I`m Back!!!

I fell off the frugal wagon for a bit during the summer but I`m back.  Put it down to having our house for sale and fitting meals in between getting the house ready for showings, excessive house cleaning and very little creative time.

But I`m back on track.

Last night it was a pantry meal based on a can of salmon, some rice, a jalapeno pepper, a can of cream of celery soup and some frozen peas.  It was tasty but no pictures.  It didn`t look great.  It definitely tasted better than it looked.  I`m calling it Pinougli 2.0 (Pinougli is what the kids called a casserole I made only once about 10 years ago.  They ripped up the recipe and I`ve never made it again.  Enough said).  Yesterday`s meal looked awful but it was actually quite tasty.

Tonight`s pantry meal was something a bit more spectacular.  It was `Pasta Primavera`.  And here some pictures:

2 cobs of corn, a yellow pepper, some asparagus, green beans, an onion, some linguine

These were the fridge ingredients plus an almost used package of linguine in the pantry cupboard.  Oh yes, and some fresh basil that we picked up on the weekend from Silver Rill Farm.

Boil the pasta:

Saute the veggies:

Onions first, yellow pepper, asparagus, green beans, corn from the 2 cobs...hmmm what else did I throw in there...tomatoes!  I cut up 2 fresh tomatoes to make the sauce a little rose...

Now for the sauce.  Let`s see what do we have in the fridge and pantry...

And a little Plum Merlot helps to get the job done!  For the sauce, a can of light evaporated milk and some dijon mustard to kick it up a notch.

I found a small amount of parmesan cheese left in the fridge so I threw that in there.  Added some of the fresh basil, some salt and pepper and let it simmer just a bit longer.

Finally, the linquine was cooked so I drained it and added it to the sauce and tossed it to coat it well.

Seen in passing - husband going back for a second helping and licking the bowl when it was done.  I guess I did okay for this pantry and fridge meal.

Hoping for some more inspiration tomorrow.

Until next time,
Mavis

Favourite Pasta meal

Pasta with Feta Cheese is a simple name and by no means describes all the other tastes in this fabulous pasta dish.  It's an al fresco sauce (ie not cooked).  It is an all-time favourite of our family and I made it today.  I've already posted the recipe in previous posts but for ease of use I'm writing it out again and this time showing you some pictures!

I used to make my own homemade linguine to accompany the sauce but my Popeil Pasta Maker has bit the dust so for now we are using dried linguine from the pantry (that's good right?!  to use what's IN the pantry?)

Anyway,  here's the recipe for 4 people:

1-1/2 cups crumbled feta cheese (I use light)
2-3 chopped green onions
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
4-6 chopped tomatoes
dried or fresh chopped basil
2 cloves garlic
salt & pepper to taste.

This is so easy I almost feel guilty calling it a recipe.  You basically throw everything into a bowl.  Boil the pasta and put the sauce on top.  The only warning I would give is NOT to refrigerate the sauce as it cools the pasta off quite quickly.  I make the sauce up while the pasta is boiling and everything is at room temperate.  Cold tomatoes - blech!!!

Anyway, here are some pictures of this delicious pasta dish under construction.  This recipe has been rated 10/10 in my family for well over 10 years:

I use light feta cheese.  The taste is not affected at all.  Crumble cheese.

Chopped green onion in the bowl & ROMA tomatoes are the best

Deliciousness!

Like I said ~ so simple ~ all in a big bowl mixed together

Secret ingredient!

I also use fresh basil if I have it.

The old pantry standby!

Serve with foccacia bread and balsamic/olive oil dip, and red wine!  This is good enough for company!

Enjoy!

Until next time,

Mavis

It Ain't Easy!!!

being a vegan that is.  Then I found out my son has lost weight and that did it!  I went out to the grocery store and stocked up on meat.  It's a mother-bear thing I think.  I came home and made spaghetti and salad and I SO enjoyed it and so did he.  That was last night.

Maybe I just am not cut out to be a vegetarian or vegan.  I can still avoid meat for the most part but there are times when you just have to bend those self-imposed rules and eat meat!  Last night was one of those nights.

