Homemade Olive Oil Bread

As the bread baking in the oven fills my house with smells of deliciousness, my insides get all tight inside and my mouth begins to water as I wait not-so-patiently for the bread to finish baking.  Homemade bread is something special and maybe doesn't grace our dinner table as often as it should (or maybe as often as I'd like).

This recipe for homemade olive oil bread is changing that because it's really quite simple to make.  No mixer needed, just a big bowl and a sturdy wooden spoon.  It all comes together rather quickly, but does require some hang out time on the counter to rise, but with a little planning ahead, you can have a perfectly delicious loaf of warm bread ready by dinner time. 

So pull out a big bowl and a wooden spoon and go to work, you’ll be happy you did.

 

 

Homemade Olive Oil Bread

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

1 teaspoon honey
1 cup lukewarm water
1/3 cup great quality extra virgin olive oil
3 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons kosher salt

In a large mixing bowl, combine yeast, honey, and water.  Stir to combine and let rest for 5 minutes, or until yeast begins to foam.  Add the olive oil, flour, and salt and stir to combine into a shaggy ball.  Place shaggy dough ball on a lightly floured surface and knead for 1 minute until dough is smooth and a round ball forms.

Brush a little olive oil inside the empty mixing bowl and place dough back into the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for about 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Once doubled, place dough on a lightly floured surface and press dough into a rectangle.  Fold in both sides like you are folding a business letter.  Press gently into a rectangle again and fold again as you would a business letter and then tuck sides under, forming dough into a ball.

Preheat oven to 375° F.  Place dough on a parchment lined baking sheet, brush with olive oil and allow to rise again for 30 minutes, lightly draped with plastic wrap to cover.  Just before baking, sprinkle with flake salt.

Bake for 30 minutes or until deep golden brown.  Remove bread from oven and brush loaf of bread with additional olive oil if desired.

Recipe slightly adapted from Live.Love.Lux

Sauteed Chard, Apple, and White Cheddar Grilled Cheese

I really love a great grilled cheese sandwich and I love this one so much that I ate it for lunch and dinner on the same day.  I don't have much to say other than that there is just something about toasted bread sandwiching oozy melted cheese that shouts comfort foods from the roof tops and this one may be one of my very favorites!

Sautéed Chard, Apple, and White Cheddar Grilled Cheese

1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
4 leaves of Swiss chard, stems removed and thinly sliced
1/3 cup fresh grated white cheddar
1/4 cup fresh grated mozzarella
1 heaping tablespoon finely minced red onion
4, 1/2" slices whole grain bread
1/2 apple (honey crisp, pink lady, braeburn), thinly sliced
1 1/2 tablespoons whole grain mustard
1 tablespoon good quality mayonnaise
1 tablespoon butter, softened
Kosher salt

Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in sauté pan.  Once hot, add thinly sliced chard to pan along with a pinch of kosher salt.  Keep the chard moving to release pockets of steam to help let the moisture out so that the chard doesn't become soggy in the sandwich.  Cook chard until just wilted and tender.  Remove chard from pan and set aside.

While preparing the sandwiches, preheat your cast iron or grill pan over medium heat with the remaining 2 teaspoons of oil.

Combine both cheeses and the finely minced red onion.

On one side of each slice of bread, spread a layer of both the mustard and mayonnaise and spread to edge of each slice.  Layer three to four slice of apple on top of two pieces of bread.  Divide the shredded cheese on top of the apple slices in an even layer.  Divide the sautéed chard on top of the cheese and top with remaining slices of bread.  Lastly, spread a thin layer of butter on the outside of both sides of each sandwich and lightly sprinkle with kosher salt.

Add sandwiches to cast iron or grill pan and cook until golden on both sides and cheese is melted through.

Recipe adapted from Sprouted Kitchen

Roasted Chunky Applesauce

A couple of days ago I went to get some apples from Allred Orchard's and they happened to have a big box of Honey Crisp apples that were "seconds" for nine dollars (a total steal).  The apples were all different sizes, slightly lopsided, and had a few minor bumps and bruises, but were no less delicious than my eight dollar bag of pretty ones that I bought the week before.

