theinbetweenismine

just a girl living the expat life

  • Home
  • About
    • About me
    • running
  • Recipes
  • NaBloPoMO
  • Contact
  • Privacy
    • Disclosure
    • Privacy policy

Archives for May 2020

Five Things Friday Vol. 11

May 29, 2020 filed under: Friday Five

Five Things Friday: just five things I’m thinking about or things that made my week or things that I otherwise feel like sharing.

It’s been so hot here this week. We scratched the triple digits more than once and it’s really too early for this. I’m ready (who am I kidding, I am never ready) for those kinds of temperatures in July and August, but not in May. We usually run our air conditioning for a few hours in the evenings, but the nights are still pretty hot, even with the window open. My best trick is to use a fan and wet washcloth to keep cool at night.

*  *  *

I am sad and angry this week. You’ve surely heard about another killing of an unarmed black man, George Floyd, by police in Minneapolis and you probably also heard the story of a white woman calling the cops on an black man in Central Park (for no other reason than feeling superior), claiming that he was threatening her life when he was simply telling her to leash her dog (as it’s mandatory in the park). What is wrong with people? I am so appalled that these kinds of things keep happening. I mean, really, when is enough enough in this country?

You’re as angry and outraged as I am? Good, because you should be, but let’s not stop at being outraged. Let’s try to actually do something about it. I suggest we start here: 75 things white people can do for racial justice.

*  *  *

This quarantine running thing is the best thing that could have happened to me (silver-lining, anyone?). Since my virtual half marathon a month ago, I haven’t followed a training plan and have just run for fun (and sanity) and I’ve seen some pretty fast paces (for me) when I didn’t even try that hard. Feeling comfortable with paces, that a short while ago I couldn’t even dream of, is a really sweet reward for keeping at it.

*  *  * 

I am very thankful to live where I live right now, as it was reported that the Sacramento metropolitan area has the lowest SARS-CoV-2 infection rate among the 50 largest metros in the USA. That is pretty reassuring that we’re taking the physical distancing seriously over here, but as things are slowly reopening, that doesn’t mean we should start acting carelessly. 

*  *  * 

I’ve recently went to a skin checkup appointment that I had put off for a while. Both my Mom and sister recently had moles removed (out of precaution and none of them turned out to be pre-cancerous, thank goodness), but it definitely pushed me to finally get a checkup again myself. It’s a weird thing to go to the doctor in Corona times, but since they encouraged to keep the appointment, I am really glad I went. I am also happy to report that all my moles (and I have quite a few) look just fine and that none of them needs to be monitored or removed at this time. Phew, what a relief.

The only advice the doctor gave me: since you’re very light-skinned (you don’t say!),  you should wear SPF 30+ at all times (using SPF 50, always!). 

TGIF!

7

May Link List

May 27, 2020 filed under: link love, lists!

linklist

Around the Interwebs

Weighing your risk.

A science journalist explains how the Spanish flu changed the world

What most liberals don’t realize. 

Inside the Flour Company Supplying America’s Sudden Baking Obsession (I knew why I liked King Arthur Flour, and in case you wanted to know why there is a flour shortage.)

This is the problem with thinking you know more than the experts.

What to Ask Instead of ‘How Are You?’ During a Pandemic.

That relentless brain fog you might be experiencing through this pandemic is called allostatic load.

Around the blogosphere

Have you heard from anyone surprising lately? I must admit, I’ve been reaching out to a couple of people that I’ve lost touch with. I was surprised that they popped in my mind when the pandemic started, but I also felt like this is a sign and as good as any other time to reconnect, so why not?

Steph lives inside my head, I swear. 

Craftiness/DIY

DIY Wood Nightstand with Drawer. I wish I was more into – and had more space for – carpentry.

For my runner friends

What new runners really need to know. Need a good chuckle? 

Magnesium for athletes. Do you get enough or take supplements?

Deliciousness

Jalapeño Chicken Salad Sandwiches. Sounds yummy!

We’ve made Salisbury Steak a couple of times. It’s so easy and good.

This sounds like the perfect summer dish: Caprese Prosciutto Farro Salad.

I’ll have one – or five – of these Almond Raspberry Cheesecake Bars, please and thank you.

Share a good link with me in the comments!

