With all of this staying home stuff, I’ve had some extra time to start looking through some of my older images. This was taken more than a few years ago (2007) when I was contemplating whether I wanted to venture into digital photography. Yes, I can hardly believe that something that I love now was met with having to be dragged… kicking and screaming into the new age. I so loved my Minolta SRT101 at the time, which by the way I still have keeping company on the shelf. You know just in case I may need again someday. So being cautious about my investment, I bought an inexpensive FinePix A340 just to give it a go. By now, I had almost forgotten about this camera until I pulled up the file information on my computer linked to this image.
This jellyfish was shot on a quick road trip stop at the Atlanta Aquarium. I was greatly surprised by this image that was captured. Just proof that some fun things can happen even when you are first learning and really don’t know what you are doing. That is not to say that I have stopped learning as that will never happen. So keep on shooting and happy exploring, but with camera in hand.
Getting low on bread? I’m finding myself during these times of shortages at grocery stores doing more things for myself that I haven’t done in many years. This is one of them…making a sourdough starter. If you are reading this, you can find many good starter recipes online, but you only need one to get going. Once you get it going, it’s almost like having free food as long as you have flour and water. You can use your sourdough culture to make many different recipes. The first one, I made was an improvisation from a recipe I found on Pinterest. However, it called for blueberries that I didn’t have. Instead I used finely chopped walnuts and cinnamon. They turned out very tasty and definitely have already been requested to make again from the hubs. Have some fun and be creative adding your own favorite ingredients.
Some important things to know about sourdough:
you will need to feed it (half amount of flour to an equal amount of water) at least once a week (two times is even better). You probably want to slow down it’s feeding by putting it in the fridge when not using. You will still need to feed though as already mentioned. When preparing to use your sourdough, remove from fridge and feed equal amounts flour and water at least 3-4 hours before you start baking. You will know your sourdough is doing good when you see some small bubbles on top.
Do not store in or use metal utensils when working with sourdough, as sourdough can pit them (Baking in metal pans is okay). Store your starter in a crock or glass jar with lid that just sits on top. It does not need to be airtight as sourdough uses cultures picked up from the air in your home, which helps with the flavor of your sourdough culture. Wooden, plastic, or silicone mixing spoons work well.
Be sure to keep at least a 1/2 cup – 1 cup of sourdough with each bake so you do not deplete your supply. If you find you have too much: you can discard, share, or find other uses with many sourdough recipes online. If your sourdough smells foul or turns black, discard and start over. You can learn more online if you have questions about sourdough baking.
Since we still need to care for our families, ourselves, and each other; I will try to post more helpful articles to come in caring for yourself or others, so please check back or follow my blog. In the meantime — take a breathe, maybe do some meditation, pray, get out in nature if you can safely (even just for a short walk), exercise, and find some activities that help bring you some peace and calm. If you found this post helpful, consider posting a comment or photo about what you made. Thinking of you and yours wherever you may be. Thank you for visiting today~ terre
