2007 and the Daring Bakers

By 2007 I'd gotten my feet wet by participating in a number of events and blog parties. I'd figured out how to use natural lighting to get better photos and I began to develop my photography and writing styles. I didn't bother with analytics, but I was getting more comments so I knew that there were readers who were looking at my posts...always exciting by the way...and I suspected from comments from friends and family members that there were even more 'lurkers' who never commented. I love the lurkers, too.

In late 2006 or early 2007 I noticed that some of the blog I visited on a regular basis were buzzing about making Hot Buttered Pretzels on the same day at the same time, with emails whizzing around as they group baked. The next month the same women (it was all women at first), plus a few more, baked Chocolate Biscotti, also as a group bake. In January it was Croissants! I was interested and asked one of the the bloggers about it. She told me who to contact, so I asked to join the group. There was one more bake, of a decadent flourless chocolate cake, before I joined. By then the group had grown to something like 14 bakers. My first month we baked Red Velvet Cake. I was amazed that you could put a whole bottle of red food coloring in one cake! The group was the Daring Bakers. It grew like a wildfire and eventually had at least a thousand people in the blog roll, although I'm not sure that all of them baked any one month. It also grew so that there were Daring Cooks, rules, organized ways to take turns selecting the recipe or the month, etc. The guiding light for all of this organization was Lis of La Mia Cucina and Ivonne of Cream Puffs in Venice. At first it was really exciting...all those blogs and variations of the recipe. Eventually it really became too large so that there was no way to visit even a fraction of the blogs participating, so you tended to go to those you already knew about, which was sad for the newbies.

One of the best things about the Daring Bakers, beyond Lis's hilarious posts, was that it really, really expanded my horizons and forced me to grow as a baker. As I have watched the Great British Baking show it always amazes me to see recipes that we baked as Daring Bakers which are new to the bakers in the tent. Nothing was too difficult for us to try including Gateau St. Honore' which is one of the bakes that are given to students finishing culinary baking programs because you have to create puff pastry, choux pastry, pastry cream as part of Chibost cream, caramelized sugar work and whipped cream. You have to use a pastry bag, fill cream puffs with pastry cream and then dip filled cream puffs in caramel (while making sure to attach them to the base while the caramel is still hot enough for them to stick to the base), know how to make puff pastry stay flat but still baked, and how much or little to whip cream for decoration. As I go through the years I'll point out some of the Daring Bakers recipes so that you can see what an education it was in the pastry arts to participate. One of my favorites was made in the summer, Strawberry Mirror Cake. When those bakers in Britain get overheated in their tent, it makes me think of making this gelatin based dessert in summer heat, too. Still, it was very delicious and gorgeous!

Another new experience for me in 2007 was participating in memes. One happened right before the Gateau St. Honore' post. Peabody, who blogged at Culinary Concoctions by Peabody (now Sweet ReciPEAs)was interviewed on her blog and then she had to interview other bloggers, and I was one. She gave me five questions to answer. Here is what I wrote about the reason I joined the Daring Bakers: I was inspired by the croissant three-day marathon. Not only was the challenge daunting and exciting, but it was clear that a lot of fun happened among the bakers, too. Each one of the participants except one had blogs that I regularly visited, too, which made it even more fun to read about. Guess I wanted to have some fun with the girls and see if I could meet the challenges. Not only has it been fun and forced me to try things outside of my comfort zone, but I’ve started to bake more and have ‘met’ a wonderful group of very supportive, generous people.

Another thing I did in 2007, which I did variations of later, was to post every day for a period of time on a theme. In February I posted for 14 days...until Valentine's Day and each day's post was based on that day's number. Some of my favorite recipes are here, including Maida Heatter's 86 Proof Chocolate Cake on day 9 with 9 kinds of chocolate displayed, and Lemon Curd on day 11, with a photo of eleven tea pots...I often serve lemon curd when I serve scones for tea time.

My garden has always been a big part of my life and the advantage of blogging is that I was now able to share not only recipes made with garden fresh ingredients, but I could share my photography of the garden and the produce from it. In August not only did I have a recipe called 'Walk Through The Garden Pie", but the same post showed other ways I prepared fresh tomatoes from the garden, with photos. Photos in March showed the early garden and later in the year showed the mature plants and produce.

The blog sparked my creativity in a number of ways. I used my Illustrator skills to create elements of October's Bostini Mini-Cakes. I used my graphic arts skills to make a nutrition graphic for chard in early December. Perhaps the most lasting was my creation of the Land of St. Honore', where baking is a birthright. Posts about that imaginary Land include a short story that I made up and many of the posts were also Daring Bakers posts...as a matter of fact I started the short story idea because there were by then so many Daring Bakers posts all over the blogosphere and I wanted mine to be a bit different. HERE is the first one. Note that is is only seven months since I joined the Daring Bakers...the growth really was explosive.

Sometimes my posts were sort of educational like the one on making Quince Jelly. It is still a popular post and it uses photos and text to walk you through making quince jelly and shows the lovely shining results. Too bad it can't capture the almost floral fragrance. I also did a post at Easter on how to color hard cooked eggs the old fashioned way with food coloring, vinegar and boiling water. That post still gets hits around Easter time all these years later.

On occasion the blog becomes a travel journal, usually food-centric. A good example is a trip Sweetie and I took to Virginia to visit family and install a pedestal sink for my Mom.  These Lemon Bars are outstanding.

If you find these glimpses of the 2007 posts interesting, do check out that year. In web version you will see a list of years and if you change the arrow next to the year to point down, you can go through the months and discover your own treasures.

