Sourdough Surprises August: Sweet Potato Sourdough Crackers

I'd been on a crackers kick when Sourdough Surprises announced that we'd be making crackers this month. Perfect! I already knew what I wanted to make - rye crackers! You see, I had been having a problem tasting rye. I had used it in two loaves of bread and just could not taste the difference. I thought crackers with not much else going on would be perfect.

And then I promptly talked myself out of that.

Because that's just how my brain works. I did make the rye crackers but I opted to leave out the sourdough starter to ensure that I just tasted rye even though my starter is far from sour. Just in case you're curious, I tasted something but I don't know if that was really "rye". Mission Taste Rye continues.

You would think I would have then immediately dove into my sourdough cracker challenge since I had crackers on the brain but nope! Life got in the way and suddenly it was the 14th of August and I still had not made my crackers. Honestly, nothing seemed perfect. I could have done wheat thin like crackers. I made them without sourdough before and loved them. I could have done the Ritz-style ones. I could have, I could have, I could have.

So there I was, cutting up sweet potatoes for a corn and sweet potato chowder when it hit me - SWEET POTATO crackers! Let's do this!

These crackers need to be rolled EXTREMELY thin or you just won't get "crackers". Trust me,.I speak from experience. When I bit into one that was rolled perfectly thin, it tasted almost like a Cheez-It cracker. Odd. I need to read the ingredients on Cheez-Its one of these days.

I wasn't very happy with these crackers. I didn't roll them thin enough. I may have also over-kneaded in an attempt to add more flour. Ugh. I always underestimate just how much liquid sweet potato will add to a dough. If I were to do this again, I'd use a firm starter, roll very very very thinly and ensure not to overwork my dough.

Sweet Sourdough Potato Crackers

250 g Whole Wheat Flour (I used a mix of red and white whole wheat)
125 g All Purpose Flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon paprika
3 tablespoon butter
150 g  Sourdough Starter, unfed (166%)
250 g Sweet Potato, cooked, mashed


Pulse flours and butter in a food processor then add sweet potato and starter. Pulse until it forms a dough. Let rest for 4 hours (this may be optional?).
Preheat oven to 350 F. Divide dough into two pieces and roll each as thinly as possible. Cut into desired shape. Bake for 10 minutes. Check. You will probably need an additional 3-4 minutes.

I'm a yo-yo exerciser

(Side track - Does anyone else compose blog posts in their heads? Then forget to actually type them up? Just me? OK. Moving on)

Right, I am a yo-yo exerciser. Is there such a term? I exercise consistently for a month or two then something happens to make me miss a day and then suddenly it's three weeks since my last workout and I am looking at my large tummy on my 5' 3" 117 lb frame (yes, I am small; no, my tummy did not get the memo) and wondering why the hell I look six months pregnant.

I don't even remember what I last said that I was doing. Brazil Butt Lift? Oh, that's right, I posted about Beginner's 5K training. I completed that 8 week program. It challenged every inch of me. I hated it. But I never achieved my goal. I wanted to be able to do the 5K in 30-33 minutes. I would have to look at Runkeeper but I don't think I managed it and if I did, I barely did it.

I really didn't like running that much but I did it almost every other day so that was a huge plus for me. It was quick and then I could go back to watching TV. The problem with running (for me) was that it really did nothing for that tummy problem. In fact, I got a bit flabbier during those eight weeks. I clearly need to pair all that cardio with strength training and core exercises. And well, if I am going to have to do other exercises, why bother to run at all? Do you see how I just talked myself out of running?

I decided to do the Beginner's 5K plan again. Get better times, I told myself. Do you know what happened? My times were progressively worse than before and here we are and I haven't done anything in over a week. I had even started to pair running with Shaun T's latest videos - Focus T25. But it may be about two weeks since I've done that.

So where am I now? Sitting on my butt, thinking about cake and wondering if I can ever get to the point where I am exercising consistently again and seeing results? Or perhaps there is a way to get that toned tummy without leaving my bed? Scientists? Are you working on that? Please say that you are.

Sourdough Surprises July: Mango & Strawberry Rolls with Rum Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

I tend not to repeat recipes. I like moving on to try one of the hundreds that I have saved. However, I have made this recipe for sourdough cinnamon rolls SEVERAL times. I love it that much. When I saw that cinnamon rolls were chosen for July's Sourdough Surprises, I was definitely excited. But what would I fill it with? I definitely was not going to do cinnamon. I tossed around a few fruits in my head before I settled on a strawberry mango curd filling.

