Author Archives: According to Ai

Dinner: Fresh Bread & Roasted Vegetables

I’ve been making bread using my homemade sourdough starter for a couple weeks now. I’m on try #4 and each one gets a little more sourdough-y. I’m not sure, but I’m assuming that the sourdough starter gets more and more sour as as you use it and feed it. The last two tries, I’ve put the dough in two standard loaf pans. It’s easier to slice and use for toast and sandwiches this way. Take a look:  Continue reading

Sunshine Toast

This is a fun dish to make for your kids … and it’s quick and easy. Just take a piece of bread and cut a hole into the center. Butter both sides of the bread and place it in a skillet over medium-low heat. Lightly toast the bread, flip, and put a little butter in the hole. Crack an egg into the hole and let it cook. I cover it so the egg cooks fast enough without letting the bread burn. And voila! Sunshine toast!

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Sourdough Starter & Sourdough French Bread

“There is no reason I shouldn’t be making my own bread.” This was me a couple parties ago when I had just started my own sourdough starter. I LOVE sourdough bread. When given the option, I will ALWAYS get sourdough. I had been wanting to make my own for a long time. Enter A World of Breads by Dolores Casella (published in 1966!). I believe that I have mentioned my love of cookbooks and that I have quite a few older ones. I’ve been perusing this one quite a bit, and found a starter recipe and a sourdough french bread recipe. I’ve tried making the bread twice Continue reading

Dinner: Meatloaf & Sides

People often ask me what I make for my family when other people aren’t around (e.g. a regular evening when we’re not having a party of some kind), so I decided to periodically post a picture of the dinner table. Tonight was dictated by Maya (5). 1:30 – “What do you want for dinner tonight, Maya?” Without hesitation, “Meatloaf.” “Okay then we have to go to the store right now because it takes 2 hours and 20 minutes in the oven and I’m also baking bread today.” “Okay Mom, let’s go before Nico wakes up!” I do love to cook and menu plan, but sometimes it’s really nice  Continue reading

Spicy Soup on Rice

I wasn’t planning on posting this recipe, so I didn’t take any pictures of the process, but it was so delicious, I thought I’d share. As you may know, I make my own stock (either vegetable or chicken) about once a week. A couple days ago, I broke down two whole chickens to make chicken bouillabaisse and a couple other dishes. From the scraps, I made my chicken stock. It was sitting on my stove, and I knew I either had to freeze it or make something with it. I looked outside and there were jalapenos in the garden! I have 3 jalapeno plants, and 2 of them Continue reading