But let me tell you about this fabulous recipe for pasta tonight (yes pasta two nights in a row...who's counting though right?)

It was a Lemon and Shrimp linguine with asparagus. Yum!!

Here's the recipe:

Lemon Linguine

1 pound linguine
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
zest from 1 lemon
juice from 2 lemons
1 bunch of asparagus
1 small shallot
1 clove garlic
1 tsp butter
1/3 cup roughly chopped parsley
1/2 pound shrimp

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Blanch asparagus and set aside.  Add olive oil to water and boil linguine until al dente.

In the meantime whisk the olive oil, lemon zest and lemon juice together in a large serving bowl.  In small saucepan,  saute shallot and minced garlic until transparent.  Set aside.

When pasta is cooked, drain and add to lemon juice/oil mixture.  Add shallots, garlic, shrimp, asparagus, and parsley, and season with salt and pepper to taste.  garnish with Parmesan cheese and serve immediately.

This recipe screams SUMMER!  I can't think of anything better for July 1st ~ Canada Day!  We all loved it.  In fact, my son made a point of telling me how delicious it was.  It's a keeper!

Try it yourself and let me know what you think!

Until next time,

Mavis

Kitchen Curve Ball....

My daughter was diagnosed with Celiac disease (gluten intolerance) which has totally thrown a curve ball on our 'clean out the pantry' menu planning.  We've been trying some interesting new recipes and learning lots!   And I've also learned how much I like gluten!!  Gluten-free 'bread' is just not the same...not even close. 

We've been careful not to cook with wheat and have found some pasta substitutes that work just fine and please almost all of the palates in our household.  Just got used to that and then....

One of my colleagues recommended this book and suggested that it would benefit me, my sister and my son who all share the same genetic condition (Fabry Disease).  The book is called  The China Study and it was a fascinating read and promotes a plant-based diet to avoid heart disease and cancers.

I've just finished reading it and am now convinced more than ever that eliminating meat from our diet has significant health benefits. My first cardiologist told me that but I wasn't ready to change my diet.  I reduced my red meat intake but still enjoyed the odd steak.

But seriously, anyone concerned about heart disease or cancer should read this book.  I was seeking a solution to my heart disease but also some digestive issues.  This book answered a lot of my questions and the result?  We are adopting a vegan lifestyle.  However, my 19 year old son is convinced that he needs meat and my husband will enjoy meat when he can but sees the benefit of eating less meat.

In reality we had only been eating red meat about once a month but now I'm making a choice to leave it behind. The rest of our protein has been coming from chicken or fish.  I suppose we aren't going 100% vegan because I do want to eat some fish but no more chicken and no dairy.  Definitely dairy is out!  What I read was very scary. The eggs are staying.

The same colleague who told me about The China Study lent me two cookbooks.  The first one is called The Accidental Vegan and I cracked it open today and made Enchilada Pie (page 96).

And it's meat free, gluten free (corn tortillas) and dairy free.  I used a cheese substitute that I found at Country Grocer which is dairy free and gluten free.  There was a recipe for faux cheese in the cookbook but it contains wheat so I was glad to find the dairy/gluten free one already made at the store.

A lot of ingredients could be pantry ingredients had my pantry been full but we haven't gone grocery shopping for staples for awhile.  I spent about $40  but that included some glutenous frozen cinnamon buns for tomorrow's Open House (cinnamon is my secret weapon during the Open Houses).  I also bought some gluten-free cereal for my daughter which wasn't cheap.  All in all, this meal probably cost me $26.00 which isn't cheap.  It would have been cheaper had I cooked my own beans but I found the recipe today and didn't have the opportunity to soak them overnight and cook them up.

Here's the finished product:

And the best part of all???  The taste was amazing and it was only 5 points plus per serving!  Bonus!  It's  Weight Watchers friendly too!   My son loved it and had no idea it wasn't real cheese.  I'm so glad they have other options available for food allergies.

I can hardly wait to show this masterpiece to my daughter who wasn't home for dinner. 

Until next time,

Mavis

When the fridge hath no milk...

go to the pantry!

I discovered a wonderful way of eating oatmeal this morning.  `Twas an accidental discovery to be sure but I`ll definitely be doing this on purpose next time!

