Sophia's Backpack

 

I've been wanting to make my daughter one of these backpacks for several years. I've had the fabric and hardware, but just didn't take the time to do it. Finally, I planned on making Damian's Travel Bag and Sophia's backpack for this past Christmas, but I didn't get either of them finished on time. Well, finally both of them are finished! 
If you've been following my blog, you've seen this backpack pattern before. It's the Sew Sturdy Essential Backpack pattern, found on the Craftsy platform. You can buy the class or just the pattern. I've used it twice before: first for my grandson, and second as an insulated backpack for carrying lunches. Now, it was finally my daughter's turn. 
I do like the final product when I make bags, and a lot of the process, but putting it all together makes me wonder why I continue to make bags. Such a lot of hassle stitching through the multiple layers - I still can't comprehend how people make bags using heavier materials, like upholstery fabric or vinyl. Nevertheless, it's finished. And my daughter has already made a request for a sewing machine cover, so I'm not escaping bag-making yet (though technically, that will not be a bag). 
And I'm continuing my bread making adventures.

I made the cottage loaf, which made for a very interesting presentation. Not a bad bread, but interesting as to how one actually eats a loaf like this.

I also made the Split Tin loaf, though my split filled in rather quickly and is not as pronounced as the picture in the book. Both of these breads are from the British Breads section in The World Encyclopedia of Bread and Bread Making. 

And finally, I made the Naturally Leavened Sourdough Bread. It, too, turned out fine, though I have yet to figure out the best storage option for my bread. It gets rather hard in the fridge, but I don't generally eat it quickly enough to keep it from getting moldy outside of the fridge. Perhaps I should consider cutting loaves in half and freezing half. 
And that leads me to my freezers, which are overly full. I did get the smaller one defrosted and a little better organized. I have three bags of UFOs (unidentified frozen objects) and "use soon" items. My plan is to take out one or two items out at a time, determine what they are and decide whether to use them or compost them. I took out one unlabelled container and it turned out to be pizza sauce. I managed to use up my sourdough starter discard and made 3 batches of pizzas. That's 3 - 10" pizzas per recipe. I actually staggered my starting time for each recipe, so that I wouldn't have to be making all 9 pizzas at once, especially since I only have 3 - 10" pizza pans. But somehow, even though I started each recipe an hour after the previous one, they managed to catch up with each other. However, I got them all made, and into the freezer. 

Vegan pastrami, green peppers and pineapple

I made a huge batch of veggie cheese sauce that I figured would be enough for all 9 pizzas. But it was quite thick, and not very spreadable, so it only lasted for the first two batches. 

broccoli, vegan pepperoni and red onion

Next time I use that particular recipe, I think I may try adding more liquid. Fortunately, I did have some commercial vegan cheese shreds in the freezer, so I was able to use that for my final batch of pizzas. 

garlic soy chunks, garlic and olives

By the time it came to this last batch, I had run out of space on my cooling racks, and these pizzas were placed on the back of a large cookie sheet. 
And the pizzas have already come in handy when I failed to plan ahead and/or ran out of energy by mealtime.
I also found a pie crust and enough cooked sweet potato in the freezer to make a sweet potato pecan pie for Easter. 

I wanted to try something different for an entree, so I did an internet search for vegan Easter recipes and found a recipe for Lentil Wellington. I was planning on purchasing puff pastry and the website for my local grocery store said that they had it in stock, but after searching every freezer, I had to give up and decide on an alternate. 

I made it into a pie instead. I used a whole wheat pie crust recipe that I hadn't tried before and it was too crumbly. It was still tasty, and so was the filling, but it barely stayed together. 

And of course, I made hot cross buns. Originally, I was going to use a recipe from the King Arthur Baking website, but it called for both yeast and baking powder. That just seemed really weird to me. So, I pulled out my old Purity cookbook and modified their recipe. I made them out of white whole wheat flour and substituted mixed dried fruit for the candied peel (which I find disgusting). They turned out quite nice, but I've got to stop making such large recipes, especially when there's no room in the freezers. And they do tend to get dry and hard in the fridge. 

