Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day

I LOVE fresh bread!  It fills the house with a homey aroma and is delicious slathered in jam or butter or with a slice of cheese.  It makes great sandwiches, a quick toast breakfast, or a simple snack.  I especially love artisan bread: peasant loaves, french bread, olive bread, and cheese breads.

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes A Day is a great, easy method for baking as much fresh bread as I want.  The basic idea is that you make a large batch of dough, mix it without kneading, let it rise once, let is rest in the refrigerator, and then pull it out and bake it whenever you have a fresh bread craving.

In using this cookbook I have learned to bake on a pizza stone, including the difficult task of sliding a fully dressed pizza off of the peel onto the hot stone.  One piece of advice: coat the pizza peel liberally with corn meal or flour.  You will be glad you did!  You can also freeze partially baked loaves and finish baking them at a later date for the treat of fresh bread straight out of the oven.

Raspberry Zinger & Lemonade

A refreshing summer beverage!

Raspberry Zinger & Lemonade

4 tea bags Celestial Seasoning's Raspberry Zinger tea
1/2 gallon lemonade

In a large glass pitcher, cover the tea bags with boiling water.  Let brew for 10-15 minutes.  Add lemonade and top off pitcher with cold water & ice.  Leave tea bags to continue brewing in the fridge.

Made From Scratch: Salad Dressing

Salad dressing is simple enough to make from scratch.  You can vary the seasonings and create many variations.


Salad Dressing
from my dad

Ingredients:
6 T olive oil
2 T lemon juice or vinegar
salt
pepper
garlic
herbs

1) In a small bowl, whisk together 1 T olive oil, 1 T lemon juice or vinegar, & seasoning.
2) Add 2 T olive oil and whisk.
3) Add 3 T olive oil and 1 T lemon juice or vinegar and whisk.
4) Adjust seasoning to taste.

Napa Cabbage Salad

This week in our CSA we got a large head of Napa Cabbage, sweeter and finer than typical cabbage.  I used it in a variety of dishes, but this was my favorite.

Napa Cabbage Salad
Adapted from Ollin Farms CSA Newsletter

Ingredients:
1/2 c slivered almonds

1 lb napa cabbage, chopped

2 scallions, thinly sliced

2 carrots, grated
raisins
3 T vegetable oil
1 T soy sauce
1/2 t sugar
pepper

1) Combine almonds, cabbage, scallions, and carrots in a large bowl.
2) In a small bowl, whisk together oil, soy sauce, sugar, & pepper.
3) When ready to eat, sprinkle with raisins and drizzle with dressing.

Gingered Carrots and Red Onions with Broccoli

This is an easy stir-fry, packed full of flavor.

GINGERED CARROTS AND RED ONIONS WITH BROCCOLI
Adapted from the UltraSimple Diet
Serves 6.

Ingredients
1 T ginger, peeled & minced
1 clove garlic, minced
3 carrots, julienned
1 red onion, slice into strips
1 bunch broccoli, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 T olive oil
1/8 t red pepper flakes
1/2 t sea salt
brown rice

1. Heat the oil in a large pan.
2. Add the ginger, garlic, carrots, onions, and red pepper flakes.  Saute for 2-3 min.
3. Add the broccoli and saute for 2-3 more minutes.
4. Season with salt.
5. Serve over brown rice.

Focaccia

Delicious served with soup in winter!

FOCACCIA 

From my mom

Ingredients
1 c warm water
2 t yeast
2 t sugar
¼ c olive oil
1 1/2 c white flour
1 ½ c whole-wheat flour
Coarse sea salt

1) In a large bowl soften the yeast with water and sugar.
2) Add olive oil and flour.
3) Knead.
4) Let rise in greased bowl for 1 hour.
5) Punch down.
6) Roll out to fit in a 9x13 pan.
7) Use a chopstick to make holes in the top.
8) Sprinkle with sea salt.
9) Let rise for 15-20 min.
10) Bake at 450 for 12-15 minutes.

Appetite for Reduction

I love getting new cookbooks!  The latest addition to my collection is Appetite for Reduction by Isa Chandra Moskowitz (Thanks, Liz!).  It's a low-fat vegan cookbook, with lots of delicious sounding main dishes, side dishes, and salads.  It also has a lot of gluten-free and soy-free recipes for those on a more restricted diet.  I'm eager to try a few of the recipes this week.  Stay tuned!

Cashew and Green Pea Bhaji

An easy recipe!  Especially with a rice cooker to make perfect brown rice!

CASHEW AND GREEN PEA BHAJI
Adapted from World Vegetarian by Madhur Jaffrey

Ingredients
1 1/2 c whole raw cashews
1 1/2 T peanut oil
1 t whole mustard seeds
15-20 fresh basil leaves
1 fresh Jalapeno pepper
1 c fresh or frozen defrosted peas
3/4 t salt
brown rice

1. Soak the cashews overnight in water, covered by at least 3 inches.  Drain.
2. Heat oil in frying pan over medium heat.  Add mustard seeds.
3. As soon as the seeds start to pop, add the basil leaves and stir once or twice.
4. Add the cashews, chile, peas, and salt.
5. Cook, stirring frequently for 5 minutes.
6. Serve over brown rice.

Teriyaki Greens

The easiest way to prepare dark greens!  And delicious, too!

TERIYAKI GREENS

From my mom

Serves 3-4.

Ingredients

1 head kale, chard, or collard greens

Olive oil

Soy sauce

1)    Wash greens and cut from stalk.

