(You will understand the title of this post if you also could recite Sandra Boyton books in your sleep).
We do not eat enough vegetables around here. This is due to two factors. First, although I love to eat salad, I find it so ridiculously tedious to make. You have to do all that the washing, or, if you get the bagged salad, picking through and tossing the nasty bits. Then there's the scraping. And the chopping. And the tossing. And the extra salad bowls to wash. And after all that work, it's not even the main dish, or something you can freeze so you have it on hand later! Grrr - irritating to me. So we do not have a salad with dinner as often as we would like. Actually, this is one of the things DH loves about eating at my parents' house - not only do they always serve salad, but my mom puts things like onion and hearts of palm in her salad, which never make an appearance in any salad of mine.
Which leads us to the other problem with vegetables in our house. DH and I don't like the same ones. Yes, there are the basics that we generally agree on: lettuce, tomatoes, corn, peas, green beans, sweet potatoes, and lima beans (with the caveat that they must be perfectly done and salted just right or I will not eat them, whereas DH will eat them cold right out of a can which just about makes me want to vomit). But these start to get a little boring after a while, and we diverge dramatically when it comes to other sections of the veggie aisle. DH will eat a green pepper like it's an apple, whereas I can't even eat one to be polite. I love broccoli, and he will grudgingly take a small bite if it's raw and covered in ranch dressing. He likes squash, I think it tastes like feet.
One of my all time favorites is brussels sprouts. I love them. To me they taste like the essence of how a vegetable should taste: earthy, slightly bitter but not terribly so, hearty enough to stand up to the meat on your plate but not so overwhelming that they take over your whole palate. They just taste green and fresh to me, and I would eat them once a week. Except for the little problem of a husband who not only will not eat them, but hates the smell of them and complains about having to be in the same room as them.
So last night, when DH was working, I made a huge batch of roasted brussels sprouts. I was so, so pleased with myself as I sat there munching on them like they were Halloween candy, until it dawned on me that this is what life has come to: finding happiness in a crunchy, salty brussels sprout.
I really need to get out more.
Roasted Brussels Sprouts
1 package of brussels sprouts (approximately 20-25) (I say one package because our grocery stores don't sell them loose - only in those net-like bags. Have not tried frozen brussels sprouts for this)
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
Preheat oven to 400. Wash brussels sprouts and trim bottoms. Cut each one in half. Toss with olive oil and salt, spread on half sheet pan. Roast for 35-40 minutes until brown and crisp. Serve right away.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Monday, November 2, 2009
For Better and For Worse
One of the most amazing things to me about having kids is how much better, and how much worse, certain events are with them. I'm talking about things that otherwise barely registered with me in my pre-kid adult life. Two classic examples: Halloween (for better) and Fall Back (for worse).
As an adult, I never really cared one way or the other about Halloween. It was cute to see the kids around the neighborhood, and I sometimes remembered to buy a pumpkin for the front porch. Very occasionally we would go to a costume party and sort of half heartedly dress up in something at the last minute. But for the most part it just didn't really matter all that much. Now that we have kids, though, the whole month is a celebration. Picking out pumpkins, carving with friends, settling on a costume after much agonizing over it, getting boo'd and driving around like maniacs trying to find someone to boo, school parades, trick or treating - it's all so, so much better through the eyes of children, and I love it.
***
Time changes, on the other hand - let me just say I am seriously contemplating a move to that little section of Indiana that doesn't mess with this stupidity. So much worse when you have kids. You have to adjust not just yourself, but your entire household, which is comprised mainly of people who cannot tell time and surely in their short little lives have never managed to just suck it up and push through. In fact, I actually think the fall back change is harder because it's not an extra hour of sleep, it's really just an extra hour of parenting schedule-screwed, cranky and sugar-crashing little children. Thank goodness for Mondays and the retreat of my much quieter office...
***
This Saturday, in what may have been the first of a new annual tradition, we had a bunch of friends over so that we could protein load the kids before embarking on the trick or treating activities. We had macaroni and cheese, ham and cream cheese roll ups, and fruit for the kiddos. For the adults I made a huge batch of lentil and sausage soup and served it with homemade bread. My soup recipe is almost embarrassingly easy, and because it's one of those soups that tastes better the next day I made it Friday afternoon, and then just warmed it up on Saturday. This is adapted from Ina Garten's recipe in her Paris cookbook. Her original version with my notes is below.
