Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Rugelach from Inside The Jewish Bakery
Today, I tried my first recipe from Inside the Jewish Bakery, Rugelach. The recipe had some issues - like you really need to roll out 2 pieces of dough 18 x 8 instead of just one and you need to roll them out thinner than 1/8 inch. I made 36 cookies from the recipe instead of the supposed 24, bonus! Also, the recipe had you make up twice as much cinnamon sugar mix as you really needed. But, the results are very tasty.
Sesame Thins - a taste of home
My mom used to make these cookies periodically. I made a batch for some friends recently and thought I would post the recipe here. These are very addictive cookies!
Sesame Thins
Ingredients
2 cups Flour
1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 cup Butter or Margarine
(2 sticks)
1 cup Sugar
1 Egg
1 tsp. Vanilla
2 pkgs. Sesame Seeds (2 oz.
each)
Sift: Flour, baking soda &
salt into small bowl.
Cream: Butter with sugar until
fluffy in a large bowl; beat in egg & vanilla.
Stir In: Flour mixture, half at a
time. Blend well to make a soft dough. Wrap in waxed paper & chill seveal
hours or until firm enough to handle.
Roll: Roll dough a teaspoon at a
time into small balls & roll sesame seeds in a plate to coat lightly. Place
2 inches apart on a lightly greased cookie sheet.
Bake: in a moderate oven @ 350
degrees for 10 minutes or until delicately golden. Remove and cool completely.
Makes 8 dozen.
Soup and Bread - It's winter time!
What I love most about eating with the seasons is that each season has its special treat. For me, winter means time for soup or stew and a good loaf of homemade bread. Not much can top that for a lunch or dinner. Yesterday, I made a lamb stew with fennel, napa cabbage, carrots, leeks and a lamb shank. Here's the recipe:
Lamb Stew (Makes about 1 gallon of soup)
1/2 lb. dried lima beans, soaked overnight, with 2 bay leaves
3-4 TBSP Olive oil
3 leeks, washed and rinsed well, cut into circles no more than 1/8 inch thick
1 fennel bulb, diced along with the chopped fronds
1 medium napa cabbage, cut in shreds
4 large carrots, diced
1 TBSP Italian seasoning
1 TBSP dried parsley
3 bay leaves
2 tsp. salt or more to your taste
generous grinding of fresh black pepper
2 TBSP minced fresh parsley
1 lamb shank
In a heavy bottomed soup pot over medium high heat, heat the olive oil. Add the sliced leeks and salt. Saute until leeks start to wilt. Add the fennel, carrots and cabbage, dry seasonings and black pepper. Turn the heat down to low and cover the pot. Cook the veggies for 10 minutes, stirring well about 5 minutes into the cooking time. Place the lamb shank on top of the veggies. Remove bay leaves from the lima beans, then strain the soaked lima beans and rinse under water. Place the beans in the pot with the lamb and veggies. Add enough water to cover everything 1 or 2 inches (you can make the soup as thick or thin as you like, but be sure to put in enough water to cook the beans as they will absorb water as they cook). Add the fresh parsley. Bring the heat up to medium high until the soup comes to a boil then reduce the heat to a simmer and simmer 2-4 hours until the meat falls off the lamb shank bone. Stir occasionally during this time to ensure even cooking and add water if needed during this time. Remove the bay leaves. Eat some hot soup now or allow to cool and place in containers to freeze or refrigerate for later use.
We had this soup today for lunch with some fresh baked sourdough rye bread - recipe on http://www.breadtopia.com
Enjoy!
