Amoeba Pizza and Artisan Bread!

Awhile back I had a lesson in artisan bread making. Finally, this week I put it to use!

I've been making a really big effort to be better about making meals every night. And as I've been planning and coming up with a system I thought: how easy dinners would be if we had fresh bread and salad as a fairly staple part of our meals each night.

This bread is a dream. Really, it is so much easier than I ever thought it would be.

So I do think the title: Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day is really true. I think I just might have to buy the book now- or Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day. That one sounds very nice too.

Here is my first humble little loaf:

One thing I was very excited about with this bread dough is that is can also be used for pizza. I love to make homemade pizza but all the rising steps and such make it something that takes a bit of planning.

Well, I rolled out some of this dough one night, threw some toppings on it and baked it in the oven- and really it was some of the best homemade pizza dough we've had.

Dashing Boy said my pizza looked like an amoeba.
Which sounded so cool that I instantly got images of us having amoeba pizza nights with our children. We're such nerds.

Feeling hot hot hot.

This last weekend Dashing Boy and I went on a date to the Mexican market.

We walked down every single aisle to our hearts content. It was a very exciting two hour date activity, and very educational.

The tomatillos were 3lbs for $1! A cute, nice man was filling a large bag full of them. He was being very discriminating in which tomatillos he was choosing, so I asked him how he knew which ones were good. I really need to continue learning Spanish.

He and Dashing Boy had a good conversation and we learned that he owned a roadside taco stand.

His valuable advice: Choose the greenest smaller tomatillos-they're sweeter. He even offered us his whole bag that he had just chosen (truly, about 10 min worth of choosing) And then he reached his hand into a barrel full of black beans and told me that they were a very good source of iron, good for being pregnant.

It was great.

And so today we made a Mexican meal complete with homemade Cafe Rio dressing jam-packed with tomatillos!

As I was washing the jalapeno for the dressing Dashing Boy said, "Jenny be really careful not to touch your eyes or face now!"

After which I promptly sliced the jalapeno and squirted myself directly in the eye with the hot juice.

Boy that stuff burns! Dashing Boy turned to google and we learned that I could flush my eye out with milk then flush the milk out with cold running water.

I used the 1/4 measuring cup (you know, for you to know just in case you squirt a jalapeno in your eye)- sealed it around my eye then blinked in it a bunch, looking quite lovely as milk dripped down my face and into the sink.

It was just a little too tempting for Dashing Boy who seized the opportunity to take some incriminating pictures of me.

It worked though! 10 minutes later and you would have never known I had done such a silly thing. And now there is a bunch of yummy dressing that I could drink I love it so much. I won't. But I want too.

My name is Jenny and I am a bread snob.

I don't think there could be anything cooler than learning how to make bread like this:


Isn't it exciting! What a beauty! I was lucky enough today to take a wonderful class in artisan bread baking by my good friend Cristie at The Table Runner ( a great resource for finely tested and tuned recipes if I do say so myself).

Cristie is my go to person on baked goods. I have called her many a time with questions- knowing I can not go wrong if I follow her advice.

This past year she has perfected her art of artisan bread making- something I've wanted to learn very much how to do (We Love artisan bread in this house) but that has just seemed very daunting.

Well, fear not. Cristie showed me that it can be done easily (and with a little practice, maybe even with some grace like her).

She uses the book Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. And really it seemed like the title might really be true.

I'm very excited about it and am going to be experimenting with it this next little while.

Because things like artisan bread make me happy.

And lets face it, I'm a bread snob.

In college I worked at the heavenly Crumb Brothers Artisan Bread where we most definitely lived off the fresh bread I brought home everyday. I even started to get snobby about bread that was more than two days old. (Now that I'm not so spoiled I savor every last bite of an artisan bread loaf if it manages to last longer than two days!)

After college we even had a separate budget category for artisan bread for a spell just so we could have it every week.

But being able to make it myself? At home?

Very cool indeed.

Especially after being in company like this:

Two sweet, cheap indulgences.

Today I am going to talk about two sweet, cheap indulgences. Things that are a rare treat.

Indulgence #1 I am trying to learn how to make myself: doughnuts

For a very long time I have been eying the beautifully crafted doughnuts in the King Arthur Catalog. My goodness I love that catalog. I pretty much read it (yes read! all the little product descriptions) cover to cover every time I get one in the mail.

