Irish Soda Bread, Talitha Style!

Lately I've become super interested in bread making... And I suck at it. Totally completely suck at it! Let's put it this way: If someone calls a bread recipe "easy", "fail-proof", "fool-proof", or other such words to indicate that any idiot caveman could make this bread with his eyes closed... I'm GOING to mess it up! No, really... It's that bad! I can make cookies, brownies, muffins, and cupcakes with little-to-no-trouble. But bread? Not in my dreams!

This week I found an episode of Good Eats where Alton Brown makes a "very basic" bread recipe. It seemed sooo easy the way he did it on his show! When I looked up the recipe in my Good Eats book, it looked a little more complicated, and it turned out to be just a tad TON more daunting! In his recipe, you start out with a "sponge" which stays in the fridge overnight. When I got mine out in the morning, it had separated into creamy floury goo at the bottom, and yeasty water at the top. *Blhuh* But, I didn't know any better, so I used it and continued the recipe the way it was written. Eventually I had to throw it out because it never rose, then my house smelled like rotten yeast.

(Ah man, for adoring AB so much I sure don't end up liking his recipes very much, do I? ... But then again, it's probably me!)

Then, sweet Ina Garten popped onto my computer screen after another YouTube video and I wondered what she had to offer, so I watched. It was on Irish Soda Bread (to watch her video click here), and it was so easy-breezy-simple, I knew I could do it! And I did. And again. And again! And again!! At least four times in the past week!!! I've made it 3 different ways, and it has turned out wonderfully each time!!! But here, I want to share with you my recipe for herbed soda bread. You'll love it, I promise! It's easy enough that I could do it, and that's saying something!!! So, even if you are a bit of a Neanderthal, I just don't know how you could mess this one up!

Herbed Irish Soda Bread

WHAT YOU NEED

4 cups all purpose flour
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp. baking soda

1 1/2 tsp. sea salt

1 tsp. grated orange zest (or dried orange peel, if that's what you have)

Herbs*

1 egg

1 3/4 cups buttermilk**

HOW TO

Sift together flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt.

Add herbs, orange zest.

Add both egg and buttermilk.

Mix on low, just for a minute. You will have a wet dough, and that's ok!

Dust your countertop with flour and dump the dough out on that.

Dust the top of your dough, too, and knead it very lightly, and only for a moment.

This dough will feel like it's falling apart in your hands, and THAT'S PERFECT!!!!

Bake at 375, preferably on a baking stone, for about 25 minutes. Just check with a "thump!"

If you bake the dough in two separate loaves, they bake up a bit better, and LOOK much nicer =)

Pairs really well with a good summer salad!

Enjoy! =)

COST

Less than $2 -- Serves about 6.

*Herbs included: chives (from my newly planted little window garden!), along with Herbes de Provence, a tiny pinch of ground anise, a bit of sage, some basil, and a ton of parsley. (As always, I believe Penzey's Spices are the BEST!!!!)

**I don't know if I have ever bought buttermilk once in my life! I don't even keep cow's milk on-hand in my home typically, so I looked for alternatives. The first time I made Ina Garten's version, I actually used 2 4-oz. cartons of Stonyfield Organic Toddler Strawberry Yogurt plus 3/4 cup almond milk with 1 tsp. lemon. If you are substituting buttermilk with milk (of any kind) and lemon juice, just let it set for 10 minutes and stir it a couple of times! With this herbed version, I actually used 1 3/4 cups half & half with the lemon juice trick =)

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies Full of Comfort

Are you a big fan of oatmeal cookies? I'm still trying to decide. Love the taste, hate the heartburn... Love the goodness of oatmeal, hate the raisins... Until this recipe came into my life! Yes, it changed my very view of oatmeal in a cookie. The chocolate and fiber and goodness of oats for my heart outweighs the stinging of heartburn (OK, I'm weird, YES oatmeal gives me heartburn!) and, nope, no raisins!!

If you were one of those kids whose moms would give you chocolate chip cookies (or cookie bars in our house) and you were sure the world was alright after all, then this recipe really is for you!

You know, I know that there's more to life than what we eat. I know that food doesn't actually make anything better. But there is some moment of bliss and escape with just bunkering down with a cookie in some soft, cozy spot, taking comfort in something that is ...mmmmm!

And then it is also very sweet to share these with others. It's a wonderful communion to bite into a warm melt-in-your-mouth pocket o'joy and look at your husband and he has the same goofy "mmm" look on his face that you do, as if nothing else could be so yummy! I love sharing a [tiny] crumb of chocolate or sweets with my daughter and she says, with SO much gusto, "NUM-NUM!!!!!!!" And then begs for more, with all the manipulating puppy-eyes an 18-month-old can muster.