Leaven

 "Then Jesus said unto them, 'Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees'."
Matthew 16:6

leaven: noun, archaic a substance added to dough to make it ferment and rise, esp. yeast, or fermenting dough reserved for the purpose (Canadian Oxford Dictionary, 2nd Edition)

I've been messing around with sourdough for some time now, with mixed results.  It does make it more challenging that I choose to use 100% whole grain flour, as a general rule, and the majority of the recipes I try are meant for 100% white flour (or unbleached). And I seldom add the extra moisture that I should, (since whole wheat absorbs more moisture than white flour) because I'm leery of a dough that's too sticky. And many of the recipes are what I call "cheater" sourdough - adding a little commercial yeast to boost the effects of the starter. I have since discovered that sourdough purists refer to this as "sourfaux", a term that can encompass anything more in the ingredients than just flour, water, salt and sourdough starter. 
Recently, in a Sourdough group on Facebook, someone commented that it was impossible to make a 100% whole wheat sourdough bread, that it would turn out like a brick. Challenge accepted. I used this No-Knead Sourdough Bread recipe, which again was made for white flour. But I used 100% whole wheat. The purists would be happy that I didn't add the optional diastatic malt (though I might have if I had some), so this loaf was definitely not sourfaux. Water, flour, salt and sourdough starter were the only ingredients, and look how it turned out. 

And guess what? I didn't break any teeth on it, so it did not turn out like a brick. Yes, it had more "body" than a white loaf would have had, but that's to be expected with a 100% whole grain loaf without additives to make it soft like store-bought bread. Look at that beautiful open crumb! And maybe it's a little flatter than if I'd used white flour, but I'm still pretty much a newbie when it comes to sourdough, so I continue to learn.  And I'm proud of how this bread turned out.  
Meanwhile, I ordered a baguette pan, and decided to give it a try. 

I'm not that fond of baguettes, but I'm actually looking for a recipe that will work for submarine sandwiches. I wasn't that thrilled with the results. I found a recipe for sourdough baguettes as well as a recipe for whole wheat baguettes. Overachiever that I tend to be, I decided to try both recipes. The sourdough recipe makes 6 baguettes, or 3 Italian loaves (don't ask me how the same dough can be both French, as in baguettes, and Italian), and the whole wheat recipe makes 3. I'm not really sure what I was planning on doing with 9 baguettes, when I don't even like them all that well. But I did it anyway, deciding to make 3 baguettes and one large "Italian" loaf from the sourdough recipe.

I didn't have a clue what I was doing when it came to shaping them, so to me they look more like misshapen, oversized bread sticks. But again, they had a nice open crumb like sourdough is supposed to have. 

When I slashed the whole wheat loaves, they started to deflate. So when it came to the sourdough loaves, I didn't bother slashing them. Or was it the other way around. Anyway, I ate the large loaf (not all at once) and cut the baguettes into thick slices and put them in the freezer for use in French Onion Soup. I watched a video on how to actually form baguettes and was slightly more successful with the second batch. 

