The Simple Things

So, I got off my lazy ass and did some cooking and baking last night. Well, food processing and baking. I’ve been whining about the lack of affordable salt-free peanut butter in my neck of the woods. For five years. Get a clue, right?

So, a couple of weeks ago, I bought two 12-oz cans of unsalted, roasted peanuts. Total cost, $5.32. From that I made a pound and a half of fresh unsalted peanut butter. Made some more last night, and the hardest part, which wasn’t that hard, was cleaning the food processor.

I had to do that, of course, but then that left it free to make a batch of fresh hummus. In between, I made a batch of dough for whole wheat pita bread. It had to rise, get punched down, rest, get divided into separate balls. Most of that time was spent sitting at the computer waiting for the next stage. Then, while two pitas were in the oven, I threw the stuff for the hummus in the food processor. By the time they came out of the oven (6 minutes) I had hummus to go with them.

Hummus and pita. Such simple food, and so bloody good! Let’s see, yeast, flour, water, sugar, salt, and garbanzo beans, lemon, garlic, olive oil, sesame seeds. Oh yeah, and a dash of sriracha in the hummus.  Brilliant!

And I have 8 balls of dough in the freezer to make 8 more pitas, and enough hummus for 3 days. Well, more than three when you figure I’ll be eating peanut butter and bread, too.

So yummy, so healthy, tastes like spring. Even if it DID snow last Saturday. And even if I am dreading summer. And I’ve had my tea, I think it’s time for breakfast. Toast and peanut butter sounds like just the thing. I’m that proud of myself I should be curled up like a cat and preening in the sun!

Excuse me while I go make breakfast and pat myself on the back.

I have to have this cookbook!

Well, you know the web. I stumbled upon this cookbook, and I’m sending for it, next paycheck. You can find some sample recipes here:

Veganomicon

I’ll let you know when I get it, and meanwhile, check it out yourself!

“Recipes you wish you’d grown up with.”

Okay, so maybe recipes aren’t a BAD thing…

Well, I have a bread recipe that I’ve settled on for every day.  And I’ve been asked to make it every day.  I think my mom is mostly living on it.  I know I am, at least until I can get some whole wheat/rye baked.  1-1/3 cups soy milk, 3 Tbsp. oil, 2 tsp. yeast, 1 tsp. salt, 2 tsp. sugar, 3-1/2 cups bread flour.

Two risings, bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes.

It’s killer with peanut butter.  Or peanut butter and pomegranate jelly.

Pomegranate jelly.  Now THAT’s a whole ‘nother story.  My total favorite.  It’s sweet, tart, and it looks like quivering rubies in the jar.  And we top the jars with wax, and put in a little pine branch and some redhots to look like holly berries.  That’s just the way we’ve always done it.

We’ve made it from scratch almost every year since I was a little girl.  It’s a total pain in the behind, especially juicing the pomegranates.  It’s worth every sore shoulder we get.  And I want to try a different way of seeding them and getting the juice, but that will have to wait for next fall.

The Worst Loaf of Bread in the World

I baked a loaf of bread last night.  It wasn’t really the worst loaf in the world, but as horrible as it was it should have been worse.

I didn’t measure anything.  I forgot it was rising.  I forgot it was baking.  It was the world’s most ignored loaf of bread is what it was.

All I can do is apologize to the ingredients and try again tomorrow, this time with a brain and some care.  Stress is no excuse.

And now I’m going to go make a pancake for dinner and go to bed.  It’s only 11:30 pm, which is practically midafternoon for me, but tomorrow will be a better day.

I think I’ll have scrambled eggs for breakfast.

Oh!  I forgot, I’m going to try an experimental version of spaghetti carbonara.  I couldn’t find decent parmesan or romano.  (Which is to say all I could find was the green can, which shall remain nameless.)

So, I’m going to use American bacon, and I bought a half pound of crumbled Mexican queso de Cotija.  Some fresh ground black pepper and a few eggs should make a yummy California version.  Maybe not carbonara, but then I’m not married to a coal miner, either.

Finally!

Well, I guessed and I by goshed, and I did everything wrong. And I came up with 2 great loaves of sourdough bread!

I was supposed to leave the preferment for 8-12 hours. It sat there for 2 days, in a VERY cold kitchen. I wanted to add citric acid to help with the browning, but instead I used a 1/2 tsp (or so) of bottled lemon juice and 1/2 tsp of sugar. I kneaded it mostly by machine, some by hand. I guessed at the baking temperature.

It’s chewy and sour and substantial. I absolutely love it. And my mother wants something LESS chewy and LESS sour. So, I’ll make her a regular loaf of white bread with eggs and Silk. And I’LL eat the sourdough.

More About Sourdough

I made that classic no-knead bread from the NY Times yesterday. Well, I started it the day before. Anyway, I used about 1 cup of starter instead of the yeast. The dough took at least another cup of flour, and I think it could have used at least another 1/2 cup. I wasn’t real thrilled with the results, but I guess that’s part of using sourdough. Getting consistently good results takes a lot of work and practice and documentation and…well, consistency.

