TheMostBeautifulWord

BREAD

One of the most beautiful words in our language

BREAD

A loaf of Bread, one of the most beautiful things to behold

I make bread weekly. I do not measure. This is what I do.

I take a bowl and put some dry yeast into it

I add warm milk, a spoonful of sugar (to feed the yeast)

and enough flour to make a runny mixture.

I place a tea towel over it and let it rise.

I pour some warm milk over a bowl filled with rolled oats

when the bread starter has risen to three times its volume,

I drop 2 eggs into it, some poppy seeds, some sunflower seeds,

a handful of wholemeal flour, the soaked oats
and enough plain flour to make a soft pliable dough.

Mix it all together and knead it so that it becomes nice and stretchy.

Let it rise, when it is twice its volume, punch it down to get rid of the gasses 

which helped the dough to rise. It is necessary to get rid of them so that they do not kill the yeast

Let the dough rise again and once more punch it down. 

Now add a little salt (last because it kills the yeast)

form the dough and drop into loaf pan

Rise in a warm place and when risen place in an 160 degree oven

you know when the bread is done,

when you push a knitting needle into it and it comes out clean.

BREAD

One of the most beautiful smells on earth

     

'The poet and the baker, both nourish the world'

JustAnAutumnMorningImage

Just one of those somber grey mornings

when the spirit needs a bit of a lift

that is when I re-visit

some of the sunnier places

I have stored in my memory,

and physically in my computer,

If you are having a similar day

I hope these images will also lift your spirit

"Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present".
     

 

 

     

ColouringIn

When you reach just that little higher 

than you can imagine

you enter heaven, 

that space where the creative process places you

I didn't think so last Sunday afternoon

when I filled in the negative space 

between the two trunks and the lot collapsed

I rebuilt is three times

the problem was that the wind moved the trunks 

just enough to make the project unstable

but that didn't stop me

'The function of the artist is to provide what life does not'

SlowSculpture

 walking the trees

stopping here and there

to place a rock on top of another rock

a Korean zen like activity

therefore seeing the trees

'Honour the playfulness of spirit that lets everyone win'