Try this one:

Oatmeal with Sweetened Condensed Milk drizzled over top instead of milk.

Sweet, creamy goodness!  And we used the Lo-fat version of the tinned milk so it`s not quite as guilty pleasure as it could have been!

If you don`t know what Sweetened Condensed Milk is, here is the link to their website:

http://www.eaglebrand.com/

Have a great day!

Mavis

Pantry Wheat Free Pizza Bake 10/10!!!

Polenta Pizza with Cherry Bocconcini, Basil & Olives
(from the Times-Colonist Food section April 13/2011)

Makes 4 serves (2 wedges each)

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 1/2 cups water
1 tsp salt
1 cup medium-grind cornmeal
1/2 cup tomato/pizza sauce
8 cherry bocconcini cheese (I used the whole tub!)
fresh whole basil leaves
pitted olives (I used green because that's what I had but it calls for black or green)

Brush 12 inch pizza pan with olive oil and set aside.  Pour the water into a medium-sized, heavy-bottomed pot and set over medium-high heat.

Bring to a boil, add the salt, and then reduce heat to medium. While whisking steadily, slowly pour in the cornmeal.

Lower heat to medium-low and cook the cornmeal for 5 minutes whisking it frequently.

Cook for 15 minutes more, but, now that it has started to thicken, use a wooden spoon  or heatproof spatula to stir it frequently.  At this point, the polenta should be quite thick, but still spreadable.

Spoon the polenta on to the pizza pan and quickly spread into a circle that's about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick.  Allow the polenta to cool to room temperature and set.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.  Spread the tomato sauce (I used pizza sauce that I had in the fridge and needed to be used up!)  on the polenta.

Arrange the cheese, olives and basil on top of the tomato sauce.  Sprinkle the pizza with black pepper. We also sprinkled on some Romano cheese that we had in the fridge.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, until the polenta is hot and a little crispy on the bottom.  Cool a few minutes and then cut into 8 wedges and serve.  This is not an 'eat with your fingers' pizza.  We treated it more like a casserole and put it into a pasta bowl.  Delicious!!

What I had on hand:
Cornmeal, water, pizza sauce, seasonings, romano cheese, olives

What I had to buy:
Bocconcini cheese, fresh basil

Here's a picture of the polenta cooking (in Italian pronounced "Poienta!" according to my friend Kathleen).

 

and the pizza bake ready to go in the oven

and now out of the oven and ready to enjoy!!

See how the cheese has smooshed and softened.?  It was chewy and excellent.  The hit of fresh basil on the tongue mixed with the tang of the green olives was remarkable!

I will definitely be making this again...even when the pantry is empty and I have to buy ingredients!! SO worth repeating!!

Buono Appetito!!

Until next time,
Mavis

Num! and Nummer!!

My love of food and cooking is spreading to my children.  My 19 year old son loves food.  I know ~ duh!! ~ don't all 19 year olds love food?? But this kid can cook!!  He made some blueberry belgian waffles from scratch today.  I taught him once how to make the blueberry sauce and now he's a master!

Voila ~ his latest creation. 

Sorry there's a few bites missing in the photo; I grabbed this shot before the whole thing disappeared....He let me have a bite and it was nummy!   Hence the title...num and nummer.  Get it?  Sorry ~ couldn't resist that one.

The recipe:
Waffles:
2 cups flour
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 3/4 cups milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.  Stir together milk, oil, and eggs.  Gradually add milk mixture to the dry ingredients.  Stir until just blended.  Pour batter onto waffle baker.  Makes 4 1/2 cups batter.

Sauce:
1 cup frozen blueberries
2 1/2 tbsp sugar
1/4 to 1/2 cup water (you decide how saucy)
1 tbsp cornstarch

Bring to boil and then reduce and cook until thickened.  Pour over waffles.

Until next time!

Mavis

Chocolate Ganache Torte

I'm culling my cookbooks.  We're making a huge effort at our house to reduce to recycle and stop the unnecessary spending.  I'm culling a lot of things, including my cookbooks. 

