I ended up going a bit sourdough crazy this weekend. I ended up with two different sourdough breads under construction simultaneously and then tossed a bit of the leftover starter into some crumpet batter.

I can't say I was thrilled with the results of this first attempt. I found the batter slightly too thick and they weren't quite as bubbly as I'd hoped. I also had the pan much too hot! They burned on the bottom before they were anywhere near cooked through. That said, I'd be willing to give this recipe another go now that I've dialed in the cooking temperature.

Sourdough Crumpets

Slightly adapted from Sourdough.com

Ingredients

• 200g flour¹
• 90g (100% hydration) fed/active starter
• 260-280mL water²
• 40g sugar
• 4g coarse sea salt

Directions

1. Weigh flour into a 1L measuring cup.
2. Add starter and water and mix with a chopstick.
3. Add sugar and salt and mix with a chopstick.
4. Cover and leave in a cool place overnight³.
5. Preheat a cast iron frying pan/griddle over low heat.
6. Grease your pan and your crumpet/egg rings.
7. Place the greased rings in the pan and fill each one halway with batter. Pour the batter rather than scooping/ladeling it so as not to deflate it.
8. Cook for 5-7 minutes.
9. Remove the rings, cover the pan, and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
10. Flip the crumpets and cook for 1 more minute.
11. Toast and slather with butter (and optionally jam).

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¹ I used hard whole wheat flour, but I'd be inclined to try it with all-purpose flour next time. ^Back
2 For white flour, use the lesser amount of water. For whole wheat flour, use the greater amount. ^Back
3 You may need to adjust the timing based on how active your starter is and how warm/cold your "cool place" is. I found that 12 hours was about right for a batter with a very active starter kept in a cool basement (~16°C) overnight. For less active starter and/or cooler temperatures, you'll need to give it more time. Warmer temperatures (or more active starters) will need less time. ^Back

Just a super quick post about this pizza. It's pretty simple, but I enjoyed the combo, so I figured I should probably add it to the blog. I haven't given any measurements because... I didn't really measure anything. Just configure it as you see fit.

The original recipe suggested 100g of haggis, 40g of cheese, and 1 "baby" potato. I definitely used more than that, but I'm not sure how much more.

Haggis Pizza

Slightly adapted from Ooni

Ingredients

• 1-2 Tbsp. oil
• 1 medium potato, sliced thin
• haggis
• pizza dough
• tomato/pizza sauce
• Cheddar cheese, grated
• mozzarella cheese, grated (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 230°C (450°F). If you have a pizza stone, place it in the oven before you start preheating it.
2. Heat oil over medium-high heat.
3. Add potato and cook until both sides develop a bit of colour. Remove from pan and set aside.
4. Remove casing from haggis and add to now-empty pan. Reduce heat to medium and cook until browned. Set aside.
5. Roll/stretch the pizza dough to desired size and shape.
6. If using a pizza stone, transfer to pizza peel that has been liberally sprinkled with cornmeal. Otherwise, transfer to a baking sheet/pizza pan.
7. Top crust with sauce, cheese(s), haggis, and potato slices.
8. Transfer pizza to preheated pizza stone (if using). Otherwise, bake it on the baking sheet/pan you prepared it on.
9. Bake at 230°C (450°F) for 7-8 minutes.

The ramen train has no brakes. I did most of these a while ago but have been lax about writing them up.

This one is a bit more involved than the last, and the result is tasty, but also very heavy and quite salty. It's definitely a sometimes food.

Budae Jjigae Ramen

Aaron & Claire

Ingredients

• Smoked sausage, sliced thin on bias
• ⅓ of a tin of spam (~100g), sliced
• 1 tbsp ketchup
  
• green onion, sliced
• 2-4 tbsp baked beans
• cheese
• optional kimchi to taste
  

Directions

1. Add 350mL water to a small pot (the original recipe calls for 600mL; we wanted it less soupy).
   
2. Add sausage, spam, seasoning powder, vegetable flakes, and ketchup; bring to a boil.
3. Add noodles and cook as directed.
4. Top with green onions, baked beans, cheese, and kimchi.

I have fond memories of making pudding with my mom. Butterscotch was always my favourite. I used to be able to whip up a batch of pudding from memory, but it's been a while and I've forgotten how. Fortunately, pudding recipes aren't exactly hard to come by. I pulled this one out of an old Cook's Country issue.

Vanilla Pudding

Slightly adapted from Cook's Country April/May 2018

Ingredients

• 2 3/4 c. whole (3.25%) milk, divided
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/4 c. cornstarch
• 3 large egg yolks
• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract

Directions

1. Combine 2 1/2 c. milk with the sugar and salt and bring to a simmer, stirring frequently, over medium heat.
2. Meanwhile, whisk the cornstarch into the remaining 1/4 c. milk until completely smooth.
3. Whisk the egg yolks into the cornstarch mixture.
4. Once the hot milk mixture comes to a simmer, remove from heat and gradually whisk it into the egg yolk mixture to temper the eggs.
5. Pour the mixture back into the pot and bring back to a simmer over medium heat, stirring constantly.
6. Once mixture has thickened, remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla.
7. Serve chilled.

We've been steadily working through all the Korean ramen recipes from Aaron & Claire. This one is pleasingly quick and simple to make, and the egg adds a bit of protein.

The pictured one is made with carrots, since we were tragically out of green onions.

Fish Sauce Ramen

Aaron & Claire

Ingredients

• 1 packet soupy Korean ramen
• 1 tsp fish sauce
• 1 green onion, sliced
• 1 egg, beaten

Directions

1. Prepare ramen in a pot as normal.
2. Strain out noodles and transfer to bowl.
3. Into broth, mix fish sauce, onion, and egg.
4. Pour broth over noodles.