antipasto and cider

after watching 'spain - on the road again' i have become somewhat smitten with cured meats, good bread and olive oil.

last night, the bf and i shared a perfect little board of antipasto and a half-litre of pear cider in the balmy, golden light of the late afternoon that i love (amongst most other things) about early autumn. transitional seasons are special because they carry with them the promise of change that we're all too ready for after a hot summer or bitter winter.

it was lovely.

we sipped the cider from wee glasses and picked from sweet prosciutto, insalata caprese and a fantastic discovery: caponata from the mediterranean wholesalers. we also enjoyed a fantasticly dense and chewy spelt and rye sourdough - the second product of my bread-making venture - with generous amounts of olive oil.

tonight i will use the stale end-bits of my first loaf to put together a grilled mushroom salad that has been tempting me on stonesoup. i'll throw in a little arugula and serve it with some bresaola that i picked up at the wholesalers. simple. delicious.

my starter is bubbling along nicely and while my second loaf still needed boosting with fresh yeast, the starter gave the bread a deliciously sour flavour and a denser, stretchier crumb that the first.

i only have rye flour on hand at the moment, but it will be interesting to see how a 100% rye turns out. so, off i go to make another loaf.