mini piadini with cucumber salad

Recently, we've found out that making the piadinis with King Arthur's White Wheat flour is the best. It adds some complexity (and nutrients!) to the flavor of the bread, but without taking away from the taste of the tomato mixture like when using whole wheat flour. Plus, the wheat dough is much easier to handle when rolling them out. We've also started making them smaller. They fit better in the pan this way, making them easier to cook. Plus, they're just cute. For a side, we had cucumber salad.

For the cucumber salad, cut a very thin slice of onion and separate the rings. Place them in a bowl with white vinegar and fresh ground black pepper. Add to that the cucumber slices and marinate for about 1 hour, stirring once or twice. The onions infuse into the vinegar and then into cucumbers, giving it a more complex flavor without it tasting too strongly of onion. I take the onions out, but you can eat them with the salad if you want :)

making santars at grandma's

Making santars with my mom on Christmas morning. I made the dough and she shaped them. It's one recipe I will never blog about ;)

Seasoned Eatings - Brown Cakes

Though I'm new to reading their blogs, Thyme For Cooking and Country Girl City Living were kind and let me join Seasoned Eatings, a Secret Santa-esque inter-continental spice exchange. You send a spice unique to where you live (or unique to you cooking style), along with a recipe, and you receive a package with a new spice.

I got in the mail spices and flours from Ulrike in Germany. The recipe included is for Brown Cakes, or Braune Kuchen. Ulrike sent me cinnamon

cloves and pottash (which I've never worked with before)

and two bags of flour (rye and cake flour). Making something new was exciting but also left me feeling very unsure of what I was doing. Not knowing how things should look and feel at certain stages made me uncertain that things were going well. The moment I was least sure of what I was doing was when I mixed the butter, brown sugar, and molasses - "Is it supposed to look like that?" I even had to call Jason over to get his input but he had no idea (only adding "photoshop could never save this picture"). But the cookies came out well (I think!) and it was fun to roll them out. They smell wonderful in the oven and though I'm not sure of proper brown cake etiquette, I think they'd be wonderful with a glass of milk, or maybe coffee.

Thank you to Ulrike for sending me this wonderful package and to Lindsay & Katie for organizing this.

You can view the recipe for Brown Cakes at Küchenlatein.

whole wheat pita

i love it when i make a bread that's new to me and it comes out even better than i expected! i don't think we'll ever be needing to buy pitas from the grocery anymore. fresh out of the oven, we topped them with a layer of hummus then a mixture of sauteed spinach and mushrooms with mozzarella (also so good with feta) then baked a few minutes to melt the cheese).

this recipe is from the king arthur whole wheat bread book.

1 1/4 cups warm water
1 1/2 tsp yeast
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil
1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups bread flour or all purpose flour

dissolve the yeast in the water. combine with all remaining ingredients and knead until soft - about 8 minutes. let rise about 1 1/2 hours, covered. divide dough into 8 balls. let rise 10 minutes covered while oven preheats to 450 degrees.

roll into 6 inch circles (1/4 inch thick). bake 3-4 minutes each. if your oven is uneven, turn once mid-way.

garlic knots

i thought i'd make some breadsticks tonight to go along with our pizza, but breadsticks turned into garlic knots, and of course, now these are one of my favorite things ever.

i used the recipe i made for breadstsicks except i used 1/4 tsp yeast and let it sit longer (about 3-4 hours). mainly, i let it sit so long because i was concerned it wasn't rising, but it turns out it doesn't need to rise up very much. you want it to feel soft when you poke it, but not much else. they rise more while in the oven.

after letting it rise, i cut the dough into 8 pieces then rolled them out and tied them into knots. don't work the dough too much or it'll absorb the oil from when it was sitting in the bowl rising. toss the garlic knots with garlic powder, fresh ground sea salt, basil, and whatever other spice or seasoning you would like to add.

here are the breadsticks before:




and after:

puppy piadinis

ok, this is obsessive, i know. but i had the idea and i had to try it. it's way easy, especially compared to the real piadinis, which take a long time and has dough that's hard to handle.

