Isolation Bread Baking - Part 3

Stay-at-Home #3

The process of making English muffins is a bit time consuming, but as you can see, it's worth it. Especially if you eat them right out of the oven. I wish I could describe the crunch and chew of the crust. By the second day, they were not as satisfying to eat, maybe because they hardened and compacted a bit, but we choked them down. 

They'd be difficult to make for breakfast because they need two 90 minute rises, plus kneading and resting times. They are fun to make though, because first you 'bake' them in a hot skillet, and then you pop them in a hot oven. You're supposed to wait 30 minutes before eating them, but that's not practical! 

I made them a second time and served them with pea soup for lunch which was perfect. We were doing one of our many 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzles that day. Classic quarantine activities: puzzles and bread baking and soup.  

I used the recipe found in Peter Reinhart's "The Bread Baker's Apprentice" and was not disappointed, although as with all of his recipes, it took some concentration to decode and apply the steps. 

Isolation Bread Baking - Part 2

Stay-at-Home #2

Homemade flour tortillas. Homemade flour tortillas. Homemade flour tortillas. 

These beauties were from an on-line recipe.....just search around and choose the one with the 4,000 5 star reviews.  Nothing difficult at all and the end result, as you can probably see, was excellent! Chewy and warm, we stuffed them with perfect avocado slices and hot sauce. 

You'll need a cast iron skillet or other pan that can reach very high temperature. You'll also need a rolling pin. See that one on top, with the tiny fold? Try to avoid that. See the third one down, with the tiny bubbles? Try to attain that. My technique improved as the stack grew. 

You could start these right now and they'd be ready for dinner. If your town is anything like my town during these days of hoarding, you can't buy tortillas anyway. 

Isolation Bread Baking - Part 1

Stay-at-Home #1

If I hear one more person say, "....during these unprecedented times....," or ".... we are all in this together.....," I will scream. Yes, we are experiencing a stay-at-home order, but why such drama? Must everything be such hyperbole? 

I decided that when I'm not wallowing on my couch in pure boredom and frustration, I would learn how to make bread. And gain weight. 

I started with a very easy recipe from Peter Reinhart's masterful cookbook "The Bread Baker's Apprentice". You can find the recipe on line or you can purchase the book for yourself. Warning: it's quite a serious cookbook including lots of scientific explanations and lengthy techniques, but I know you have time on your hands during these unprecedented times...... 

 One major suggestion is to roll the dough two times as large as the recipe suggests. Reinhart calls for one sheet pan and it will easily roll to fit two sheet pans. You'll get a better, crispier cracker.

Here you see various seeds and paprika. Delicious. I also made a batch with Middle Eastern spices (curry, cumin, harissa, mustard seed, etc) and it was out of this world! Be sure to include black pepper and/or salt.

Red Lentil Soup with Pea Puree

I never, ever, tire of soup. This one was created using stuff in my pantry, vegetable drawers, and freezer. I used harissa just for fun, but paprika would work here just as well.

1 C red lentils
4 C veggie broth
4 small Yukon potatoes, chopped
1 small onion and 3 garlic cloves sauteed in a drop of oil
2 carrots
1 red bell pepper
1 t harissa or paprika

Cook until soupy and whirl in a blender.

In the meantime:
1 C frozen peas
some basil and parsley
salt and pepper
1/4 C sour cream
2 T milk

high speed blender : add milk until it's pouring consistency.

Broiled Grapefruit

I have been eating lots of red grapefruits this winter! They are such a treat in the dark months here in the north..... and with just a few minutes under the broiler, they become a super comforting breakfast. The cherry and brown sugar don't hurt either.

Separate the sections of the grapefruit with a sharp knife, (go around the circumference and also between all the pithy parts),  sprinkle lightly with brown sugar, add a maraschino cherry for fun, broil for a few minutes.

Artichoke and Spinach Rolls with Lemon Bechamel

There is a nice difference in presentation between regular lasagna and these lasagna rolls. It made the entire meal nicer somehow. However, I think this recipe would work fine in a more traditional lasagna presentation. Try it, and let me know :)

Here's what you need:
1 box lasagna
16 oz ricotta
3 14oz cans artichokes
1 C mozzarella
1/2 bag fresh spinach (about 3 oz)
4 C non-dairy milk (I used rice milk)
1/2 C fresh lemon juice
4 T butter
4-6 T flour (I used 6 because rice milk is a bit thin)

Here's what you do:
Cook the noodles according to the box. Rinse, drain, set aside.
Chop the artichokes and spinach. Mix veggies and cheeses together.
Working with one noodle at a time, place some filling down the center of the noodle. Roll up gently. Place in a greased casserole. Keep going until the filling is gone and the kitchen is a mess.

In the meantime, melt the butter in a sauce pan. Add the flour all at once, whisking constantly until the flour has had a chance to cook and thicken a bit. Add the milk, whisking constantly. Add fresh lemon juice to taste, making sure this is a predominate flavor. Salt and pepper to taste.

Pour sauce over the rolls and bake until bubbly. This will freeze well. So good and pretty simple even for a weeknight dinner.

