I am breaking with tradition in the posting of a photo of the day and feel compelled to link my visitors to an extraordinary documentary that carries an emotional impact not easily left alone. The film is called Earthlings, it is narrated by Joaquin Phoenix with music by Moby. I think most people would have a difficult time watching this to its end, Caroline and I had to take a half-day break before returning to it and even then it was too heavy. The film deals with humans and our relationship to animals. Do not have a knee-jerk reaction due to the film being narrated by and music performed by two renowned vegans, the subject matter and message is not designed to move you to vegetarianism, but for you, me, and the rest of us, to reconsider what our relationship is to the other creatures among us. Watch it online here.

These tiny bubbles are the healthy results of fermentation at work, as natural yeast turns flour and water sour and my first batch of sourdough starter in more than 25 years comes to life. Tired of buying crap bread, tired of the poor excuse for a baguette from any and every restaurant and baker in Phoenix, we have come to high-noon and I’m pulling out the recipes to try my hand at recreating some of the bread Caroline and I used to eat in Europe. If you have ever been to that part of the world, you will know that I am intending to make roof-of-your-mouth gouging, jaw-tiring loaves of bread that weigh as much as 100 loaves of Wonder bread. Results to follow.

Walking away from the car, Caroline accidentally pushed the shutter button and this was the result. Sometimes I like these mistakes, beautiful scenery can get sooo old.

While chatting on the phone an acrid smell finds my olfactory with an immediate sense of alarm throwing me into action, or rather, panic.  I looked into the kitchen, only to spy my mother-in-law staring at the oven slack-jawed, black smoke pouring from the top of the door. “WHAT HAPPENED???” “Uh, I don’t know, I was cleaning, pushed the button, maybe another one, it beeped and then, uh, and you were on the phone, I didn’t want to disturb you…”. Well, maybe this alone might not have been a problem, except that the oven was STUFFED with pots and pans. Yeah, I know, you are thinking, well why didn’t you just turn it off? Because, smarty-pants, when the oven is in auto-clean mode, the door locks and there ain’t no opening it – unless you unplug the oven! Oh the stink, oh the thought of having to pay for a new oven, and new pans, and a new pressure cooker – fortunately only the pressure cooker took a dive. And the oven? Well, it finally stopped stinking after a couple of very thorough cleanings.