Lentil and Sausage Soup
Ingredients
1 pound French green lentils (Note: My grocery store doesn't carry green lentils, so I just use regular brown ones. Still delicious. Also, because I like to make a huge batch of this soup in order to have enough leftover to freeze, I do 1.5 pounds of lentils.)
1/4 cup olive oil, plus extra for serving
4 cups diced yellow onions (3 large) (I don't do the leeks - below - because I just find leeks way too high maintenance since they can be so sandy. Instead I do 4 large onions. And I try to do the sweet onions (Vidalia if you can find them) rather than just the normal yellow onions)
4 cups chopped leeks, white and light green parts only (2 leeks)
1 tablespoon minced garlic (2 large cloves)
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves (I never have any fresh thyme left from the herb garden by the time it's cool enough to be thinking about making soup, so I just do 1/2 tablespoon dried thyme)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
3 cups medium diced celery (8 stalks)
3 cups medium diced carrots (4 to 6 carrots) (I love carrots in soup, so I actually double this and use 8-10 carrots)
3 quarts Homemade Chicken Stock, recipe follows, or canned broth (I keep an extra quart of stock on hand, in case the soup gets too thick since I increase some of ingredients. For reasons I do not understand, I've never had to add more, but you don't want to risk it)
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 pound kielbasa, cut in 1/2 lengthwise and sliced 1/3-inch thick (Let's all be honest here - the sausage is the best part! I put in 2 pounds so that no one's bowl lacks for plenty of it.)
2 tablespoons dry red wine or red wine vinegar
Freshly grated Parmesan, for serving
Directions
In a large bowl, cover the lentils with boiling water and allow to sit for 15 minutes. (It just occurred to me - perhaps the reason that I never need the extra stock is because I always, always get distracted with another project and soak my lentils much longer than 15 minutes. I've probably gone and halfway cooked them so they don't use up as much of the stock.) Drain. In a large stockpot over medium heat, heat the olive oil and saute the onions, leeks, garlic, salt, pepper, thyme, and cumin for 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are translucent and tender. Add the celery and carrots and saute for another 10 minutes. Add the chicken stock, tomato paste, and drained lentils, cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 1 hour, or until the lentils are cooked through and tender. Check the seasonings. Add the kielbasa and red wine and simmer until the kielbasa is hot. Serve drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with grated Parmesan.
I just put leave this simmering on the stove with bowls and spoons for people to help themselves. Entertaining this way truly could not be any easier.
Happy eating!
As an adult, I never really cared one way or the other about Halloween. It was cute to see the kids around the neighborhood, and I sometimes remembered to buy a pumpkin for the front porch. Very occasionally we would go to a costume party and sort of half heartedly dress up in something at the last minute. But for the most part it just didn't really matter all that much. Now that we have kids, though, the whole month is a celebration. Picking out pumpkins, carving with friends, settling on a costume after much agonizing over it, getting boo'd and driving around like maniacs trying to find someone to boo, school parades, trick or treating - it's all so, so much better through the eyes of children, and I love it.
***
Time changes, on the other hand - let me just say I am seriously contemplating a move to that little section of Indiana that doesn't mess with this stupidity. So much worse when you have kids. You have to adjust not just yourself, but your entire household, which is comprised mainly of people who cannot tell time and surely in their short little lives have never managed to just suck it up and push through. In fact, I actually think the fall back change is harder because it's not an extra hour of sleep, it's really just an extra hour of parenting schedule-screwed, cranky and sugar-crashing little children. Thank goodness for Mondays and the retreat of my much quieter office...
***
This Saturday, in what may have been the first of a new annual tradition, we had a bunch of friends over so that we could protein load the kids before embarking on the trick or treating activities. We had macaroni and cheese, ham and cream cheese roll ups, and fruit for the kiddos. For the adults I made a huge batch of lentil and sausage soup and served it with homemade bread. My soup recipe is almost embarrassingly easy, and because it's one of those soups that tastes better the next day I made it Friday afternoon, and then just warmed it up on Saturday. This is adapted from Ina Garten's recipe in her Paris cookbook. Her original version with my notes is below.
Lentil and Sausage Soup
Ingredients
1 pound French green lentils (Note: My grocery store doesn't carry green lentils, so I just use regular brown ones. Still delicious. Also, because I like to make a huge batch of this soup in order to have enough leftover to freeze, I do 1.5 pounds of lentils.)
