When I am confronted with dark afternoons and evenings coming earlier than I want them to, I get strong feelings of ennui. I can think back many years and recall the same mix of feelings from dark moodiness to complete inactivity and lack of momentum which is not good when one works for oneself. I don’t have a cure….but my approach to these empty hours is to get cooking between 5 and 7 pm. I basically loose myself in recipes. It’s a form of displacement therapy and it works for me.
So today I’m cooking L
uisa Weiss’ Quark Bread Rolls from her new book Classic German Baking. Curiously they have an almost weightless texture about them. What fun to discover something new in bread making. I’m also making sourdough baguettes from last year’s favourite book Tartine, which although rather wordy in it’s explanations has a very good sourdough making technique. Alone, the aroma of baking is enough to brighten my day, along with purple potatoes topping a cottage pie and accompanying purple kale. How colourful and cheery is that !