Start your morning off right

I'm not sure these need much explanation, other than this recipe should come with a warning: Do not eat one unless you plan to eat at least four.  The best part about these sticky buns? All the prep was done the night before. No waking up at 5 am to let the dough rise or assemble the buns. 

Soggy Bottom Bread

I've decided to take back control of life, at least in those few areas where it might be possible. So on Sundays I sit down and try to make a plan for the coming week: meals, activities, goals, scheduled events. Last Sunday getting ahead of the game inspired a cooking frenzy - it helped that I didn't have to cook dinner (woe to live down the street from a pizza shop). I toasted grains for baby cereal, baked bread (!), simmered apricots and cooked lentils (more baby food).

The bread part required the most inspiration (and motivation). It was the 5th loaf of bread (4th variation) I've ever made (not including sweet breads - I know, shameful) and I wanted to try a new recipe. I'm on the hunt for the perfect whole wheat or whole grain, everyday bread recipe.  I'm going to try to keep track of the different breads I make here so I can remember what's good.

I tried no-knead bread once - it was too dense and overall unimpressive.  Then I made some Boston Brown Bread (recipe isn't online, but from one of my favorite cookbooks, The Vegetarian Planet).  Yummy, gooey, warm...but not your everyday bread.  All the while I knew there were some serious bread recipes (the type that are 5 pages long and riddled with information I don't have the time to care about) in my really crunchy, all-natural cookbooks, like the elephant in the room, just waiting for me to give in and give 'em a try.  When I finally did take a close look at Cynthia Lair's whole grain bread recipes, I was amazed at how simple they were. They just required time and proper planning, and of course I've got oodles of that....HA!  But I digress...I made the Garlic Herb Quinoa bread and loved it so much I made two loaves the next time around. I would have made that one again, but I figured I should expand my repertoire.  I searched online for a few hours, and finally went back to my kitchen bookshelf and pulled out the trusty old King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion, and settled on 100% Whole Wheat Bread.  YUM! 

This week I tried yet another bread recipe: Cracker Wheat Walnut Cider Loaf.  This one came from a friend, so I have no link to share.  And it probably would have turned out great, had I not decided to screw with the recipe.  You see, I had no cracker wheat, so I substituted Farro from the farmer's market.  And I had no cider, so I used apple juice instead.  I also tried "kneading" the dough in my stand mixer, but it was so wet and sticky it just wouldn't come together. In the end, the loaf ballooned out of its loaf pan and came out with a soggy bottom. But it still tasted divine...

Cooling upside down because the heavy top threatened to squish the soggy bottom.

 Burnt top. Soggy bottom. Yummy tummy.

Cracker Wheat Walnut Cider Loaf

3/4 c cracker wheat
1 c boiling water
1 1/2 c walnuts
1 1/4 c apple cider
1 1/2 t yeast
2 T honey (or subs)
1 c whole wheat flour
2 1/4 c all purpose flour
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 c canola oil

Place cracked wheat in a small bowl and cover with boiling water, stir and let wheat absorb water (About 10 min.)

Toast walnuts and chop coarsely.  Warm up apple cider and add to bowl with yeast and honey.  Let sit till yeast foams, then add rest of ingredients except nuts.  Mix and knead dough about 10 minutes then add walnuts and knead until evenly distributed.  Transfer to an oiled bowl and let rise (double in size), punch it down and form into loaf shape.  Let rise again, about 1 hour.
 

Preheat oven to 385, dust top with extra tablespoon of whole wheat flour and slash top.  Bake about 50 min until nicely browned and sounds hollow.

De-licious

Sciencemama recently directed me to an interesting food site that I'd probably find much more scrumptious if I just took the time to read through some archives. But since I don't have time for that - maybe You do? It's called Delicious Days. Anyway, it lead me to this great recipe for Nutella Banana muffins which are a fantastic excuse to use up rotting bananas and eat something chocolaty. Last night I decided whip some up using the last of my rotting-so-I'll-stick-em-in-the-freezer banana's and now I have 3 big tupperwares full of muffins! Which brings me to one of the downsides of this site - actually, it's more accurately a downside of being me - which is to say, I'm American and therefore a total jello-head when it comes to using the metric system or converting from the metric system or generally taking the time to do math while baking. So I wound up mixing a whole cup of sugar with the butter and egg instead of just a half cup, which then prompted me to try to save the mess by doubling the recipe, which of course never works out quite right in baking. So now I have 3 FULL TUPPERWARES OF MUFFINS and, um, they're a little dry... Someone should tattoo across my forehead "Bake At Your Own Risk!"

Oh, and if you're looking for a beautifully converted recipe for us simple-minded Americans, you're gonna have to look elsewhere my friend. Because I still don't trust my math and you shouldn't either...