Two Squashes and Two Mushroom Galette

About a week and a half ago our local paper published a recipe by Jacques Pepin, one of the great chefs and cooks, and one who is very approachable. The recipe was for a root vegetable galette, or rustic pie. It sounded delicious and was the inspiration for the dish I baked for dinner tonight. The only matching ingredient other than salt and pepper was the egg wash, so it really is my own recipe, but I appreciate the inspiration.

My galette has delicata and butternut squash, yellow onion, Portobello and button mushrooms, and Greek yogurt, plus a store-bought pie dough round from Pillsbury. I grew both of the squashes, so it was fun to finally be able to use them. Usually I don't peel the delicata squash but I did this time since I wanted it to be easy to eat. For flavor I used black pepper, garlic salt, dried thyme, zatar, cayenne pepper and minced Italian parsley. This may be the best savory galette I've ever made. The butternut and Portobello both contributed a sort of meaty mouthfeel and plenty of flavor, while the delicata squash, caramelized onion, and browned button mushrooms added both flavor and texture of a lighter sort. The yogurt brought a mellowness and the pie crust held it together and added another, flaky, texture.

Because squash come in all kinds of sizes, some of the measurements here are approximate. I had enough slices of the butternut squash to cover the bottom where the yogurt had been spread. The thinly sliced raw delicata squash filled a sandwich bag. Even the measurements for the spices are approximate because I like only a dusting of cayenne, but you might enjoy more heat. I guess this recipe is for experience cooks who know how much seasonings and fillings they like.

If you use a pie dough made with vegetable shortening, and use a non-dairy yogurt, this makes a great vegan entrée. If you're not vegan, you could use regular yogurt, pie dough with butter, and throw in some cooked sausage or bacon. Use this for inspiration like I did and make it your own!

Squash and Mushroom Galette
Makes one galette to serve 6-8 people

The mushrooms and onions:
1/2 yellow onion, peeled and very thinly sliced
6 button mushrooms, wiped clean and thinly sliced
1/2 large Portobello mushroom, gills removed, stem removed, sliced 1/4-inch thick
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon each garlic salt and ground pepper
1/8 teaspoon dried thyme

The squash:
1/2 delicata squash, peeled, halved, seeds removed, very thinly sliced
1/4 butternut squash (I used the neck end),seeds removed, peeled and steamed until barely tender, sliced 1/8-inch thick
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/2 teaspoon each garlic salt and ground pepper, divided
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme, divided
a dash of cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon zatar

The pie: 
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 round prepared pie dough (I use Pillsbury ReadyCrust)
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon minced Italian parsley
1 egg, whisked or beaten with a fork in a small bowl

For baking: a sheet of baking parchment paper and a baking sheet or pizza pan, pastry brush

For the mushrooms and onions: 
In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Stir in the onions and cook, stirring often, for two (2) minutes, then stir in the mushrooms and garlic, garlic salt and pepper, and thyme and cook for a few seconds, then turn heat down to the lowest setting, cover, and let cook another two (2) minutes.  Uncover, return heat to medium-high, and continue cooking, stirring often, until onions are lightly caramelized, about another 4-5 minutes. (This process releases the moisture in the mushrooms so that you can cook it away and create more flavor at the same time.) Set aside to cool.

For the squash:
Put the prepared delicata squash in a ziploc bag and add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon each garlic salt and pepper, 1/4 teaspoon of the thyme. Close bag and shake well to distribute the seasonings and oil. Set aside.

Lay the slices of butternut squash out on a tray or plate, sprinkle with the remaining olive oil, garlic salt, pepper, dried thyme, cayenne and the zatar. Set aside.

For the pie:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Sprinkle a clean work surface with the flour (I use a large, clean cutting board I use only for baking).
Lay the pie dough round on the floured surface and gently roll, if necessary to make a round 14" in diameter. Place the baking parchment on the baking sheet or pizza pan and carefully transfer the dough round to the parchment. Use a rolling pin to help lift and transfer the dough if needed.

In the middle of the dough round, spread the plain Greek yogurt using the back of a spoon or a spatula. Work carefully so that you don't put a hole in the dough. Leave the outer 2-3 inches of the dough bare. (See photo above.)

Take the prepared butternut squash and make a layer over the yogurt, then spread the mushroom-onion mixture over that, then add the delicata slices over that, mounding in the middle. Sprinkle the minced Italian parsley over all. Bend the uncovered dough up and over the filling, pleating as necessary. Using the pastry brush, brush the egg wash over the folded up dough.

Bake in the preheated oven until filling is sizzling and dough is deep golden brown, about 25-40 minutes, depending on the amount of filling. Start checking at the beginning time and keep checking every few minutes until galette is baked.

Let cool on a cooling rack for 5 minutes, then serve while still warm.

The Days To Christmas

We have old carols that talk about the twelve days of Christmas and their is a play called Twelfth Night, too. In days gone by Christmas was really celebrated between Dec. 24th or Dec. 25th and January 6th, Epiphany in the Christian tradition. These days people start taking down their tree on Dec. 26th, so celebrating Christmas as a season happens now, after Thanksgiving, or at least starting Dec. 1st.

I've finished 15 years of blogging. Hard to believe sometimes, but other times when I use the index to find a recipe I'm really glad I've been at it for a while because it's become a digital recipe box that I use often.