4

Adventures in bread baking, or why sourdough is not the same as sourdough

May 21, 2020 filed under: baking, food

Alternative title: If you don’t bake, are you even quarantined?

So, as you already know if you follow me on Instagram, I am baking again.

If there is one thing that you can’t find on the shelves at the supermarkets, besides toilet paper and disinfectant, it’s been flour and yeast (although it seems to be getting better).

I refuse to see myself as one of these people who take up baking during a crisis. If you’ve been around, you know that I have baked frequently in the past (and, as a proper German, have lamented the fact that it’s hard to find bread that meets my high standards).

However, I hadn’t baked bread in a while (ever since I did find some very good European bread at the International Market in town), but in times of the Coronavirus, everybody goes back to the roots, which means baking at home. Apparently. Me included.

I reconnected with an old friend at the beginning of the pandemic (don’t ask me why it took a pandemic to reconnect, but I am glad that we did!) and she offered to send me some of her sourdough starter. I’ve dabbled with making my own sourdough starter in the past, but always failed – for one reason or another – to keep it alive. When she offered to send me some of her mature starter, obviously, I couldn’t say no (in fact, I pretty much yelled “hell yes, please”). 

Believe what you want, but sourdough starter does make a huge difference in the quality of your bread. Any good – and might I add, healthy – bread only requires three things: water, flour and salt. I think this is why so many people have resorted to baking during quarantine. They think, oh, if I buy some flour, I can always bake from scratch. (Basic survival instincts, right?) Three ingredients, that’s it. You don’t need anything more to bake bread. 

Oh, maybe one more thing: patience.

I understand that patience might be harder to come by these days, but I promise, it’s worth it.

Cultivating and maintaining a sourdough starter requires some commitment, I won’t lie to you, but seeing the results of what you can create is so incredibly rewarding. 

I mentioned  in a previous post that I wanted to explain that sourdough bread is not the same as  ‘bread baked with sourdough’. Yes, of course, sourdough bread is also baked from sourdough (are you confused yet?), but most people think of sourdough bread as distinctively sour in taste, which is not the case for most breads baked with a sourdough starter (which is technically nothing more than a natural leavening  agent).

So what is sourdough? 

Let’s briefly talk about terminology, because it can be a bit confusing. Sourdough is often used as a generic term for many different parts in the “sourdough process”. Let’s distinguish between sourdough starter, sourdough, and sourdough bread, but keep it simple.

The sourdough starter is a preferment, a fermented mixture of flour and water, containing a colony of microorganisms including wild yeast and lactic acid bacteria.The starter is what you’ve probably seen many times on Instagram these days, a relatively small amount of bubbly dough in a mason jar or other glass jar. It’s the “food pet” that you have to feed (refresh) and maintain (potentially forever and ever).

Whole grain rye flour works best for your starter (see above). Rye is extremely reactive to sourdough fermentation. It ferments much faster, and brings in a wider variety of yeasts than other flours, but organic whole wheat flour works well too, and you can even switch over a starter from rye to wheat and vice versa. The longer you maintain your starter with regular feedings, the more stable and resilient it will become.

Sourdough is the actual prepared bread dough that was created with a part of the sourdough starter (often called levain/leaven) and more water and flour, the dough that we knead, proof, and then put in the oven to bake.

Sourdough bread is any bread made from just water, salt, and flour, although most people think of the San Francisco Sourdough, which is particularly famous for its very sour flavor, when they talk about sourdough bread. Its sourness is due to a particular strain of lactic acid bacteria (called Lactobacillus sanfranciscensis), and while this bacteria has now been discovered all around the world, sour-tasting sourdough bread is closely associated with San Francisco. I had not had such sour-tasting bread before coming to California and it’s a bit of an acquired taste.

Also, I’ve gotten the impression that many people – especially here in the US – think of sourdough bread as wheat-based, lighter breads (think, sourdough boules and baguettes). Let me ask you, would you think of sourdough bread when you look at the picture at the beginning of this post (which is over 90% rye-based)? Probably not. But I’d argue that the majority of breads baked with sourdough starter are not solely wheat-based and do not taste sour, but instead are made with a variety of flours and have complex aroma and flavor, and a finer crumb.

