Honey Wheat Rising
…pretty right?
Attack Of The Dull Knife
Not so pretty now, huh?
This is what happens when you attempt to score a beautifully risen loaf of bread with a dull knife.
Note to self: Don’t do this again.
Simple Honey Wheat Bread
makes 1 small loaf
2 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon yeast
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 cup warm milk
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 Tablespoons tupelo honey
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
In a large bowl, combine yeast, sugar, warm milk, olive oil, and honey. Stir to combine. Let sit 20 minutes. While it sits, combine whole wheat flour and sea salt. Blend well. After 20 minutes, place wet dough and whole wheat flour mixture in 575 watt Kitchen Aid. Knead 8-10 minutes on the #2 setting. (Add additional bread flour, if needed. Add as little as possible to create a wet, yet, kneadable dough.)
(We have a 575 watt Kitchen Aid. We’ve never tried this with any of the Kitchen Aids with smaller motors. The smaller motors may or may not be powerful enough to handle bread doughs. Please check your Kitchen Aid manuals before attempting bread doughs.)
Remove dough from the Kitchen Aid. Knead by hand and shape.
Place in small loaf pan and brush with olive oil. Let rise in a warm place for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 35o degrees F at the 1 hour 10 minute mark. Open oven, set loaf inside and mist. Bake 5 minutes. Mist again. Bake for 60-65 minutes.
You can see where the compressed dough failed to color and rise properly.
Muesli (or Müsli)
This recipe can easily be customized to your own personal taste. Don’t drink milk? Use almond or soy milk. Don’t like nuts? Use berries or dried fruit. Don’t like dried fruit? Use an apple, banana, orange or your favorite berry.
Here I’m using one minute oats… they’re ready to eat in just a few minutes.
When using honey roasted peanuts, you don’t even need to add a drizzle honey!
Basic Muesli
makes 1 bowl
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 handful honey-roasted peanuts
(normally, I’d prefer hazelnuts in lieu of peanuts. But, we were out.)
1 handful blanched almonds (or almond slivers)
1/2 cup milk (2% or whole)
Combine all of the ingredients in your favorite cereal bowl. Stir. Let sit for at least 10-30 minutes or overnight, if you prefer. You choose. (I prefer to add my scoop of yogurt off to the side or on top.)
Other Additions:
1-2 Tablespoons cocoa nibs
1 handful chopped apricots
1 handful dried currants or raisins
1 handful berries
shredded coconut, or toasted coconut
1 scoop of greek yogurt
1 dollop of whipped cream
drizzle of honey
drizzle of maple syrup
drizzle of molasses
1-2 Tablespoons wheat germ, wheat nuts or bran
Sprinkle one or more of your favorites on top.
This simple loaf brushed with milk developed a deep brown, crisp crust. I’ll probably omit this step next time. That crisp, dense crust cuts nicely to reveal a soft interior.
Sliced on the diagonal this loaf will easily make a dozen slices for the bread basket or divide into 4-6 pieces for sandwiches.
Simple Sandwich Roll
makes 1 large roll
2 1/2 – 3 cups bread flour, plus additional as needed
1 teaspoon yeast
1 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 cup warm water
1 Tablespoon olive oil, and as needed
Combine all ingredients. Cover & let rest 20 minutes. Knead. Shape into ball and brush with olive oil. Place in a glass bowl and cover overnight. Knead. Shape. Let rise for at least 1 hour. Cut slits with a razor.
Preheat oven to 425 Degrees F.
Place loaf in the oven and mist. Bake for 5 minutes. Mist again.
Bake at 425 degrees F for 30-35 minutes.
Our Favorite Cocktail Snacks
For just over $4, we were able to make a giant bowl of cocktail snacks. Each rice cracker added its own charm. A touch of sweetness here, a taste of savory there and a nice random bite of spicy pepper. This super easy mix makes a great cocktail nibble.
This mix pairs beautifully with a vodka martini bar.
Rice Cracker Mix
makes 1 giant bowl
(or many little bowls to scatter around the bar)
roasted soy nuts
seaweed wrapped rice crackers
Thai chili ball crackers
wasabi peas
rice crackers
roasted peanuts
Combine all. Stir. Pour into bowls.
Time for cocktails & nibbles.
(We bought our assortment of nuts and crackers at Dekalb Farmers Market)
…
For The Adults At The Party:
Vodka Martini
makes 2
2 teaspoons Noilly Prat dry vermouth
4 ounces Vodka, chilled
2 skewers of green olives(3-4 olives per skewer)
Add 1 teaspoon (or less) of dry vermouth to each of two vodka glasses. Add 2 ounces of vodka per glass. Garnish each glass with a green olive skewer.
Cheers!
…
…Or, you could try this.
Dirty Martini
makes 2
6 ounces vodka, chilled
2 tsp to 1 ounce olive brine, chilled (from best green olives available)
a tiny splash Lillet Blonde
two skewers of green olives (3-4 olives per skewer)
In a cocktail shaker, add vodka, olive brine, and a splash of Lillet Blonde. Stir gently. Divide between two martini glasses. Garnish each glass with one skewer of green olives.
Cheers!