When my photo app on my iPhone came up with a collection of 'Tasty Bites' showing food photos from 2017 I realized that I have some great photos of food on the blog, too. It got me thinking that maybe I should take a walk down memory lane and highlight a year at a time between now and Christmas. It will be fun for me and might give you some ideas for things you might like to make or bake between now and then...or it might bring back memories for you, too, if you have been following this blog for a while. Blogging has become passe' now and the hoardes no longer do it, having moved on the other platforms like Twitter, Instagram, SnapChap, TicTok and more. Still, if you want my take on blogging since I got in the game fairly early one, read on.

I started in late 2006 when blogging was still kinda new. Today there are probably hundreds or thousands of food blogs and lots of gorgeous photos of food, but back then people were still finding their way. Blogs had for a few years been a growing way to express yourself and to record your life...kind of like a slow and wordy version in some ways of Instagram or SnapChat. 

The idea of focusing on food was still relatively new and unexplored. There weren't a lot of super blogs with high ticket prizes...The Pioneer Woman blog hadn't started yet, for example. There was an interest in using blogs to connect with others around the world, so one of the things I found pretty quickly were the challenges and blog events. 

Some that had some history already when I started surfing around were Stephanie's Blog Party and Sugar High Fridays. Both of these encouraged you to make a dish to match a theme and then blog about it and send the URL to the host (or hostess) of the sponsoring blog. It was a great way to both have a focus for what to make and blog about and a way to 'meet' other bloggers interested in food and in baking. It was rare to have a prize, although some bloggers created badges that they would email to you to put on your blog if you participated. Because there were usually only a handful of participants it was fun to go around and visit the blogs and see what the others had done. 

As the number of food bloggers increased geometrically that became harder and harder to do as larger numbers participated. I think the early days were more fun! I'm sure that those who were true pioneers thought that when I started there were getting to be too many...it works like that. Anyway, during the first year and a half that I blogged I 'met' some amazing bloggers, some of whom I'm still friends with.

So what did I cook and bake in 2006 that you might be interested in? A lot of the recipes were for blog parties or blog events. For example for the Retro Recipe Challenge in mid-November 2006 I made Pineapple Upside-Down Cake, for the Souper Challenge later in November I made Butternut Squash Soup, for the Blog Party #16 I made Focaccia and Pesto Chicken Triangles and for Sugar High Fridays #25 I made Cognac Prune Truffles, which sound strange but were delicious.

In December I really got started on the blog as recipe box with posts on various cookies that were later included in cookie assortment tins that were mailed to family for Christmas. Recipes included Chocolate Shortbread Hearts, Saucepan Fruit Bars, Viennese Linzer Bars, Applesauce Spice Cookies, Persimmon Cookies, Santa's Whiskers and Chocolate Biscotti. Many of those are still favorite cookies to bake for the holidays.

Along the way the readers got to meet Sweetie, my dear husband, also K, our daughter, Grandma L, and they were given snapshots of my life, which is what blogs are for, really.

I hope that you find a cookie recipe or another recipe to make from the 2006 offerings, even though it only encompassed less than three months. Next time we'll have a full year to look at and we'll find out about The Daring Bakers phenomenon and you'll be introduced to more family.

A Simple Thanksgiving

Although I dearly love a gathering at Thanksgiving, there is an advantage to having Thanksgiving dinner with just Sweetie. The menu that we started the day with kept getting simplified and simplified so that by dinner time we had just what we wanted. I won't say there was no work involved, but it was still a much easier meal than usual.

Last year I had to eat only soft foods for Thanksgiving due to oral surgery, so this year I was determined to have a roast turkey...which we did. I roasted a ten pound fresh turkey in a Brown-in Bag, which makes it really simple to do and the results are always moist and delicious. I sprinkled salt and pepper and poultry seasonings over the bird and put a little white wine in the bottom of the bag. That, plus some stuffing in the cavity, is all I did. The oven did the rest while we took Pi on a walk at the Laguna.

For the stuffing I used my Mom's classic recipe, with a little corn bread thrown in and a half of a Granny Smith apple, chopped, mixed in at the end. Sweetie and I prepared everything but the apple and broth the day before so on Thanksgiving it took hardly any time at all to mix those two ingredients in and to stuff handfuls into the turkey cavity, while putting the rest of the stuffing mixture into a baking dish to bake on the side.

Originally the sides were going to include roasted butternut and delicate squash from my garden, a new green bean recipe with lemon and pecans, and a green salad with my own salad dressing. Instead we kept it simple by having just the salad. Even that was pared down to a handful of fresh raspberries and a half an avocado scattered over a mesclun mix. We did get the toasted pecans...in the salad.

I made the cranberry sauce a day before to let the flavors meld. It was the kind of recipe where you cook part of it, taste, add something else, taste, add something else, taste, and so on until it is the way you like it. I prefer mine pretty tart, but you may want to add additional maple syrup or some brown sugar if you like it sweeter.

Without mashed potatoes, I decided to skip making gravy and just spooned some of the turkey juices over the stuffing and slices of turkey. It was all delicious and lighter than our usual Thanksgiving meal, but still seemed like a feast to me.

Last, but not least, was the pecan pie. I baked two in the morning...one for us and one for our neighbors who lend us their sheep. Since Sweetie had two helpings of stuffing and I had a lot of salad, we decided to have our pie for breakfast this morning...and it was great that way. A tip to make the pie look professional, after you pour the pecan mixture into the pie shell, turn all the pecans so that the curved part is up. It takes a few extra minutes, but looks great. I also added about two tablespoons bourbon to my filling this year.

Hope that you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, too, even with all the troubles that beset the world at this moment in time. Thankful for you and praying for peace, good health, and prosperity for each of you. 

