Leisure The Basis of Culture

...and rediscovered in hard work. Fr. Mark Kowalewski, who tipped me off to Pieper’s book, describes this state of leisure as “profoundly counter-cultural.” And yet I hear Gmail calling me. Time to update my Facebook profile and get out some tweets. How do you deal with life’s distractions? How do you carve out some time for true leisure?...

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Worth Doing From Scratch: Corn Tortillas

...measure dry ingredients by weight I’ve figured out that for enough tortillas for four people you need to mix 250 grams of flour with 300 grams of water. Cook as many tortillas at once as you can. I can do three at a time on our stove. Cooking one at a time takes forever. Keep a bag of masa harina around and you’ll be ready for any tortilla emergency. In just a few minutes you’ll have healthy, tasty tacos and save money....

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Stern Sprouted Wheat Vegan Cookie or Health Bar Type Things

...ots of fresh water and let it sit for a good spell. I’ve heard recommended times ranging from 6 hours to 24 hours. Basically, let your schedule determine the soak time. Overnight. From breakfast til evening. Whatever. After the soak, pour of the water and give the grain a rinse. Then let it sit around at room temperature. Give it a rinse every morning and every night until it sprouts. Toss it around a bit so it aerates. Wheat will sprout in 24- 36...

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Josey Baker’s Awesome Adventure Bread (gluten free!)

...in seeds–I don’t like their slippery texture so much in this context. Next time I may switch those out. I’m going camping this weekend, and am taking this “bread” with me. Now that I’ve baked it, I suspect I could take this bread and nothing else to eat, and I’d never be hungry. Geek moment: You know how in the Lord of the Rings the Elves have a travel food called lembas? One bite will fill a man’s stomach, etc.? When I cut the first slice of this...

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Why You Should Proof Bread in the Refrigerator

...slow proofing may give the beneficial culture in a sourdough culture more time to pre-digest the flour. Researchers are looking at the possibility that sourdough cultures and long fermentation times may alleviate wheat allergies. There’s no solid proof of this but it makes intuitive sense to me. Loaves proofed in the fridge hold their shape better when baked. Proofing in the fridge slows down but does not entirely stop fermentation. With the brea...

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