But sourdough baking can be tricky and I, of course, had some mishaps. You see, it's been extremely hot and I have been busy and my a/c broke. Do you see where I am going here? I think I may have killed my starter or at least made it really sluggish.. I was running out of time to properly revive it and just decided to hope for the best.

My rolls aren't as "billowy" as they have been in the past but they are still unbelievably delicious. I also added whole wheat flour to my dough because I am currently on a traditional whole wheat kick. (I have been baking bread for over two years and two weeks ago was my first time purchasing traditional whole wheat. I have always bought white whole wheat.)

Typically, I don't use a lot of glaze or frosting on cinnamon rolls. I like to let the filling shine. However, I added rum and chopped strawberries to a cream cheese frosting  and it was either eat it with a spoon or pile it high on my rolls. I went with the latter.

Here again is the link to the recipe that I used.

I modified Smitten Kitchen's Mango Curd recipe - I used mango pulp instead of fresh mangoes and whole eggs.

I can't wait to see what other people made this month.

Making my way through Patricia Cornwell novels

I mentioned before that I love audiobooks. At this point, I have listened to more than I can count. Lately, I have been making my way through Patricia Cornwell's bibliography. I remember reading a Patricia Cornwell novel while in undergrad but I can't seem to remember which nor have any of the ones that I have listened to sound familiar. Odd. She has a few different series and I have been listening to the Kay Scarpetta series. At the beginning of the series, Dr. Scarpetta is the chief medical examiner in Virginia. We follow her, her niece, and a police officer, Pete Marino, as they investigate cases.

The novels for the most part are well written. I am fascinated with forensic science and it has been interesting following this series as real-life progress is made in forensic techniques and that is reflected in the novels. In the first novel, DNA was a new-comer. Now, it doesn't take a lifetime to get DNA results. I looked forward to my walks when I'd pick up on wherever I left off in a novel. Sometimes I'd keep listening once I got to my destination.

However, starting with The Last Precinct, I have not been very happy with the story. From time to time, there are references to characters and cases from previous novels. The Last Precinct was basically a sequel to the novel before it, Black Notice. And that's fine. But something else was different. I just read that the tense of the novel changed but that's not what bugged me. The story felt convoluted. They threw in twists that seemed too convenient to be plausible. The dialogue was overwhelming. It didn't seem that much happened. I was glad to be finished with that case and then I started Blow Fly a few days ago and it's the same case.

Set me free, Ms. Cornwell! Set me free!

I don't think I will be free from that case for a long, long time. When I finished it last night, there were still several lose ends and a new twist that would certainly change everything from that point onward. There was also a very contrived explanation of for that plot twist - quite the disappointment. I'll keep reading..er..listening though. Maybe Trace won't concentrate solely on that case and bring me something thrilling. Honestly, I think it may be best for me to take a Scarpetta-break. Maybe the distance will make whatever happens next a little better. One can only hope.

All links are Amazon affiliate links.

Sourdough Surprises June: Crepes Suzette with Cinnamon Ice Cream

When I saw that the challenge for this month's Sourdough Surprises was crepes, I almost opted out. I can barely make pancakes; how was I going to make crepes? I have always wanted to try but didn't crepes involve using a fancy wooden tool to spread the batter in the pan? It was definitely beyond my skill level.

But then I thought about it, what was the point of making things month after month that didn't challenge me in some way? Doing this is supposed to be a way to push me outside my current sourdough comfort zone (the same kind of bread almost every single week!). So I looked at a few recipes and then did what I usually do for most new recipes - I asked Alton Brown. I absolutely love Good Eats! I love the tips and the explanations and they have really helped me to understand my ingredients better over the years.

Alton Brown made it look simple enough. He blended his ingredients, let them rest, didn't use a special pan or a special spreading stick. He did swirl the batter in the pan but I knew that I wasn't at that level yet. I decided to adapt his recipe and use a half batch (why waste ingredients?) for my sourdough crepes.

Next, what would I fill them with? Something sweet? Something savoury? As I was scrolling through crepe pictures, I saw a picture of Crepes Suzette and remembered that I also wanted to make whipped milk ice cream. This would be perfect.

And it was! I really enjoyed this. I wished that I had added more sugar to my crepes but I figured that the sauce plus ice cream would have been enough sugar for me. Just a little more sugar definitely would not have hurt. 

As I mentioned, I adapted Alton Brown's crepes and swapped out some of the flour and water for a quarter cup of my 166% starter. I let it rest in the fridge for an hour then heated my pan and hoped for the best. 