This Christmas my inlaws gave me a mini doughnut pan and some other fun things from King Arthur itself! It was very exciting. We made doughnuts that very day! And then a week later I made them again.


Then when we arrived babysitting, upon learning that I loved to bake the 12-year-old excitedly asked me, "Can we make doughnuts?!!! I've always wanted to make doughnuts!"

Why! Yes we can!

They are so cute. And even though they are smothered in cinnamon sugar and chocolate glaze, they are baked not fried, and mini. So, you know, they're better for you too.

The overall consensus was: the chocolate frosted are cutest, but cinnamon sugar are yummiest. Dashing Boy said the frosted needed a better ratio of chocolate to doughnut so I fully submerged a few in the chocolate and then those became his favorite!

(I used this doughnut recipe, only I used 2 T melted butter instead of the shortening. For the cinnamon sugar doughnuts I melted butter and basted a bit on the doughnut then dropped it in a bowl of cinnamon sugar and covered it! and for the chocolate I used this recipe. I liked both recipes but would love to try others- Does anybody have any good ones?)


After being so healthy :) and enjoying all these doughnuts, I bring you to indulgence #2. My most favorite guilty pleasure. This one I did not, nor would I ever attempt to do on my own, it just wouldn't be the same.

that is: Cheese On A Stick from Hot Dog On A Stick.


Oh boy do I love this place. The hats. The freshly, funny-pumped lemonade. The gooey american cheese (which grosses me out, except strangely at this one place).

As children Juju and I followed my mom around on long shopping mall trips with minimal (right mom?) complaints with the promise that we could each get a cheese on a stick at the end. Then mom would get a large lemonade and we would all split it-ohhhhhhhh so good! Even now, still, when Juju and I go shopping together we treat ourselves to this.

So upon learning that the (hot dog loving) children we were watching had never tried cheese on a stick I decided I should share the magic of such a place with them.

Only I think I enjoyed it most of all!

What are you sweet, cheap indulgences?

"You Do Know That Soup Will Be Green."

Words of my mother-in-law as we made and canned heirloom tomato soup from the bounty of tomatoes in our garden. It turned out to be more of an orange-ish color. It's quite lovely.

Mrs. Muppet also taught me how to can peaches. Something that always seemed so difficult but was really not so hard!

Hooray!

Thank you Mrs. Muppet!

Earth Day Contribution: Eat Your Food.

Tonight I went out on a date with the fam.

Dinner and a much anticipated! show.

Ever since I've been with Dashing Boy, my family has found relief with all kinds of food leftovers. Because Dashing Boy will eat anything. Seriously, he will.

Just today I watched him eat a hamburger that had been sitting out for a couple of hours before it had reached the refrigerator. "Are you sure you want to eat this hamburger?" I said.

"Oh yeah, no problem. Hamburgers are like meant to sit out, aren't they? They sit out on grills all the time."

When we were in between moves and went to Peru three years ago, Dashing Boy carefully saved all of our condiments and asked my parents if they would be willing to store them in their fridge while we were gone. And then when he returned, he remembered what condiments were there, to the point of realizing a couple specialty mustards were missing. Of which, he has never lived down. The man likes his mustard.

But really, it is a bit endearing.

It leads to a less wasteful household. And it also provides some very amusing moments.

And so tonight, as dinner neared it's end, my family nonchalantly turned to Dashing Boy and offered him their leftovers.

"Juju," my mom said, "do you want a box to take your leftovers home?"

"Oh no" she said. "I probably won't eat it."

**all heads turn to Dashing Boy**

As we were boxing up all the food, I decided I would take the remaining half mini loaf of bread. I sliced it, generously garlic buttered each piece and slipped them in my take-out box. Then I proudly announced this feat to my food-saving husband.

And that was, in an oh-so-small way, how I celebrated Earth Day. Wasting no food. Something small, but important.

Just as long as you don't get sick.

Buttercream to Soothe the Soul

My mom told me I might be really stressed once I start my new job.

My mom was right.

So yesterday, I did what I do, when such stress occurs.

I baked.

