Over the weekend we...

Didn't get up to much over the weekend. It didn't rain, even though a storm passed just to the north of Manhattan in the very early hours of Saturday morning - so Saturday involved catching up on some rest and sleep.

We spent a few hours at the pool over the course of the two days - it's been hot, and humid after a few weeks of rain and storms, and the pool provides a nice escape, even if the concrete is very hot.

Everything is green beyond belief. For this Queenslander, it feels like we're living in an irrigated field, only green is the default for this time of year. The number of storms we've had in the last few weeks are not normal, once every 10 or so years according to one local.

There may have been a close-call with the sourdough starter. I was prepared to let it go, but Michael's response said it all "What?! And eat marshmallow [bread]?" and so, it has been saved and I am amazed at what can come from less than half a teaspoon of starter.

I spent a little time fixing my favourite backpack, although I didn't end up using the fabric. The time was well worth it, because I'm not ready to replace my Deuter Act Trail yet - it's starting to develop that lovely smell of old tents (and mildew) and at eight years old, it's still looking good.

The best thing to happen all weekend is getting its own post, so stay tuned.

Over the weekend we...

Ate homemade sourdough hot cross buns... More soon...

 And went Geocaching along the Linear Trail, walking about 5 km over the course of the day...

 Spring is well and truly here, with most plants showing signs of new growth...

 It was a lovely day, until the wind picked up, and it was like icicles cutting our skin, even through jumpers... 

 It was great to get out for a walk and explore a few parts of Manhattan, KS, we haven't seen before...

We saw cyclists, joggers, and other families out walking and enjoying the lovely weather...

 Jimmy was a little inspired by the joggers and wanted to run...

 Daddy joined in...

 And then Jimmy was a little tired and distracted. Oh well, that's what the Manduca is for - tired bubba's...

We kept going, and came across Wild Cat Creek, where my camera battery decided that I had been neglecting it... Oops! So, no photos of the cool footbridge we used to get across the creek, no photos of our snacks, which included hot cross buns with butter, and no photos of my leaking water bottle... It's dead... I might have a go at fixing it... We'll see...

 On Sunday we went for a picnic at Frank Anneberg Park, with our neighbours, who also gave us a lift, and a few others. This was after staying up far too late on Saturday night setting up a tunnel extravaganza for Jimmy, which included toys, tickle grass, little pine cones, snacks, emergency exits, his "down blocks", and some coloured hard boiled eggs. It was better than it sounds. And for a few hours it was the only way to get out of our bedroom... We'll be doing it again...

Michael wanted to take some pictures of Jimmy all dressed up for the picnic (thanks for the overalls Granny!). Jimmy decided to mess with Daddy...

 Michael really does have a way with the camera and Jimmy...

 It was another windy day, possibly windier... But a good time was had by all. There was yummy food to eat, turkey vultures and Canadian geese to watch, and we even threw a frisbee around, although sometimes it just hovered, held in position by the wind... 

Jimmy checked his pockets for sand, and sure enough there was a little sand in them. He and I discussed how dirt is different from mud, and I tried to tell him that dirt is important, not "yucky" (he was still happy to play in it), but I think it's a topic we will have to revisit... Once I'm over my cold... All that fresh air and exercise... Who would have thought? 

Snot...

After a lovely warm weekend, filled with running around Manhattan and lots of time spent playing outside, Jimmy has a snotty nose. I think he's coming down with a cold, which sucks, because I hate seeing him sick. I was also promising myself that I would get my morning act together and get us to playgroup, for the first time since I was sick in December...

So, while I have worried-mother-writers-block, I thought I'd share some photos that haven't made it to the blog yet. They are mostly iPhone photos... and they are a little bit grainy but fun nonetheless... and from our trip to KC.

 

 Actual sourdough on the Saturday night... Jimmy playing with Daddy's phone...

Consumed coffees at Quay... Holding Jimmy's hand while he slept on the couch at Quay...

Just mucking about as it had been a while since I took a selfie with Jimmy... Jimmy playing with dough...

No really, the pizza makers gave Jimmy some pizza dough to play with and he had lots of fun...

And made a lovely mess too...

Fingers crossed Jimmy is just snotty and teething, but if he is actually sick there will be more posts of mostly photos.

Cheap thrills: Brioche...

As I mentioned yesterday, I have been making sourdough brioche. It's good - I can't believe I didn't make it sooner. Admittedly I thought it was going to be a little fiddly, so I was happy to wait until Asha was visiting so that there was another set of hands to help with Jimmy.

There was no reason to worry about Jimmy, but I was right about the fiddle... This may have had more to do with the recipe I used than anything else, but it was worth it.

After a quick search online, this is the recipe I used. There were others, and I intend to try out this one and this one too (along with some waffle recipes, but that's another story for another day). For the recipe I used, I still needed to search for some methods...

I followed the recipe to the letter, with one exception: I used lemon rind but no lemon essence. The dough was more like cake batter, especially after incorporating the butter using frissage. And the French folds? Well, that was a mess.

I lost a lot of mixture because it was all over my hands and the bench (and we didn't get any photos of the webs of dough between my fingers). Did I mention it was like kneading cake batter?

When I went to bed I was little concerned about how it would all go. Hoping the dough wouldn't rise too fast I turned our heating down ~1 C, but I could have left it as it was.

This is what the brioche looked like in the morning. Not promising, but I went with it. After drizzling a beaten egg white and a little milk, I 'cut' down the middle of the dough. Imagine cutting through cake batter... And into the oven it went!

The recipe made no mention of using a water bath in the oven, but I put one in for 7 minutes. A water bath helps with the initial rising of the bread, and I use a shallow pan with boiling water on the lowest rack in the oven - a quick spray of water will also do the trick. Using the water bath added 10 minutes to the overall cooking time.

The result? It rose beautifully, smelled amazing, and the crumb... oh my goodness...

Jimmy approved too! And we ate it all that day. Ok, we ate most of it for breakfast.

It was also so good that I made it again for Asha, for breakfast, the morning before her early morning flight to LA.