Easiest from Scratch Bread

So I know this won’t work for Erin… and Mom probably would avoid having this much bread in the house too…. but I had to share this anyway.

While working at the Bradford Public Library the librarian Gail told me about this great cookbook she’s been using to make bread from. It’s called Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day. The basic recipe was published in Mother Earth News in their December 2009/January 2010 issue and although it’s pretty wordy, it was actually really, really easy…. no kneading and no punching. It’s practically idiot proof. The best part is that you make a huge batch of dough, FOUR POUNDS worth. Then you just pull off a hunk and bake each loaf as you need it. The dough lasts up to 2 weeks in the fridge and becomes more sourdough-like the longer you keep it. I’m putting the basics here but the whole article in M.E.N. has way more details and information about ingredients.

5 1/2 c. whole wheat flour

2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour

1 1/2 Tbsp (2 packets) granulated yeast

1 Tbsp kosher salt

1/4 c. vital wheat gluten (Bob’s Red Mill or Hodgson Mill recommended)

4 c. lukewarm water

1-2 Tbsp whole seed mixture (optional)

1. Measure the dry ingredients and mix together in a 5-quart bowl or re-sealable lidded (not airtight) container.
2. Heat the water to slightly warmer than body temp (about 100 degrees F). Add to the dry ingredients and mix without kneading, using a spoon, food processor (with dough attachment) or heavy-duty stand mixer (with paddle). Don’t knead! It isn’t necessary. You’re finished when everything is uniformly moist, without dry patches. This step is done in a matter of minutes, and yields a wet dough that remains loose enough to conform to the shape of its container.
3. Cover dough with a lid (not airtight) or cover loosely with plastic wrap. Allow it to rise at room temperature until it begins to collapse (or at least flatten on top), which will take about 2 hours. Longer rising times – even overnight – will not change the result. Fully refrigerated dough is less sticky and easier to work with than dough at room temp. So, the first time you try our method, it’s best to refrigerate the dough overnight (or at least 3 hours) before shaping a loaf. Whatever you do, do not punch down this dough!
4. Dust the surface of the refrigerated dough with flour. Pull up a 1-pound (grapefruit sized) piece of dough and cut using a serrated knife or kitchen shears. Hold the dough in your hands and add a little more flour so it won’t stick. Gently stretch the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides. This should take no more than 20-40 seconds. If you work the dough longer than this, it may make your loaf too dense.
5. Stretch the ball gently to elongate it and taper the ends.
6. Allow the loaf to rest covered with plastic wrap on a pizza peel covered with cornmeal or parchment paper or a silicone mat (or just use a greased cookie sheet) for 90 minutes.
7. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees for half an hour with a baking stone placed on a middle rack and an empty broiler tray on the very top or bottom rack.
8. Just before baking use a pastry brush to paint the loaf with a little water and sprinkle the seed and nut mister on top. Slash the loaf with quart-inch-deep parallel cuts with a serrated bread knife.
9. After the oven is preheated slide the loaf off the pizza peel onto the baking stone in the oven (or just put the cookie sheet in the oven). Pour 1 cup of water into the empty broiler tray in the oven and close the door to trap the steam. Bake for about 30 minutes or until the crust is richly browned and fir to touch. If you used a cookie sheet, remove it and bake the loaf directly on the stone or oven rack when it’s about two-thirds of the way done. Allow the bread to cook on a wire cooling rack.
10. Store the rest of the dough in a container in the fridge and use over the next couple of weeks. Over time it ferments and takes on sourdough characteristics.

Ok so that sounded hard to me but after making one batch of dough (and baking two loaves of it already) it was way easier than I expected. I don’t have a pizza peel so I just did it on a baking sheet which worked fine… and I skipped the seeds on top. But hey look at that, I made bread!

Pisgah's birthday dinner....

Today is Pisgah's birthday and this is what we had....

Salmon with Brown Butter Sauce



Y'all, this is good.

The recipe was in the March issue of Real Simple. Here it is below:

Serves 4
Hands-On Time: 20m
Total Time: 20m


Ingredients

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/4 pounds skinless salmon fillet, cut into 4 pieces
kosher salt and black pepper
1 pound green beans, trimmed and halved crosswise
1/4 cup sliced almonds
2 tablespoons capers

Directions

Heat 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.

Season the salmon with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper.

Cook until opaque throughout, 3 to 5 minutes per side; transfer to plates.

Meanwhile, fill a second skillet with ½ inch of water, bring to a boil, and add ¼ teaspoon salt.

Add the green beans, cover, and steam until just tender, 4 to 5 minutes; drain and transfer to plates.

Wipe out the green bean skillet and heat the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter over medium heat.

Add the almonds and cook, stirring frequently, until the almonds and butter are golden brown (but not burned), 2 to 3 minutes.
Stir in the capers. Spoon over the fish and green beans.

So while I did use this recipe I did not follow it verbatim.

Here is our version:



I did use 4 TB of butter, which I heated on a non-stick skillet. We use Earth Balance butter, which is soy or something, and it works great.





I seasoned both sides of the salmon with salt/pepper

Once the butter was hot I put the salmon on the pan. I cooked the salmon for about 4-5 min on each side. I added the capers towards the end, when the salmon was almost done.

Instead of green beans, which we didn't have, I used frozen spinach.

I boiled it in water, drained it, and then threw in 1TB of butter and some minced garlic and let it simmer.

While all of this was cooking I toasted some almonds. (I didn't want to put them in the butter, because I like them crispy)

Once the salmon and spinach were done I put them on the plate and sprinkled the almonds over.

DEEELISH.




