Under a Red Roof

Bread, Soup, Eighties

October 21, 2009 in Cooking + Baking, Exploring by Colleen | 4 comments

It was a big weekend in our neck of the woods, much activity and entirely fun filled. Friday, I made soup, a variation of my draped in velvet recipe, with a swirl of olive oil on top, as well as bread. I don’t bake bread often, but every time I do, it makes me very happy. It smells so good, filling up the house with yeasty goodness, and the kneading is such a satisfying and meditative task. Push, fold, turn, push, fold turn… Maybe you’d like to make some, too. Here’s the recipe, adapted from Better Homes and Gardens 75th Anniversary Cookbook. Gosh do I love this collection of recipes. Such good basics!

Multigrain Bread

2 – 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons yeast

3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon water

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup whole wheat flour

1/3 cup wheat germ

1/3 cup rolled oats

1 tablespoon flax seeds

In a medium mixing bowl, combine 1 cup flour and the yeast; set aside. In a medium saucepan, combine water, sugar, butter, and salt, stirring until it reaches 120 degrees and butter almost melts. Add water mixture to flour mixture. Beat with a wooden spoon for about 3 minutes. It will be very creamy. Stir in the whole wheat flour, wheat germ, rolled oats, and flax seed.

Turn onto a lightly floured surface. Knead in enough of the remaining all purpose flour to make a moderately stiff dough. It should be smooth and elastic, not sticky. Shape dough into a ball, place in a lightly greased bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled in size (1 – 1 1/2 hours).

Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Grease an 8″ loaf pan. Shape the dough into a loaf to fit the pan. Place in pan and allow to rise again, until doubled (30-45 minutes).

Bake in a 375 degree oven for 35-40 minutes or until bread sounds hollow when lightly tapped. Immediately remove bread from pan and cool on a wire rack.

Enjoy!

We also went to an Eighties party fundraiser for the school that nearly all of my friends’ children attend. It was fun. I replicated, nearly to the letter, an outfit I wore in high school (though my hair did not stay big and fluffy – such is life without hairspray), and then I dressed up the hubster like some of the boys I had major crushes on way back when. He was even amenable to eyeliner, which was very cool of him. Besides, it looked good, being so handsome and all.

Here are more photos, but since my friends are generally blog shy, I’m not going to tell you who they are, just that they mean the world to me!

Don’t forget to dance!

Tags: Cooking and Baking, Friendship

October Sky

October 7, 2009 in Cooking + Baking, Decorating, Eating, Exploring, Gardening + Nature, Practicing, Shopping by Colleen | 5 comments

So, I’ve got quite the hodgepodge for you today. First off, isn’t this a gorgeous sky? It was like the heavens couldn’t make up their mind, sweet, soft, and ethereal pink or menacing grey. A bit like me, sometimes I just can’t decide.

Take, for instance, my sugar addiction. One moment I am not at all interested in eating one more bite of it, and I get a little haughty, feeling, “Oh, I’ve really licked it this time!” Then, I drive by Pix, pull over the car and eat half of a St. Honore before I am dumbstruck by what is happening. Shoot! As for this very moment, I am feeling, more than anything else, like I need to let the obsession go. I am a pretty healthy person, all things considered, knocking on wood, etcetera, etcetera. Why fret about it? My cravings ebb and flow, like a river or the sea, just let it be.

Speaking of being and the flow of the sea, today my yoga practice involved a new, and rather exciting video (at least to me – it’s been out for a while) Shiva Rea: Yoga Trance Dance. I’m pretty sure I have mentioned that I LOVE to dance, in a crazy, unscripted, primal, and occasionally, um, nutty, kind of way, really taking the rhythms to another plane, both physically and mentally (quite unlike my graceful ballerina friend Mara). Thankfully, this DVD fully embraces these qualities, really engaging the practitioner in a dynamic and energizing flow, riding the waves of grace, energy, and movement. I highly recommend it.

