focacCia
Social media is full of people making focaccia, so I did, too. There’s so many recipes online, but I chose one which involved leaving the dough to rise in the fridge. I have never left yeast recipes to develop in the fridge and wanted to see how it went. Not so well is the answer. I didn’t need to ‘knock’ down the dough for the second rising as it wasn’t fat and puffy. Checked the date on the yeast, well within ‘use by date’ so I put the focaccia in the oven at 80º C F/F. It rose enthusiastically.
Left it for 2 hours and when it was light and puffy I increased the oven temperature to 215ºC F/F and cooked it for 25 minutes.
I will make focaccia again during winter but will try another recipe. I always search online and am now compiling my own recipe collection, making my collection of recipe books obsolete. I have had two extensive culls of recipe books but still have too many. I also find we eat differently now. Often I cook proteins such as curries, ragu and bolognese, and stews in the slow cooker, then we eat some and put the rest in the freezer. Then I can just add vegetables. Plus we don’t eat a lot in the evening anymore.
Served with Saturday family lunch to accompany beef ragu and vermicelli. Unfortunately, we discovered the warm, fresh focaccia was irresistible!
It’s a family lunch as our son is here to go to his 20th year school reunion. I can’t believe it is 20 years since he left school!
So many lemons this year. They are very juicy! Lemons feature in our diet for twelve months of the year. We also have a lime tree so there’s probably no vitamin C deficiency in this household.
orchid update
Each stem is continuing to grow a flower so I’m pretty pleased.
I have another orchid which is also on the end of the table so gets the same amount of dappled light, watered at the same time, same soil but keeps growing leaves but no flower stems. Any suggestions?
nuclear power
The Opposition party has announced its intention to develop nuclear power stations in Australia as part of their platform at the next Federal election. The announcement generated enormous debate. The one morning I turned on the TV news as I was up very early, all I got was debate about developing nuclear power stations in Australia. Flicked from station to station and ended up watching the BBC news. No mention of nuclear power there. But, if this government has introduced nuclear powered submarines, how can they be so anti nuclear power stations?
other things
We sat in from of the fire in the sitting room this week. The cold weather with heavy rain arrived while we were away. Before we left it hadn’t rained for months and was still hot during the days. Not anymore!
That’s when I noticed this piping was detaching from the cushion. You know I’m keen on mending and maintaining, so I immediately threaded a needle and restitched the piping to the cushion.
This is one of several tapestry cushion we bought back from our house in China.
We both read all the time. When we are going away we buy second hand books, read them, share them, then leave them at our accommodation. I didn’t read all the books I took away with me so had two to finish when we got home. Then I visited the library.
Did you read Claire Keegan’s previous book, Small Things Like These? It was a very popular book, so when I saw her next book, So Late In The Day, I immediately borrowed it. I’m glad I did, too. It’s a day in the life of Cathal, the day he was supposed to get married. His frugality and thoughtlessness result in Sabine, his bride to be, leaving him.
He likens his behaviour to that of many young men in Ireland. He remembers laughing at cruel pranks played on his mother by his father and brothers and feels that’s just how life is for women. Beautifully written but I feel no sympathy for Cathal!
The second book, Carys Davies’s Clear, is beautifully written. It is set in a remote island off the coast of Scotland in 1843. This is the story of two men thrown together, in isolation, by circumstance. They find friendship and understanding through necessity. One man was sent to the remote island to evict the other man. Due to an accident he finds himself being nursed by the other man. A story of solitude and connection. A great read.