Bake a loaf of sourdough from your own starter

For about a week, a jar of flour and water on your counter smells of nothing, then of old socks, then suddenly of green apples. That is the moment it is alive. Your first loaf will probably be flat and dense and you will eat all of it anyway, standing up, while it is still too hot to cut. The second one is better. By the fifth you will be pressing the crust with a thumb to hear it crackle. Keep the starter in the fridge between bakes and feed it on Sundays; it outlives most houseplants.