Almost ready for the oven

Once baked, I was planning on turning this batch into croutons, but didn't get around to it, and I've just eaten them with my meals, particularly with soup. I may try serving baguettes with fondue sometime. And I do need to try a vegan French Onion Soup for use with the other baguettes currently in my freezer.
I'm still searching for a good submarine sandwich roll/bread/bun.
But I do want to comment on the text I shared at the top of this post. First, however, a little history.  This is taken from "Jesus and His Times", published by Reader's Digest, 1987: "As for her duties as provider of meals, a wife had to grind grain, bake bread, milk the goats, and make cheese and curds. These daily tasks began around daybreak. To grind the grain she used either a mortar and pestle or a hand mill, which consisted of two stones. The lower stone held the grain, and the upper stone was rubbed or rolled across the bed of grain to make flour. Next, she mixed the coarse meal with water, salt and a little fermented dough saved from the previous day's bread making as a leavening agent." So, in Israel in Bible times, they made sourdough bread. 
If you've ever started your own sourdough starter, then you're likely aware that you can have a bad batch. For me, this time around I had to dump the first batch I tried because it developed a mold smell. Not what sourdough starter should smell like, so into the compost it went. But in the Bible text, Jesus is not warning that the Pharisees and Sadducees had a bad batch of starter. Down in verse 12, the disciples realized He was talking about their doctrine or teachings. Well, we may not have literal Pharisees and Sadducees around, but it's still a good principle to apply to our daily lives. We need to be careful about what we read, see or hear, because, like leaven, it can permeate our whole lives and change us into something we may not have been able to predict. Another piece of advice that Jesus gives is "Ye shall know them by their fruits." Matthew 7:16, or as the New Century Version puts it, "You will know these people by what they do." Sometimes, we need to take a step back and give ourselves time to evaluate the "fruit" of what we're hearing, as is evidenced in the lives of those who are teaching it, and others who are listening as well. Has it made them better, more productive members of society, more loving and giving? Sometimes, it can take awhile for the fruit to develop, so it's always best to be cautious when hearing new "truth". For me, I choose to follow the Bible's advice found in Isaiah 8:20, "To the law and to the testimony (the Bible)! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them." NKJV. I need to be familiar with the Bible and open it and study it to know whether what someone is teaching is consistent with the truth of God's word, "that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting". Ephesians 4:14 NKJV.

Bags and Blocks and Sourdough - Oh My!

 

    Honestly, I really don't enjoy exercising. I find it boring. And while I did win a few ribbons in track and field as a child, I've always been more academic than physical. But I know that exercise is important, so I try to do a half-hour workout on a daily basis. However, I can go days, weeks and sometimes even months without getting regular exercise. Have I mentioned my insomnia before? It's related to my anxiety and depression, but continual fatigue does make it more challenging to exercise on a regular basis. And unfortunately, even when I was exercising regularly for weeks and months, I didn't see any improvement in my sleep or mental health. And exercise also leaves me feeling really exhausted. Even when I'm doing it regularly. 
    So yesterday, I exercised. And I was exhausted. But after "recharging my batteries" by sitting and reading, I started the laundry and worked on The Ultimate Travel Bag. Between other tasks during the day, I was able to finish the side and zipper strip and got it all together. 

Meanwhile, I had started some "not refried beans" in the Instant Pot, from this cookbook,

planning to make some veggie fajitas for dinner, from this cookbook.

First I had to make my own taco seasoning. The authors of this cookbook must eat a LOT of Mexican cuisine. Otherwise, why would  you need about 3 cups of taco seasoning? And I was foolish enough to make the whole recipe. I could have halved it and still had enough to last me until I die or the Lord returns. I may have to divide it into smaller containers and start including it in gifts - "I'm gifting you a quilt and including some home-made taco seasoning"... 
    Once the seasoning was made, I then had to prepare the "Mexican Style Chicken" (I had removed the Gluten Steak strips that I had made previously from the freezer) and the Roasted Fajita Veggies for the oven. But by the time these were oven ready, I realized it was already lunch time and I was hungry and I still had tortillas to make. So, I decided to just eat a light lunch (normally, I like to have my bigger meal at noon and a lighter meal at supper time) and have my fajitas for supper. So the "chicken' and veggies went into the fridge for later. I had my light lunch and, in perusing the cookbook, which has menu suggestions, it recommended some things I didn't already have, so I decided to make a quick trip to the grocery store. And after working on the travel bag for awhile, that's what I did. 
    By the time I got home, it was time to get started on dinner. I started the Spanish rice (same cookbook), got the "chicken" and veggies into the oven, and then was ready to tackle Sourdough Tortillas. I'll be honest here and say that I looked for tortillas in the grocery store when I was there, but couldn't find ones without L-cysteine, which is not vegan. I didn't know if I was going to run out of energy before I ran out of tasks to complete. But I did end up making the tortillas. I don't remember if I've ever tackled tortilla-making before, but it might have helped if I'd worked with someone who actually knew what they were doing first. I used my large cast iron frying pan, but soon found that I did not need to have it on medium-high, as my initial scorched tortilla shows. 

