sour-doh!

i’m on winter break right now. i’ve been cooking. a lot. unfortunately there have been some problems:

1. cooking disasters (curry failures, rice catastrophes, cake debacles, and so on. it’s been a bad month for dorian’s cooking)

2. bad lighting- my house has some pretty horrible lighting. and it’s winter here. so natural light, when it does appear (and look good), is fleeting. (i need some real lights…)

3. laziness. no explanation needed.

however, to prove i have been cooking i will give you this:

it sure is pretty, and chewy, and soft.

it’s sourdough. well, it’s supposed to be sourdough. it isn’t sour. sometimes it’s barely sour, which isn’t enough. so i toil away day and night. there are two sourdough starters on my computer desk right now. they’re active and happy. i just don’t know if they are cut out for the job. if not that’s weeks down the drain. that would fucking suck.

the good thing is i’m learning a lot about bread making. i’ve got plans to redo the ciabatta, and maybe the focaccia. i’ll be attempting baguettes sometime before the end of this month. whole wheat is perfection is doesn’t need changing.

as far as the sourdough, i believe i’m on loaf 8 or 10; i can’t remember. i’m hoping it’s just a matter of ratios and rise times. assuming i get it, which i think i will, it will be here.

i do have a new soup recipe, but again, the problem is the lighting. i’m not giving a recipe without a good pic. i’m here. i’m alive. and australia is alright.

top 10

From Under the High Chair:

Top Ten things To Expect When Dining with a Food Blogger
Disclaimer: The following is a tongue-in-cheek and much exaggerated preview of what to expect should you accept a dinner invitation to the home of an avid food blogger. At least, I think it would be like this; certainly at my place things are done with much more consideration for the guest!

Top Ten Things To Expect When Dining With A Food Blogger:

1. You won’t be asked to bring anything except perhaps wine or other beverages.

2. Dinner will be served at 3 in the afternoon because the natural light is better.

3. Once the meal is ready, it will be marched past the set dining room table and out the back door for a photo shoot on the shady deck; it will be served to you approximately fifteen minutes later. If you’re lucky.

4. Due to #3, dinner will be cold.

5. There will be one beautifully presented dish – the one being photographed – but any side dishes may look like they were hurriedly slopped together.

6. The dining room has a backdrop and fill lights. (So I don’t, but I bet I know someone who does.)

7. You may be asked if you can be photographed while eating, but note that this request is merely a formality and the host will snap away at will no matter what your response. Expect close-ups of your lips, etc.

8. The host may seem lost in thought for the most of the meal — presumably because he/she is already composing a blog post in his/her head.

9. If there is conversation, it will probably revolve around the food (details on how it was prepared, the chef’s feelings on how it turned out) or the weather (too sunny for photographs or not sunny enough).

10. You’ll notice that the cake for dessert has a slice missing from it. That’s because the host needed to photograph the layers.

Consider yourself warned. You’re welcome.

yes, they are all true…

TasteStopping

Have you been rejected from TasteSpotting or FoodGawker? I sure have. After ranting on someone’s random site I made a friend. Her name is Casey, and she had the best idea ever:

TasteStopping

I suggest you go there and give her your rejects.