The Essentials

Posted on by Dan

I’m sitting here Sunday morning, hunkering down as the second snowpocalypse begins outside. I was up early, warming up the house with baking bread. Specifically, I was attempting to make buns, being once again discouraged by the mile-long list of ingredients in the store-bought varieties.

Buns

These appear to do the trick (we’ll be testing them out later today as they sandwich a black bean burger with sautéed onions and mushrooms), and they were super easy to make. I modified an existing recipe to work with the ingredients I had on hand. The recipe is as follows.

Combine and heat to about 120 degrees :

  • 1/2 cup Fage
  • 1/2 cup almond milk
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 3 Tbsp butter

Mix together in a separate bowl:

  • 1 Tbsp active dry yeast
  • 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
  • 1 tsp salt

Then, add wet ingredients to dry ingredients, including 1 egg. Mix thoroughly, then slowly combine about 2 to 2 1/2 cups white flour and knead until dough is smooth and elastic (I used my KitchenAid stand mixer for about 2 minutes). Take dough and pull apart into 10 to 12 pieces, which you then roll into a ball then place, slightly flattened, on a baking sheet (or, in my case, a silpat covering a baking sheet). Let rise for 30 to 40 minutes and bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 15 minutes (or until golden brown).

One of the biggest satisfactions of making food from scratch is the total control over the ingredients. I’m not sure why sandwich buns need high fructose corn syrup, or any of the other “enhancements.” These may not have the shelf life, but chances are they will be long gone before they expire.

Still on the topic of essentials, I’m happy to say my spinning wheel has been getting some use (not quite the 15-minutes a day I had hoped to accomplish in the new year), enough to finally finish some lovely 3-ply yarn.

Handspun Corriedale

This is spun from some handdyed Corriedale that Virginia picked up for me from cloudlover (at last year’s Shepherd’s Harvest festival). I navajo-plied the yarn, yielding approximately 370 yards from a little less than 5 ounces of roving. I believe a pair of socks are being planned with the yarn.

And, speaking of socks, Virginia has been working on several pair (as usual), one of the most recent are these:

Handknit Socks

Knit following one of Charlene Schurch’s four-stitch reticulated patterns in her book Sensational Knitted Socks. These are made with two colors of Jawoll “Aktion.”

Well, I’m off to make some lunch, and to draw in some energy for the piles of snow that will need to be shoveled over the course of the next 24 hours.

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Of Roly-Polies and Pretzels

Posted on by Dan

Inspired by a recipe for a jam roly-poly, I attempted my own version of this jam-filled, biscuity goodness. The end result, though not resembling anything like a rolled up swirl of jam and dough, is still a perfect accompaniment to cup of earl gray.

Cherry Rumple (aka Failed Cherry Roly Poly)

Virginia dubbed it the “Cherry Rumple.” The biscuit dough was a bit on the soft side, which caused some flattening/spreading (or, “rumpling”) in the oven. The recipe (although, I will be tweaking it in the future to make it stiffer) is as follows:

  • 1 1/4 cups of flour (maybe make this 1 1/2 cups?)
  • 3 Tbsp ground golden flax seeds
  • 3 Tbsp cold butter (cut into small pieces)
  • 3 Tbsp sugar
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder

Mix above ingredients together until well combined, then add:

  • 1/2 cup Fage + enough almond milk to make 2/3 cups liquid
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla

Stir until just combined. Then, roll out on to a piece of wax paper sprinkled with flour – makes about a 9 x 12-inch rectangle that is 1/4 inch thick. Spread about 1/2 cup of cherry jam over surface, leaving about 1/2 inch of edge jam-free. Roll up, using the longer edge as starting point. Place on cookie sheet, seam side down. Bake for 30 minutes in 350 degree oven. After roll has cooled, slice and enjoy!

Pretzel Love
I always forget how fun it is to have pretzels in the house, but they never seem to make it in to the shopping cart when we get groceries. I picked some up this morning and made two very different snacks. The first requires no recipe, since you basically melt (gently) whatever favorite chocolate you have on hand in a double boiler, stir in some pretzels, remove and cool on wax paper.

Chocolate-Covered Pretzels

These will come in handy when I’m looking for something to get me through the rest of the afternoon at work. And, if that doesn’t do the trick, a small bowl with some navy bean hummus with sun-dried tomatoes will.

Navy Bean Hummus

In a small food processor, combine the following until very smooth:

  • 1 cup dried navy beans that have been cooked/boiled until very tender
  • 3 or 4 sun-dried tomato halves
  • 1 or 2 cloves of garlic
  • 3 Tbsp olive oil
  • juice from 1 large lemon
  • 2 Tbsp tahini
  • 1/2 tsp salt (more or less to taste)
  • a splash of water to make desired consistency

I freely admit it. I like to snack.

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Sunday’s Line-Up

Posted on by Dan

While an astounding 106 million people get ready to while away the afternoon watching a group of men chase around a little ball, our house will be filled with the sites, sounds and smells of our own, slightly different, line-up.

First up, weighing in at 7 pounds and measuring 12 inches in diameter, the kitchen workhorse – our no. 10 Wagner Ware cast-iron skillet.

One Pan Granola

I use this pan probably more than any other kitchen utensil (silverware excluded). Today it was used for my one-pan granola (from stove top to oven). Yesterday, blueberry pancakes in the morning, sauteing onions and mushrooms for pizza in the evening.

A rookie skillet was added to the team today. A no. 7 skillet that will have its first trial run today, serving as a baking dish for a loaf of bread. Here you see it getting ready, conditioning after having had a serious scrubbing.

Conditioning "New" Old Skillet

You’ll notice that we’ve added a couple of potholders to the mix. These are pretty fresh off the crochet hook, Virginia having recently made these out of some lovely colors of Ultra Pima Cotton yarn. The pattern is by Mandy Powers.

Crochet Potholders

Crochet Potholders

Skillets, granola, potholders? I suppose some might think this hardly the substitute for the excitement and anticipation that await the fans of tight pants, 8 seconds of play followed by incessant replays and the yammering of commentators. I say, have your football. I’ll take a quiet afternoon with a spot of tea and the remains of last night’s rustic cherry pie.

Rustic Cherry Pie - The Day After

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A Good Week for My Hands and Feet

Posted on by Dan

Among some projects finished these last couple of days, Virginia made a pair of mittens and socks that deserve some blog time (obviously, every project should get a mention, but my track record lately has not been good).

Vespergyle Mittens

These “Vespergyle Mittens” are from a pattern by Elinor Brown, knit using Spindrift. I really admire the argyle and stripe combination. And, of course, the Spindrift is such a cozy yarn for this sort of thing.

Vespergyle Mittens

I am happy to say they are big enough to fit my hands, so there will likely be a race to the mitten bin every time we head outside.

Vespergyle Mittens

I’m also the happy recipient of this early-Valentine’s gift. A pair of “Tweed Socks.”

Tweed Socks

These are knit from a pattern by Marilyn Morgan, in the book Socks, Socks, Socks, using several types of yarn, including Jawoll and Socka. The slipped-stitch pattern really dress up these socks, and I can already envision these paired with dark brown khakis and cardigan.

Tweed Socks

Like I said, it’s a good week for my hands and feet.