My Birthday!

Couple of weeks ago I turned a young 41, at least that's what the birth certificate says.

M and the boys gave me stuff to further support my bread making habit including The Bread Bible, baking sheets and a chef's apron! Love it!

But the festivities were too much for Byron who passed out early!

71 and 45 Months!

Two Weeks Worth Of Bread

Some successful results and some lessons...

Very happy with a hybrid of a recipe that I came up between the pre-fermented wheat and an English Muffin recipe.

Naan that I made to go with some Rogan Josh chicken that I made, yum!

Went well especially with Guinness!

Last week I also tried my hand at making a sourdough starter. It was ready by last night and I baked it off. Unfortunately while strongly smelling of sourdough throughout the refreshment process, it didn't rise well for the final proof. The final result was an ok loaf and two small-ish boules, but too dense and not sour enough. Well, try, try again. I'll start another starter soon maybe with rye flour rather than whole wheat. Pretty amazing the power of wild yeast!

Another experiment that I attempted with a pre-fermented hybrid of the earlier oatmeal bread, this time with oats, wheat germ and sunflower seed. Good, but too dense, too many ingredients and maybe not enough yeast to give a good rise.

Last Weekend's Lego Build

Walter and Byron's Lego hauls from Grandma and Grunkle Jim's Valentine's Day gifts. Thanks guys!

Complete with croissants...

Walter's (And Byron's) Lego Creations

I gotta admit some of these blew me away. They're getting more and more complex and original!

The Snake-O NinjaGo Snake Vehicle.

Cole's NinjaGo Action Car

Kai's NinjaGo Fire-O Vehicle.

And I'm not really sure what this is other than Byron's three footed and one fist and foot for a head "Alien." He was impressed with it though!

March Comes In Like A Lion

...and then you play out in the snowstorm. I love just shooting from the hip with the 1.4 wide open and guessing about exposure and focus! Enjoy!