FROM BACKYARD TO KITCHEN

Posted in Veggies by

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Two of our three zucchini plants got so sick I had to cut them, but the other one seemed to shape up, maybe afraid of following the neighbors’ fate. Yesterday, as I stared at the pantry considering my options for a quick dinner, it occurred to me to go check our veggie garden. I knew the cherry tomatoes had to be ripe by now, but the two cute zucchinis were a nice added bonus. Let’s hope this is just the beginning of a great harvest! 😉

Veggies fresh from the garden (as well as from farmer’s markets) are so much better than those tired beings at the grocery store, that I like to keep their preparation very simple.  One of my favorite quick dishes for zucchini comes from a great blog, Smitten Kitchen. I make it quite often, actually, changing it slightly according to my mood.

Here is yesterday’s version, served as a side dish for barbecued brisket that will definitely show up on Bewitching Kitchen sometime

QUICK ZUCCHINI SAUTE WITH ROASTED PEANUTS
(adapted from Smitten Kitchen, original recipe from Red Cat, New York)

2 small zucchini (preferably from your own garden!)
2 tsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
squirt of lemon juice
lemon zest to taste
1/4 cup roasted, salted peanuts

Julienne the zucchini, not too thin (zucchini tends to turn into mush fairly easily). Heat the olive oil in a non-stick pan until you can detect a little smoke forming. Add the zucchini, salt and pepper.  Saute until it starts to get light brown in some spots.  Lower the heat, add a squirt of fresh lemon juice, some lemon zest, and incorporate the roasted peanuts. Taste for seasoning, adjust if necessary.

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FOCACCIA

Posted in Breads by

This is one of those recipes that I always go back to. Simple, straightforward, and as far as bread things go, it certainly qualifies as quick, as you can have it on a cooling rack 1 hour after your focaccia craving hits.

It comes from  “No Need to Knead”, a book published in 1999, years before the “no-knead-bread fever” hit the US.

For dinner parties I make the full recipe, for me and hubby I make half and cook it in a cast iron pan. Works like a charm….

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FOCACCIA
(adapted from Suzanne Dunaway’s “No Need to Knead”)

2 cups lukewarm water
2 tsp active dry yeast
4 cups unbleached bread flour
3 tsp salt
2-3  tsp olive oil
2 T chopped fresh rosemary
1 tsp kosher salt

Measure the water in a large bowl, sprinkle yeast over water and stir until dissolved. Using a strong wooden spoon mix 2 cups of flour and salt until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the remaining 2 cups of flour, stirring for 2 more minutes, just until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, and the flour is fully incorporated. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, 30 to 40 minutes.

Heat the oven to 500F. Oil one or two non-stick 13×18 inch baking sheets.

Pour the dough onto the sheet(s),  brush the surface with 2 tsp olive oil. Dip your fingers in cold water or olive oil and make indentations all over the dough, working to stretch the dough as you go. If you are using a single sheet, the dough should cover it. Brush the surface with another teaspoon of olive oil, sprinkle with rosemary and  salt.

Place in the oven and reduce the temperature to 450F. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack and enjoy!

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ANTICIPATION

Posted in General by

It’s what our little veggie garden is all about these days…..

(click to enlarge)

Welcome to my blog!

Posted in General by

A few things led me to start “Bewitching Kitchen”. As is the case for many persons who love cooking, the number of cookbooks, magazines, and computer printouts accumulating everywhere in my house is out of control. I don’t expect to ever conceive a method to my madness, as new cookbooks keep finding their way to my shelves, magazines subscriptions keep getting renewed “just for one more year”, and food blogs keep enticing me to “save this recipe, just this one”.

By blogging I hope to keep  a record of the recipes that I use, to describe how they worked for us, and to share them with friends and family.

The final push into the blogging world came from joining a group of bakers, who accepted a challenge launched by Nicole, host of one of my favorite websites, “Pinch My Salt”. We are making every bread from Peter Reinhart’s book “Bread Baker’s Apprentice”. The journey to finish the book should take about 43 weeks, keeping the pace of 1 bread per week.

You can read all about it here.

I invite you to follow my progress through this challenge, and also see what else is cooking in my bewitching kitchen….

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Benvindos a Bewitching Kitchen!

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