Heavy on the Parmesan

Sweetie returned home from playing racquetball with a sore knee. I suspect that the injury he did last spring weakened the ligaments on that knee so that it is easier to re-injure it. Fortunately he didn't tough it out and keep playing, so once he had taken a shower it was better and then I was able to massage the knee, leg and ankle to help it feel better. He is still going to go easy on it for a few days but at least he isn't limping now.

Unexpected massage sessions like that can throw off the dinner plans a bit so I threw together a baked pasta dish instead of the slow braised dish I was going to make. He liked it so well that he asked me to make sure I wrote it down so that I can make it again. I must admit, it turned out well for a recipe that was made up on the spot. It contains leftover roast chicken, some broccoli and green peas, red and yellow peppers, carrots, green onions, whole grain penne pasta, herbs and a sauce with lots and lots of Parmesan cheese. It would be a fine dish without the Parmesan, but that full flavored cheese takes it to memorable.

Although there is 1/4 cup of fat between the olive oil and the margarine, it serves 4 generously, so that comes out to 1 tablespoon per person. I used non-fat evaporated milk and chicken broth for the liquid and thickened the sauce with all-purpose flour. I think the part I like the best was the mix of vegetables both for taste and because the mix of green, red, orange and yellow was lovely to look at.

You could serve this right from the pot instead of baking it but I find that the contrast between the creamy sauce and the chewy baked cheese is really nice.
Don't save this one for a time when you have less time than you thought to make the meal. It really will be appreciated even if you never twist your knee.



Baked Pasta with Chicken and Parmesan

1/2 lb penne pasta (I used whole wheat penne)

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/2 cup red bell pepper, diced
1/2 cup yellow bell pepper, diced
1/4 cup carrots, chopped
2 green onions, sliced, white part only

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 cup non-fat evaporated milk
1 cup chicken broth
freshly ground pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme
1/4 teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

2 cups cubed or chopped cooked chicken
1 cup broccoli florettes
1/2 cup peas (I used frozen peas)
2- 3 tablespoon shredded Parmesan cheese

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, then add the penne, stir, and boil until al dente', about 8-10 minutes. Drain and set aside.

While pasta is cooking prepare the sauce: In a saucepan heat the olive oil and butter or margarine over medium-high heat. Add the bell peppers, carrots and green onions and cook, stirring frequently, until onion begins to brown, about 3-4 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the veggies from the oil, keeping as much oil as possible in the pot. Set the veggies aside.

Sprinkle the flour over the oil and stir with a wooden spoon to combine. Cook, stirring once or twice, over medium-high heat for 1 minutes to cook the flour a bit.
In a bowl, while the flour is cooking in the pot, stir together the milk and broth. Season with the pepper. With a whisk at hand, pour all of the liquid into the flour mixture and immediately whisk to combine thoroughly. Continue to stir with the whisk while the liquid thickens. Mixture will begin to bubble slightly once it has thickened. Add the 1/2 cup Parmesan and whisk to combine. Stir in the bell pepper/onion/carrot mixture to combine. Taste for seasonings and add more pepper or herbs if needed. With all that Parmesan it is unlikely you will need more salt.

Place plastic wrap directly on the top of the sauce. Set aside.

Heat the broccoli, peas and chicken in the microwave 1 minute, just to warm them.

In the pot you used to cook the pasta mix the penne, chicken, broccoli, peas and sauce. Stir with the wooden spoon to thoroughly combine. If not baking the dish you can serve it now.

If baking it, spread the mixture in a 9 x 13-inch shallow pan and sprinkle with the 2-3 tablespoon of Parmesan cheese. Bake in a preheated 400 degree F oven for 15 minutes with the shelf being toward the top of the oven. If the cheese doesn't brown at all by then, use the broiler briefly to brown some of the cheese. Serve at once.
Serves 4 - 6.

Ever Heard of Farls?