Goodness, this relaxes me. I fall into a lovely trance. And suddenly I have cupcakes and more importantly cupcake batter, which is the yummiest of all. And then I make buttercream to put on top. Italian meringue buttercream. Which seriously if you have not tried, you must, because it will change your life.

You know that frosting that leaves a film on the roof of your mouth? Well this stuff does no such thing. It's light and smooth and melts in your mouth with delicacy. Honestly, you will want to eat it right out of a bowl- cupcake optional.

Which is what I did last night. And as that luscious buttercream made its way in my mouth, dancing with and dazzling my tastebuds, I relaxed. ahhhhhh.

And then I gave the cupcakes away. Because what does one do with 24 cupcakes?

Fine and Finer

Yesterday, after eating a delicious passion fruit infused truffle I excitedly called Dashing Boy.

"I know what I want for Valentines Day!" I exclaimed, giddiness oozing.

"Oh yeah?" he said.

And then I told him. A box of chocolate. A heart-shaped box of chocolate to be exact.

So original I know. But really when, when do you get to have a box of delicious chocolates all to yourself? And in a lovely heart box with satin ribbon? Doesn't that just sound so wonderful?

Boys have it so easy. Really, I think I'm a fairly unique girl, but when it comes to gifts, give me chocolate, flowers, or a little piece of jewelry and I'm happy.

This love of chocolate though, has taken years to bloom.

There is this picture of me at my first birthday where my parents have just brought out a beautiful chocolate cake with a candle on top. A whole cake just for me to stick my face into and instead of being one excited baby I'm sitting behind the cake bawling my eyes out.

Much to my mother's dismay (could this really be my daughter?) it was soon discovered that I didn't like chocolate. The next birthday I had a strawberry tart and a huge smile. And the birthday after that I simply had a bowl of strawberries with candles in them.

Thus it became know that "Jenny loves strawberries." "Jenny does not like chocolate."

I truly believed this for many years. How sad!

And then somewhere I decided that I liked chocolate. whatever. It was fine.

But I only liked certain chocolates. Like the caramels. Usually when I licked my sneaky fingers after poking them in the bottoms of the non-caramel boxed chocolates I was only filled with yuck and disappointment.

And then one day I met Dashing Boy and after three weeks of dating he went on a trip to New York and brought me back a box of Godiva chocolate.

It was the sweetest gesture. But I, uneducated in chocolate, and filled with memories of gross goos and cremes thought that I would have a tough time getting through the box.

And then I ate one.

Me oh my! The flavors! The smoothness! The beauty!

Was this whole box really for me?!!!

I ate every single one of those chocolates in pure indulgence. Vocalizing my delight with each one in oohs and awws.

The mystery was solved. Jenny loves fine and finer chocolate.

Thus budgeting for chocolate began. Because fine and finer chocolate is pricey and special.

So it came as no surprise yesterday when I wished to spend the majority of the money we saved for Valentines Day on this delectable indulgence.

Lucky for me, I have it easy this year too. Because Dashing Boy would also love a box of chocolates for a little gift.

So there you have it. Valentines budget = his and hers boxes of finer chocolates and most likely a night in with pizza.

Oh, and I still love strawberries. Preferably dipped in chocolate.

Pizza: The New Dish For Salad.

This:

+

This:

=

Pure Deliciousness (eat pizza and salad in same bite.)

Inspired by CPK's Pear and Gorgonzola pizza. But dare I say for a fraction of the price.

How to Make a Hacky Sack Cake by Athena

Gingerbread Houses in the Mountains

I've always wanted to make gingerbread houses. Really make gingerbread houses- homemade dough, stained glass windows...the whole bit. Last year I made gingerbread houses with my young women- we used kits- not a single house held up.

I mentioned this to Dashing Boy's mom (Mrs. Muppet) a few weeks ago. You see, Dashing Boy grew up in the mountains in a little cabin nestled in trees. The front room of his house has huge open windows that never have curtains on them- it is the perfect place to get cozy with family and watch the snow fall- which is easy to do because it snows there nine months of the year. It's charming. It's picturesque. It's the perfect place to make gingerbread houses.

So anyway, I was talking to Mrs. Muppet about this. "That would be SO fun!" she said.

and it was.

