This week at Tuesday breakfast we served real sourdough pancakes made from my homegrown starter, leavened by the natural yeast that grows in my own kitchen. Strange as that may sound, let me assure you there's yeast in your kitchen, too. And while the whole sourdough process may sound like some bad sixth-grade science experiment, it's actually the oldest way to make yeast-leavened bread. (Unless you managed to scam some yeast from your local brewery, it was the only way until commercial yeast became available in the 19th century.) For all I know it was a sixth-grader who discovered on some pre-biblical hearth that if you started each new baking with a bit of last week's dough, your bread would rise magically in the oven, and would have a more interesting flavor and crumb. But whoever it was, they were on to something, and thousands of years later, this is still the best way to make bread. Or in this case, pancakes. (I'm betting they were just trying to find a way to recycle their leftovers, but it paid off.)
New Keyboard
A friend was so struck by all the writing I've been doing that he figured I must need a new keyboard:
It's a Remington Rand Deluxe Model 5, manufactured in the 1930s. It's in great working order, but the ribbon was a bit dry, so I went looking for a new one. Fortunately I didn't have to go far. There aren't many places left that repair and service antique typewriters, but one of them, Independence Business Machines at 1623 West Montrose here in Chicago, is right near my house. Steve Kazmier, the owner, rolled a new ribbon onto my vintage spool, and I'm back in business. He must have a good reputation, since he gets machines sent for repair from as far away as New York.
Here's what it sounds like. (That's "t-r-a-n-s-F-a-t-t-y-B-l-o-g-DOT-c-o-m.")
Now if I can just figure out how to plug it in to my computer.