So needless to say that with a fridge full of apples, I've got apples on the brain.  This morning I made a batch of roasted chunky applesauce that had me dancing around the kitchen and getting all tight inside.  My house smelled amazing!  I think Preston and Stella thought I was crazy, but with all these apples, their endless eating possibilities, and the feeling of fall in the air, I couldn't contain my excitement (or another spoonful of applesauce).

 

Roasted Chunky Applesauce

3 1/2 pounds crisp eating apples (I used Honey Crisp)
Pinch of kosher salt
1-2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons butter, cut into small chunks.

Preheat oven to 375° F.

Peel, core, and quarter the apples.  Put them in an ungreased 9x13 baking dish (it should be large enough to hold them in a crowded single layer).  Toss the apples with 1 teaspoon of sugar (or 2 teaspoons if the apples are very tart), and a good pinch of kosher salt. 

Dot the apples with butter and cover baking dish tightly with foil.  Bake until the apples start to soften, about 20-30 minutes. 

Remove the foil; raise the heat to 500° F.  Bake the apples for 10-15 minutes, or until the tips of the apples are golden and the fruit is tender.  Remove from the oven, and coarsely mash the apples with a potato masher or the back of a wooden spoon.  Taste and season applesauce with additional salt and/or sugar if necessary.  A splash of apple cider vinegar could be used to brighten the flavor.

Recipe adapted from Orangette

Baked Apple Cider Doughnuts

I love the fall so much!  It really is my most favorite time of the year (it may have something to do with my birthday falling right in the middle of October and I really love my birthday). 

As the weather begins to cool, it's the pots of bubbling soups and curries, loaves of warm pumpkin bread with melty chocolate chips, the changing leaves, cozy sweaters, boxes of honey crisp apples from Allred's, and of course these doughnuts (and my birthday) that make me get all tight inside when this time of year rolls around. 

I made these for the first time last year after going to a pumpkin patch that boasted of their amazing apple cider doughnuts only to find out that they were sold out when we got there.  I was seriously so disappointed (for a few days) until Melissa from The Faux Martha posted a recipe for these delightful baked apple cider doughnuts just a week later making all my apple cider doughnut woes disappear.

 
Baked Apple Cider Doughnuts

Yield:  10 doughnuts

3 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons apple cider
1/2 cup white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons honey
1 large egg

Topping

3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup apple cider
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 400° F. 

In a small saucepan, melt butter.  Stir in cider and set aside to cool.

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  Set aside.

To the cooled butter mixture, whisk in sugar, honey, and egg until evenly combined. 

Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.  Take care not to over mix as that will create a tough doughnut.

Spray 2 doughnut pans.  Add batter to a piping bag (I used a gallon size Ziploc bag and cut about a 1/4-inch off one of the bottom corners) and pipe evenly into the pans. 

Bake for 7 minutes.  While the doughnuts are baking, melt butter for the topping and stir in cider.  In a flat-bottomed bowl, mix together cinnamon, sugar, and salt.

After removing doughnuts from the oven, allow to cool for 1 minute before removing doughnuts onto cooling rack.

Quickly dip each doughnut in the butter/cider mixture and lightly coat in the cinnamon/sugar mixture.  Place back on cooking rack.  Best served slightly warm.

Recipe barely adapted from The Faux Martha

Mediterranean Pizza

Preston is my 11 year old and he's a really great eater.  This past summer we were in Carlsbad, CA for our beach trip and we went to Jay's restaurant on our last night.  It's a tiny little Italian/seafood place right on the corner of Carlsbad Boulevard.  All of the kids (my three plus Isaac and Anna)usually share giant plates of fettuccine alfredo, but Preston wanted to try something that he hadn't had before.  He asked me to show him a few things on the menu that I would order.  He chose the salmon with a white wine garlic sauce and ended up loving it.  He ate all of it except for the few bites that I snuck off his plate (It was the best salmon that I've ever had).

I love that he's adventurous and willing to have an open mind to new tastes and flavors.  There are only a few things that come to my mind that I know he will absolutely not eat (sautéed or caramelized onions and any sort of cooked mushroom).  He has a couple others that he avoids eating like hamburgers and take-out pizza.  I think if you were to ask a classroom full of elementary age kids, most would say that their favorite foods are hamburgers and pizza?  I understand the onions and mushroom thing because it's a texture thing, and hamburgers I get because of a stomach bug he had that coincided with eating a hamburger, but pizza?  The one interesting thing (and very good thing) about the pizza is that he doesn't like take-out pizza, but will happily eat homemade pizza any day of the week.

