I've used this exact method to get a dormant starter going so well that it nearly triples when I refresh it. If this doesn't get your starter up and running like crazy, then there's no saving it!
Warm up 1 cup of water about 20 seconds in the microwave. It should be warm, but not hot. Too much heat will kill your starter. If it's too hot for you it's too hot for your starter.
Add 1 cup of your starter to the water and whisk until uniform. Discard the rest of the starter if it's dormant. If it's really active, use it!
Put 1 1/2 cups of flour in a bowl with the starter and whisk until combined. It's okay if there are some small chunks of flour, but you want it as well-combined as possible.
Cover with plastic wrap and keep it out on your counter. If you have a warm sunny spot, that's even better, but it'll work at room temperature.
Repeat this process in the morning and in the late afternoon/evening for 3 days.
Once it's really active, you should refresh it every 2 days or so if you keep it out. If you refrigerate it, it should keep indefinitely.
Let me tell you about my perfect hamburger.
- Teriyaki marinated
- Cooked to medium done-ness
- Grilled onions
- Grilled pineapple
- Swiss cheese
- Bacon
Lettuce is optional, but gives it a little crunch. For me, this is a perfect hamburger.
I found this recipe at Uwajimaya's site, it is pretty tasty:
Sushi rice
5 Tablespoon rice vinegar
2 Tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoon salt
Heat the vinegar in a saucepan until the sugar and salt dissolve. Sprinkle over 6-7 cups of cooked rice, stirring as it cools.
When I lived in Taiwan, every once in a while I'd run across a place that sold the most wonderful-tasting soup, but I never got around to asking what it was. Every time I saw it, I would get a bowl. Turns out, years later, that it was actually a Japanese soup: Miso. I found this recipe on the Uwajimaya website.
Miso Soup
Ingredients:
4 cups dashi (soup stock)
4 Tablespoon miso
wakame (seaweed), small pieces (optional)
1/2 block tofu, cut into 1/2" cubes
1-2 stalks green onions, sliced thin
Other optional ingredients
spinach, cabbage, Shiitake Mushrooms, pork, abura age (fried bean cake), daikon (Japanese white radish), mochi (rice cake), or fish.
Preparation:
Serves 4
Heat dashi . Mix miso in small bowl with small amount of dashi and return to the dashi in the pan. Bring to a boil then lower heat. Add tofu and wakame (optional). When soup comes to a boil, remove from heat and add green onions. Avoid boiling too long - serve immediately.
And don't forget Inari, too!
I was just reminiscing about the wonderful food (especially breakfast) I used to get in Taiwan. So I went poking about the Internet and found this recipe. I'll try it out and let you know how it goes! There seem to be a few others on the same site that look good as well.
高ç‹éºµç²‰.....8大匙
太白粉.....2åˆ1/3大匙
æ°´.....220ml
鹽.....少許
一大匙是15ml ， 一å°åŒ™æ˜¯ 5ml
My stepfather Ron made the most amazing chicken fajitas while we were in Portland. I simply had to get the recipe. He said he found it on the Internet. I'm not sure where, though, so here it is, on the Internet again:
Chicken Fajita Marinade
- 1/4 cup beer
- 1/3 cup fresh lime juice
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp chopped cilantro
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- salt to taste
To prepare the marinade, stir together beer, lime juice, olive oil, garlic, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, cilantro, cumin, and salt. Mix well.
To use marinade, pour into a resealable plastic bag, add up to 1 1/2 pounds of chicken breast, and mix until chicken is well coated. Marinate for 1 to 3 hours in the refrigerator.
Tonight my brother Wes came over and we made…Chocoloate Bubble Gum Shakes. Just like GIR had in Invader Zim's NanoZim episode.
GIR's Chocolate Bubble Gum Shake
An original recipe by Jacob (ScurvyJake) Cord
Ingredients:
- bubble gum
- fudgesicles—optionally, you can remove the plastic and wood sticks. Leave in for extra manly flavor
- ice cream
- milk. Preferrably from a cow
Put the gum in the freezer for a few minutes, it blends better when it's cold. Add a few scoops of ice cream, a couple of fudgesicles, and some milk. Unwrap the bubble gum if you're feeling industrious. If you're lazy, just throw it in, the paper won't kill you. If you have an awesome BlendTec blender like I do, crank it up and watch it go. If you don't, you may want to reconsider making this recipe. It might hurt your blender. Pour in to glasses and start chewing. Imagine how much more awesome you are than everyone else that hasn't had one of these shakes.
Here are some images of the process:
And the final result. Click on this one for a larger image.
