Simple and nutritious

There are a few things that I could write about related to bread-making. I couldn’t decide which take to develop for this post so here are a few loose-end thoughts:

Bettering yourself

Making your own bread is always a better option than buying it. You avoid the unnecessary additives, sugars, enzymes and calories and you give your tummy a break from digesting and absorbing them.

Recipe

350g of malthouse flour
200g of white pasta flour
1 full teaspoon of dried yeast
lukewarm (on the cold-ish side) water (400-500ml)
4 tablespoons of olive oil
1-2 teaspoons of bread

I explained the methods a while ago. You can find it here: https://postcardswithoutstamps.wordpress.com/2014/02/10/whats-inside-our-bread/

Explore the season

Of course, it would be difficult to survive on bread alone. So above there’s a photo of some vegetables that are in season. I found them all in my favourite place in Derby Market Hall. Runner beans and the chicory were my favourites today. Which ones do you look forward to?

At the market

Talking about the chicory, here’s an interesting story from my greengrocer: ten years ago he could sell quite a number of boxes of lollo rosso, frisee endive and oak leaf lettuce. Now he is lucky if he can sell two lettuces out of a single tray. The restaurants and cafés used to be big customers for these lettuces but no longer. They instead insist on the small plastic tubs containing mixed leaves. This begs the question – can’t chefs wash and chop lettuce anymore? And are we really happy about having all our food pre-packed in plastic?

Dream

I always dreamt of having a home that smelt of bread. I associate bread-making with strength, not only in its physical sense but also emotional and spiritual sense. I love when recipes are being tried and passed on through generations and when the skill remains in the family and in the community. I also like when fresh pieces of bread are being shared around the table – there is something very beautiful in that gesture of passing the basket around.

(The cheese used in my dish above is called Fontina and it comes from the Valle d’Aosta in Italy. We had a chance to look at how it is stored for maturation over there – see the photo below, more to come soon.)

Fruitful words

“I have found that among its other benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver.“

~Maya Angelou

It’s the action, not the fruit..

“ It’s the action, not the fruit of the action, that’s important. You have to do the right thing. It may not be in your power, may not be in your time, that there’ll be any fruit. But that doesn’t mean you stop doing the right thing. You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no result.”
― Mahatma Gandhi

One thing that for certain makes you a better parent

The longer I am a mum of my little toddler, the more I am convinced that there is mainly one thing that helps you become a better, more sensible and more loving parent and that thing is… sleep.

The more you get it, the more patient you are, the more energetic you are and the more adventurous and willing in organising your toddler’s time.

My toddler’s sleeping routine is still uneven but has recently greatly improved. His daytime sleep has also regulated itself. I suspect that three elements contributed to his better sleeping routine:
Activity: he runs around more and plays around in the garden
Diet: there’s more meat in his diet
Emotional Security: he comfortably borrowed his daddy’s big pillow to sleep on.

With this new sleeping pattern emerges a happier, stronger and more confident mama, and the stronger the mama, the better for the whole household.

So I’ll be finishing this post now. My toddler is having his afternoon nap, I’ll have it too.