Fresh Cranberry Sauce for Two

1 cup fresh cranberries
1/3 cup apple cider 
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
zest from 1/2 an orange
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons maple syrup

Put the first three ingredients into a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, turn to low and cover. Simmer for 10 minutes, uncover, stir and add the remaining ingredients. Stir to combine. Turn off heat, cover and let sit for 20 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings and sweetness to taste.

Comfort Food for Chilly Weather - Bread Pudding

So many moons ago that I don't even remember the date, I was given a delicious recipe for bread pudding by a friend in Fredericksburg, MD. She sold me on it by telling me that when she brought it to church suppers that it was the first dessert where the casserole dish was emptied and that happened every time. Who could resist a recipe like that?

Bread pudding is basically french toast in a custard pudding...lots of bread, milk and eggs, a little sugar and flavorings, and the added delight of crusty pieces on top that contrast with the soft, custardy interior.

Gale's version used a can of drained dark sweet cherries mixed in gently just before the mixture goes into the casserole dish. I like to make it even simpler and just use some lemon zest and raisins, which is how my mom made it. I guess most comfort foods have links back to our childhood. I suppose you could make this version and fold in the drained sweet cherries, too. I also know that it is yummy with chopped peeled apple. For that version, add a little cinnamon or pumpkin spice.

The best bread pudding uses stale bread because it soaks up the custard mixture. It also is best to allow plenty of soaking time for the same reason. As for the casserole dish, a lot depends on if you prefer the soft, custardy part or the crusty, browned part...if the former, use a deep dish with a narrower opening, if the latter, use a wide, shallow casserole so that more of the bread crusts up. The water bath is really important, so make sure that you can bake your chosen casserole in a larger water bath casserole or pan.

Bread Pudding with Raisins and Lemon      

A recipe from  a Fredricksburg, Maryland friend, Gale 

5 cups dry bread cubes          1/4 teaspoon salt           

3 cups milk, scalded               1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon butter                1/4 cup raisins 

4 slightly beaten eggs            

3/4 cup sugar                         

½ teaspoon lemon zest                                 

                       

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2) Melt the butter in the milk. Add a little of the milk to the beaten eggs, then add eggs to rest of milk. Stir in the sugar, lemon zest, salt, and vanilla.

3) Put the bread cubes in a large bowl. Pour the egg/milk mixture over, stir gently, and let sit 15 minutes.

4) Butter a large baking pan. A deep one will give a softer center, a shallower one will give more crispy crust. Gently stir raisins into bread mixture and pour into baking pan.

5) Bake in a pan of hot water until firm, about 1 hour. Serve warm.

Babes Bake Potato Focaccine

With the cooler weather coming in October and early November, I find myself drawn to baking again. Between now and late November there are usually plenty of occasions to have adult beverages and this Potato Focaccine from Italy is perfect to accompany them. As Kitchen of the Month I was able to choose the recipe challenge for November, so I hope you enjoy these!

These are like tiny focaccia. I found them on the blog My Pinch of Italy and they sounded just right for the November challenge. You can eat them the same day or save for a day in a paper bag, but beyond that they probably become stale. They are made with potatoes, which give them some keeping ability, and are flavored with olive oil and sea salt and sage, but you can use another herb like rosemary or thyme as I did. The flour is O Italian flour or a mixture of that and durum wheat flour but again, a small substitution of another flour will probably be OK, just keep a large quantity of the O flour (I used OO pizza flour and unbleached white bread flour).

Here is what Fiorenza of My Pinch of Italy says about the Focaccine: "Potato focaccine, as they are the little version of focaccia, they suit perfectly as an aperitif with friends, as a starter or for a picnic, or even simply because you like them and have a craving for them. They are usually flavored with rosemary or thyme which are perfect, but we decided to use sage, just as good and we are so happy with it.

Their peculiarity is not only in the size, is especially in the dough, as potatoes add softness to it. Adding potatoes in the dough is not unusual in the Italian baking product at all, especially in the South of Italy.
Here is another example with potato in the dough with this Apulian Focaccia – apulian-focaccia"

I decided to go with a more traditional rosemary version since I have a bush the size of a Volkswagen van of rosemary, so an endless supply.

 The recipe calls for 1 centimeter rounds, but that is less than 1/2 an inch, which seems pretty small. I used a piping tip to cut mine out and they were just about an inch (2.54 centimeters) in diameter. That allowed me to make far more than a dozen of them at that size. It also turns out that I was reading it wrong. The thickness of the patted out dough should be about 1 centimeter, but the focaccine themselves should be wider, about the size of a biscuit or small roll. Not knowing that, I made the little ones and  I loved them...a delicious little morsel...and it makes it easier to eat many at a sitting. Went great with a cup of apple cider, spiced, with a bit of bourbon added.  These are a bit crisp on the outside and soft on the inside and quite addictive.

Photo below by the recipe shows what mine looked like using that size (1 inch). I recommend going heavy with the final drizzle of olive oil.  The rest of my dough was baked in a 9-inch cake tin as a regular focaccia, which was wonderful, too. 

Do head around to the other Bread Baking Babes sites to see what they did...I suspect that their focaccine are biscuit shaped and sized and equally delicious.

Karen of Karen's Kitchen Stories HERE
Kelly of A Messy Kitchen HERE
Cathy of Bread Experience HERE
Judy of Judy's Gross Eats HERE
Tanna of My Kitchen in Half Cups HERE
Elizabeth of blog from OUR kitchen HERE

If you would like to be a Bread Baking Buddy, just bake by November 29th and send me an email with a photo and the URL where you posted. I'll post the round-up as close to Dec. 1 as I can. My email is plachman at sonic dot net.

