Dave Burton's Boot Adventures at Wheaton Labs and Basecamp

Good afternoon! My fermented food creations seem to be going well and appear to be active!

Day 20





I went to the top of the "Volcano" at Basecamp again!

Good afternoon! I found that sourdough oat flour fermented foods and baking at above sea level require a bit more patience! Instead of cooking at 325 Fhrenheit for 1 hour, I ended up having to bake at 350 Fahrenheit for 2 hours! My vegan and gluten-free variation ended up as more of a scone or rock cake.

Day 21











Since dosas appear to be basically some kind of starch mixed with some kind of bean. I'm starting a four-day preparation. I'm making fermented mashed sweet potatoes and black beans soaked in APC vinegar and sea salt. The black beans and fermented sweet potatoes will both go 48-hours, and then, after processing them, I am going to let this dosa variation batter ferment for 48 more hours. I supplemented the mashed sweet potato ferment with oat flour and coconut flour, because it didn't make a large enough volume by itself that I thought it would make enough so that everyone can eat as much of it as they want of it.

This is the making of the fermented mashed sweet potatoes.





And these are the two components of the later round of dosa preparations starting.

Good morning! I made onion dosas and apple chutney! They came out awesome!

Day 22



And Jen sawed a tree that we’ll be using at Allerton Abbey!



We loaded up the log that Jen cut into Ranger Doug! And we loaded up another log, too! We're adding two logs onto the floor of Allerton Abbey so that we can start working on making a third cob floor in the building.



The whitewash in Allerton Abbey is starting to look nicer, as it is appearing to get to be more fully white and not as splotchy There are a few issues with texturing. We're aiming for as smooth of a wall as possible, but that's kinda challenging to do.



I did some whitewashing today- mostly touch-up work to make things look better. There's a certain technique to applying the white wash that's gentle and quiet. I can tell when I am applying the whitewash gently enough, because I the sound of the brush strokes becomes very faint. One of the main reasons for applying the whitewash gently is so that the earlier/lower layers of whitewash don't get brushed off before they have time to harden and become more stable. After whitewashing, we worked on making more cob!



Jen did some great work today on leveling and smoothing the tops of the logs that will be placed into part of the floor of Allerton Abbey!



I've decided that I'm going to let the mashed sweet potato mixture ferment 72 hours and the black beans soak 72 hours. I think they could use a little bit more time with the weather getting a bit colder.

I'm thinking about doing something like this semi-raw fermented bread pudding with the muffins that I made, so that they perhaps have an even yummier second-life! The muffins weren't bad, but yes, I do think they were a little blander than I would have hoped for. So far, the dosa recipes seem to be appealing to more people!

I went ahead and made it! I broke apart the sourdough muffins and added coconut milk, APC vinegar, tapioca starch, banana, plums, apples, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla extract, and lemon extract. I'll let the pudding sit for 24 hours, and then, I will chill it before it gets served.

Such interesting, far afield, food adventures!  Thanks : )

Good morning! You’re welcome, Nancy! I enjoy cooking, fermentation, and whatever other ways I can play with my food!

Day 23

Here’s a closer look at the rocket hot water heater at Basecamp!



I mixed up more limewash to use for whitewashing the walls! This is the recipe we used- 1 gallon water, 5 cups salt, and 8 cups lime!



I whitewashed a room in Allerton Abbey again!



English Fred did lots of work on the roads at Wheaton Labs on a bulldozer!



Paul Wheaton drove a bulldozer!



I drove a bulldozer!







Jen made a couple logs even flatter and smoother! They're looking ready to use for the floor!



The fermented bread pudding I made out of the muffins is smelling nice! And it has gelled up quite nicely, too! I recently put it in the fridge to chill overnight!

Good morning! It’s starting to be darker in the morning when I wake up!

Day 24







Jen used a table saw to cut wood to the right size for making repairs to screens at Allerton Abbey. The screens being repaired are being used to sift sand for making the cob in the cob floors of Allerton Abbey. I also cut some wood for the screen repairs, too.



I made repairs to two screens at Allerton Abbey that are being used to sift sand- one large screen for rougher sifting and one smaller screen for finer sifting. I had to reposition the mesh on the finer screen and add wood to hold the screens down. I stapled the mesh to hold it in place before the wood was added for a more secure grip.









I cut wood to the right lengths and added them to the front of the finer sand filter.



I cut a plank to the correct length to fix the middle board in the larger sand filter.







I started drilling holes in the wood we had cut to be thinner and screwed them into place to hole the screen down.









I installed planks to hold the screen in at an angle, so that sand can be shoveled onto it.



Jen and Austin worked on smoothing out their logs more, and they added their logs into the floor of Allerton Abbey. They also worked on leveling their logs in the room, too.









We drove around Ant Village, because we're doing some road work at Wheaton Labs.







I think the fermented bread pudding that I made turned out better than the muffins! I think the fresher fruit added more flavor to it. If the fermented bread pudding doesn't get eaten up at a reasonable pace, then, I think the third life for the muffins will be as fried pudding dumplings - kind of like fried grits.



I processed the black beans and added coconut milk, shredded coconut, and coconut pieces to the dosa batter. I'm thinking I ought to add another additional day because of the weather getting colder. So, I'm going to let this dosa variation batter sit for 72 hours.