Easy Crusty Bread

I love bread. Pretty much all kinds. 

But the best kind.... 

...is crunchy and crusty on the outside and moist and tender on the inside. 

This is probably the easiest recipe that gets those results that I have made in a long time. The original recipe uses a dutch oven or any sort of covered dish; I don't have one, so I used a cast iron pan. Whatever you use, make sure it has a thick bottom to prevent burning. I know it looks like a lot of instructions, but there really aren't that many steps. I added some things that I did, and things that may help you. I'd suggest reading through it once first, just so you know where you are heading. I want to make it again, but this time add spices or herbs or cheese or something... If you experiment with it and have any success, comment and let me know! 

Ingredients:

- 1 1/2 cups warm water

- 1/4 teaspoon yeast

- 1/2 teaspoon salt

- 3 cups flour, plus some for dusting

- Corn meal for dusting

1. Mix water and yeast till yeast is dissolved. Add flour and salt and stir till dough looks shredded and kind of sticky. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rest for at least 8 hours, preferably 10-12. Go to work. Or bed, whichever time frame you'd like. 

2. There should be lots of bubbles when you return, and it should smell a bit fermented. Scrape the dough into a ball and turn onto a floured surface. Fold it over a few times (don't work it too much) and let sit for another 15 minutes. 

3. Gently shape it into a ball. I do this by pulling all the edges into a little clump; flip it over so that that seam is down on a non-floured surface, and then use your open/cupped hands to turn it in a circle. If it sticks right, the circular motion will pull the dough together and "screw" it into a nice round loaf. Generously dust a clean dish towel with cornmeal, and place the dough there seam-side down. Dust the top with a bit more cornmeal and let rise for 2 hours. It should have doubled in size

4. 20 minutes before the dough is ready, pre-heat the oven to 475*. I know, it sounds really hot, but no, it's not a typo. Place your dutch oven/ceramic dish/cast iron pan in the oven. 

(I do not own a dutch oven, so I improvised with a cast iron pan and a make-shift tin foil cage which worked GREAT. Just be careful that you crinkle the foil edges together to seal off as much as you can, and that when you are assembling the cage on a hot pan, you are careful not to burn yourself.)

5. When the dough is ready, pull out your pan and turn the dough seam side up into it. Shake it a bit if it gets too disfigured. Cover with a lid (or enclose it in a tin foil cage), and bake for 25-30 minutes. Remove lid/tin foil and bake for another 15-20 minutes, till brown. Let it cool before slicing. 

I found this recipe here: there is an interesting article about this method of baking bread, and the ideas behind it. Enjoy!

Best Snack Ever

I was introduced to these by my fiance, and I have to admit that I laughed at him at first. But, like most things, he was right and I was wrong. They are little drops of wonder and delight and are the BEST healthy way to satisfy any sweet tooth cravings. What are they?




Frozen grapes.

                       Green grapes

                                Red grapes

                                        Purple grapes

                                                Concord grapes

Any grapes.

Wash them and pluck them from the stem; dry them off, and throw into a gallon freezer bag. Pull out a handful when you have those late night ice cream cravings and pop them in your mouth. They are the perfect soft frozen-y texture and need barely any time to thaw. Yes, they still have sugar, but these natural sugars are so much better for you than anything that starts with Haagen or ends with Dazs. Guaranteed.

I've also avoided buying grapes thus far because as a single person, I always find that I could never finish off a big two pound bag before they went bad. This also effectively removes that problem without losing any of grapes nutritional value (ie Vitamin C, vitamin K, potassium, calcium, antioxidants, etc).

Grilled Chicken Salad

This is another fallback favorite for dinner that's really easy to prep and super inexpensive and about a hundred times cheaper than buying a salad like it in a restaurant. Some ideas of what to use are as follows: salad greens/spinach, cherry tomatoes, green peppers, cucumbers, carrots, parmesan cheese, and marinated grilled chicken. 


Wash and cut the veggies, grill and slice the chicken, drizzle a little of your favorite vinaigrette on the top and enjoy!

Lemon Ginger Shortbread Squares

A wonderful side to a cup of dark roast french-ly pressed coffee or tea. Unlike most other baked goods I make, I actually prefer these after they are cooled. They hold up well and last pretty much forever, if they don't get eaten that is.