I think I've mentioned previously the hispanic pastor who shared how his mother's tortillas turn out perfectly round, but his turn out looking like t-shirts and other articles of clothing. I think mine look more like geography - states, countries, continents. Doesn't that one on the right resemble Africa? Or maybe a piece of cauliflower. I then discovered that patting them out with my fingers first and then rolling them with the rolling pin helps to keep them a little rounder. Of course, mine were whole wheat and I used plant-based butter instead of lard. And I found medium-low worked much better than medium-high for cooking temperature.
The "chicken" was good. The veggies were overcooked and scorched in places and I think roasting for 15 minutes would work better than 20-25. The Spanish rice made a huge amount, and is rather flat tasting. I was afraid it would be oversalted and I reduced the salt somewhat, and shouldn't have. 
    When I finally got around to eating, my energy was depleted, and I totally forgot about putting refried beans in my fajita. I had planned on having a salad as well, but by that time, I was lucky to still be standing. 😁 And I still had to put sheets on my bed as I had stripped it to do the laundry. 
    But what about the blocks in the title of this post - well, those didn't happen yesterday. Since our local quilt shop closed, I have no fabric options in town other than Walmart. And they're not exactly known for quality fabrics. I do, however, occasionally use their fabrics, usually in smaller projects. So, one time, when I was in need of a "fabric fix", I picked up 3 fat quarters and a 2-yard piece of solid in a medium orange/peach colour, intending to make something for my daughter, whose favourite colour is orange. 

Flying Geese, left. Flying Squares, right.

I've been making 10" blocks, 

Chinese Coin, left. Propeller, right.

and was well on my way towards my goal of 7 blocks, 

Square Dance

when my block-making got interrupted by other priorities. But most of my quilts lately have been 3-yard quilts, and while I enjoy those as mostly quick projects, they are generally quite simple, and I enjoy challenging myself by trying new quilt blocks. Especially when I can take a picture that's less than 2" square and turn it into a full-sized quilt block. 

This book is my source for the blocks I've been making. And recently, I decided I needed a bigger challenge than 3-yard quilts, and completed 

Bachelor's Puzzle

the final 2 blocks I need. 

Crazy Ann

My plan is to use 3 blocks on point for the table runner and the remaining 4 - not on point - for placemats. I'll share them when I finish. But again, I've got other quilting priorities. The bags - the travelling bag for my grandson, and a backpack for my daughter - were meant to be Christmas presents, so I want to get them done ASAP. Plus some other quilts that need to be completed. 
Future quilting idea: did you know that there are 7 different blocks named "Bachelor's Puzzle" and 8 or 9 named "Old Maid's Puzzle"? I'm thinking of a sampler quilt, maybe call it "Singles' Puzzle Sampler Quilt", using all of those blocks.

My Sourdough Starter Misadventure

 It started with what would have been my mother's 99th birthday, Valentine's Day. Or maybe I should go back a little farther. My second oldest sister passed away this past October. She was the one that stepped into the matriarchal role once my mother passed away in 1998. Now, I'm not only missing my sister, but it's made me miss my mother more. So, as her birthday approached, I determined to make foods that reminded me of her on that day. Pancakes for breakfast,

lazy cabbage rolls (I don't believe my mother ever made lazy cabbage rolls, but I was too lazy to make rolled ones)

and Waldorf salad for dinner, and a Western sandwich for supper (using this recipe for the omelette).

