Focaccia!

In case anybody cares -- doubtful, I know -- yesterday's focaccia was wonderful, and wonderfully easy. I just mixed the flour/water/yeast/salt around 3:30pm one day, covered it tightly and left it on the counter until around 9:30 the next morning. By then, it had risen a lot and was bubbly all over.

Having it in a glass bowl has its advantages. Next step involved simply putting some olive oil into a cast iron skillet and coating the bottom, then I tipped the dough into that, turning once to be sure it was totally covered in the oil, then patted it enough that it covered the bottom of the skillet. Then I poked some roasted garlic bits into the dough, covered it again and ignored it for a couple more hours.

Recipe calls for 550F cooking, but I doubt this old stove goes that high, and I wouldn't feel comfortable trying. I had it around 450 or a little over. Hard to be sure as the oven isn't accurate, but it was hot. Recipe calls for 16-24 minutes, but I semi-panicked when it had gotten quite brown at 15 minutes so I took it out and finished the bottom on the stovetop, as suggested. In retrospect, I think another couple of minutes in the oven would have been good, browning the top even further.

All that was left then was to spoon the quick garlic/butter/oil/oregano mixture I'd made while the bread was cooking right onto the hot top so it would soak in nicely.

The crumb was good, though there again another minute or so in the oven would have helped. I also cut it while it was still hot and squishy, but I couldn't wait.

You can see the roasted garlic -- which I'm not convinced was worth the effort -- and the oil seeping into the bread from the top. So yummy! I actually ate half of it, though I'm rather embarrassed to admit that. I had to put the rest into the freezer so I wouldn't eat all of it. I also made some good chicken/veg soup yesterday so both will be part of my meals the next few days.

The recipe is from one of my favorite sources for anything food related, J. Kenzi Lopez-Alt on Serious Eats, if anyone wants to try it. Highly recommended!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Today marks the beginning of my last year as a septuagenarian. A year from now will be one of those hated 'zero' years. Assuming I live that long, which I likely will barring the unforeseen.

A few weeks ago I moved my big (6 feet long) oak desk from my bedroom into the living room. I'd always wanted it in the living room, but when I moved in here I had different furniture plus I think perhaps I just didn't see how I could make it fit. At any rate, it's here and I love it. In the past, I generally only used it in early morning hours, sipping coffee, checking email, twitter, and doing my NY times puzzles and often, some genealogy. It was quiet and peaceful, but cold, since I keep that side of the house basically unheated so I sleep better at night. Plus I couldn't hear/see the TV, blah blah.

The room is now a little more crowded than I normally prefer, but I don't find it unpleasant and I sit at this desk much of the day now, doing whatever nonsense I find to do. The point of all this is that today, weeks after making this move, I realized that I could now listen to all the music that's stored on this computer. It wasn't realistic before, since the bedroom wall where it was located abuts my neighbor's bedroom, and is above the downstairs neighbor's bedroom. I tried to be quiet when I was in there, as the walls here are thin. And even during the day I'd have needed to turn it up too loud in order to hear it in the rest of the apartment.

So Hallelujah!! With the belated realization I finally found where Windows 10 hides my music file, and while it looks a lot different I found that if I click on 'play all' it randomizes just as it once did. I don't think all my music is in this file, as I probably had 40 or so CDs there, but there are a bunch of my favorites. I'll be curious to see how long it'll play before stopping. Probably been a couple of  hours already.

This is important because music -- especially this music that I love -- has always been an important part of my life. I always had a good music system and no TV because I preferred music. It lifts my spirits, calms anxieties, and does wonders for my overall well-being. It's good to have it back. Good beyond words.

Apparently that's my birthday present to myself, and it's a damned good one. I'm also making some good soup and trying a focaccia recipe from one of my favorite sources. The dough has risen overnight and has a wonderful sourdough aroma. Soon it'll be time for the next step. Yum.

Early morning walk around Delta Ponds. Again.

Yesterday dawned clear and bright, so I set out for a 'short' early morning walk along the ponds. Turned out not to be so short after all, as I found so many places to use my iPhone's camera. I don't use it much as a phone, but it gets good use as a camera, and I love it. As you can see, things were quiet over there as all the critters were waking up.

These ducks were splashing, diving and making a hullabaloo as they did a little morning bathing. Some of them swam away before I could get a photo. Should really have  been a video, but I haven't learned how to do that yet.

I've always liked reflections, and this is no exception. The sun was so bright in my face that I couldn't see the camera, so I pointed it down into the water, with the sun brightening the shore and the still reflection in the water.

More reflections.

I realized last night when it was way too late that I'd missed a good opportunity for some wonderful lighting when I didn't continue on across the bridge where I found the ducks. The sun wouldn't have been in my face then, but coming from all directions with wonderful lights and shadows. Something to remember next time it's clear at dawn. I'm happy with these, for now.