Come on over for a Irish flavored tea. No, not Irish whisky flavored, but one given a hint of Ireland because not only are we having some good hot tea (Lady Gray variety in my case, but I have some Irish Breakfast tea if you are feeling traditional) but also Soda Farls, a sort of cross between Irish Soda Bread and Scones. I almost used up the last of my King Arthur Flour Irish-style wheat flour for this but it really add a nice touch since it has more texture than whole wheat flour from the market.


This is pretty plain bread, not at all sweet, but if you enjoy wheat flavor you'll like it. I tried my farl with both butter...a great choice...and some lemon curd homemade and generously given by my quilting friend Judy. She brought it on Boxing Day and it is quite delicious! Because this is not a sweet bread the farls also go quite nicely with soup and stews.

The trick here, as with most quick breads, is to barely combine the ingredients. Over mixing toughens the bread. I doubt that these farls will make it past breakfast tomorrow but I suspect that they are not great keepers, so enjoy as soon as they are cool enough to separate into farls.



Not needing stale soda bread, I made a half of the recipe given in An Irish Country Village, a lovely book about an apprentice doctor in rural Northern Ireland in the late '60s. The housekeeper's name is Kinky Kincaid and she is the one who gives some recipes at the end of the book. If you want to start with the young doctor's introduction to the village then start with An Irish Country Doctor. If you make the full recipe (just double the ingredients) you will probably have to bake it about 30 minutes.



Soda Farls
from An Irish Country Village by Patrick Taylor

4 oz. all-purpose flour
4 oz. whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda, heaped
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 - 8 oz. buttermilk

Sieve dry ingredients into a bowl. Add buttermilk, enough for a soft but not sticky dough. Turn onto a well-floured board and shape into a cake 1 1/2 inches thick. Transfer round to a floured baking sheet (and pat to restore rounded shape if needed). Mark into 4-6 wedges (farls). I marked into 8 wedges & that worked fine, too.

Bake in preheated 400 to 425 degree F oven about 18-20 minutes. Separate farls once bread has cooled.

If preferred, the farls can be cut into wedges & cooked on a floured, gently heated griddle. This is the more traditional method.

YUM!


These are great eaten warm, with some butter or cheese, but are also delicious split in half and toasted...like English muffins.

The Apricot Jam Plays Well With the Pork

Sometimes in winter the cold weather outside encourages us to be in the kitchen and play, spinning out the hours in the warmth and delicious smells as we try out new recipes or re-visit cherished ones. But what happens when it is warm out and sunny?

Here in Northern California we are praying for rain because this has been a pretty dry 'rainy season' so far. While it can be nice to be able to sit outside at lunch time in the sun, it is unsettling to know that without some rain I may have to curtail what I grow in the garden this spring and my bay area neighbors may run out of drinking water. So the answer is to hope for rain and... we end up needing a quick dinner because there have been 'better' things to do than be in the kitchen.

I found pork tenderloin on sale at the market so I was able to pull together a super quick meal because the whole cooking process takes about 35 minutes and for 20 of that you can be making a salad and/or side dish. It's the apricot jam that makes this dish sing! We were gifted anonymously on Boxing Day with the most lovely jar of home-made apricot jam. It was the perfect thing for this dish, although I would imagine that any apricot jam would be OK. I loved that this one wasn't too sweet and had a wonderful apricot fragrance. Many thanks to the donor...and I hope I find out who it was so I can thank you properly.



I also included some of the lovely roast garlic and a bit of white wine in the sauce for an added depth of flavor. If you don't have those the sauce will be fine without it.

