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By Emily, June 16, 2010 3:51 pm

It’s the last week of school for Brian and I.  6 months ago, I thought this day would never come, but suddenly it’s the middle of June.  Anyway,  after the students left at 11 on Monday, the faculty had a potluck lunch.  I like going to potlucks, but I never know what to bring.  There are just too many options and I’m really bad at being decisive.  Brian suggested that I made a couple loaves of bread and bring those.  So I did.

I’m in love with the No-Time Bread recipe featured on The Kitchn a while back.  I’ve made it several times, it’s always turned out great and everyone I’ve made it for has been impressed.  If you need bread for something, or you want to impress your friends (parents, future significant other, boss, etc) you should make this bread, even if you’ve never made bread before (I never had).   This time around, I decided (at Brian’s encouragement) to mix things up a bit by adding whole wheat flour, sun-dried tomatoes and Italian seasoning.  I was really pleased with the result.  Having made the original recipe several times, it was much easier for me to change it.  Usually I don’t experiment with recipes too much, but this was definitely worthwhile…more experiments to come?

Wheat Sun-dried Tomato No-Time Bread

Adapted from The Kitchn

1 loaf

Two packets active dry yeast (4 1/2 teaspoons)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 3/4 cups water
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1 cup sundried tomatoes, chopped
1 tbsp. Italian seasoning

1. Put the yeast, sugar and water in the bowl of your stand mixer.
2. While the yeast does its thing, heat the oven to 450°F. Put a Dutch oven (or an alternative, listed on the Kitchn) in the oven to warm. Get out the rest of your ingredients.  Mix together the whole wheat and all purpose flour.
3. Once the yeast has bubbled up, add 3 cups of the flour, plus the salt and vinegar and beat for several minutes with the paddle attachment.
4. Switch to the dough hook attachment, add the last 1/2 cup of flour and beat for 4 minutes.   After the 4 minutes are up, add the sun-dried tomatoes and Italian seasoning, and beat the dough for another 3. The dough for this bread is wet, it should clear the sides of the bowl but still stick to the bottom.  This recipe seemed much less goopy than the regular recipe, but either way the end result was awesome.
   
5. Oil a microwave safe bowl with vegetable oil.  Add the dough to the bowl and roll it lightly in the oil.  Cover the bowl with a wet towel. Cover the whole thing with a dry towel and put in the microwave. Microwave on HIGH for 25 seconds.
6. Let rest in the microwave for about five minutes.
7. Microwave on HIGH for another 25 seconds, then remove.
8. Let rest and rise for another 15 minutes.
9. Shape into a ball and plop into the preheated pan. Quickly slash the top with a knife. Cover and bake for about 30 minutes, then remove the cover and bake for another 10 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and the internal temperature hits 210.

Olive Bread

For the second loaf, Brian wanted me to make “the really good olive bread”.  I had to remind him that I’ve never made olive bread.  The bread he recalls was served to us by the mother of one of our friends during our vacation in February.  Of course, the bread was so good, I copied the recipe out of the cookbook (warning to friends: if you have me over, I will steal your recipes, apparently).  I can’t remember what the title of the cookbook was, it was about Greek cooking, but here’s the recipe nevertheless.

Makes 2 medium loaves

2 lb strong white bread flour  (I just used All Purpose Flour…sorry, bread making purists, but it tastes good to me!)
1 envelope dried yeast
3 tsp sesame seeds
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried oregano
3 tBS olive oil, plus more for brushing
2.5 cups warm water
8 oz Greek olives, pitted and chopped

1.  Put the yeast, flour, 2 tsps of sesame seeds, salt and oregano in a large bowl and mix.  Add 3 TBS of olive oil and, using a wooden spoon, gradually add the water to form a firm dough
2.  Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for 10 minutes, until smooth.  Put the dough in a clean bowl, cover with a clean, damp dish towel and let rise for about 1 hour, until doubled in size
3.  Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead lightly to knock out the air then knead in the olives.  Divide the dough into 2 pieces and shape each piece into a smooth round.  Place on a lightly oiled baking sheet and set in a warm place for about 30 minutes until doubled in size.
4.  Using a sharp knife, make slashes across each loaf then lightly brush with oil and sprinkle remaining sesame seeds on top.  Bake in a preheated oven 425 degrees for 10 minutes then reduce the temperature to 375 and bake for a further 25 minutes or until rise and brown and the bread sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.  Cool on a wire rack.

I used my Kitchenaid to knead the dough in Step 2, and when all was said and done, wished I’d used it to add the olives in Step 3.  The bread turned out fine, but the olives could’ve been more evenly distributed.  Also, you may want to pat your olives dry with a paper towel if they’re as wet as mine were.