I’m certainly not giving up. I’m feeling more of a challenge. And I have some good recipes designed specifically for this starter, so I’m going to have to keep at them, one by one. I’ve had to learn that what one person calls “a lovely crust” can mean unchewable by other people, including my mom. So, I may have to forgo some of the extra steps, like spraying the oven. Gee, maybe I won’t have to work quite as hard at it!

After reading the comments here, I’ll have to mix up another batch of pancakes. I was holding back because I wanted to limit the sugar in our diet. (I cook for 3 here, one currently having blood sugar problems.)

But now I’m craving another big cake rolled around fried eggs, and that doesn’t have to be sweet. I just have to expand my definition of pancakes to include savory. That shouldn’t be so hard! Actually, it redefines pancakes as bread, more like roti or pita, and now I’m thinking of all kinds of things that could get rolled up in them! Ooh, I have some lovely creamed corn, I wonder how it would be mixed into a pancake batter…

Damn, I have to go run errands, but I’ll cook when I get home. “Pancakes for dinner!”, she shouted!

I’m in Love With my Sourdough Starter

Just an update on my Carl’s starter.  I’ve baked countless loaves of bread in the last couple of months, some better than others, but all good enough that my family whine when they have to eat store bread.

I just got done splitting and feeding it, with an eye to sourdough pancakes for lunch.  I generally try to keep a container of pancake batter going in the fridge, with the addition of an egg, soy milk, flour, oil and a bit of soda when the volume gets low.  I eat pancakes for every meal, if’n I’m of a mood.

This starter is just marvelous, and it makes me feel connected to my mom’s family, who were loggers and ranchers in northern California in the late 1800’s.  My mom’s 83, and she says the pancakes are very much like the ones she grew up eating in her Uncle Gene’s kitchen.  (Gene also cooked for logging camps during the summer logging season.)

I prefer mine with homemade pomegranate jelly.  I imagine any jelly with a sweet/tart profile would work well.  Mom thinks hers were usually served with wild plum jam because that’s what was readily available.  No offense to the good people at Welch’s, but I don’t think grape jelly would quite do it.  Lingonberries would probably be great, but we don’t grow a lot of those in California.  I AM going to try marmalade one of these days.  Maple syrup would be wonderful, but I can’t bring myself to put the artificial stuff on these cakes, and the real stuff is just too pricey right now.  I’ll try to grab some at Trader Joe’s next time I’m “down the hill.”

Actually, I rolled one around a couple of fried eggs one day and ate it like that.  It was killer!  Of course, it was a BIG pancake.  I’ve taken to making one big pancake instead of messing with several small ones.  Call me lazy, and you’ll be right.  But heck, call me busy and you’ll be right too.  The big one is just simpler, and I’ve never been good at flipping pancakes, so this lessens my chances of disaster.  Besides, there’s just something sensuous and seductive, not to mention self indulgent, about attacking a pancake that’s almost as big as the plate it’s served on!

Christmas Dinner

A very plain supper, but some of our favorites.  I made mashed potatoes and smashed yams.  My sister brought “paradox.”  (2 ducks stuffed with sauerkraut and roasted until crispy brown)

There was lots of junk food, but the best part of the whole day was the 4 of us being together and enjoying it.  We are a family of strong personalities, and we don’t always get along.  This was our first Christmas together in 3 years, so it was particularly sweet for my 83-yr-old mom to watch her 3 kids laughing and talking and getting along, actually enjoying being together

Wonders never cease, but I enjoyed it too.  We found out that Susie (a dog) loves duck-flavored sauerkraut, and Rebecca  (a cat) made a vain attempt to carry off a duck carcass.  All in all, just a sweet day.  And we’re still eating duck and sauerkraut.  Major Yum!

What’s for dinner – Ramen like you never had it!

Well, it’s been a busy 10 days or so. Finally got 3 loaves of sourdough baked yesterday. Not before what looked like disaster, of course. The picture is of 2 loaves just put in bread pans to rise. Pretty, eh?

I’m still learning about sourdough, and the proper proportions of water/flour/starter, the “feel” of the dough, etc. All I knew was I thought the dough was beautiful, full of windowpanes and loo-o-ong gluten strands. I was pleased when I left it to run errands.

The camera was full, so I didn’t get a picture of the result. Just imagine those pans with drapes of liquid bread dough hanging down the sides to the rack beneath them. And that was in a COLD oven, no light, and it’s electric, so no pilot. ambient temperature was about 50F.

I started gathering the drapes up, and they pulled away from the pans and the rack quite neatly! I was able to scrape everything back into the pans without incident, then back into the bowl, where I added another 3 cups of flour! By the time I got done, I divided it into 3 pans this time, filling each roughly a quarter full. I figured I’d have smaller loaves, but safer.

Ended up with 3 BIG loaves, a good 50% bigger than the pans. Great crust, and a very tight, soft, faintly sour crumb. Makes lovely toast!