Apricot Pork Tenderloin with Apricot-Roasted Garlic Sauce
based on a recipe in Simply Suppers by Jennifer Chandler

1 pork tenderloin, about 1 1/4 lbs, trimmed
Salt & pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup apricot preserves, divided
1/3 cup water
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 - 2 cloves roasted garlic, mashed
1 tablespoon dry white wine (optional)

Rinse the pork tenderloin and pat it dry with paper towels. Generously season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with the 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place the olive oil in a large cast-iron or ovenproof skillet and heat over medium-high heat until sizzling. Sear the tenderloin until well-browned on all four sides, about 3 minutes per side. Brush 3/4 cup of the apricot preserves over the top and place the pan in the oven to finish cooking the tenderloin, about 15 - 20 minutes. Cook to an internal temperature of at least 160 degrees. Mine was at 165 degrees and was still quite pink in the middle.

Transfer the cooked tenderloin to a cutting board with a well. Cover loosely with foil and let the pork rest about 5 minutes.

While the pork is resting pour the pan drippings out of the pan and discard the oil. Add the water to the pan. Over high heat bring the water to a boil. Stir with a wooden spoon to scrape the browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the sauce is slightly thickened, about 3 minutes. Stir in the remaining 1/4 cup apricot preserves, the thyme and the roasted garlic (and wine if using). Taste and season as needed with salt and pepper. Simmer another 2 minutes to melt the preserves into the sauce and meld the flavors.

Thinly slice the tenderloin and serve slices with the sauce spooned over the top.
Serves 4

Roasted Garlic

Perhaps you always take a recipe that interests you and you make it right away...Ha! Do you know any food blogger who does? Most of us seem to have stacks of cookbooks, often with bookmarked pages, plus magazine recipes, either still in the magazine or torn out, plus numerous digitally bookmarked recipes found on our favorite blogs and foodie websites.

I recently stumbled on a recipe that I knew I wanted to make once I saw it in Clean Eating magazine. That was in October 2009, so that seems about the 'normal' lag time for me...now I'm actually making it.

One of the things I liked about this recipe was that you bake a number of garlic heads at once...more roasted garlic that way. I also liked that you put one head in each section of a muffin tin. That way each head gets a full complement of heat, unlike when they are all wrapped up together in foil. I wasn't too thrilled about the concept of a garlic infused muffin tin but I solved that by buying disposable muffin tins. Best of all, this is an easy recipe to do (with only 30 minutes of hands free cooking time) and there are lots and lots of ways to use roasted garlic. I put some in a pork tenderloin sauce...but that's a story for another post.

Roasted Garlic
Clean Eating Magazine, September-October 2009

6 full heads garlic
olive oil (about 1/4 cup)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Peel the outer skin but leave enough inner skin to keep the cloves bound together.


Cut 1/4 to 1/2 inch (enough to expose the cloves) off of the top of the head using a sharp knife. Discard the part you cut off.

Put the prepared head into a baking dish or muffin tin...the muffin tin works really well and keeps the cloves of the head together. Using your fingers, spread olive oil thoroughly over each head of garlic. Make sure to coat the head all over so the edges don't burn. Any oil in the bottom of the pan or muffin tin makes great dipping oil after the garlic is roasted.


Cover the pan or muffin tin with foil and bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick poked into a clove in the middle of the head goes through with only a slight resistance. You want it soft but not mushy.


That's it...see how easy and quick? You can serve the roasted garlic in the skins, letting people slide the roasted garlic out of the skin, or you can remove the cloves from the skins and serve or store that way. Because of the strong smell that garlic gives off, I recommend storing them in a glass jar. You can use the oil at the bottom of the muffin cups to pour over the cloves and keep it all in the fridge. Now think roasted garlic mashed potatoes or white pizza with roasted garlic and your favorite topping...

Just Past Their Prime Grapes Cake

Not everyone seeing a platter of tired looking grapes would think 'cake' but then not everyone loves to snack on fresh grapes and raw almonds. For some reason I just love that flavor combination. Now the grapes may be weary but they are still unspoiled, just a tiny bit dehydrated, not even close to being raisins. I picked through them carefully and ended up with enough to scatter fairly closely over the baking pan.