The olive bread was the first “real” bread I’ve made (it actually needed time to rise!) and it came out great.  Hopefully this summer will allow for the opportunity to try out more bread recipes!

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By Emily, January 11, 2010 5:25 am

So…work is still kicking my butt.  I started a new (full time, rest of the year!) teaching job last  Monday and I had this fantasy that I was going to have more time for me (aka this blog, the gym, cooking cool recipes, hanging out with Brian, etc) than I did with my last position.  Keyword being fantasy.  I’m still getting my bearings and getting settled in the new job, so, posting schedule still sucks :)

Nevertheless, I’m chipping away at my New Years Resolutions.  Here I am, posting (again!).  Tuesday and Saturday we went to the gym (must be the beginning of January–that place was busy!)  And last Sunday I made soup –and biscuits, which fall under the category of “learning to make things I normally buy”.

The soup was really satisfying.  It’s really thick and using fresh produce made it even better.  Minestrone is one of those soups that’s easy to alter and update based on what you’ve got in the fridge…this is what I had or remembered to buy and it turned out great.  You know you need another soup recipe :)

Sticking with the above and previously mentioned goal of learning to make things instead of buying pre-made processed foods, I made biscuits to go with the soup.  In short: easy, fast, and really, really delicious.  We may never eat sliced bread with soup again.

Dill, Red onion and Cheese Drop Biscuits
from Everybody Likes Sandwiches
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup red onions, finely diced
1 Tablespoon dried dill
a hearty grind of black pepper
a large handful of old cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk or milk with 1 Tablespoon vinegar or yogurt with a bit of milk mixed in

1. Preheat oven to 450F.
2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, red onions, dill, black pepper and cheese.
3. Stir in the milk and oil and mix lightly until combined.
4. Using a tablespoon, drop blobs of dough on a parchment covered or silpat lined cookie sheet. Bake for 12 – 14 minutes or until lightly golden. Makes about 6 – 9 (really delicious) biscuits.
5. Enjoy!

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By Emily, December 21, 2009 8:11 pm

I  think the past couple months of cooking and blogging way less than I’d prefer finally got to me because I baked a ridiculous amount of cookies this weekend.

For some reason, I decided a few weeks ago that it’d be cool to make cookies for our friends as Christmas gifts, instead of buying real gifts.  Plus it gives me an excuse to bake, without having to then eat all my creations.  I waited to begin cooking until this weekend, since we were waiting to give them out until today.

Saturday didn’t start out great.  I decided to make lace cookies using the recipe from The Internet Food Association.  They looked simple and didn’t require any weird ingredients.

Not such a great idea.

The cookies were in the oven for less than 5 minutes when I decided to peek at them.  As you can see, they were burnt to a pretty good crisp and our fire alarm decided to make sure everyone in the neighborhood knew.  Brian was up the street doing laundry and he could hear it.  Our downstairs neighbors called up the stairs to make sure there wasn’t an actual fire.

Yes, I pulled them out of the trash just so I could share a picture with you

After that super embarrassing moment, I decided not to make lace cookies.

From there, things got much better.  Below are the results (click the cookie names for the recipe):

Chocolate Chip (Tollhouse, of course)

Chocolate Nut Revels (I got the recipe from my mom, but this one is exactly the same)

Magic Cookie Bars (also from my mom, but the recipe’s online at allrecipes)

Cinnamon Sugar Rolls (Food Network Magazine)

Shortbread (Food Network Magazine)

Lime Sugar Cookies (from Rebar: Modern Food Cookbook)

How I ended up with six kinds of cookies I’m not really sure…but it was fun trying out new and old recipes.  After all the cookies had cooled, Brian and I arranged them on plates:

I’m not going to lie, I’m pretty impressed with myself.  And our friends and coworkers seemed pretty happy to receive them.  It almost makes me wish it was Christmas more often (though I’m sure I can find other excuses to bring treats in to work!)

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By Emily, November 15, 2009 5:04 pm

Saturday night I tried not one, but two, new recipes.  Insanity.  Anyway, here’s the rundown:

Spiced Chickpea & Lemon Soup

(via Serious Eats)

Brian and I really, really like chickpeas (I think it’s in response to my bean-less childhood).  And soup, of course.  This soup was pretty easy to make, too.  We pureed the soup in the food processor and it came it kind of grainy and weird.  Not so great.  Today, before lunch, we ran the rest of the soup through the blender and it came out much smoother and tastier.  Brian really liked it, but I’m still unconvinced.  Would I make it again?  Maybe, but I suspect there are better chickpea soups out there.