But my favorite thing about making these cookies is making them. I LOVE baking. I LOVE cooking. I LOVE feeding others! I like to share, but I LOVE to be the artful master behind the delectable morsel.

So I saw an episode of Good Eats a few days ago (I fall asleep watching Alton Brown most nights) where he was making several recipes with Oats. I want to try each of them, they were all pretty creative. So, since I was inspired, and I wanted sugar, I went with the cookie idea first. Now, when I went to The Food Network's website for his recipe, I found that I didn't like how it looked that much after all, so I also found another one on allrecipes.com and combined the two.... Then ran out of oats and added some stuff... And then some cocoa powder.... Plus a little more sugar and salt to balance that out... Then, well, my recipe didn't resemble anyone's! (Which I LOVE!!!!)

By the way, did I mention these are [mostly] GOOD for you!?!?

So here ya go:

WHAT YOU NEED:

1 1/2 cups old fashioned rolled oats

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups wheat bran

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup Ghirardelli 60% cocoa chocolate chips

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
2 eggs

1/4 cup cocoa powder (Penzey's is BEST!!!!)

3 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 tsp. sea salt

HOW TO:

You know what, just mix it all together! Well ok, butter, sugar, vanilla, eggs, and salt first. Cocoa powder next. And the rest just dump it in at will. Mix it up really well, and it'll turn out =)  Bake at 350.

I made these REALLY big cookies!!! I suggest you do the same, as well. It'll make your loved ones a little happier =)

Banana Custard-filled Chocolate Cupcakes w/ PB Frosting. Yum.

"You put your left foot in, you put your left foot out, you put your left foot in and you shake it all about!" This cupcake made me want to do the Hokey Pokey! No, seriously! I don't even like the Hokey Pokey. Come to think of it, I don't like banana and peanut butter together either, much less with chocolate (because they would just be tainting my chocolate anyway!) But this, oh THIS was an exception!!!!!!!

I read a certain column in the food section of the newspaper every week because I like to criticize it. (I'll be honest.) But this week it was actually a bit inspiring. Inspiring as in "I can do better" =)  It was a recipe for homemade pudding, both a vanilla and a chocolate version. I decided to make the vanilla into banana, and more like a custard. And, the only logical conclusion was to make that a filling for a delicioso chocolate cupcake!


Homemade Banana Custardy Pudding, adapted from Anna Thomas Bates's Vanilla Pudding

WHAT YOU NEED:
2 Cups Half & Half
2 tsp. Pure Vanilla Extract (Penzey's in BEST!!)
1 Cup Sugar
2 TBSP. Cornstarch (I used Arrowroot Starch and it was runny...)
1/4 tsp. Sea Salt
1 Egg + 1 Yolk (I think next time I'm going to try yet one more Yolk! Yum!)
1 Overly-Ripe Almost-Rotten Banana

HOW TO:
Heat half & half over low heat. Stir a few times - do not let it boil over! In fact, don't let it come to a boil at all. Add vanilla and salt.
In a large bowl, whisk together sugar and cornstarch, then eggs, until smooth.
Ladle about a 1/4 cup of the warm milk mixture into the bowl with sugar mixture. Use a hand-mixer to whisk the mixture as it comes together. You do not want the egg to cook from the hot milk. Repeat 3x.
As it is now tempered, you may add the entire mixture back to the saucepan - slowly, and continuously stirring. (I used the hand-mixer the entire time, even on the heat!)
Increase heat to medium. Continue to stir/mix for a couple of minutes, until blended smooth and actually starts to look thicker like ...a ...pudding. (Trust me, this feels like forever, but it only takes a couple of minutes.)
Let pudding cool in a large metal or glass bowl (you will be storing it in), and chill. To cover, place a large piece of plastic wrap over the pudding, pushing it down on top of the pudding, so that it does not form a film (...cause ewww!) To make it even more air tight, wrap in yet another piece of plastic wrap over the bowl, like you'd normally wrap up a bowl =)

As always, ENJOY!!