I would have liked to have had pumpernickel bread to go with dinner. Mom never made it from scratch, that I can recall, but she did like to eat it. And so do I. But, even though she never made it, I want to. And I've tried several recipes over the years, without the success I'd like. I want the light, dark-coloured, round loaf, not the dense rectangular loaf as found in my World Encyclopedia of Bread. Occasionally, Mom would buy those as well - I still remember one brand: Dimpflmeier - though that bread is definitely an acquired taste. 
So I googled and found another recipe to try on the King Arthur website.Unfortunately for me, as it turns out, this one called for sourdough starter. I'm not sure why this is the one I found because this website has at least a couple more pumpernickel recipes that don't require the starter. Well, I had been considering trying making my own sourdough starter, so I decided that this was the time, and King Arthur happily obliged with a recipe. 

I started out with my "blob" in a Gem jar because the recipe called for a jar that was "at least" a quart, and I figured that I would err on the larger size and these jars are 1½ quarts. However, I soon realized that that mouth wasn't big enough to do all the messing around in the jar that I had to do: removing discard, adding flour and water and stirring it in. So, I switched the blob to a 1-quart wide mouth jar. 
One of the first issues was what to do with the discard. According to the instructions, with each feed, I had to discard one cup of the starter and add a further one cup of flour and half a cup of water (I actually used my kitchen scale for accuracy, and weighed in grams). I hate wasting food, but King Arthur kindly obliges with a bunch of recipes for using sourdough starter discard, most of which require the 1 cup that I had to remove each time. 
However, after the first couple of days of "feeding" the starter once daily, I then had to bump it up to twice daily and was beginning to feel overwhelmed by sourdough starter discard, and sent this text to one of my sisters:

And I tried using it in some of the recipes:

Sourdough crackers, which were pretty tasty, 

sourdough pretzels (the recipe doesn't tell you to poach them, but any pretzel recipe I have read does, so I did),

sourdough pancakes, 

and sourdough biscuits, here used with my vegan breakfast sandwiches. But still, I had this mountain of discard, and was now adding 2 cups to it daily. And I was getting tired and frustrated with trying to figure out what to do with it.

My mountain of discard

I was also beginning to wonder if my starter had "gone south" when it smelled something like bad beer. But the next time, it smelled like nail polish remover! According to my online research, that acetone odour just meant that my starter needed to be fed. Seriously?!? I was already feeding it twice daily and struggling with the amount of discard. There was no way that I wanted to add a third feeding. So, instead, I tried switching up the "feed": according to the instructions, I had mostly just been feeding it unbleached all purpose flour. But now, I added spelt, rye, whole wheat. By this time, the starter was over a week old and still was nowhere near active enough to actually be used to make bread. And the next time I fed it, it smelled like acetone again. 
When I shared my vegan breakfast sandwiches to a vegan group on Facebook, one commenter asked me about the sourdough. This is my reply: 

And guess what? Even after feeding it my precious organic, whole grain flour, it still smelled like acetone the next time I was supposed to feed it. But there wasn't any feeding that time. I just dumped it in with the rest of the discard. 
Meanwhile, I had determined to try to use up a whole lot of discard at once, and I tried making bread. After all, the discard was just flour and water, so I should be able to just add some actual yeast, and maybe some more flour and water. Unfortunately, I ended up with more of a batter, rather than a dough and I wasn't sure if I even wanted to bother putting it into the oven. After more than an hour's baking time, I did end up with some reasonable looking loaves. 

But the crust was really thick and tough and the inside was gummy. 

The taste was definitely sour and rye, reatlly not too bad. I put two of the three loaves into the freezer and ate a good part of the third loaf before deciding that it likely wasn't healthy bread, being so dense and gummy, and tossed the remainder into the compost. I'm not sure what I'll do with the ones in the freezer. Or with the rest of the discard, which is still sitting in my fridge. As I mentioned, I hate wasting food. But likely, instead of feeding the starter, I will be feeding the compost.