I’ve been in LA for over three years now. It kind of blows my mind that I’ve been here this long. I don’t hate LA, I’ve actually come to enjoy parts of LA quite a lot. One of the things I don’t like though is the cost of living here. One of the big reasons I’m still here, is that I haven’t been able to afford to move. I haven’t been able to save as much as I’d like to have since I’ve been here. Part of that is my own fault, spending money on things I don’t necessarily need and not prioritizing savings as well as I should. But part of it, is that I just haven’t had a lot left over after paying rent and bills either.
In the end, this has contributed to a feeling of being trapped here in LA. I don’t like that feeling. So I’m making it a goal to do something about it. The first step was to reexamine my budget and make some changes to prioritize savings more than I’ve done in the past. The second thing I did was open an account on SmartyPig. SmartyPig is essentially an online bank that offers savings accounts. While I already have a savings account with my local credit union and with ING Direct, and could have easily just used that to build up a “moving fund,” SmartyPig has a little different focus. It is a goal focused savings account. You set up specific goals and the time line you want to complete them in. What sets it apart from just your standard account is that it interacts in your social networks. I’ve connected my goal to my Facebook account, so everytime I add money to my account, it’ll post something on my facebook wall. I’ve also created a widget that I included on my blogs sidebar. The widget shows the percentage of progress I’ve made towards my goal. The other thing that is nice, is its easy for friends or family to contribute to that goal if they so choose.
The goal I created is this:
My goal is to save up $2500 by June 30, 2011. This is based on what I estimate it would cost me to move back to Portland. My lease is up at the end of July, so I’d like to have this fund in place by the time I’d need to put in 30 days notice. I’d still need to get a job lined up, but just having this money set aside for this purpose will take a lot of pressure off of me. I won’t feel as trapped here in LA.
I’d been looking forward to this section of the BBA from the beginning. Part of the fun was going to be the making of the sourdough starter from scratch. I did run into a little problem when I first got to this section however. The formula for the starter called for pumpernickel rye (a course grind) flour. I went all over LA looking for someone who carried it, but no one seemed to. I almost gave up and ordered online, but by that time I had a trip to Portland coming up, so I decided I’d go out to Bob’s Red Mill and just pick it up there.
The first step in making the mother starter was to create a seed culture. This process took 4 days.
Day 1 – Pumpernickel and Pineapple Juice
For the first two days, instead of water, the instructions were to use pineapple juice to hydrate the flour. This is to prevent the development of a bacteria that could inhibit the growth of the yeast later on in the process.
Day 2 – Pumpernickel Rye, Bread Flour, Pineapple Juice
Day 2 introduced regular bread flour to the mixture. Days 3 and 4 introduced more bread flour and goes back to water to hydrate the flour.
Mother Starter
To create the mother starter, I added a portion of the seed culture to more flour and water and let it rise a few hours before putting it in the refrigerator over night for some slow fermentation.
Basic Sourdough rising
I do need to figure out the best way to use my mother starter as formulated in the book. I only need a small portion to make the formula for the basic sourdough loaves…so I ended up with a lot of extra starter that wasn’t used. I need to work on understanding the baker’s formula calculations better, so I can keep a smaller starter.
For this batch I decided to shape the sourdough into baguettes:
Proofing on the couche
Fresh out of the oven…on my makeshift cooling rack.
I’ve since made a batch shaped in boules. I did like the bread, though it was still pretty dense both times. I think my starter may still need a few more times refreshing to let the flavor develop a little more, but you could definitely tell it was a sourdough bread.
This time, I have left my body behind me, crying
In its dark thorns.
Still,
There are good things in this world.
It is dusk.
It is the good darkness
Of women’s hands that touch loaves.
The spirit of a tree begins to move.
I touch leaves.
I close my eyes, and think of water.
This is another long overdue post. I brought these loaves to a potluck and hike in June. I must get better about posting.
These baguettes are started with a poolish, and that is the main difference between it and the earlier French style baguettes. These also had a bit of sifted whole wheat flour in them, instead of 100% bread flour that the traditional French Bread would have.
I shaped these loaves to be as big as my oven could handle. These were however the last loaves I made at my old apartment…and as a result are a little longer than I can do with my current oven.
Ben Harper’s latest project is called Fistful of Mercy. It happened when 3 friends got together in the studio for a few days and an album came to be. The eponymous track is hauntingly beautiful:
Jonathan Pryce reads a newly rediscovered poem by Ted Hughes where he imagines his wife’s last night before her suicide.
A devastatingly beautiful intimate poem, not originally included in his Birthday Letters collection (though I imagine it will be added to a new edition).
“For some unfortunate reason, complaining, rejecting, or fearing something strengthens your sense of ego and makes you feel like you are important. You contract back into your small and false self, and from there, unfortunately, it becomes harder and harder to reemerge.”