1/4 cup olive oil, plus extra for serving
4 cups diced yellow onions (3 large) (I don't do the leeks - below - because I just find leeks way too high maintenance since they can be so sandy. Instead I do 4 large onions. And I try to do the sweet onions (Vidalia if you can find them) rather than just the normal yellow onions)
4 cups chopped leeks, white and light green parts only (2 leeks)
1 tablespoon minced garlic (2 large cloves)
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves (I never have any fresh thyme left from the herb garden by the time it's cool enough to be thinking about making soup, so I just do 1/2 tablespoon dried thyme)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
3 cups medium diced celery (8 stalks)
3 cups medium diced carrots (4 to 6 carrots) (I love carrots in soup, so I actually double this and use 8-10 carrots)
3 quarts Homemade Chicken Stock, recipe follows, or canned broth (I keep an extra quart of stock on hand, in case the soup gets too thick since I increase some of ingredients. For reasons I do not understand, I've never had to add more, but you don't want to risk it)
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 pound kielbasa, cut in 1/2 lengthwise and sliced 1/3-inch thick (Let's all be honest here - the sausage is the best part! I put in 2 pounds so that no one's bowl lacks for plenty of it.)
2 tablespoons dry red wine or red wine vinegar
Freshly grated Parmesan, for serving
Directions
In a large bowl, cover the lentils with boiling water and allow to sit for 15 minutes. (It just occurred to me - perhaps the reason that I never need the extra stock is because I always, always get distracted with another project and soak my lentils much longer than 15 minutes. I've probably gone and halfway cooked them so they don't use up as much of the stock.) Drain. In a large stockpot over medium heat, heat the olive oil and saute the onions, leeks, garlic, salt, pepper, thyme, and cumin for 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are translucent and tender. Add the celery and carrots and saute for another 10 minutes. Add the chicken stock, tomato paste, and drained lentils, cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 1 hour, or until the lentils are cooked through and tender. Check the seasonings. Add the kielbasa and red wine and simmer until the kielbasa is hot. Serve drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with grated Parmesan.
I just put leave this simmering on the stove with bowls and spoons for people to help themselves. Entertaining this way truly could not be any easier.
Happy eating!
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Go-To Dinner, Part III?
Oh so tired tonight. I've already finished cleaning out the school bags and lunch boxes, I've duly entered all the upcoming events in the family calender, and I've put artwork on the bulletin board and laundry in the washing machine. I still have to ransack the house for a white pillowcase that can be used for an art project at school (seriously, we couldn't get more than 2 days notice for that one?), do some ironing, and make tomorrow's grocery list. This is why I should drink sweet tea at dinner, not wine...
Where was I going with all of this?
Not sure (did I mention I'm a bit tired?). But I did have a recipe I wanted to share. I got this from a friend of a friend years ago (Lissa - are you reading??), and have not made it in ages. I was actually on the phone with my husband this afternoon, telling him he was going to have to stop for something on the way home, when I came across some flounder in the freezer and remembered this recipe. It's ridiculously easy, and since flounder is so nice and thin it thaws quickly - no need to plan ahead for this one. I literally pulled it out of the freezer at 5:15 pm, and we were sitting down to dinner at 6.
Baked Flounder
6 flounder fillets, rinsed and patted dry
1 cup milk
Seasoned bread crumbs
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons butter, melted
Preheat oven to 350. Place tinfoil on a cookie sheet and spray with cooking spray. Dip flounder in milk, then coat in bread crumbs. Put on cookie sheet, sprinkle liberally with salt and less liberally with pepper (you don't want the fish to bite you back). Drizzle with butter. Bake at 350 for about 7 minutes, then broil for just a couple minutes more to give it a nice brown finish.
I serve this with rice and peas, and my kids LOVE it. Happy eating!
Where was I going with all of this?
Not sure (did I mention I'm a bit tired?). But I did have a recipe I wanted to share. I got this from a friend of a friend years ago (Lissa - are you reading??), and have not made it in ages. I was actually on the phone with my husband this afternoon, telling him he was going to have to stop for something on the way home, when I came across some flounder in the freezer and remembered this recipe. It's ridiculously easy, and since flounder is so nice and thin it thaws quickly - no need to plan ahead for this one. I literally pulled it out of the freezer at 5:15 pm, and we were sitting down to dinner at 6.