1/4 c. wheat flour
a pinch of baking powder
2 tbsp water
2 small slices of cheese
dog treats, crumbled

in a small bowl, mix the flour and baking powder. stir in the water until all the flour is wet and the dough comes together. cut in half and make 2 small, flat rounds of dough. place on a skillet over medium heat, add a slice of cheese to each round, and press the piadinis down with the back of a spatula to help flatten them. i used cheddar because i thought it would be more flavorful for the pup than mozzarella. feel the top of the dough to determine when it's fully cooked. it should be soft but not squishy.

when the piadinis are ready, remove them from the skillet and add the crumbled dog treats. i used these mini steak-shaped training treats we got from petsmart that feta loves. but i might try crumbled milk bones next time.

puppy pup pup muffins

feta loves these muffins so much. when ever he sees me going to get one for him, he'll be perfectly obedient until it's his. and i love making them for him... they're healthy treats that give variety to his diet and they're vegetarian (i have no problems with feeding him dog food and treats with meat in them, but there's no way i'm buying meat and handling it to make homemade pup treats!). even our pup, who has a sensitive stomach, can handle these. but of course, watch out for any allergic reactions your dog might have to any of the ingredients. i did a step-by-step picture thing with this one... mostly out of boredom.

1 c oat flour or unbleached whole wheat flour
1/2 c. rolled oats
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1 egg
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp oil (canola or sunflower)
1/4 c. + 2 tbsp. skim milk

Preheat your oven to 425. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, rolled oats, cinnamon, and baking soda.



In a smaller bowl, mix together the egg, honey, and oil. I find it helps to warm the honey a little first.



Mix the milk into the flour mixture, then add the egg mixture. Scoop the mixture into a mini muffin pan (or regular sized muffin pan... we use the mini muffin pan because they make for a good sized treat for a small dog).



Bake at 425 for 15-20 minutes. Allow to cool completely before giving to your dog.



Makes 18 mini muffins. Store leftover muffins in the freezer for freshness, and microwave for 5-9 seconds each to thaw. Remember, when feeding these to your pup, adjust their diet so as not to overfeed (though, once feta has one of these, he has no interest at all in his puppy food!)

crusty on the outside, soft on the inside

it feels like months since i started my mission to alter my bread recipe to crusty & soft perfection, and now i finally have a success. All bread recipes i've tried before were either wonderfully crusty yet too dense inside, or incredibly soft inside.... but also soft outside :| I finally got a good balance, tweaked it a bit more, and voila! i can't imagine wanting to buy a loaf of bread from the grocery store ever again. This is for one loaf of bread, but you can easily double it.


what you'll need:
1 c. warm water
2 tbsp honey (or granulated sugar)
1 tsp active dry yeast
2 tsp salt
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2/3 c. whole wheat flour
2 - 2 1/3 cup all purpose flour
corn meal
1 eggwhite
1 tbsp water


Begin by dissolving the honey or sugar in 1/2 c warm water. Add the yeast and stir until mixed. Let the mixture sit to proof until the yeast becomes creamy and foamy.

After the yeast has proofed, mix in the salt and vegetable oil. Mix the wheat flour then 2 cups white flour 1/2 c. at a time. Knead in the last 1/2 cup of white flour on your work surface. If the dough is too soft to form, add up to 1/3 c. flour.

Place in a well oiled bowl and turn to coat. Cover and let rise 3 times (for 45 minutes to 1 hour each), each time, deflating the dough and turning over. The last rise is optional.

After the last rise, knead lightly to get rid of trapped gas bubbles and shape onto a pan sprinkled with corn meal. Cover and let rise another hour.

When your bread is ready to bake, make an egg glaze with the egg white and water and brush onto the top of your bread. Make a few slits along the top with a sharp knife. Bake the bread on the bottom rack of an oven pre-heated to 425 for 25-30 minutes. To give more moisture, and make the bread crustier, either place a pan filled with water in the oven while the bread bakes -or- spray the bread with a clean water bottle filled with water before placing it in the oven, then again halfway through baking.

pizza

mmmm! this was so good, and pretty simple. to prepare, we steamed broccoli (halfway, leaving it slightly undercooked because it'll cook more in the oven), seeded and chopped tomatoes), pitted and diced black olives, made my marinara sauce, and sliced mozzarella cheese. after baking the crust on its own, i let it cool a bit then added the sauce, cheese, and toppings. along the crust, i brushed olive oil then sprinkled some dried spices. after adding the spices, i baked it ad 375 for about 14-17 minutes straight on the rack. ok ok, here's the pizza dough recipe. i used wheat flour, which took about 2 1/2 c. flour but if we weren't on this no white flour thing, i would use about 1 c. wheat flour and the rest white (though you'll have to use a little more than 1 1/2 c.... i haven't worked out the measurements).

