More pumpernickel

So often I forget about this cooking blog.  Today I remembered it because as I sat writing on my other blog, I started smelling the pumpernickel that I had put in the oven fifteen minutes earlier.

 

 

Pumpernickel smells different from the other breads, which makes sense.  It looks and tastes a lot different, too.  It has coffee, cocoa, rye flour, caraway seeds—things most other breads don’t offer.  Its texture is different, too.  My pumpernickel has no white flour, so it is very grainy.  And pretty dense.  I wish I could eat it.  Booo for wheat sensitivity!!  I’ll just have to enjoy smelling it and seeing others enjoy it.

I am making pumpernickel today for Sunday.  That is the day we’re hosting an Open House for our timid Rosa.  (Don’t tell her I called her timid.)  She requested little sandwiches made of rye or pumpernickel bread, ham, and marmalade.  I’ve never had this combination before, but it does sound like it would be good.

She also requested little mince pies (which she is making herself), cucumber sandwiches, fig bars (store-bought for now), and…something else.   Oh yes—braunschweiger and crackers.  And probably more things, too.  Whatever they may be, I’ve got it covered.

I hope my picture-taking daughters will take pictures that I can put on here of the Big Day.  Stay tuned.

Gluten-free pizza! It worked!

Whenever I eat pizza, I always end up feeling bad–even if I don’t eat much.  The same goes for whenever I eat bagels or sandwiches or croissants or bread bowls with my soup.  For some reason, I can eat the Orange Scones at Panera with no trouble; probably all the endorphins it activates just makes me forget my stomach pain.

Since pizza is something my family likes a lot, I decided my first all-out big try for a gluten-free bread would be pizza dough.  I got on the internet and found a recipe that was purported to be better than the rest, so I tried it.  It called for something I didn’t have and really didn’t want to spend the money for (xanthan gum), so I googled for a substitute and found one.  I changed a few other things, too; some I had to change, and some I just wanted to.

And it turned out great!!  It wasn’t exactly like a pizza crust, but it was close, and  it was very, very tasty.  Here’s the recipe:

Gluten-free Pizza Crust, Freely Adapted by TRSB

Whisk together in mixing bowl and let sit until foamy:
1 cup hot water
1 teaspoon  brown sugar
1 tablespoon yeast

Add, mixing well:

1 teaspoon  salt
3 tablespoons  brown sugar
1/4 cup olive oil
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 teaspoon  vinegar

Then add:
2 cups tapioca flour (also called tapioca starch)
1 cup sorghum flour
1-2 cups brown rice flour*
1/2 cup millet flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons milled flax seed

Mix these ingredients together.  You’ll end up with something like cookie dough.  There is no need to knead it.  Then, with a silicone or rubber spatula…OK, and your fingers, press/spread the dough into your greased pan/pans.  I used one 12″ x 17″ jelly roll pan, and it  ended up being rather thick.  (But good.) You might want to divide the dough and make two round pizzas–if your pans are the right size.  Like, maybe, 12″ in diameter.

Let the dough rise for about fifteen minutes, then bake at 400 degrees F for about ten minutes, or until golden.  Whenever you’re ready, you can add your pizza sauce and toppings, then bake until you know it’s how you like your pizza.

*The original recipe called for less brown rice flour than this, but it wasn’t enough.  I ended up scooping more and more in and, regrettably, did not measure how much.  So start with a cup, then add what you need to make the dough like cookie dough.   I think I used about two cups.

 

Easter plans

Oh, my, it has been a long time since I’ve written in this blog.  I guess the main reason is that life events have had me out of cooking mode for a while.  But Easter is coming up, so that’s going to change.

This year we will have around twenty-five people at our house for Easter dinner.  I’m still trying to figure out where to put everybody, but that isn’t much fun to think about, so I’ve been thinking about the menu.  And that is fun to think about.  Plus, since it’s at my house, I have sort of an excuse to be controlling and tell everyone what item on my menu I want them to bring.  Fun for me!!

On the menu is quiche, among other things.  We’ll have one with kale and mushrooms and one other kind, made by daughter number two and her husband.  I will be making two quiches, too, but I don’t know what kind yet.  What I do know is that one of them will be gluten-free, which is not too hard to manage with a quiche.

Daughter number three is making biscuits with wheat flour and also biscuits with corn flour.  This is the daughter who never much liked to cook when she lived with us.  Since biscuits are a specialty of mine, this makes me kind of excited!  Another Headrick-Reeve cook!

Dessert is something I’m having trouble deciding on.  I have pictured in my mind little cute coconut chick cupcakes, but I did that once before, and though they were a great success, they were a lot of mess to make.  (Four commas.  Hmm…)  Right now I am leaning toward lemon curd tarts and Magic Chocolate tarts, plus some kind of fun cupcakes.  Going to have to figure out how to make gluten-free tart crust.  I think I can do it.

Next week, pictures!

Quick, Sweet, Whole, Wheat

Here’s another recipe from the Historic Kitchen.

