More Cookbooks?

So a while back I told myself I wouldn't buy anymore cookbooks.  Some how this came in the mail:

Yep, I see this in my future:

Then a friend bought me this!

And look at this!

I found it funny that they are called Breaking Bread and Breaking Breads.  This is why I can never be on a Paleo diet.   So instead of kicking myself for having new cookbooks, I decided I was celebrating the fact that 14,000 year old toast was found.

Relish

While on the way back from the weekly food shopping trip my husband asked me when was the last time I canned relish.  It had been a while due to the decrease in garden size most relishes are made with cheap ingredients.  My neighbors behind us have a huge garden and they are done picking in June regardless of what continues to grow so we are able to glean from them.  People at church, the local farmers market and a man who comes to my work with flats of fruits and vegetable should be able to see us through also until we increase the garden again.  

Zucchini Relish (two days) 6pts

10 cups peeled and finely chopped small zucchini

6 - 8 bell peppers seeded and finely chopped

4 large onions or 6 small finely chopped

1/2 cup salt

2 1/2 cups white vinegar

4 cups white sugar

2 T cornstarch

1 t ground nutmeg

1 t turmeric

2 t celery seed

1/2 t ground black pepper

Put all your chopped vegetables in a stainless steel bowl or a crockery bowl.  Cover with salt and place a weighted plate on top to keep them in the brine.  Let sit overnight.

Rinse in cold water and squeeze out excess liquid by hand.  Mix your cornstarch and seasonings and add to the white vinegar in a large pot.  Heat until boiling and once the sugar has dissolved add vegetables and simmer for 30 minutes.

Pour into clean, hot, sterilized jars and process for 10 minutes in water bath canner (185F). Complete seals.

Just Wait 5 Minutes

It was hot, hot!   Then all of a sudden the skies opened up.

But before the rain there was bread:

Why I did not listen to my own intuition when the book said to slash and my brain said " Don't do that", is beyond me.  My dough dropped down to three inches, it was still fluffy and cooked through but it was gloriously risen before I took the knife to it.  

This is my second recipe from A World of Breads by Dolores Casella.  The name of this bread is My Good Father's Shepherd's Bread, isn't that a hefty title?  It is a monster of a bread!

BTW, the downpour lasted 5 minutes and it is hot, hot again.

Quiet Memorial Weekend

My children asked to have guests over for a pizza party and we fired up the oven Friday.  I was busy rolling dough so I didn't take pictures but we did have some leftover dough the next morning so I made Zeppole.   It is the Italian version of Beignet.  Use half olive oil, half vegetable oil when you fry.  Just break off balls of dough, fry until puffed up and lightly browned, drain and dust with powdered sugar. 

Something so simple, it was a favorite on feast days and festival days.  Aqueduct Flea Market in Queens used to have a vendor that sold them. 

Monday, my husband slow smoked ribs on the PK grill using pecan wood.  While this may seem biased, they were the best ribs I have ever had.

War movies were on most of the weekend.  One of the more upbeat movies, and a favorite:

No Time For Sergeants

A pretty tame weekend.  If you have time, head over to Cowboys and Chuckwagons and read about Wagons for Warriors.  

The Bread Also Rises

A long, cold winter is good for baking.  I did a lot of that.  Once upon a time I tried to turn into an artisan bread snob.   Which turned out worse than my even thinking about being a foodie.  I went from not being able to make a simple loaf of white bread to trying to grow mold...on raisins...under the full moon, etc.   Then there is feeding different starters.  It is a little like having a newborn in the house, the feedings are spaced out a little longer.  Baking bread, once enjoyable, became a chore.  Mold, which is easy to come by in the South, did not want to grow on raisins in my kitchen, and my starters were hit and miss and my bread was nothing to brag about for all the trouble.  I was on message boards with too many rules, the main one being no commercial yeast, and I needed chemistry lessons.  Not a bad thing, but I wanted to enjoy bread again.  It was with a homicidal heart that I ended the life of all but one of my starters.   It is all a matter of what works best, if I don't have yeast on hand, I use potato.  Most breads I make do not require starter.   I love to bake bread.

I joined a bread group and this book was all the rage:

After seeing pictures of breads made from the recipes of this Better Homes and Gardens 1973 edition book, I bought one (did you think anyone had to twist my arm on this?).   I shelled out $1 on Amazon used, plus shipping.   I love this book.

This is Pilgrims' Bread (pg. 61), made with white, wheat, rye, and cornmeal.  This double loaf recipe lasts quite a while.  

Best-Ever Muffins (pg. 87), were a hit as well and were made with the blueberries picked and frozen from last year. 

Hoagie rolls were not from the book, were from a shared recipe:

Amie's Sub/Hoagie Rolls

1 1/2 tsp. (about 1/4 oz) active dry yeast

1 1/2 cups warm water (about 110 degrees)

2 tsp. honey

2 tbsp. olive or vegetable oil

2 tsp. kosher salt

2 cups bread flour

2 cups all-purpose flour



Directions

In a small bowl, add honey to the warm water and stir to dissolve. Add yeast and let sit for 5 minutes, or until frothy/foamy. Add oil and stir to combine.