As I've been reviewing what to keep, I stumbled upon this recipe again (it's a keeper!).  I have had many, many requests for it and thought that I would share it with my readers in the blogosphere today:

CHOCOLATE GANACHE TORTE (it's like the one in Milestones if you've ever had that!)
Ingredients:
2 cups (500 ml) pecans
1/2 cup (125 ml) sugar
3 1/2 tbsp (50 ml) unsalted butter, melted
8 oz. (250 g) chopped bittersweet or semismeet chocolate
1 egg yolk
1 cup (250 ml) whipping cream, heated to a simmer
Whole pecan halves for garnish


Method:
Measure the 2 cups of pecans and the sugar into the bowl of a food processor. Process until the nuts are finely ground, then, wth the motor running, add the melted butter, continuing to process until the mixture is thoroughly combined. Press mixture onto the bottom an up the sides of a 10 inch tart pan or springform pan, making the bottom about 1/8" thick and sides about 1/4" thick. Bake at 325*F for 20-25 minutes until the crust is lightly coloured. Let cool.

In the top of a double boiler, gently melt the chocolate, then stir in the egg yolk and the hot whipping cream, whisking over the heat until the mixture is just combined. Remove from heat and pur the mixture into the pecan crust. Chill for at least 3 hours, then top with pecan halves. Makes about 12 servings.

Serve with caramel sauce drizzed over.

This is a VERY rich dessert that we use on special occasions.  The smaller the serving the better.  Too much of a good thing can make you sick!

Enjoy!

Mavis

Blogging Hiatus...But Back at it!

I was out of town for a time but have a renewed my enthusiasm for eating from what we have.  My husband wanted to shop for dinner tonight but I renewed my enthusiasm to keep on track so here's what we had for dinner:

Bow Tie Pasta
Can of Okra that I'm sure I've had for over 10 years
Canned Tomatoes
Fresh Celery and Onions
Canned Tuna

I sauteed the onions and celery then added the drained okra and tuna and then the tin of tomatoes and tossed it with the bow tie pasta.  Just a sprinkle of cheese.  It was amazing!!!  The okra had a nice tartness to it; sorta like a pickle, but more subdued.  Add the celery, onions and tomatoes and it was just right.

Until next time!

Mavis

One last blog before bedtime

Hello again!

I just finished making my lunch for work tomorrow.  This is one of my favourite all time meals and it's very portable, not expensive and very satisfying.  We went shopping today for dairy and a few odds and ends.  We love cottage cheese in our house so we stocked up today.

This dish is called Kibbutz Salad.   It's what I ate for breakfast and dinner every day when I lived in Israel in 1984/85.  The hot meal was always at lunch time.

And it couldn't be simpler to make:
1 cup cottage cheese (I use 1% or 2%)
1-2  chopped tomatoes
1/2 chopped cucumber (I use Engish cucumber)
2 hard boiled eggs
Salt & Pepper

Basically just chop the veggies and the eggs into the cottage cheese; season with salt and pepper and serve.
I told you it was easy!!

I didn't have any cucumber so I varied mine for tomorrow:

• cottage cheese
• chopped tomato
• chopped yellow pepper
• chopped celery
• hard boiled egg
• salt & pepper

Voila!  I thought it was worth sharing with you my wonderful readers because the ingredients are  not something we would naturally put together in North America but it was definitely a staple in the diningroom on the Kibbutz in Israel.  When I first arrived there for my year I was pining away for my granola from home but by the time it finally arrived in a care package from my sister, I had fallen in love with Kibbutz salad and never looked back.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do

So....I guess you can't really call it a 'pantry' meal because it comes from the fridge, but it's still helps me meet my goal of reducing unnecessary expenditures of restaurant lunches and it's so much healthier!

BTW, it doesn't keep very long as the tomatoes and cucumbers get mushy.  It's advisable to make this just before serving.  Rarely does it taste as good the day after.  This is one reason I just placed my ingredients into my lunch container and didn't mix them up.  You could also serve it in various containers buffet style for families and switch up the vegetables.  I've seen onions added much like you would a greek salad...oh yes...olives also make it interesting but more expensive too.

Have fun with it!

