3 Things to Share With You

#1



It's been nine days since I've had a Dr. Pepper.

That's practically an eternity.

No. There is no one else in my life.

I'm still madly passionate about his 23 flavors, and I adore the Doctor more than ever, but we had to break up for a while.  Too many 44 ouncers at ball games leads to an unhealthy symbiotic marriage.  I don't intend for our relationship to end in divorce, we just desperately need a little time apart to find a healthy balance. Our meetings need to be less frequent in the future.    


Besides, I've been jogging again, and if  I'm going to torture myself by pounding the gravel in my Nike's then I don't want Dr. Pepper to undo all of my hard work.  Running must not be done in vain. I've lost five pounds by not looking the Doctor in the eye.

Like I said, this is only a temporary separation.  Don't freak out.  I'm still a Pepper.


#2



After a long absence, I have a really delicious sourdough starter going. It feels so good to be back in the sourdough saddle again. It's been so very long since I've partaken of its culinary delights.

I've tried a ton of sourdough starters over the years, but this one might be my favorite so far. People can be very particular about their starters. I wanted one that didn't involve adding any yeast in it.  It uses plain yogurt to get that Lactobacillus culture going.  I'm thrilled with what has been developing in my crock on the counter-top.  I'm not opposed to using yeast in the actual bread recipes when needed, but it sort of feels like cheating if you use the packaged yeast to get the starter going, instead of culturing "wild yeasts". Besides, it's like a little science experiment on the counter-top for my kids to watch.  I'm pretty protective of it though. I think I'll name my starter "The Precious". (If you've never seen Lord of the Rings, then that was totally lost on you.)

I used this recipe from Williams Sonoma: Classic Sourdough Starter


Then, completely by accident, I discovered a pretty tasty, no frills recipe for sour dough rolls when I needed to feed my starter but didn't have the time to make a long, involved recipe with the cup of starter I took out.  I just used it in THIS recipe, and threw the ingredients in my bread machine on the dough cycle.  After it came out, I divided it into a dozen rolls. I let them rise for 30-40 minutes and baked at 375 for about 15 minutes. Totally easy, and Wowzers! The family gobbled them up! It was a nice change from my usual dinner rolls.  Next up, Pizza dough.




#3


We unknowingly blew a breaker in the garage that runs one of our freezers, and we lost the end of our beef, and about 20 pounds of frozen green chilies.  We're just sick about it.  Especially because we just sold our last fattened heifer for the year, and it was butchered last week.  :(


And the chilies....they don't come into season until the fall.  I use them so much in my cooking for soups, Mexican food, burgers, quesadillas, and pots of beans.  Now I'll just have to make due with the grocery store ones.


Modern technology is the pits sometimes.

Now I'm craving a juicy burger topped with cheese, bacon, and strips of  roasted Hatch Green chilies...and an ice-cold Dr. Pepper on the rocks to wash it down.

That's typical. Alway's wanting what we don't have.




Despite these setbacks, and my recent Dr. Pepper drought, I'm determined to make it a Happy Monday!

Nell