie and to cook them in milk.  for the vanilla, i used a portion of a bean and added a pinch of fresh lemon zest.

sweet grits pie
1 (9″) pie serving 8-10
1 partially baked (9″) pie crust (i cheated and bought one) for instructions on partially baking a pie shell, follow the directions from pie #29 but do not bake it completely since it will be going back into the oven.
6 tablespoons quick cooking grits
1 1/3 cup milk
small piece of a vanilla bean, split 
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
1/2 cup half and half
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
preheat the oven to 325.  place the grits into a pot with the milk and vanilla bean and over medium low heat, slowly boil the grits until they are soft and the mixture looks a bit like a porridge.  pour the grits into a heat proof bowl and whisk in the butter and sugar.  whisk in the eggs, half and half and lemon zest and pour it into the partially baked pie shell.  place the pie on a sturdy baking sheet to make it easier to handle and bake until set, about 50 minutes.  can be served warm with whipped cream or cold-either way is extra tasty!
this weeks round-up
looky here, a brownie pie!!!  this comes to us from nick of the kitchen, sophomoric and all i can say is well done!  you make a baker proud!!!  and to all of you out there, if you bake one, and email me a photo, i will post it,  just look above for proof!  may the force be with you…bakinbabe116@aol.com

potato crusted meatloaf pie; #32 of 52 pies

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to keep things interesting, i like to use my weekly pie as a means to put dinner on the table.  in this heat, it hit 101 in nashville today, that makes baking any kind of pie, whether it is sweet or savory, a true challenge.  not only does it heat the house up, you then end up eating a hot meal while you sweat.  not at all what i wanted to do!  but i did want to try and make a pie crust of mashed potatoes and a filling made of meatloaf.

the mashed potatoes are slightly drier than usual and they are spread out evenly in a greased pie plate to make a bottom crust.  after prebaking the crust, it is ready to be filled with meatloaf.

the filling is made with lean ground turkey, 93% fat free, and studded with chopped mushrooms, grated carrots and zucchini.  the leaner the meat is, the firmer the filling will be and less fat will be incorporated into the potato crust.  the result is a lean but hearty meal.  another advantage to the filling recipe is that it can be made with any lean meat.  and for those that are gluten sensitive, the bread crumbs called for can be replaced with a gluten free bread or cracker to make this a gluten free meal.

the top crust is spread over the meatloaf filling and it bakes up in about an hour.

potato crusted meatloaf pie
1 (9″) deep dish pie serving 8
potato crust
6 potatoes, fist sized-peeled and cut into cubes
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter
place the potatoes and salt in a saucepot and cover with water.  bring to a boil and cook until the potatoes are tender.  drain potatoes and place in a mixing bowl and mash with the butter and salt until almost no lumps remain.  set aside while the filling is prepared.
meatloaf filling
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup diced onions
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
1 cup finely chopped mushrooms
1 pound lean ground meat-maximum fat content of 93%
2/3 cup bread crumbs
3 egg whites (or 2 large eggs)
1/2 cup prepared tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1/2 cup shredded zucchini
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried italian herb blend
preheat the oven to 750.  saute the onions and garlic in the olive oil over medium heat until they begin to caramelize.  add the mushrooms, lower the heat a bit and cover the pan to cause the mushrooms to sweat and release their juices.  continue to saute over medium-low heat until the mushrooms are cooked then remove from the heat and place in a large mixing bowl to allow them to cool a bit.   combine all of the ingredients for the meatloaf in the bowl and using gloves, thoroughly mix and knead the filling together.
to shape the bottom crust, grease the pie dish and place slightly more than half of the potatoes in the dish.  with a rubber spatula, carefully spread and shape the potatoes into a layer that evenly covers the bottom and sides of the dish.  prebake the crust for 20 minutes.  remove from the oven, spread the filling evenly in the crust and top with the remaining potatoes by spreading them evenly over meatloaf.  place the pie on a baking sheet to catch the drips, lower the oven to 350 and bake until the internal temperature reaches 165 for turkey or 155 for beef, about 1 hour.   allow the pie to rest for 10-15 minutes then cut into wedges and serve.
hopefully, you will enjoy this as much as we did.  this is one that i plan to make again, just as soon as the temperature outside drops by 50 degrees, literally…bake one and send me a photo.  i promise that you will see it here!  bakinbabe116@aol.com  stay cool my friends.