Mrs. Muppet showed great skill in the stained glass window department. Check them out!


Dashing Boy and his sister Witty delicately cut shredded wheat squares in half for a thatched roof.

I love the nerds walkway,

the happy tree and Christmas lights,
and the jolly gumdrop people.

But the best part of the evening was when we were all finished with our creations. We seriously spent a good hour staring at our houses and admiring and complimenting the details of each others work. And then Dashing Boy's other sister Athena started an exciting monologue about what she will do next year...
"Next year, I'm going to build a HUGE, intricate house."
excitement building
"Next year, I'm going to use a wooden board for the base!"
and building
"Next year, we're going to have a competition- like on the Food Network- and we'll judge on all different categories-construction, technique, decoration!"
And then we joined her, each family member offering their own "next year..."
The night concluded with Athena excitedly shouting "NEXT YEAR IS GOING TO BE AWESOME!!!"


I'm just happy my house held up.

I'm bringing these to a friend's wedding shower tonight...

Because when else do you get to make bra and panty cookies?

The Best Vanilla Caramels You've Ever Tasted.

A How-To: Vanilla Bean Caramels.
Why: Because they are delicious.
For: Friends and loved ones.
To: Celebrate the season and be a good neighbor/friend/relative/person. (because certainly these caramels will make me one).

I make these little treats every Christmas. Ok, lets face it. I make these little treats all year long...but this time of year is when they make their main appearance.

When I first started making candy a few years ago I was determined (however a bit daunted) to learn such a skill. So I chose my candy (marzipan) and jumped right in. My first attempt resulted in a pot of hard, crystallized sugar. What? You mean I can't just melt it back? It's called crystallization? Huh?

Anyway, I pushed on, learned from my failed attempts and today most of the candy I make turns out- and really it's quite easy. You can do it too! I just needed to learn a few tips.

So today I share them with you as we make delicious vanilla bean caramels.

enjoy.

This recipe from the Exploratorium is the best I have found. I double it so I can pour it onto a silpat lined baking sheet.

First, get all your ingredients together:

Ingredients:
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups sugar
1 cup corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter
2 vanilla beans (Costco has the best and most affordable)

Before you begin baking get everything ready that you will need. Candy-making is a delicate, exact task-- you don't want to ruin a batch because you forgot to butter the sides of your pan.

Pre-baking Steps:
First: Get your sheet pan out and place a silicone baking mat on the bottom. DO NOT USE WAX PAPER! The caramel will stick to it. Butter sides of pan.

Second: Unwrap stick of butter and set next to stove so you can easily add it to the candy mixture at the right moment.

Third: Prepare your vanilla beans. Cut bean lengthwise and with the back of a knife scrape out all of the seeds. Put the seeds in a small bowl and set next to the butter.

Fourth: Prepare your work surface.
*Get one small bowl and fill with hot water. Set a basting brush inside this bowl.
*Get one large bowl and fill with cold water.
*Set both bowls next to stove.
*Get your thermometer ready. I use a digital probe thermometer. I like this thermometer way better than a candy thermometer because the probe reaches the very bottom of the pan (unlike candy thermometers where there is a space), you never have to hold the thermometer in place, and you can easily see what temperature your mixture is.

This is what my workspace looks like: (how handy that the thermometer sticks to the fan so nicely!)

Ok, now you are ready to begin making the caramels!

STEP 1:
Place all the ingredients except the butter and vanilla beans into sauce pan.

STEP 2:
*Stir the mixture over medium heat with a wooden spoon until the sugar dissolves.
*Scrape down sides of pot with the wet basting brush so that no sugar crystals are stuck on the sides of the pot.

STEP 3:
Add the stick of butter and the vanilla beans and stir until the butter melts and is well- incorporated and the mixture begins to boil.

STEP 4
*Place thermometer into pot.
*Cook mixture without stirring until the syrup is above 230° F.

Now it is time to do the cold water test:
With the wooden spoon drop some of the syrup into the large bowl of cold water. Feel the caramel with your hands. Taste it. The consistency of the caramel after is has been in the cold water for a second it the consistency the caramel would be if you were to take it off the heat and pour it in your sheet pan right then.

