Happy Easter

There has been some Easter knitting going on here.

Treats are ready for the bunny to deliver. 

I wish you and your family the most wonderful day as my family celebrates the life and sacrifice of our Saviour.

No Knead Artisan Bread - 1/3 whole wheat and 2/3 white

When I was a little girl, I liked nothing better than walking home from school and smelling the aroma of freshly baked bread wafting from my home.  My mother baked our family's bread weekly and there was always a warm slice slathered with butter and honey waiting for us after school.  My mother baked fluffy white loaves in shiny aluminum loaf pans.  My bread baking tends to lean toward free-form crackly, dark brown crusted artisan style loaves that sound hollow when thumped on the bottom of the loaf.

Artisan loaves are very different than the fluffy white bread of my childhood.  The crumb should be moist and the holes big and custard-y with a slight shine, just like the air pockets in this loaf.  

This slice needs no adornment but I did slather a little butter and some jam on mine (for old times sake)!  In part, those wonderful childhood memories are why I love bread baking so much.  Especially this time of year when it's so cold outside.

When the girls lived at home I baked big loaves, usually on my pizza stone. An unglazed terra cotta ceramic tile that has been washed works fine if you don't have a pizza stone. Today I tried a different method; baking my bread in my Le Creuset cast iron oven.  It was not much different than the bread baked on the stone.  I did however learn something.  I had read that the ceramic knobs on the lids of Dutch ovens would not stand up to the 500 degrees F temperature that I preheat my oven.   The solution is a stainless steel knob sold by Le Creuset that replaces their standard ceramic knob. Six years ago, anticipating baking bread in my Dutch oven, I purchased a stainless steel knob but  never got around to replacing my original knob or baking bread in the Dutch oven. I had read that wrapping aluminum foil around the original knob would protect it from cracking in high heat so I gave the foil wrap a try first.  It didn't work.  You can see my that the ceramic knob cracked so I located and unwrapped the knob I purchased six years ago.

I'll replace the cracked knob as soon as I scrub off the baked-on brown bits that didn't show before baking in the 500 degree oven.  And I thought the casserole was clean!  I'm off to SCRUB!  And then I think I'll reward myself with another slice of bread. 

Let me know how you like this recipe if you should decide to give it a try.

No Knead Whole Wheat/White Artisan Bread

Makes four 1-pound loaves. The recipe is easily doubled or halved.

3 cups lukewarm water

2 tablespoons yeast (for high altitudes see * below)

1 rounded tablespoon kosher or other coarse salt

4-1/2 cups un-sifted, unbleached, all-purpose white flour, measured with the scoop-and-sweep method

2 cups whole wheat flour, measured the same as the white flour

Cornmeal for pizza peel or parchment paper for a baking vessel

*For high altitudes:  Decrease the yeast to 2 teaspoons.

Mixing and Storing the Dough:

In a stand mixer or a re-sealable lidded (not airtight) plastic food container add warm water (100 degrees), yeast, salt and flour.

Attach dough hook or use wooden spoon and incorporate all ingredients. Do not knead.

Option one:  Allow dough to sit on counter 2 hours, then refrigerate for 5 additional hours and use.  

Option two: refrigerate immediately and use dough the next day.

Store the dough in the refrigerator in your lidded (not airtight) container and use it over the next 7 days: You’ll find that even one day’s storage improves the flavor and texture of your bread. This maturation continues over the 7-day storage period. Refrigerate unused dough in a lidded storage container (again, not airtight).  Cut off and shape more loaves as you need them.  The dough can also be frozen in 1 pound portions in an airtight container and defrosted overnight in the refrigerator prior to baking day.

 On Baking Day:

Prepare the pizza peel by sprinkling it liberally with cornmeal. Cut a piece of parchment paper twice the size of the bottom of the baking vessel.

Sprinkle the surface of your refrigerated dough with flour.  Pull up the dough and cut off a 1- pound (grapefruit-size) piece of dough, using a serrated knife or kitchen shears. 