Here's a picture of the bread:
Lamb Stew (Makes about 1 gallon of soup)
1/2 lb. dried lima beans, soaked overnight, with 2 bay leaves
3-4 TBSP Olive oil
3 leeks, washed and rinsed well, cut into circles no more than 1/8 inch thick
1 fennel bulb, diced along with the chopped fronds
1 medium napa cabbage, cut in shreds
4 large carrots, diced
1 TBSP Italian seasoning
1 TBSP dried parsley
3 bay leaves
2 tsp. salt or more to your taste
generous grinding of fresh black pepper
2 TBSP minced fresh parsley
1 lamb shank
In a heavy bottomed soup pot over medium high heat, heat the olive oil. Add the sliced leeks and salt. Saute until leeks start to wilt. Add the fennel, carrots and cabbage, dry seasonings and black pepper. Turn the heat down to low and cover the pot. Cook the veggies for 10 minutes, stirring well about 5 minutes into the cooking time. Place the lamb shank on top of the veggies. Remove bay leaves from the lima beans, then strain the soaked lima beans and rinse under water. Place the beans in the pot with the lamb and veggies. Add enough water to cover everything 1 or 2 inches (you can make the soup as thick or thin as you like, but be sure to put in enough water to cook the beans as they will absorb water as they cook). Add the fresh parsley. Bring the heat up to medium high until the soup comes to a boil then reduce the heat to a simmer and simmer 2-4 hours until the meat falls off the lamb shank bone. Stir occasionally during this time to ensure even cooking and add water if needed during this time. Remove the bay leaves. Eat some hot soup now or allow to cool and place in containers to freeze or refrigerate for later use.
We had this soup today for lunch with some fresh baked sourdough rye bread - recipe on http://www.breadtopia.com
Enjoy!
Here's a picture of the bread:
Monday, November 7, 2011
What's in the Box? - 11/9/2011
More good stuff heading our way from Eatwell Farm, this week's box stars:
Granny Smith Apples
Florence Fennel
French Breakfast Radishes
Dill
Tatsoi
Bunching Onions
Carrots
Red Kuri
Crocodile Spinach
Fuyu Persimmons
Cauliflower OR Romanesco
Eggplant *bonus item
Michael will be so happy to have the persimmons. This time of the year, they are his favorite to take for lunch. I have designs on that dill and bunching onions for a low fat schmear of salmon, yogurt cheese, dill, and onion. The tatsoy and cauliflower will make a great stir fry. Red Kuri squash baked in the oven might get made into a soup or maybe we'll just eat it as is, with a side of spinach and a salad. The eggplant will be the basis for an eggplant and tomato sauce with a touch of vodka in it to blend the flavors. The carrots will find their way into chicken broth that I need to make so I have some on hand for soups. Granny smith apples will make a great crisp or maybe an apple cake. Of course the radishes will add a nice crunch to our salad this week along with the fennel. Yum!
Granny Smith Apples
Florence Fennel
French Breakfast Radishes
Dill
Tatsoi
Bunching Onions
Carrots
Red Kuri
Crocodile Spinach
Fuyu Persimmons
Cauliflower OR Romanesco
Eggplant *bonus item
Michael will be so happy to have the persimmons. This time of the year, they are his favorite to take for lunch. I have designs on that dill and bunching onions for a low fat schmear of salmon, yogurt cheese, dill, and onion. The tatsoy and cauliflower will make a great stir fry. Red Kuri squash baked in the oven might get made into a soup or maybe we'll just eat it as is, with a side of spinach and a salad. The eggplant will be the basis for an eggplant and tomato sauce with a touch of vodka in it to blend the flavors. The carrots will find their way into chicken broth that I need to make so I have some on hand for soups. Granny smith apples will make a great crisp or maybe an apple cake. Of course the radishes will add a nice crunch to our salad this week along with the fennel. Yum!
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Going Crackers!
I found a great recipe for using up sour dough starter when you don't feel like making bread right away. The recipe is from http://www.thefreshloaf.com.
