Hiatus planned.

Because I am spending a lot of time getting our non-profit organization up and running, I have not had enough time to write for this blog. Our organization, called the Veterinary Emergency Funding Mission, is designed to help financially strapped pet owners find assistance when they cannot afford emergency care. I am hoping that I will, at some point, be able to pick up where I left off, in the Urban Subsistence Living blog, but I do not want to leave it hanging right now. To those of you who have been following it and participating in the discussions, I thank you.

Time to "Put My Money Where My Mouth Is"

It's very easy to make theoretical generalizations. My goal with this Urban-Subsistence-Living blog has been to put heads together in order to figure out a way whereby self-sufficiency is achievable inexpensively in an urban environment. I have been in the enviable position of being able to come up with lots of ideas, without having to see if they really work. Well, the economic slow-down has caused my own income to drop significantly. I hope that I won't be forced to use all of these ideas in order to survive, but what better way to put them to the test, then to have to depend upon them.

Yesterday, I decided to try making a sourdough starter. I thought that this would be a more self-sufficient way to make bread than having to depend on store-bought yeast. First, I did a little research. Then I assessed what I had in the house. I had a few small pieces of cooked potato, salt, sugar, honey, and flour. I wanted to make only a little, so I adapted the recipe suggestions to what I had. I combined about some salt, sugar, honey, flour, two potato pieces, and warm water in a coffee cup and covered it with a saucer. Then I set it in a warm oven (about 90 - 100 degrees), which I have had to rewarm periodically. I see that I am having some success, because it smells a little sour and it is beginning to bubble just like the pictures. It is supposed to grow for two days, so I have one more day to go.
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Both photos are from a great site called "Wild Yeast. The 3 small loaves are from the following post: http://www.wildyeastblog.com/2007/09/29/maintain-starter/. The bubbling starter is from http://www.wildyeastblog.com/2007/07/13/raising-a-starter/
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Here are some links on how to make sourdough starters in various ways.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Sourdough-Starter-IV/Detail.aspx
http://http//www.wildyeastblog.com/2007/07/13/raising-a-starter/
http://www.wildyeastblog.com/2007/09/29/maintain-starter/
http://www.recipesource.com/baked-goods/breads/sourdough/sourdough-basics1.html
http://www.recipesource.com/baked-goods/breads/sourdough/sourdough-starter5.html