Ingredients:
- 1 cup (2 sticks) butter
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2-3 teaspoons lemon zest
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- A couple drops of lemon extract
- 1/4 teaspoon ginger (more if you want a stronger flavor)
- 2 cups flour

1. Beat together the first four ingredients till smooth and fluffy.
2. Add vanilla, lemon extract, and ginger and combine.
3. Slowly add flour, and mix till just combined. It will probably be crumbly.
4. Press dough together with your hand inside the bowl until it is united enough to put out on a flat surface. Press into a rectangle and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
5. About 20 minutes before dough is ready, preheat oven to 325*. Once dough is chilled, roll out into a rectangle about 1/4 inch thick. Sprinkle with sugar and cut into squares or circles or stars or diamonds or whatever suits your fancy.
6. Bake for 20-22 minutes, till edges are slightly brown. These got a little darker than I would have preferred. Watch them carefully, since once they start browning, they brown FAST. Let cool on the baking trays for 3 minutes before transferring to cooling racks. Store in an airtight container.

Cranberry Almond Granola

The perfect mixture of sweet, sour, and salty.

I made a pretty hefty batch as you can see. You can easily half the recipe if you want a smaller amount. (And yes, that is bacon grease on the left, but no I did not use it in this recipe. Even though it's the stuff of the gods.) 

Ingredients:

- 6 cups rolled oats (whole, not quick oats)

- 1 1/2 to 2 cups slivered almonds 

- 3/4 to 1 cup sunflower seeds

- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar

- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt

- 1 teaspoon cinnamon

- 1/2 cup honey OR pure maple syrup OR a mixture of both

- 1/2 cup vegetable oil

- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

- 1 cups dried cranberries, chopped if desired

Preheat oven to 250*. In a large bowl, combine the first six ingredients. Stir together the next three ingredients (honey/syrup, oil, and vanilla) then pour over dry ingredients. Stir until the moisture is evenly distributed.
Pour onto flat baking sheets. Make sure the granola is not more than 3/4 inch deep on each tray.
Bake for 70-80 minutes, stirring every 10-15 minutes to make sure it all cooks evenly.
When there is about ten minutes left, stir in the cranberries.

Remove from heat when it looks like it needs five more minutes. It will brown up nicely and get crispy after you remove it from the oven as it cools, and if you leave it in right up until it looks perfect, the remaining heat will turn it at least a shade darker.

I like my granola chunky, so if you do too, let it cool in the pans without stirring. After it cools and gets crispy, you can break it up into whatever size pieces you like.

Store in an airtight container.

Pour into a bowl and serve with coconut or almond milk. Or normal milk, if you're normal like that.

Pumpkin Chip Scones

These puppies are as delish as they are beauties. Something about anything pumpkin makes Fall so much more...Fall-ish. This is a different recipe than my normal scone recipe found HERE; the moisture of the pumpkin requires some different proportions, not to mention all the additional spices that go along with it.


Ingredients

• - 2 3/4 cup flour
  - 1/2 cup sugar
  - 1 tablespoon baking powder
  - 3/4 teaspoon salt
  - 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  - 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  - 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  - 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
  - Dash of ground cloves
  - 1/2 cup cold butter
  - 1 cup to 2 cups minced crystallized ginger, cinnamon chips, or chocolate chips
  - 2/3 cup canned pumpkin
  - 2 large eggs
  - Sugar, for topping
• 
  
• 1) In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and spices. Cut in the butter just until the mixture is unevenly crumbly. Stir in the ginger and/or chips.
  2) In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the pumpkin and eggs till smooth.
  3) Add the pumpkin/egg to the dry ingredients and stir until all is moistened and holds together (takes a bit of time; just keep mixing! Hands work great).
  4) Scrape the dough onto a floured cutting board or your counter, and divide it in half. Round and press each half into a 5" or 6" circle. The circles should be about 3/4" thick.
  5) Brush each circle with milk, and sprinkle with coarse white sparkling sugar or cinnamon sugar, if desired.
  6) Slice each circle into 6 wedges and place on an ungreased baking sheet about 1/2 in apart.
  For best texture and highest rise, place the pan of scones in the freezer for 30 minutes, uncovered. While the scones are chilling, preheat the oven to 425°F.
  7) Bake the scones for 20-23 minutes, or until they're golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of one comes out clean.
  8) Store in a ziplock bag or other airtight container. You can reheat them in the microwave later which is totally worth it. 
  