Sourdough Whole Wheat Crackers
1 cup 'discarded' sour dough starter (the starter you take out in order to 'refresh' your sourdough)
1/4 cup room temperature butter
1 cup whole wheat flour or as much as needed to form a stiff dough
1/2 tsp salt
Olive oil to brush the tops of the crackers
Coarse salt or other seasonings (sesame seeds, kolongji seeds, caraway - whatever you like)
Combine the butter with the starter, add the salt. Add enough flour to form a stiff dough. Knead. Knead the seeds or seasonings into the dough. Set the dough in a bowl and allow to sit for at least an hour. Roll the dough on a silpat or parchment paper a thinly as you want for crackers. Score the dough into cracker-sized squares or rectangles (roughly 1 1/2 inch by 1 1/2 inch or whatever size you like) using a pizza cutter or sharp knife. Brush with olive oil. Bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes or until the crackers are golden brown and crisp. Remove from oven and cool completely. Enjoy! Place any leftover crackers(if there are any, LOL) in an airtight sealed baggie or food container.
The cracker dough is resting now and in about 3-5 hours I'll bake them. Stay tuned for the outcome.
Sourdough Whole Wheat Crackers
1 cup 'discarded' sour dough starter (the starter you take out in order to 'refresh' your sourdough)
1/4 cup room temperature butter
1 cup whole wheat flour or as much as needed to form a stiff dough
1/2 tsp salt
Olive oil to brush the tops of the crackers
Coarse salt or other seasonings (sesame seeds, kolongji seeds, caraway - whatever you like)
Combine the butter with the starter, add the salt. Add enough flour to form a stiff dough. Knead. Knead the seeds or seasonings into the dough. Set the dough in a bowl and allow to sit for at least an hour. Roll the dough on a silpat or parchment paper a thinly as you want for crackers. Score the dough into cracker-sized squares or rectangles (roughly 1 1/2 inch by 1 1/2 inch or whatever size you like) using a pizza cutter or sharp knife. Brush with olive oil. Bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes or until the crackers are golden brown and crisp. Remove from oven and cool completely. Enjoy! Place any leftover crackers(if there are any, LOL) in an airtight sealed baggie or food container.
The cracker dough is resting now and in about 3-5 hours I'll bake them. Stay tuned for the outcome.
Friday, November 4, 2011
When the Moon Hits Your Eye like a Big Pizza Pie...
I just finished putting together some pizza dough based on a recipe found on http://www.breadtopia.com (they have everything you would want for baking good bread including some great videos and recipes). It's rising now. After its rise and shaping, we'll top it all off with some tomato sauce, a bit of homemade pesto (thank you, Eatwell Farm, for all the basil) and the last of the homemade mozzarella cheese. Into a 450F oven for 12-15 minutes as the pizza we are making is thick crust (hope it bakes thru). Yum! Fresh salad with that and a glass of wine, put your feet up and relax.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Rustic Bread Baking Today
In the quest to develop my bread baking skills, today I am making a rustic bread recipe from http://www.thefreshloaf.com The recipe makes two loaves but I decreased everything to make 1 loaf. The dough just finished the second stretch and fold of the bulk fermentation (first rise) process. The dough has another 1 1/2 hours to rise before shaping.
For my birthday, I received 2 brotforms, a 9 inch round and an 11 inch oval. I washed them with hot water, dried them and sprayed with a thin film of cooking spray a few days ago. Today I prepared the round brotform by liberally dusting it with a combination of 50% white rice flour and 50% all purpose flour, being sure to work the flour into the little nooks of the form. The brotform is used in the final proofing of the dough. I'll be making a boule with the rustic bread dough. Stay tuned for updates on the bread's progress from dough to finished product.
Here is a picture of the finished loaf:
For my birthday, I received 2 brotforms, a 9 inch round and an 11 inch oval. I washed them with hot water, dried them and sprayed with a thin film of cooking spray a few days ago. Today I prepared the round brotform by liberally dusting it with a combination of 50% white rice flour and 50% all purpose flour, being sure to work the flour into the little nooks of the form. The brotform is used in the final proofing of the dough. I'll be making a boule with the rustic bread dough. Stay tuned for updates on the bread's progress from dough to finished product.
Here is a picture of the finished loaf:
The obligatory crumb shot:
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