Waste(less)

I'm always looking for great new ways to use up my sourdough discard, click here to find any recipe I've shared on the matter, and after buying the Storey Country Wisdom Bulletin on Baking with Sourdough by Sara Pitzer all my prayers have been answered. 

This recipe has a fudge-like quality due to the use of sourdough, and it's all done in one bowl, what more can you ask for?

You'll need

• 1/2 cup sourdough starter
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil (I've used olive oil and it works wonderfully too)
• 3/4 cup cold coffee
• 1 teaspoon vanilla (I always skip this step as I don't think vanilla really adds to this cake)

Method

Put the starter in a large bowl, cover it loosely, and let it become active, how long this step takes depends largely on the temperature in your house, but it should take at least one hour. Once the starter is active and bubbling, add the rest of the ingredients, in the order given above, mixing well after each addition. 

Grease and flour two 22cm (9 inches) round cake pans, pour in the batter, which will be thin, and bake in a preheated oven at 175ºC (350ªF) for about 30 minutes, or until the cake tests done when poked with a toothpick. Once cooked, the cake should have pulled away from the sides of the pan.

Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before removing from the pans, then finish cooling the layers on wire racks. The cake suggests a mild chocolate butter cream frosting to frost this cake, but I always go with a simple dusting of powder sugar for an everyday take.

This year has been hard on everyone, on so many different levels, and though there are things we can't control going forwards, besides holding ourselves accountable to keep us and others safe, there are some things I plan on changing this next year. This won't be another regular New Year's resolution post, I won't talk about how I want to lose weight or workout more, this post is all about my zero waste resolutions, what I want to change in order to become more sustainable.

My first resolution is to no longer buy new clothes. Having said that, I looked back into the past year and realised all the clothes I've bought, except for underwear and one pair of pants, have been bought secondhand, which is so great. I would like to keep that momentum going and keep making an exception with underwear and basics.

Speaking of which, anything new I buy, clothes-wise, should come from an ethical brand, Good on You has written a few posts on ethical brands who sell such products, so they'll be my guiding light on this journey. Here are a few posts on the subject: The Ultimate Guide to Ethical and Sustainable Underwear for Men and Women, and Sustainable Bras and Bralettes to Support You and the Planet.

Something you may not know about me is that I was a vegetarian for about three years, for reasons I'd rather not get into, I started eating meat again, and although I eat mostly plant-based, sometimes I'll have some meat of fish. This year I'd like to adopt an even more plant-based diet and stick to it. Still on the dietary side of things, I would like to learn more about and practice sustainable eating. Besides cutting meat off and reducing my fish and seafood intake, I want to try and shop local/national more often and eat seasonally. 

Lastly, I'd like to continue my low-waste journey. Although I don't think we'll ever be completely zero waste, we can all try our best to continue to reduce our waste. To do so, this year I'd like to make more of my own products, I already make my own deodorant (recipe here), my body butter (add link), my own ACV rinse (here's how), and I even shared my Ultimate List of DIY Sustainable Products, but I want to do more, learn more, be better. Two products I'm looking to try out this year are Georganics' Natural Toothpaste or their Toothpaste Tablets, so maybe I'll be finally able to forgo toothpaste in plastic tubes.

Let me know what some of your resolutions for the new year are, maybe we can hold each other accountable and make sure we follow through!

With even colder weather creeping around the corner, my warmer coats are making their way out of storage, so I thought a new installment on my Mindful Fashion series would be a good idea. Coats can be really classic pieces that you buy once and last you for years and years, but for that to happen we need to know how to take care of them properly.

Ingredients

Method