Baked Flounder
6 flounder fillets, rinsed and patted dry
1 cup milk
Seasoned bread crumbs
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons butter, melted
Preheat oven to 350. Place tinfoil on a cookie sheet and spray with cooking spray. Dip flounder in milk, then coat in bread crumbs. Put on cookie sheet, sprinkle liberally with salt and less liberally with pepper (you don't want the fish to bite you back). Drizzle with butter. Bake at 350 for about 7 minutes, then broil for just a couple minutes more to give it a nice brown finish.
I serve this with rice and peas, and my kids LOVE it. Happy eating!
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
We Go Together
Seriously: is there any better combination than tomato soup and grilled cheese? (Okay, yes, perhaps milk and cookies, but I meant for dinner). Especially on a rainy and dreary day, nothing hits the spot more.
I have been making this recipe for years, and can't remember where it originally came from. It's ridiculously easy, freezes perfectly, and it's so healthy and satisfying. This recipe makes about 8 large servings.
Classic Tomato Soup
4 tablespoons butter (Actually, I think this is too much. I'll decrease it to 2 or 3 tablespoons next time I make it. I think I have that thought every time I make it and then forget to make the note in my recipe file, but I've done it this time.)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons tomato paste (I like Muir Glen brand)
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
32 ounces chicken stock (Since this isn't a brothy soup like chicken noodle soup, I don't use my homemade stock for this - I just go with the box of Kitchen Basics.)
2 28oz can whole peeled tomatoes in juice (This time I bought imported Italian tomatoes - the Cento brand - just because I happened to see them at the grocery store. They were absolutely delicious, but I didn't notice until I was opening the cans that they were 35 ounces each, not 28 ounces. I used both full cans anyway and the soup turned out great. I did have to add a pinch more salt and pepper.)
In a large dutch oven, melt the butter and add the olive oil. Add onion and salt and pepper, cook for 5-7 minutes. Stir in flour and tomato paste and cook for another minute. Add thyme, broth, and tomatoes. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer covered for 30 minutes. Use your immersion blender to puree the soup, making it as chunky or as smooth as you prefer. I actually like mine pretty smooth. If you don't have an immersion blender, seriously, go get one. They're $50 for a great Kitchen Aid one at Target and you'll use it all winter long making these super yummy soups. Be careful not to splash yourself though! It's hot!! Taste for seasonings - need more salt and pepper? Add it in. Serve hot. (Note - when I give this to my little boy, I actually mix it with some milk, roughly 1/4 cup milk and 1/2 cup of soup. It cuts the acidity, making it a more mellow taste, and cools it off for him. He loves it).
I serve with the aforementioned grilled cheese, and tonight I took it a step further. I made croutons out of my leftover homemade bread (cut up remaining bread into chunks, toss with about a tablespoon of olive oil and a pinch of kosher salt, and broil for less time than you think. No kidding - check it every 30 seconds or so). I put the soup in big soup bowls, put a big handful of the croutons on top, and sprinkled with freshly grated Parmesan cheese. OH SO GOOD.
Happy eating!
I have been making this recipe for years, and can't remember where it originally came from. It's ridiculously easy, freezes perfectly, and it's so healthy and satisfying. This recipe makes about 8 large servings.
Classic Tomato Soup
4 tablespoons butter (Actually, I think this is too much. I'll decrease it to 2 or 3 tablespoons next time I make it. I think I have that thought every time I make it and then forget to make the note in my recipe file, but I've done it this time.)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons tomato paste (I like Muir Glen brand)
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
32 ounces chicken stock (Since this isn't a brothy soup like chicken noodle soup, I don't use my homemade stock for this - I just go with the box of Kitchen Basics.)
2 28oz can whole peeled tomatoes in juice (This time I bought imported Italian tomatoes - the Cento brand - just because I happened to see them at the grocery store. They were absolutely delicious, but I didn't notice until I was opening the cans that they were 35 ounces each, not 28 ounces. I used both full cans anyway and the soup turned out great. I did have to add a pinch more salt and pepper.)
