It seemed a little dystopic, Saturday when I pulled into the Driftwood Centre. The parking lot was mostly empty. There was a power generator roaring away at the entrance to the Tru Value grocery store.
Of course, news of the Coronavirus was forward in my mind. It coloured my response to the scene, drawing parallels to zombie/horror movies I’d seen in the distant past.
There was a power outage, remember, and the Tru Value was trying to keep the refrigerators and coolers running with power from the generator.
But then, sure enough, two people emerged from the store holding toilet paper packages and large bags of groceries. It was no typical Saturday at the Driftwood. Power outage or not.
The staff beckoned us inside and guided us around the store because the lights were off and aisles in the back were dark. It was cash-only at the checkout. There was no WiFi and thus no credit/debit capability, but it was otherwise a successful shop. Manager Mike Gray and the staff were cheerful and helpful, and there was a shared sense of “Let’s make the best of this strange situation.”
My Friday morning bread bake
Driving home, I remembered my early morning bread bake, Friday, the day before. I was up at 2:30 a.m. I’d swept embers and ashes out of the oven and shuttered her off to cool down. I walked around to the front of the property, overlooking Boundary Pass. We call it “The Prow” because it feels like the bow of a ship.
The moon was behind a thin veil of clouds. I couldn’t see stars or the water at the foot of the cliff. A few birds twittered in the darkness, but the world was otherwise silent, still.
The word, dystopic, did not come to mind this time. I was instead reminded of the solidity of the earth, its permanence. My weight bearing down on the turf, the globe supporting me.
The muffled birdsong, the softened moonlight, trees clinging to the rock, swaying in a gentle breeze. It has been thus for thousands of years and will be for many more.
The world is still a beautiful place
With all the strange things happening, the world is still a beautiful place, I thought, standing there on the prow of South Pender.
The news changes minute by minute, but this is a truth we can hold as self-evident 1, solid, permanent.
The Coronavirus has grabbed hold of the world, exploited the latent fear in all of us. Still, I think we’d do well to stay close to what is most true in our lives, to remember our immense blessings and bounty … while taking care of our health and those around us.
![Happy Monk Tidings - Dec. 16, 2020 - Happy Monk Blog: Time to Hang Up the Baker's Peel for 2020; Baker's Choice: Fruit Sourdough [ See link in profile ]](https://i0.wp.com/happymonkbaking.com/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed-pro/img/placeholder.png?w=980&ssl=1)
Happy Monk Tidings - Dec. 16, 2020 - Happy Monk Blog: Time to Hang Up the Baker's Peel for 2020; Baker's Choice: Fruit Sourdough [ See link in profile ]
Instead of “figgy pudding,” I made some Figgy Bread! Fig and a hint of Fennel. Doesn’t roll off the tongue as well as figgy pudding, but it tastes better! (Thus the red carpet threatment!)
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#figbread #figgybread #sourdough #sourdoughbread #woodfired #woodfiredoven #woodfiredovenbread #woodfiredbread #coboven #bread #breadlove #baker #bbga #happymonkbaker #happymonkbaking #naturallyleavened #artisanbread #realbread #rusticbread #penderisland #southpenderisland
Salish Country Loaves tumbling out of Mildrith, the wood-fired oven this morning. There are a few extras, so if you’re interested, I’ll be at Medicine Beach until 2pm today (Friday, Dec. 11)!
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#woodfired #woodfiredoven #coboven #Mildrith #Mildriththeoven #woodfiredovenbread #sourdough #sourdoughbread #bread #realbread #naturallyleavened #baker #bakery #bbga #artisanbread #breadhead #breadporn #sourdough #sourdoughbread #penderisland #southpenderislands #happymonkbaking #happymonkbakery #happymonkbakingcompany
Happy Monk Tidings - Dec. 11, 2020 - Baker's Choice this week: Fig and Fennel Loaf; Happy Monk Blog: Praise the Rain! [ See link in profile ]
Volkornbrot casts a long shadow … getting bagged up for deliveries today. The aroma of 100% rye in the kitchen is otherworldly! I’m walking around in a trance.
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#volkornbrot #rye #ryebread #ryebreadlove #sourdough #sourdoughbread #woodfired #woodfiredoven #woodfiredovenbread #woodfiredbread #coboven #bread #breadlove #baker #bbga #happymonkbaker #happymonkbaking #naturallyleavened #artisanbread #realbread #rusticbread #penderisland #southpenderisland
See you in the morning, Mildrith!
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#woodfiredovens #woodfiredbread #woodfired #sourdoughbread #baker #bakersofinstagram #bakersoven #woodfiredovenlove #happymonkbaking #happymonkbakery #happymonkbakingcompany #southpenderisland #penderisland #penderislandbc
Happy Monk Tidings - Bread 🍞 and Blog 💻 - Baker's Choice: Volkornbrot - German Rye; Happy Monk Blog: The Good People of Pender - [ See link in profile ]
Making this Olive Loaf is almost as delicious as eating it. Marinated Kalamata and Haldiki with zested lemons and spices.