Most German breads are made with sourdough starter, especially the darker rye breads and a variety of mixed flour breads, as rye alone does not contain enough gluten to use yeast as a leavening agent. The lactic acid bacteria in the flour produce two types of acids during the fermentation: lactic acid and acetic acid. Depending on the fermentation process, you can make your bread more or less sour by encouraging the acetic acids to dominate over the lactic acids, and vice versa. Acetic acids typically thrive during a cooler fermentation and make the bread more sour. Lactic acids like warmer temperatures and shorter proofing times and result in milder flavor.

You guys already knew I am a nerd, so I am extremely fascinated by the scientific process. 

Besides the fact that sourdough baking is a very old, natural baking process, sourdough-based breads have a few advantages over breads that were baked with commercial yeast.

The naturally occurring acids and long fermentation process of sourdough help to break down the proteins and gluten, making it more nutritious, digestible, and easy for the body to absorb. Sourdough bread has a relatively low glycemic index compared with other types of bread (which makes it less likely to spike your blood sugar levels) and it doesn’t go stale as quickly.

Are you curious to bake with sourdough? Do you have a starter on your counter already? If you don’t know where to start, I’ve enjoyed and learned a lot from The Perfect Loaf.

If you have any more questions, please put them in the comments. I am not claiming to be an expert, but will try to answer your questions to the best of my knowledge. 

4

What I read in April

May 18, 2020 filed under: books

I again only finished one book for April, but it’s okay. I am not putting any pressure on myself these days. I read when I read.

How’s your reading going? 

Without further ado, my review of… 

The Bookcharmer by Karen Hawkins (★★★☆☆)

Sarah lives in a small town, Dove Pond, and she – and her sisters – are each said to have special gifts. Sarah can talk to books, or actually, books talk to her and tell her who needs to read them so she can place them in the hand of the right people. 

While the plot is sweet and the idea of Sarah being able to talk to books intriguing, this was only a minor part of the story. I would have wished for a bit more “magic” and book charming, I guess. 

You expect the story to revolve around Sarah, but the actual protagonist of the story is Grace, who moves to Dove Pond with her family and who is supposedly the person to save Dove Pond from bankruptcy. The chapters alternate between Sarah, Grace, and Trav, Sarah’s childhood friend and Grace’s neighbor (why Trav? Nobody knows), although Hawkins uses the 3rd-person omniscient narration. 

This is a sweet story about connecting and friendship, but also not an overall ‘feel good’ story, as the novel touches on several heavier topics including foster care, trauma, suicide and death, Alzheimers, PTSD, caregiver stress, and a small town’s financial crisis. Almost a little much for one story, to be honest. 

Overall, I enjoyed this book well enough. 3,5 stars for a sweet, though predictable story with a few clever nuances. Just what I needed right now. 

What did you read in April? Anything you’d like to recommend? Leave a comment, and then add me on Goodreads to keep in touch.

9

Blogging through the COVID-19 crisis: Update 4

May 14, 2020 filed under: Corona Life, real life

It’s been a little while since I checked in (about three weeks) and I thought it might be time for an update. Honestly, the days and weeks have started to blur together for me. The individual days seem to slip through my fingers. I’ve been hoping to get into a bit of a regular blogging routine, but I am still finding it a little difficult. I can’t believe we’re in week 9 of shelter-in-place. 

I want to say, I am okay overall. I don’t have terrible anxiety or sleepless nights. In fact, I sleep pretty well most nights (maybe partly because I am still experiencing bouts of extreme tiredness every few days and fall asleep on the couch before bedtime). I exercise, I eat pretty well, and I try to practice self-care. I am wondering though if my body is holding on to some subconscious stress and tension.

If you asked me if I had found my groove working from home, I’d have to say ‘yes’ and ‘no’. While I do have a pretty good work routine set up now and actually enjoy working from home, I still don’t  “feel” like this is normal. My co-workers have told me during a recent virtual Happy Hour that the first couple of weeks were hard for them, but that they’ve settled into a routine. I mean, yes, I have to, but emotionally this is harder now than it was in the beginning. I have these moments where the gravity of our situation just “hits me”.

It’s hard to explain, it’s like I knew before, but I didn’t know until just now. 

Do you know what I mean?

I think, it partly has to do with the fact that I read and hear every day what is happening out in the world, the case and death numbers are facts and I treat them as such, but luckily, I haven’t been personally affected by the virus (yet). I don’t personally know anyone who has died from it, don’t even personally know anyone with a positive diagnosis, but that doesn’t mean that I am not affected by the news or that I am not taking the virus seriously (unlike some other people). 