Tia Omelettes

During my time at college, I got a campus job in the kitchen and being a freshman, I got stuck with the morning shift. This meant getting to work by the evil hour of 6 am. This doesn't sound so bad now, but while a student averaging 4-5 hours of sleep a night, I wasn't always in the best of moods (my apologies to all those security officers who had to let me in every day!) However, I was able to get my angst out by actually cooking; the head chef let me make custom ordered omelettes, which also (thank goodness) gave me something to talk about with the students who came through the line instead of having to put a coherent thought together. "Would you like cheese with that?"was all I had to say.
I think I averaged between 30-40 omelettes each morning I worked... after working 3-4 days a week for six semesters, that's a lot of omelettes and a lot of grease in my hair.  I guess people liked them because they started calling them "Tia omelettes," hence the name of this post.

Ahh I have so many stories... I could tell you about the one guy in school who ordered an omelette with ten eggs... Then there was the guy who would ask for three eggs, but with only one egg yolk; the guy who would ask me almost every day if I could do a poached egg..... on a grill..... and the guy who would point at each thing he wanted and say "NI HAO" each time as if he was making any sense in Chinese, and of course the time that I knocked out the power of the entire academic building of Founders Hall around 7 am.....yeah that happened.

This is one of those recipes where you can quite literally put whatever you want into them. You can do as few or as many of these ingredients as you'd like; you can use however many eggs you'd like, and you can cook it as thorough or as al dente as you'd like. A few other things other than listed below I've used before are sausage, jalapenos, ham, breakfast potatoes etc.

Suggested Ingredients:
- Red onion
- Red/green pepper
- Bacon, cooked and chopped
- Fresh basil
- Sliced mushrooms
- Diced tomatoes
- Fresh spinach
- Eggs (2 per serving)
- Shredded cheese


All you need to do is chop/dice everything into small pieces. Saute in a frying pan with a bit of olive oil till desired "done-ness" (shown below).

Remove from pan; I usually dump it on a plate.

Put a scant teaspoon of oil in the pan again, and heat on hi till a drop of water dances in the oil. Beat two eggs together, and pour into the pan. Guide the egg with a spatula, or turn the pan to spread out the egg. Cook until the egg doesn't jiggle too much. Place the veggie/meat mix in a column down the middle of the egg circle. Sprinkle cheese on top.

I apologize for not having a picture of the final product! From here, use a spatula to fold the right panel of egg over the cheese/toppings; flip again in same direction so that everything is rolled onto the left panel like a big burrito with the seam on the bottom. Scoop onto a plate, and sprinkle more cheese on top.

Serve with coffee and orange juice and seize the day as the winner that you are.

French Apple Cobbler

What can I say?

Ingredients:
- 2/3 cup white sugar
- 1/3 brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon cloves
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 8-9 apples (enough to fill a 9x13 pan)

- 4 tablespoons butter

Topping
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 cup whole oats
- 1/3 cup sugar (optional)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup milk

1. Preheat oven to 375*. Mix the first eight ingredients together in a small bowl. Peel and cut apples to desired size. Pour over diced/sliced/cut apples and mix till well coated; pour into 9x13 pan.
2. Dot apples with 4 tbls butter. Mix all Topping ingredients together. Drop dollops on apples, about four across and five down. Use your fingers or a fork to partially spread the dough out.
3. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until crust is a nice golden brown and the apples are bubbling.

Yeah, that just happened. Serve with freshly whipped cream sweetened with a tablespoon of pure maple syrup. 

Pumpkin Bread

This is a must-have for Fall!

• Ingredients:
• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil (or 1/2 cup oil and 1/2 cup applesauce)
• 2/3 cup water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups white sugar
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• Topping:
• - Chocolate chips (optional, not pictured)
• - 1/3-1/2 cup butter
• - 2 tablespoons sugar
• - 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour three 7x3 inch loaf pans.
2. In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water, vanilla and sugar until well blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. Pour into the prepared pans and sprinkle chocolate chips on top if desired.
3. Bake for about 60 minutes in the preheated oven. Loaves are done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
4. Let cool for 2 minutes. Use a chopstick or something similar to poke holes in the top of the loaves. Melt the butter/cinnamon/sugar together and pour over the top, letting the topping seep into the bread.
   
   
   Enjoy!
    

Spinach Quesadillas

Here's a good mid-week meal for those of you who start out with good intentions of making lots of wonderfully complicated meals, then halfway through the week realize it's not as possible as you thought. This is one of my default meals after work, and it's quick and easy! I've been experimenting with different cheeses and different fillings as well, trying to use as many different vegetables as possible. Anything that cooks down relatively thin works really well.

Ingredients:
- Whole grain tortilla (SO much yummier and crunchier than plain white ones!)
- Shredded cheese
- Fresh spinach

1. Saute spinach till tender. Set aside, and place tortilla in pan. Spread cheese and spinach, fold over in half, and cook till crispy and brown.
2. Let sit and cool for 2 minutes, then cut into pieces. Enjoy!