Birthday Extravaganza Vacation Weekend/Banana Strata

As I've shared in another post in recent times, I have the most wonderful husband I [n]ever could've imagined!!! This past weekend he took off work for several days and gave me time to do whatever I wanted! SO SWEET!!! Short of flying to Tahiti for the weekend, I got to do most everything I wanted =)  I used a gift certificate for a massage, then I got my hair cut and eyebrows waxed (thank-you, btw, to the dear lady who pulled off half my eyelid in the process...!)  I got time to cook & blog. I didn't change but a couple of diapers =)  I didn't get up during the night once!!!!!!!!! And, my husband took me out for a lovely, wonderful time at a near-by Asian restaurant where we enjoyed Sushi and a very interesting Birthday Song with a flaming flower that played music - What a night! During the vacation, I also got to go to coffee with a friend, who donned my doorstep later in the day with a basket full of kitchen gadgets and goodies (what a friend!!), took an art class, and my family went to the local art museum on Free Day =)  Great way to turn 30!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank-you, friends and family for sending me wonderful cards and gifts (especially "30", Debby)! And thank-you, Husband, for making my dreaded 30th the best ...um EVER!!!!!!!

Ok, so we were invited to some friends' house on Sunday night, so I tried to make a recipe I found in our newspaper for a dessert called something like "Boston No-Bake Cake"... The custard part was the hardest, and I really thought it had bombed, but with the help of a couple of bananas, I redeemed it! It turned out fabulously!!! This "Boston No-Bake Cake" is a layered dessert, comprised of graham crackers, a vanilla-y custard, bananas, and chocolate frosting, that needs at least 24 hours in the fridge to become what you really want it to be. I've renamed it "Banana Strata". Think of it as an edible geology lesson ...or a chocolate-ensconced banana pudding lasagna. Either way, read on:

WHAT YOU NEED:

For the Custard:
5 TBSP. unsalted butter + pinch of sea salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 cups half & half
2 tsp. vanilla
3 TBSP. arrowroot starch
3 eggs + 3 egg yolks
2 medium not-ripe-but-not-too-green bananas

For the Frosting:
3 TBSP. unsalted butter + pinch sea salt

1/4 cup Penzey's cocoa powder (or Ghirardelli)

2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup heavy whipping cream

16 oz. Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips

For the Strata:

1 package graham crackers (3 sleeves)

About 1/3 reserved chocolate frosting

1 medium not-ripe-but-not-too-green banana =)

HOW TO:

For the Custard:
Mix room-temperature butter + salt with sugar in sauce pan, then turn heat on to medium (low-ish) and heat until melted.
Add half & half and heat, stirring continually, until a little thicker and a heavenly cream smell! (Do not let it boil, and take it off heat if it starts to smell even a little burnt!)
Add vanilla, take off heat.
Ladle one cup of hot mixture into blender with starch. Blend until smooth. Add back to sauce pan, and put back on heat.
In separate bowl, slightly beat 3 eggs and 3 egg yolks together. Add to cream mixture in sauce pan.
Cook and whisk about 5 minutes, continually scraping sides and bottom of pan.
Put whole mixture in blender, add both bananas, and blend until very smooth.
(At this point you could call is banana pudding and be done!!)

For the Frosting:
Slowly melt butter + pinch of salt over low heat.
Add cocoa powder and vanilla (I think they mix in better at this stage)
Pour in cream. Heat just until everything is mixed well and cream is warm.
Add chocolate chips, and stir continually. Heat until thoroughly melted.
*Note: You need to use this chocolate while it's still melty... So ándale with the Strata already!!

For the Strata:
For each of the first two layers in the strata, place contents of one sleeve of graham crackers in a casserole dish*, cover with custard, and top with a few slices of banana and half of the reserved chocolate frosting. (This amount of frosting isn't much, so know that it doesn't need to cover the layer completely - just zigzag it on.)
For the third final layer, it is the same except you are using the entirety of the chocolate frosting. It looks like an awful lot, but it will settle in =)
*Nonmetallic -- it will be sitting in the fridge for 24 hours, remember!

SERVES: 12

COST: $11-12, so just around $1/each.

Ajwain Butternut Curry

Ajwain is described at Penzey's as Thyme + Pepper, and that's exactly how it smelled when I was in the store last Sunday.* I was intrigued at it's smell, because, except for a tiny amount in Italian dishes, I really am not a big fan of Thyme. I read a bit about it on Wikipedia, and although there are differences (obviously), when I cooked it, it really DID smell like that wonderful spice in the store!!!

