It's NOT An April Fools Day Joke

Sweetie is so proud of my blogging that he has been telling people for a few months that I've had over 2 million pageviews. While that is flattering, it hasn't been true...but today it is. I checked just before I wrote this post and the analytics/stats showed 2 million and 91 pageviews!

It's pretty amazing that people are still looking at blogs given the huge number of other social media choices that they have. Blogs are now sort of old fashioned, but I'm very flattered that you readers are still turning to Feeding My Enthusiasms for great recipes, especially for bread and baking, and some fun fairy tales about baking plus a bit here and there about my life, kitchen implements, and my garden.

Please keep coming because it encourages me to continue writing, photographing and putting it all together for you. If you haven't used the Index, you're missing out on a great 'recipe box' because I have over 1,000 recipes. Don't know how to access the Index? Be sure you are in web view (which you can find on you phone by scrolling down to the last post and clicking on Web View), then look on the right side of the blog and you'll find the link just below the Welcome paragraphs where it says Recipe Link. Just click the photo. No photo? Try clicking in the middle where the photo should be. If you have trouble, you can always email me at plachman 'at'sonic'dot'net.

Thanks for being a reader of Feeding My Enthusiasms! Try a new recipe...be creative in the kitchen...have fun and be kind to yourself.

XO, Elle

Time For Quiche

Quiche is such a versatile dish that you can make many versions. The key is to keep the proportions about the same.

Sweetie loves quiche and it had been a while, so today I baked one that was a bit different than past versions, mostly so that I could use up leftovers.

This quiche is for Quiche with Chicken and Asparagus

To the partially baked crust I added cubed chicken that was leftover from the night before. It was chicken thighs and they had been grilled. There was only one left, but it gave just the right amount of chicken for the bottom of the crust.

Another element was fresh asparagus. I only had four fat spears in the fridge, but once I cut them on the diagonal in pieces about an inch long, I had another layer to put on top of the chicken.

The final layer was cheese. I finished up a bag of shredded Monterey Jack cheese, about a 1/2 cup, then added an additional 1/2 cup of shredded sharp cheddar. I mixed them together, then added them to the quiche as the final layer.

The custard part is almost always the same; three eggs, 1 cup of milk, and various seasonings. This time I used two eggs and two egg whites...more leftovers since I had used the yolks for another dish. For the milk I used canned evaporated milk mixed with water for 1 cup, and then 1/2 cup of soy creamer. It made for a lovely, creamy custard.

For seasoning I used dried Thyme and a non-salt mixture from Penzey's spices called Mural of Flavor. The crust was partially baked at 400 degrees for 12 minutes, with foil and pie weights keeping it from puffing up. Once the layers of ingredients had been added, I poured on the custard, sprinkled the top with a couple teaspoons of minced fresh parsley, and put the whole thing in a preheated 360 degree oven and baked it until the center was barely jiggly and the crust was golden brown, about 24 minutes.

I'm not going to write out the full recipe, but it is based on a quiche I made another time and posted HERE. I didn't do the onions or celery at the beginning, but you could add extra flavor by doing that, too.

In other news, the garden is improving by the day. The early tulips are almost done and a few later tulips are starting to bloom. A lovely narcissus that I've never grown before popped up a number of stems in the last few days, so I brought them inside to enjoy, since it is likely to rain for the next three days. They add a note of sunshine and a light spring fragrance to our living room.

I've also been weeding and Sweetie has been getting the drip irrigation ready, plus new soil is going into planter boxes and large pots, all in preparation for putting out seedlings. That will probably happen in a week, once the rain is finished and things have warmed up a bit. This year I plan on planting more veggies that I have the last few years so it pays to get things ready and to have new planting mix so they get a good start.

Mushroom Add Flavor To This Pasta Dish

Yesterday I was looking for a container of yogurt in the fridge and while searching for it I discovered a package of mushroom filled tortellini pasta that was purchased almost a week ago. Since it seemed like a good idea to eat it while it was still edible, I decided that tonight I'd make some sort of dish with it.

Asparagus, which I bought at the market yesterday afternoon, seemed like the perfect thing to go with a pasta dish with chicken, mushrooms and onions. I didn't really have a recipe, but there was the pasta, the onion (although I only cooked half of it),about 8 oz. fresh cremini mushrooms, and about 8 oz. cooked sliced chicken breast. For the sauce to hold it all together and to moisten the pasta I had oat milk, a small amount of butter and a small amount of flour, plus some dried thyme, garlic salt, and pepper. That's all the ingredients needed.