Chicken Lime Fajitas

This is so fresh and light, yet robust and flavorful. You can use chicken or beef; I think that beef would probably soak up the flavor a little bit more than the chicken did, but I had a chicken breast I needed to use. Play around with it and see what suits you best!

• 1 cup packed cilantro leaves, plus extra for serving
• 1/4 cup lime juice, about 2 limes
• 1/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 3 scallions, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 jalapeno, seeded if desired
• 1 tablespoon honey
• Kosher salt
• 1 1/2-pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 red onion, sliced into 1/2-inch thick rounds
• 2 orange and/or yellow bell peppers, quartered, seeds removed
• 1 ripe avocado, halved, seeded and peeled
• 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/8 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/4 cup fat-free Greek Yogurt
• 12 corn tortillas
• Shredded cheese
• Spinach

1. Put the cilantro, lime juice, broth, scallions, garlic, jalapeno, honey, and salt in a blender, puree until smooth. Reserve 2 tablespoons; do not wash out the blender.

Put chicken breasts in a medium bowl and the peppers and onions in another. Divide the remaining cilantro puree evenly between the chicken and the peppers and onions. Toss well to coat the chicken and vegetables and let stand, at room temperature, for 30 minutes.

2. Add the avocado, 1/2 cup water, and the reserved 2 tablespoons cilantro sauce to the blender. Puree until smooth and season with salt. Set aside.

3. Heat the oil in a small skillet set over medium heat until hot. Add the cumin and coriander and continue to cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Pour the spices over the yogurt and set aside for the flavors to blend. Do not stir until ready to serve.

4. Preheat a grill for medium-high/direct heat cooking. Grill the chicken and peppers about 5 to 8 minutes for the vegetables and 12 to 15 minutes for the chicken. Saute onions in a frying pan till translucent. Let chicken rest 5 minutes. Place the tortillas on the grill until just warmed through.

5. To assemble the fajitas: slice the onions and peppers into thin strips and then slice the chicken. Place some peppers, onions, chicken, spinach, shredded cheese and cilantro in a tortilla topped with the spiced yogurt and the avocado sauce.

EAT!

Pumpkin Pie Mini's

I apologize for the lack of a picture again. I'll blame it on the boys in my fiance's wing at school, since they were who these were made for. But the concept's not hard, so I'm sure you get the idea; and I'll add one that I found on the internet that looks about like how mine turned out. That's only half-cheating since I did do all the work, right?

Preheat oven to 425*

1. Make a two-crust pie crust recipe (Don't roll it out yet).

2 ½ cups all purpose or pastry flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar 

1 cup cold butter cut into chunks

¼ cup cold water

1.  Mix 2 cups flour, salt, and sugar in a bowl.

2. Cut in the butter in a food processor or with a pastry cutter.
3. Add the other 1/2 cup of flour and stir gently; don't overmix this flour.

4. Sprinkle ice cold water and mix with a fork and then your hands. It will feel dry, but do not add more water; keep squeezing and kneading till it comes together. 

5. Roll out between two pieces of parchment or wax paper.

2. Combine the following in a small bowl: 

• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

3. Beat 2 eggs in a large bowl.

4. Stir in 1 15-oz can of pumpkin and the sugar/spice mixture. 

5. Gradually stir in 1 12-oz can evaporated milk and set aside.

6. Roll out your pie dough and cut into circles big enough to fill a cupcake holder. Smoosh the circles into the cupcake pans, making sure that there are no holes, and coming mostly up the edges. Fill with pie filling, leaving at least half a centimeter of crust free on top. 

7. Bake at 425* for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350* and bake for about 20-30 minutes more. Check periodically to make sure nothing is burning or overflowing. When a toothpick comes out clean and the middle is set, they are done!

Cinnamon Sugar Muffins

Anything with cinnamon and sugar is my kryptonite. Well, one of them at least... 

Hungry yet?

• 1 3/4 cup flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/3 cup oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup milk

For the coating:

• 1/4 -1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a muffin tin.
2. Combine flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon in a medium bowl.
3. Combine oil, sugar, egg, vanilla, and milk in a large bowl. Add dry ingredients and stir only to combine.
4. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. While muffins are baking, melt butter in a small bowl. In another small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon.
5. Shake muffins out of the muffin tin while the muffins are still hot.
6. Dunk the tops of the muffins in the melted butter and then into the sugar and cinnamon mixture. Place on a wire rack and allow to cool.