Tuesday night I was going to make a Butternut Squash Soup that I found a recipe for, and well, by now you should realize what I'm about to say... I CAN'T stick to a recipe! I ended up making a fabulous curry. Following is the recipe -- a little of what I did, and a little of what I should've done - as usual! =)

WHAT YOU NEED:
1 Butternut Squash, peeled, seeded, and cubed (considering the time of year, the one I bought was the largest my grocery store had. In summer, it might've been considered a medium... Let's say about 2 lb. after cubing)
3 TBSP. butter
Sea Salt
Thyme + Fresh Ground Black Pepper = "Ajwain" (Grind in food processor together to really blend the flavors!)
6 oz. Organic Low-Sodium Chicken Broth (or homemade is even better!)
A HOST of spices: Dried Minced Garlic, Dried Minced White Onion, Ground Anise Seeds, Parsley Flakes, 5 Dried Sanaam Peppers (if you are feeding children leave these out!), Curry (I used some sweet-mild-red-ish leftover curry we still had, out of a packet... I really couldn't tell you which one it is! Sorry!), 3 small pieces Australian Crystalized Ginger, a very small bit of Ground White Pepper
1 can of Coconut Milk (okay, there are two types in the Asian section of the grocery store... I don't know the difference, but one is thicker. It is more expensive. Buy the cheaper one, it is thinner and better in curries!!!)

HOW TO:
I really suggest fresh Butternut Squash. Frozen would just turn to mush in an instant.
Put Butternut Squash, 1 TBSP. butter, and a pinch of salt in large soup pot, on Medium heat. Stir more or less continuously. Add another TBSP. butter and pinch of salt as you see the first one has melted. Same with third... You are coating the squash with butter and salt, lightly sauteing. Do not let the butter get too brown.
Sprinkle in "Ajwain", a bit at a time and stir. (I don't measure very often, so my best guess here is... to your taste. Is it getting pretty fragrant? That's what you want!!)
Add 1/3 of Chicken Broth at a time. You are still stirring often. Let each 1/3 of broth reduce quite a bit before adding the next. (This is a little time-consuming.)
By time the chicken broth has boiled and reduced three times, the squash will be cooked through. Add the can of Coconut Milk and remainder of spices, reduce heat to low. Let simmer for a few minutes, stirring a couple of times.

Serve over Quinoa and Steamed Veggies! YUM! (SUPER healthy, cheap, and you won't miss meat!!! Did you know that Quinoa has THE most protein in the plant kingdom?)

PS - If you want to go completely vegan, use coconut oil in place of butter, and vegetable broth instead of chicken!)

SERVES: 6

COST: Around $13 ($2.16/serving)


*My mom & dad might be some of the most thoughtful and generous people alive!!! They sent me a gift card - and AMAZINGLY by God's sweet provision, a coupon came in the mail on the same day!!! So, check out my loot!

$25 goes a lonnnnnnnng way at Penzey's!

The 3 jars on top are going to my best friend. The other 3 jars I have long been coveting =)

Sanaam, in the center, was a hit in the butternut squash curry! It's Scoville Unit ranks around 40,000!!! It lit my husband on fire!!! I was not brave enough to actually take a bite out of one, but I did enjoy the heat it left in the curry =)

Seriously, four oz. of parsley was bigger than my head!!! Quite a bit of that is heading your way as well, Debby! =)

Nachoverload

My husband and I like our nachos OVERloaded! Lots of veggies, lots of beans.... You know how at Thanksgiving you always take "a little" of everything and then you have a volcanic eruption of goodness you don't know what to do with (but secretly you love it and wish you had added a few deviled eggs as well) on your plate? ... And you forgot to wear your fat pants! Well, that's nacho night at our house.

WHAT YOU NEED:

3 chicken breast, diced
1 tsp. olive oil
1/2 TBSP. butter
A boatload of spices -- ground onion, ground garlic, ground chili, cayenne, salt, black pepper, dried Mexican oregano

1/2 red onion

3 cloves garlic

1 organic red bell pepper

2 zucchini

2 large (or 3 average) jalapeños 

6 green onions
1 can of salsa verde -- unless you want to make it at home!
1 bag organic corn chips
3 cups of beans -- cooked in the crock pot that day =)
16 oz. mixed ("Mexican blend") shredded cheese

WHAT TO DO:

Soak beans overnight (I used white because that's what I had on-hand); cook all day long, with salt and dried minced white onion (Penzey's is THE best!!)

Saute diced chicken in the olive oil and butter, add spices early on.
Half-way through add the following diced veggies: red onion, garlic, bell pepper, zucchini, jalapeños, and green onions (cut in 1-2 inch pieces).
Add salsa verde at the end. You really only want it warm and mixed with the rest of the chicken and veggie mess.
Layer chips, some cheese (protects the chips a little from bean juice and salsa), beans, chicken/veggie mix, and more cheese; broil.