Mavis

Blog about it...blog about it..blog about it .... dit dit da dooo

sung to the song .  "talk about it, talk about it, talk about it..."

OK silly mood here but I have to, just have to blog about our pantry dinner tonight.

I was suggesting South American Pumpkin Soup but both my husband and son turned up their noses at my suggestion.  We have 3 cans of pumpkin in the pantry.  Next idea...

OK...I then remembered a fb friend had posted a recipe for an easy turkey dinner in a bowl recipe.  I was already to send my husband to the store for ground turkey and a can of gravy when my son pipes in:  "Mom, isn't the goal to eat everything from your pantry?"  Conviction set in and we tried to think outside the hunger pangs and instant gratification.

First of all here's my friend's recipe:

ground turkey, sauteed with onions and garlic and diced carrots; add 1 can gravy
top with mashed parsnips
serve with boxed stuffing.

So I didn't have ground turkey, nor did I have canned gravy.

Here's what we did:

Thawed some frozen chicken breasts
Diced the chicken breasts and sauteed them with onions and garlic and diced carrots

From the pantry drawer I pulled a package of Hunter Style Gravy.  Mixed up the gravy and added it to the chicken, onions, and carrots.  Let it simmer.
Pulled a package of instant mashed potatoes but decided to save those and use fresh potatoes because they don't have a shelf life; packages do.  Peeled some potatoes to make mashed potatoes instead of mashed parsnips.

Meanwhile, melted some butter in a saucepan and sauteed some celery and onions and then the directions for the stuffing - 1 cup water set to boil; add stuffing mix, take off the heat and put a lid on it.


Opened a can of cranberry sauce (have 3 in the pantry).

Result?  The YUMMIEST comfort meal ever!!!  And we ate it from the pantry and freezer.  I'm trying to stay on my weight watchers program but could not help myself and went back for small seconds.

Mashed potatoes smothered in chicken, onions, carrots and gravy with a side of stuffing and cranberry sauce.  O M G !!!

Take a look for yourself:

You must try this.  And a big thank you to my friend, Mavelle.

Until next time,

Mavis

Friday night ... and the meal plan is .....

Maui ribs from Red Barn Market (the absolute yummiest!) with baked potatoes (from the pantry) and a spinach concoction that was loved by all and used up frozen spinach from the freezer.  We also had some leftover brie cheese that needed to be used soon or would end up in the garbage.  So I created the yummiest spinach dish I think I've every had (with the exception of spanakopita which I'm sure why spinach was invented in the first place!)

Cheesy Spinach

1 pkg frozen chopped (or whole) spinach (I used chopped)
2 tbsp chopped up brie without the skin
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp flour


Boil spinach until cooked.  Drain carefully and return to pot.  Add butter, chopped brie cheese, and sprinkle in flour slowly to thicken.  Serve!

Here's a picture of my plate last night:

I know the spinach looks like a green blob...you'll just have to believe me that it was superb!  The brie flavour was delicate and made the consistency just right.  Not too creamy.  In a word ~ wonderful!

And I used veggies from the freezer that were getting freezer burnt.  The ribs were a splurge.  My husband was 'window shopping' while waiting for my son's doctor's appointment to end so he wandered in to the Red Barn and found the ribs.  Temptation overtook him but we were all thankful for the treat!

Until next time...Bon Appetit!

Mavis

Make Do Casserole!

I used to make a casserole called "Six Layer Dish".  It consisted of a big casserole dish with ground beef in the bottom followed by layers of rice, potatoes, onions, carrots and tomatoes.  I found some extra lean ground beef at Walmart (I don't usually shop there but it was just $4.00 so I couldn't pass it up ~ I was waiting for a prescription to be filled).

Anyway, we had some taco seasoning in the pantry which needed to be used up so here's what I have in the oven right now:

Ground beef on the bottom (cooked in a frying pan first with taco seasoning and 1 cup water as per the package directions)
Sprinkle of remaining Uncle Ben's Converted Rice in the bag in the pantry
Sliced Onions (followed by wiping of teary eyes!)
Carrots sliced
Canned corn (figured taco seasoning and corn would work well together!)
Sliced potatoes (peeled and sliced like you would for scalloped potatoes)
Large can of diced tomatoes on top of everything.

