There isn’t much happening in the garden yet, spring is springing but the seeds are still inside. We’d planned to go to the hardware shop last weekend for soil to finish the new garden bed but car trouble meant it didn’t happen. Plus Mr SW was out for most of the day (dealing with the car troubles) so the big ‘DIY’ projects were also on hold.
Instead I spent the afternoon in the kitchen.
Expecting Mr SW home for afternoon tea I decided to bake scones. There’s something about baking scones that baffles me, I love them, especially the raisin variety but my homemade ones always have problems. I cannot remember a time when I’ve made delicious soft and crumbly scones with a crisp crust. I’ve tried so many recipes, lemonade, soda, made with cream... The last time I used them I inadvertently used bicarb instead of baking powder and overdid the quantity so they tasted weird but did puff up. Today they taste nice but are a bit flat. I probably rolled them too thin but I don’t think they rose at all. So we had two scones sandwiched together with butter and kaya spread. These are what is left...but for how long
Then I started on making dinner, we are having cabbage patties, probably cooked in the oven, so I grated the cabbage, onion, ginger and some garlic and added flour. The recipe suggested this should be enough to hold it together but it was barely binding so I threw in an egg and some breadcrumbs. That’s a bit how cooking goes here at SW, partially follow a recipe, partially wing it. Then I realised I didn’t really buy anything from the farmers market to go with dinner, so we served with a simple tomato sauce mezze style with cheese, olives, homemade cucumber pickles, pickled onions and toasted Turkish bread.
We somehow ended up with too many apples so I set to stewing them with cloves and vanilla bean paste. It’s an easy side project while you’re in the kitchen doing other things. They’ll be used up either with yoghurt for dessert or as a topping on my oats for breakfast. I love when you put something in a jar while it’s still warm and get the popping jar lid action, so satisfying.
Then onto making bread, another practice makes perfect project. I’ve had mixed success but I’d not yet made a really fluffy loaf. This time I’ve made a few adjustments to my process. First I measured the temperature of the water for the yeast and sugar. 38.1c, I then whisked it with a fork and placed it into a pan of warm water for 10 minutes. I’ve never seen it so frothy! I should have taken a picture for sure... Second I decided to try keeping the dough warm in another warm water bath, covered with a beeswax and a tea towel over a cooling stove top. I think the dough actually doubled in size! Winning. I’m so happy I made a time lapse of the second proofing.
OMG I’m so proud of my loaf! Look at the rise!