Lamb Stew and fresh baked Whole Wheat White Bread

Yesterday I made a hearty winter meal that was perfect for the chilly temperatures. It was simple and meaty and good.

Lamb Stew


2-3 lb Lamb cut, bones in (We used local organic)
8-10 cups water
1 onion, diced
4-5 cloves garlic
1-2 Tsp dried rosemary
A few large sprigs of fresh thyme
3 carrots, peeled and diced
1 cup whole baby 'bell mushrooms
1 Russet potato
1 celery stalk
Salt to taste

Place the lamb in the water along with the diced onion and diced celery. Smash the garlic cloves and cut them in half lengthwise. Add the rosemary and thyme. Cook on med-high for 2-3 hours, so that a good amount of the water evaporates. Once you feel you've attained a nice rich stock, cover the pot and reduce heat to low and continue to simmer for 2-3 hours, until the meat falls off the bone when prodded gently with a fork. Turn heat off to Warm. Remove all bones and any fat from the pot and shred the meat accordingly. Cube and add the potato. Halve the mushrooms and add as well. Allow to set for 30 minutes. Serve with Whole Wheat White Bread.

Whole Wheat White Bread

I mad ethis bread out of default because I had no white bread flour left. I wanted a light fluffly bread to go with this meal, but such would not happen, as I only had a tiny bit of AP left, a lot of whole white wheat and some whole wheat. But it was a pleasant surprise and we both and seconds.

1 cup AP flour
3 cups White Whole Wheat flour
2 1/2 tsp instant Yeast
1 1/2 tsp salt

Combine ingredients in bread machine and remove before second rise. Form into a long cylinder by rolling it out into a rectangle and folding one side halfway to the end of the other and then wrapping the other side over. Pinch the seal shut. Sprinkle corn meal on baking sheet and place the dough seal-side down. let rise in a warm place for an hour covered with a damp cloth. Heat Oven to 425. Insert broiling pan with 1 cup water in it, followed immediately by the bread and bake for 25 minutes or until the dough sounds hollow when knocked.

Blueberry Walnut Cookies

Blueberry Walnut Cookies

• 2 cups AP flour
• 2 tsps baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, room temp
• 1 cup granulated sugar
  
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup whole milk
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 cup frozen blueberries, thawed and drained (or fresh if you have them!)

 Mix wet ingredients into a large mixing bowl and dry ingredients in a small mixing bowl. Slowly add the dry ingredients the wet. Once blended well, fold in walnuts and blueberries. Chill dough for 15-3 mins. Use two spoons to form dollups onto cookie sheet. Makes about 3-4 dozen.

Perfect Oatmeal Cookies

Perfect Oatmeal Cookies

1 Stick Butter
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup water
1 Tbs. vanilla
3 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup AP flour
1/2 cup raisins (opt.)

Mix well and drop into balls on cookie sheet. Cook for 12-14 minutes.

French Bread

Well, obviously I made some major mistakes, but since I'm a novice breadbaker, I was pretty proud of myself.

French Bread

1 1/2 c water
1 1/2 tsp salt
4 cups bread flour
2 1/4 tsp instant yeast
cornmeal
eggwash- 1 egg yolk, 1 Tbs water

I cheated by throwing everything in the bread machine and taking it out before the second rise to form. I threw some cornmeal on the baking sheet and formed the dough into a rectangle. I then rolled it together, pinching the seal shut. I layed that seal side down on the cornmeal, sprinkled some more on top. Let rise for an additional 45 minutes. Then, make 3-4 slices 1/4 deep on the top and wash with the egg wash. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes. Throw 1 cup of water in a bottom pan when you insert the bread into the oven.

Fun with pressure canning and... mayo?

We canned beets this weekend and were so proud of ourselves for conquering the massive pressure canner borrowed from my mom. It came out to eight quarts of beets, not bad considering all the freshies we've eaten and the bunch we kept on hand. This year we grew Detroit Dark Red and Tall Tops. Our garden being limited as it is, we grew one row in the middle garden (15 ft). For two people, that was plenty!

Also, I want to talk about mayonnaise. I don't use a lot of mayo in this house, but found myself trying to plan meals around the homemade mayonnaise I made the other day. It was super simple, had taste and you use ingredients that I always have on hand: egg yolk, vinegar, salt and oil. I eat a lot of egg whites for breakfast, lunch and brunch, so it is a perfect way for using the yolks up. .I'll never buy mass produced mayo again.

Homemade Mayonnaise

3 egg yolks
1 tsp vinegar (I used rice vinegar)
1 tsp salt
1 cup canola or olive oil

Beat the egg yolks with the vinegar and salt. Add the oil a slowly, heavily whipping the mixture as you go. Adjust seasoning to taste. You could also add some powdered mustard or sugar if you'd like

Rustic Italian Bread

I love my bread machine. It makes things so so easy. I hate kneading dough, but I love homemade bread so we are a match made in heaven. Here is the jumbo sized rustic Italian bread that I made this morning. Not sure what I'm going to use it for (other than the obvious!) but I think I'd like to plan our meal over it tonight.

Recipe is as follows:

Rustic Italian Bread
makes two loaves or one large

1 1/2 cups warm water
2 1/2 Tbs EVO
2 1/2 tsps Sea Salt
1 1/2 tsp granulated sugar
4 cups bread flour
1/2 wheat bran
2 1/2 tsp instant or bread machine yeast
Sesame seeds and extra wheat bran to coat

Put everything into the bread machine as listed and let knead and rise. After it kneads the second time, remove it and shape into your desired loaves (or loaf). Rub with the sesame seeds on top and wheat bran on the bottom. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 425 for 30 minutes before baking. Be sure to place a broiling pan in the bottom during this time. Let dough rise a second time, another 45 mins or so. When finished, places bread on baking sheet into the oven. Add a full cup of water to the broiling pan below and shut the oven door immediately. Cook about 25 minutes.

Butternut Sage Ravioli

Last nights dinner was phenomenal. I made a pumpkin sage ravioli with fresh butternut squash and served it with hand-crafted Apricot-Cranberry Sausages and Broccoli from the farmers market.

Butternut Sage Ravioli

For the Dough:
1 3/4 cups AP flour
2 eggs
2 Tbs water
salt

For the Filling:
1/2 Butternut squash
1/2 cup good Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 egg
1/2 cup breadcrumbs (preferably fresh)

For the sauce:
4 Tbs butter
8 sage leaves

To make the dough: Slightly beat the eggs. Make a well in the flour to slowly incorporate the eggs. Mix with hands and begin to knead. Add more water or flour to adjust. Knead 10 minutes. Let rest 15 minutes. Run dough through pasta machine in four batches.

For the filling: Split butternut and remove seeds. Place butternut inside down in a casserole dish with 1/2 inch water. Cover and bake at 350 for 50 minutes, until soft. Let cool. Peel squash and run the meat through a food mill. Mix in the rest of the ingredients.

Cut the past into 3 inch squares. Place a small amount of filling in the center of each (maybe a little less than a Tbs) and wet the edges to seal. Boil in salted water for 7-8 minutes or until they float to the top. Drain. Meanwhile, melt the butter and lightly cook the sage leaves. I used small and large ones from my garden so I removed the large ones after cooking. Add the raviolis and lightly brown in the butter.

Serve with artisan sausage, broccoli, broccoli raab, green beans, mixed green salad, and/or fresh cranberry chutney. Or any other veggies you think would be good! AB