I found this recipe in an old copy of Joy of Cooking that Larry had when we got married.  It was paperback and used so much that it had split in half at the binding.  Eventually it just got to be too hard to use, and I threw it away.  But!  Not before copying the following recipe onto a recipe card.

Because of our large family, I always made at least two loaves at a time–sometimes three.  Just for fun, I’m typing the recipe exactly as I wrote it on the card back in ’89…or whenever it was.

Quick Sweet Whole Wheat Bread
Makes (1) (2) (3)  8″ x 4″ loaves

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Mix in large mixing bowl:
(2 1/2)   (5)   (7 1/2)  cups whole wheat flour
(1/2)  (1)  (1 1/2)  teaspoons cinnamon
(1/4)  (1/2)  (3/4)  teaspoons salt
(1)  (2)  (3)  teaspoons baking soda

Combine in another bowl:
(1)  (2)  (3)  beaten eggs
(1/2)  (1)  (1 1/2)  cup molasses
(1/4)  (1/2)  (3/4)  cup brown sugar
(1/4)  (1/2)  (3/4)  cup oil
(1)  (2)  (3)  teaspoons grated lemon or orange peel

Add the egg mixture alternately with:
(2/3)  (1 1/3)  (2)  cups plain yogurt or buttermilk

to the flour mixture.

Pour into greased 8″ x 4″ loaf pans and bake for about 45 minutes or until done.

(The picture at the top of this post is of bread homemade by me in my kitchen.  It is not, however, Quick Sweet Whole Wheat Bread; it’s pumpernickel.  But this is what Quick Sweet Whole Wheat Bread  looks like.  That’s fair, I thought.)

Christmas breakfast 2011

Here are pictures of the Christmas breakfast I made last month.  It was a beautiful table.  The food was…pretty good.  Everyone said it was wonderful, but I think that was Christmas Cheer speaking–and thankful hearts.

The things that look like muffins are actually little quiches made with crescent roll dough for the crust and a cream cheese/egg mixture for the filling.  They were OK, I thought.  Not a recipe worth sharing.  Just OK.  But fun!

 

Below is a picture that shows the English Muffins I made.  They are in the left foreground.   They had a sourdough flavor from letting the dough (which was more like a batter) rise overnight.   Rosa and I thought they were really good, but not everyone was crazy about them.

Also present were Swedish Crumb Cake (my husband’s family’s handed-down recipe),  stone-ground grits (made with half and half  instead of water…mmm-mmm), chocolate-covered strawberries (courtesy of my son’s girlfriend), biscuits, raspberry curd, and mimosas.  And sausage and bacon.

And here is the whole table.  It makes me smile.  What a lot we have to be thankful for.

Curry salad dressing recipe for Rachel

 

It’s always a nice feeling when someone asks for a recipe, and it’s especially nice when you forget to give it and they ask twice.  That’s what my friend Rachel did to me (for me?) about a curry salad dressing recipe I have.  I guess she really liked it.  I like it, too.

The picture above is something I got off the internet that looks like this salad dressing, but isn’t.  (I wish I had a camera.)

Curry Salad Dressing
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 cup salad oil
2 tablespoons chutney
1 1/2 – 2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon dry mustard
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon curry powder

Combine all ingredients.  A shaker works well for doing this.

This dressing is especially good on a salad made from spinach, chopped apples, chopped green onion, raisins, and nuts.  (Really, really good with the apples.)

my cornbread recipe

I know a woman who says that all it takes to be a good cook is to be able to read a recipe.  This, of course, is not true.  It takes some Know-How–either learned or, as in the case of my teenage daughter, innate.

But another thing that is essential for creating good food is good ingredients.  My cornbread is something that I am often complimented for, and the biggest reason it is good is that I use a good ingredient: stone ground, unbolted cornmeal.  That makes a world of difference.

I also liberally grease the skillet with shortening, which is the only thing that I have found reliable in keeping it from sticking.  All that shortening also creates a great, crunchy crust…along with some bad-for-you partially hydrogenated fat.  Oh well; you can’t have everything.  As Paula Deen said concerning the unhealthiness of one of her recipes,  “I’m a cook; I’m not your doctor…”  Or something like that.

Cornbread
1 cup unbolted white cornmeal*
1 cup all-purpose flour*
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 egg
1/3 cup vegetable oil*
2 cups milk

Beat egg in mixing bowl.  Add milk, oil, and salt and stir to combine.  Mix flour and baking powder in separate bowl, then add to the egg mixture along with the cornmeal.  Combine well.

Pour into very well-greased 8-10 inch iron skillet and bake at 425 degrees for about twenty-five minutes.  If you want to make the crust even crustier, turn the finished cornbread out onto an oven-proof pan (like a round pizza pan) and stick it into the oven (which you will have turned off when removing the skillet of cornbread) for a few minutes.

*When I make corn muffins, I use 2 cups cornmeal, 1/2 cup oil, and no flour.  Bake muffins at 400 degrees.