It’s funny, isn’t it, how this pandemic has brought out the best and worst in people.

As previously mentioned, I’ve been limiting my news consumption and have mostly stopped listening to the public briefings, although you can’t completely escape the commentary (on Twitter and elsewhere), and then there are days where Jon will find me desperately sob-laughing and laugh-sobbing at my desk because I once again couldn’t help but listen in on one of the White House press briefings and all I can think is, please dear God, just make it stop. 

Ezra Klein said it all in his latest piece on VOX: We don’t have a president, or a plan.

“Over the past two months, the US should have built the testing, contact tracing, and quarantine infrastructure necessary to safely end lockdown and transition back to normalcy — as many of its peer countries did. Instead, Trump has substituted showmanship for action, playing the president on TV but refusing to do the actual job.”

Is this scary to you? It’s scary to me.

I know that our local government is doing a better job in handling this pandemic. We are currently in phase 2 of reopening here in California. I think different states have different phase protocols, so don’t assume our phase 2 is your phase 2. 

What I could gather from our state response website, we’ll be in phase 2 for a while and expansion of reopening certain businesses will move gradually, and county by county, depending on certain criteria. Our shelter-in-place order here in Sac County has been extended until May, 22 (for now).

Dine-in restaurants can open under certain circumstances (which have only been met in two CA counties so far), but nail salons, gyms, bars and nightclubs, movie theaters, playgrounds, theme parks, festivals, sports and concert venues, and hotels remain closed statewide at this time.

As of last week, every adult here can get tested for free, regardless of any symptoms, through Project Baseline, who are setting up testing centers all over the country. I haven’t decided yet if we should get tested at this point, as we’re considered to be in the low risk group for infection as we’re working from – and mostly staying – home, but I sure like having the option now, and I know screening and testing availability are part of the reopening criteria (especially in more densely populated counties). 

In Germany, they’ve started opening things up again. Masks are still mandatory in stores and when using public transport. Restaurants are going to open next week with limited seating. Gyms and hair salons are back open, and schools have opened with different grades showing up on different days (as far as I understood from my sister). Some people are back to work at their offices, who previously worked from home.
This is what I heard from family and friends and I am sure there are regional variations on how things are handled (as there are here). And apparently, things are continuing to be pretty fluid there as well, but I do hope that the reopening hasn’t happened too soon.

This is really my only concern here, because as much as I understand that people want to go back to “normal”, I don’t think normal still exists in the way we’d like to think about it and we have to be cautious and strategic in re-entering the outside world.

 All this to say, we’re all in this together, however long it might last.

In the meantime, don’t forget to breathe.

7

Hi, I am San – German native, dual-citizen living in beautiful Northern California. Runner. Knitter. Crafter. Reader. Writer. Proud aunt, sister, and friend.

I’ve been blogging since 2004 and don’t intend to stop any time soon. If you are looking for personal content and making a  genuine connection, you’ve come to the right place.

Shop

Disclosure + Privacy

All content, unless otherwise specified, is original content written and created by me. Stealing is rude. If you want to use any photos or other content, just send me a note and maybe we can work something out. Be sure to credit and link back, if you do take any information from this blog and post it somewhere else. Thank you!

Now, let’s be friends!

Please check out my disclosure + privacy policies.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.