Now, a bit more of the sea, in a shopping and decorating note. How about this painting gracing our bedroom? There used to be a poster of an old map of Paris, but we had grown tired of it, and then I got, in a semi-paranoid state, to thinking that if the big earthquake comes while we are in bed and knocks it off the wall, we’re goners. So, the other day at the Goodwill Bins, I found this. It is an original oil painting by H. Walker. I know nothing of this person, but bless his or her heart, the sea is right, and I got a bargain that will not kill me, my precious spouse, or cats, all for $20, including the frame. Not bad, not bad at all my precious peeps. Now if I could center the bed under the painting, my anal-retentive self would be super happy. One thing at a time…

Finally, the last of the summer tomatoes. We’ve had quite the season around here – I canned nine pints, made a big batch of Spicy Tomato Chutney (Zowie – I posted this recipe one year ago TODAY!), and eaten and eaten to my heart’s content. These are the Sungold cherry variety from our rather prolific vines. I sliced them, sprayed them with olive oil (using our refillable pump – love this gadget), followed by a sprinkle of salt, and two hours at 200 degrees in the oven. With my instructions, because I didn’t want to stop watching the news and get off the couch (sometimes I refuse to budge), the hubster made this pasta dish. Easy, delicious. Why don’t you try it? This serves two and is yummy!

Pasta (we used brown rice fettuccine, as we avoid wheat when we can)

1 handful pine nuts

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

3-4 fresh sage leaves, sliced fine, as in a chiffonade

1 handful raisins

1 large handful of sun or oven dried tomatoes

salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes, to taste

While your pasta is cooking, toast the pine nuts in a dry skillet until light brown, shaking the pan to evenly brown. Set aside. Add butter and olive oil to pan, bring to a slow bubble, add the sage and raisins, cooking until the raisins puff a little, add the tomatoes and gently stir, just until warmed through. Once your pasta is finished, toss everything together. Season with salt, fresh ground pepper, and red pepper flakes.

If you have some green tomatoes left in the garden, fry them up! We sliced ours to about 1/4″, dipped them in Ener-G egg replacer (regular egg will do), dredged them in brown rice flour (more crunch, but wheat will do), corn meal, salt, and pepper, and fried in enough sunflower oil to cover the bottom of the skillet. Fry until golden on each side and voila, yummy (I can’t find the photo, sorry).

What a day! Enjoy yours.

Tags: Cooking and Baking, Decorating

Draped in Velvet

September 29, 2009 in Cooking + Baking, Eating, Feeling by Colleen | 4 comments

I got stung by a wasp on Sunday afternoon. The hubster and I were gardening, and I felt what I thought was a sequoia needle stabbing into me. When I looked down to move my foot out of the way of said needle, I saw the wasp bouncing off my ankle, like a little basketball, over and over. I yelped, both at the realization and because it really hurt. I thought I came out of it relatively unscathed until yesterday afternoon, when my foot swelled up like a little balloon, nearly twenty-four hours after being stung. To be honest, I think I brought this on myself, as the inflammation only occurred after a rather vigorous scratching. My goodness friends, it itches! So here I am, swollen footed, gimpy, writing about soup and fish, delicious velvety soup and fish. George Costanza would eat it with pride.

Velvety Squash Soup

1 winter squash, about 2 1/2 pounds (I used a kabocha – it looks like a dark green pumpkin)

olive oil

salt

1 medium onion, diced

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons curry powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 – 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth

1 cup coconut milk

cayenne pepper (to taste, optional)

Cut the squash into large chunks. If you have a hard time getting your blade through the hard flesh, try gently tapping the knife with a hammer. I wish I could give proper credit for this discovery, because it works wonders! Place on a baking pan and drizzle the pieces with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Roast in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes to one hour, until soft. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

In a medium soup pot, saute the onion with the butter and salt until the onion is soft. Add three cups of broth and the curry powder and simmer over low heat. Once the squash is cool enough to handle, scoop out the flesh and add to the onion curry broth. Using an immersion blender, blend the mixture until smooth. (If you don’t have an immersion blender, use a regular one, adding the squash in batches. Use very little broth as you blend, or you will have a hot mess splattered everywhere. This is the voice of experience talking and why I have the immersion variety. Put it back in the pan as you go.) Add the coconut milk and correct the seasoning and thickness of the soup. It may need more broth, salt, or curry. If you’d like it spicier, add the optional cayenne now. Eat now or continue to simmer over low heat while you prepare the fish.

Floating Fish

2 fillets of firm white fish (neutral flavored cod or halibut are best)

curry powder

salt

Place fish on a baking pan and sprinkle with curry and salt. Place under the broiler for about 3-5 minutes, depending on thickness. Remove from oven, gently turn over, and season the second side. Broil until the flesh is opaque, another 3-5 minutes.

Ladle soup into serving bowls and gently float the fillet on top. It looks so pretty and tastes even better.

Enjoy!

My sad foot. I hope this doesn’t turn you off from the soup, but I had to share. It’s what I do.

