Sourdough Bread Bowl

    This is my favorite recipe using sourdough hands down. That's why I saved it for last in my sourdough count down. (There are recipes for sourdough pancakes and rolls, but I haven't made either in years.) It's so good Mom and I had it for New Year's Eve, her birthday, and mine. It was inspired by the Red Lobster appetizer, but only loosely. Like most of our made-up recipes the amounts are all estimates and you should feel free to add or subtract anything to suit your tastes. This is really just a rough idea of how to make it. We never make it the same way twice, but it's always delicious.   

  First make your sourdough, recipe here: http://batsbizarre.blogspot.com/2014/03/make-your-own-sourdough-bread.html, but after the second raise place one loaf in a round pan that has been sprayed with non-stick spray instead of a loaf pan.

   While that is baking you can make your sauce.  

   Sauté chopped garlic, onions, and fresh mushrooms, if using, in a pan with butter for a minute or two. Add 1 cup cubed, peeled and deveined shrimp. Once the onions and garlic soften add about a tablespoon of flour and cook until the flour no longer tastes raw. Add enough milk to make a thin gravy, salt, pepper, a dash of hot sauce, kale, and or spinach. Stir. Test your seasonings and add your cheese,  Monterey Jack and processed cheese loaf together are great in this, add caned mushrooms, if using, one can of crabmeat, and squid. If you are adding fish now would be a good time. Cook until the cheese melts and your seafood is cooked; if the sauce gets too thick add some water or milk.

   Once the bread is done cut the loaf in half and hallow out the halves with a fork. Toast the innards you removed in a toaster oven or on broil for a second or two in the oven. (Watch it carefully if using the oven.) Spoon the sauce into the pie and enjoy. (If you make enough sauce you can fill both the top and the bottom and get two meals out of it.)        

              

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I Guess It's Finally Spring

  

    I guess it's finally spring here. Or at least I hope so because we've got a lot of veggies in the garden and I would hate to lose them to a late frost. All we need is some crookneck and pan-patty squash, cucumbers, and for the tai peppers seeds to finally sprout. I still have some herbs and flowers to plant and a couple of plants that need to be transplanted. but for the most part we're on track.

  So far this has been a very strange year, most of the country is still frozen, normally this far south we've had plants in the ground for at least a month, but not this year. It was too cold for seeds to sprout in the green house.

   After two years some of my Dutch Irises finally bloomed! And they bloomed double! They are so pretty, no idea if the white ones died or are late bloomers but so far six of them are blue with yellow spots. Here is a picture of the first four to bloom. They are in pots on the porch so I have a very good view of them. The Hummingbirds love them.
 The Grapefruit is covered in blooms, but that last late frost killed the apple's blossoms. It was covered. We're horrified, but at least a couple stayed. And my Gladiolas are reluctantly pushing above the surface. 

                        Thank you for reading Bats Bizarre's offical blog. Have a bat-tastic day!
                                    
                 

Make Your Own Sourdough Pizza

 
  Sourdough makes for a fantastic pizza crust; crisp enough for my thin crust loving mother yet bread like enough for me, who personally thinks thin crust tastes like a cardboard cracker. Plus if you make the full recipe you get enough dough for a pizza and a loaf of bread. All you have to do is follow the recipe for bread I shared last week until after you knead the dough then you roll it flat and put it on a cookie sheet covered with cornmeal. Then put on your tomato sauce and toppings on and bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes.  Find the recipe for bread here: http://batsbizarre.blogspot.com/2014/03/make-your-own-sourdough-bread.html

A good tomato sauce isn't very hard either. Simply combine about 3/4 of a can of tomato paste with about a half a cup of water -basicly enough to make it spradable- a sprinkling of oregano, basil, garlic powder, sugar, salt, and pepper, or whatever seasonings you prefer in a sauce pan over low heat for a few minutes so the flavors mesh. -We don't measuer much here, you just have to taste the sauce and make sure the seasonings are right.-

The topings are up to you. We like an everything kind of pizza. Anchoves, onions, spinach, peppers, olives, sausage, even kale. If we have any freash, we like to add exrta basil and sliced tomatos. You have to fry the breakfast sausage seperately before adding it and the onions and bell peppers taste better if you caramelize them first, but everything else can go on as is. Then cover everything with cheese, mom and I use Monterey Jack and a little Romano, but any readly melting cheese is good. Try putting some kale on top of the cheese too. It's crunchy and good!


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Inscriblio Cordless Engraving Tool

  When I found an Incriblio cordless engraving tool on sale at the craft store the other day I knew I had to buy it. I have been wanting to get into engraving and/or metal stamping for a while now, and for six dollars how could I say no? It engraves on glass, metal, stone, ceramic, plastic, acrylic, wood, leather, and more. (no idea what the and more covers, I mean what wasn't mentioned on that list?)  

   It takes 4 AAA batterers. Which I forgot to buy that day, and , of course, it turned out I only had one at home. (Most of my stuff uses AAs.) So, I had to wait a couple days to try it out. But I have been working with it on and off for about six days now and I think it's really cool. It has a nice weight, not too heavy to work with, not so light feels it cheap. It's not balanced; most of the weight is in back, but if you hold it like a pencil the heavy end rest securely and comfortably on your hand.  

   When working with it you should prop your arm on something stable, like the edge of the table you're working on. Because you need a steady hand for this. The inscriblio tends to try to wiggle when I work with it.
    I find it's easier to work with if you don't press too hard and just score the surface lightly at first then go over the lines a few more times to deepen your engravings.

  

    Wolfram finds it very interesting. Every time I start it he runs up and sticks his little grey tabby head as close to the device as he can; staring at it and smelling it. My mom has suggested it sounds like a dying animal to him. (He is very bird crazy. Just this morning he tried to take a swing at a Blue Jay through the window.)  

   I've practiced on an old soda can, a piece of glass I found in the chicken house, and have engraved a small 'J' on my Anchor clasp choker prototype. When I did that it exposed the copper under the sliver coating so I'm not sure I will be signing all my metal work. But I have been writing 'Wood' on all of our metal tools. Like the ladder.

    I can't wait to get my hands on some of those metal disks they sell for engraving. I have some plans for jewelry using those and/or beads. Hopefully I will be unveiling them soon.







            Thank you for reading Bats Bizarre's offical blog. Have a bat-tastic day!