Shape the loaf, do not knead.  Gently stretch the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter–turn as you go.  Most of the dusting flour will fall off; it’s not intended to be incorporated into the dough.  This should take 30 to 60 seconds.  The bottom of the loaf will not be beautiful, but the top should be smooth. 

Rest the loaf on the pizza peel or parchment paper and let it rise for 40 minutes.  You may not see a significant amount of change in the loaf but the loaf will continue to grow in the oven. If using a vessel, the parchment paper facilitates ease in lifting the dough into the vessel after the rise.

Twenty minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 450 degrees F, with a baking stone placed on the middle rack.  Place an empty broiler tray below on another rack. If using a vessel, put it into the oven and heat to 500 degrees F.

Dust the top of the loaf liberally with flour (this allows the knife to cut more easily through the dough), and using a serrated bread knife, slash a 1/4-inch deep cross, scallop or tic-tac-toe pattern into the top.  The loaf will crack if you don't slash it to let the steam out while baking.

If baking on a stone, fill a measuring cup with a cup of hot water and set it by the oven.  Place the loaf in the oven by sliding it off the pizza peel onto the preheated baking stone.  Quickly, but carefully, pour the hot water into the broiler tray and close the door.  Set timer for 25 to 30 minutes. You are cooking with steam for at least the first 10 to 15 minutes of the baking process.  This will help to form the hard, crackling crust of artisan bread that we’re familiar with.  Remove loaf with pizza peel and let cool on a wire rack before cutting.

If baking in a vessel, pick up the edges of the parchment paper and set it into the vessel with the dough on top of the paper.  Put the lid on the vessel and bake for 40 minutes.  Turn the oven temperature down to 450 degrees F, slide the parchment out from under the loaf so the bottom can crisp up and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes without the lid. Remove the loaf to a wire rack to cool before cutting.

An instant read thermometer should read 195 to 200 degrees F when stuck into the middle of the loaf.

Tip:  To achieve a sour dough-like taste, hold over some of the dough from batch to batch and mix it with your new recipe of dough.  

Spicy Eggplant and Green Bean Curry

When Erin was home at Christmas she made us a delicious curry from memory. She makes it often at home. It was a recipe published in Bon Apetit Fast Easy Fresh. She emailed the original recipe but I changed it considerably(as Erin does, depending on what's in her fridge).    The original recipe was not spicy as advertised; actually it was rather bland but a few additions made all the difference.  I also add a protein, onions, and sweet potatoes to make this a complete, flavor packed meal.  We both serve it over Jasmine rice, which is more aromatic than white rice.

The recipe looks complicated but it's really not.  The chopping goes pretty quick.  It works up fast once you start cooking. Chop all your ingredients and have them ready before you start.  The French call this miz en place, which means "putting in place".  It's most efficient.  I start the rice and when it's cooked the curry is ready to serve.

*An important note: Thai basil makes all the difference.  Buy it in an Asian grocery.

See my extra tips below the written recipe and if you make it, leave me a comment and let me know what you think.

Spicy Eggplant, Green Bean, and Sweet Potato Curry

5 Tablespoons of olive oil, divided
1 small yellow onion, chopped
6 garlic cloves, chopped
1 1/2 Tablespoons of grated ginger
1 boneless chicken breast, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
1 14-16 oz. eggplant, cut into 2 x 1/2 x 1/2-inch sticks
8 oz. of green beans, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
1 small sweet potato, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
1 Tablespoons of grated lime peel (1 lime)
Juice of one lime
2 teaspoons of Thai green curry paste
1 cup of canned unsweetened coconut milk
1/4 cup of chopped fresh cilantro
2 Tablespoons of Thai basil
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat 4 Tablespoons of oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat.  Add the onion and cook until translucent. Add the ginger and garlic and cook for 30 seconds, stirring.  Do not let the garlic brown.  Remove the veggies to a bowl and saute the chicken until just browned (do not cook through). Add the onion mixture, along with the eggplant, potato, and green beans back into the skillet. Cook until almost tender, stirring often, (about 10 minutes).  Cover and cook for 3 minutes longer until beans are tender and the chicken is cooked through.  Transfer the skillet contents to a bowl.

Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil, lime peel, and curry paste to the skillet; stir 15 seconds.  Add the coconut milk; bring to a boil, whisking until its smooth.  Return the veggies and chicken to the skillet; toss with sauce to cover.

Mix in the Cilantro and milk and season to taste with salt and pepper.


Tips:
You can add or subtract vegetables to suit your taste and what you have in your fridge/pantry. We love the eggplant in this, but if you are not an eggplant fan just use a different veggie.

I also will steam the potatoes in the microwave for a few minutes to soften before adding them to the skillet. They take longer to cook.  I don't steam the beans because I like them a bit crisp.

You could use a combination of white potatoes, carrots, and beans.  Make this recipe your own.

 You can sub out the chicken for pork or shrimp.

This is mildly spicy.  Add more curry paste if you want it "hotter". or use red or yellow curry paste instead of green.
















.

The Long HOT summer!!

A lot has been going on here since I last posted.  Time has flown by, and we've been busy.

We've had a University graduation this spring,

with a little trip thrown in before starting her summer job

That trip was followed by another vacation,

and a few stay-cations,

 We had some fun visitors stop by the Homestead.

and unfortunately a very small accident involving two of our cars and the neighboring construction crew with a big truck pulling a backhoe on a trailer.

Some knitting has happened.

It's been too hot here to do much else.  We had the hottest June ever on record in our state.
Thank goodness for cooler evenings.

Every little bit of respite helps.
I hope to get back here to post more soon.

How's your summer going?

Chocolate Truffle Cake

Winter is "birthday/anniversary season" in our house.  It starts at the end of November, when Abby's birthday sometimes falls on Thanksgiving.  Our wedding anniversary is in mid December and my birthday is on Christmas.  Then we have daughters' birthdays just after New Year, on Valentine's Day and on the 2nd of March.  Bruce's birthday is mid-February and both of my parents birthdays, plus both of his siblings have birthdays in there as well.  So along with the REGULARLY SCHEDULED BIG HOLIDAYS,
we celebrate all of our birthdays from the end of November until March 2nd.  So I am posting dessert recipes as you all begin your New Year Resolutions to eat more healthy.  Sorry!!!  Save this for when you are not eating as healthy; like your summer birthday.

We get tired of birthday cake (really any sweets after the long holiday season) so I have fruit tart.  Some of us choose just ice cream and some pie.  Rachel chose to celebrate her birthday with this rich (once a year) Chocolate Truffle Cake.  It really is just a flourless cake.
It's easy to make and has only 5 ingredients; 6 if you count the raspberry sauce.

Don't skip the pan preparation or your cake will not come out......EVER.  I lent a pan once to a friend to make this cake and she returned it with dimples and dents all over the bottom of the pan after trying to bang the cake out with knife handles and who knows what else.  She never did get the cake out in one piece and I had to throw the pan away.  It was pretty amazing looking but so out of shape it was unusable.

I like to strain my eggs after beating them to remove the chalazae ( the little twisty white things that center the yolk in the shell).  They will ruin the smooth texture of the cake but you can leave them in if you want.

Your batter will be grainy at first ( like a brownie ) but keep whisking and the sugar will melt and 

the batter will become smooth like this after a bit.

Pour your batter into the pan and smooth the top.  I like to give the pan a few "whacks" on the counter to bring any air bubbles up to the surface before baking.  

Excuse the poor lighting.  It was dark!!! All of my photos need some better lighting.  You can put a candle in it for "The Birthday" (and you might want to center your cake a bit better than I did.

I serve this with a sauce made from my homegrown raspberries (albeit frozen at this time of year) and some unsweetened whipped cream.