The second part is a recipe in Lauren Chattman's Cake Keeper Cakes. I baked a number of cakes from this lovely cookbook last year along with other Cake Slice Bakers. This year I needed a break, so cakes are few and far between since November. I'm pretty sure we never baked the Almond-Brown Butter Cake that I topped those grapes with but it provided that essential almond flavor, plus the topping is sliced almonds so I get actual almonds and grapes AND cake! Sweet.

I followed the recipe pretty closely with the exception of using 1 1/4 cups almond meal/flour (Bob's Red Mill brand) instead of processing the almonds and sugar. The rest was mostly as written, including the use of a vanilla bean. That and the browned butter added a great deal of flavor to the almond/grape pairing. Oh, I also skipped the rum & reduced the amount of sugar. Guess I really do have trouble keeping to a recipe.


So some afternoon when you have some fresh grapes, weary or not, try this cake. It goes great with a cup of hot tea on a winter afternoon. Sweetie thinks so, too. It was fine textured and moist and not too sweet although it was rich.



Almond-Brown Butter Cake with Grapes
Serves 8
10 tablespoons ( 1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, plus more for the pan
1/2 vanilla bean (I used a whole one since I wasn't using the rum)
about 1 cup seedless grapes
1 1/2 cup sliced almonds, divided
1 1/2 cups sugar, divided (I used 1/4 cup less)
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
8 large egg whites
pinch of salt
(2 tablespoons dark rum was in the original version)

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Split the vanilla bean and scrape the seeds into the butter. Add the scraped pod to the pan.


Heat until the butter is lightly brown and gives off a nutty aroma, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes. Watch carefully; it will burn quickly after it browns. Remove from the heat and let stand for 10 minutes. Discard the vanilla bean and pour the butter through a fine strainer to remove any burnt solids. Set aside to cool.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch round cake pan (I used a 2 inch deep one and I'm glad it did as the cake rose impressively). Line the bottom of the pan with a circle of parchment paper. Grease the parchment. Dust the pan sides and parchment with flour, tapping out any excess flour. Evenly distribute the grapes over the bottom of the prepared pan. Set aside.

Reserve 1/4 cup of the almonds. Place the remaining 1 1/4 cups almonds and 3/4 cup of the sugar in the bowl of a food processor and grind fine. Add the flour and pulse to combine. (I used 1 1/4 cup almond flour, 3/4 cup sugar and 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of flour and whisked them together in a bowl.)

Place the egg whites in a large mixing bowl with the salt and beat until foamy. With the mixer on high, add the remaining 3/4 cup sugar (I only used 1/2 cup since I didn't want it to be so sweet) in a slow, steady stream and whip until the whites are shiny and hold stiff peaks. Fold in the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the butter mixture and ending with the flour mixture. If using, fold in the rum.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, covering the grapes completely. Smooth with a spatula. Scatter the remaining 1/4 cup sliced almonds over the batter. Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out dry, about 35 to 40 minutes.

Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Invert the cooled cake onto a wire rack, then turn it right side up to cool completely. If desired, dust heavily with powdered sugar (I didn't and I'm glad because it was plenty sweet, even with the reduction in sugar).

Cut into wedges to serve. See those indentation in the photo at the bottom of the cake? Those are the grapes.


Store uneaten cake in a cake keeper or wrap in plastic and store at room temperature for up to 2 days.

In Defence of Quiche

A while ago there was some nonsense floating around about 'real' men not eating quiche. How silly! Quiche is really a savory pie, not some sissy fluff. A good one is like gold because it combines flaky pastry, silky custard and any number of delicious filling ingredients. I have yet to meet a man who didn't thoroughly enjoy any quiche I made.

For last night's dinner I made a quiche that combined three kinds of cheese, onions, mushrooms and carrots cooked almost like a duxelle, and fresh asparagus. The best part may have been the smoked salmon. I do love smoked salmon and it went sooooo well with the other ingredients. Besides, it looked pretty.