Creamy Carrot Pasta

Look at those amazing colors! You know when food is that vibrant it is going to be packed with flavor. You're looking at carrot puree, cashew cream, roasted garlic, and fresh sage leaves. Simple and delicious.

Here's what you need:
1 C carrot puree : Approximately 3 large carrots and 1 cut water in a high speed blender
1 head garlic
6 fresh sage leaves plus for more garnish
1 C vegetable broth
1/2 C raw cashews
1/2 C walnuts

Here's what you do:
Cut off about 1/4 inch of the top of the head of garlic and remove the loose outer skins. Wrap in tin foil and before sealing it, drizzle with olive oil. Close the bundle tightly. Roast 350 for about 45 minutes. When cool, squeeze the cloves out using a fork or other sharp instrument.
Make the carrot puree. Add it to a medium pot. Make the cashew cream by blending the nuts with about 1/2 C water. Add it to the carrot mixture. Add the garlic and sage leaves and simmer until thick, being sure to smash the garlic with a fork.  Thin with the vegetable broth to taste. Remove the sage leaves after about 15 minutes.

Garnish with walnuts and fried sage leaves. (1/4 C oil, fry for 5 seconds, drain on paper towel)

Curried Brown Rice Salad

A most delicious and unusual rice salad found in  "The Abundance Diet" by Somer McCowan. I had to swap out a few ingredients, but this salad is full of flavor! This makes a super lot! Maybe cut the recipe in half for a more reasonable amount for your family meal.

Here's what you need:
4 C cooked and cooled brown rice (that's about 2 C raw rice)
4 ribs celery, diced 1/4 inch
2 carrots, diced 1/4 inch
1 red pepper, diced 1/2 inch
1 small bunch green onions, chopped
1/2 C roasted cashews
1/2 C cilantro, chopped
1/2 C dried cranberries

Dressing:
3 T white wine vinegar
2 t dried curry powder
1 t dried cumin
1/2 ground ginger
1/2 garlic powder
1 T peanut butter

Also add to the dressing 1/3 C date paste: 1/3 dates, 2/3 water, high speed blender.

layer by layer, row by row

Are you looking for something special for a young person in your life? Now is the perfect time to own a copy of this little gem of a book (written by yours truly). The winter months are not down times for gardeners - we plan and dream and imagine our perfectly laid out rows and rows - harvesting colorful veg and feasting on the bounty of our labor. 

As you can see, the focus of "Layer by Layer, Row by Row"  is to get young people interested in gardening. The method presented was developed by my friend Pat Lanza, based on her book "Lasagna Gardening."  My father-in-law and I decided to pare down Pat's method and together he and I created this charming book about a simple and effective way to garden. Perfect for kids of all ages, really!

You may purchase the book directly from Amazon or you may contact me at woodtracy3@gmail.com to purchase directly from me. ($12.00 covers the cost of the book, P&H)

Thanks so much and happy gardening! 

Chiles Rellenos

When the Hatch chiles came to town this summer, I really loaded up! I've got bags full in my freezer, and that's a good thing. I have used them in egg dishes, quesadillas, and refried beans. Lurking in the back of my 'recipe' mind, is a vegan white chili with a bunch of them. (I'm thinking white beans, potatoes, roasted corn, vegetable broth thickened with some cashew cream, and lots of chiles. I'll let you know!)

Hatch chiles come from a certain part of New Mexico and are available at only certain times of the year. They are not poblano and they are not anaheim; the medium ones are really not that spicy. And they are the perfect and classic pepper to use for a chile relleno.

My son and I were a little obsessed about our precious chiles when we got them in the house and we just had to try the rellenos! I'm not a great lover of fried food, but for these authentic rellenos, every splatter of grease and every calorie was worth it!

Here's what you need:
(I don't really have quantities. This was truly a free-form cooking event. I had a lot of help and encouragement from other bloggers and internet 'friends.')

Hatch chiles (roasted and peeled, seeds removed). I am sure other Mexican chiles would be good here as well.
Monterrey Jack cheese cut in strips
4 eggs separated
flour
4-5 fresh tomatoes, cored
2 garlic cloves
nutritional yeast (optional)
other seasonings

Here's what you do:
Boil the tomatoes with the skins on in enough water to cover for a while. Whirl them in a blender with the boiling water and with the garlic cloves, 2-3 T nutritional yeast (optional), and other spices to taste. Keep it a bit simple because you want the chiles to be the star of the show. Heat 2-3 T corn oil and add 2-3 T flour to create a roux. Add the tomato sauce and cook for about 1/2 hour or until the sauce is thickened. Set aside.

Slit the chiles lengthwise and remove seeds. Stuff them with cheese. Set aside.

Separate the eggs and whisk the whites until fluffy. Also whisk the yolks until creamy and light yellow. Add 2-3 T flour to the yolks. Carefully incorporate the whites into the yolks. Dip the stuffed chiles in the egg batter and fry carefully in hot oil.

That's it! It's really not too difficult! The hardest part is locating the Hatch chiles!