SOURDOUGH RYE BREAD WITH FLAXSEEDS AND OATS

Posted in Breads by sallybr

This is that type of bread that begs for mindful eating. No sitting down in front of the TV grabbing one piece here, another there, or sharing it with friends in the middle of a loud party. No, this is a bread that deserves attention. It is dense without being overly heavy, and its flavor is quite complex due to the use of assertive flours and flax seeds. The recipe was created by Rosa, from Rosa’s Yummy Yums, a food blog that not too long ago celebrated its 9th anniversary! Nine years. No small feat, folks, considering that each of Rosa’s post is a masterpiece: carefully composed text (with recipes in two languages, English and French), matched with her incredibly beautiful photography. Hers is the type of blog that just like this bread, deserves full attention.

Made July 26th; Blogged October 13th

WHOLE-WHEAT AND RYE SOURDOUGH WITH FLAX SEEDS AND OATS
(from Rosa Mayland’s blog)

(for one round loaf; check her site for full version that makes 2 loaves)

1 heaping tablespoon of flax seeds 1/2 Tbs Flax seeds
150g whole-wheat flour
100g white flour
35g rye flour
35g buckwheat flour
100g active sourdough starter

188-200 g/ml lukewarm water
A pinch of dry yeast
1 heaping tablespoon of olive oil

20g Rolled oats
7g fine sea salt

Put the flax seeds in a small bowl and add 63g/ml of boiling water (this will make them slimy). Stir and leave to cool.

In the bowl of your stand mixer put the flours, sourdough, water, yeast, olive oil, flax seeds (+soaking water). Mix until all the ingredients are just combined. Let the dough rest (autolyse) for 2 hours.

Add the salt as well as the oats and continue mixing for about 5-8 minutes (add a little flour if the dough is too wet), until the dough reaches medium gluten development. Transfer the dough to a slightly oiled container and cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough ferment/rise, at room temperature, for about 2h30 (or until doubled in size), folding at 50 and 100 minutes.

Shape it as desired (sandwich loaves, boule, bâtard, banneton, etc…). Sprinkle your loaves with flour and cover them with plastic wrap let proof for about 90 minutes or until doubled in size.

Bake at 230° C (450° F) using your favorite method to generate steam during the initial 20 minutes of baking. Total baking time will be approximately 40 minutes. Leave the bread in the oven for 5 minutes with the door ajar once you turn the oven off. Cool it completely on a rack before slicing it.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Now, if that crumb doesn’t make you sigh, there is something wrong with you… This was a very nice baking project, perfect for a weekend in which we had nothing planned, no social commitments, no need to go to the lab, just taking each hour as the hour shaped up. If you stop by Rosa’s original post, you’ll see that she coupled this recipe with a text about the importance of slowing down, a praise for idleness. Food for thought, as usual for her posts. It is nice to be able to take a step back and do nothing. Or, if doing nothing seems like too much of a shock for you 😉 grab your flours and make this bread. Then, slowly slice it, and close your eyes when you taste it. Yes, it is that wonderful!

Rosa, thank you for a great recipe, and above all, for the effort you put into your blog, a pleasure to visit every single time! See you around the blogosphere 😉

I am submitting this post to Susan’s Yeastspotting event…

ONE YEAR AGO: Apricot-Raspberry Sorbet: A farewell to Summer

TWO YEARS AGO: Marcela’s Salpicon

THREE YEARS AGO: Pork Kebabs

FOUR YEARS AGO: Fondant au Chocolat

FIVE YEARS AGO: Got Spinach? Have a salad!

9Oct2014

ZUCCHINI “HUMMUS”

Posted in Appetizers by sallybr

Once more I shall commit the sin of stretching the name of my favorite dip, traditionally made with garbanzo beans, tahini, and very few other additions. I think zucchini is one of the most versatile veggies, and this dip proves the point. Plus, it is delicious! I originally saw it at Angie’s blog Divalicious Recipes in the City, and tweaked her recipe ever so slightly. Angie has a ton of creative recipes in her site, I actually linked one of her cauliflower concoctions in a recent post, and intend to make it soon. As far as this dip goes, you should definitely play with the amount of tahini, lemon juice, and feel free to even add some garbanzo beans in case you want to get one step closer to the title of the dish. 😉

ZUCCHINI HUMMUS
(slightly adapted from Divalicious)

2 medium zucchini
1/4 cup tahini
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove of garlic (optional)
1/4 cup lemon juice
zest of half lemon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

Combine all the ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth.