Potato Focaccine

10-12 focaccine, Preparation 25 minutes + 2 hours and half of leavening, Cooking time 25-30 minutes

• 150g of yellow or white mealy potatoes
• 400g of Italian flour ‘0’ (Manitoba flour) – or 200g Italian flour ‘0’ (Manitoba flour) mixed with 200g durum wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• Fresh yeast, 15 g or dry instant yeast, 8 g
• 3 tablespoons of Evoo – Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Lukewarm water, 200 ml
• 7-8 fresh sage leaves, chopped
• sea salt, to taste

Method

Boil the potatoes in plenty of unsalted water. You can peel them or boil them with their peel and then pass them in the potato masher.

When the potatoes are cooked, remove from the heat, drain and let them cool, but not cool them completely or it will be difficult to mix them to the flour. Once lukewarm and crushed, reduce them to mashed and add the puree in the bowl with the flour. Dissolve the dry yeast in lukewarm water, about 100 ml, or the fresh yeast.

Tips: the water must not be hot or it will kill the yeast. Instead it must be lukewarm, this will help it.

Chop the sage leaves with a knife or with scissors. In Italy we also use a kitchen tool called ‘mezzaluna’.

In a large bowl put the flours and add the freshly chopped sage. Add the water with the melted yeast inside and mix with a wooden spoon. Pour the Evoo and start kneading the ingredients with your hands.

Tips: You can dissolve the salt in the remaining water so that it does not cancel out the work of the yeast. Yeast and salt should never be joined together at the same time.

Add the rest of the water with the salt dissolved in it, and knead well for 10 minutes until you get a soft and moist dough that will be a bit sticky as well.
Cover it now with a plastic wrap or a cloth and let it rise for at least 2 hours in a warm and dry place.

When the dough is doubled, roll it out with your hands, no rolling-pin (these are focaccine and not pizza). The tip of the fingers will help create the characteristic dimples where the oil collects in little puddles.  Add a bit of flour on the chopping board or the kitchen table so you can work it better. Form discs of about 1 centimeter with a pastry cutter or with an upside-down glass, place them on a baking tray covered with parchment paper and leave them for another 30 minutes. Once also this last leavening is finished, press focaccine in the centre to form the edge and brush with Evoo.

Bake at 180 ° C (160 C fan) (350 F) for about 20-25 minutes, depending on your oven. When cooked, flavor your focaccine with a drizzle of olive oil and rock salt. 

How to keep them?
Potato focaccine are good to eat freshly baked, however you can store them in a paper bag for a day.

Elle's tip: Use some of the water you boiled the potatoes in as your water to dissolve the yeast...after it has cooled down to lukewarm...and your dough will be even nicer.

Seasonal Pumpkin Bread

It seems like a long time since I last posted, but I have been a busy bee. While the weather held, I was prepping and painting a room in the farmhouse. Glad I kept at it because today the rain came...YAY!...and so painting is out for a while. There has been enough steady rain since about 11 am today that our fire danger is probably done until late summer 2021. I was also blessed with two unexpected visits on Thursday. One was a good friend whom I haven't seen since June. We text and talk, but it was good to see her smiling face...six feet away while we had warm spiced cider and pumpkin bread on the front porch. It was a chilly afternoon Thursday, so the visit was shorter than I would have liked, but still a delight.

The second unexpected visit was my good friend Shelly. She has been sort of mid-way between her home and my house as she cares for her Mom as her Mom has her final days on earth. The reason she was here was that she has a medical condition that requires periodic doctor's visit. I'm an hour or two closer to where she is with her Mom than her home, so she came to Santa Rosa for the medical situation, then came and stayed in the farmhouse (our impromptu B&B!).

So today I'm sharing the pumpkin bread. Dede enjoyed her slice, so did Sweetie (well, he had more than one) and I sent the rest with Shelly back to her Mom, who loves sweets. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did, if you choose to make it. There are lots of reasons to bake this treat: it's moist and seasonal with warm spices and even some chocolate chips, it keeps well, it makes your house smell delicious while it's baking, and it's easy!

Sweet Pumpkin Bread

makes 1 loaf

 2 cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup canned solid pack pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
1 cup brown sugar, packed
¼ cup milk
¼ cup light (mild) molasses
2 eggs
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x5x3 loaf pan.

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl (both flours, soda and powder, spices).

Put the pumpkin, brown sugar, milk, molasses and eggs in a mixing bowl and mix until well blended.

Add the dry ingredients and begin to combine. Add the chocolate chips and mix just until all are well blended.

Pour into the prepared pan and smooth the top.  Bake in preheated oven 45 to 55 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool in pan five minutes, then turn out of pan and cool on a cooling rack, right side up.

(Sweetie likes to cut a slice while the chocolate chips are still warm and gooey...and who is to say he is wrong?)

Calzone To Enjoy

A comfort food for Sweetie and me is pizza, including the hand-pie version, calzone. Last night I made some for our dinner. We also had a nice big green salad.

For the calzone, I defrosted the last of the pizza dough that I had in the freezer. I used THIS recipe to make the dough in the summer, used some of it then and froze the dough in portions just enough for two personal pizzas.

I cut the dough into two pieces, about 145 grams each, and then rolled them out, one at a time on a lightly floured board.

The day before I used my smaller slow cooker to make caramelized onions (thinly slice a peeled onion, cut in half, and toss with about a tablespoon of olive oil. Put into a slow cooker and cook on high for 4-5 hours until caramelized). All the rest of the ingredients were prepared just before I filled the calzone. 