Ok, if you are like me, you like your nacho fixings on your chips, and actually appreciate the slightly soggy chips at the bottom. If you are like my husband, you would rather eat your nacho slop with a fresh chip out of the bag each bite... Either way, slop it how you like it on foil, on a cookie sheet, and put on the lowest rack in the oven and heat for just a couple of minutes under the broiler. **Make sure that no chips are showing - burnt corn chips are naaaasty!**

For easy clean-up, just serve your nachos on the foil on the plates!
Serve with some guacamole or sour cream on top, if desired.

COST:

At least another week's time before you fit into your jeans again...

SERVES:

Six American adults, or a nation of malnourished yoga gurus.

Did you know that nachos are named after a man named Ignacio who created the fun TexMex classic? His nickname was "Nacho".

WHAT WAS I THINKING???

I think my blog is turning into a what-not-to-do tutorial...

Spicy Granola Bars.*

Bad idea! (Even if your husband IS kind enough to say he loves it, begs you not to "waste" it by throwing it away and promises to eat it --- because, come on, you know it's going to sit on the countertop for three weeks until I decide to trash it while he's at work... And he would never notice anyway!) I think it was late at night, I was hungry, and honestly our pantry is getting pretty bare right now... Just a bad idea!

I should have seen it coming! The first batch of oats & nuts I toasted ended up as toasty as can be, and not in a good way. They ended up in the garbage can, smelling up the kitchen for a couple of days. It was a sign... Too-toasty of toasted oats is just too much toast.

WHAT YOU NEED:

2 cups rolled oats

5 oz. almonds

4 oz. dates, chopped
6 oz. honey
2 oz. grape jelly
1 TBSP. butter
pinch of sea salt
Penzey's Pumpkin Pie Spice
Penzey's Cinnamon
cayenne pepper
Ghirardelli cocoa powder
(Basically, clean out your pantry, throw it all together... But... don't call it good eats....)

HOW TO:

Heat oven to 350. Spread oats and almonds on cookie sheet lined with foil. Heat for 15 minutes, turning once halfway through.

Mix butter, honey, jelly, dates, and spices together over medium heat and bring to slight boil.
Add the dry ingredients, only mixing until no liquid is apparent.
Put mixture into well-greased 9x13 baking dish. Bake at 350 for about 12 minutes. Turn off oven, leave in for another 10-15. 

COST:

$3 + ingredients that had been sweet, wonderful Christmas presents in their original state.... =(

*This Granola Bar recipe is based off the other Granola Bar recipe I shared a few days ago, an Alton Brown recipe. I did not tag "Good Eats" on this post because, well... I blotched it horribly!!!

Best darn Panini I've ever made!

Ok, so it's the only panini I've ever made... And it was really just a big grilled cheese... But hey, it was amazzzzzzing!

Do you like Rye bread? Me neither. So, suck it up and try it anyway. Everything on this sandwich goes together better than you can imagine!

Slow cook a whole chicken over night in a crock pot, with carrots, celery, the juice from one whole large lemon, sea salt, freshly ground pepper, and a super-heaping tablespoon of Penzey's Spices "Sunny Paris" seasoning. Sunny Paris includes: purple shallots, chives, green peppercorn, basil, tarragon, chervil, bay leaf, and dill weed.* Oh yeah, also, one of Penzey's Turkish Bay Leaves, and at least a quarter-cup of Penzey's Minced White Onions.

In the morning, turn your crock pot to "warm", so that it's not actually cooking anymore, but keeping your food warm enough until lunch. About an hour before you're ready to eat, take chicken out of crock pot, and let "rest" for at least 15 minutes on a cutting board, out of reach of any big nosy family pets... and crazy one-year-old children you might have running amuck in your household.

And here we go:
1. De-bone chicken and slice for sandwiches.
2. Break out that amazingly sour Sourdough Rye Bread with large bits of caraway seed swirled into it, and brush olive oil onto the side of each piece of bread that will be on the grill/skillet/baking sheet. Preferably mix in some fun herbs to your olive oil first.
3. On the inside of one slice of bread place sliced Provolone, chicken, shredded Asiago cheese, and a handful of spinach. Place in skillet.
4. On inside of other piece of bread spread on a tablespoon of Breanna's Asiago Caesar Dressing, and a slice of Swiss cheese. Place on top of other half, and you've got yourself a sandwich ready to be cooked and consumed.

You'll love it! Even if, like me, you normally despise anything Rye.

*If you've never heard of Penzey's Spices, and can't find one in your area, go to www.penzeys.com -- it's WORTH it!!!! I am slowly weeding out all of my grocery store spices and replacing them with Penzey's. It's really the ONLY way to go!!!