Jazz Improv in the Kitchen

My two sourdough dutch oven breads came out great. Bill says they are like pullman-loaves because they were baked covered (until the last 20 minutes). I decided to keep the oven on and roast a gigantic halved eggplant that I bought last night and season a few of my cast iron pans.

I never know what I'm doing, I just do stuff. I call it jazz improvisation in the kitchen.

In winter I bake to keep warm. In summer I still bake because I love to bake. My 1960's vintage Thermador oven gets so much use the hinge broke a few months ago. I hope the other hinge holds on.

When I had a potbelly wood stove I would simmer beans overnight on it. Sometimes we fantasize about making a wood stove possible in our house but we have issues more urgent, like holes in the roof.

We like to get the freshest grains and store them in our freezer: 50 pound bags of oats and flour at the bakers supply warehouse in Lincoln RI.

My smoke alarm went off. I was seasoning my cast iron pans while baking the eggplant and the shortening started to smoke. Now all the windows are open.

It's always an adventure in the kitchen. As it should be. We might have guests coming but I don't know yet. Do I vacuum or wait to hear. Wait. Vacuuming is always last on my list. Perhaps I should sew dinner napkins. The last time I made them was 20 years ago and they are all rags now. I need to sew a wearable pouch to carry my inhaler. We have miles of denim from old jeans, and a few bolts of mattress ticking. Na. I'd rather do my work.