In a large dutch oven, melt the butter and add the olive oil. Add onion and salt and pepper, cook for 5-7 minutes. Stir in flour and tomato paste and cook for another minute. Add thyme, broth, and tomatoes. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer covered for 30 minutes. Use your immersion blender to puree the soup, making it as chunky or as smooth as you prefer. I actually like mine pretty smooth. If you don't have an immersion blender, seriously, go get one. They're $50 for a great Kitchen Aid one at Target and you'll use it all winter long making these super yummy soups. Be careful not to splash yourself though! It's hot!! Taste for seasonings - need more salt and pepper? Add it in. Serve hot. (Note - when I give this to my little boy, I actually mix it with some milk, roughly 1/4 cup milk and 1/2 cup of soup. It cuts the acidity, making it a more mellow taste, and cools it off for him. He loves it).
I serve with the aforementioned grilled cheese, and tonight I took it a step further. I made croutons out of my leftover homemade bread (cut up remaining bread into chunks, toss with about a tablespoon of olive oil and a pinch of kosher salt, and broil for less time than you think. No kidding - check it every 30 seconds or so). I put the soup in big soup bowls, put a big handful of the croutons on top, and sprinkled with freshly grated Parmesan cheese. OH SO GOOD.
Happy eating!
Sunday, October 25, 2009
You Really Don't Knead It
Do you ever buy things you don't need, just because they're on sale? This used to be a terrible habit of mine with clothes - I'd have a closet full of things that were such a good buy that I couldn't pass them up, but then none of them could actually be wrestled into a coordinated outfit. For better or for worse, having children has cured me of this, since I no longer have time to wander into stores just to see what's on sale. But I seem to have transferred the bad habit to my grocery shopping. Last week our grocery store had bone-in chuck roast on sale, and for some insane reason, I thought that seemed like a great thing to buy. Only $1.99/lb! So let's get a 5.5 lb one!
Dumb.
First of all, the damn thing was so big it wouldn't fit in my dutch oven. Instead, I had to use my roasting pan. And my attempt to brown it first was a disaster. I heated the roasting pan on the stove top and got the bottom half nice and brown...and then it was too heavy to pick up with tongs, so I couldn't flip it. Then trying to cook it in the oven and use tin foil as a lid...ugh. Let's just say it wasn't one of my better dinner results. When I pulled it out and took the tin foil off, my husband took one look at it and said, "It looks like roadkill." Thanks, dear. Unfortunately, he was right.
So, note to self. Just because it's on sale doesn't make it a good buy.
***
On the bright side, I finally got motivated to try baking bread at home. And it was, in word, Fabulous. You may have seen the recipes floating around from the New York Times several years ago about a bread-making technique that doesn't require any kneading. I've been wanting to try it forever, and just never got around to it. Thanks to a post on a Wall Street Journal website about how easy it really is, I finally got motivated and tried it this weekend. Here's the original New York Times article, which has an accompanying recipe. I used the recipe that was posted on the WSJ website, which follows with my notes (it's slightly different from the NYT recipe, but not much different). In baking, I think there are few recipes that are truly fool proof, because it requires so much precision. But based on my own oversights and omissions while making this bread, and the fantastic results we still got, this one truly is foolproof.
Juggle Bread (so-named by the WSJ author because making this bread fits so nicely into her daily juggle)
2.5 cups white bread flour
0.5 cup whole wheat flour
1 t. Kosher salt
1/4 t. instant yeast (Um, confession here. I don't know the difference between instant yeast and regular yeast. Which means when I read the recipe I didn't pick up the fact that it called for "instant" and I just jotted down "yeast" on my grocery list. I got regular yeast and didn't realize my mistake until I got home. Oops. But it still turned out fine.)
1 and 1/3 cup cold water (I actually used hot tap water, because I was worried that my regular yeast wouldn't activate with cold water.)
Mix dry ingredients with a fork.
Add water and stir vigorously until all flour is incorporated; alternatively, knead with hands for about 30 seconds.
Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and leave on the kitchen counter for 18 - 24 hours. (I did roughly 24 hours.)
Cut a square of parchment paper and lay it on the counter top. Cover the top of the dough with bread flour and, using one hand, pull the dough away from the sides of the bowl, gathering it into a smooth ball. Place the ball, seam-side-down, onto the parchment paper. Cover loosely with plastic wrap. Allow to rise 1.5 to 2 hours, no more. (Oops again. Missed that "no more" part when I read the recipe and I think I let mine rise about 3 hours because I got distracted with other things.)