Disclaimer: I will not be responsible for killing your crappy blender with this recipe, any intestinal splinters you may get from un-liquefied fudgesicle sticks, or inadvertent intestinal blockage. Besides, this shake is made of awesome.
I strongly suggest you get one of these Blendtec blenders, they come in several colors! (I like the red one).
As recommended by @Blendtec on Twitter, I'm entering this recipe in the So You Think You Can Blend contest!
I've got a great recipe now for sourdough bread, and it's time to share it:
1 cup sourdough starter
3/4 cup lukewarm water
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
3 cups flour (bread or all-purpose)
If you don't have a sourdough starter, ask a friend that does, or google for a recipe. I use the Giza Culture and have been very happy with it. I got it from my uncle. It can live in your refrigerator for months at a time without any care or attention. It's quite hard to kill.
Mix all ingredients together (use dough cycle if you have a bread machine). Put dough in a greased bowl, cover with a wet cloth, and let rise for 24 hours. Sourdough rises much slower than normal bread, at least mine sure does.
Punch down the dough and shape however you want. You can let the shaped dough rise again, or if you're impatient (like me) just cook it. I like to use a baking stone and cover it in cornmeal. Put the stone and a glass bowl full of water in the oven as you preheat it to 400° F. Take the stone out, sprinkle with the cornmeal, put your dough on it, and bake for 22-25 minutes. The humidity from the water will give the sourdough loaf a crisper crust. You can also wet the loaf or spray it with water.
Is via dark chocolate bacon cupcakes, straight to his stomach.
But hold the coffee, that's just nasty.
Lorien and I went out to lunch the other day at the Hot Rod Cafe. They have a dessert that is a giant chocolate taco with ice cream and whipping cream surrounded by giant brownies with macadamia nuts. I'm not a huge macadamia nut fan, but how could you say no to a chocolate taco??
Upon returning home, I immediately looked up a recipe on the 'Net and found the following:
Chocolate Tortillas
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 3 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa
- 1/4 cup skim milk
- 2 egg whites
- 1/4 cup vegetable or olive oil
- 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Mix all ingredients, chill. Cook a thin layer of batter over medium high heat 2 minutes or so, until edges are dry. Turn over and cook about 2 more minutes.
We made these last week when we got snowed in, along with tons of other cookies. We distributed most of them, and kept a few for snacking on. I think these are my new favorite!
Chocolate Goody Bars
1 box brownie mix
vanilla frosting
1 cup peanuts
1 12oz package semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup creamy peanut butter
3 cups rice krispies
Make the brownies as specified on the box. When done, let cool completely. Spread frosting (we made our own cream cheese frosting) and sprinkled enough peanuts to get good coverage according to taste. Let this chill in the refrigerator at least an hour. For the final layer, combine chocolate chips and peanut butter over medium heat until it's all melted together. Stir in the rice krispies. Spread over the frosting/peanut layer and chill in the refrigerator for about an hour before cutting.
You can find this recipe in its entirety as well as many other very good ones in Hometown Potluck Favorites.
We've been doing some baking at home, and needed to find a good cream cheese frosting recipe. We took a shot at this one, and it turned out great!
1 8 oz. package cream cheese
5 tbsp butter, room temperature
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar
Mix the first three ingredients together thoroughly, then slowly add in the powdered sugar. This makes a nice, not-too-sweet frosting with a great cream cheese taste. You can add more powdered sugar if you want it to be sweeter, but I like it just the way it is.
Tonight's drink is the
Nectarine Orange Coconut Lime smoothie
1 whole nectarine, pitted and quartered
1/2 cup Cream of Coconut
1 tablespoon sweetened lime juice
1 11oz can of mandarin oranges in light syrup
1 tablespoon orange juice concentrate
15-20 ice cubes
Blend all ingredients and serve immediately. Makes 2 huge smoothies or 4 smaller ones.
Two of my favorite things.
I bet these cookies would be great. I'm going to have to try them.
Thanks go out to Ellie for this coconut cookie recipe. Lorien and I had a taste of them a few weeks ago when we stopped by her place and just had to get the recipe!
Coconut Cookies...
By popular demand- the coconut cookie recipe!!
1/2 c. butter
2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 large egg
1 tsp. pure vanilla
2 1/4 c. sweetened shredded coconut
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/2 c. brown sugarPreheat oven to 350.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
Place 1/2 c. coconut into small bowl, Set aside.
Place remaining coconut into food processor, pulse until coarsely ground.
Using electric mixer, beat butter with sugar until light and fluffy.
Beat in egg and vanilla.
Gradually add flour mixture and coconut until combined.
Bake until lightly golden around edges- about 10-12 minutes.Hide some for later, because they will be gone within the hour.