Two Types Of Green Salsa With Duck Eggs & Tortillas
Have you ever seen a great deal at the farmer’s market and thought to yourself, “That’s great! I wish I could buy a crate of tomatoes. But, what would I do with that much?” Well, you could freeze them. Tomatoes freeze nicely. Yes, you’ll loose a bit of texture. But, they’ll do just fine in a sauce. Tomatillos freeze well, too. I like to roast or grill them in a big batches. Then, I’ll freeze what I don’t need for a later date. Simply, wash them well, half them and set them over a charcoal fire. (Or, roast them in the oven … or grill them in a grilling basket.) Set aside what you want to freeze until it all reaches room temperature. And, package it up in small usable batches. I like to use 1/2 lb and 1 lb deli containers. But, freezer bags work just as well.
Two Types of Green Salsa
Salsa Verde
makes over 3 cups
2 heaping cups of tomatillos, roasted or grilled
1 small Vidalia onion, roasted
2-4 roasted jalapeños
juice of one lime
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 handful of cilantro
1/4 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
a pinch of white pepper, optional
fine sea salt, to taste
Place everything in a food processor and pulse until it reaches the consistency you prefer.
Remove about 2 cup and place into a small serving bowl.
Avocado Salsa
makes over 2 cups
2 small avocados or 1 Florida avocado, pitted and scooped
1 cup Salsa Verde (above)
fine sea salt
black pepper, freshly ground
a pinch of cayenne
juice of 1/2 a lime, if desired
Add avocados to the food processor and pulse. Taste. Add salt, pepper and cayenne to taste. Add more lime juice, if you like a lot of citrus flavor. Pour into a small serving bowl and serve.
Serve with pan-fried eggs (or grilled chicken, beef or pork) and corn tortillas.
Two eggs, A Carrot & A Potato
Throw it all into a little homemade chicken stock.
…well, okay, you can’t exactly throw it.
Note to self: Next time, be gentle!
I was a little too rough with my eggs and lost a bit of the whites in the broth.
After making chicken stock, I decided to make a quick lunch. I added one finely diced carrot and one finely diced potato to about 3 cups of my freshly made chicken stock. I simmered it for approximately 4 minutes, the carrot was still crisp. I turned up the heat, brought the chicken stock to a boil and poached two duck eggs. This was 5-6 minutes well-spent on a delicious lunch.
Sauté pork chops and garlic until a touch of golden color appears. Deglaze the pan with a splash of wine. Cover (just barely) with a simple base tomato sauce. Add a few tablespoons of freshly chopped herbs like basil and oregano. Then, simmer over low heat until tender.
No recipe is needed.
But, if you’d like a checklist:
Pork chops, thin
Olive oil
Garlic, minced
splash or 1/2 wine glass of your favorite wine
Base tomato sauce
Basil, oregano, or marjoram
Salt & pepper, to taste
Are you feelin’ fancy? Garnish with a chiffonade of basil.
Serve with baby greens dressed lightly with vinaigrette and a hunk of Italian bread.
Very little olive oil is needed to get a nice color on these ‘shrooms.
Stir Fried Mushrooms
makes 1 large bowl
1 large onion, diced
1-2 TBSP olive oil
3-4 cups crimini mushrooms
1/4- 1/2 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
fine sea salt, to taste
Heat olive oil in a wok, add onion. Stir fry over moderate to high heat until golden brown. Add mushrooms, salt and pepper. Continue to cook until mushrooms take on a dark golden brown at the edges. Lower heat, if needed.
Serve with grilled chicken, steak, or pork chops.
(For a nice weekend brunch, top a small mound of the mushroom mixture with a fried chicken, duck, or quail egg.)
Notice the touch of color beginning to appear at the bottom right corner? High heat and low moisture create a rich, meaty flavor in your mushrooms.
For cranberry sauce, I like to use a 1/2 cup of sugar in this recipe. But, for this jam, I deliberately add what I consider to be a lot of sugar. This will create a lovely, chunky jam that you won’t want to stop eating. And, it might just have you stock piling bags of cranberries in the freezer… like I do.
Cranberry Jam
makes 2 heaping cups
1 12oz. bag fresh cranberries
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 Tablespoons candied orange peel, minced
1/4 cup orange juice, or water
Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring liquid to a boil. Then, reduce to a simmer and continue cooking until the jam reaches your desired consistency. This should take 5-10 minutes.
(…Depending how chunky you like your sauce to be)
How long will this last in the fridge? No clue, it disappears too quickly for me to say.
Blueberry Pancakes With Wild Blueberry Syrup
They’re mmm …Mmm good.
Sure, you can make pancakes without buttermilk. But, why would you? One taste will convince you to take that little bit of extra time needed to face the dreaded journey to the grocery store on a cold winter’s day.
The BEST Blueberry Pancakes
1 1/4 cups AP flour
3 TBSP sugar
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
pinch of cinnamon
1 1/4 cups buttermilk, shaken
3 TBSP butter, melted
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
Sift dry ingredients. (Or, stir vigorously with a spoon.) Add buttermilk, melted butter, eggs and vanilla. Stir gently until just barely combined. Let batter sit for approximately 10 minutes. Start preheating a cast iron griddle at the 9 minute mark. (If using a frying pan, wait until you’re ready to start frying.) Griddle fry each pancake until bubbles form. The pancake should appear slightly dry around the edges. And, the edges should be light gold.
Lumps are perfectly normal.
They might look a bit flat at first.
But, as they cook, they’ll fluff up and dry out a bit around the edges.
When you see a touch of gold around the edges… it’s time to flip.
Breakfast time!
What if you overcook one? No worries, make another!
The funny looking ones are tasty, too!
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