Meanwhile, heat a Dutch oven at 450 degrees for 1/2 hour. (My Le Creuset Dutch oven may seriously be the best thing I've ever gotten for my kitchen. I cook with it all the time. If you don't have one, put it on your Christmas list today. Or just go get one - as my grandmother would say, You Deserve.) (And by the way, oops AGAIN. I totally skipped this step. Seriously, I am not usually this flaky when cooking, but it was a really, really busy weekend. After rereading the NYT article, I realize that had I not skipped this step my bread would have had an even chewier crust, so I'll be sure to do it next time.)
Lift parchment paper by ends and place in hot Dutch oven. (At this point I brushed some olive oil on the top of my dough and give it a liberal sprinkling of kosher salt.)
Cover. Bake for 1/2 hour. Remove lid. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes more, until a golden crust is formed. Immediately remove bread from pan, discard parchment, and allow to cool on a rack.
Enjoy!
Despite my inability to follow such simple instructions, this bread was absolutely wonderful. Totally made up for the roadkill pot roast. Happy eating!
Dumb.
First of all, the damn thing was so big it wouldn't fit in my dutch oven. Instead, I had to use my roasting pan. And my attempt to brown it first was a disaster. I heated the roasting pan on the stove top and got the bottom half nice and brown...and then it was too heavy to pick up with tongs, so I couldn't flip it. Then trying to cook it in the oven and use tin foil as a lid...ugh. Let's just say it wasn't one of my better dinner results. When I pulled it out and took the tin foil off, my husband took one look at it and said, "It looks like roadkill." Thanks, dear. Unfortunately, he was right.
So, note to self. Just because it's on sale doesn't make it a good buy.
***
On the bright side, I finally got motivated to try baking bread at home. And it was, in word, Fabulous. You may have seen the recipes floating around from the New York Times several years ago about a bread-making technique that doesn't require any kneading. I've been wanting to try it forever, and just never got around to it. Thanks to a post on a Wall Street Journal website about how easy it really is, I finally got motivated and tried it this weekend. Here's the original New York Times article, which has an accompanying recipe. I used the recipe that was posted on the WSJ website, which follows with my notes (it's slightly different from the NYT recipe, but not much different). In baking, I think there are few recipes that are truly fool proof, because it requires so much precision. But based on my own oversights and omissions while making this bread, and the fantastic results we still got, this one truly is foolproof.
Juggle Bread (so-named by the WSJ author because making this bread fits so nicely into her daily juggle)
2.5 cups white bread flour
0.5 cup whole wheat flour
1 t. Kosher salt
1/4 t. instant yeast (Um, confession here. I don't know the difference between instant yeast and regular yeast. Which means when I read the recipe I didn't pick up the fact that it called for "instant" and I just jotted down "yeast" on my grocery list. I got regular yeast and didn't realize my mistake until I got home. Oops. But it still turned out fine.)
1 and 1/3 cup cold water (I actually used hot tap water, because I was worried that my regular yeast wouldn't activate with cold water.)
Mix dry ingredients with a fork.
Add water and stir vigorously until all flour is incorporated; alternatively, knead with hands for about 30 seconds.
Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and leave on the kitchen counter for 18 - 24 hours. (I did roughly 24 hours.)
Cut a square of parchment paper and lay it on the counter top. Cover the top of the dough with bread flour and, using one hand, pull the dough away from the sides of the bowl, gathering it into a smooth ball. Place the ball, seam-side-down, onto the parchment paper. Cover loosely with plastic wrap. Allow to rise 1.5 to 2 hours, no more. (Oops again. Missed that "no more" part when I read the recipe and I think I let mine rise about 3 hours because I got distracted with other things.)
Meanwhile, heat a Dutch oven at 450 degrees for 1/2 hour. (My Le Creuset Dutch oven may seriously be the best thing I've ever gotten for my kitchen. I cook with it all the time. If you don't have one, put it on your Christmas list today. Or just go get one - as my grandmother would say, You Deserve.) (And by the way, oops AGAIN. I totally skipped this step. Seriously, I am not usually this flaky when cooking, but it was a really, really busy weekend. After rereading the NYT article, I realize that had I not skipped this step my bread would have had an even chewier crust, so I'll be sure to do it next time.)