No-Time Bread

(via The Kitchn)

When 30 Bucks a Week mentioned The Kitchn’s No-Time Bread, which can be made in about an hour, I got really excited.  Brian and I have been talking about and putting off making “real” bread for quite some time now, but I always want something other than sandwich bread when we’re having soup (which is at least once a week).  I expected that No-Time Bread wasn’t going to taste as good as bread I spent all day baking, but really, it did.

The actual creation of the bread was a little touch and go…the dough seemed way more goopy than I thought it was supposed to be.  I failed to shape it into any sort of ball and basically poured the dough into our casserole dish.   I guess it was supposed to look like that though, because it turned out great.  Now I really want to make bread!  Until then, I’m so glad I have this easy, fast, yummy recipe on hand.

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By Emily, November 11, 2009 7:54 pm

So…theoretically, this is a blog about eating well, cooking things instead of buying them, avoiding preservatives and packaged foods and the like.  I appreciate all of those ideas and adhere to them whenever possible.

However, anyone who knows me knows that, in addition to good nutrition, I’m a stickler for making my sister happy.  Birthday presents, visits, random gifts.  If I can do it and my sister wants it, chances are she’s gonna get it from me.  Perhaps I spoil her.  But she’s my baby sister…my only baby sister.

So when I asked “the baby” what she wanted for her 22nd birthday, she requested her “favorite” cake.  Who am I to say no?  I made cupcakes instead of the recipe-suggested Bundt cake, because everyone knows cupcakes are more fun (and easier for my sister to eat and share at college).  However, Brian also needed something to bring to an event, so I made a cake for that too.  This was the beautiful result:

Tell me that doesn’t look good.

So, why is this cake my sister’s favorite?  Because it tastes amazing.  Several college students say so.  And even though it breaks a lot of my “rules” about what I should be eating, its nice to have the occasional treat (and I only had a couple cupcakes)  Why is it now my go-to chocolate cake recipe?  Because it’s amazingly easy to make, despite using packaged cake and pudding mix, plus 4 eggs and alcohol.

Need I say more?

Triple Chocolate Cake

1 package devil’s food cake mix
1 package instant chocolate pudding
1 cup sour cream
½ cup brewed coffee
½ cup dark rum
½ cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
2 cups chocolate chips

Beat all ingredients except chocolate chips together 2 minutes.
Fold in chocolate chips.
Pour into greased and floured 12 cup Bundt pan.  (I told you it was easy!!!!)

Bake at 350° for 55-60 mins for bundt cake.
18-22 minutes for cupcakes.

Cool 10 mins. Remove from pan, cool on wire rack.

Enjoy!

Comments (1)

By Emily, October 22, 2009 3:01 pm

As I’ve mentioned before, I love fall.  The weather, the food, the holidays.   And though growing up my family never ate pumpkin (or any other squash), I really like pumpkin.  The availability of Starbuck’s Pumpkin Spice Lattes gets me really excited.  When Brian and I were visiting my parents for Columbus Day we bought a bag of Pumpkin Pie flavored popcorn from Coastal Maine Popcorn Company (it was really good!!!)) In short, I really like pumpkin.

Of course, this is all despite the fact that, until a week ago, I had never cooked with it.

That changed because about a month ago, I saw a post on $5 Dinners about a shortage of canned pumpkin puree, due to last year’s bad weather.  The article had a whole bunch of comments from people who were having a hard time finding canned pumpkin in their local stores.  Naturally, I became concerned and began looking for canned pumpkin every time I was in a store.

A couple weeks ago, I was thrilled to see that Walmart had canned pumpkin! Not wanting to miss out, I bought six cans.  Since then, it seems the shortage is over (that was quick!).  Nevertheless, I have six cans of pumpkin puree.  Luckily, many other food blogs are posting great pumpkin recipes.  We’ve been eating pumpkin-y foods all week in our apartment and I’m not sure it’s going to let up anytime soon, especially since pumpkin now seems so easy to come by!  This is the first of several entries which will focus on my experiments with recipes that star pumpkin puree.

The first recipient of my bounty of pumpkin was Pioneer Woman’s Moist Pumpkin Spice Muffins.  I figured, how could I go wrong with a Pioneer Woman recipe?

I was right, you can’t go wrong.  The muffins were really awesome.  Definitely moist.  I didn’t make the frosting because I’m lazy and cheap and not a big frosting person, but I’m sure it’s yummy too.  Oh, and I didn’t add the raisins.  One piece of advice: when she says “generously grease” the muffin tins, she means it.  I skipped it since I was using paper liners, but my muffins did stick to the liners a bit.  If you’re annoyed by the fact that the recipe calls for just over a cup for pumpkin, leaving you with about a 1/3 of a can, don’t worry.  Cook it up in a skillet with some nuts and brown sugar until warm and serve it as a side.  It’s pretty amazing.  Anyway, this muffin recipe is one of my new favorites and if you’re as into pumpkin as I am, you should check it out.