It turned out really well. Because there were mushrooms in both the pasta and the sauce it was full of mushroom flavor. The thyme complemented the mushrooms as thyme usually does and the garlic salt and pepper was just enough to keep the sauce from being lackluster. I used oat milk because it didn't have any added sugar, so it was savory and creamy. Sweetie really enjoyed it!

This dish takes a bit of juggling since you are sautéing the veggies while getting the water to the boil for the pasta, then finishing the sauce before putting the pasta on to boil, then heating the chicken slices and cooking the asparagus at the end so that they are hot just as the pasta and asparagus are done. The good news that the chicken can be stirred into the sauce while the pasta cooks and if the pasta is done before the asparagus, just drain it and mix with the sauce, then cover until the asparagus if just easily pierced with a sharp knife.

Mushroom Pasta with Mushroom Sauce, Onions, and Chicken
recipe by Elle

Serves 3-4

1/2 large yellow onion, peeled and thinly sliced into half circles
2 tablespoons olive oil
8 oz. fresh cremini mushrooms, rinsed and sliced
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
garlic salt and pepper to taste

water

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup oat milk (other milk can be used, any kind of fat content you desire), at room temperature
8 oz. fresh mushroom tortellini (or use whatever fresh tortellini you can find)
8 oz. cooked, thick slices chicken breast

8 spears fresh asparagus, ends snapped off

In a large non-stick skillet (I use cast iron) sauté the onion in the olive oil, stirring frequently, until the onion is crisp-tender, about 3-4 minutes. Add the sliced fresh mushrooms and stir to coat with the oil and onions. Turn the heat to low, cover, and cook for 3 minutes. Uncover and stir. Return the heat to medium-high and continue to cook until the onions are translucent and the mushroom liquid has cooked off, about another 3-5 minutes. Stir frequently. Add the dried thyme, garlic salt, and pepper.

While the onions and mushrooms are cooking, bring a large pot of water to the boil.

Once the onions and mushrooms are cooked, stir in the butter until just melted. Sprinkle with the flour and stir vigorously until coated with the fat in the mixture, then stir in the milk all at once. Continue to stir until the mixture forms a sauce, another 2-3 minutes. Don't boil. Turn off the heat and cover the pan.

Put the tortellini into the boiling water. Stir gently. Let the pasta boil until al dente.

Heat the chicken slices in the microwave on a small plate. Stir the chicken into the sauce. Cover to keep warm.

Place the asparagus into a sauce pan wide enough for them to be in a single layer. Add a couple tablespoons of water, cover, and cook over high heat until just easily pierced with a sharp knife.

Drain the pasta when it is al dente. Stir it gently into the mushroom/onion/chicken sauce. Taste and adjust garlic salt and pepper, if needed.

Once the asparagus are done, plate the asparagus, then use a large spoon to serve the pasta mixture, making sure to include chicken slices and sauce in the serving.

It's Spring!

Warmed up yesterday to high 70s and today it will probably hit 80 degrees F - spring weather for sure. The garden is calling me daily now. The ground is still soft enough from recent rains that weeding is fairly easy and I'm determined to get as much weeding done as I can since the last couple of years were not good in that department.

Of course I have seedlings getting bigger in the sunspace. Tomato seedlings are mostly tiny, but the various squash seedlings are bigger. Might have to re-pot them soon since starting tomorrow the weather is back to winter...rainy and cold, especially at night. No point in planting out seedlings in cold soil...they just either sit there not getting bigger or, worse, rot.

The top photo is of some tulips I planted in the fall. They bloomed just in time for Sweetie's 80th birthday!

The photo below is of our magnificent oak tree just leafing out. It self seeded about 30 years ago and really is a joy to us because of it's beauty in all seasons.

No food bits today...just spring.

Vegan Roasted Onion Tart

 A savory tart that includes roasted onions and puff pastry is always a winner as an appetizer. As a matter of fact, it is usually the first thing to go at a party. That was the case for Sweetie's 80th birthday bash. I made two of them and they were gone before the party was an hour old.

I've made this kind of tart before, but this time I made it vegan...no animal products. I used Kite Hill non-dairy ricotta for the base of the filling instead of regular ricotta cheese. The puff pastry was the standard Pepperidge Farm from the freezer case, which, it turns out, is made with no butter or other animal products.

 My former recipe coated the onion strands with a honey and white wine mixture before roasting, but honey isn't vegan, so I substituted maple syrup. I did add some salt and some red wine vinegar to cut the sweetness a bit.

Last, but not least, I eliminated the bacon (not a vegan food) and bacon grease, but also the pine nuts...because I couldn't find my stash of pine nuts. I substituted a bit of olive oil for the grease and sunflower seeds for the pine nuts.