Bright asparagus green next to dark smoked salmon pink is luscious looking. All of these ingredients were in the fridge or pantry and I even found some broccoli to steam and serve with the quiche. Sweetie had just prepared the fresh pineapple that's been sitting in the fridge for days, so we had that too. It's sharp sweetness was a great complement to the savory creaminess of the quiche.



Want to try this? O.K. The following is a quiche based on the one I have been making so long that I don't know where I found the original recipe, but I think it was Julia Child's. The only thing they probably have in common is the pie crust, cheese, eggs, milk and nutmeg.



Smoked Salmon-Asparagus Quiche with Three Cheeses

1 blind-baked 9-inch single pie crust, fluted
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 large yellow onion, chopped finely
4 oz. fresh mushrooms, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup chopped carrot
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
dash of pepper
1/2 cup Swiss cheese in small dice
1/2 cup brie cheese in small dice
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
6-8 spears fresh asparagus
1/4 cup smoked salmon, torn into small pieces, about an 1 inch in size
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups milk (I used non-fat evaporated milk)
dash ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Keep the pie crust warm while preparing the filling.

In a large skillet heat the olive oil, then saute' the onions and mushroom 3 minutes over high heat, stirring often, until onion is lightly golden and mixture is losing its moisture. Add the carrots, reduce heat to medium and cook another 4 minutes, stirring often, until onions are browned and mixture looks dry. Stir in the thyme and pepper. Place this mixture into the bottom of the pie crust.

Evenly distribute first the Swiss cheese and then the brie cheese over the veggie mixture. Snap the tough ends off the asparagus and then snap them in half and arrange over the cheese.

Tuck pieces of the salmon between the asparagus spears.

In a medium bowl beat the eggs lightly with a fork or whisk and then beat in the milk and nutmeg, garlic salt and pepper. Pour this mixture over all of the asparagus and salmon. The filling will just come to the top of the pan sides. Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over the whole top. If desired, brush the fluted crust with milk (optional).

Place pie pan on a small baking sheet and bake in preheated 350 degree F oven for 30-40 minutes until knife inserted in center comes out clean. If necessary, cover the fluted crust with foil if it starts to brown too much.

Cool quiche on a rack for 5 minutes, then cut into wedges and serve.
Serves 4 - 6.

Motherhood

Motherhood has been written about in all sorts of ways but I think it is still an elusive concept, perhaps because each woman brings her own unique self to the job. My take on it is probably different than yours but I've been in the trenches quite a while now so I have a certain valid perspective.

One of the things that usually come with the territory are an intense desire for your progeny to be happy, or if that isn't possible at the moment, to be content. All too often life brings events and people into their lives that challenge even the possibility of contentedness unless they have mastered meditation or something similar. As a mom, once they have left high school (and probably long before that, truth be told), we have to let them contend with what life throws at them, let them make their own choices even if we suspect that the outcome will be less that happy, and be there for what little wisdom and comfort they will take. This is called 'building character' but it is difficult to watch.

Sometimes we get a gift such as the one I've received this Christmas. My daughter earned these things through hard work and some of that character building stuff and I was there for her during all that as much as one can be, but it still feels like an unexpected gift.

During the space of about three months she landed a new job that brings her back to California in 2012 and it's a job that will challenge her and sharpen her professional skills, plus I think she will find joy in many aspects of it, including the proximity to sea creatures, a long time love.

She has also, with a little help from Sweetie and me, found a cute house to move into with lots of sunny aspects and outdoor living space not too far from the new job.

The best gift of all is that she is happy with a guy who is happy with her and he seems like the kind of guy you would hope to have her happy with. It probably means that her dad and I will see less of her but if that intense desire for your daughter to be happy is not only being satisfied, but looks like it might continue to be so, the time we will spend together will probably be happier, too.

Speaking of happy, my own Mom has seen me through good times and bad. She told me one time that there is a certain view she just loves. Since it is a continent away from where she is, the photo at the top is for my Mom until she can see the real thing. Hope that makes her happy!