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#wildyeast #michaeljamesbakes #tivolirdbakery #naturallyleavened #artisanbread #realbread #rusticbread #woodfired #woodfiredbread #sourdough #sourdoughbread #penderisland #southpenderisland #happymonkbaking #happymonkbakery #happymonkbakingcompany
Happy Monk Tidings - Baker's Choice: Olive Loaf and Happy Monk Blog: The Joys of Firewood - [ See link in Profile ]
Breadcrumbs
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#innomine #sourdough #sourdoughbread #happymonkbaker #happymonkbakery #bread #breadcrumbs
Bread love 🍞 ❤️ 🍞
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#countrybread #countryloaf #salishsourdough #sourdough #sourdoughbread #sourdoughbaking #bread #breadlove #breadlabcollective #bbga #breadstagram #breadsofinstagram #artisanbread #baker #bakery #happymonkbaker #happymonkbakery #happymonkbaking #southpenderisland #southpender #penderisland #southerngulfislands
Intense little Seed loaf!
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#seedbread #sourdough #sourdoughbread #sourdoughbaking #bread #breadlove #breadlabcollective #breadstagram #breadsofinstagram #artisanbread #baker #bakery #happymonkbaker #happymonkbakery #happymonkbaking #southpenderisland #southpender #penderisland #southerngulfislands
Sprouted Kamut bread tasted fruity, like banana, and of course grassy and sweet. And the loaves have that haunted face look! Halloween was two weeks ago!
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#kamut #kamutbread #khorasan #khorasanbread #bread #sourdough #sourdoughbread #breadlove #breadloaf #scarybread #halloweenbread #woodfired #woodfiredoven #woodfiredbreadoven #woofiredbread #happymonkbakery #happymonkbakingcompany #happymonkbaking #baker #bakery #southpenderisland #southpender #penderisland #penderislandbc #sproutedgrains #sproutedbread #sproutedkamut #sproutedkamutbread
Happy Monk Tidings 🍞 - This Week's Baker's Choice: Sprouted Kamut Loaf; Happy Monk Blog: To Autumn - [ See link in Profile ]
A hint of brotgewürz, bread spice. A mix of caraway, anise, fennel and coriander lifts this seedy Mountain Rye into a different realm.
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#brotgewürz #mountainrye #wholerye #ryebread #woodfired #woodfiredoven #woodfiredovenbread #bread #realbread #naturallyleavened #baker #bakery #bbga #artisanbread #breadhead #sourdough #sourdoughbread #penderisland #southpenderislands #happymonkbaking #happymonkbakery #happymonkbakingcompany
Happy Monk Tidings - Baker's Choice: Mountain Rye; Happy Monk Blog: Entangled Lives and the Election - [ See link in profile ]
Cinnamon-Raisin Loaves are St. Francis’ favourite, you can tell. He moves along the wall and stands behind the trays fresh out of Mildrith, the wood-fired oven. There, he can inhale the intoxicating perfume of warm spice and warm his stone-cold feet. And dream of what these loaves could taste like, if he could only taste.
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#breadhead #breadlove #sourdough #sourdoughbread #cinnamonraisin #cinnamonraisinbread #bread #realbread #naturallyleavened #baker #bakery #bbga #artisanbread #bread #realbread #naturallyleavened #baker #bakery #bbga #artisanbread #penderisland #southpenderislands #happymonkbaking #happymonkbakery #happymonkbakingcompany
Tidings from the Happy Monk 🍞 - Baker's Choice: A Warming Cinnamon Raisin Loaf; Happy Monk Blog: The Isle of Apples ... [ See Link in Profile ]
1. Spelt and Hunny on their first date. 2. Alejandro and Sandra like each other too much. 3. Happy, well-adjusted Spelt-Honey loaves.
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#spelt #speltbread #honeybread #breadhead #breadporn #breadlove #wildyeast #michaeljamesbakes #tivolirdbakery #naturallyleavened #artisanbread #realbread #rusticbread #woodfired #woodfiredbread #sourdough #sourdoughbread #penderisland #southpenderisland #happymonkbaking #happymonkbakery #happymonkbakingcompany
Happy Monk Tidings, October 14 🍞 - Baker's Choice: Russian Rye; This week's Blog: A New Look at the Noble Miche [ See link in profile ]
Why make a 5-pound miche? Bread-making tradition + dreams of Poilâne + the heft and bulk of a massive whole-grain loaf held against your chest. The sheer joy of so much bread!
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#bread #wholegrainbread #breadhead #michebread #redfife #redfifesourdough #sourdough #sourdoughbread #poilane #poilâne #peterreinhart #rusticbread #woodfired #woodfiredbread #wildyeast #breadporn #realbread #artisanbread #naturallyleavened
The way this fog transforms the landscape, as if our little piece of land has lifted into the clouds drifted about and landed us in another world!
REMINDER: The Happy Monk is on a Bread Break! 😎 See you all in two weeks! Also: read back issues of the Happy Monk Blog [ See link in Profile ]
Pender Island Apple Bread! We’re awash with apples so we used some up in today’s Baker’s Choice. Straight up apples; no walnuts or spices.
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#apples #applebread #woodfiredbread #bread #wildyeast #artisanbread #sourdough #sourdoughbread #southpenderisland #penderisland #happymonkbakingcompany #wholegrainbread #organic #breadhead #bbga #ihatehashtags #ihatehashtagsbutwhatever
A phrase borrowed, of course, from the U.S. Declaration of Independence.↩
Inspiring photos to go with your encouraging words, David. Our favorite familiar things.
I sometimes feel like all the stitching is coming out of our world but a walk around our ridge puts things into perspective and I realize I live in a society of tall trees – I’m just a sojourner here, embraced, canopied, protected.
Nice, David. Good that you are continuing on as usual, true to our Scots heritage!
Thanks, Leslie! I may be a happy monk, but I’m also a dour Scot!
Thanks Dave for putting things into a more cheerful perspective. Back from Mexico and self quarantined so back in your bread line in April. Can’t wait!!