Top Chef

I like to eat. I especially like to eat really really good food. And since I don't especially like eating bad food, and I can't eat at fancy restaurants every night, this means I have to attempt to make myself really good food nearly every day. You'd think this would have made me a good cook, but I will not be so presumptuous. I don't create my own recipes, and I usually stick close to the recipes written by others (unless of course someone tells me to do something different). So I'd say I'm lacking a bit in creative expression. But I love to flip through recipe books and magazines, and long ago my computer memorized the path to epicurious.com. I've recently started browsing food blogs for a greater depth of inspiration, but my search repertoire is still fairly limited. Every so often I come across a recipe (or a website) that just totally hits the spot.

So from now on I'm going to be sharing those little nuggets of inspiration. From the simplest of syrups to the most delectable desserts, once a week I will try to post a recipe or food site that I really love. I'd love to hear your favorite recipes or sources of inspiration, so feel free to leave comments or email me at Queen Zucchini (at) gmail (dot) com.

I stumbled across this recipe on epicurious a few weeks ago while searching for ways to use hamburger meat. I'm always trying to get meat into Punkin's diet since we still eat mainly vegetarian and I want to be sure he's getting enough iron. And in all my experience eating yummy meat, I have far less experience actually preparing it. The following recipe for Polenta Tamale Pie turned out to be simple and delicious. It is by no means gourmet, nor does it have a sufficient serving of vegetables. And if your lucky enough to eat or know how to make real tamale pie, it's probably a far cry from the real thing. It's also so easy to manipulate and add whatever veggies you choose, either in the dish itself, or on the side. I've made a few changes from the original recipe (changes are in purple, and I omitted the chicken broth), but like I said, you can't really mess up this simple meal, so feel free to make lots of changes yourself!

polenta tamale pie

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
(Optional: 1 red bell pepper, chopped)
1 pound ground beef
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 16-ounce bottle spicy salsa
1 15- to 16-ounce can refried beans or black beans
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro (parsley works too!)

2 1-pound rolls prepared polenta, sliced into 1/3-inch-thick rounds
3 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese (or a mix of cheddar, mozzarella, jack, etc)

Preparation

Heat olive oil in heavy large pot over medium heat. Sauté onion until soft (5 mins) and add other vegetables (red pepper) if using. Add beef and sauté over medium-high heat until no longer pink, breaking up meat with back of fork, about 3 minutes. Add chili powder and cumin; stir 1 minute. Add salsa and beans. Simmer until mixture thickens, about 10 minutes. Mix in 1/4 cup cilantro; season with salt and pepper.

Oil 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Place half of polenta in dish. Top with sauce and 1 1/2 cups cheese, then remaining polenta, cheese and cilantro. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover with foil; chill.)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake freshly assembled pie, uncovered, until heated through and sauce bubbles, about 35 minutes, or bake refrigerated pie, covered, 20 minutes, then uncover and bake until heated through, about 35 minutes.

Bubbling Blackberries

Brief searching across Ye Internet revealed several recipes for a cornmeal-crusted galette as a popular method for consuming blackberries. As it turned out, many bloggers liked this recipe from Cooking Light. Um....YUMMMMMM....

The reviewer that said you'd have leftover filling was quite right. I even made less and still have a bowl of leftovers. I used more like 3-4 cups blackberries and 1 cup each of blueberries and strawberries from the farmer's market. It was one of the simplest but most delicious desserts I've ever made. I served it with locally made Snoqualmie Dutch Vanilla ice cream and Ginger ice cream. And I gotta admit I like the rustic look of the galette better than that of a pie - sadly I was too eager to eat THE WHOLE THING and forgot to take a picture for posterity. But it was a HUGE hit and I'm about ready to have some more for breakfast.

Ingredients

Pastry:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (about 7 3/4 ounces)
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup cornmeal
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cold butter, cut into small pieces
1/3 cup fat-free buttermilk

Filling:
4 cups blueberries
2 cups blackberries
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons fat-free milk
1 large egg white
1 1/2 tablespoons turbinado sugar

Preparation

1. To prepare pastry, lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine flour and next 3 ingredients (through salt) in a food processor; pulse two times. Add butter to flour mixture; pulse 4 to 5 times or until mixture resembles coarse meal. With processor on, slowly add buttermilk through food chute; process just until dough forms a ball. Gently press dough into a 4-inch circle on plastic wrap; cover. Chill 30 minutes.

2. Preheat oven to 350°.

3. Unwrap and place dough on a sheet of parchment paper. Roll dough into a 15-inch circle. Place dough and parchment on a baking sheet.

4. To prepare filling, combine berries and next 3 ingredients (through juice) in a medium bowl; toss gently to coat. Arrange berry mixture in center of dough, leaving a 2-inch border. Fold edges of dough toward center, pressing gently to seal (dough will only partially cover berry mixture).

5. Combine fat-free milk and egg white in a small bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Brush dough with milk mixture; sprinkle turbinado sugar evenly over dough. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until pastry is golden brown. Let stand 30 minutes; cut into wedges.

(Courtesy of Cooking Light Magazine July 2008)