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The Raw and The Cooked

Simple Meals + Honest Book Reviews + Practical Living

Sourdough Loaf

I realized that I don’t have my sourdough recipe written down anywhere, which is wild, because I bake a loaf at least 2x per week, and this recipe should get written down, so here we are. I’ve modified this recipe a bit over the years, but right now, a ratio ~300g water / 500g flour / 115g starter has been working pretty well. The more hydration you use, the harder it is to shape and work with. I also know you can get away with only 90g of starter for a bake, but I find that loaves don’t taste sour enough, so I bumped mine up to 115g. I still do not understand the science behind hydration ratios or how to get insanely gorgeous ears, how to get my loaf to not stick to my bowl after bulk fermentation, the inside crumb varies wildly from bake to bake, and sometimes I find that the less I care the better the loaf turns out. All that to say, I still feel like I barely understand what I’m doing, but by the grace of God, it works.

I want to have a word first on the timeline, because that aspect of a bake was incredibly confusing when I first started. So here’s a quick overview of what I do. I feed my starter around 6pm in the evenings. Around 6-7am the following morning, I’ll then get started with a bake. I’ll mix the stater, water, flour, and feed the original starter. I do my series of stretch and folds in the morning, if I’m home, and keep my eye on it around lunchtime. Usually by early afternoon, it’s ready for final shape before going in the banneton. More often than not, I’ll keep her in the fridge until the following day, when I have more time to bake.

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Deuteronomy 32:1-52 | Ha’azinu | “Listen In”

To encourage positive behavior, our big kids elementary school writes up ‘office referrals’ when children demonstrate Torah values, those of kindness, integrity, respect, and gratitude. It’s a big deal when a child comes home with one, because they aren’t handed out too often. Last week, our older son came home with two office referrals in one day, which was a huge feat.

This week, on our special ice cream outing together (just the two of us, a rare treat), he was telling me about a mitzvah he did, by helping out two of his classmates in art class. After expressing how proud of him I was, I asked if he got an office referral for his mitzvah, and he says, very politely and patiently, no but that’s OK because I know Hashem saw it. It was one of those moments that reinforced that I have a good, and very kind hearted boy on my hands. And in his journey to becoming a good, and very kind hearted man, here was a marker that we’re on the right path. Hashem rewarded us that evening, with a beautiful cotton candy sunset as we laughed and ate our ice cream on benches.

I thought a lot about Ezra’s comment this week, and how Ha’azinu can essentially be boiled down to no but that’s OK because I know Hashem saw it. This weeks parsha is a 70 verse song Moses sings, a poem about God and his relationship to Israel. It’s quite poetic and a beautiful song about the push and pull of a lifelong relationship. And ultimately, I think Ezra got a bullseye, when he acts with kindness, integrity, respect, and gratitude -with the knowledge that Hashem saw, and that’s all that matters.

Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke | I Couldn’t Put It Down

Released this past April, Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke has quickly become one of the year’s most talked-about books—and for good reason. I put myself on the library waitlist for the Kindle or audiobook version, only to discover the wait was going to be months long. I debated buying it, but decided to be patient. Then one afternoon, I walked into my local library and found a hardcover copy just sitting there. I practically sprinted over and grabbed it. And then I read all 400 pages over one Shabbat. I refused to put it down.

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Episode 238: Maybe You Don’t Need More Recipes

I’ve been thinking about Jiro Dreams of Sushi lately. It’s a documentary from 2011 about Jiro Ono, the legendary Japanese sushi chef, and his tiny, Michelin-starred restaurant in Tokyo. I first watched it with Alex in 2017, and for whatever reason, it has stayed with me all these years later. Mainly, the idea of mastery of only a handful of things.

Jiro has devoted his life to doing a relatively small number of things exceptionally well. He repeats the same processes over and over, paying attention to tiny details and looking for tiny improvements. There is something almost radical about that kind of focus. And lately I’ve been thinking about what that idea looks like in my own kitchen.

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Summer Meals Part II: One Simple Grocery List, Three Meals, Six Portions

A wonderful perk of summer are the seasonal ingredients available to us: corn, zucchini, cucumbers, tomatoes, basil, peaches… So many combinations, so many rich and decedent flavors. Summer meals tend to be a bit more forgiving, a bit more fun, and a lot less fuss. I’m here for it. Since we have a few more weeks before we change over to fall, I wanted to share another installment of summer meals. One simple grocery list, that turns into three meals for you, with relative ease. I hope you’re enjoying this series, so far, and if you missed it, here is Part I.

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Deuteronomy 29:9 – 30:20 + 31:1–30 | Nitzavim + Vayelech | “You Are Standing + And He Went”

This week was an unusually full week for us, all good things though. Just very full. I can already feel the shift from a relaxed, easy-breezy summer schedule kicking into the high gear of fall, and all that entails. Almost like the flip of the switch, and now BOOM! Fall Frenzy is here. Especially with Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot back to back to back. And while I’m so grateful God gives us this period of reflection, joy, and wiping our slates clean, it still entails a lot of preparation on the back end to ensure the holiday can be filled with joy. Does that make any sense?

Instead of getting completely overwhelmed and crushed by my to-do list that gets longer by the minute, I’m taking a moment to stop, and say thank you to God for each and every blessing that said to-do list represents. Thank you God, for gifting me the talent to bake round-homemade challah for our family’s table, using eggs from our very own chickens. Thank you God, that we have the financial resources to shop at the gourmet grocery stores for the upcoming holiday meals. Thank you God, for the talent to cook and bake from scratch to fill the bellies of our loved ones. Thank you God, for a beautifully set table, one which I can already envision: my grandmothers table cloth, my parents challah board, Alex’s fathers kiddish cup, the smells of a home-cooked gourmet meal, my children’s Rosh Hashanah school projects decorating the table, in addition to the beautiful candles burning, and the beautiful bouquet of flowers I’m going to splurge on. Thank you God, for each and every soul that will gather around our dining room table on Friday night, and ring in the New Year with us. This will be my mantra this week, as I methodically plow through my to-do list.

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