It was delicious! No one missed the bacon. Combining yellow and red onions for the filling made it more interesting to look at...and we do eat first with our eyes...the ricotta was creamy in your mouth and the puff pastry was delicate and flaky. Sooo good!

Roasted Onion Tart with Maple and Sunflowers
based on a recipe in the February 2011 Bon Appetit magazine

2 sheets frozen non-dairy puff pastry half of 17.3-oz. package), thawed (Pepperidge Farm works in the U.S.)
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 large sweet yellow onions (about 1 pound), cut into 1/4 inch thick rounds
1 medium red onion, (about 1/2 pound), cut into 1/4 inch thick rounds
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt
Nonstick vegetable oil spray

8 oz. non-dairy ricotta cheese - I used Kite Hill brand
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
Few sprigs fresh thyme leaves
2 tablespoons sunflower seeds

Using lightly floured rolling pin, roll out each sheet of puff pastry, in turn, on lightly flour surface to 14 x 10-inch rectangle. Fold 1/2 inch of pastry edges in toward center on all sides, forming 13 x 9-inch rectangle. Transfer pastry to large rimmed baking sheet. Press firmly on pastry edges with fork to form rim. Chill crusts. You will have two. 

Whisk maple syrup, wine and red wine vinegar and salt in large bowl. Add onions; toss to coat. Coat another large rimmed baking sheet with nonstick spray. Spread onion mixture in even layer on sheet. Roast 30 minutes. Turn onions over, allowing rings to separate. Roast until onions are caramelized, turning often for even browning, 30 to 45 minutes. (I cooked them until the least colored ones were pale gold, which meant that some edges were charred, but mostly the mass of onions was medium gold, not darker because they will still be browning while tart cooks later.) cool onions slightly. (At this point, and without leaving the oven on, I refrigerated the onion mixture, then brought it back to room temperature the next day for the baking part.)

When ready to bake, set oven temperature to 400 degrees F and preheat the oven. Let onion mixture come to room temperature. Mix non-dairy ricotta, garlic salt, nutmeg and dried thyme in small bowl. Using offset spatula, spread half of the ricotta mixture over one of the crusts almost to the folded edge. Arrange half the onions atop ricotta mixture. Sprinkle with half the sunflower seeds. Repeat ricotta, onions, and sunflower seeds on the other crust. Bake tarts until crust is light golden brown and topping is bubbling, 20 to 25 minutes. Move baking sheets in oven top to bottom and front to back, as needed, to bake the tarts evenly. Sprinkle with fresh thyme and serve.

Makes about 12 appetizer servings per tart, so 24 for the recipe.

Sweetie's Round Number Birthday

Have not been posting lately because we are getting ready to host something like 55 people, at our home!, which is not a huge place, this coming Saturday for a blowout birthday party for Sweetie.

I've been planning and cleaning and ordering things and figuring out the menu and the seating, etc. plus actually making some of the food to be served...so there will be food posts soon.

Our daughter is making a special cake for him...and I baked the layers yesterday and put them in the freezer until she gets here. She is a cake artist, so it's bound to be beautiful.

I'm also creating a scrapbook for him and have received cards, photos, messages and things like that to go in it, plus I've culled old photos and scanned them, too. Lots of time in Photoshop and printing stuff out. Tonight I've been using the heavy-duty paper cutter to get the photos ready to be put in the scrapbook, plus I finished the first 8 pages or so.

We were supposed to have blowing rain on Saturday, so we figured out ways to protect our guests while still allowing some of them to be outside some of the time...and now it looks like the weather may be cloudy and a bit windy and cool, but not rainy! Yay!

There will probably be photos next week and I hope to post at least one of the things I made sooner than that. Thanks for your patience, dear reader.

A Quick Oatmeal Cookie Bar

I really enjoy having friends over for tea. I have a wooden tray, complete with a paper doily, that I keep at the ready on top of the microwave. It holds my favorite teapot, two saucers and teacups, cream and sugar, and a small plate from cookies. I often use my violet patterned tea cups and saucers. Sometimes I include a violet patterned teapot and matching creamer and sugar bowl, and a violet patterned cookie plate, for a full violet tea...just for fun.

Yesterday a friend, who is a hard working teacher with a long commute, and I were finally able to find a time to do tea together here. We're neighbors, too, so it seems absurd that it took so long, but she is also the busy Mom of two busy teens and her property has extensive gardens that need care.

The funny thing was that we didn't actually set the time until about two hours before we were having tea. I realized that I had nothing to serve with the tea, so quickly set about baking a quick cookie from Maida Heatter's original cookie book.