Archives

  • ▼2021 (19)
    • ▼March (1)
      • Five Things Friday Vol. 23
    • ►February (9)
    • ►January (9)
  • ►2020 (118)
    • ►December (9)
    • ►November (30)
    • ►October (8)
    • ►September (10)
    • ►August (8)
    • ►July (7)
    • ►June (6)
    • ►May (5)
    • ►April (7)
    • ►March (5)
    • ►February (10)
    • ►January (13)
  • ►2019 (142)
    • ►December (10)
    • ►November (30)
    • ►October (10)
    • ►September (11)
    • ►August (10)
    • ►July (13)
    • ►June (9)
    • ►May (8)
    • ►April (10)
    • ►March (10)
    • ►February (9)
    • ►January (12)
  • ►2018 (145)
    • ►December (8)
    • ►November (30)
    • ►October (8)
    • ►September (7)
    • ►August (12)
    • ►July (9)
    • ►June (11)
    • ►May (10)
    • ►April (13)
    • ►March (12)
    • ►February (12)
    • ►January (13)
  • ►2017 (152)
    • ►December (10)
    • ►November (30)
    • ►October (12)
    • ►September (10)
    • ►August (13)
    • ►July (12)
    • ►June (13)
    • ►May (12)
    • ►April (9)
    • ►March (11)
    • ►February (8)
    • ►January (12)
  • ►2016 (153)
    • ►December (18)
    • ►November (30)
    • ►October (9)
    • ►September (11)
    • ►August (11)
    • ►July (10)
    • ►June (12)
    • ►May (13)
    • ►April (12)
    • ►March (9)
    • ►February (11)
    • ►January (7)
  • ►2015 (141)
    • ►December (9)
    • ►November (30)
    • ►October (10)
    • ►September (12)
    • ►August (12)
    • ►July (10)
    • ►June (11)
    • ►May (10)
    • ►April (13)
    • ►March (11)
    • ►February (7)
    • ►January (6)
  • ►2014 (198)
    • ►December (19)
    • ►November (30)
    • ►October (18)
    • ►September (12)
    • ►August (11)
    • ►July (14)
    • ►June (17)
    • ►May (13)
    • ►April (17)
    • ►March (18)
    • ►February (15)
    • ►January (14)
  • ►2013 (162)
    • ►December (11)
    • ►November (30)
    • ►October (15)
    • ►September (15)
    • ►August (7)
    • ►July (9)
    • ►June (11)
    • ►May (10)
    • ►April (13)
    • ►March (21)
    • ►February (14)
    • ►January (6)
  • ►2012 (211)
    • ►December (12)
    • ►November (30)
    • ►October (17)
    • ►September (14)
    • ►August (13)
    • ►July (14)
    • ►June (19)
    • ►May (18)
    • ►April (18)
    • ►March (20)
    • ►February (22)
    • ►January (14)
  • ►2011 (187)
    • ►December (16)
    • ►November (30)
    • ►October (19)
    • ►September (20)
    • ►August (7)
    • ►July (19)
    • ►June (19)
    • ►May (9)
    • ►April (12)
    • ►March (11)
    • ►February (13)
    • ►January (12)
  • ►2010 (140)
    • ►December (13)
    • ►November (30)
    • ►October (11)
    • ►September (12)
    • ►August (5)
    • ►July (8)
    • ►June (9)
    • ►May (4)
    • ►April (10)
    • ►March (14)
    • ►February (12)
    • ►January (12)
  • ►2009 (139)
    • ►December (12)
    • ►November (30)
    • ►October (8)
    • ►September (9)
    • ►August (8)
    • ►July (6)
    • ►June (8)
    • ►May (12)
    • ►April (10)
    • ►March (13)
    • ►February (12)
    • ►January (11)
  • ►2008 (138)
    • ►December (12)
    • ►November (30)
    • ►October (7)
    • ►September (8)
    • ►August (10)
    • ►July (8)
    • ►June (12)
    • ►May (14)
    • ►April (13)
    • ►March (9)
    • ►February (8)
    • ►January (7)
  • ►2007 (145)
    • ►December (11)
    • ►November (30)
    • ►October (13)
    • ►September (10)
    • ►August (9)
    • ►July (10)
    • ►June (9)
    • ►May (14)
    • ►April (12)
    • ►March (10)
    • ►February (9)
    • ►January (8)
  • ►2006 (152)
    • ►December (11)
    • ►November (30)
    • ►October (16)
    • ►September (14)
    • ►August (17)
    • ►July (13)
    • ►June (10)
    • ►May (2)
    • ►April (8)
    • ►March (12)
    • ►February (9)
    • ►January (10)
  • ►2005 (150)
    • ►December (9)
    • ►November (16)
    • ►October (2)
    • ►September (15)
    • ►August (16)
    • ►July (10)
    • ►June (14)
    • ►May (16)
    • ►April (13)
    • ►March (16)
    • ►February (10)
    • ►January (13)
  • ►2004 (29)
    • ►December (6)
    • ►November (2)
    • ►October (1)
    • ►September (4)
    • ►August (2)
    • ►June (3)
    • ►May (5)
    • ►April (6)
…

All Rights Reserved ©theinbetweenismine.com 2004-2021

Copyright © 2021 · Wildflower on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.Ok