After they were filled and sealed, I let them sit for about an hour to get a bit more puffy and preheated the oven to 475 degrees F. I forgot to also preheat a pizza stone, but, as it turned out, I didn't need it. The crust was pretty thin and cooked very well on the pizza pan set on the oven rack.

These were delicious! Mine had non-dairy ricotta, mixed with chopped Italian parsley, spices like oregano and basil, pepper, and some garlic. On top of that were thinly sliced fresh tomato, salami, and pepperoni. Sweetie had the ricotta mixture, the caramelized onions (I forgot to put them on mine!), some grated Parmesan, the tomatoes, salami and pepperoni, then some mozzarella cheese.

Once the oven was fully heated, I brushed a bit of soy milk on the top dough, cut a couple of steam holes, and put the loaded pizza pan into the oven.

The fragrance was wonderful after about 12 minutes! Baked crust, salami and pepperoni were the dominant notes. We ate every bite!

Calzone

makes two

about 300 grams pizza dough
1/2 cup ricotta cheese (I used Kite Hill non-dairy ricotta)
2 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley
1/4 teaspoon each oregano and basil, dried
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup caramelized onion
1 medium fresh tomato, ripe, thinly sliced, stem end removed
12-14 slices salami
10-12 sliced pepperoni
optional: Parmesan cheese (about 1 tablespoon) and mozzarella cheese (about 2-4 slices)

On a lightly floured board, divide the dough into two pieces, each about 150 grams.

Roll out one piece of the dough into a circle, approximately 8" in diameter.

In a small bowl mix together the ricotta cheese, Italian parsley, dried oregano and basil, garlic and pepper.

Spread half the ricotta mixture on half of the dough circle, leaving 1.5-2 inches around the edges free of ricotta. Spread half the onions over the ricotta. Top with half of the tomato slices (about 2-2.5), half the salami slices and half the pepperoni slices. If using, top with the mozzarella and sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese.

Fold the half of the dough with no ingredients over the half the dough circle with ingredients, edges meeting. Press down edges. Starting at one end, fold over the edge, then fold that over next to it, and continue until whole half-circle has been folded to seal. Place calzone on a greased 12-inch pizza pan.

Prepare the second calzone just as you did the first. Place it on the other side of the pizza pan. Lightly cover with oiled plastic wrap and sit in a draft-free warm place for an hour.

About 15 minutes before the hour is up, preheat the oven to 475 degrees F. When oven is hot, remove the plastic wrap from the calzone, brush lightly with milk or soy milk using a pastry brush, and score the top at a diagonal in two places on each calzone.

Bake in preheated oven for about 12-15 minutes. Calzone will have a browned crust, and the juices from the meat and tomatoes will be seeping through the slash on the top. Serve at once, after using a pizza cutter to cut each calzone into four pieces.

Americans - VOTE!

 

Poetry Peeps October Attempt

 I've known Tanita Davis for a while now, ever since we were Daring Bakers around 2007 or so. Tanita is an accomplished and acclaimed Young Adult Fiction published writer, and she is also a poet. She and a number of her friends who are fellow poets, the Poetry Peeps, write poetry to a theme or a poetry form every month. Recently she invited readers, like me, to join in if we like. It's been ages since I attempted to write poetry, but this month Poetry Peeps decided, "in their infinite 2019 wisdom, that October was going to be a good time to explore a new type of poetry called Naani." It's a short form of poetry, somewhat like haiku. The name means 'of one and all' and the form needs to be 20-25 syllables total, so I'll succeed or fail in a short time.

Since the poem can be about anything, I decided to write about what has been hanging over me all month. No, not the elections, although they are important. No, what concerns me now is the fire danger here in Northern California, and all over the state. October each year has been full of wildfires. It used to be my favorite time of year, but not anymore. Maybe it will be again in the future. I want October to be wonderful! Here's my poem:

Jack O'Lantern orange
swirling flames,
obscuring smoke;
California's Fall new normal

Visit Tanita's site for her quite seasonal poem and for links to the other Poetry Peeps.

 

Bread Baking Again - Oatmeal Whole Wheat

After a very long, very hot summer and early fall, we are finally getting some cooler autumn weather. At the moment there isn't any smoke, but that could change today or tomorrow with the coming of offshore winds and a fire that is burning in Napa. We are, again, under a red flag warning for fire danger. I'm going to enjoy cool and smoke free air for as long as I can. Where we live is not scheduled for pre-emptive power outage either, but nearby communities are, through Tuesday morning. Such is the life of a Sonoma Co, CA resident now. Fall used to be my favorite season, but now it is fraught. I'll be sure to put up a post if we are evacuated or in any danger. I know that some in my family use this blog for such news.

Back to bread! 

This oatmeal bread starts with cooked oatmeal, cooled, and barely warm water with yeast hydrated for 10 minutes. Flour is whole wheat and bread flour and all-purpose. I makes a nice, tight-grained, moist sandwich loaf with a great flavor. I especially like molasses with oatmeal bread, so I added a tablespoon. The recipe is my own, but there are probably others like it around. 

Oatmeal Bread

1/2 cup rolled oats (old fashioned kind is best, but not instant)
1 cup water

1/4 cup barely warm water
1 packet (1/4 oz.) instant dry yeast

1/2 cup bread flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup milk, barely warmed
1 tablespoon molasses

In a large bowl, place the rolled oats and the water. Microwave on high, uncovered, for 2 minutes, until cooked through. Let cool completely.

While oatmeal is cooling, place the barely warm water in a small bowl. Sprinkle on the yeast and hydrate for 10 minutes. Mixture should show some froth. Set aside.