Tags: Cooking and Baking

For Buddy: Chicken Made Easy

September 26, 2009 in Cooking + Baking, Eating by Colleen | 1 comment

Greg made dinner the other night while I was tapping away like a fat little pigeon – thanks Buddy! This isn’t it, but a fine substitute photo from an outing to Hood River a few weeks back. Anyway, he roasted some chicken but lamented the fact that he always makes it the same way, sprinkled with fresh rosemary (the shrubs in our garden are HUGE), salt, and pepper. Here’s my help to him (and you, if you like) in the future – a quick reference for the preparation, as well as myriad seasoning options for our dining pleasure.

Tasty Whole Chicken Legs (We’re not breast people)

To each of the seasoning combinations, add salt and as little or as much garlic as you like (fresh diced or dried ground)

Optional seasonings for each, depending on your tastes – ground pepper, red pepper flakes, and a light drizzle of olive oil rubbed on first

Use the following seasonings, alone or together, to your taste:

Asian: soy, sake, ginger, green onion, fish sauce, sweet hot sauce, peanut butter

French: sage, tarragon, thyme, rosemary, a splash of white wine in the pan

German: coarse sweet mustard, caraway seeds, a splash of apple cider vinegar in the pan (I’d probably skip the garlic on this one or maybe use just a little)

Indian: curry powder, cumin, garam masala, ginger, fenugreek

Italian: basil, oregano, marjoram, a splash of red wine or Marsala in the pan

Mexican: ground dried chipotle, cayenne, cumin, honey or agave

Spanish: smoked paprika, a dash of sherry in the pan

Classic: lemon pepper, onion, thyme, paprika, sage, brown mustard seeds

Preheat the oven to 450. Place chicken in pan (ugly side up, with or without skin) and season your way. Place in oven and roast for 5-10 minutes, or until it starts to crisp. Turn the temperature to 325 and continue roasting for 15 minutes. Flip the chicken over to the pretty side and season again. Turn the temperature back to 450. Roast until it is crispy and the juices run clear, usually about 5-10 minutes.

Enjoy!

Tags: Cooking and Baking

Peachy Keen

September 19, 2009 in Cooking + Baking, Eating by Colleen | 4 comments

Happy Saturday, everyone!

We bought some rather fabulous looking local peaches at the market this week – big perfectly shaped, and oh, the scent, heavenly. The problem? Mealy as all get out. I took one bite and felt such a wave of sadness that something so pretty and sweet smelling could be so icky. However, with a bit of baking experience under my belt, I knew there was potential for them. Here it is – clafoutis. Creamy and custardy, like a soft pancake, though with a slight crunch of a crust on top, and a snap to make, too. I forget how easy they are, and much prettier than a stack of pancakes, too.

I took the best of a recipe from Richard Sax and another from David Lebovitz to suit my quite particular tastes and it was perfectly delicious. You can use peaches, apricots, cherries, berries, plums, or a combination. It’s really hard to go wrong. Also, if you can, get up before the hubster (or the kids) and make it for breakfast, like I did. The sleepy smile plastered on his face and delight at the first bite is well worth the time and effort.

I also gilded the lily and made a peach sauce with the remaining fruit. I used the recipe included with my pancakes. Actually, I very nearly called this post, “How About Orange?” in homage to a rather snazzy blog and the fact that we had peach clafoutis, peach sauce, and charentais melon for breakfast – a rather monochromatic but happy coincidence!

Clafoutis

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1 pound firm, ripe plums, peaches, apricots, sliced OR 2 cups berries or cherries (pitted) OR a combination

3 eggs

1/2 cup flour (I like using 1/4 cup whole wheat and 1/4 cup all purpose)

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon brandy (optional, but very good, especially with peaches)

1/4 cup sugar, plus 2 tablespoons for sprinkling

1 1/4 cups milk (2% or whole milk give the best flavor and texture)

Position your baking rack in the top third of the oven and preheat to 375. Liberally butter the bottom and sides of an 8 or 9 inch gratin dish or pie pan. Arrange the fruit in a pretty pattern.

In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs until smooth. Whisk in the butter and flour until smooth, add vanilla and brandy (if using). Whisk in the 1/4 cup sugar, then the milk.

Pour the custard mixture over the fruit (be gentle about it so you don’t disrupt the prettiness you’ve made). Bake for 30 minutes.

Gently slide out the rack the clafoutis is resting on so you don’t disturb the crust that is forming. Sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar, and continue baking for about 30 more minutes. It will be slightly firm in the center and the top will be a gorgeous golden brown. Serve right away or warm. It will deflate a bit, so snap your photos quickly (hopefully you’ll have better light than I did today).

Enjoy!

Tags: Cooking and Baking