Lift parchment paper by ends and place in hot Dutch oven. (At this point I brushed some olive oil on the top of my dough and give it a liberal sprinkling of kosher salt.)
Cover. Bake for 1/2 hour. Remove lid. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes more, until a golden crust is formed. Immediately remove bread from pan, discard parchment, and allow to cool on a rack.
Enjoy!
Despite my inability to follow such simple instructions, this bread was absolutely wonderful. Totally made up for the roadkill pot roast. Happy eating!
Thursday, October 22, 2009
For You, Pumpkin
Last weekend completely got away from me. Between my husband working all weekend and a sick dog, I was officially in survival mode. (Actually, I'm not sure we've ever left survival mode since entering it with the birth of our first son, but some days/weekends/weeks/months are easier than others. Last weekend was not one of them.)
But this weekend is looking up. We have soccer games, pumpkin carving parties, food festivals downtown, a birthday party, a BABYSITTER, and other general merriment. Squeezed in to all that fun will, without a doubt, be some time for making pumpkin bread.
Even if I had managed to make this last weekend I would have been late. This recipe makes 2 loaves, so my usual tradition is to make the full recipe every Sunday in October. We eat one loaf during the week, and I freeze the other ("during the week," is, of course, a euphemism for "on Sunday afternoon and finish it off by Monday morning"). By the time November rolls around I have enough in the freezer to pull out one each week and hold us for another month. It's a true family favorite. In fact, it's such a family favorite that last Thanksgiving, when my husband's family came to stay with us, we literally went through a loaf of this each day. (One of my favorite memories from last year: my brother-in-law agonizing over whether to take the last slice, and the great look of relief on his face when I told him there were 3 more loaves in the freezer). It's great all by itself, but the boys and I also like it with cream cheese for breakfast.
Pumpkin Bread
3 cups of sugar
1 cup of no-sugar added applesauce
4 eggs
1 15 ounce can of pumpkin
3 tablespoons hot water
2 teaspoons baking soda
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine sugar and applesauce in a large bowl. Add eggs and pumpkin and whisk well. In a separate bowl, stir together hot water and baking soda until baking soda is dissolved. (Note: I have no idea why, and yet I follow this instruction faithfully year after year simply because my recipe tells me to. Where is Alton Brown when I need him?) Add to the pumpkin mixture. Add flour and spices and mix well. Pour into two greased and floured 5x9 loaf pans. Bake at 350 for 1 hour or until done. Cool in the loaf pans for 10 minutes and then cool completely on a wire rack. Particularly good when still warm with a cold glass of milk.
Happy eating!
But this weekend is looking up. We have soccer games, pumpkin carving parties, food festivals downtown, a birthday party, a BABYSITTER, and other general merriment. Squeezed in to all that fun will, without a doubt, be some time for making pumpkin bread.
Even if I had managed to make this last weekend I would have been late. This recipe makes 2 loaves, so my usual tradition is to make the full recipe every Sunday in October. We eat one loaf during the week, and I freeze the other ("during the week," is, of course, a euphemism for "on Sunday afternoon and finish it off by Monday morning"). By the time November rolls around I have enough in the freezer to pull out one each week and hold us for another month. It's a true family favorite. In fact, it's such a family favorite that last Thanksgiving, when my husband's family came to stay with us, we literally went through a loaf of this each day. (One of my favorite memories from last year: my brother-in-law agonizing over whether to take the last slice, and the great look of relief on his face when I told him there were 3 more loaves in the freezer). It's great all by itself, but the boys and I also like it with cream cheese for breakfast.
Pumpkin Bread
3 cups of sugar
1 cup of no-sugar added applesauce
4 eggs
1 15 ounce can of pumpkin
3 tablespoons hot water
2 teaspoons baking soda
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine sugar and applesauce in a large bowl. Add eggs and pumpkin and whisk well. In a separate bowl, stir together hot water and baking soda until baking soda is dissolved. (Note: I have no idea why, and yet I follow this instruction faithfully year after year simply because my recipe tells me to. Where is Alton Brown when I need him?) Add to the pumpkin mixture. Add flour and spices and mix well. Pour into two greased and floured 5x9 loaf pans. Bake at 350 for 1 hour or until done. Cool in the loaf pans for 10 minutes and then cool completely on a wire rack. Particularly good when still warm with a cold glass of milk.