For the sauce, I kinda winged it. I saw that some recipes did a mixture of butter, sugar and liqueur while others used orange juice, sugar and liqueur. I just melted an arbitrary amount of butter and sugar in pan, added some orange juice and after it reduced, I let it cool for a bit then poured it over my crepes. I forgot to add liqueur! But not to worry, I have some left, I can still add it.

The whipped milk ice cream was also pretty easy. I whipped one chilled can of evaporated milk with a cup of powdered sugar and cinnamon then chilled it for an hour then whipped some more and chilled three more times then let it freeze for several hours before using. It's soft and melts quickly but tastes amazing!

I can't wait to see what others did this month. Check them out!

To Share or not to Share and Garlicky Kale Alfredo Pizza

I struggle daily.. OK.. weekly with what to share in this space. Do I write about the daily happenings in  my life? Do I write about the things I am currently struggling with? I want to. I really do. But I tend to be a fiercely private person. I worry about some persons in my life finding this space, reading something here, taking offense or misinterpreting something. I also worry about other persons learning things about me that I didn't want them to know.

This was not a problem when I first had a blog on the now defunct JournalSpace. However, eventually some friends did discover my blog there and I found myself editing and being less comfortable just being, talking, writing, expressing. I still don't know how to balance my need to write and my desire to keep some things private. So for now, I share random bits about my attempts to be fit and my attempts in the kitchen.

Today is a kitchen day. I've been craving pizza for a while . It's not something I eat very often. I make approximately 99% of my meals so unless I am in a pizza making mood, and that has only happened once, pizza is never on the menu. I decided to make a kale afredo pizza this time and my oh my, that was an excellent decision. This pizza attempt was a million times more successful than the last.

Garlicky Kale Alfredo Pizza 

Crust

For the crust, I used a sourdough (shocker!) crust that I found on Sourdough Home. It was simple and seemed to work better than the one I used before. I used techniques that I saw on Alton Brown's Good Eats to handle it. This made the process longer but I was not in a hurry.

1 1/2 cups sourdough starter
1 TBSP olive oil
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp salt


Mix all ingredients except salt for 2 minutes then autolyse for 20 minutes. Add salt and knead dough to fully develop gluten. This takes approximately 10 minutes in a stand mixer. After developing gluten, cover dough loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 18 - 24 hours.

Garlicky Alfredo Sauce

I can't find the site that I adapted this from but as soon as I do, I will link it.

1 1/2 tablespoons butter
2 garlic cloves, minced (more if you want it super garlicky!)
1 1/2 tablespoons flour
3/4 cups milk
1/2 cup Parmesan or Pecorino Romano (you could use less)
Salt and pepper to taste


Melt butter in pan and saute garlic until fragrant.  Add flour and stir for a minute until thickened. Slowly add milk  Stir carefully as it thickens. Remove from heat, stir in cheese and seasonings. Allow to cool. I made this the day before.

Topping

3 ounces of kale, chopped, destemmed, blanched and drained
4 ounces of mozarella, shredded (I added pepper jack also)


To blanch kale, heat a pot of water to boiling, add chopped kale and allow to cook for 3 minutes. Drain and then immediately immerse in a bowl of ice water. Allow to drain completely so that the pizza isn't soggy. You may need to squeeze it a few times.

Assembly

Preheat oven to 475 F. While kale is draining,  remove dough from the refrigerator, flatten gently with hands then form into a ball and allow to rest for half an hour. Dust counter and roll out dough with a rolling pin or with fingers into an approximately 12 inch circle.  Allow to rest for another 1/2 hour if you want a chewy crust or use right away for a crispy crust.

Brush crust with olive oil, then add sauce, kale and cheese. Use more or less cheese and sauce as suits your taste. Bake in pre-heated oven for 9-10 minutes.

Allow to cool for 3 minutes then enjoy!

Does spam beget spam?

You know the Broken Windows theory? If a building has a broken window and it's not repaired people will come along and break more windows and then everything will be in disrepair? Well, that was happening to my blog. I turned off Blogger's captcha because it was pretty annoying. It would take me several tries sometimes to figure out the captcha when leaving a comment on someone's blog. So when a reader asked me to turn it off, it was a no-brainer.

But then the spam started. I'd get a notification that Anonymous left me a comment - usually something about a loan or my great writing. I'd delete the email and move along. This went on for months! I was deleting the emails but you know what I wasn't doing? I wasn't deleting the spam comment. Two particular posts had HUNDREDS on spam comments between them. It's like the spam-bots found a haven and sent out a bat signal to ask others to join them. Or, broken windows theory.

I just took a few minutes and deleted all the spam comments. I hoping that this will slow down the onslaught of comments in the future. I'm fixing my windows! Cleaning up my house! Leave me alone, spam-bots!