You'll only need a small piece.  This is rich, flourless cake!

Chocolate Truffle Cake

8 ounces of dark sweet or semi-sweet chocolate

1 cup of butter, room temperature and cut into tablespoons

1 ½ cups of granulated sugar

5 eggs, beaten until foamy

Ganache:

12 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate

1 cup of heavy cream

Preheat the oven to 350º F.

Prepare an 8-inch cake pan.  Out of parchment paper, draw and cut a circle for the bottom of the pan.  Measure the sides of the pan and cut strips to completely cover the sides of the pan plus 1 inch for overlap.  Butter the bottom and sides of the pan lightly.  Push the strips against the side of the pan, overlapping the ends slightly.  Push the circle into the bottom and smooth it out.  Make sure the parchment strips and circle completely line the pan.

Cake:

Melt the chocolate and stir until smooth.  Remove from the heat and cool for 1 to 2 minutes.

Add the butter, bit by bit; beat with a wire whisk until smooth and incorporated.  Add the sugar, beating 1 minute with the wire whisk.  Add the eggs and beat until the batter is well mixed.  Pour into the pan and set the pan into a slightly larger pan.  Pour hot water into the larger pan so it is about 1 inch deep. 

Bake for about 1 ½ hours until the cake is cooked through.  Cool for 1 hour.  The cake should fall in the middle. 

Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. 

Ganache:

Boil the cream and take it the pan off the heat.  Add the chocolate, stirring until the chocolate is melted.  Refrigerate it until it is spreadable.  I do this while the cake is cooling. 

Invert the cake onto a plate and remove the parchment.

Spread the ganache on top and sides of the cake and refrigerate it until serving.

Take the cake out of the refrigerator about 20 minutes before serving and put a pool of raspberry sauce under a slice of drizzle some on top of a dollop of unsweetened whipped cream.

Raspberry sauce (optional):

Put about 4 cups of raspberries (fresh or frozen) into a pan.  Add about ¼ cup of water.  Heat until boiling.  Cook for a few minutes and then strain through a mesh strainer, pushing the pulp through but leaving the seeds in the strainer. Discard seeds and add sugar as desired.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.

*This sauce is great over any cake and even poured over fresh fruit.  I serve it over breakfast grapefruit.

Nougat...Big Hunk Copycat Candy

November and December have flown by...fast.

I did make some deliciously chewy and retro candy.  Did you eat Big Hunk candy as a child?  It was my favorite. If we were at a movie theater, it was the chosen treat.  Forget popcorn.  I could have that at home any time but a Big Hunk could be made to last the entire movie and then some.
I told my Mother I wanted to make it when I was about 10 years old.  I was convinced that all I needed was some flour and shortening right?  It was white after all.  Mom told me I couldn't make it but I was certain I could and bless her heart....she stood by and let me try.  Yeah...it didn't turn out so well.

Flash forward a few years years later to this week.  I got this great recipe from my daughter and made a batch of Big Hunk, or nougat, which is the correct name for this delightful candy from my childhood.

And it is delicious and surprisingly easy!  You'll need a candy thermometer to get just the right "chew".  And who would have guessed that it is actually made with marshmallow creme from a jar.
One batch made many, many pieces; which is good, because no one missed a few while they were being wrapped and there were still more than enough to go into the treat bags for the neighbor gifts.

So if you need a quick last minute treat before Christmas... make sure you have some MARSHMALLOW CREME on hand.  Shortening just won't work.  But then you knew that already.

Big Hunk Nougat

3 cups of dry roasted peanuts (about 18 oz.)                      

