Elemental Stitches

Une Baguette

This was one of the best loaves of bread I have ever made.  The recipe comes from No Need to Knead by Suzanne Dunaway, a great book I picked up during our weekly library trip.  I love her technique.  No work, great bread!  

Do you ever feel like you have personal seasons?  I have cooking seasons.  Fall = Soup, Winter = Cookies and Baked Sweets, Spring = Salads and Sandwiches, Summer = Bread.

Every year from June to September I have the overwhelming urge to bake bread.  Bread has become one of the most important foods to the world.  Wheat is usually harvested in mid-late summer and long ago baking bread was a traditional way to celebrate the bounty of harvest.  Sometimes I feel those tugs at that slower way of life.  Baking my own bread is not only a way to cut my grocery bill and still have quality food, but also a way for me to slow down and appreciate the small things in life.

If you have never tried making your own bread try a no knead recipe.  There are several online and quite a few cookbooks dedicated to it.

Harvest Today, Eat Pasta Salad Tomorrow

My spring plot is coming to its end.  I have pulled all but three of the broccoli plants and all the carrots.  Only the shallots are left.  Soon I will be converting this plot into the pumpkin plot for our Big Max 100 lb pumpkin plant.  I tried to grow one last year, but it was eaten as a seedling.  I am hoping for more luck with this one.  With all the falcons hanging around the backyard little animal pests are too scared to feast on my garden, even the little sparrows are wary. 

Its not all peaches & cream however.  Vinny, the Harris hawk was bored the other day and a little too close to some of my seedlings.  He destroyed the watermelon and cucumber seedlings before I caught him in the act.  Now I have to start those over. 

I have been overjoyed to go back to my summer diet of fresh fruit and veggies from the farmers market and my garden.  My favorite lunch is a summer salad.  Pasta, rice, potato, it doesn't matter as long as its homemade and there is not a speck of mayo anywhere in sight!  Vinaigrette is much better!  Any kind will do.

The above picture shows a penne pasta salad with tomatoes, marinated artichokes, cubed mozzarella, purple onion, fresh basil, salt and pepper with a Parmesan vinaigrette.  In case you are wondering what is on the other plate, its a Caprice salad with sliced tomato, cucumber, mozzarella, basil, spinach drizzled with Parmesan vinaigrette.  There are also slices of turkey and salami with a bowl of seasoned olive oil for dipping bread.  This is my typical summer lunch until October when I want something warm and cozy instead.

Below is another pasta salad made with penne pasta, leftover tuna chopped up, broccoli, yellow squash, mushrooms, basil, tomato, and mozzarella with a vinaigrette.

It is the simplest lunch to make.

1.  Pick your pasta or rice.  I use penne, bow-tie, shells, orzo or elbow.  Follow the directions  for 4 people.  Cook until al dente.  Drain and cool in the fridge.

2.  Meanwhile, grab whatever veggies you have in the fridge that need to be used up.  Chop and saute them with some olive oil, salt and pepper.  When they are done, dump them on top of your pasta and put it back in the fridge.

3.  Cut up chunks of cheese and some meat or beans.  I use all kinds of cheese, but my favorites are Mozzarella, Gruyere, or Parmesan.  For proteins I use beans, black are my favorite, or meats like salami, prosciutto, leftover chicken, steak, fish, or thin slices of good quality deli meat.  Cut into bite size chunks and dump on top of everything else.

4.  Add about 1/2 cup of your favorite vinaigrette and some fresh chopped herbs.  I use basil, thyme and rosemary the most.  Stir gently until combined.  Add more vinaigrette to taste.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper and refrigerate until cold and the flavors blend a little.

I make a big bowl of this twice a week for lunches and snacks.  I am not even sure I have made the same one twice.  Its always depends on what is in the fridge that week.

Enjoy!

Daring Bakers Challenge - Mezze

For years I have been watching the Daring Bakers Challenge with envy.  I have always wanted to participate, but never had the time.  I happened to surf past their website the other day and saw that the recipe for the month was Mezze.  Mezze is not a food exactly.  Its more of a way of eating.  A way that I happen to eat every day for lunch.  Mezze is a bunch of small dishes all served at once.  You pick out a little cheese, some olives, sliced tomato, cucumber, avocado all drizzled with vinaigrette.  Add slices of dry salami and black forest ham.  Spinach leaves, crackers or pita are used to make little sandwiches, to scoop up hummus or Cucumber Raita.  I LOVE it! You can use anything, just grab what you have and make simple mini dishes out of it.