Here's hoping that, if you are a mom, your child or children, no matter their age, are finding their happiness or in search of it. After all, we are at the beginning of a new year, an artificial construct it's true, since each day is equally worthy and comes in its own time, but one which gives us an opportunity to stop for a moment and think about what we can do to be happier, or at least content. Let's wish that for ourselves, too, OK?

Comfy

When I was madly hustling to move the office and convert it to a guest room last month I longed for some down time to just be lazy. Careful what you wish for, right? With a tickle cough and frequent need for tissue to blow my nose it is all too easy to rue the hours I'm spending in bed. I do get to read a lot (when I'm not sleeping...this cold seems to require a lot of sleeping) but even that gets boring. Even oceans of hot tea is not a comfort. At lunchtime I decided it was time for true comfort food that was also quick and easy...a great combination.

A while back one of the favored party dishes was call Seven Layer Dip, a quasi-Mexican plateful of layers of refried beans, cheese, guacamole, olives, tomatoes, sour cream and tortilla chips. This is my variation on that dish, scaled down to a personal portion. If you have the ingredients, a microwave and about 10 minutes, you have a warm, gooey, savory, salty, crispy, tangy plate of deliciousness before you know it.

Start with a microwave safe plate. Add about 1/2 cup refried beans, spread out in the middle of the plate. I use non-fat traditional but there are lots of varieties to choose from. ( I happened to have in the fridge some ground turkey which had been cooked with some chopped onion, so I heated that up and added it, but usually I just go with the beans.) Top the plate with some waxed paper and microwave on half power about a minute to heat the beans.

While the beans are heating, cut an avocado in half and peel the part without the pit, then roughly dice it. The second half can be stored for another use and keeping the pit in helps it keep from going bad.

Once the beans are hot, remove the waxed paper and sprinkle on a handful of grated sharp cheddar cheese. Replace the waxed paper and microwave until the cheese is just melted, about 1 minute at half power.

While the cheese is melting, remove the stem end from a small to medium tomato and dice roughly, then add to the avocado, tossing gently to combine. If you have it you can sprinkle this topping with some lime juice.

Once the cheese has melted, remove the waxed paper and discard it. Top the beans and cheese with the avocado/tomato topping.

Spoon dabs of yogurt (I like Greek style) or sour cream around the dish and sprinkle on a bit of cayenne pepper...a lot if you like spicy heat, a dash if you are more timid like me.

That's it! Scoop up the warm/cool mixture with crunchy salty corn tortilla chips and enjoy your easy, comforting snack or lunch. That's what I did. I don't think I can credit this dish - it's probably helped by the nap I just woke up from - but I'm feeling better.

Surrounded

Lots of times we have little control over where we work. In December I moved my office in order to create a guest room right off of the living room. It was a lot of work, but worth it because I was able to set the new workspace up how I wanted it (within the confines of it being a much smaller space than the old office.) One of the joys of my new workspace is that I'm surrounded by reminders of people I love and things I like to do. Thought I'd share some of it with you.

A photo of my Mom in a blue sweater sits above my monitor so I can feel her smiling down on me with one eyebrow slightly raised, as if asking me if I'm doing my best.

The answer varies, but is usually 'yes'.

Below and to the right is a photo of my daughter. There is also a handprint in poster paint on construction paper with my daughter's printing below with her name. I think she was 4 when she made it at pre-school. Each letter has a little face drawn in and each face is smiling. She smiled a lot at that age. She recently remarked on how large her hand was for a preschooler. In truth she was always in the top percentile for size, but also for development skills. I think the fairy godmothers were generous with their gifts to her.

Artwork I like comes next. First is a print in card form of an amazing artist, Paula Pearce, who is also a friend. It is just on top of K's handprint. Next is a print that is sort of mystical, and one of apple blossoms in Sonoma County, a time I love.

Hung high is a P.E.O. star to remind me of my sisters of the heart, then comes some photos of my watercolor class instructor Berenice Irkes, doing a demo which remind me that I want to paint more often, plus a gorgeous watercolor landscape she did, and a silly box/purse that held notecards. See the turtle painting that reminds me to workout?