This recipe is sort of one you alter to your own taste.  You can make some of the toppings from scratch or just use your favorite store bought ingredients.

Mediterranean Pizza

1 recipe for flatbread pizza (recipe found here) or 2 8-ounce balls of your favorite pizza dough
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup pesto (I used this recipe because I had basil coming out of my ears)
1/4-1/2 lb. fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into chunks
1/4 cup oil packed sundried tomatoes, sliced (I used Tara O' Brady's soused tomatoes)
1/2 cup marinated artichoke hearts, roughly chopped
1/4 cup roasted peppers, sliced (how to make your own found here)
1/4-1/2 cup feta cheese crumbled
1/4 cup pinenuts, toasted

Place you pizza stone on the center rack of your oven.  One hour before you bake your pizza, preheat the oven to the highest temperature.  If you don't have a pizza stone, you can bake you pizza on an upside down baking sheet, but don't preheat the baking sheet.

Place a piece of parchment paper on an upside down baking sheet.  Lightly flour your work surface and roll out dough until paper thin.  Aim for a circle, rectangle of whatever shape you manage to roll it out to be.  Move the dough to the parchment lined baking sheet.  Brush the dough with olive oil.  Sprinkle garlic, a good pinch of kosher salt, and black pepper over the olive oil.  Evenly spread 2-3 tablespoons of pesto on the dough (use more or less as needed).  Distribute the mozzarella, sundried tomatoes, roasted peppers, artichoke hearts, and feta on top.  Take care not to over load the pizza.

Take hold of one corner of the parchment paper and gently pull the parchment paper and pizza onto the pizza stone.  Bake for 8-12 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbling and the crust is golden brown.  When down, remove from oven and sprinkle with toasted pinenuts.  Serve. 

Repeat with the remaining dough.

*Pitted and sliced kalamata olives could be used in place or in addition to the artichoke hearts (I'm not an olive fan so I went with the artichoke hearts)

Recipe slightly adapted from Use Real Butter

Jars and Roasted Pasilla Pepper and Goat Cheese Sauce

I LOVE glass jars.  We drink and eat from them and they fill our refrigerator shelves.  

On any regular day you can find jars filled with yogurt, hot fudge, jams, toasted walnut sesame butter (because it's my very favorite smeared on toast with bananas, a drizzle of maple syrup, and a sprinkle of Maldon salt), caramel sauces (usually a couple different kinds), pickled jalapenos and peppers, mustard bbq sauce (because it's perfect on a hot dog), chocolate syrup (for chocolate milk with ice of course), and currently there are two jars (soon to be one) of the crazy delicious, I'm addicted to, sauce from The Sprouted Kitchen Bowl and Spoon cookbook. 

Her roasted pasilla and goat cheese sauce is lick the spoon amazing!  I first need to tell you that I struggle a bit when it comes to stronger cheeses and as much as I want to and try (I really, really try) to like them, I have a hard time getting my palate (and nose) to agree with them. 

I was a little hesitant to try this recipe because of the goat cheese, but I went for it and now there's no turning back.  It far exceeded my expectations and I should have known to trust Sara because her recipes never fail me and always leave my mouth and belly feeling very happy. So hip hip hooray for jars of roasted pasilla pepper and goat cheese sauce!

 

(The sauce is tucked under the avocado and makes these eggs over the top good!)
 

 

Roasted Pasilla Pepper and Goat Cheese Sauce

1/2 small red onion, peeled
2 pasilla peppers (see note)
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
4 ounce soft goat cheese
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons water
1 cup coarsely chopped cilantro
1 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper.

Preheat the broiler.  Rub the peppers and onion with drizzle of olive oil.  Place them on a baking sheet and broil them for 12 to 15 minutes until charred and collapsed.  Let cool, then rub off the skin off the peppers and remove the stems and seeds.