1 ½ teaspoons of vanilla
3 jars (7 oz. each) of marshmallow cream                        

6 tablespoons of butter
2 1/4 cups of light corn syrup

1/4 teaspoon of salt
2 1/4 cups of sugar

Spray an 11 x 17-inch baking sheet (a half sheet tray) with non-stick spray; sprinkle it evenly with the peanuts and set aside.  Take a bit of the butter and grease a large bowl.  Place the marshmallow cream in the mixing bowl and set aside.  Combine the corn syrup and sugar in a saucepan and place over it over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture comes to a boil.
Place a lid on the pan and leave it for 2 to 3 minutes to wash any sugar crystals down into the pan. Remove the lid and add a candy thermometer to the pan.  Bring the syrup to a rolling boil and cook it
to 280 degrees (at sea level).  The syrup will make a soft crack sound when dropped into cold water and it should be firm but pliable when picked up with the fingers.  Adjust the temperature for your altitude.  At my altitude water boils at 202 degrees F. so I cook this syrup just until it reaches 270 degrees F.  Remove syrup from heat and allow to cool 2 minutes in the pan.  Pour the sugar syrup over the marshmallow cream.  Do not scrape the pan.

Add butter, vanilla and salt.  Fold all the ingredients together using a wooden spoon.  Pour the mixture over the peanuts and spread evenly on the prepared sheet.  

Allow nougat to stand at room temperature for 3 hours or until firm.  

Cut into bite-size pieces and wrap in wax paper or cellophane wrappers immediately.  If you let the candy sit without wrapping it may flatten and stick to the adjacent pieces.

Wedding Dresses....and more dresses.

Much of my spare time the last two months has been devoted to sewing dresses; specifically a wedding dress and a bridesmaid dress for Abby and Patrick's wedding.
Abby is my daughters freshman roommate and we've long considered her one of our own.  Patrick really is one of our own...he's an actual cousin. Now Abby is officially part of our family and we couldn't be happier.

This is Abby in her wedding dress just after the ceremony.  Doesn't they look happy? They are such a handsome couple.

Abby fell in love with the fabric and fit of a strapless wedding gown, but she wanted more coverage and she wanted sleeves.  The wedding date was set for late October and the weather turns cool by then so she chose 3/4 length sleeves.

This was the dress she purchased.

Abby's mom was able to acquire extra fabric and lace from the designer so I could build Abby a bodice with sleeves.  I took apart the entire dress; bustier, boning, lining, zipper and both fabrics (lace and underlining).  I fabricated a bodice with neckline and sleeves, took up the hem about 3 inches and put it all back together with tiny satin covered buttons up the back.

We added a satin ribbon and quite a while later,  the dress was done.
Abby was happy and I was happy. I was happy I didn't ruin Abby's wedding day with a dress she didn't like.  It's always a risk remaking an entire (already beautiful, I might add) wedding gown.  I will admit I was relieved when I finished and it was what she had envisioned.
It was a win/win situation.

My daughter Rachel arrived home from a 16 day European trip the day before the wedding. I made her a bridesmaid dress rather quickly.  She's the tall blonde to the left of the bride.

I really loved how her blue lace dress turned out.  More photos to come of Rachel's dress.

The send off was a success. 

Congratulations to the new bride and groom.

Beekeepers....

For a week or so.

I didn't mean to be gone so long but things have been happening around here.  Not really bad things....well if you don't count someone in the family losing their electronic car key, then borrowing someone else's and losing that one too before getting the first one replaced.  Let's just say a wrecker had to be called to tow the car to the dealer.

And then there were the bees.
We've had bees in our roof/wall at the homestead for a few years.  Lots of beekeepers wanted them but no one could get them out.  Until we found Al.  Al is a beekeeper/contractor who came to take the bees out of the house and put them in a hive.  But I'm getting ahead of myself.  

We waited until the middle of April due to weather and blossoms opening.

Here's Al removing the shingles.  I'm glad I wasn't up on that roof.  It was high.  The stone house has old fashioned high ceilings and Al is up higher than you might think.

After he opened the roof, he found that the bees actually were in the rubble stone wall of the house.

He removed the comb first.