In a large bowl, stir together the bread flour, whole wheat flour and all-purpose flour and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer with bread hook attachment, place the 1/2 cup barely warmed milk, the molasses, and the hydrated yeast and water. Stir to combine. Add 1 cup of the flour mixture and stir to combine. Lower the dough hook and turn machine to low. Add the remaining flour, about 1/2 cup at a time, until a soft dough forms and the sides of the bowl are cleaned by the dough mass. There may be flour mixture left, or you may need a bit of additional all-purpose flour.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured clean work surface and knead for 2 minutes. Form into a ball. Place ball of dough into a lightly greased large bowl. Turn ball to coat with grease. Cover and let rise in a draft-free warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Turn dough out of bowl onto a lightly floured clean work surface. Press down to get rid of excess gas. Shape dough into a loaf and fit into a greased loaf pan. Cover and let rise until slightly above the rim of the pan. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 25-30 minutes. Crust will be browned and loaf will sound hollow when bottom is tapped. Let cool completely before slicing. Makes one loaf.

A Few More #Inktober Drawings

I've gotten really far behind, so today I drew an image that covers four prompts. It's inspired by pulp sci-fi books my older brother NoHandle used to read, plus a nod to Darth Vader's helmet and armored gloves. Not the most sophisticated drawing, but it was fun!

Indulgent Pumpkin Pie Spectacular

Looking for a showstopper dessert for fall festivities or because you have a pumpkin spice craving?  Southern Living has a gorgeous, delicious pumpkin pie that is enhanced with an extra crust of gingersnaps and pecans and, after the filling has partially baked, is further adorned with a brown sugar-pecan streusel topping. To put it really over the top, just before serving it is embellished with whipped cream. The recipe calls for ginger flavored whipped cream and some ginger cookie garnish, but the plain, luxurious whipped cream is garnish enough.

Because this pie starts with a refrigerated pie crust, it is not as difficult as it sounds. The pie crust is fitted to a deep dish pie pan, then a mixture of finely ground gingersnap cookies, finely chopped pecans, powdered sugar and melted butter are mixed together for the inner crust. The filling is rich with pumpkin, sour cream, sweetened condensed milk, eggs and spices, plus vanilla. The streusel has flour, brown sugar and pecans, moistened with more melted butter. No one said that this was health food! The finished pie, glamorously topped with dollops of whipped cream, has elements of both pecan and pumpkin pie. You only need thin slices because this is a rich, decadent dessert.  

Pumpkin Pie Spectacular
makes one pie - recipe from Southern Living Magazine
 

1/2 (15 oz.) package refrigerated pie crusts (one disc of pie dough)

2 cups crushed gingersnaps (about 35-40 cookies)

1 cup pecans, finely chopped

1/2 cup powdered sugar

4 tablespoons butter (1/4 cup), melted

 15 oz. canned pumpkin

14 oz. canned sweetened condensed milk

2 large eggs, beaten

1/2 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ginger

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Pecan Streusel (see below)

Whipped cream, ground cinnamon (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Fit pie crust into a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate according to package directions; fold edges under, and crimp.

2. Stir together crushed gingersnaps and next 3 ingredients. Press mixture on bottom and 1/2 inch up sides of pie crust.

3. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack (about 30 minutes).

4. Stir together pumpkin and next 6 ingredients until well blended. Pour into prepared crust. Place pie on an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet.

5. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Sprinkle Pecan Streusel around edge of crust. Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until set, shielding edges with aluminum foil during last 25 to 30 minutes of baking, if necessary. 

Let cool completely on a wire rack (about 1 hour). Dollop with Whipped cream; dust with cinnamon.

Pecan Streusel

1/4 cup all-purpose flour 

1/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

4 tablespoon butter, melted

1/4 cup pecans, chopped

Another Blog Birthday

On October 22, 2006 I posted my first blog post on this blog (or any other blog for that matter). At the time I didn't really think too much about how long I would continue blogging, nor what it would mean to me over time. It has been a joy, a learning experience, a window onto the world, a virtual recipe file box, a way to meet a lot of really nice people, a way to express myself and stretch myself and grow as a person. Not bad! 

I have written almost 1,500 posts and have gotten over 6,500 comments over the years. Each month between 5,000 and 8,000 views of posts happen. My main focus is still food, especially recipes, and seasonal cooking and baking. The visual arts still are a vital part of the blog. I hope to continue Inktober postings soon...had a nice visit from our daughter and took a break from ink during that time.

Here is what I wrote in that first post:

After about a month of visiting a bunch of great food blogs, I decided to join the fun.

Food is one of my earliest enthusiasms. Baking was how I got started and it remains one of my favorite ways of being creative. Then there are all of the beautiful fruits and nuts just outside my back door in season...pretty California...apples in the fall, but we've gone through blackberries, plums, peaches, pears, walnuts, quince, persimmon in their turn over the years. I grow tomatoes, green beans and lots of summer squash, plus herbs.

Other enthusiasms are painting & drawing, photography, gardening (flowers, too) and writing a bit. Seems like most of these can be enjoyed while blogging or will add to the blog.

I love trying new things and have been cooking long enough that I take the results of new recipes, untasted, to parties and often make small changes to recipes the first time I try them.Foolish? Intrepid? Confident? Who knows?

Looking forward to tasting new things, making new friends and having a good time.

Elle

I think that those enthusiasms have been explored and I have certainly tasted new things, made new friends and had a really, really good time. Here's to more blogging fun going forward!