The appeal of the Oatmeal Cookie Bars was that they only had a few ingredients, that one of them was melted butter so no time needed to soften butter, and that they went together in a saucepan. I embellished them a bit with an extra 1/4 cup flour to help them hold together, plus some dried cranberries for color and flavor and chew.

These are pretty crumbly cookies, even with the flour. They are chewy and buttery and delicious, but fairly plain. Perfect with a humble tea, but not fancy enough for a fancy tea. Quick, easy, simple ingredients that you probably have on hand...what's not to like?

One tip...line your pan with foil and butter that. Another...pack the mixture firmly into the pan before baking. Another...let them cool until barely tepid before taking out of the pan and cutting...and use a sharp long knife.

Aspen Oatmeal Bars
adapted from Maida Heatter's Book of Great Cookies 

1/4 pound (1 stick/8 oz.) butter
1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 teaspoon double-acting baking powder
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups old-fashioned or quick-cooking (not 'instant') oatmeal
1/3 to 1/2 cup moist dried cranberries

Adjust a rack to the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Butter an 8-inch square cake pan, or line with foil and butter. Set aside.

Place the butter and sugar in a medium-size saucepan. Stir over moderate heat until melted.

Remove the pan from the heat. Mix together the baking powder, flour and salt. Through a fine strainer add this mixture to the melted butter mixture and stir until smooth. Stir in the oats. It will be a thick mixture. Stir in the dried cranberries until well distributed.

Turn the dough into the prepared pan. Use a flexible spatula to press the dough into a smooth, compact layer.

Bake for 25 minutes. The cake will still be soft but it will harden as it cools. Do not bake any longer.

While the cake is still warm, cut around the sides with a blunt knife (like a butter knife) to release the sides, but then let the cake finish cooling in the pan. Use the foil to remove the cooled cake to a cutting board.

With a sharp knife cut the cake into quarters (I used a serrated long bread knife). Cut each quarter into bars or squares.

Any remaining cookies should be stored in an airtight container.

Baking in Redmond

 

Had a lovely time in Redmond with the family last weekend. One of the fun things that I try to do each time with my high-school aged grandson is to bake something. This time it was a pie baked in a cast iron skillet, in this case Apple Caramel pie. He peeled the apples and made the caramel. I cored and cut the apples into slices, mixed them with corn starch and microwaved them, lined the skillet with a ready made pie dough round, mixed in some caramel and loaded up the pie filling, then topped it with another pie dough round, sealed it, cut slits, did a cream wash and sanding sugar on top and baked it. It was delicious! A small scoop of ice cream and additional caramel drizzled on top made each piece irresistible. 

Another baking project, this time done with my daughter, was a multi-layered key lime pie cake. I'm including photos as we went along, but not a recipe because we found the recipe to be far from helpful for a few of the components. The key lime curd was wonderful and so were the cake and the graham crumbles, but two other parts were way too liquid. One was repurposed into cake batter and the other took a lot of additional ingredients to become thick enough to use. We were able to use that thickened ingredient plus some of the graham fine crumbs to make an icing for the top that worked well for flavor and texture, but it was quite a journey to get it all to work together. The cake itself was delicious and impressive and quite like a mash-up of key lime pie and cake. I'm not even going to mention the cookbook because I think that there were mis-steps made in stepping down the amounts of ingredients between the industrial version of the cake and the recipe in the cookbook. Not throwing any stones...it's pretty difficult to scale some recipes.

Piping filling over first layer of cake that has been brushed with lime juice. This filling ended up leaking...too runny!

The graham cracker crumbles...made in advance...get added next.

The lime curd, also made in advance, is put into the piping bag, then piped over the crumbles. This element was super delicious!

Isn't that curd yummy looking?

More cake, more Key lime juice, more runny filling, more graham crumbles.

Cake ...three layers... ready for the freezer.

Finished cake, ready to serve. An additional layer of graham buttercream and more crumbles were added and then more freezer time before serving.

Now we're looking forward to creating a multi-layered cake for Sweetie's birthday in mid-March, plus a few other treats, so there should be some recipes then to share...and photos!

Berries in a Dutch Baby

A recent breakfast that Sweetie and I shared. 

What's Up?

 Sometimes I don't have a recipe for you, just some info on what's current in my world. This post is one of them, so snow day for you if that is of no interest to you.

Sweetie and I just finished a project and it turned out really well. He and I sometimes have differing visions when we do these projects, but this time he had me pick the vanity for the downstairs bath and pick the top and basin and the spout, handles and drain. He got to pick the kind of plumbing stuff he wanted to use, what he wanted to do with the old vanity, how he wanted to get the heavy (about 250 pounds!) new vanity inside and how he wanted to trim out the gap between the vanity sides and the wall. Seems like a good division to me.