Remember to season each layer with salt and pepper to taste but remember that taco seasoning is very salty.

I also added some V8 juice which I found in the fridge.  Since the rice is raw when it goes into the oven, it needs liquid or it doesn't cook properly.  I tend to add about 1/2 cup in total and let it seep down between the layers.

I put it in a covered casserole dish and it's now in a 400 degree oven.  I figure it will take about 60 minutes to cook ~ a perfect length of time to blog about it and catch up on the blogs I'm following.  The smell of tomatoes and onions together baking in the oven has always driven me nuts! (in a good way).

We'll see how it turns out.  Hopefully it will be more successful than my recent bread attempts.  If I have time I'll post a picture later.  I have my "War on Debt " meeting tonight so it may have to wait.

Until next time,
Mavis

Breadbaking 101

Before this last week it has been a while since I baked bread.  I work outside the home full days and ride the bus to and fro which means by the time I get home it's 6 pm and  I'm not thinking about creative stuff, including cooking/baking.  The exception to this rule is unless we have guests in our B&B in which case I work hard at creating baking treats for our guests.  (http://www.dayspringbb.com).

I finally checked the dates on my yeast because I have had minimal success with my last 3 loaves of bread. What's up with that??

It's fine to want to use what you have but I've decided it's wasteful to use tired and outdated yeast that doesn't rise your bread.  Nobody wants to eat a hockey puck or door stop.  It wasn't quite that bad but you get the idea.

So, here goes the confession ... I'm throwing out my old yeast...wasting it....there, I said it.  It's dead and not useful so instead of producing bread nobody wants to eat, I made a decision to invest in some new yeast and to use it!

I'll make a fresh loaf tomorrow.  Currently baking homemade pizza used with the old yeast and perhaps that's why it didn't rise.  Oh well.  It will taste good nevertheless.

But the lesson here is:  Breadmaking 101 - make sure you use fresh, live yeast, otherwise you will get discouraged and quit making bread.  And that will not do!

On to the next loaf,
Mavis

Boulangerie...

I always loved that french word for "bread bakery", as opposed to Patisserie which is the "pastry, etc. bakery".

bou·lan·gerie (bo̵̅o̅ länz̸h rē′)

noun

a bakery shop, specif. one that specializes in breads, rolls, etc.

 Source:  fenichel.com

I love baking bread.  I buy organic wheat berries and grind my own flour using my Champion juicer with wheat grinding attachment.  My husband bought it long before we were married and I was so grateful that he had it when I started baking bread.  Besides the grinder, I also have the following excellent breadmaking tools:  Bosch Bread Mixer and the Compact Bosch Bread Mixer.

Here's a picture of a big Bosch.  I have had mine for about 15 years and I love it!!

And here's a compact Bosch.  I inherited my mother-in-law's about 9 years ago when she moved in with us.  It does maximum of two loaves at time.  I use this one for making small batches of bread or pizza dough.  The big brother Bosch does 5 loaves at a time but doesn't knead small batches very well.  That's my justification for having 2!  The second one cost me nothing.  The first one we traded for a computer those 15 years ago.

Now, back to the bread baking today.  Awhile back I purchased some dark rye flour.  I think I was enamored by some dark russian rye bread at a local cafe called The Roost and figured I could make my own.

It's a home day for me today as I nurse a sick doggy and get some things done around the house.  I decided to make some bread and found a recipe from allrecipes.com for a dark russian rye.  I changed the recipe because we're not fond of caraway and I didn't have all of their ingredients.  Here is my version prepared in a Baby Bosch breadmaker which doesn't include the auto-baker.  I like to shape the loaf.  It's a small version of the big bosch that does 5 loaves at a time.  I could have done 5 loaves but rye bread is not something you want to eat every day.  Today we're having it with some canned tomato soup from the pantry.

