It's Party Time

The blossom is blossoming, the grass is growing and my eyes are itching because of all the nasty pollen but hey, it's time to start planning the next Clifford Garden party! We had an amazing house warming party followed by last year's garden party with a band, a bus driver and an actual hair pulling, name screaming cat fight so looking forward to what this year's will bring!

I was wondering whether to theme it but not everyone makes the effort and the party is usually in the middle of August so no-one wants to be wearing masks / wigs / additional layers normally made out of sweaty nylon...

So it'll be Costco-a-go-go!

I've only gone and bloody done it!

Yesterday saw the very first loaf from my sourdough starter! I'll be honest, I thought I had a dismal failure on my hands as my starter went from bubbling and yeasty to smelling like vomit. I wasn't prepared for this! I took the clingfilm off and the whole kitchen (and lounge) filled with an awful, milky, sourish sweet smell which can only be described as Eau de la Baby Puke. I thought the starter had died and started frantically googling to be met with a mixed bag of results. Some said the bad smell was the result of the starter being contaminated and to throw it out and start again. Others said that this was the smell of the bad bacteria being beaten by the good and to keep at it. I decided to keep at it for a few more days and that if it still stank in a week I'd chuck it. I'm so pleased that I didn't.

After a couple of days, the vomit smelled turned into a paint thinner smell and then mellowed significantly and is back to being yeasty and boozy but definitely bread like. The first loaf turned out great, and not very sour as I didn't let the dough rise for very long. Am now planning to give out lots of bits of starter to friends and get them into making their own bread :)