In a food processor, combine the onion and pasillas, the remaining olive oil, the pepitas, goat cheese, honey, chili powder, cayenne, lemon juice, and vinegar and process until combined.  Add the water, cilantro, salt, and pepper, and pulse again.  Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.  Place sauce in a jar and store in the refrigerator. 

*Grocery stores often mark a poblano pepper as a pasilla pepper so technically I'm not sure which one I used.

*If you prefer a looser sauce, add 2 additional tablespoons of water.

*For my eggs, I scramble three eggs over medium heat with a little salt.  When the eggs are half way cooked, I add one torn up corn tortilla to the pan and scramble it with the eggs until the eggs are steaming and just set.  Slide the eggs on to a plate and top with sauce, sliced avocado, crumbled goat or queso fresco cheese, and cilantro.  Simple and perfect.

Recipe ever so barely adapted from The Sprouted Kitchen Bowl and Spoon

Dinner Time and a Mango Brown Rice Salad with Coconut-Ginger Dressing

Eating dinner together as a family has always been important to me.  I grew up in a family where eating dinner together most nights of the week was just something we did.  Dinner was at six and a moment of each day where we all gathered together to share a meal (albeit a crazy meal).  Believe me when I say it wasn't a picture perfect meal of a family gathered around a table laughing and enjoying each other's company.  And while we did enjoy each other (for the most part) and there was laughing (mixed with some occasional arguing and a possible tear or two), it was also loud (I'm the oldest of nine), hectic, and left a lot of dishes to be done.  But despite all its craziness, it instilled in me the importance of gathering those you love around the table.

There are few nights that my little family doesn't gather around our black round table to share a meal.  Preston sits to my left and Noah to Preston's left.  Todd sits to my right and Stella is sandwiched right between us.

Often the time together at our table is a little on the crazy side.  It seems I'm constantly up and down, up and down, getting something for someone.  Preston cannot seem to stay in his seat....ever.  Most of the time he's standing or hanging half way off his chair and it drives me crazy!  We've actually tired belting him to his seat to keep him sitting down....it didn't work.  Noah has a tendency to belch at some point during the meal (even though he's threatened with getting no treat after dinner if he does), and if we can get Stella to finish her meal in a timely manner it would be a miracle.  But, in between all of the craziness, the time we spend together at the end of the day gathered around our table is priceless to me.

As my kiddies grow I hope that each of them will remember the moments, memories, and craziness around our table and that someday they will gather their own little families around their kitchen tables to create memories of their own and to feed one another and be fed.

 

 

Mango and Brown Rice with Coconut-Ginger Dressing

 

2 cups uncooked brown basmati rice

1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes, toasted

2 cups cooked black or red beans

1 ripe avocado thinly sliced

1 ripe mango, diced

1/2 small red onion, finely chopped

1/2 bunch of cilantro, chopped + extra for garnish

 

Dressing

 

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons coconut milk

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon finely grated ginger

2 1/2 teaspoons brown sugar

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

 

Rinse rice in a strainer under cold running water for 30 seconds, swirling the rice around with your fingers. Combine rice with 3 cups water, 1/2 cup coconut milk, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a medium saucepan; bring water to a boil, then simmer, covered, for about 40 minutes or until the rice is tender.  Transfer rice to a fine mesh strainer and run cold water over it until cool.  Place strainer over bowl to drain at least 10 minutes.

 

In a medium bowl combine mango, red onion, and cilantro.  Toss lightly to combine.

 

In a small bowl whisk together the dressing ingredients.  Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.

 

Place rice in bowl and top with beans, toasted coconut flakes, mango, avocado, and extra cilantro.  Pour dressing over salad (you may not use all of it).  Serve.

 

*I cooked my rice in a pressure cooker because it seems to be the most consistent and quick way for me to cook brown rice.  For this recipe I combined 2 cups brown basmati rice with 2 cups water, 1/2 cup coconut milk, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.  Close lid securely; bring to high pressure over high heat.  Adjust heat to medium-low or level needed to maintain a consistent rocking of pressure knob.  Cook for 20 minutes.  Remove from heat and let pressure release through steam vent.  Remove lid and fluff with fork.

 

*Instead of doing one big salad, I let each person in our family make their own individual bowl.

Recipe slightly adapted from Foodess