26 January 2012

Ode to bread





When I step into (now rarely) our local bakery the smell is what hits me first.  It wafts out the front door pulling me inside.  Gently, firmly.  I enter eagerly into another world: warm, inviting, comforting.  Then, the colours.  Warm sandy loaves, speckled browns, rich chocolates...

I haven't made bread in a few weeks.  Mostly due to our being sick and me being tired... and lazy.  Yesterday I conquered my fatigue (read: laziness) and made it to the kitchen to create a loaf.  It was therapy to my worn out soul.  

I think I've made it clear how much in love with bread am I.  Not just any kind of bread.  The homemade kind.  The fresh from the oven kind.  The kind that makes your whole house smell like home.  

While we're extolling the virtues of bread, I think it's fair to include another bread recipe.  This one was slightly modified from a Chatelaine magazine recipe for a No-Knead Bran Bread.  As I had no bran on hand, whole wheat seemed an acceptable substitute.  It was my first try at a no-knead bread and it won't be my last.  The bread comes out remarkably similar to french baguettes in texture - quite light, even for a whole wheat bread.





NO-KNEAD WHOLE WHEAT BREAD

3 cups all-purpose flour (plus 1 1/2 cups for dusting)
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp instant yeast
1 1/4 tsp salt
water (about 2 cups)

Stir 3 cups all-purpose flour with the whole wheat flour, salt and yeast in a large bowl.  Stir in water until blended.  Dough should look wet and sticky.  Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let dough rest for about 18 hours at room temperature.  (I left mine for 8 hours in the fridge after the first 12 hours at room temp.)  

Transfer dough to well-floured surface.  Fold it over on itself once or twice.  Dough will be very soft.  Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest 15 minutes.

Line a cotton tea towel with a handful of flour.  Shape dough into a ball, using flour if needed to keep it from sticking, and transfer to tea towel seam-side down.  Dust top with more flour.  Let stand for about 2 hours until doubled in size.  

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.  Put a 6-8 L stainless steel or enamel  pot in oven with the lid for about 30 minutes.  (I used my round stoneware dish and covered the glass lid with tin foil.)  Remove pot from oven and transfer bread to pot.  Shake pan once or twice to distribute dough more evenly.  Cover with lid and bake for 40 minutes.  Remove lid and continue baking until top of loaf is golden brown (about 15 minutes).  Bread should sound hollow when tapped.  Remove bread to rack to cool. 

We enjoyed ours warm with slices of avocado sprinkled with salt and lemon juice.  

22 January 2012

Playdough

Not much time to blog these days.  M and J are sick.  Not just stuffy-nose sick.  I'm talking, fever, vomitting, coughing, stuffy-nose sick.  Strangely, D and I are fine though neither of us got much sleep last night.  M is better than J - at least he has more energy and is forever wanting to chase after her.  During those times, I find playdough is a Godsend!  Whether you like to make your own or prefer to buy it, trust me: IT IS A LIFESAVER.  (We often break open our playdough when J takes her first nap in the morning.)  

If only playdough could cure chest colds...




























PLAYDOUGH

1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
2 Tbsp cream of tartar
1 Tbsp veg oil
1 cup water
*food colouring

Mix first 4 ingredients together.  Dissolve food colouring in water.  Add water to mixture and combine well.  Cook on medium heat, stirring constantly, for 3-5 minutes.  (Dough will form clump.)  Remove and knead by hand for 5 minutes.  Keep in airtight container or ziploc bag.

18 January 2012

Cold snap

This morning we hit a cold snap.  It was too cold to go outside and play, so we made up a game for inside exercise.  This is a life-saver on days where leaving the house is not possible.  The formula for our game goes like this:  Push all furniture aside.  Place a mattress on the floor.  Proceed to chase kids (crawling babies too) around the house.  Once caught, haul them to the mattress and unceremoniously dump them there.  Wait til giggles and squeals subside.  Repeat until breathless and tired.  (Warning: parent may tire in advance of children.  In this case, utilize bouncy balls to distract children, or enlist help of other parent.)




Cold weather needs comfort food.  Something simple and warm that makes you want to snuggle up with a blanket.  Since I am a mother with two kids, macaroni & cheese is usually about as gourmet as my comfort foods get.  There are exceptions, but they are certainly few and far between.  Kids seem to love mac & cheese too, at least my kids do.  Even picky little Julia loves her mushy-milky version.  I will share a recipe from my mother for, what we always felt was as kids, the world's best mac&cheese.  


DEBBIE'S GOURMET MACARONI & CHEESE

about 1/2 bag of macaroni, cooked (approximately 300g)
1 1/2 cups milk
2-3 Tbsp white flour
200 g cheddar cheese, chopped into small cubes
1/4 cup spaghetti sauce (optional)
salt to taste

Whisk milk and flour together in a small pot until smooth.  Add cheese and spaghetti sauce if desired.  Heat on med-high and stir constantly until sauce thickens.  Turn heat to low and, stirring constantly, allow cheese to finish melting.  Once cheese is melted, remove from heat.  Add salt according to taste.  

Pour sauce over macaroni.  Place in oven-proof dish and bake in oven for 20 minutes.  Broil on high for about 2 minutes until top is very slightly browned.  

* If serving to babies or toddlers, can mash up or blend the mac&cheese with a little milk to make it easier to chew.  