The photo at the top is of the new vanity, installed. You can't see it, but many of those marvelous new soft-close drawers are filled, outfitted with bamboo dividers in some cases. The old vanity had one large drawer, so everything was easily jumbled. This is so much better! The quartz countertop is also easily cleaned. The sink is oval and porcelain so it's easy to clean, too. One of the best things is that there is no longer tile, so no grout! My sister likes that it is also taller. I think the counter top is about three inches higher than the old one. Since most of the folks in my family are tall, this is a good thing.

Thanks go to Straight Shooter for helping to get the new vanity up some stairs and into the house, and to our great neighbor G who helped move the new vanity into the space created for it when it was time, and for later helping to bring in the new countertop and basin. His most crucial help was in loosening a piece of plumbing. None of the rest would have happened without his help!

G's wife invited us to dinner during the project and she served a family appetizer, which she described as chunks of bread dipped in a cheese batter, pan fried, then sprinkled with paprika. It was delicious and I'm hoping to get the recipe to share with you. The photo is below.

Squash and Peanut Stew For A Chilly Night

I don't know about you, but I love to find new recipes that I can almost taste just reading them. That happened when I saw this one for a lovely began stew that's based on winter squash, onions, bell peppers, tomatoes and peanut butter. Although I'm not a big fan of cumin (so I used far less than the recipe calls for) I knew that it was a necessary component of the big flavors that this dish brings to the bowl.

This Washington Post recipe by food writer Joy Manning as given to us by Washington Post writer G Daniela Galarza is a tribute to President Jimmy Carter, the peanut farmer who was our President when times were a bit simpler. Daniela calls it "a squash and peanut stew: packed with vegetables, seasoned with warm spices and easy to adapt." I know the adapt part is correct because I swapped out the kabocha squash for butternut squash and I changed the spices a bit, too.  I love the ginger especially...it adds a lot of oomph. Sweetie loved this (which is huge for a guy who wants meat in every meal) and said it was surprisingly filling...and to keep the recipe on rotation!

Kabocha Squash and Peanut Stew

Storage: Refrigerate for up to 4 days, or freeze for up to 3 months. Reheat gently over low heat and do not let the stew come to a boil, as it may separate.

Servings: 6 to 8
Total time: 50 mins

Ingredients

·        1 tablespoon neutral oil, such as canola or grapeseed

·        1 large yellow onion (12 ounces), chopped

·        1 medium red bell pepper, cored, seeded and cut into small dice (1 cup)

·        1 medium green bell pepper (I used orange bell pepper), cored, seeded and cut into small dice (1 cup)

·        1 tablespoon tomato paste

·        One (2-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and chopped

·        3 garlic cloves, minced or finely grated

·        1 teaspoon cumin seeds

·        1 teaspoon ground coriander

·        1/4 teaspoon fine salt, plus more as needed

·        2 cups (10 ounces) peeled, cubed kabocha squash (from one 14- to 16-ounce squash)(I used butternut squash)

·        4 cups chicken or vegetable broth, preferably no-salt-added

·        One (14.5-ounce) can crushed tomatoes, with their juices

·        1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

·        1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped, plus more for serving

·        2 jalapeños (seeded or not), ground to a paste with the flat side of a knife or mortar and pestle, for serving

·        1/4 cup roasted salted peanuts, chopped, for serving

Steps

1. In a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the onion and bell peppers, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 5 to 8 minutes.

2. Add the tomato paste, ginger, garlic, cumin, coriander and salt, and cook until the mixture is aromatic and the tomato paste darkens slightly, about 1 minute. Add the squash and stir to coat.

3. Add the broth and crushed tomatoes, increase the heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium or medium-low — enough heat to maintain a simmer — and cook, uncovered, until the squash is so tender it breaks apart easily, about 20 minutes,

4. In a medium bowl, thin the peanut butter with a ladleful of the stew, stirring until smooth and pourable. Scrape the peanut butter mixture into the pot, and stir to combine. Add the cilantro leaves.

5. Use a potato masher to break up the squash, leaving some pieces intact for a chunky texture.

6. Serve with the jalapeño paste, chopped peanuts and more cilantro leaves.

Full Moon Yam and Garlic Bread

 Happy Lunar New Year! It's the Year of the Snake, symbol of resilience and wisdom, so I wish you both. I recently joined a book club and we had a feast today, almost all dishes with a Lunar New Year theme. 

