Pineapples!

When the kids and I were at the Naples Botanical Gardens, one of the resident botanists was telling us about pineapple plants and how they can take up to 2.5 years to produce fruit. Well, our pineapple plant has just started sprouting!! I have considered pulling it up a couple times because it is brown around the edges, but it has finally shown some signs of life...






The plant on the right has been in the garden for almost a year, and is finally sprouting! We just planted the one on the left, so it has a while to go...





Annalee and our soon-to-be-fruit-bearing pineapple plant!

Look, No Floatie!

Gabe just turned 5 and is my baby, so I wan't expecting this... But, Andy worked with him for a few minutes this afternoon in the pool, and Gabe started swimming by himself! I guess when you're in the pool every day, it comes naturally! If you can't understand Gabe, he wanted to make a video for his Mamaw and Papaw Northenor :)

I can see this one hitting milestones a bit sooner than his brother and sisters... Lord, help me!

Sourdough Recipe

If you love sourdough like I do, this recipe is for you!!

You will need:

1 c sourdough starter (instructions in previous post)
6 c flour- I used unbleached flour
3 c water
2 t salt

Mix starter with 2 c water until bubbly and airated.

Stir in 3 c flour, then 3rd cup water and salt.

Gradually add in other 3 cups flour.

Leave dough in bowl and cover with dish towel.

Leave in warm place to rise for 12-15 hours...

*Next Day*

"Turn out" dough- this means, get your hands really floury and turn dough in a scoop-and-flip fashion, like you're turning pancakes with your hands. Do this for just a couple minutes. Dough will still be very sticky- don't worry!

Place dough in an oiled bowl (covered with towel) and let rise for another 2-5 hours (I put it out on the back patio, and it was ready in 2 hours). If you notice bubbles popping on the surface of the dough, time to get it in the oven, already!

Heat oven and baking pans with lids to 450 degrees. I used two-8" round Corningware baking dishes with glass lids. When heated, sprinkle some oatmeal into baking dishes to prevent sticking. Divide dough between baking dishes and cut a couple slits in each loaf with scissors. Please be careful not to burn yourself!

Bake with top on for 30 min., then another 15 min. with top removed.

You will be amazed at how much this bread looks and tastes like gourmet artisan bread. It is truly delicious! By the way, you should still have PLENTY of starter to bake lots more bread in the future! Just make sure you feed it once a week :)

Homemade Sourdough Bread

Okay, this isn't my usual post... but I just found the neatest project to teach my kids about microbes in the air! The kids and I just spent two weeks making sourdough bread from scratch. It was really easy, so I thought I'd share our procedure with y'all :) Oh, and the bread is the best I've ever made in my kitchen!

First step, or rather first 2 weeks, the sourdough starter. We're harvesting wild yeasts, people!

Yes, wild yeasts. All you need is 1/4-1/2 c flour and 1/4 c filtered water. Mix it together really well, and leave it on your counter in a container, covered loosely (I used a piece of an old t-shirt on top of a mason jar). 12 hours later, "feed" the starter with equal parts flour and water (I used the same amounts as stated above every time). Keep feeding the starter in 12-24 hour intervals until it looks like this:

Can you see the small bubbles at the top of the mixture? This happens about day 4 or 5- it means that you've succeeded in harvesting those wild yeasts! They are growing and making your dough start to sour (hence, the name sourdough). This is a good thing!

I decided to transfer my starter to a larger container, since it was starting to expand a little with each feeding. If you would rather not keep all your starter (it tends to get large), you can throw away up to half before a feeding (or give away half to a friend!). You will only need 1 c for the sourdough recipe, and you can see how much I made with this small amount (see 1st picture- this is ONE batch!).

Keep feeding your starter for a total of about 14 days. When the starter is soured enough (I go by smell), you can store it in the fridge until you're ready to make bread! Once it is stored, you only have to feed it once a week to keep it going.

When you're ready to bake, take the starter out of the fridge and let it warm to room temp.

I'll post the recipe I followed in the next post!...

This post is part of Monday Mania on The Healthy Home Economist