Another Artisan Bread

Um, interesting.

Ingredients

• 2c white flour
  
• 1c wheat flour
  
• about 1/4c wheat germ
  
• 1.5tsp salt
  
• 1/4tsp yeast
  
• 1c water plus a little - maybe as much as an extra 1/4c?
  

Combine all the dry ingredients, then add the water and mix. I made the dough really moist, so it's not really something I could stir with my hands - I had to use a spatula. Cover the bowl with cling wrap and let sit for about 16 hours. After the time passes, pour the risen dough out onto a very well floured counter and sprinkle liberally with flour. Fold it around as best you can - I used a spatula so it wouldn't stick to my hands and so I could keep it off the counter. It was actually kind of fun. Then I put it in a bread pan and covered again with cling wrap for 2 hours to rise again. At 1.5 hours, preheat the oven to 500, then bake the bread until it sounds hollow - about 40 or 50 minutes.

Thoughts: This was easy to make, if time consuming. The loaf is a little heavy - it maybe didn't rise all that well? So that needs some work. I attribute it to not having a preheated baking dish - it needs to really be on something like a pizza stone so that it starts out hot through the whole thing. As it was, the top baked before the middle, so it didn't get all that much spring. Even so, the flavor of this loaf is really good. I would definitely make this again, but maybe the next time I'll add more flour so it's less wet (only after the 16 hour rise) and then use a pizza peel and put it on the pizza stone at 500.

Disaster Index: 1/10

EMERGENCY Chocolate Cake

In WWII when some foods were rationed, people replaced eggs and butter with mayonnaise, which was readily available. When you try this recipe, you will see that they were right to do so.


Ingredients

• 1.5c white flour
  
• 1c sugar
  
• 1/2tsp baking soda
  
• 1/4tsp salt
  
• 1/2c dutch process cocoa
  
• 1/3c bittersweet chocolate chips (Ghirardelli)
  
• 1c espresso or 1c boiling water with instant coffee powder
  
• 2/3c mayonnaise (we used reduced-fat)
  
• 1 egg
  
• capful of vanilla
  

Preheat oven to 350. In a bowl, combine flour, sugar, soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, combine the cocoa and chocolate chips and pour in the (hot) espresso. Stir until smooth, then add the mayo, egg, and vanilla. Whisk together until smooth, then add to the dry ingredients and stir to combine. Pour into a well-greased 8-9" spring-form pan. Bake for about 30 to 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out MOSTLY clean with just a little bit of cake sticking to it.

Thoughts: This cake was delicious. Didn't even have a hint of the mayonnaise vinegar flavor. Rather, it was an incredibly moist, incredibly rich cake. And it was really easy and had cheap ingredients. I would definitely make this again. I made it for an olympics watching party and cut out rings of paper which I put on top, then I put powdered sugar on it and removed the rings (so you can see the olympic rings on top). Unfortunately, the cake was just TOO moist, and the powdered sugar got absorbed into the cake. I know, I have way too much time on my hands.

Disaster Index: 1/10

Hoppin' John

Ingredients

• 1c dry black-eye peas, washed
  
• 6c water
  
• 3-4 smoked ham hocks
  
• 1 medium onion, chopped
  
• 1/2 a red bell pepper, chopped
  
• 2 bay leaves
  
• 3c worth of chicken bouillon (for us, 1.5 cubes)
  
• 1 14oz can diced tomatoes (with chilies)
  
• 3-4 cloves of garlic
  
• 1c long grain white rice
  

In a large pot, add everything except the rice. It's a good idea to add the beans then the water before adding anything else, since sometimes the iffy black-eyed peas will float to the surface. Bring to a boil and reduce to a gentle boil / high simmer for an hour to an hour and a half, until there are about 2c of liquid left. Now mix in the rice, cover, and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 20 minutes on low (leave that lid on!), then take it off the heat and leave covered for another 10 minutes. Serve.

Thoughts: I'm not sure this is authentically hoppin' john - it was kind of cobbled together from the suggestions of several people who seemed to think they knew the "right way". But this was JUST awesome. Too good, in fact. Anyway, in the future it might be good to cook the onions first with the bell peppers, but I'm not sure that it's necessary - this was really good, and had a really rich, complex flavor.

