Italian With A Touch of Lemon

I've made focaccia bread before and shared it with you, too. I love that it is the kind of bread that is easy, delicious, and can be made ahead. This time I kept the beloved Italian features of olive oil and Parmesan cheese, but instead of herbs or grapes or other adornments, I celebrated citrus season with fresh Meyer lemon zest on top.

Because I needed to keep this bread for a number of days before I would be serving it, I froze it and then defrosted the loaf in the microwave on low power, then heated it at 225 degrees F. right before serving.  It makes a deeply flavored, moist bread and doesn't need any additional oil or butter. The recipe actually makes two loaves, so you can keep one in your freezer for when you need a bit of Italian delight.

Fast Focaccia with Lemon Zest

1 (1/4 ounce) packet active dry yeast

1 teaspoon sugar

1 1/2 cups warm water (105-115 degrees)

2 3/4 cups bread flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

Toppings: olive oil, zest of 1-2 Meyer (or other) lemons, colored part only; Parmesan cheese, grated; sea salt (optional)

Directions:

Mix the yeast, sugar and water in a small bowl. Let proof for 10 minutes (until bubbles begin to form).

In large bowl, stir together flour and salt.

Add the yeast mix and olive oil to the dry ingredients and combine.

When dough has pulled together, turn out onto lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic. Gather into a ball. With hands coated with olive oil, oil the surface of the dough ball. Turn the bowl over the dough ball. Let dough rise in a warm place for 25 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Put 2 tablespoons olive oil into bottom of 9 or 10 inch diameter cake pan. Swirl to coat bottom and sides with the oil. Repeat with another 2 tablespoons olive oil in another pan.

Punch dough down. Divide dough in half.  Place one piece of dough in each in oiled cake pan. Spread dough toward sides with your fingers, pushing fingers down into dough to create dimples or pockets.

Drizzle top of each pan with 1 tablespoons olive oil, then sprinkle with lemon zest and some Parmesan cheese or sea salt, if desired.

Bake for 13-15 minutes until golden brown.

Janus

In ancient Roman myth, Janus was the god of beginnings and endings, which is one reason that they named January after him. Now that we are past the shortest, darkest day of the year, it is somehow fitting to begin to look towards the time of year when there will be more light, more growing things, and plenty of time out of doors to enjoy. But it's also a useful time to look back at what worked and didn't work in our lives this past year, to remember the good times, too. I like to look back at the things I've included on the blog. A careful look has reminded me that my list of recipes with links is waaaaay overdue for updating. A New Years's resolution waiting to happen, right there.

One thing I can tell you is that the kidney stone I had last January made a different diet essential; one that does not include as much oxalate. Banished are much loved foods like spinach, chard, chocolate and mery much of whole grains. Limited quantities of legumes, except for lentils, and of flours and other processed grains has also cut into my usual dishes and baking. The good news is that there are still plenty of wonderful foods to enjoy, including things like broccoli and all the squashes, romaine lettuce and iceberg (which at least has crunch) and many other veggies like carrots, celery, tomatoes and cucumbers. I confess that I'm still a bit unbalanced by it since things I had thought were good for me, like whole grains and spinach, are actually bad for me now. So for, say, Christmas Eve dinner, I had a half of one of those great rolls, a small portion of those delicious potatoes, but a goodly portion of the salad since it had romaine, iceberg and red cabbage, plus carrots and tomatoes. Went light on the ham, too, because of all the sodium, but that's a different health issue. In truth the most important part of the meal is the people around the table and the enjoyment of them is full and wonderful and hasn't changed a bit. I still enjoy my occasional glass of wine, too.

Some of the recipes from 2013 that I'm pretty sure I'll return to include the potatoes and rolls on the last post,

these crock pot caramelized onions,

these white chocolate macadamia nut cookies (because I can't have regular chocolate, but I can have white chocolate!),

this oyster stew since there is plenty of soup weather to come (and it better include LOTS of rain since we are in a severe drought right now and NEED rain),

this cherry tomato salad, because it is simple and fast, burrata is delicious, and with our lack of rain I'm not likely to grow anything next summer but cherry tomatoes.

Because there is always a great selection of stone fruits and berries each summer, I know I'll want to make

the free form pie with moondust powder using some of that fruit. Since there is also likely to be an occasion that requires bringing a pot luck dish,

I'm going to keep this post of a wild rice and carrot side dish handy. It has all of the necessary attributes for a good pot luck dish: delicious, sits at room temperature well, filling, pretty easy, can be made ahead, and is unusual. The bowl that it is served in is often the first one empty at pot lucks, so that should tell you something.

We made a lot of good bread this year, but my favorite Bread Baking Babes bread was the Italian flavored

Tomato Basil Garlic Filled Pane Bianco. Not only is the large loaf delicious and stunning to look at, but the same ingredients can be used to make little appetizer rolls. Another great baked good from 2013 is for

classic blueberry muffins. I can almost smell them!