Accompanying our meal we had bread


and wine



(notice Pisgah's reflection in the wine glass)

































And while Pisgah could not eat the dinner we prepared in her honor, she did get lots of snuggles with me...






















John....













and the monkey.









Along with many treats and a birthday bone.

Buttermilk-Currant Scones with Lemon Glaze

YUMMY!

Buttermilk-Currant Scones
with lemon Glaze

PREP AND COOK TIME: About 45 minutes
MAKES: 8 scones

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cold butter, cut into chunks
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 large egg
1/2 cup dried currants
1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
2/3 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350°. In a bowl or food processor, mix or whirl
flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt to blend. Add butter and cut in
with a pastry blender or pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. If
using a processor, scrape mixture into a bowl.

2. In a small bowl, whisk buttermilk and egg to blend. Add to flour
mixture along with dried currants and lemon peel. Stir with a fork just
until evenly moistened (dough will look crumbly).

3. Scrape dough onto a floured surface and, with lightly floured hands,
work it into a ball, then pat into a 7-inch round about 13/4 inches thick.
Cut dough into eight equal wedges. Arrange wedges 2 inches apart on a
baking sheet.

4. Bake scones until tops are browned, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool
about 10 minutes on baking sheet. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, stir
together powdered sugar and lemon juice. Drizzle glaze over warm
scones. Serve scones warm or let cool completely.

What single gals eat for dinner

Ok, obv. I'm not "single", but since John has late classes on Tuesday and Thursday nights, Pisgah and I have a little girl time. We paint our nails, light candles, do a little yoga and then we make dinner.



Only (gasp) I don't really like cooking. Following recipes is not my strong suite.

Anyway, on nights such as this I end up making one of my favorite things ever:

THE EGG AND CHEESE ENGLISH MUFFIN.

Thankfully English muffins don't mess with my gluten thing (although I don't know why)



Only what I make doesn't look like that....



It looks more like this:


But it tastes great.

And just for kicks I thought I would give you the recipe since you know, it can be a tricky thing to make.

Step 1: Find an English Muffin

Step 2: Cut in half and slather on butter

Step 3: Throw it in the frying pan. I don't toast because 1) we don't have a toaster 2) our oven scares me...plus throwing on the pan just adds to the sizzle factor.

Step 4: Cook until crispy.

Step 5: Remove English muffin and throw eggs on pan

Step 6: Cook eggs to personal preference.

Step 7: While eggs are cooking grab other things to add to sandwich...cheese, turkey bacon, tomato, salt, pepper...

Step 8: Toss eggs onto muffin.

Step 9: Devour.

Moroccan Meatballs in Spicy Tomato Sauce

Mom just fixed this for us and it was soooo good. I plan to sneak into the kitchen late tonight and eat some more!

Moroccan Meatballs
in Spicy Tomato Sauce

Sweet and savory seasoned meatballs simmer in an
aromatic tomato sauce for a Mediterranean-style dinner.
Use kitchen shears to coarsely chop the tomatoes
while they are still in the can. You can shape the meatballs
in advance and store them in the freezer to save
time. The rest of the recipe is best prepared and
cooked the same day.
MEATBALLS:
1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs
1/4 cup dried currants
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
mix 11/2 pounds lean ground beef
1 large egg white
sth- Cooking spray
loaf SAUCE:
d of 1/4 cup tomato paste
ker. 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
leat 1 teaspoon grated orange rind
me- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
loaf V4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
o 6 1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
'6.1g; 1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes, coarsely
chopped
REMAINING INGREDIENTS:
3 cups hot cooked couscous
Chopped fresh parsley (optional)
1. To prepare meatballs, combine first 9 ingredients
in a bowl; shape meat mixture into 30 meatballs.
Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high
heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add half of
meatballs to pan; cook 3 minutes or until browned,
stirring frequently. Place browned meatballs in an
electric slow cooker. Coat pan with cooking spray;
repeat procedure with remaining 15 meatballs_
2. To prepare sauce, combine tomato paste and next
7 ingredients. Add to slow cooker; stir gently to
coat. Cover and cook on LOW 6 hours. Serve over
couscous. Garnish with parsley, if desired. Yield:
6 servings (serving size: 5 meatballs, 1 cup sauce,
and 1/2 cup couscous).

Dip Master

At this year's super bowl party, I was told I have exceptional dip skills, but really I just followed a seasoning packet. Truth be told, dips and sauces are some of my favorite items to make. In college, we referred to this gem as "The Dairy Explosion."


HOT SPINACH AND ARTICHOKE DIP
(disregard the bread bowl in the image)

MAKES 4 cups dip

PREP TIME: 10 Minute(s)

COOK TIME: 35 Minute(s)

INGREDIENTS

1 package (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry 1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened 3/4 cup Hellmann's® or Best Foods® Real Mayonnaise 1-1/2 cups shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese (about 6 oz.) 1 package Knorr® Vegetable recipe mix 1 can (14 oz.) artichoke hearts, drained and chopped 1 can (8 oz.) water chestnuts, drained and chopped 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

PREPARATION

Preheat oven to 350°.

Combine all ingredients except 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese. Spoon into a 2-quart casserole, then top with remaining 1/2 cup of cheese.

Bake for 35 minutes or until dip is hot. Dip, dip hooray!

Spanakopita Dip: Substitute feta cheese for the cheddar and omit artichoke hearts. Spoon into mini phyllo cups and bake 8 minutes or until filling puffs.

I don't like mayo particularly so I only used 1/4 cup of mayo and 2/4 (aka 1/2) cup of sour cream. Also, I used fresh spinach cause that's how I roll. I believe this dish propelled the Saints to victory. I'm still full 24 hours later.