Disaster Index: 1/10

Parsnip and Carrot Soup

• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
  
• 3 shallots, diced
  
• 1 onion, diced
  
• 3/4c vermouth
  
• 5-6 parsnips, peeled & chopped
  
• 2 carrots, peeled & chopped
  
• 5c chicken stock (or veg)
  
• 3/4tsp balsamic vinegar
  
• 3/4tsp salt
  
• pepper
  
• 3/4c milk
  

Melt butter in a saucepan. Add shallots and onion and saute until soft and translucent. Add the wine and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until reduced by half - about 10 minutes. Add the parsnips, carrots, chicken stock, vinegar, salt, and pepper, and bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer until parsnips are tender - about 45 minutes. Remove from heat and blend until smooth. Return to the pan and add the milk.

Thoughts: The original recipe called for half-and-half instead of milk, which might have been better. As it is, though, the soup was pretty great. We found ourselves adding honey or brown sugar at the end, though, because the wine and vinegar tended to overpower the natural sweetness of the parsnips. Claire liked the soup all right even though she's not a big fan of parsnips.

Disaster Index: 1/10

Orange Cake with Blackberries

Just got internet back, so we have a backlog of recipes going back to late January.

Note: This recipe doesn't make MUCH batter - about 2 servings worth. If you're making a big springform pan's worth, you'll need to multiply the recipe by about a factor of 3.

Ingredients

• Cakes:
  
  • 1/2c white flour
    
  • 1/2tsp baking soda
    
  • 1tsp baking powder
    
  • 2tsp sugar
    
  • 1/4tsp salt
    
  • 3tbsp butter, melted & cooled
    
  • 1tbsp milk
    
  • 1/2tsp vanilla
    
  • 1 egg
    
  • zest of 1 orange
    
  • ~10 to 15 blackberries
    
• Glaze:
  
  • ~1tbsp honey
    
  • juice of 1/2 an orange
    
  • ~2tbsp water with 1/2tsp corn starch
    
  • pinch of cinnamon
    

Preheat the oven to 350. Mix the flour, soda, and baking powder and set aside. In another (large) bowl, whip the egg with the sugar. Add the remaining wet ingredients and whisk well. Then add the dry to the wet. Take the blackberries and toss them with some spare flour. In two WELL GREASED small bundt pans, pour a little batter - just enough to coat the bottom. Add the blackberries in one layer (it doesn't take many) and then pour remaining batter to cover. Bake for 12 minutes, or until the top is just beginning to brown a little.

While that's baking, juice 1/2 the orange you zested for the cakes. In a saucepan, combine the orange juice and honey and a pinch of cinnamon. Cook until the mixture has a chance to simmer a little. If it doesn't look like enough juice, use the other 1/2 orange. Anyway, once it's cooked down a little, take it off the heat, add the corn starch and water mixture, stir, and then put it back on high heat until the glaze thickens.

When the cakes come out of the oven, let them cool for 5 minutes and then turn them out and glaze. Bonus if you dust them with powdered sugar. Serve!

Thoughts These were really good. The cake was a LITTLE dry, but you couldn't REALLY tell because of the blackberries and the glaze. I would definitely make this again. In the future I would consider using other berries. Blueberries or raspberries might be good. Claire says bake for less long in the future (we went a little longer than 12 minutes). Otherwise, perfect.

Disaster Index: 1/10

Sauteed Bok Choy

Easy to make and relatively healthy.
Ingredients

• 1 head of bok choy, bruised bits removed / cut off, cut to 2" lengths, and washed.
  
• 1 lobe ginger, minced
  
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
  
• 1/2c chicken stock (or vegetable)
  
• 2tbsp black vinegar
  
• 2tbsp soy sauce
  
• 1/2tsp sugar
  
• 1-2tsp cornstarch
  
• neutral oil
  

Mix together the stock, vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, and corn starch and set aside. Heat some oil in a wide pot, wok, or saute pan. Once it's pretty good and hot, add the ginger and garlic and stir around for 30 seconds or so. Add the bok choy and toss to coat with the oil, then cover and let it wilt on medium heat, shaking around occasionally. Once it's all wilted, continue to cook, covered, until the bok choy is just tender, or, anyway, soft enough that you'll be willing to eat it. Uncover and add the mixture from earlier, tossing to coat. Turn up the heat and bring the liquid to a boil until it thickens. Serve over rice or just eat it straight.Thoughts: this is easy to make, healthy, and delicious. What's not to like? We had to add more corn starch after the first amount because it wasn't thickening sufficiently. Like many Chinese dishes, this is really all about the prep work - the cooking is done really quickly and it's not too difficult.Disaster Index: 1/10