This Sunday, we got ambitious.
Matt's been wanting to learn how to make bread for a while now. I took a class in breadmaking with George De Pasquale from Seattle's Essential Baking Company a few years ago, but found myself generally bewildered by all the chemistry involved and the dificulty of making good bread without a commercial oven and commercial mixer. For Valentine's Day I bought Matt a baguette-making class with Bellingham breadmaker Scott Mangold of Breadfarm. Matt decided he'd better try making it on his own at least once so that he understood the process somewhat.
After a lot of kneading and patiently waiting for the dough to proof, here's our result. Sadly, a bit dense with a tough crust. Like most homemade bread I've tasted. How do those artisans do it?
I was feeling a little under the weather this weekend, so I wanted to make a soup. I decided it was high time to start making use of my new cookbook, full of great ideas, The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper.
The first thing I found that really caught my eye, was their recipe for Cheater's Homemade Broth. Short of boiling the carcass of a chicken itself, this recipe allows you to use boxed stock as a base and create a richer homemade stock from that.
-makes about 4 cups of stock-
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 large garlic cloves
1 whole clove (the recipe calls for two, but I thought the result was a bit overbearing)
1 canned tomato
1 bay leaf, broken
1/2 tsp. dried basil
3 14 oz cans chicken broth*
1 onion (med-lrg), course chopped (if organic, cut away root, but leave skin)
1/2 lrg celery stalk with leaves, course chopped
1/2 medium carrot, course chopped (leace unpeeled, if organic)
*I used organic, boxed stock. Swanson's 99% Fat Free All-Natural Organic is a good choice for flavor. This cookboook and a chef have recommended this specific brand to me on two separate occasions.
I went to work chopping vegetables and adding spices. I made a double batch, threw it all in the pot, brought it to a simmer and kept it simmering for a half hour, partially covered. Then I strained it for my soup base and set it aside, but I could have frozen or refrigerated it for later just as easily. Maybe this all seems like a lot of work for what you can essentially get from a can, but the richer stock was, I think, worth the trouble and I didn't have to roast a whole chicken first.
Once I had the stock, I made the Simple Garden-In-A-Pot Soup, which is all about the thinly sliced vegetables, kind of like ratatouille. It reminded me a lot of a soup my friend Ashley makes and finishes with a dollop of pesto and a handful of parmesan cheese, so I finished mine the same way. I was also craving potatoes, so I added four or five baby yukons to my recipe.
Good tasting extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium onions, thin sliced
2 medium carrots, thin sliced
Top third of 2 celery stalks with their leaves, thin siced
6 large garlic cloves, thin sliced
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 generous teaspoons dried basil
2 generous teaspoons sweet paprika (I only had normal paprika, so I used just one teaspoon)
2 small zucchini, thin sliced
a handful of fresh spinach leaves, chopped
1 portobello mushroom, washed and rough chopped
1/4 large head of green cabbage, chopped (thin slice the core too)
5 small yukon gold potatoes, skins on, thin sliced (my addition)
6-8 cups cheaters homemade broth
pesto and grated parmesan, optional
1. Film the bottom of a heavy 6 quart pot with olive oil. Add onions, carrot, celery and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook over med-low heat for 15 minutes or until the vegetables are wilted and aromatic. Stir often and don't let anything burn.
2. Uncover, raise the heat to med-high, and stir in the tomato paste, basil and paprika. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring often. Then add all the remaining vegetables and stock. Bring to a simmer, partially cover, and cook for 30 minutes or until the vegetables are very tender and the soup tastes of deep, satisfying flavors. If weak, take off lid and boil uncovered for 5 minutes.
3. Serve in deep bowls with a dollop of pesto and grated cheese on top. Yum.
Ok, so our last endeavor on our very industrious Sunday was granola, which is becoming a standby in our house. The recipe we have makes tons and it is one of the best granolas I've ever tasted, not to mention really simple to make. It makes so much that I've been sending it away in care packages and now my friend Nina has set up her own granola sweatshop. We were converted when our friends the Ingraham-Browns gifted us with a bag that they had made for Christmas. When I go to the grocery store and see the boring granolas available and the pricetags on the tiny bags, I understand why this recipe is catching.
4 cups good thick rolled oats
2 cups unsweetened coconut
2 cups sliced almonds
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup honey
1.5 cup small, diced, golden raisins
1 cup small, diced, dried figs
1 cup dried cherries
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup roasted unsalted cashews
Preheat oven to 350. Toss oats, coconut & almonds in a large bowl. Whisk oil & honey in a separate bowl and pour into oat mixture. Stir until oats are thoroughly coated. Spread out on a non-greased baking sheet. Place in oven, stirring every 5-10 minutes until golden brown (approx 30 minutes or less).
Remove from oven continuing to stir occasionally until cool. Mix in the dried fruits and nuts--enjoy!
My favorite way to eat this rich granola is on top of some plain organic yogurt, but I also munch handfuls of it for a quick snack.
So it's Wednesday now and I am still gladly reaping the benefits of last weekend's efforts. I don't know what it is about the windows steamed from good food in the oven, padding around in your socks with nothing on the agenda except a huge meal later, and a good movie on in the background, but I wish Sundays were every day. Don't you?