Pizza Crust

2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast (1 packet)
1 tbsp white sugar
1 c. warm water
1 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 1/2 c. wheat flour

Stir sugar and yeast with warm water to dissolve. Stir in salt and olive oil. Add flour about 1/2 c. at a time. Turn onto floured surface to knead for about 8-10 minutes. Let rise in an oiled bowl, covered with a damp cloth, until doubled (30 minutes to an hour). Shape onto pan and poke a few holes into crust with a fork. Bake at 400 for 7-10 minutes.

asparagus quiche

with a wheat crust. yum!

Pie Crust

1 c. flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 c. crisco (or lard, if you prefer)
2 tbsp. water

you can use your own, or buy one, but i really think that this crust makes the dish as good as it is. it is so flaky, but because of this, it can be really hard to handle.

Mix the flour and salt. Cut the crisco in with a pastry blender (a fork will work fine if you don't have one). If you're using wheat flour like i did, add about 1-2 tbsp of vegetable oil too and mix in with a fork. Sprinkle with the water and mix with a fork until all flour is moistened. Gather the dough innto a ball and turn over onto your work surface. flour your rolling pin liberally and re-flour it often as you're rolling the dough. also, roll it out on parchment paper to make it easier to transfer to the pie tin. Roll out to about 1/8 inch thickness then place the pie tin upside down in the center. slide your hands under and holding it on top and bottom, flip it over. form the crust in the pan and cut the edges. with what's left at the top, use your finger and thumb to flute the edges. there will mostly likely be a few rips and holes in the crust, so take spare dough that was cut off the edges to patch it up before you bake it. bake at 475 degrees F for 8-10 minutes. check often to make sure the crust is not bubbling up with air pockets. Let cool before adding filling.

Asparagus Quiche

1 lb asparagus
2 tbsp butter
1 pie crust
4 eggs, beaten
3/4 c. cream
1 1/4 c. milk
1/4 tsp. dried dill weed
salt and pepper to taste

Clean asparagus and snap the hard ends off. Cut into inch-long pieces and saute in butter to remove some moisture. Asparagus should be tender and green, not soft. Place the asparagus in the bottom of the crust.

Mix the eggs, cream, milk, dill weed, salt, and pepper. Fill the crust and bake at 375 degrees F for 30-40 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before cutting and serving. Can also be served room temperature.

bread sticks

yum yum yummmm... i'm so very proud of this recipe cause i made all myself. well, with some breadstick guidance from other recipes. but this dough is all mine. and it's wonderful. they are so soft and each piece pulls apart so delicately. you can do whatever you want with them also. here, i sprinkled garlic powder on top before baking, but i think next time i'll also add some parmesan cheese. maybe after they're done, put a light coat of olive oil and sprinkle with seasonings (basil? oregano? maybe even paprika?!). my main issue was with shaping them. ahem... the recipe (a work in progress):

the ingredients:
1 tsp active dry yeast
1/3 c. warm water
2 tsp. sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/3 c. milk
3 tbsp. butter (melted) or olive oil
1 3/4 c. all purpose (or bread) flour

the method:
Dissolve the yeast in warm water. Add sugar, salt, milk, and butter or oil. Add flour 1/2 c. at a time. Turn the dough onto a well floured surface (dough should be very soft). Knead, then place into an oiled bowl; turn to coat. Cover with a damp cloth and let dough rise about 1 hour.

Shape the dough and place on a baking sheet sprayed lightly with oil. Cover again with damp cloth and let rise about 30 minutes. Add garlic powder or grated parmesan cheese if you want, and bake in oven (preheated to 375 degrees F) for 15-18 minutes.


voila! please try them and let me know what you think ;)