Keep doing this test until it is the desired consistency. Watch your thermometer as you do it. The recipe says to take the caramel off the heat at 248°F . THIS HAS ALWAYS BEEN TOO LONG and the caramel comes out too hard. Usually the temperature I take the caramel out on is between 238° F and 244° F. I know that's a big gap but at this point the caramel gets hotter and hotter FAST! Plus it depends on how soft you like your caramel to be. The most important factor in determining the softness of your caramel will be the cold water test.

STEP 5:
Once the caramel is the desired consistency quickly pour into your pan

Let cool.

STEP 6:
Cut caramel into rectangular pieces and wrap in wax paper. I use kiss paper found at a local baking supply store. I think it goes by the name "twisting wax paper" online- it is made especially for candy-making. The first year I made this though, I just used regular wax paper that I cut up.

Make sure you twist both ends in the same direction. That way when you want to eat the caramel you can pull both ends of the candy and the paper will t w i s t open! (an important nuance says my candy-lover dad).

Now enjoy enjoy enjoy. The fruits of your labors.

Vintage Cookies

Last year, just before the holidays arrived, I made a visit to my Grandpa's consignment store. I visited with my Grammy and watched my Grandpa as he stood behind his beautiful old-fashioned cash register, waiting to make a sale.

And then I spotted it. The Original Cookie & Noodle Maker. What a marvelous item this was! Box faded, recipes dotting the back. Grandpa started entering the item in the register the moment I retrieved it. Boy, did he know how to make a sale!


There is something so wonderful about baking with an item like this- old, classic, and loved-- timeless. I feel differently when I cook this way, a bit reflective. Whenever I make pies, I insist on using my hands to mix the dough- as if that step- that working of the hands- is vital to its good old fashioned taste. I believe it is.

Shortly after this purchase I was making cookies with Belle when another wonderful gem appeared, hidden behind a row of cookbooks- her dad's childhood Betty Crocker's Cooky Book- worn and very loved. It is a lovely cookbook, full of bright pictures of whimsical cookies and drawings of different cookie-making methods.

Decades later, that book received some more lovin' . And from what I hear, its being well-loved this very week. A true culinary treasure. When I moved, I was secretly quite sad that my days with this book were over. So I was thrilled when I received a package from Belle's mom complete with the Cooky Book circa 1963 via Ebay.


Today I got out both beauties for a divine day in the kitchen.


I turned to the pressed cookie section in the Cooky Book,


experimented with different designs,


made some sparkly sugar-topped treats,


and thought of my sweet Grammy and Grandpa.

I'll have the seeds, thank you.

Tonight Dashing Boy and I went out for a date to a Brazilian restaurant. You know, the kind where they come out with skewer after skewer of meat and cut you a slice right at the table.

Now let me just say, I am a very easy going vegetarian. I do my best to be as accommodating as possible in any meaty situation. I never make negative comments about other people's food; I happily turn side dishes into meals when the situation calls; I'll eat any vegetable or vegetarian attempt put in front of me.

So, tonight, on this special evening I joined my husband for a culinary experience in his paradise.

At least three times they used the word "bloody" to describe the meat. "Do you have anything more rare?" Dashing Boy would ask. "Would you like it bloody?" the server would ask completely serious. "Yes. The bloodier the better." Dashing boy would completely seriously respond.

Maybe it's that crazy vampire book (yeah, that one) that I've been reading because the interactions made me a little uneasy... They like the taste of blood? Seriously who likes the taste of blood? Would they like my blood? And so on.

Perhaps it's time to read a different book.

For the Love of Love

Remember that butternut squash ravioli?

Yesterday we made 1000.

One thousand! For our friends wedding. Noon to midnight.

Let me just say that I am beat.

When I finally got to sleep last night my entire body melted into the mattress. When I woke up this morning it took everything I had to pull myself out of bed.

But oh, the satisfaction of completing such a task.

Evviva!

Pumpkin Spice Popcorn

First:

pop the popcorn.


Next, make the spice.
2 T. sugar
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/8- 1/4 t. nutmeg
dash of allspice
pinch of salt


Now, add a little butter to popcorn and mix in desired amount of spice.


Gather your family. Get some cozy blankets, a good movie, maybe some hot cocoa or cider... and enjoy!