Taste and adjust the seasonings. I like to sprinkle a little smoked paprika on top of the dip before serving, but that is totally optional, of course! Ak-Mak crackers are the perfect carrier for this dip.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

We had a pizza party the other day. My favorite type of get-together, in which I make plenty of balls of dough, and we take turns adding all sorts of toppings, some will be vegetarian-friendly, some loaded with meat, according to the mood of the moment. The house is kept cool because we grill the pizzas outside. In this type of event, appetizers must be light, and for obvious reasons, cheese is out. Who wants to load up on cheese before facing a pizza dinner? I prefer to serve hummus, either the traditional version or some variation, like my edamame hummus of the past. This version with zucchini turned out super light and flavorful, a perfect option for our evening.

If you are a zucchini-lover, don’t skip this one. Winner!

ONE YEAR AGO: In My Kitchen – October 2013

TWO YEARS AGO: Bourbon and Molasses Glazed Pork Tenderloin

THREE YEARS AGO: Crimson and Cream Turkey Chili

FOUR YEARS AGO: Taking a break from the nano-kitchen

FIVE YEARS AGO: Chocolate Chip Cookies

5Oct2014

IN MY KITCHEN – OCTOBER 2014

Posted in In My Kitchen by sallybr

I don’t participate every month, as it gets a bit too hard to compose a new post on this subject every 4 weeks, but whenever possible, I love joining Celia’s virtual party in which bloggers all over the world invite us over to visit their kitchens. This month, I have a few gifts to smile about…

In our kitchen…

Gorgeous pear-shaped tomatoes, a little larger than those we can find at the grocery store. These were planted by one of our colleagues. He kept bringing boxes, leaving them in the mail room for anyone to grab a few and enjoy. This particular batch was still warm from the soil when we got them.

In our kitchen…

Two huge bottles of a very special salsa, made by our friend Karl according to a family recipe from his wife, Virginia. Want to know something super cool? Virginia was the realtor who showed and sold us our home here in Kansas. She is a retired Spanish professor from Manhattan High School, and embraced a second career as a Real State agent, which clearly was a great move for her. She is the best, and so is her family recipe for this killer salsa. When we get low on those, I send a few hints to Karl. You know, gentle hints. I never put pressure on anyone. Nagging? Me? Never.

In our kitchen…

Another gift from Karl and Virginia, a can of chiles that she gets in New Mexico (they are not easy to find elsewhere), and uses for chile rellenos. She also shared her recipe with me, and I made my first batch of this Mexican delicacy last month. It takes practice, but I’m getting there…

In our kitchen….

Amazing hand-made chocolates from San Francisco… A wonderful gift from a wonderful friend, MC. I imagine lots of my readers are no strangers to Farine, her bread baking blog, but if you haven’t visited her site yet, prepare to be amazed.

In our kitchen….

My gift for Phil, for no special reason other than the fact that he is my favorite human being in this planet of over 7 billion people. It is a red wine aerator, supposed to make your wine taste like a liquid concocted by angels.

Of course, that forced us to cook a special steak dinner in which we sampled the wine on a blind tasting: one glass passed through the aerator, the other straight from the bottle. Indeed, we both noticed a clear improvement. Once it gets through the aerator, the wine tastes much more mellow and smoother. A nice little toy to play with.

In our kitchen….

I found this new (to me) type of yogurt and fell in love with it. These days it is so hard to find full-fat yogurt! I will spare you of my thoughts on this, but it is irritating. Anyway, this yogurt is delicious and I think it’s also available with fruit, but I am partial to plain. I wish they sold bigger containers so I could use it for cooking, but this is better than nothing.

In our kitchen….

If I remember correctly, I featured these on an IMK post years ago, because they were available in Oklahoma, and I loved them. I went through a tough phase of withdrawal syndrome, but they finally showed up in one of our grocery stores. I stock our freezer with these three kinds, and pop a little square in my food whenever the mood strikes. Great, great product, I highly recommend it. Rest assured, this post is not sponsored by Dorot. I recommend it because I love it.

In our kitchen….

Something super special: I got a one-on-one class on genoise!!!! From a pro, who also happens to be a friend. A virtual friend for over 10 years, Gary spent a weekend in our town, the three of us played a lot of golf, and I got THE BEST lesson on the making of a genoise. Stay tuned for my performance later on… Genoise is not for sissies, my friends. And since we are on the subject of that lesson, I shall confess my first move as a student.

Gary wanted the eggs at room temperature, but I don’t think he expected me to smash one on the floor. Obviously, cake baking in general and genoise in particular stresses me out.

In our kitchen…

A new, shiny bowl, that was needed for proper mixing of the genoise batter. It’s called a moon bowl. I love it! Beautiful and functional.

In our kitchen…

A heat-resistant spatula (from Vollrath), and a small offset spatula for my future genoise adventures. Gary brought these gadgets in his amazing “patisserie tool box” and I could not resist a visit to amazon.com to get these babies for the Bewitching Kitchen.