Here goes my recipe:

 Dark Russian Rye Bread

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups water 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar 2 1/2 cups bread flour (plus more until right consistency) 1 cup rye flour (plus more until right consistency) 1 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons melted butter 2 tablespoons honey

tablespoon brown sugar 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder 1 teaspoon instant coffee granules 2 teaspoons Fermipan instant yeast 1 tablespoon Dough Enhancer (creates a lighter loaf) - optional

If you have an auto bread baker then you should follow the instructions from your machine.  Here is my bosch method which is the same method you could use hand if you're kneading by hand.

In bowl place the warm water, melted warm butter, honey, vinegar, sugar, cocoa, coffee, salt and dough enhancer.  Add the heaviest flour first, namely the rye.  Add 1/2 cup rye flour.  Add about 1/2 cup of the bread flour and let the machine knead it on a low speed for about 2 -3 minutes.  This develops the gluten.  From that point, continuing adding the rest of the white flour and some rye flour until the dough clears the bowl.

It's a bit of a dark photo but you get the idea.  The dough is already sort of formed into a ball except for the hook and its work of kneading.

Once it has kneaded for about 10 minutes, I oil up the counter and take the dough from the bowl.  I flatten the dough ball with the balls of my hands and then roll it up into a loaf shape.  At this point I slap the dough down on the counter 3 times.  This releases the air bubbles inside (or so the theory goes).  I then gently reshape it into a loaf.  For this bread I wanted a peasant shaped loaf so it's circular.  Here it is on the counter ready to go on my Pampered Chef baking stone:

And here's another picture on my Pampered Chef baking stone (it's not dirty; it's getting nicely seasoned which is a badge of honour!)

I cut a cross-slit in the top and it's now rising in the oven.   I turn the oven on to about 200 degrees while I'm preparing the dough and turn it off and keep the oven light on.  I have found that this is a perfect temperature for letting the dough rise.  I usually eyeball it when it's time to bake.  After about a half hour this one is not yet done.  It should be about 2/3 of the baked size.  I use fermipan instant yeast so I don't have to rise it in a bowl with a second punch down.  I prepare the dough, shape the loaves and then rise and bake.  

The bread should be baked at 350 degrees until it sounds hollow on top.  It should be approx 30-40 minutes.  Your house will smell heavenly and you'll have people lined up in the kitchen waiting to sample it when it's done.  You can use an egg wash and sprinkle sesame seeds if you like.  I chose not to this time.

If you're interested in Pampered Chef products I have a great consultant.  Here's her website: http://www.pamperedchef.biz/susanhadden

I'm off to check on the bread status.  I'll post a picture appended to this post when it's finished baking (minus the wonderful smell ~ sorry) .

Ciao for now!

Mavis

Ta-da!

I confess that I don't think I'll ever win a blue ribbon for this one.  It would have been better in a loaf pan.  I laughed when I saw it done as the x in the top didn't spread like the peasant loaves in the bakery and it sorta resembled a turtle whose head and legs were inside his shell.  But here is a picture of the side view.  It was very moist and tasty but a bit too much cocoa.   I'm going now to amend the recipe.  I think the gluten could have been more developed as well.  This means I should have left it longer in the Bosch before adding the final flour.

Nabob and the Coffee Snob

So...we got to the end of the expensive Kicking Horse coffee.  Our other favourite is the Alex Campbell Signature Series Sumatra Gayo Mountain (yes..we ARE coffee snobs in our house...at least I am!).  We buy the whole beans and grind them ourselves.  Superb coffee!  But in the War On Debt scheme of things, shouldn't I really put my snobbery aside and settle for Nabob?


I was in Save on Foods the other day and noticed the Nabob on sale so I bought it thinking "suck it up buttercup!"  A lot of people drink Nabob and find it quite acceptable.

I'm sorry...I just couldn't do it.  Brave first day but by the second day I was waving the white flag.  But my brilliant husband came up with an idea so that we can use our 'yuk' coffee and fool me.  He's using half Nabob with half of our other coffee.  It's mighty fine I have to say!

I'm sitting here sipping while I blog right now.  The result of this discovery?  It makes me want to dig into my coffee/tea drawer to see what else is lurking unused and on the verge of being wasted.

I dunno.  I'm quite inspired.  I'm using it but not suffering.  That's a good thing right?!!

