Beauty in the Ordinary

This is not about being brilliant, or extraordinary, it's not about wanting to be famous, or making headlines, or trying to impress...this about sharing a 'gift' each day with the world...to lift the spirit of people when they read this blog, to show them the beauty in the ordinary.
"And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it." Raold Dahl

Monday, November 1, 2010

PROJECT GENESIS

November 1, brings us again to 
Suzan's brilliant Project Genesis.

I, lovingly call it Project Genius...because it is!

I've been baking my own bread lately, because a Mary, a brilliant friend of mine, steered me to Jim Lahey's recipe for No Knead Bread



I've been churning out loaf after loaf and it's delicious, but I don't know how to make a smaller one, and it's proving a lot of bread for two people to consume before it goes stale.

 I don't like to use plastic wrap, partly because it's wasteful and non-eco-friendly, but truthfully, mostly because the darn stuff makes me crazy sticking to itself!

My eldest daughter just took a trip to England and France (stay with me, there is a point to all of this) and while there bought me a linen bread bag.

It's brilliant, and beautiful and keeps the crust, well...crusty!

I can't show you a picture of mine because I forgot it at Lindsay's home on Saturday,
but it looks similar to this one.


Mine is two shades of grey and has "Pain" embroidered on it. It's large enough to hold two baguettes or two boules.
I love it!

For those of you clever enough to wield a needle,
here is a pattern to make your own from ECAB

Thanks Old Grey Mare, this is just a small thing...but every little bit helps!



14 comments:

  1. I completely forgot about Project Genesis for this month. Days have been crazy busy and not much time for planning. I so want to make my own bread. In fact, I found a recipe that I remember making in High School in my Independent Living class. I got it out and am gonna give it a try this weekend. I remember the bread turned out really good so we'll see how it goes. I have a friend who makes all her own bread, keeps the dough in the fridge and takes it out as she needs to bake up a loaf. Great little linen bag. I am so tired of seeing plastic everywhere. Have a great week! Tammy

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  2. I also am not a fan of the plastic wrap but am so a fan of home-made bread!

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  3. J,

    That is so funny! I had originally put a paragraph in there about making a long skinny rectangle out of linen ( truly) and then giving as a gift with a baguette and jams. But the post was sooooo long already I deleted it. Wish I'd kept it, so we'd have the "jinx" moment. hehe

    xxx

    z

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  4. I have been making this bread as well and I love it. I use a plastic shower cap over the bowl so I don;t have to keep throwing away cling film. I have just been using a large Ziploc which I rinse and resuse, but the bread bag of linen looks great.

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  5. This looks wonderful; I love making bread, kneading it, the texture and the aroma~ aaaahhh!

    What a wonderful idea; I hope I can make these. What a lovely Christmas gift~ Perhaps a Stollen
    bread with the mixed fruit and nuts...yum!

    Thank you~

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  6. Tammy - Kuwait is quite a posting...hope you are loving it. Wish we had had blogging when I was overseas, it would have been a fabulous connection. Good luck with your bread.
    Olive, you have to try this recipe...no fat, no sugar, just yeast, flour, salt and water! the way bread is supposed to be...and it is so easy...ask Raz!
    Suzan - still don't know if we are great minds or fools!
    A shower cap - brilliant. Any kind of plastic just seems to make the crust soggy.
    Ellen...good luck with the Christmas gifts...let me know how they turn out!

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  7. Your bread looks delicious and the bag is gorgeous! Thank you for sharing, I just went to ECAB, what a great site! Thanks for sharing! Theresa xoxo

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  8. Looks so...rustic and earthy!! You can almost taste it with soup, cheese and wine!! Beautiful..

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  9. I've always been terrified of baking with yeast due to a bad experience (I know, should have gotten back on the horse) but I think I'd like to give this a try...it sounds so easy and foolproof! I'm keeping my out for one of these bread bags...I'm not much with a needle. xo J~

    btw- love the precious birdy header picture.

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  10. Oh, you are good....making your own bread. I think that the reason I don't is because we would eat it ALL and that's not good....loving your 'Pain' bag.
    Many thanks for your lovely comment....I hope that, because of my post, you don't spend the whole day, sitting on chairs !!
    By the way, you have a lovely name !!!! haha. XXXX

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  11. Theresa...let us all know if you make the bags.
    Donna...you are a girl after my own heart!
    Jessica...do try the recipe...Yeast-fear will disappear, I promise. That little guy was just waiting for me by the bank the other day.
    and Jacqueline...(yes, it is a lovely name isn't it?)...should I do waste the day sitting in chairs, I will have you to lay the blame on...but it might sound like I was talking to myself!

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  12. This is a beautiful idea! Linen is such a versatile cloth and hard-wearing that these would also last for a long time. Thanks very much - and I think I will try the bread too!

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  13. Bread! Yum. I could pretend to want one of these gorgeous linen bags...but my domestic skills will not allow me to bake delicious bread any time soon. Ha!

    Leigha

    P.S. Thank you for listing me on your blogroll - I am totally blushing.

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  14. Goodness Leigha...don't blush darling, your blog is wonderful! Try the bread...it is designed for non-cooks...trust me!
    Jillayne...I am in awe of your talents...let me know if you make these!

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