Friday Cozies – Week 16 of 2020

The fifth week of remote learning is done! This process has been exhausting in so many ways, but so much fun. Have you had the opportunity to meet with 15 Kindergarteners in a Google Meetup? If not, I definitely recommend it. It’s total chaos! I’m so glad that it’s Friday and we’re going to have two days of playing!

On Fridays I like to share a few things that I’m loving. Never anything huge, just some things that have captured my attention or that I’m obsessing over. This week is about food, juggling multiple projects, and more food.

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This is Constance 3.0. I decided to jump back on the sourdough starter wagon because there are so many new starters in the world right now and I’m certain the atmosphere is full of good and productive yeast to make a bubbly and sour starter. I even ordered a new jar for this one because I broke our KAF starter crock!

One of my favorite things about sourdough recipes is that they can be done in stages, which takes the pressure off of me a bit. I rarely have long stretches of time without interruption, so I love that I can make the sourdough pancake batter the night before, and then finish it off and pour it on the griddle the next morning. Same with this recipe for chocolate cake that Kat shared (thanks Kat!) – you start the batter and then it sits for a few hours before you finish it up and bake it. And even though it’s not in the recipe, I love to let the dough for my favorite sourdough biscuits chill a while before baking, to ensure that the butter has time to get nice and cold before being popped into the hot oven.

Last summer I made a big batch of zucchini soup for the freezer. I took out a bag yesterday for my dinner and had these sourdough crackers (made with garlic powder and rosemary) alongside and it was amazing. It was like eating a bowl of summer!

I’m hoping that Constance 3.0 will be with me for a long time. So please – everyone keep posting their sourdough successes (and failures!) to keep me motivated! :p

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Have you heard about The Gideon Method? I first learned about it from Juliann at Chasing Stories. It’s a method for giving all of those lingering projects a little love and to work towards completing them. This idea asks you to make a list of about five projects that you’ve started but haven’t finished, then rotate through them each in 12 hour stints. Pick one to start, give it a good 12 hours of crafting time, then move onto the next in your list. As you cycle through your projects, you’ll slowly finish them.

Now, 12 hours of crafting time seems like a long time for me right now. That’s easily three weeks of focus given the state of my life at the moment! But I’m very interested in visiting this idea and think I’m going to start coming up with a list and a plan based on this method. Stay tuned!

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I know I’m a week late, but I wanted to share one of my favorite Easter recipes. It’s Mary Berry’s Victoria Sandwich with Martha Stewart’s easy strawberry jam. This comes together so quickly, especially if you bake the victoria sandwich cakes ahead of time and freeze them (I really like to have a small stockpile of these cakes in the freezer!). The strawberry jam can also be made in the week leading up, which makes assembly even faster. Whipping the heavy cream is the most time consuming step!

This is such a delicious cake and there’s a reason it’s such a classic! I want to be Mary Berry when I grow up.

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Okay lovelies, my blogging time is finished for the week! Here are my hopes for this weekend: sunshine, just a little wind, warmer temperatures, and to spend time in the garden. I also hope for no more than 5 tantrums, delicious food that requires no work from me, and naps on Saturday and Sunday — but I don’t want to be greedy.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend and stay safe!