We have to clean out that cupboard.  We have boxes and boxes of teas, including some loose tea we received from Japanese and Korean students, and impulse buys along the way ~ you name it!

We're still doing fine in the meal department as well, slowly using up what we have.  There haven't been any 'earth-shattering meals out of nothing' so I haven't bothered to blog about the daily grind.  But we're forging ahead and the fridge is looking great!  I still haven't used my challenge ingredients from the contest but so far I have had one entry to the contest so Jake will be winning my bread unless someone else steps up to the plate (forgive the pun).  You can email me at mavisreyn at yahoo dot ca if you don't have a google account to reply to my blog.  You can also find me on facebook.  Put FRIDGE CHALLENGE in the subject line.

Off to savour the last few sips of my coffee and then to take stock of the tea/coffee cupboard.

Until next time,

Mavis
PS - I've just found out from my brilliant husband that  he apparently gave me the 'blend' the day before and I didn't notice.  So there you have it!

Valentine's Day!!

We had a gift certificate for $50 to one of my favourite restaurants, Zambri's.  I emailed my husband from work to ask him if he wanted to use it tonight.  They don't take reservations so we would have to be there right at 5:00 if we wanted to get a table.  His reply?  He was going to surprise me and show up at work at 4:25 and take me there.

So, the kids ate something from the freezer (the last of the frozen pizzas) and we dined fine!

Now that the frozen goodies are gone we are going to have to take stock and make a plan because come 5:30 tomorrow, it could be a tad interesting to create dinner without some standbys.

Wish me luck!

Mavis

An uninspired Sunday...

Yesterday my daughter and her friend made us lunch based on pantry and fridge ingredients.  It was a larger lunch than I needed and as a result we just snacked for dinner.  We were still full of chili and tomato sandwiches!

Would you believe I was munching on my homemade granola and yogurt for dinner?  No inspiration at all but neither did I spend.

Maybe tomorrow will spark some creativity.

Mavis

Saturday dinner

The ham and scalloped potatoes actually happened today.  The only ingredient I was lacking was 1 egg.  I therefore decided to do my grocery shopping today instead of tomorrow.  Spent $96 for fruits and veggies, 1 pkg of extra lean ground beef (thinking of spaghetti tomorrow to use up some of the pasta in the pantry), and various dairy items and some special requests from my son (bread and cheese).

What I used on hand:
Potatoes, cheese, onion and milk for the potatoes
Ham from the freezer
1 Can of niblets corn mixed with 1 can of creamed corn

Special addition:  our home made sweet and hot mustard.  My kids think this is a side dish it's so good.  I kid you not.  You can ask my daughter any day if it's not her favourite part of this dinner.  As I said, I was lacking only one ingredient...I needed an egg for this recipe:

Sweet & Hot Mustard

1/4 cup dry mustard
1/4 cup vinegar

Put in stainless steel saucepan, mix together and cover.  Let sit for 1 hour.

Turn on over medium heat and add:

1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
Salt to taste

Heat over medium heat until thickened.  Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.

Add:
1/2 cup mayo

Stir and serve.  Must be refrigerated.  Serve with ham.

Family VERY happy with dinner.

Bon Appetit!

Mavis

What do these items have in common??

Soya Sauce

Capers

Salsa

Duncan Hines Vanilla Icing

Biryani Paste

Plum Sauce

Sliced Jalapeno Peppers

Teriyaki Sauce

Sambal Olek (chili sauce)

Concentrated Mint Sauce

Sun Dried Tomatoes

V8 Plus

Egg Whites in cartons

If you guessed they are all in jars you would be almost right.  If you guessed they are all refrigerated you'd be 100% right (in my house).  But that's not the answer.

Ready?  The answer is these are all challenge ingredients currently in my fridge for which I have little to no inspiration to use up.  I need your help!

I'm putting a challenge/contest out there.  Please spread the word to your friends.  The one who posts or emails me the longest list of suggestions on how to use these ingredients will get a prize of my Blue Ribbon Whole Wheat (fresh ground flour) Bread.  Of course, you have to live in Victoria to win this prize.   Deadline:  Friday, February 18th.

Ready, set go!

Mavis