9-Hour Sourdough and Huevos Rancheros

Day off and as usual I'm tempted to cook/bake...even in the midst of attempting to accomplish weekly errands...resurrected my sourdough starter...started feeding it two days ago. Made a dough this morning, and baked it this evening. The rear of my house is cold (unless the stove is on), something like 50F, so I left the dough to rise slowly for 9 hours before baking it. The bread is a little dense (not unlike me at times) but it is delicious. The flavor character is incredible. It contains no commercial yeast...just flour, water, salt, and starter (9-year old starter). Here it is in photos: the initial dough, then at three hours, then at about 8, then fully baked.

I still have not gone grocery shopping. I really think it has something to do with working in a grocery store...I have developed an aversion to shopping. Here I am a chef and I have almost no food in the house. What is up with that? But I am a master at turning leftovers or very few ingredients into something good. So after taking inventory of my meager ingredients I came up with this plate of huevos rancheros...vegetarian rice and beans (it's still Lent), homemade guacamole (found in the freezer), salsa, and still-warm sourdough bread. The rice is seasoned with vegetable stock, tons of caramelized onions and garlic, cumin, ancho chili powder, and a pinch of saffron. When the (brown) rice was almost cooked I added the cooked beans and a few frozen peas I came across. Topped off with a fried egg and glass of wine (ok, glasses of wine...I'm still sipping one as I type these words), I am one satiated camper.

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