I brought a round loaf of yam and garlic bread that looks like a full moon and tastes devine. It is a soft bread, moist and golden from the yams, with a subtle garlic flavor. We had it warm, with butter for those who wanted it, and there was only a little bit left at the end of lunch.

If you use oil instead of butter to grease the pan the bread is baked in, it's a vegan bread.

 

Except for putting the dough into a ball shape, there is no fancy shaping and you can bake it in a cast iron skillet, round casserole dish, or a round cake pan. I started the dough yesterday, let it rise, punched it down, covered it and put it in the fridge until this morning. After letting the dough warm up, I punched it down on a floured board, shaped it into the ball, put it in the greased pan, and let it rise, then baked it. No topping, slashing, etc. needed. Hope you enjoy making it!

Full Moon Yam and Garlic Bread
By Narsai David

 1 cup warm water (preferably the water the yams were boiled in)

1 cup mashed yams (boil until tender, then peel and mash)

2 teaspoons sugar

1 package yeast, or 1 tablespoon dry yeast

2 small cloves garlic, crushed

3 cups white bread or all-purpose flour (about)

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons butter, softened or salad oil

 Place the water, sweet potatoes sugar, and yeast in a mixing bowl. Let rest for 5 minutes. Add the garlic, flour and salt. Mix well with a dough hook or heavy paddle. The dough will be quite soft and sticky. If using a dough hook, you may need to add a little more to keep the dough around the hook. Continue mixing for 2-3 minutes if you are using a mixing machine, 3 to 4 minutes by hand. Spread 1 tablespoon of butter or oil over the dough.

 Place the dough in a warm plate to rise, covered with a dish towel. When the dough has doubled in volume, anywhere between 1 and 2 hours, turn it out onto a floured surface and punch it down to get out the air that has inflated it. Kneading a few times also helps in this step. (This is where you can stop and put it back onto the plate, cover it, and put in fridge overnight.)  Shape the deflated dough into a ball. This is a very soft dough, so handle it gently and use plenty of flour to keep it from sticking to the board.

 Butter or oil a 10-inch skillet. Put the dough in the skillet, and set aside, uncovered, in a warm place until double in volume.

 About halfway through the rising, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

 When the dough has doubled, bake for 35 to 40 minutes to brown well. Turn out onto a rack to cool.

Makes 1 round loaf.

Joe Matos Cheese Factory Closing Down

 Back in November of 2014 I blogged about a local cheese producer who makes Portuguese cheese. The cows that give the milk for the cheese are right there at the site of the cheese store, so as local as you can get. A bonus is that it's fairly close to home for me. The sad news is that the Dad of the family is having health issues, so they will close the cheese business at the end of this month! 

Here is the address in case you can stop by in the next couple of days and buys some really delicious cheese. The less aged cheese is great for melty cheese and the more aged cheese is a bit crumbly and wonderful to eat as is, with crackers, baguette slices, apple slices, etc.

Of course this post is useless to you, dear reader, if you don't live in the San Francisco area, but I just want to salute this wonderful local business for their years of producing a fantastic product at a reasonable price.

 Joe Matos Cheese Factory
3669 Llano Rd
Santa Rosa, CA 95407                          

 (707) 584-5283

The Wonderful Lemons of January

I'm so glad that I planted a Myer lemon shrub years ago. For a few years it lived in a large pot and did OK, but once I found a place for it in a warm spot near the barn it thrived. This year it probably has produced 60 or 70 lemons, many of them pretty large. Last year there were only a few, so next year might not be as productive...we'll see.

Looking back at posts from January over the years I see that this month is the one where I use lemons the most. One of my favorite treats that use fresh lemons is lemon curd, the soft and creamy sort of lemon jam that is perfect on a scone or English muffin for a tea party. I made a batch this past week and realized that you might want the recipe if you would like to make some yourself. Store bought lemon curd is OK, but the curd you make yourself is worlds better! You can also make curd with any other kind of citrus...lime, orange, blood orange, grapefruit...or even with pomegranate juice as I did HERE. Lots of choices, lots of fun.

The finished curd, put into sterilized jars, keeps up to three months in the fridge...if it lasts that long.