Come to think of it, I may need to make another batch of muffins for next week’s breakfast…

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By Emily, September 28, 2009 7:53 am

Somehow my husband made it through the first 24 years of his life without going apple picking.  At least, that’s what he tells me.  I can’t imagine a fall without apple picking, so last weekend we had our first (but definitely not last!) apple picking date.  Now I’m in the midst of brainstorming all the apple recipes I can because we picked way more apples than we need!

This recipe is one of my favorites.  What is with me and baking lately?  Anyway, if you also picked way more apples than you need, remember: you can freeze this bread after you’ve baked it and defrost it later when you’re craving apples again!

Apple Bread

You’ll need:

For bread:

1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp. vinegar
2 Tbsp. milk
1 3/4 cups apples
1/2 cup nuts (I prefer walnuts)
For topping:
2 Tbsp. flour
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 Tbsp. butter

1.  Preheat oven to 350°

2.  Cream butter and sugar using a hand mixer or stand mixer

3.  Add the eggs to the mixture and beat well.

4.  Peel, pare and chop apples until you have 1 3/4 cups (I used 1 large Golden Delicious, but use as many of any kind of apple as it takes)

5. Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl.

6. Mix vinegar and milk in another bowl.  The mixture will curdle a bit!  Don’t worry, it’s supposed to.  If you have buttermilk on hand, you can use that instead.

7. Add the dry ingredients to the creamed butter and sugar alternately with the milk mixture.  Start and end with the dry ingredients.  (In other words, add 1/3 of the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture.  Mix.  Add 1/2 the milk mixture. Mix.  Add another 1/3 of the dry ingredients.  Mix.  Add the rest of the milk mixture.  Mix.  Add the last of the dry ingredients.  Mix until fully combined.)

8.  Stir in apples and nuts and combine with a spoon or spatula, not your mixer.

9.  Pour batter into a greased loaf pan.

10.  Create the topping by combining the flour, sugar, cinnamon and butter (melted)

11.  Spread the topping over the batter (it doesn’t have to be perfect!

12.  Bake at 350° for about 1 hour, or until cooked through.

13.  Enjoy!

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By Emily, July 8, 2009 12:29 pm

How could I say no to “Buy 1, Get 1 Free” blueberries at the supermarket last week when I knew I had the perfect recipe for them?  My mom has the most delicious blueberry muffin recipe, and after waiting a couple days for her to email me the recipe (my recipe binder is with my in-laws in Connecticut with the rest of the stuff we couldn’t fit in our cars!), my Man also understands why we needed to buy blueberries last week.  Plus, it gave me the chance to use my new KitchenAid mixer!

Mom’s Blueberry Muffins

2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½  teaspoon salt
½ cup butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ cup milk
2 cups blueberries
1 tablespoon sugar mixed with ¼ teaspoon nutmeg

1. Preheat oven to 375. Grease & flour 12 muffin cups and grease tops of the tins between the cups.(Or, do what I do: Use baking cups instead.  It’s much, much easier)
2. Mix together flour, powder, and salt.
3. In a medium-sized bowl, beat butter a few minutes until fluffy. Beat in sugar until well blended. Beat in the eggs thoroughly; add the vanilla.
4. Stir in the flour mixture about half at a time, alternating with milk, half at a time. Stir in 2 cups of blueberries.
5. Spoon batter into prepared cups, filling them to the top. Sprinkle with the nutmeg sugar.
6. Bake 25-30 minutes until golden. Let muffins cool about 30 minutes in pan before removing. (Or not…I’m pretty sure I didn’t…)
   
7. Enjoy!

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By Emily, February 9, 2009 10:05 pm

Despite last week’s baking near-miss, I gave it another shot this week.  If my students will eat half-cooked brownies, there’s probably not much I can do wrong.  Generally speaking, I don’t think baking is my thing; I’m not really into eating baked goods, so spending lots of time making them doesn’t make tons of sense to me.  But I feel like its a skill I should hone and I suspect high schoolers aren’t too into vegetarian pasta dishes as an after school snack.  I may as well practice on people who will enjoy whatever I create.

Once again, I got my weekly ego boost.  I could really get used to this.  I made really simple white cupcakes from my mother’s old Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook and it was really easy and went really well!  I did “cheat” and use canned frosting, but Rome wasn’t built in a day.  At least someone is raving about my food (I know high school boys eat anything…but they don’t always dish out compliments!)

In summary:  I can bake after all–from scratch even!  If I can do it, you can do it.  And I’m making cookies for our next meeting.