There is also Fast Focaccia, a recipe that I also made for Christmas this year. That sort of brings it all full circle.
Do you have any other favorites from this year's Feeding My Enthusiasms posts? I would love to know what they are!

Roasted Veg Focaccia and Bum Arm

It's been quiet here at FME lately. one reason has been the delightful visit of Captain Jack and the Birthday Girl, but there is also the unfortunate matter of the bum arm. Have gotten moderately good at typing with only my right hand because a combination of accidents (apparently now insurance companies no longer call them injuries...they are accidents) starting with too tight a grip on an unfamiliar golf club, followed two weeks later with lifting a box which was much heavier than I knew. Had an x-ray yesterday at the hospital. With the Labor Day weekend, it will probably be Tues. before I hear back from the doc. This was a week after the doctor asked me to do a wait and see while resting the arm, which was 4 days after the box related injury, so it will be over two weeks after that I find out if anything is fractured! Guess I should have gone to the ER the day of the injury. Live and learn. Send chocolate!

On a lighter note, before all the serious stuff, I baked King Arthur Flour's Roasted Vegetable Focaccia using squash and grape tomatoes and basil from the garden. It has a lovely crust, a nice light & chewy texture and the veggies were a great topping.

When I make it next time I'm going to add fresh rosemary to the dough and sprinkle Parmesan on top of the veggies to bake on...will probably put the tomatoes on the dough at the same time as the squash, too. Putting them on later meant the slid off the crusted dough instead of sinking in.

Roasted Veg Focacciafrom King Arthur Flour

Starter

1/2 cup cool water
1/16 teaspoon instant yeast
1 cup King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

Dough
all of the starter (above)
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1/2 cup lukewarm water*
2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons Baker's Special Dry Milk or nonfat dry milk
2 tablespoons olive oil
*Use 1 tablespoon less water in summer (or in a humid environment), 1 tablespoon more in winter (or in a dry climate).

Topping
3 pounds zucchini, about 6 medium zucchini*
olive oil
Pizza Seasoning, optional
2 bunches scallions, root ends trimmed*
1 pound cherry tomatoes*
shaved Parmesan cheese, optional
*Don't stress over exact amounts here; more or less of any of these ingredients is fine.

1) To make the starter: Mix the water and 1/16 teaspoon yeast, then add the flour, stirring until the flour is incorporated. The starter will be paste-like; it won't form a ball.

2) Cover and let rest at room temperature for about 14 hours; the starter will be bubbly. If you make this in the late afternoon, it'll be ready to go by the next morning.

3) Combine the risen starter with the remaining dough ingredients, and mix and knead — by hand, mixer, or bread machine set on the dough cycle — to make a soft, smooth dough. If you're kneading in a stand mixer, it should take about 7 minutes at second speed.

4) Place the dough in a lightly greased container, cover, and let it rise for 1 hour.

5) Gently deflate the dough, and allow it to rise for another hour; it should have doubled in bulk from its original volume.

6) Sometime during the dough's rise, prepare the vegetables. Trim the zucchini, and slice about 3/4" thick. Toss with olive oil; sprinkle with Pizza Seasoning (or other dried herbs), if desired. Spread the zucchini, in a single layer, on a lightly greased baking sheet.

7) Cut the cherry tomatoes in half. Toss them with olive oil and Pizza Seasoning or dried herbs. Place them, cut-side down, on a lightly greased baking sheet. Cut the scallions into 2" to 3" pieces. Toss in oil, sprinkle with herbs, and place on the baking sheet along with the tomatoes.

8) Place the vegetables in a preheated 400°F oven. Bake the zucchini, turning it over once, until it's golden brown. This will take about 60 minutes. Bake the scallions and tomatoes until they're starting to brown and soften, about 25 to 30 minutes.

9) Remove the vegetables from the oven, use a spatula to gently loosen them from the pan, and set them aside.

10) Lightly grease an 18" x 13" rimmed baking sheet (half-sheet pan) with non-stick vegetable oil spray. Drizzle olive oil atop the spray; the spray keeps the bread from sticking, while the olive oil gives the bottom crust great crunch and flavor.

11) Gently deflate the dough. Pull and shape it into a rough rectangle, and pat it into the pan. As soon as it begins to fight you and shrink back, stop patting. Wait 15 minutes; pat the dough farther towards the edges of the pan. Repeat once more, if necessary, until the dough is close to covering the bottom of the pan.

12) Place the zucchini atop the dough. Cover the pan, and allow the dough to rise until it's very puffy, almost billowy. This will take about 2 to 3 hours. Toward the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 425°F.

13) Place the pan on a lower rack in your oven, and bake the focaccia for 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, top with the scallions and tomatoes, return to the oven, and bake for an additional 10 minutes, until the crust around the edges (and showing between the vegetables) is golden brown.

14) Remove the focaccia from the oven, and top with Parmesan cheese, if desired.
Yield: one focaccia, 8 to 10 servings.

Notes: I used my sourdough starter instead of the starter in the recipe. I forgot the Parmesan shards.
I didn't have any scallions, so used yellow onion, minced, instead. Still yummy!