Zesty Lemon Curd Yields 3 Cups
Stores up to 3 months in fridge

3-4 fragrant, bright-skinned lemons
1/2 Cup (1 stick) plus 2 Tablespoons butter, cut up
Pinch of salt
4 egg yolks
1 whole egg
1 1/4 Cups sugar

1) Run 2 inches of water into the base pan of a double boiler and set over medium heat to come to a brisk simmer.
2) Grate or shred enough lemon zest from washed & dried lemons to make 1 1/2 tablespoons, packed, lemon zest. Place the zest in the top pan of the double boiler. Juice the lemons and strain juice to make 1/2 Cup; add to the zest. Add the cut up butter & salt to the pan. Set aside.
3) Beat the egg yolks and whole egg together at high speed in the large bowl of an electric mixer until they are foamy; gradually add the sugar, continuing to beat the mixture until it is pale, fluffy, & very thick, about 5 minutes.
4) Scrape the egg mixture into the double-boiler top and set the top into the base containing simmering water. At once begin whisking the mixture; cook it, whisking constantly, until it has thickened smoothly and is steaming hot, about 15 minutes. Be careful not to overcook the curd; it is done when it will coat a metal or wooden spoon heavily. Remove the upper pan from the hot water.
5) Pour the curd into a fine-mesh sieve set over a bowl and press it through with a rubber spatula, leaving the shreds of zest behind (discard shreds). (It is o.k. to leave the zest in the curd, but the texture is different.) Scrape the curd into sterilized jars. Let it cool uncovered. Cap jars of cooled curd with sterilized lids. Refrigerate the curd.

Note: This can be made with lime zest & juice. Use 1 Tablespoon lime zest and 1/2 Cup lime juice and follow the recipe the same way for everything else.

Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Loaf Cake

 I have a dear friend who is a vegan. We recently had coffee and we were talking about baking. She said that she had tried a couple of recipes for lemon poppy seed cake but that they turned out like bread, not cake. I told her that I would see if I could find a good recipe for her that was truly cake.

I found a number of recipes that might work but settled on one in the Great British Baking Show Perfect Cakes book. It used yogurt, eggs and olive oil. I knew that I could buy plant based yogurt and I got a beautiful bottle of lemon olive oil for Christmas, plus I've used an egg replacement powder before in baking so it seemed like the best recipe to start off with.

The cake was for a loaf cake but it didn't have poppy seeds, but those were easy to add. I did make a number of changes: replace the three eggs with the equivalent in egg replacer powder mixed with warm water, use Silk vanilla non-dairy yogurt, use the lemon olive oil, mix the sugar and lemon zest together before adding it to the other dry ingredients, and add some poppy seeds. I also buttered the pan with a non-dairy margarine.

The cake turned out really well. It rose up some in the pan, but sank a bit while cooling. It smelled wonderful and had a lovely dark golden brown crust. I brought it to my friend around dinner time, still warm, along with the recipe. That way she and her husband could enjoy it after dinner. Of course that meant that I didn't taste it or see it's texture, but they both texted and said that it was delicious and very much a cake. Success!

Lemon-Poppy Seed Yogurt Loaf Cake
based on a recipe in The Great British Bake Off Perfect Cakes 

 150g all-purpose flour 
2 teaspoons baking powder
good pinch of salt
50g almond flour
200g granulated sugar
finely grated zest of 1 large unwaxed lemon
125 ml Silk plant based yogurt, vanilla
125 ml mild olive oil (I used lemon olive oil)
equivalent of 3 medium eggs, at room temperature. I used Ener-G egg substitute powder prepared with warm water as directed on the box (3 1/2 teaspoons powder + 6 tablespoons warm water)
1 tablespoon poppy seeds

1) Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and ground almonds in a mixing bowl.  Butter the bottom and sides of an 8x4-inch loaf pan and line across the bottom and up the short sides with a piece of parchment.  (This helps you remove the cake from the pan easily.

2) in a small bowl use your clean fingertips to rub the lemon zest into the sugar until it resembles wet sand. There may be some of the sugar that doesn't get mixed with the zest...that's OK.

3) add the sugar/zest mixture to the flour mixture and whisk until well combined. Make a well in the mixture (an indentation in the center).

4) In another bowl  whisk the olive oil and yogurt together until well combined. Add the egg substitute and whisk again to combine. Pour this mixture into the well in the dry ingredients. Sprinkle the poppy seeds on top. Us a wooden spoon or large spoon shaped spatula to stir it all together , only stirring until just combined.

5) Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly, making sure the corners are well filled 

6) Bake in the preheated oven for 45-60 until well-risen and a deep golden brown. A skewer inserted into the center of the cake should come out clean.

7) Once  baked, put on a wire rack on the counter for five minutes to firm up. Run a round-bladed knife (like a butter knife) around the inside of the loaf pan to  loosen the loaf, then carefully lift it out, using the ends of the lining paper strip, and set the cake on the wire rack to cool. Serves best if completely cool.