And, now it is time to let our furry friends come out and play…

Hello, my name is Oscar, and last night my Mom spent 25 minutes cleaning my body of all burrs. She says I am a wuss because I whine too much and “make it impossible for her”. Anyway, this is how I came back from the backyard this morning, after spending just 5 minutes outside. I don’t get all her weeping and gnashing of teeth. Do you?

Hello, my name is Buck and I am a professional snake killer. On my walk the other day I noticed a small snake on the side of the street. In a nanosecond I grabbed it, flinched it very high in the air, then killed it, spreading snake blood all over Mom’s ankle. I don’t get all her weeping and gnashing of teeth, do you?

and now, a couple of videos that are worth a thousand pictures….

Oscar has been very upset because his brother showed off the rolling over in the last In My Kitchen post. He insists that his skills are good enough to share with the Bewitching friends… For his amazing performance, click here.

I close this post with another short video. In one of my long walks with Buck, we go all the way to the university farms where they keep research cows. They are adorable! On that day they were following us in line as we walked back and forth the road. Finally, as we decided to walk back home, I approached the gate for a chit-chat with “the ladies”. Buck was not too interested in them, but they were very curious about that tiny four-legged creature. You can see the video on youtube with a click here.

If you are wondering about Chief, he says hi, and hopes to be around next time. He’s been a bit too frail lately to pose for pictures. He is a trooper, though, heading steadily for his 16th Birthday.

I hope you enjoyed the little tour of our kitchen… A huge thank you to Celia for organizing it. If you want to take a peek at other blogger’s kitchens, stop by Fig Jam and Lime Cordial, and look at the side bar where she lists them all.

ONE YEAR AGO: Grilled Steelhead Trout

TWO YEARS AGO: Brown Butter Tomato Salad

THREE YEARS AGO: Spelt and Cornmeal Rolls

FOUR YEARS AGO: Roasted Potato and Olive Focaccia

FIVE YEARS AGO: Multigrain Bread Extraordinaire

1Oct2014

CELEBRATE WEDNESDAY WITH PROSCIUTTO-WRAPPED SHRIMP SKEWERS

Posted in Celebrate Wednesday, Seafood by sallybr

This is one of those super simple recipes that deliver a ton of flavor, turning a mid-week dinner into a special event. Since seafood in general doesn’t need to be marinated for a long time, you can do the whole prep after arriving home from work. But, if you want to make things even easier, make the marinade, clean the shrimp early in the morning, and keep both items in the fridge until showtime. Since we have the luxury of coming home for lunch every day, that’s when I normally get this type of prep work done. A small investment of time at noon, and voilà: painless dinner later in the evening.

(Cooked: June 4th – Blogged Oct 1st)

PROSCIUTTO-WRAPPED SHRIMP SKEWERS
(slightly adapted from a recipe by Rachael Ray)

3 tablespoons olive oil
4 scallions, white parts finely chopped and green parts thinly sliced on an angle, divided
1 teaspoon Hungarian red pepper (or 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes)
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
12 jumbo shrimp, tails on and deveined
12 slices prosciutto

Combine the olive oil, scallion whites, red pepper and lemon juice in a medium size bowl. Season the shrimp lightly with salt and pepper, add to the marinade. Toss to coat, and leave for 30 minutes in the fridge. Wrap each shrimp with a slice of prosciutto and thread onto a metal skewer. If using wood skewers, soak them in water for a few hours.

Grill the shrimp until firm and opaque, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a serving plate and decorate with sliced scallions, if you like. I had some fennel fronds in the fridge, that’s what I added.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: The Hungarian pepper I used for this marinade was a gift I mentioned in this post. I love its complex flavor and mild level of heat. I searched and it is available on amazon.com, but the price made me hyperventilate a little. Lucky me, I do have very nice friends… Red pepper flakes (or fresh Fresno peppers) can be used instead, of course.

My package of prosciutto came with only 10 slices, so some of the shrimp (I actually cooked 14) went to the grill naked. They did not seem to mind, and we definitely did not mind either. I grilled those for about 30 seconds less on each side. I also like to use a double skewer, a trick that prevents the shrimp from spinning around and makes flipping a lot easier.

Most recipes would call for bacon instead of prosciutto, but I don’t quite get that. By the time the bacon is properly cooked, seafood will be severely over-done. I find that prosciutto works much better, as all you need is to get some grill marks on it, so the timing can agree with the seafood wrapped inside it. Alternatively, if you prefer the flavor of bacon, you can pre-cook before wrapping delicate seafood with it. Check Melissa’s method with a click here.

Our dinner that evening was a nice take on surf-and-turf… Juicy shrimp, and deliciously grilled hanger steak. Light, flavorful, and a breeze to prepare! Cannot beat that.