There is more!
A Japanese fan with beautiful colors looks great and can be taken off the wall if it gets hot and used for its other purpose.

Since fall is a favorite season, a card with lots of fall leaves is up there too,
and a postcard with Ralph Waldo Emerson's version of success:

Success

To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people
and the affection of children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics
and endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty;
To find the best in others;
To leave the world a bit better,
whether by a healthy child,
a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;
To know even one life has breathed easier
because you have lived.
This is to have succeeded.

Still working on some of that, which is why I also have, pinned to the wall, a Mother Goose stuffed animal from my older brother from when I was being a goose, and a Damnit Doll from a good friend for use when it is all too much.

To the far right I have photos of Max to remind me to enjoy being alive and what fun we had when he was.

Next come a set of wall-hung cloth bags, each a sort of filing cabinet for a project or group...easy to go through and easy to take along.

Do you have a workspace collection that brings you joy, motivation, sadness, inspiration?

When It's OK To Cheat

People who have known me over the last few years know what joy I take in baking bread. I love the whole process, sometimes even more than the finished bread. Even so, there are times when I need something to put on the table quickly...and I still want yeast bread, not quick bread. That's when I cheat. I use frozen bread dough. If it was frozen dough from my own freezer it wouldn't be a cheat, just me being superbaker or something. Alas, I don't put bread dough, unbaked, into the freezer. For one thing I would have to clean out the freezer to find the room. For another thing I would have to think of it when I'm making the dough. Maybe one day...

Until then I can use the frozen white bread dough from the market. One week in November they had it on sale and I was going to show some friends how to make this recipe, so I bought two packages...a total of 6 pounds. Unfortunately the time with the friends was cancelled due to illness of one of the friends, so the dough sat in the already full freezer. When it was time to prepare for our Boxing Day open house I decided that this would be a good time to use 2 pounds of the dough to make some rolls to go with the meat/cheese platter. It would have taken far longer to make these from scratch, time I didn't have, plus frozen bread dough has a light texture that makes good rolls.

First you thaw out the dough. I put the two lumps, still in their plastic bag, into the fridge for a couple of days. (Had meant to only thaw them for one day, but Christmas prep took over, so it ended up being two days.) By then the dough was not only thawed, but puffy.

I turned it out on a large floured board and used my hands to spread the dough, little by little, into a large rectangle. If you only want to make one pan of rolls, you can do the same thing with one pound of dough...the rectangle will be smaller, but otherwise the directions are the same.


Next I drizzled 2 tablespoons of olive oil over the dough and brushed it fairly evenly over the dough with a pastry brush.


1/4 cup mixed freshly minced herbs (I used the Simon & Garfunkle quartet of parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme) are sprinkled evenly over the dough. You could also add salt or garlic salt if you like, or even finely minced garlic.


The dough is then rolled up jelly-roll fashion from the long side of the rectangle, and the edges pinched together once the roll is fully rolled. The rolls are then cut into pieces about one inch to 1 1/2 inches wide.


I used a piece of clean dental floss which gives a nice smooth top edge, but you can use a bench scraper or sharp knife.


Lay the rolls, cut side to the pan, in two greased 9-inch cake pans, leaving some room between the rolls for rising. Cover the pans with oiled plastic wrap and then a tea towel and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in bulk.

When rolls are almost ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Uncover the rolls and mist with olive oil or brush with melted butter or milk, or leave plain as I did.

Bake in the preheated oven about 15 minutes, or until baked and tops are beginning to be browned. Remove from oven and let cool 10 minutes on a rack, then turn out of the pans and separate into rolls. Serve at once for best flavor and texture.

These rolls can also be cooled and packed into gallon storage bags and put in the fridge for a day or two. Reheat in a 325 degree F oven for 10 minutes. Best served warm.

Makes about 16 rolls