all american brownie pie, #31 of 52

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so, it was the afternoon on july 4th.  we had already come back from the hot chicken fest-and were totally fried, literally(read the previous post) and i realized that i hadn’t baked my pie for our barbecue party.  my ideas of a fruit pie were shelved for something much simpler-a crustless brownie pie.  i know, that’s a bit lame to call it a pie but in my own defense, i was sun-fried and overheated not to mention short of time.  brownie pie it is…

some brownies recipes call for whipping the eggs and sugar, and this recipe is one that instructs you to whip them to a ribbon.  but just what is a ribbon?  it is easily defined as a slowly dissolving mound of batter as it falls from the beater.  if you look at the photo to the left, you can see that the batter is slowly mounding and that the mound is slowly smoothing out.  ok, some imagination is needed but keep in mind that i held the beater with my left hand and worked the camera (somewhat clumsily) with my right hand and in that time frame, the mound built and dissolved.

baking a brownie in a glass or pottery pie dish makes it easy to serve as a dessert-just cut into wedges and serve with ice cream, caramel, whipped cream or any other garnish that you like.  this quick recipe mixes up in less than 15 minutes and can be baked and ready to serve in an hour and a half.

quick and easy brownie pie
1 (9″) pie serving 8-10
3 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup self rising flour
3 tablespoons cocoa powder-natural not dutched
heat the  oven to 350.  grease a deep 9″ pie dish and set aside.  in a mixing bowl on medium speed, whip the eggs with the sugar and vanilla until it forms a thick ribbon (see photo above).  while the eggs whip, melt the chocolate and butter in the microwave on the lowest setting.  fold the butter and chocolate into the egg mixture.  sift the cocoa and flour over the batter and carefully fold it until it is mixed and no streaks remain in the batter.  pour into the pie dish and bake until slightly fudgy when tested with a pick-about 40 minutes.  allow it to cool about an hour before cutting.  serve it with ice cream, whipped cream, hot fudge, caramel…the list goes on and on
and if you dare to bake one, snap a photo and send it to me, i will post it here!
bakinbabe116@aol.com

totally fried for the fourth

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 it was the fourth of july, it was hot-really hot and we headed out to the 5th annual hot chicken festival.  unless you live around music city, you may not know what hot chicken is.  first of all, the word hot has nothing to do with the temperature that the chicken is when it is served.  it is all about the hot sauce that the chicken is dipped in after it is fried.  kind of like hot wings but better.  the chicken is always breaded by hand just before frying and it can either be tenders or cut chicken with bones.  after the chicken is deep fried, it is dipped in a hot sauce that can merely singe your taste buds or send smoke out your ears-beware, this ain’t no sissy chicken!  even the “mild”ones will challenge you so unless you have an asbestos lining your digestive tract, think twice about asking for “hot” and you just might want to bypass the “extra hot” altogether.

it was a hot and sunny morning-over 90 and if you didn’t slather yourself in sunscreen, you got burnt-like me…this was the view at 11am in east park.  each tent housed a hot chicken vendor and while some lines weren’t too long, others circled the green.

 speaking of long lines, the line for princes literally circled the park and if you dared to join it, you waited at least an hour for chicken and in the mean time, you too were fried in the sun.

 we waited in line at our chosen vendor and people watched-at least one young woman passed out from the heat.  it was almost like entertainment-we watched as they tried to fan her as they waited for medical help.

 if only all of us could look as cool as this little fellow-he didn’t seem to mind the heat at all

 most of us felt like this poor little girl; hot, sweaty and in search of a shady place to sit.  and let’s not forget barbies friend-how humiliating to be dragged around by her hair…

 not every vendor sold hot chicken.  the dog of nashville did what they do best-hot dogs and for those not wanting to wait or in need of a snack while they waited, the hot dogs were ready and the line was short.

 keeping the dogs coming…

 we chose to purchase our chicken from pepperfire since their line was a lot shorter than others.

 coating the chicken in the chosen hot sauce.

 breading and frying each piece to order

 medium in the rear, mild in the front but honestly-how could anyone tell?

 mild-too much for this light weight!  i only ate about half and gave up, it was too hot for me.

 the coveted amateur trophy
a look at the competitors-they take it seriously and all worked hard in the heat

 the winners-congratulations nick worley

we enjoyed it but not the heat.  and speaking of heat, darry was thinking that medium wasn’t such a good idea after all…glad i went with mild.

peach-basil custard pie, #30 of 52

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summer brings some of my favorite flavors; ripe, juicy peaches and basil.  my little peach tree is years away from providing an abundance of fruit so i must content myself with what i can find at the farmers market and the grocery store(my last resort).  however, i have plenty of basil in the herb garden to keep me stocked for the rest of the year!  we let it grow until the frost takes it and if we are paying attention, we pick as much as possible before it is killed off, puree it and freeze it in ice trays.  during the summer, basil ends up in lots of things; salads, vinaigrette, sauces and desserts.  wait, desserts?  yes desserts.  it blends beautifully with peaches!

for this weeks pie, i infused some milk with lemon grass, basil, star anise and cardamom pods.  it was then strained and used to make a custard with a lovely herbal flavor to fill the baked pie shell and topped with ripe, juicy slices of peaches.