Happy eating!
Monday, October 19, 2009
Recipe Redone
If you have been following me from the start (or maybe if you found me later but went back and read all my posts), you may remember that my tried and true go-to meal is my mother-in-law's pork chops and rice recipe. I wrote about it for my very first blog post, here. We love this recipe, and I always, always have the ingredients on hand (pork chops in the freezer; tomatoes, rice, and onion in the pantry; spices in the cupboard). Except, apparently, when I don't.
Last week was just insane. We had been traveling and work was unusually busy for me. Either one of those things are enough to throw off our daily juggle, but the two combined was just about enough to send me over the edge. And this is why I have a go-to meal in the first place - so that when I hardly have a minute to think, at least I don't have to think about dinner.
But of course, somehow I had no pork chops in the freezer. Grrr! That never happens to me. I am usually downright religious about restocking them when I use them, so I was literally throwing things around the freezer drawers and muttering to myself when I came across a bunch of frozen chicken thighs. Ding ding ding! Idea! Could I substitute the pork chops for chicken thighs?
Yes, I can!
It came out perfectly. I didn't change a thing other than that one substitution, and it was so good that I'm not sure which way I like it more. Here's the recipe, copied from my first blog post and updated to include the chicken instead of the pork.
10 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (note: if you have these in your freezer and they are wrapped in the butcher paper from your market, do not assume that all things in your freezer wrapped in butcher paper are chicken thighs. I suggest you actually label them. Otherwise, you might accidentally defrost shrimp shells that you were saving to make seafood stock. Oops)
1 large sweet onion (suggest vidalia if you can get them), diced
1 cup long grain rice (don't go all healthy on us and try to substitute brown rice; won't work)
28 0z can Muir Glen organic diced tomatoes
28 0z can Muir Glen organic crushed tomatoes
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2/3 cup water
Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Brown both sides quickly over high heat, set in the bottom of large casserole dish. Sprinkle onion over chicken. (Is your family weird about texture like mine sometimes is? If so, leave out the onion and it will still be yummy.) Measure rice into measuring cup, add salt, chili powder, and garlic powder. Stir to mix the spices together with the rice, and pour over chicken. Pour both cans of tomatoes over chicken and rice. Pour in water. Cook uncovered at 350 for 1 hour, 45 minutes. Dinner is ready when all the liquid is absorbed, rice is cooked and tomatoes have reduced down.
Happy eating!
Last week was just insane. We had been traveling and work was unusually busy for me. Either one of those things are enough to throw off our daily juggle, but the two combined was just about enough to send me over the edge. And this is why I have a go-to meal in the first place - so that when I hardly have a minute to think, at least I don't have to think about dinner.
But of course, somehow I had no pork chops in the freezer. Grrr! That never happens to me. I am usually downright religious about restocking them when I use them, so I was literally throwing things around the freezer drawers and muttering to myself when I came across a bunch of frozen chicken thighs. Ding ding ding! Idea! Could I substitute the pork chops for chicken thighs?
Yes, I can!
It came out perfectly. I didn't change a thing other than that one substitution, and it was so good that I'm not sure which way I like it more. Here's the recipe, copied from my first blog post and updated to include the chicken instead of the pork.
10 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (note: if you have these in your freezer and they are wrapped in the butcher paper from your market, do not assume that all things in your freezer wrapped in butcher paper are chicken thighs. I suggest you actually label them. Otherwise, you might accidentally defrost shrimp shells that you were saving to make seafood stock. Oops)
1 large sweet onion (suggest vidalia if you can get them), diced
1 cup long grain rice (don't go all healthy on us and try to substitute brown rice; won't work)
28 0z can Muir Glen organic diced tomatoes
28 0z can Muir Glen organic crushed tomatoes
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2/3 cup water
Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Brown both sides quickly over high heat, set in the bottom of large casserole dish. Sprinkle onion over chicken. (Is your family weird about texture like mine sometimes is? If so, leave out the onion and it will still be yummy.) Measure rice into measuring cup, add salt, chili powder, and garlic powder. Stir to mix the spices together with the rice, and pour over chicken. Pour both cans of tomatoes over chicken and rice. Pour in water. Cook uncovered at 350 for 1 hour, 45 minutes. Dinner is ready when all the liquid is absorbed, rice is cooked and tomatoes have reduced down.
Happy eating!
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