Day 8 – Fats for High Heat

If we are what we eat, I am becoming a sourdough pancake.  Cold, hot, plain, sweet, savory – good no matter how you eat them!  High heat fats task today, but no coconut or palm oil at the standard grocery store – surprise, surprise.  Why is the co-op so out of my way?  Will have to continue using butter and being careful not to let it get too hot.  Set out dough for tomorrow: noodle day.

Day 9 – Fight Against GMOs

First, please go check out Nourished Kitchen’s Action Alert: Genetically Engineered Alfalfa.  The USDA public commenting period on GE alfalfa ends tomorrow.

Not pretty, but very noodley.

Made sourdough noodles.  Took forever and couldn’t possibly be worth it.  Was. Ate with homemade alfredo.  Never realized noodles were actually a food, not just a vehicle for sauce or an inexpensive filler.  Sauce was weird, but who needs it with these noodles.  Recommendation:  Watch The End of Suburbia while making noodles to decrease whining about how hard it is to make noodles.

Day 10 – Fats to Eat Raw

Attempt #2 at wet sprouted rye bread-food.  Different method, equally inedible result.  Looked like a loathsome little heap of oatmeal, tasted like… not food.  Discouraged.  Nothing resembling bread in my house for a week now.  No end in sight.  I can feel the sprouted rye staring at me from the fridge.  Pathetic.

Day 11 – Sourdough (!)

Bread!  Could there really be bread?  Yes.  Maybe.  Not for at least twelve hours.  Mix dough, knead, cover, wait.  *tap foot impatiently*  Also, discovered that the spiced butter used to cook many Ethiopian dishes is a type of ghee.  Score!  That has been on my To Do list for years, literally.  Bumping it up and adding plain ghee alongside it.

Sourdough bread (mine!)

Day 12 – Finding Real Milk

Found some real milk in my fridge – so there, Day #12!  Domestic goddess today: two loaves of whole wheat sourdough, sprouted lentil yum, red cabbage yum, sourdough started naan and puffed rutabaga gratin.  That’s a lot of food, people.

Day 13 – Get Your (good) Bacteria

Leftovers make me happy.  Not cooking anything makes me happy.  Real food with no prep makes me happy.  Also, still no old man smell.  A little disappointed, a little relieved.

This made my house smell like curry. But I like curry.

Day 14 – Valentine’s Day, yo

Finally made it to the co-op – raw milk, eggs, onion (local, woo), spices for niter kebbeh, corn meal and coconut oil (I know, days behind).  Trying wheat berries instead of rye, because all the best cooks know to blame the ingredients if something doesn’t come out right.  Treated myself to a tasty kombucha drink because Day 14 told me to!

Bring on Week 3!

Related Posts:

• Real Food Challenge Recap – Week 4
• Real Food Challenge Recap – Week 3
• Real Food Challenge Recap – Week 1
• One Small Change & 28 Day Real Food Challenge

Day 1- Throw Out Processed Food

Looked in the cupboards, threw a tantrum, decided I was going to be a massive cheater and not throw anything away.  Decided to grow up and at least box it up and put it away.  Didn’t actually end up touching any food, but thought about it and pretended I was doing it.

Day 2 – Go Buy Real Food

Continued to eat processed food while I wait for repair person to show up.  Vowed to take a trip to the co-op as soon as he/she leaves.  Justified my actions with some vague reassurance about not wasting food.

Day 3 – Improve Your Grains

Actually went and bought real food today. Discovered that even more of the grocery store is now irrelevant to me.  Real food – very little.  Organic real food – even less.  Organic, local, in season food – none.  Bagged all my processed food, save for a small shelf of food refugees (my popcorn…).  Soaked oatmeal!

Day 4 – Start Your Sourdough Culture

Trip to the co-op for more real food – local eggs, raw milk, flour, kefir culture, parsnip, rutabaga.  Mocked on Twitter for asking what to do with the parsnip and rutabaga (#StuffWhitePeopleAsk).  Helpful answer from Kelly @ Centsible Life and Virgina @ Living the Local Life (we love them).  Ate soaked oatmeal – delicious!  Oh… and restarted sourdough culture.  Hoping for better luck this time.

Day 5 – Improve Your Grains

Guess what?  No organic grains at Safeway.  Surprise, surprise.  Another trip to the co-op for rye, lentils and mung beans (!).  Sourdough is bubbling and fluffing!  Put grains to soak – trying rye first.  Unbelievably busy day.  Broke down and got take-out pho.  Styrofoam galore.  [Insert self loathing here.]

Day 6 – Milling Your Own Sprouted Grain Flour

Managed to avoid another trip to the co-op by virtue of the fact that my grains weren’t sprouting yet.  Sourdough increasingly sour.  Surprised it’s doing anything with as cold as my house is.  Busy day out of the house, but the morning’s soaked oatmeal came through.  Soaked oatmeal is awesome!  Hubs sent me a link for rain barrels and asked me what I was going to do once things sprouted.  *crickets*

Day 7 – Relax and Evaluate

Woke up to sprouted rye!  Found a few recipes and decided to try rye flatbread after garden planning and seed saving class.  Completely inedible and permanently adhered to my pan.  Put more grains to soak.  Hoping for better luck (or a better recipe) this time.

Related Posts

• One Small Change & 28 Day Real Food Challenge
• Real Food Challenge Recap – Week 2
• Real Food Challenge Recap – Week 3
• Real Food Challenge Recap – Week 4