Okay, back to the ramen! Take one package of Oriental flavor ramen. (Or your choice, but that one’s animal-free.) Slice a 1″ square of fresh ginger into this slices. (IF YOU AREN’T EATING ALONE, COUNT THE SLICES!) Crush 3 cloves of fresh garlic. Slice 2 healthy green onions, and roughly chop a handful of cilantro.

Put the flavor packet (or half of it) into a small saucepan, I use a 2 quart for 4 eggs. Yes, there are eggs to come, but you can also dice extra-firm tofu and substitute. Add the ginger, garlic, 2 Tbsp of sugar, 2 Tbsp of lime juice, 2 Tbsp of white vinegar, 1 tsp of Sriracha hot sauce, 2 cups of water, and 1 cup of coconut milk. Bring this to a boil, then simmer for 3 minutes. (The ideal here would be to use galangal instead of ginger, kaffir lime leaves, and bruised sliced lemongrass. Tom means coconut, kha is galangal, kai is chicken, phak is vegetables, and I believe Dohu is tofu.)

Break the noodles up, if you like, to make it easier to serve and eat and add the noodles to the mixture. Cook for 3 more minutes. A little before the noodles are done, start fishing out the ginger and garlic, if you want to. I don’t bother, but I’m usually cooking just for myself. (Yes, that’s why you counted them!)

Add the green onions and cilantro, then quickly add 4 whole raw eggs. You can crack them right into the pan, or you can have them ready in a bowl, whatever works for you. The object is to keep them whole so they’ll poach in the soup. Cook for 3 more minutes.

Add 1 tsp of sesame oil, then serve however you like. This feeds 4, if you add egg rolls or something, 2 for a meal if they’re not starving. I generally cook it for 2 and eat it myself, and it lasts me most of the day.

The aim here is to very roughly duplicate a classic Thai soup, Tom Kha whatever, usually Kai. Kai means chicken. You can make Thom Kha Phak, or whatever. Add whatever ingredients you want. Straw mushrooms are traditional, but I didn’t have any in the cupboard. I’ve made this with fresh mushrooms, fresh pea pods or sugar snaps, a little shredded cabbage, bean sprouts. It’s infinitely flexible. The main thing is to replicate that classic Thai flavor of hot/sweet/sour/salty and make sure it has the lime/lemon edge.

If you’ve had the classic soup, you’ll know what you’re aiming for. If you haven’t, find yourself a Thai restaurant and have some! Tom Kha, or Coconut Chicken (or other protein) soup. It’s killer. If I don’t have the noodles from the ramen, I serve it with a cup or so of steamed rice in it. In researching it, it seems that’s the way it’s served in Thailand, not as a soup course, but as a filling warming meal with the rice.

And ginger, onions, garlic and mushrooms are all antiflammatories! So, you’re also doing your cold, wintry, arthritic joints a favor! I generally eat mine in stages, saving the egg for last, but I have OCD, too.

Bread’s in the fridge to rise overnight

I’m going to see how it goes. I put the lump of kneaded (by the food processor, tyvm!) dough inside a floured plastic bag, and I’ll let it sit in the fridge until mañana, then knead it down and put it in the pan to rise again before I bake it.

Of course, that’s in between going to buy tires, buying animals supplies (did I mention that we rescue cats and the occasional dog?), calling the pharmacy, oh yeah, and wiper blades, since it seems we’re in for another storm this weekend. Chance of snow has gone from 5% and 8% for Friday and Saturday to 8% and 9%. And it’s only Tuesday night. And I’m supposed to go to the opera Friday night.

Big, dressy deal, with my friend Barbara. At the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, at the Los Angeles Music Center. “Down the hill” as we say around here. Getting there means an hour and a half or so, and 100 miles each way. Up and over a 4500′ mountain pass. Which has a good chance of getting snowed in, if it does snow on Friday. So, we may be going, and we may not be. It’s Don Giovanni, and I’d really love to see it, but I’m okay with staying home, too. And even if we get just the rain they’re predicting, we’ll probably be stranded for a day or two. Southern California isn’t JUST Los Angeles, and we’re on dirt roads in the rural high desert. Two of our 3 closest accesses to the nearest paved road are flooded right now from last weekend. Well, maybe we’ll get very lucky and the flooded parts will stay frozen and we can skid across!

I need to look and see what’s happening in Pakistan. And Venezuela, although that’s more headline material right now, so it’s easier to find out. “¿Por qué no te callas?” And, indeed, why doesn’t he?

I had yummy ramen for dinner and now I’m getting sleepy. I know yummy ramen sounds like a contradiction in terms for a lot of people, but I added vinegar, sugar, sliced fresh ginger, sliced fresh garlic and green onions to the cooking water, then poached 2 eggs in it when the noodles were done. Added some Sriracha hot sauce once it was in the bowl. Presto, quick fake hot and sour noodle soup. I’ve got to get some more Sriracha, and some sesame oil, too. Eating cheap doesn’t have to mean eating without flavor.