9 January 2012

Tea







From as long as I can remember, which nowadays, unfortunately, is not as long ago as it used to be, tea was my panacea of choice.  Toothache?  Earl gray.  Bad day at school?  English breakfast.  Tummy ache?  Chamomile.  Even in my finer moments, I never questioned the logic (it worked, for heaven's sake!) until last night as I sipped my orange pekoe and ate some leftover jam-filled cookies that we had made the other day...

Why is tea such a universal, literally cross-cultural panacea?  Undoubtedly certain kinds, especially herbals, have true medicinal properties.  But I'm referring more to the idea that a cup of tea makes everything better, physically and metaphysically.  




I once had a high school teacher who loved tea arguably as much as I.  She drank it every day and with cream.  That lady was a genius.  She was also a chemist.  I am convinced, though it is naught but conjecture, that her genius was augmented by tea.  She was so relaxed and literally "chilled out" when drinking  her tea that she would prop her feet up on a desk as she wrote on the overhead.  When her feet popped up, we knew that our questions were no match for her genius.  Even fellow teachers would go to her for her advice and help with science-related questions.  And her tea.  They always went away with tea.  

Now, contrary to what these pictures might suggest, the best thing to go with black tea is biscotti.  I'm sorry, cookies are a little too sweet.  But biscotti is perfect -  subtlety sweet undertones with a nutty base.  And it's dry and crunchy.  Perfect for dipping if you like.  Myself, I'm not a dipper.  I prefer to enjoy them side by side.  Bite, sip and repeat.  

A friend of mine from Wisconsin made a delectable biscotti which she sent us for Christmas.  She, and every  Italian in the world, might be angry if I don't elaborate further because it's actually Greek biscotti, or paximadia.  They were divine.  I shall post her recipe and you may decide for yourself.  (Naturally I am convinced you'll rule in my favour...)

And so, my friends, panacea or not, I have no doubt you've now understood that no coffee drinker am I.  No sir.  I'll take bags (or leaves, as the case may be) to beans any day.  My nice steaming cup of tea - with plenty of milk (omit if herbal tea you drink), and a heaping spoon of sugar.  For, as my father-in-law stated, "If it's not sweet, it's not tea."  My father-in-law is also a man of genius...


PAXIMADIA
(These keep very well airtight in the fridge or at room temperature and are nice to have on hand for company.)

1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
5-6 cups flour
2 tsp cinnamon, ground
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 1/4 cup finely ground almonds, blanched
1 cup Crisco (or margarine)
1 tsp vanilla
4 tsp baking powder

Cream sugar, butter and Crisco together.  Add sugar, eggs, vanilla and spices.  Add flour slowly, cup by cup so as not to overdo.  Add nuts.  Separate dough into about 5-6 balls.  Roll each ball into a long, thin log.  (Remember the logs will spread in the oven, so don't worry if you think they look too small.)  Place on baking sheet.  Score diagonally along each log, being careful not to cut all the way through.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes.  Remove from oven.  Let cool slightly and then cut pieces all the way through.  Separate and lay them on their sides on the pan.  Bake for another 10 minutes, remove, let cool slightly, flip biscotti and bake another 10 minutes making sure to keep an eye on them.  Biscotti may seem soft, but will harden as they cool.

*Optional: Prepare 1 cup of granulated sugar mixed with 1 tsp cinnamon in a bowl.  Roll each biscotti in the sugar mixture while cookies are soft and warm.

After all this, if cookies you still prefer, do try these elegant jam-filled petit fours...


PETIT FOUR COOKIES

1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup icing sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 egg
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
(optional: 2 Tbsp cocoa)

Mix butter until white and fluffy. Add together with sugar.  Add egg and vanilla and beat until creamy.  Add remaining ingredients.  Refrigerate dough until firm (15-30 mins).  Using cookie press, create various shapes.  Bake at 350 degrees F for 10-15 minutes.  Allow to cool slightly before removing from tray.

Take two cookies and sandwich together with a smear of apricot or raspberry jam.  Dip in melted semi-sweet chocolate and sprinkle chopped nuts, rainbow or chocolate sprinkles on top.  Place on wax paper when wet and put in fridge until chocolate is firm.  Very elegant to serve to guests or give as a holiday gift.



6 January 2012

Theophany



Why is it that the world feels brighter on a feast day?  That is certainly the case for us today anyhow.  Despite the blanket of grey overhead, my heart feels lighter and sunny.  

We made little meat pies yesterday for a festal treat today.  M had 2 for lunch and I must add that they travel very well.  They're pretty simple to make, but it goes a little faster if you make them bigger than what we did.  Nonetheless, with little kids, little pies are good.




After a trip to Grandmas for breakfast (a traditional Dutch breakfast no less!), we picked up some supplies for a neat craft.  We made a little dove out of the leftover plastic canvas (from J's baptismal favours), yarn, feathers and googly eyes.  It's super simple, especially for young children.  I think M was a little young for the craft, but 4 or 5 year olds would definitely be good candidates.   In the end, while mommy might have done the work, M certainly enjoyed the product!



Happy Feast!


MEAT PIES

2 recipes savory dough

1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1 large tomato, diced finely
1 large onion, diced finely
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/4 cup water
2 Tbsp dried parsley
1/2 cinnamon 
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Combine all ingredients together and mix well.  Take section of the dough, roll it out flat and cut out circles of desired size with round cutter.  Take a spoon of meat mixture and place in the centre of a circle.  Pinch edges into a square shape making sure that the ridges are joined securely.  Place on greased baking tray.  

Bake for 10-15 minutes.  Broil on high for 1-2 minutes if needed until golden.  Remove from oven and let sit a few minutes before serving.  Keeps well in fridge or freezer.