The dark comb is brood and pollen deposits for food around the edges.  The pollen is the yellow pockets toward the bottom.  Al had us taste it and it was sweet.  The whole family was up on the copper part of the roof with Al.  He handed us the comb as he removed it and we put the honeycomb in new 5-gallon buckets.

The new comb is the white comb on the right that B is holding.  The colony was fascinating.

Al vacuumed the bees using a vacuum with a filter and then he dumped the bees into a small hive.  He rated the colony medium sized but most of the bees were out foraging.  Al never put on a suit or gloves.  The bees were docile.

Here they are in the small hive at the back of the property.

Al removed the bees and sprayed the hive to keep any new colonies from setting up a home there until we could get the holes in the mortar sealed up.

As Al was getting ready to put the roof back together, he noticed the queen outside the hive on our roof.  He was excited and so were we.  He scooped her up in his hand and climbed down the ladder and deposited her in the hive.

A week later we opened the hive to check the feeder and the bees and we realized that the queen had probably been sprayed and had crawled out of the hole in the roof while we were relocating the hive.  By putting her back in with the colony, she killed the rest of the colony off.  It was kind of sad.

It's too late to order bees for this season but we're prepared for next year.  The bees were fascinating and we're excited to try again. 

At least they are out of our roof and I do have some comb to harvest honey from.

Sloppy Joes...or the best comfort food for a crowd.

B's favorite sandwich is a Sloppy Joe that I have been making our whole married life.  It's one of the two few good recipes I brought into our marriage.  I am not kidding; I was a terrible cook.

This recipe has a family connection. When I was very young, our church had a "round-the-block" parade every July, the anniversary month of the date our pioneer ancestors migrated to our state.  The children dressed like pioneers and decorated their little red wagons like covered wagons.  Some of us festooned our bicycles with crepe paper streamers and put playing cards on our spokes and we walked and rode "around the block".  We were little after all and couldn't walk very far.  Neighbors came out to their yards to cheer and clap (they were nice to little kids).  Afterwards, we gathered on the church lawn and had lunch, which was always Sloppy Joes, homemade root beer, and popcorn balls.  There must have been other food items served but those were the my favorites. This recipe has been an extended family favorite ever since.  I posted a photo on the blog here, but didn't give you the recipe.  And you need the recipe...trust me.

Once a month I'm in charge of feeding several hundred young single adults after our Sunday services. B requested this meal.   It can be a challenge to make something good to eat for that large of a crowd.  We feed between 150 to 190 people each month.  I also try to make something that can be "stretched" into extra portions if necessary and this recipe is perfect for a crowd and can be portioned easily.
These Sloppy Joes were a hit at the Mingle.  We served second helpings and even quite a few thirds.

You'll see that this recipe has a version that feeds 80 people.  I told you it's original to the Parade.
For my family I make the small version but for the mingle I doubled the 80 serving version to feed 160 people.  You choose the size that's right for your gathering.  You can see what 160 servings looks like below.  The black soup pot is a 10 quart size.

As with many recipes, this one is best made ahead to give the flavors a chance to "meld".  It freezes well too.

Round-the-block Parade Sloppy Joes

For 16 buns:                                                                 

2 pounds ofground beef                                                             

2 medium onions                                         

1½ cups of ketchup                                                      

1 teaspoon of granulated sugar                                                          

½ teaspoon of curry powder                                                       

½ teaspoon of chili powder                                                         

2 bay leaves                                                          

1 cup of tomato juice

For 80 buns:

10 pounds of ground beef
10 medium onions

7 ½ cups of ketchup

5 teaspoons of granulated sugar

2 ½ teaspoons of curry powder

2 ½ teaspoons of chili powder

4 bay leaves

5 cups of tomato juice

Brown hamburger and drain grease.

Combine all of the ingredients in a large heavy pan.

Simmer for at least 1 hour, stirring and checking mixture occasionally to make sure that the pot doesn’t boil dry.

Serve on buns.

This freezes well.  It is actually better if made one day ahead and refrigerated and reheated.