Yes, I have too much time on my hands…pandemic baking has become an almost daily occurrence for me, and with it, comes problems I didn’t know I had.
I decided to start a ‘starter’ for sourdough; while researching how to get started, I came across this article from NPR:
https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/03/28/472147407/love-your-sourdough-starter-in-stockholm-you-can-hire-a-sitter-for-it
So now, once my beautiful starter is started and has taken off on a life of its own, I have to find a sitter when (if ever!) I go away again - oh, and I have to name it; I’m still scratching my head of that one!
Have you encountered any lighthearted problems as a result of the pandemic?
My kids either refrigerate their starter or one has brought it with them.
Both my kids have gardens. One is living rurally and has other people to babysit the garden. The other is growing a first ever rooftop garden. The first time that child came to visit us this spring, kiddo brought the seedlings with them on a 5 hour car ride to our home (usually 7 but with Covid lessened traffic at the time, they made it in record time). Second time, as plants were bigger, a babysitter was needed for watering. Thank goodness for willing friends!
Years ago, my MIL, an avid baker, went on a trip and left me with her “starter” of some kind. In addition to working full time and caring for two small children, I had to deal with adding stuff each day, waiting more days, add some more, separate it into several parts, add stuff each day to the new parts, etc. I told her I felt like she had left me a dog who had puppies. It just kept multiplying. We had a good laugh but she never left me with that job again.
I am a starter finisher. A friend decided that because I was home for the pandemic, I should take some of the starter she had carefully nurtured for decades so that I could bake bread for my family. Although I had no interest in baking bread (I rarely eat it), I was unable to turn her down because she sent her husband who did a knock, drop and run. I tried whole(wheat) heartedly to get the starter to take. It didn’t. It joined the plants i have killed in the garden of dead things… I dread the day the pandemic is over and this woman asks me how my bread turned out…
Ha, this is funny!
D has become very adventurous with all types of cooking/creating since lockdown. She made sourdough starter from scratch. Quite a few loaves, pizzas, pancakes, etc… have been made since March. Just took it out of the fridge today and the whole tub it’s been sitting in is black and gross. I’m guessing the starter not covered with black is still fine, but I’m throwing it out.
She also made ginger beer from scratch. She then went to her boyfriend’s house for the weekend but forgot to ask anyone to release the air in the bottles. This resulted in a weird “not quite alcohol but not quite ginger beer” drink. Tasted ok, but the smell was off-putting.
A genuine problem I didn’t know I had: I really enjoy podcasts and now have too many downloaded. I will never get around to listening to them all.
I have the good fortune to work for a company at which many folks in the area would like to work. So- every time a professional level job posts, I hear from LOTS of people asking for any help I can provide. I’m actually glad to help out, but our recruiters are beginning to think I know everyone in town.