It is a time of firsts, the first egg of the New Year, one I gathered yesterday morning. Do I eat it? Do I sell it? Do I hatch it? The possibilities are endless if you let your mind go wild.

The first bread of the New Year, baked yesterday morning. One loaf is already gone. Each baking is an opportunity to experiment. One loaf is made with commercial yeast, the other with my levain. Are my loaves good enough to sell at this year’s farmers markets? They are getting there.

The first soybean soaking for the first tofu of the year. This cold snap and the first tofu making coincided to let me test if beans soak better under a trickle of running water. I’ve been tempted to try it before, but it seems wasteful so I haven’t. Since I need to let the water run anyway, I’ll grab the chance and try it. I like the idea of beans soaking under a slow stream of water for hours and hours to wash away their sins all night long. Maybe I can call the resulting tofu Pureland Tofu, or Jesus Saves Tofu, you know, to capture that market.