She Was With Us For A Short Time…

I’ve been wondering what to do with the discard starter that I pour off every day when it is time to feed Clive, hungry lad that he is. If not fed, he pouts and begins to manufacturer alcohol. Hootch to be exact. People actually drink the stuff, but then people actually drink squeeze. I’d rather not. Give me a fine cab or a well chilled chardonnay. I bought a couple bottles of Bordeaux during last weeks hunter gatherer mission at the Center Market in Poulsbo. It is so good you can taste the vineyard from whence it came. Close your eyes and you can see the loamy rows of earth between the vines and the break of trees on the hill that lend their leafy, earthy, loamy character to the grapes that grow in their midst. That’s the ticket…

I’ve fried the “discard” in a bit of olive oil sprinkled with za’atar. Quite crispy, chewey, tasty, sez I. Les is suggesting sugar and cinnamon, a wholly different taste treat. I will try that at some point, and there will be ample opportunity. Clive has become quite productive during his waking hours… Kai will take it either way. I cook it. He begs. He eats. He also likes the Bordeaux…

And… the discard keeps rolling in, as regular as the tide, twice a day. I am very reluctant to discard it. It’s alive. And “discard” has so many negative connotations, particularly with the poor availability of flour these days. So… I collected Clive’s offspring in another jar and fed it. Why not. It looked hungry. Of course just sitting on the shelf next to Clive, it seemed so irresponsible to leave a thriving colony of billions with no name. So… Olive was born. It’s something like an Adam’s rib kind of procreation, only it was Clive’s er… biomass instead.

Well… I can’t have two hungry imperial colonies with their wanton needs for more and more flour every day, twice a day, now can I.? It’s not like I’m the Sourdough Library of St. Vith, Belgium! Enter… sourdough biscuits. The perfect answer. Exquisitely easy to make, and just 5 ingredients. Ten minutes to assemble, 15 minutes to bake. It doesn’t get any easier people!

.  3/4 cup of all purpose flour
.  1.5 teaspoons baking powder
.  1 teaspon fine grained salt
.  1 stick of shredded butter
.  1 cup sourdough starter

Mix it together, pat it into a square mass about an inch thick, cut it up into pieces. Oh… if you insist, use a cookie cutter to make round biscuits. Bake the little niffers on a dry cookie sheet at 450 degrees for 15-18 minutes. Voila! Instant gratification… (Check out recipe’s: Grandma’s Sourdough Biscuits, or at thekitchn.com)