Combine salt and flours in a medium mixing bowl. Using a stand mixer, or by hand, add the wet mixture to the dry mixture. Beat until smooth on medium speed. If dough is too wet, add a little more flour to make the dough soft.

On a lightly floured surface (or in the mixer bowl with bread hook), knead dough until smooth and elastic, about 5-6 minutes.

Lightly grease a large bowl with a bit of oil and place dough into bowl, turning once to coat. Cover with dish towel and let rise for 45 minutes, or until doubled in size.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set oven to 400 degrees.

Punch down dough and, on a lightly floured surface, divide into 8 balls. Shape each ball into a long oval, roughly the size of the hoagie roll you wish to make. Arrange long ovals on parchment paper about 2 inches apart. Cover again and let rise an additional 25 minutes. Brush on an egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds, if desired.


Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool on wire rack.

Very good but because of the sodium content will not make very often.  

This was baked on the same day so since I had the oven going in went a lasagna:

I guess I should have made some Italian bread!

Why I Can't Be A Foodie

While I like to look, I know I can never be a foodie.  This was my breakfast:

Homemade bread, homemade jam, butter and tea.  My dishes matched by accident and this picture was taken with a simple crappy  camera, which I do not know how to use.

I do not own top of the line, snooty chef cookware or even disgraced chef cookware:

Just a simple stew made with white beans and kielbasa in my Wagner #10, with self basting lid thankyouverymuch , found at a flea market.  I do not have step by step pictures, and I don't even have a recipe.  It's one of those throw it in and hope for the best kind of dinners.  Definitely not a foodie.  I didn't need to search high and low for the ingredients either.  When I do think I want to try a recipe, and maybe take some step by step photos, something always goes wrong.  Take this recipe for Deer wurst from Big Food, Big Garden, Big Life.   Now you won't find it in the post which is called I Am In A Fine Mood, (I renamed it Deer wurst just click on the above link), you need to look in comments.  I was excited to find this since I usually have a supply of ground deer in the freezer.  So,  I took an ingredient picture:

 

 

Not one picture of it shaped or mixed.  But I have one of  it ready on a broiling pan to go into the oven:

 



And there you have it, why I can't be a foodie.  Do you notice what is missing?  The end result!  Was it good?  You bet!  I do have to thank Mr. and Mrs. Big Food for the recipe which was given to me by memory while they were away from home.

I've Been Avoiding You

It was an act of mercy.  With the closing of the government I really did not want to subject anyone with my constant rants about all the numb nuts in Washington.  Sad thing is that until they pass a budget we will have more of the same. 

Let us move on to ....... cast iron!  I am ashamed as a cast iron enthusiast that the one thing I have yet to make in a cast iron skillet is a Dutch Baby.  How could I have not made a giant pancake in my 12" skillet?  I did remedy that last weekend or else I would have had to turn in all my cast iron or let it go to rust. 

Cinnamon Sugar Dutch Baby

2-½ Tablespoons Cold Butter, Diced, Divided Use

⅓ cups Sugar

2 teaspoons Cinnamon

⅔ cups Flour

⅔ cups Milk

4 whole Eggs

2 Tablespoons Butter, Melted

Preheat oven to 450 F.
Place one tablespoon butter in a 9-12 inch cast iron skillet or 9 inch pie plate. Place in the oven for 5 minutes.
Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Set the bowl aside.
Put the flour, milk, eggs and 1 1/2 tablespoons of remaining cold butter in a blender. Blend until well blended. Scrape down the sides of the blender and blend for about 30 seconds more.
Remove the skillet or pan from the oven and swirl the butter all around. Sprinkle with 1/3 of the cinnamon sugar mixture and then pour the batter into the skillet. Place in the oven at 450 F for 20 minutes. DO NOT OPEN the oven during this first 20 minutes! After 20 minutes turn the oven down to 350 F and bake for another 15-20 minutes until the edges begin to brown.
Remove from oven and let it cool for 3-5 minutes. Brush or drizzle with the melted butter, then cover in more cinnamon sugar. Serve immediately.

The kids loved it and said it reminded them of French toast.

In between political rants and regardless of furlough and shutdowns I brought this home:

 

  I know, I know, I shouldn't have.  I couldn't help it though, she was $20.  This is an old Kenmore model 158.120 or 12.   It is a basic 1965 straight stitch with reverse.  It was never used and didn't work.  After a good oiling, hence the newspaper, she purrs.  I just couldn't leave her there sitting unappreciated, she is a heavy duty machine but sews nice on thinner material as well.  The woman I bought the machine from said she had a manual typewriter she will look for and to stop by Friday to see if she has it out, yay!