6124. Go to Java Dock Cafe in Port Washington

I needed an adventure for January. Since my niece's birthday party was falling in January this year and I was going to be in town, I asked Kris if she wanted to do coffee at Java Dock. Even though I grew up in Port, I never actually visited the coffee shop. I moved to Saukville in high school and was somewhat of a homebody.. and frugal. She agreed. And I get to knock off another item off my 26 in 2026 list.

Java Dock Cafe is located just off of downtown Port and has been there for as long as I can remember. It is opened daily serving breakfast and lunch. Hours vary depending on the day of the week. You can find street parking or a few lots near by. I got lucky and snagged a spot on the same block.. and I didn't even have to parallel park.

The coffee shop itself is downstairs and seating is upstairs. They serve a wide variety of drinks and sandwiches. 

Since it was National Hot Chocolate Day, I went with Hot Chocolate. They had plenty of flavors to add but I saw it too late and just had plain hot chocolate with whipped cream.

My hot chocolate was amazing. They use all local vendors when they can and their chocolate comes from Hollander Chocolates right in town. It was velvety smooth and rich. I don't know if I ever had hot chocolate this rich and decadent. 10 out of 10 stars. 

We sat upstairs and caught up. It was bright and sunny with plenty of open tables on a Saturday afternoon. Kris said it was a great spot for high schoolers to study which I can believe since I know the local coffee shops up here are the same way.

They also have a Featured Artist Wall where local artists hang their art for 3 months. This quarter's featured artist work is fun and whimsical. It really added a pop of color to the wall. 

I think this may become a regular friend date spot when I'm in town. Next time we'll have to do lunch and I'll have to try the grilled cheese that Kris talked about. It sounds amazing.

The next time you are in Port Washington, check out Java Dock for your caffeine fix if you haven't already. 

7603. Make sourdough bread

 Making sourdough bread was never on my radar or bucket list for that matter. It probably should have been but I have such a fear of kneading and rising bread dough properly, not to mention, keeping the sourdough starter alive, it really wasn't a high priority of mine. Then the doorbell rang. 

My friend, JDow, sent me a sourdough starter and ceramic loaf pan for Christmas. Well now I have to figure out how to keep this thing alive and make sourdough bread. After a quick google search and few texts, I jumped in to this endeavor.

First I had to "wake up" the starter from travel. I just had to add the flour that came in my present with to the starter in a jar and add equal parts water. And let it get bubbly. Good thing I had a few pickle jars laying around.

JDow then told me I can keep it in the fridge until I'm ready to bake it and to feed it about 6-12 hours before I want to make the bread. It went in the fridge until I could have a chance to deal with it. It was only in the fridge from like Tuesday to Saturday so not real long time.

I took the starter out of the fridge, added flour and water, and then put the lid back on. M pickle jar was just big enough to allow the starter to double in size. I kept an awful close eye on it. I didn't it to explode and have a sourdough mess all over my kitchen. 

Once it was doubled in size. then it was time for the part that scared me the most...kneading and letting it rise. The directions told me to add the bread mix, olive oil, and water to a bowl along with the starter. I was to mix it until it was shaggy and then coax it from the bowl to knead it. 

Well it was shaggy but needed no help being coaxed from the bowl.

Then I needed to kneaded 4 inches from the center, rotate, and repeat until it made a circle.. I really didn't understand this part but I did my best. I was afraid I over stirred and kneaded it but Danielle said it would be fine.

Luckily I bought a Dutch oven last year otherwise I'm not sure what I would have done as I needed to let the dough rise over night in a Dutch oven covered with a damp cloth. I plopped the dough in the Dutch Oven and covered it with a damp cloth and let it alone.

When I got up this morning, I was pleasantly surprised to see how big the dough got overnight. It not filled the entire Dutch oven. It was not very tall but still smelled good. Into the oven it went for 40 minutes.

It smelled amazing and looked great when it was done.

Since I couldn't wait, I went had sourdough bread with butter and cheese on it for lunch. It was amazing. Apparently even I can make sourdough bread.

In case you are curious, the rest of my starter went back in the fridge. Apparently if I feed it again and put it in the fridge, it is good until I want to use it again. Andrea says if I can keep it alive until the end of the month, she will babysit it for me after that. It may not make it that long, I may have to bake another loaf.

I am just impressed I didn't kill the starter or ruin the dough when I tried to knead and let it rise. Hopefully next attempt is at successful. And bonus I knocked off my first item of my 26 in 2026 list -- try a new recipe

26 in 2026

 I learned last year to keep my goals for the year pretty vague and I have a better chance of knocking them off. I managed to get all but 2 done last year of the 25. I am keeping most of the list the same, adding a few new ones, and bringing one of the ones I didn't get done over to 2026. Seeing Gone With the Wind will get done one day but I'm in no hurry. 

So without further ado, here's my 26 in 2026 list

1. Have at least one adventure every month
2. Go to at least 1 author talk
3. Read at least 150 books
4. Watch at least 12 new to me movies
5. Explore at least one new park or trail
6. Try at least one new restaurant
7. Have a giant caramel apple
8. Make at least one new recipe
9. Try at least one new beer, cider, or cocktail
10. Visit at least one new winery or brewery
11. Walk/bike/hike at least 450 miles
12. See at least one live performance
13. Visit at least one new museum, landmark, tourist attraction, etc
14. Visit at least one new county
15. Try at least one new coffee shop
16. Visit a new Indie bookstore -- This was a tough one last year but I managed to get to one. So we shall see how it goes this year
17. Try one new pizza place
18. Take a new train ride -- The hubby is obsessed with trains lately and this should be easy
19.  Go to at least one new ballpark
20. Try a new food
21. Visit at least 1 National Park Site
22. Get my bobblehead museum stamp -- Carryover from 2025. It will happen this year
23. Try a new ice cream flavor
24. Get at least 25 baseball stamps
25. Visit a new chocolate/candy shop
26..Visit a new ice cream place