lummi island wine tasting feb 23 ’18
(note: some photos will enlarge when clicked)
Bread this week
Whole Wheat Levain – after building up the sourdough starter over severals days a levain is made the night before final mixing of the dough. This allows the fermentation process to start and the gluten to start developing. This particular dough is made with levain and bread flour and about 25% fresh milled whole wheat. I like to say it has a ‘toothy’ crumb, it has great texture and flavor and a nice crisp crust. A nice artisan loaf that is a great all around bread – $5/loaf
Pear Buckwheat – the preferment in this bread is a poolish, made with bread flour, water and a bit of yeast and fermented overnight. Mixed the next day with bread flour and fresh milled buckwheat. Since buckwheat has no gluten using the preferment allows the dough to begin to develop before the final mix. The addition of toasted walnuts and dried pears soaked in white wine makes for a really flavorful bread – $5/loaf
For pastry this week…
Tartine Bakery style Morning Buns – My version of San Francisco Tartine Bakerys’ morning bun pastry. Laminated croissant dough is rolled out and spread with a butter and brown sugar filling before being rolled up and sliced and baked in muffin tins. Absolutely fabulous!! – 2/$5
Back to Regular Hours!
We are back from our trailer travels a bit earlier than expected. We did find somewhat warmer weather in southern Oregon, which was entirely pleasant, but a number of complicating factors brought us home early. Just in time, as it turns out for this week-long February nor’easter we have been experiencing this week, temperatures below freezing at night and not much above during the day. And now some snow forecast over the next few days.
The good news for Our Faithful is that we will be open for regular hours this weekend. Bread Friday will happen as usual from 4 to 6-ish on Friday, and open Saturday afternoon from 3-6. Y’all come by now, and let’s catch up!
Hearts and Minds
Mass shootings now happen many times a week across our country. Most of them are ignored by the Press. But when it’s a School Shooting, the Media descend on the grieving community, interview local officials and survivors, report the Body Count, profile the killer…the same stories over and over, and Nothing Changes.
This time it feels Different. These bright, motivated, energized, outraged, courageous, and dedicated high school students from Parkland, Florida are speaking out Loudly and Effectively and Demanding Action against Gun Violence. We listen to their Reason and their Passion and are Inspired to cheer them on and find ways to support them. Maybe This Time, informed by the Truth of their Experience, and Shamed by the collective Impotence of a bought-and-paid-for-by-the-NRA Congress, Sanity can gain some traction and the “Well-Regulated” part of the so-called Consitutionally Guaranteed Right to Bear Arms can start applying Necessary and Reasonable Rules for gun ownership, use, and responsibility. Any rational person can now see clearly that those rules should be increasingly restrictive for increasingly lethal weapons, however defined. The more lethal the weapon, the more certain Society must be about the character of the owner. Every teenaged Bozo does NOT have a God-given right to an AR-15 and high-capacity magazines.
These high school students are Setting an Example for our entire Nation. Our hats are off to them for calling BS and calling out Legislators at every level to take a stand for the same reasonable and rational rules for gun ownership as are found in most civilized countries. If we all join our voices with theirs, we can help them to Make a Difference.
Mar a Lago Update: The Good, the Bad, and the Worst
He likes to think of himself in Superlatives, part of the Ongoing Ritual of Patting himself on the Back. Every Tweetstorm seems to have at its root an intention to push someone Out of the Spotlight to claim it for himself. So it may be of some peculiar Comfort to him to be compared to all the previous Presidents and to see where he might fit in the Hierarchy.
These musings were posted in the New York Times this past weekend. Various observers over the decades have taken it upon themselves to rate and rank Presidents. At the top of most lists are Washington, Lincoln, and FDR. At the bottom are Andrew Johnson, James Buchanan, Franklin Pierce, George W. Bush, and …wait for it…the Tweetster!
As President Washington observed, “the President cannot in any way ‘demean himself in his public character’ and must act ‘in such a manner as to maintain the dignity of office.’ Many bottom-of-the-list Presidents had relatively successful first years, after which a combination of circumstances and character flaws delegated them to Failed status. Curiously, only two of the “failures”– Andrew Johnson and James Buchanan– had Bad First Years. Buchanan’s role in lobbying for the Dred Scott Decision in the Supreme Court is widely viewed as a major cause of the Civil War. And Johnson’s racist views led him to veto Civil Rights for newly-freed slaves, leading to his impeachment in 1868.
In comparison, the Tweetster’s first year as Fake President has been an unrelenting parade of Disgraces, Embarrassments, Inconsistencies, Personal Hubris, Financial Conflicts of Interest, Crude Vulgarities, and a Nation-Crippling Degree of Narcissistic Self-Absorption. Add McConnell and Ryan to that equation, and you have the Perfect Cast for The Three Stooges Go To Washington, Season 2. Next tweet might go,“Like, I am So Good at Being Worst, I am Like the Best at Being Worst, like No One is Better at Being Worst! Am I right? Am I right? Of course I’m right!”
This week’s wine tasting
Leese-Fitch Chardonnay ’16 California $11
Opens with pleasant aromas of apple, citrus and tangerine. Smooth and tasty in the mouth, with rich notes of apple, pear, tangerine, lemon, lime and tropical fruit and a touch of honeyed sweetness.
Anciano 5-Yr Tempranillo Riserva ’10 Spain $11
Aromas of damp earth, mocha, tobacco, and black cherry. On the palate it is sweetly fruited, easy-going, and nicely balanced leading to a seamless, fruity finish.
Tenuta Rubino Oltreme Susamaniello ’14 Italy $14
Fresh, fragrant notes of cherries, pomegranate, raspberries and hints of ripe plum; fruity, minerally, and round on the palate with soft, pleasant tannins, a versatile and seductive pairing with richer dishes.
Cougar Crest Dedication 12 ’16 Washington $13
Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot. Velvety and round, with gently pulsing flavors of currant and plum, hinting at clove, pepper and roasted meat notes as the finish lingers enticingly.
Maryhill Reserve Grenache ’14 Washington $23
Blueberry, bing cherry and caramel delight the nose while a medium-body, velvety tannins and notes of cedar and cherry accent the palate.
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2072 Granger Way