anyone that has looked in a seed catalog or visited a nursery has seen the many different varieties of basil out there.  i plant as many as i can in my herb garden.  one of my favorites, pictured above, is from a friend.  jim, a fellow gardener, shared a plant with me two years ago and it has been reseeding itself in abundance.  this year, i returned the favor and gave away at least 25 of the plants but i still have at least that many left in the garden!  it is the most unusual basil i have ever encountered; it doesn’t have the strong licorice flavor that most basils have, including the flavored varieties.  they only thing i can say about the flavor is that the scent of it makes me think of juicy fruit gum and as soon as i mention that out loud, everyone agrees.  another characteristic of this plant, it is a little hairy in comparison to other basils. so if you know what variety it is, let me know-and if it isn’t a basil, tell me that too.  we have compared the flowers as well as the stems and leaves to all of the other basils and they are almost identical except for the hairiness and the scent.

peach-basil custard pie
1 (9″) pie that serves 8
1 (9″) fully baked pie shell, purchased or home made
basil custard, recipe follows
4-6 ripe, freestone peaches
1/4 cup peach jelly, jam or preserves (for glazing the tart)
for the pie shell,  use the recipe from pie #18 or pie #29 but follow the instructions for prebaking, regardless of which it is, by following the recipe for pie #29.  while the pie shell bakes, prepare the custard according to the recipe and chill it completely.  scrape the chilled custard into the cooled pie shell and top it with slices of peaches.  i made a circular design starting at the outer edge and working my way to the center.  place the jelly in a microwave safe bowl with 1-2 tablespoons of water.  heat on the low or defrost setting until the jelly boils.  stir it to smooth it out and using a brush, coat the peaches to seal them and prevent them from changing color.  
basil custard
2 1/4 cups milk
several lemon grass leaves, tied in a bundle
2-3 large sprigs of basil
3 green cardamom pods
1 star anise pod
4 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
place the milk into a sauce pot with the lemon grass, basil, cardamom and star anise.  bring to a low boil and turn off the heat.  allow it to steep for at least 30 minutes.  strain the milk back into the sauce pot.  place the cornstarch in a heat proof bowl and dissolve it with some of the milk.  add the sugar to the sauce pot and over medium heat, bring it to a boil.  whisk the eggs into the cornstarch mixture.  using the directions for pastry cream in pie #29, temper the eggs and cook the custard until thickened.  strain the custard into a heat proof dish and press plastic to the surface.  chill until completely cold.
and as always, make one and send me a photo-i will post it here!  bakinbabe116@aol.com
may the power of basil be with you…

what’s growing on?

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the more you listen, the more you hear in regards to knowing where your food comes from.  hardly a day goes by that we are not reminded of how much harm we inflict on the ecosystem with our insatiable appetites.  luckily, the movement towards growing your own is catching on.  for the last 8 years, since we moved into our home, we have had a vegetable garden and growing our own produce has been a goal but not for ecological reasons; plainly put, it is a lot cheaper to grow your own vegetables and herbs.  over the years, we have branched out and have added things like honey bees and fruit trees.  we compost everything we can in an open pit composting system out back and we gather all of our leaves each fall too.

recently, a good friend convinced me to try my hand at a few new things that can be made at home:  kombucha tea and kefir.  the kombucha is fermenting on the counter and the grains for the kefir are ready to go as soon as i get myself some raw milk.

when i read the instructions that accompanied the kombucha, i was intimidated-they seemed so technical and unforgiving.  then i found instructions online from the website smallnotebook.org.  how simple!!!  that is as long as you have a friend, like anne, who is willing to give up a scoby so that you can brew your own batch.

this is the scoby pancake anne was kind enough to share with me.  she also gave me enough of the finished beverage to start/inoculate my first batch.

and here it is, the scoby in it’s new home.  i plan to flavor mine with some fruit juice and most likely, i will not let it ferment as long as anne does.  the longer it ferments, the stronger it gets and that means it gets more sour with each day.  today is day 3 and i still have a few days to go.

another of my favorite things to grow at home, sourdough starter.  i started my original batch 2 years ago using grapes from the demo garden where i volunteer each sunday morning.  from that original starter, i have a plain starter and by feeding a small portion of it with rye flour and caraway seeds, i have a rye starter too.  periodically, they get neglected and i recently had to resurrect them.

with a cup of plain starter, 2 cups bread flour and a cup of water, i had a bowl of sponge to make bread with.

there is something so satisfying in taking a bowl of goo and after a minimal amount of effort, receiving something as tasty as this loaf of bread!

and for those of you that know my husband, you know this is all his!  he is obsessive about mushrooms and we have inoculate logs around the yard which currently produce shiitakes-aren’t the gorgeous?  he recently inoculated some logs with oyster and reishi mushrooms.  
who knows what will be the next addition.  in the mean time, we’re having fun and eating lots of good stuff.