It is amazing how quickly time escapes us. My need to write has been swept under the waves of busy-ness for several years now as this blog grew dusty and began to smell of mildew. Even in its comatose condition, I have never pulled the plug, and the quiet heartbeat has pattered on in an obscure corner of the webniverse. Coming back, I discovered that 90 souls have encountered this lonely blog over those years and taken the time to register as subscribers. Oddly, most have email addresses representing Poland. What key word search brought them here? Was it word of mouth as someone found an interesting tidbit and passed it on? I do not know, but I am back and the passion to write has overcome me again.
Author Archive
Back after a long time away
Saturday, March 23rd, 2013I have created the ultimate bread
Sunday, September 16th, 2007Have you ever noticed that most bread that is supposedly good for you has the texture and flavor of particle board? I have long nurtured my dream of creating a bread that is both nutritious and tasty. I developed this recipe over the course of the last 5 or 6 years and it now comes out just about right every time. It is a good deal more difficult than running over to the local Safeway, but the extra effort adds a certain sweetness to the finished product.
Amount Measure Ingredient
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1 cup wheat berries before sprouting
½ cup powdered milk
½ cup honey
½ cup vegetable oil
2 packages dry yeast
3 teaspoons salt
4 cups water, warm
¼ cup soy flour
¼ cup wheat germ, toasted
2 tablespoons flax seed meal
4 cups bread flour
4 cups whole wheat flour
Directions:
To sprout wheat berries, cover with warm water for 12 hours, rinse and drain every 12 hours until sprouts are about 1/8 inch, usually 36 to 48 hours. Grind sprouts in food processor with 1 cup of water until it resembles a thick batter, add one package yeast and process 30 more seconds. Pour into large bowl (at least 7 quarts) set aside 30 minutes or until very frothy. Add all remaining ingredients except the flour, starting with the wet ingredients (don’t forget that you already added 1 cup of the water) mix well then add the flour and hand mix until all moistened. Let it raise until doubled before you attempt to knead. On low speed, knead until it all pulls away from the sides of the bowl, it will remain very sticky, which prohibits hand kneading, and you may have to add 1 -2 cups additonal flour depending on the whims of nature. Allow it to double in the bowl. Separate into 4 equal parts and put it in lightly oiled bread pans. Allow it to double again, at least even with the tops of the pans.
Bake at 375 for about 40 minutes
Bon Apetit my friends.
READ THIS FIRST
Sunday, August 26th, 2007Welcome to my inexplicable blog. Most blogs exist to provide links and information on one narrow area of knowledge or to explore the travails of a lonely soul. I have no such restrictions, for I am a writer. My mind is clogged with arcane trivia and I want to share it with you. I also hunger for more input and want you to share it with me. I am launching this blog with ten subject areas which appear to be wildly unrelated. In this case appearances are not deceiving. Their only commonality is me. To write good novels I draw from an uncharted morass of life experience. Welcome to my strange world. Let us talk about stuff. I want to pick your brain for cool fiction thingies. If you arrived at this blog from some external link, see my website http://www.GaryOWalker.com to find out more about me and my work.
Here are the starting parameters. If you can’t find anything that you are interested in, you are indeed a dull person and should go bother some other blogger. If you stick around anyway, then feel free to post relevant or irrelevant comments. I can always start new threads if you capture my imagination.
1. All things Japanese (I was born and raised in Japan, speak the language fluently, and the people of that country appear often in my writing.)
2. Writing and good books (This should be a no-brainer)
3. Dairy goats (I once kept a small herd of purebred Nubians, displayed them at the Hawaii State Farm Fair, and even judged the 4H goat competition.)
4. Gemstones and jewelry making (I spent five years working for the largest manufacturer and retailer of fine jewelry in Hawaii.)
5. Bread and pizza (I am a hardcore bread baking fanatic, and was once the kitchen manager of the most popular pizzeria in Southern California. Flatbreads such as naan, chipatis, parathas, and tortillas are also a passion)
6. Computer geek stuff (I have been playing with computers since they had 5 ¼ inch floppies that actually flopped. You put one in to load the software, then replaced it with the data floppy. By the way, I think Macs are overrated. I can crash one as easily as my Windows box. However, if you want to gift me with a new 24 inch IMAC, I would not decline.)
7. Christian theology and issues (I am an ordained minister and spent 15 years as the pastor of a small Christian church.)
8.Weddings (During my active ministry I spent a great deal of time working at wedding chapels, and have performed over 38,000 weddings, mostly in Japanese. I am quite famous in Japan, especially if you pull out the wedding albums.)
9. Politics (I ran for statewide office 3 times and worked in the state legislature for 2 sessions.)
10. Shaggy dog stories (I know, they are out of vogue, but they pose such a challenge to a storyteller that I just cant resist. I also have a thing for mixed metaphors that work. These can serve as the punchlines for shaggy dog stories or even stand on their merit.)
11.(Bonus Category) BMW M cars.(I used to drive a gracefully aging 1998 BMW M Roadster, the coolest car in the world that a non-millionaire can afford to drive.)
Anything in this list spark your interest? Click those keyboards and lets get to work. We need to make the Internet more interesting and I need to sell some books.
Regards,