2)    Chop into bite-size pieces

3)    Sauté in olive oil until almost wilted

4)    Add olive oil and sauté until limp.

New World Soup

This soup is made entirely from ingredients found in the "New World," when Europeans came to the Americas.  It's also a delicious (and deliciously easy!) soup.  Unfortunately the ingredients are mostly summer vegetables and summer is not a time when a bowl of hot soup is particularly attractive.  I wonder how well zucchini freezes.  We'll have to give it a try this summer!

NEW WORLD SOUP

From my mom

Ingredients

1 ½ c frozen corn or 1 can corn

3 potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes

1 ½ c canned kidney beans

1 medium zucchini, sliced

1 can cut-up tomatoes

½ c refried beans

Water, juice from canned vegetables

1)    Put all ingredients in a big pot and simmer for 1 hour.

Aloo Matar

We tried a new recipe from our friend Angela and were simply delighted with the results! Who knew cooking Indian food could be so easy? Thanks, Angela!

ALOO MATAR

Adapted from allrecipes.com

Serves 4.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 medium onions, finely chopped

1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste

1 bay leaf

4 large potatoes, peeled and chopped

1 cup frozen peas

1/2 cup tomato puree

1 1/2 teaspoons garam masala

1 1/2 teaspoons paprika

1 teaspoon white sugar

1 teaspoon salt

naan or basmati rice

1. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in the onions, ginger garlic paste, and bay leaf. Cook until the onions are tender.

2. Mix in the potatoes and peas. Cover and cook until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Remove the bay leaf.

3. Stir the tomato puree, garam masala, paprika, sugar, and salt into the vegetable mixture. Continue cooking about 10-12 minutes.

4. Serve with naan or basmati rice.

Aunt Cathy's Amazing Granola

This is our standard summer breakfast fare, eaten with yogurt. It's a real mix-and-match recipe, so feel free to experiment!

AUNT CATHY'S AMAZING GRANOLA

from Aunt Cathy, modified from Cafe Beaujolais

Approximately 28 servings.

Ingredients:

6 c oatmeal

unsweetened big-flake coconut (We use ~5 oz.)

Nuts: (We use ~2 c sunflower seeds, 2 c roasted cashews, & 2 c almonds)

Sesame Seeds

Sunflower Seeds

Cashews

Almonds

Pumpkin Seeds

Macadamia Nuts, halved

1/2 c oil (We use safflower oil)

1/2 c honey

1 t vanilla

1/4 t salt

1 t cinnamon

Dried Fruit: (We add fruit by the bowl, as desired.)

raisins

dried cherries

dried cranberries

currants

Preheat the oven to 325-degrees F.

In a sauce pan, over low heat, warm the oil, honey, vanilla, and salt.

Mix together oats, nuts, and coconut in a large bowl.

Pour oil mixture over oats & nuts and mix well.

Spread granola on two baking sheets.

Bake for a total of 35-45 minutes, stirring every 5-10 minutes! Swap which pan is on top each time you stir.

Allow to cool, then add in dried fruit.

Store in airtight containers.

Serve with yogurt, milk, and/or fresh fruit.

Sri Lankan Sweet Potatoes with Cardamom and Chiles

Don't be scared by the spices in this recipe! It's really quite easy and all the ingredients were found in our local grocery store.

SRI LANKAN SWEET POTATOES WITH CARDAMOM AND CHILES

adapted from Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian

serves 6

Ingredients:

2 very large sweet potatoes (2 1/2 lbs)

1/4 t ground turmeric

5 T peanut oil or olive oil

3 whole dried hot (or mild) red chiles, broken into halves

2 whole cardamom pods

1 (3-inch) cinnamon stick

20 fresh curry or basil leaves

3 onions, cut into fine half rings

2 t crushed dried hot red chiles or chili flakes

1 1/2 t salt

1 1/2 T lime juice

rice

Directions:

1. Peel the sweet potatoes and cut into 3/4" chunks. Boil potatoes with the turmeric for 5 - 6 min, until sweet potatoes are tender, but still firm. Drain.

2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add red chiles and stir until chiles darken (a matter of seconds). Add the cardamum and cinnamon. Stir once or twice and then put in curry leaves. Stir once and add onions.

3. Cook onions for 5-6 min or until they are lightly browned.

4. Add sweet potatoes and cook for 5 min.

5. Add crushed red chiles, salt, and lime juice. Stir and cook until sweet potatoes are tender to taste.

6. Remove half chiles, cinnamon, and cardamom before serving.

7. Serve with rice.

Curried Great Northern Bean and Carrot Soup

A great weeknight meal!

Curried Great Northern Bean and Carrot Soup

Adapted from the UltraSimple Diet.

Serves 4.

Ingredients:

3 carrots, chopped

1/4 c chopped yellow onion

1 clove garlic, minced

1 shallot, minced

1 can (16 oz) Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed

1 T olive oil

2 c vegetable broth

1/8 t curry powder

2 t fresh ginger, peeled and diced

1/8 t cayenne pepper

1 T lemon juice

In a medium stock pot heat oil over medium heat. Saute carrots, shallots, onion, garlic, and ginger. Cook for 4-6 minutes or until vegetables start to soften. Add broth, beans, and all herbs and spices. reduce heat to low and simmer covered for 15-20 minutes or until beans are soft. Remove pot from heat. Add lemon juice. In the blender (or using an immersion blender) puree the soup until smooth.

Great served warm or chilled.