Rock The Vote Blue

I'm old enough to know that there have been presidential elections in the last 50 years or so that were very important for a variety of reasons, but I think that the 2020 election might top the list. The last four years have been chaotic. Right from the start there was a disrespect for the job that government does that benefits all Americans and a greed to harness the powers in government that can serve and/or enrich a few.  Even now key government positions are unfilled by the President and so key work is being done by placeholder workers who, because everyone knows they are placeholders, have less power and influence. Beyond that I guess I am tired of each day waking up to another news article about Trump. The news often isn't about anything else but Trump. That gets old folks. We haven't even touched on the massive changes in our culture, in our place in the world, and in how our government governs that are the result of four years of Trump. It feels very much like our democracy is in danger.

Because some Americans have benefited from those changes, or have been led to believe that those changes are good for them, not everyone is interested in having the next four years be non-Trump years. Others are afraid, or filled with hate or both. Others have a strong interest in one issue...like abortion, or gun owners freedoms, or eliminating government regulations and they believe that continuing with our current president will help with those interests...and that might indeed be true. I respect each American's right to vote the way they see fit, but I sincerely hope that a vast majority of American votes are just as tired of the Trump years as I am. I pray that they can see that the balance of power that our founding fathers set up has been seriously unbalanced.

This week my daughter and I did an art project. We painted rocks blue and then added words, phrases, images and icons encouraging people to vote (non-partisan) and also, on some of them, asking them to vote Democratic. We have been dropping off those rocks in prominent places around town and around the area. We are in the last few weeks of this election period. If you are an American and registered to vote, it's time to think about what you believe in, what you respect, what you are willing to put up with, what you hope the future holds...and VOTE.

The Babes Bake Bierocks

For October we head to the Nebraska region of the U.S.A. for a specialty that Sweetie and I really enjoyed. The Bread Baking Babes Kitchen of the Month, Kelly of  A Messy Kitchen said this, "The first (choice of bread) is bierocks or runzas, which is a Nebraskan dish (also US regions with strong Eastern European and German heritage).  It is a hand held meat pie similar to a Cornish pasty I think.  I have seen vegetarian versions as well with portobello mushrooms instead of the beef." 

One of the key aspects of bierocks is that the filling needs to be flavorful since the bland bread can overpower it otherwise. Most versions that I saw used onions and cabbage...the rest of the filling varied. My filling was made with ground pork, onions, garlic, thyme and sage (dried), parsley (fresh), a bit of white wine, a touch of tomato paste, and quite a bit of a salad mix that contains kale, shaved Brussel sprouts, red cabbage, green cabbage, and broccoli stems in julienne. I did simmer it for about an hour, but by then it seemed done and ready to fill the dough without being cooked any more.

I made half the dough, which made enough for our dinner, plus two lunches. It's an enriched dough, but easy to work with. I used 1 cup graham flour as part of the flour for a bit of added nutrition. Other than that, I followed the directions below.

Do try these. They are filling and delicious! Thanks Kelly for choosing theses...a new favorite for fall.

Also, to become a Buddy, send Kelly an email with a photo of your finished buns and a short description of your bake. She'll send you a Buddy badge. Be sure to also check out the other Bread Baking Babes to see how their Bierocks/Runza turned out.

Bierock/Runza dough:

(Serves 12)

4½ cups all-purpose flour (feel free to use part wholemeal or add flax meal for speckles)

2 tbsp sugar 

2 pkgs (1/4 oz) yeast 

1 tsp salt 

¾ cup milk 

½ cup water 

½ cup butter 

2 eggs, beaten

Start by placing 1½ cups flour, sugar, yeast, and salt into a large mixing bowl.
Gently heat the milk, water, and butter to 115º F.
Pour warmed wet ingredients into flour mixture. Stir slightly before adding beaten eggs.
Add remaining flour, one cup at a time, until the dough comes together and is smooth and elastic.
Cover and let rise in a warm place for about 1 hour. 

Filling ingredients:
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, smashed and chopped
2 pounds ground beef (I used ground pork)
4 cups shredded cabbage (about ½ a head of cabbage) (I used 2 cups kale salad mix)
1 small can sauerkraut, with the juice (I skipped this since I don't care for sauerkraut)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon ground sage
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 teaspoons fresh Italian parsley, minced
1/4 cup white wine
salt and pepper to taste (be liberal here, the bread tempers the seasoning)
(optional) cheese of your choice (I skipped this since I'm allergic to dairy)

  Chop onions and garlic and sauté in a large frying pan with a little butter or olive oil until tender.  Add ground beef (pork) along with (tomato paste, sage, thyme, parsley, wine) and generous amounts of salt and pepper.  Cook until beef (pork) is cooked through (then stir in the kale salad). Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour. Cool before using as filling for the bierocks.

Punch dough down, and divide into 12 equal portions. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  
Working with one piece of dough, roll out a circle of dough approximately 1/4″ thick.  It shouldn’t be so thin that it is breaking up into holes when you handle it.  To help with the shaping, place the round into a bowl. Dump the filling (~½ cup) on top of the dough, and then pull the dough around the filling and pinch sides together to seal.  Flip the bierocks/runza out, seam side down.

Place onto a greased baking sheet (edges can touch). 

Bake at 350 degrees F for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown.  

Optionally, brush tops with melted butter during the last 10 minutes of baking for color and flavor!

 

Dunes for #inktober day 13

I love the ocean and the dunes and dune grasses. You can just imagine the salty sea smell and the crash of the waves just downhill from those top grasses.

On white paper with mostly a gray wide marker and some added white gel pen and fine point black pen.