The challenge was to make pita bread and some other mezze style foods to go with it.  The recipes included in the post were Cucumber Raita, Falafels, Hummus, preserved lemons or some other mezze style food. 

I've made some of those already and I have been reading a lot about making cheese.  Yogurt cheese is very easy to make and is a great mezze style food. 

This pita bread recipe is fabulous!  The bread was soft and chewy.  I have made pita bread before, but it didn't turn out anything like this.  This is something I could eat everyday! 

I always seem to burn myself when I cook.  I took the top rack out of the oven so I could take better pictures while the pitas were cooking.  I told myself not to back up into the 450 degree rack as I set it on the sink, but of course I did.

To make the cheese I bought some Mediterranean style yogurt and let it strain overnight in cheesecloth.

 

You can do this in or out of the fridge.  I hung mine from the sink for a few hours then transferred it to the fridge when I went to bed.  I couldnt keep it out all night, its my American sensibility to bacteria, haha.  I was able to wedge the cheesecloth in between the middle shelves so it hung down toward the shelf below.  Then I stuck a bowl under it to catch the whey.  I should have taken a photo of it in the fridge...  Anyway, the next morning you will have yogurt cheese.

Mix in a bit of salt and your done.  I decided to get a little creative with my yogurt cheese.  Here is what I came up with.

Roasted Red Pepper and Garlic Yogurt Cheese

-1 pint of yogurt - Strain overnight in cheesecloth to make cheese

-1/2 red bell pepper

-2 cloves of garlic

-2-3 tablespoons of olive oil

-1/2 tsp dried rosemary

-salt and pepper, to taste

Slice bell pepper into strips and mince garlic.  Put peppers, garlic, olive oil, rosemary, salt and pepper into a small sandwich bag and mix until peppers are completely coated.  Pour peppers and garlic on baking sheet and broil 4 inches from broiler until peppers are soft and slightly blackened.  Mash peppers and garlic together in a medium sized bowl until well mixed, leaving chunks of pepper.  Add the yogurt cheese and mix together well.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

I hope I am able to do more of the baker challenges.  I feel like my baking skills are at that level, but I need to use them!  I just dont want to eat everything I make and gain 30 pounds!  I will have to start giving more food away.

Back soon with new knitting.

No- Knead Bread Loaf

I know you have all tried the No-Knead Bread right?  I decided to try it as a loaf and it is awesome!  Use the same recipe, but change these things:

-the second rise needs to take place in a loaf pan sprayed lightly with oil.
-the proofing time for the second rise is a little shorter.  Maybe 60-90 minutes.  Wait until the dough rises slightly above the top of the loaf pan.
-bake at the regular temperature for a shorter amount of time.  There is no need to cover the loaf.  I believe mine bakes about 30 minutes or so.
-most importantly LEAVE THE LOAF TO COOL BEFORE CUTTING IT!  Then the moisture can absorb into the bread instead of escaping as steam.  Trust me on this one.  -Store on the counter in a bag

Enjoy your fresh loaf!

Cabrillo Farmers Market - Aptos, Ca

If you ever make it out to the Monterey Bay be sure to stop by the year round farmers market on Saturday mornings at Cabrillo College in Aptos, Ca.  I have lots of pictures so I will keep my words short today. 

 

Hungry Yet?

Spending Time at Home

Tom came home this week and we have spent the last several days catching up.  We found ourselves spending our time in the garden, baking in the kitchen and visiting friends.  I made more no knead bread.  My favorite kind to make so far.  It is such a basic recipe that I can alter it however I want.  I add a little olive oil here and rosemary there for something Italian or some flaxseed and oat flour for more bulk.  I am testing out this recipe in bread pans instead on the cast iron pot.  So far I have lowered the proofing and cooking time with decent results.  This loaf proofed for too long and spilled over the sides.  I piled it back in and stuck it in the oven.  It came out great anyway.

I harvested some beautiful Bright Lights Swiss Chard from the garden that is going into a quiche later this weekend.

I'll let you know how it turns out.

Sushi For Fish Haters

Another quick, easy and healthy lunch for the summer.  I am not a fan of seafood or anything slimy in general so I cheat and use cooked chicken or eat vegetarian sushi.  Its really easy to make and tastes delicious.  Plus the Nori seaweed is really good for you and pretty mild tasting.  We had these with teriyaki sauce from Trader Joes.