8) Serve in thick slices. Store, wrapped in foil, in an airtight container and eat within 4 days. Flavors and aromas will be even more pronounced a day or so after baking.

 

Challah For My Neighbor

Our neighbor down the road, Wally,  celebrates the Jewish holidays and Sweetie and I knew that this year was going to be hard for him since he is a new widower of only a few months. That first holiday season is really tough. I also wasn't sure if his dear departed wife had baked for him at holiday time. It seemed like a good gift for him would be a home baked challah loaf...plus it gave me a reason to bake bread. That might sound strange, but Sweetie has been losing weight and has asked that I not bake bread very often if at all because the fragrance is so tantalizing! This way the bread was going out of the house untasted and so we were not tempted...or so I thought!

I brought the loaf, wrapped in plastic wrap and tied with a blue ribbon, to a neighborhood bar that also serves great breakfast. We were joined for brunch by Wally and another couple who are also neighbors. We didn't get to see each other over Christmas because of some illnesses and visiting families, so the brunch was a gift exchange, too. I had made the bread the day before and shaped it, then put it in the fridge overnight. That way I could bake it early in the morning and still have a warm loaf by brunch time.

Wally was delighted with the loaf, but was concerned because he is the only one at home and it was a big loaf. His solution was to use his pocketknife to cut pieces, which he handed around to each of us! We had coffee but our orders were being prepared, so this was a treat to have something to nibble on while we waited for our meals. We had just started to taste the bread when the owner arrived. Sweetie gave him a piece of bread and he, in turn, brought out some homemade butter to enjoy with the bread. Made our treat even better! Sweetie and I have eaten breakfast and some other meals there for many years and have gotten to know the owner, so we figured that he wouldn't mind the outsourced bread, but adding butter was such a charming gesture.

It was really good bread! I used a King Arthur Baking recipe, which I'm giving below. The only change I made was to add a decent amount (about 1/2 cup) additional flour. I think that my eggs were extra large, so that increased the moisture, which meant more flour.

Wishing you a magical year...and lots of good bread!

Classic Challah
from King Arthur Baking Company
makes 1 braided loaf

Ingredients

Dough

• 4 to 4 1/4 cups (480g to 510g) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 3/4 cup (170g) water, lukewarm
• 6 tablespoons (74g) vegetable oil
• 3 tablespoons (63g) honey
• 2 large eggs
• 1 large egg yolk (white reserved for topping)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons (9g) table salt
• 4 teaspoons (12g) instant yeast

Topping

• 1 large egg white (reserved from above), beaten with 1 tablespoon cold water
• poppy seeds or sesame seeds, for sprinkling; optional

 

·         To make the dough: Weigh 480g of flour; or measure 4 cups by gently spooning it into a cup, then sweeping off any excess. 

·         Combine the flour with the rest of the dough ingredients. Mix and knead them by hand, mixer, or bread machine, until you have a soft, smooth dough. If the dough is very sticky, add an additional 1/4 cup (30g) of flour.

·         Allow the dough to rise in a plastic wrap-covered bowl for about 2 hours, or until it's puffy; it won't necessarily double in bulk.

·         Gently deflate the dough, and transfer it to a lightly greased work surface.

·         Divide the dough into pieces, the number depending on what kind of braid you want to make. You may braid the challah the traditional way, into a three-strand braid. For a fancier presentation, make a six-strand braid.  

·         Once you've decided which braid you're doing, divide the dough into the appropriate number of pieces. Roll each piece into a rope about 20" long. If the dough starts to shrink back as you roll, cover it and let it rest for about 10 minutes, then resume rolling. The short rest gives the gluten a chance to relax.

·         Braid the loaf. I made a three strand braid, which is easy, but you can go for four - or six-strand braids. King Arthur Baking has videos on each type of braiding. 

·         Gently pick up the braided loaf, and place it on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet.

·         Cover the loaf with lightly greased plastic wrap and let it rise at room temperature until it's very puffy, 60 to 90 minutes. Toward the end of the rising time, place a rack in the upper third of your oven and preheat the oven to 375°F.

·         To make the topping: Whisk together the reserved egg white and water. Brush the mixture over the risen loaf. Sprinkle generously with poppy seeds or sesame seeds, if desired.

·         Bake the challah on the oven's upper rack for 25 to 30 minutes, or until it's a deep golden brown and a digital thermometer inserted into the center reads 190°F.

·         Remove the challah from the oven and transfer it to a rack to cool.

·         Storage information: Store any leftover challah, well wrapped, at room temperature for several days; freeze for longer storage. While challah does tend to dry out after a day or so, it's always good toasted, or made into grilled sandwiches or French toast.