Life and Lists

This is what sourdough starter does if you put it in a container without leaving too much room for it to grow overnight! We've been enjoying sourdough bread with this new starter since the end of April, and I'd say since making it, it has become well-established!

Making bread with a starter hasn't been easier since I found this no-knead recipe/method on YouTube----and believe me, I've watched MANY different methods and recipes on there. I've always liked making sourdough, since it only requires three ingredients: water, salt, flour, (and starter of course). But I didn't like how long it took to knead, and at times I felt like I was about to break my KitchenAid in the process with such a heavy load.

Now, I literally roughly combine the ingredients, give them a stir so there aren't any dry spots, and leave the dough in fridge overnight. Next morning I dump the dough into a parchment-lined bowl while I preheat my cast iron dutch oven, then after transferring the dough into the scorching hot oven and baking it for an hour it's done. Having fresh bread smell wafting all through the house couldn't get much easier than that. 

It smells heavenly! In my opinion, the perfect amount of fermented sourness. The crumb is moist, without being overly dense, and a crunch crispy crust. It is truly amazing. - The picture totally doesn't do the bread justice. You'll have to make your own to experience it. I'm always willing to share starter if you live nearby. *wink*

You'd never find a banana like this in your local Superstore or Save-On-Foods. Discovering malformed fruits on our backyard banana trees is so much fun. Like two peas in a pod!

We are now officially two weeks away from finishing up our school year. A weekend away in a lake cottage awaits us to mark the end of the kids working well and hard this past school year. 

A flu bug hit our family about a week ago; my son was hit hard. The poor guy was up the entire night running to the bathroom. Then seven days later, one of my girls and I were in our beds feeling awful for a good 16 hours. This one took a lot of will power, breathing exercises, and what-have-you to stop myself from hugging the porcelain throne. I'm telling you, I will do anything to avoid that horrid experience. My poor children weren't so lucky, however. Now, I can only hope that the other half of our family is spared.

On My Side Table

 Another recommended read from the Modern Mrs. Darcy. I requested a whole pile of those reads on the library, and this one came available next. As I read these kinds of books, I am reminded over and over again why I prefer reading middle-grade novels the best. As much as the writing is interesting, the story lines are fairly captivating... there's just something about seeing profanity on the page, and skipping over rather racy scenes. I don't have to do that in a middle-grade book! And quite often, (when choosing high-quality middle grade fiction) the quality of writing, character development, and the storyline itself trumps most any adult fiction I've read. Perhaps I just haven't read enough adult fiction. Or maybe Modern Mrs. Darcy isn't where I should be getting my book recommendations anymore?

The cover design is kind of cool on this one though, isn't it?

Lately, I've found myself watching Ravi Zacharias on YouTube. He has a gift for explaining answers to seemingly complex questions people have about the Bible, God, and social issues we face in our culture. Our previous neighbors handed us this book as they were packing up their house. 

So far, I feel like this book could be paired perfectly with the A Praying Life by Paul Miller.

I think this book is going to take some time to go through, however. Similar to John Piper's Future Grace, Ravi Zacharias writes some pretty thought provoking pages and paragraphs that merit some time to soak in.