I am pretty free-form with my sushi.  Today Tom ate canned crab in his and I had cooked chicken with avocado and carrots from our garden.  We usually pick three of any of these ingredients that we happen to have. 
Carrots, celery, avocado, cucumber, mushrooms, chicken, canned or fresh tuna, salmon or crab, sweet potato.  You can get pretty creative. 

Sushi Rice is yummy and easy to make.  Here is Alton Browns recipe, because Alton's recipes never let me down.

This is another great recipe site that I love which has great sushi ideas.

Have fun!

Baking Bagels

The cafe here on campus has the most delicious bagels I have ever tasted.  I think they have a bakery drop them off early in the morning because they are all stored in one of those pink sheet cake boxes that comes from a bakery.  I have never made anything close to bagels before but I decided to try them.  Maybe I could come close to these great bagels I pay $2 for every morning.  I followed the recipe in this great bread book by Peter Reinhart.

The dough is very tough to work.  My arms got a huge workout and the author is right.  You will get tired before you are done working this dough.  I took some of the stress off my wrists by using more of my forearm to knead instead of my hands.  I also slapped the dough against the counter a bunch of times to help the gluten along.

I promise that the kneading is the hardest part of making bagels.  Unless you count waiting.  Eventually you will end up with doughy bagels that go into the fridge to rest and develop flavor.

After a night or two of R&R (rest and relaxation).  They are ready to go into the pot.

Boil for a minute or two on each side.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper (or seeds, or dried onions, or cinnamon and sugar).  Put them in the oven for 10 minutes and then you have...

Bagel Beauty!!!  Aren't they scrumptious looking?
They tasted great, not even close however to the bagels at the cafe.  I am going to have to find out where they get there bagels from.  They must be delivered.  Perhaps the bakery would be willing to share their secret.  Or maybe I can get a dozen to go.

Week of Summer

I have been enjoying the beautiful Mediterranean weather we have here on Monterey Bay.  Its been in the 70s for weeks, the sun has been shining continuously.  Late afternoon walks are becoming a compulsion.  I know that the rainy season is only a couple months away so I am trying to enjoy its warmth now.

Everyone knows about California's fire season and our earthquakes (did you hear about the one in LA this week!)  This photo shows you why.  That dry brush is 2-3 feet tall and it covers most of the state during summer.

Another part of the sunny central coast.
Hello King Bambi!

Of course I have been busy crafting.  This pattern is the lap quilt from Doodle Stitching.  The embroidery is my pattern but I followed her directions for the quilt top.  I will have more pictures of it soon.  Cutting and sewing took about 2 hours.

And finally, our first tomatoes, right in time for dinner.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

"No Knead" Bread -Part 2

As I came back almost 20 hours later, the dough, which looked more like wet slop, was bubbly and quite large.  The instructions said to put the mixture on a lightly floured surface, turn twice, and let rest for 15 minutes, then form into a ball.  One look at my dough and I could tell that it would never form into a ball.  At that very moment it was like a lava flow heading for the edge of the counter.  My dough had way too much water in it.  I thought back to yesterday when I thought it was rather bizarre that a recipe called for 1 5/8 cup of water (never seen that on a measuring cup).  So, I gave it 1 1/2 plus a little more and called it good.  Maybe I didn't measure my flour correctly... 

Anyway, my hands were scary wet dough fingers so I called for Tom to help.  He thought this was rather funny as he poured cup after cup of flour into the dough I was now ferociously KNEADING!  Then he abandoned me to get the camera because he felt that you all should see this.  

Luckily for me, I got the dough going and was onto the next step before he got back.  This was his first shot. 

The dough is now being formed into a ball and is getting ready to rise on top of a floured piece of spare muslin.  It was supposed to rise for 2 hours and ended up rising for 4 hours.  Remember what I said about forgetting about it.  It finally got into the pot at about 10:30pm last night after a BBQ with some friends and a visit from a Medi-vac helicopter who landed in the field next to our apartment to airlift a car accident victim.  I have great pictures of that to come soon. 

After all the excitement I finally got back to the bread, popped it in the oven and hoped for the best.  I got what I wanted. 

The bread is brown, crusty and it made crispy crackly noises that I have never heard bread make before.  Like Snap, Crackle, Pop.  It smelled fabulous and the crust crunches so pleasantly when you press on it.

Perfect for Bruschetta or sliced with fresh jam.

And the taste was dreamy.  Almost like sourdough, but not quite.  It was the best basic bread I have made yet.

Here is the recipe for those folk who would like to try it.  I will definitely make this again.