Walking The Land - Sort Of

We went up to our new land on Saturday. We had not seen it since we bought it.

Thankfully we ran into our realtor on the way and she gave us snow shoes. As gifts!

We are such rubes. We thought we'd just drive up and walk around a bit.

In 30 inches of snow.

NOT.

I love my new snowshoes, I have been wearing them everywhere. They are wrecking havoc on my hardwood floors ;-)

We have a stream. Holly approves.

TBHITW lay claim to his land - it was a proud moment

Looking up the meadow to where we will build our home. The meadow is surrounded by over 8 acres of woods. Our woods. We can't believe it.

I am standing on my (eventual) front porch looking down the meadow to the street (it is fun to imagine) - can you see our car way down there, to the right?

One day this view will be filled with flower and vegetable gardens. One day.

(click the pic to enlarge)

It was a good day.

A View of Things to Come, Artisan Bread and Whole Wheat Honey Caramel Sticky Buns

Look what I found when I went outside to collect our mail today:

A true harbinger of spring, daffodil sprouts! My first view of the spring to come. YEA!!

I've been testing quite a few bread recipes lately. I have searched long and hard for an easy, delicious AND healthy way to bake bread. I LOVE bread. Especially the pricy, artisan loaves so popular at expensive bakeries.

I believe I have found it thanks to "Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day" by Jeff Hertzberg, M.D. and Zoe Francois (also the authors of "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day")

This recipe is not only fast, it's easy and it really does take just a few minutes a day after the initial mixing. Here's the best part: NO KNEADING. Yup, you read it here first. AND one recipe makes four 1 pound loaves, or 8 mini loaves or 4 mini loaves and a bunch of rolls or 2 big loaves, a mini loaf and sticky buns.

All you have to do is mix the dough up, put it in the refrigerator and over the next 14 days pull off the amount of dough you want to make. Fresh bread, hot from the oven, anytime you want it. Does it get any better than that?

Okay then,

Ready. Set. Dough.

Whole Grain Artisan Free-Form Bread

5 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

2 cups all purpose, unbleached flour

1 1/2 tablespoons (2 packets) yeast

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1/4 cup vital wheat gluten

4 cups lukewarm (about 100 - 110 degrees F) water

Cornmeal or parchment paper for board or pizza wheel

Measure out all your dry ingredients into a big bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer (fitted with a dough hook)

Add the warm water all at once and mix using a spoon or your stand mixer. This should happen fairly quickly. Just mix until there are no dry spots.

The dough will be very sticky. Transfer to a VERY big bowl - or two large mixing bowls. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and leave it alone. DO NOT KNEAD THE DOUGH.

Let it rise for about 2 hours or until it rises and then begins to collapse. Letting it rise longer than 2 hours won't hurt it.

Refrigerate at least 3 hours, loosely covered or overnight. Dough that has been refrigerated is easier to handle.

Baking Day:

Dust a board with cornmeal and set aside.

Dust your hands with flour and dust the top of the dough with flour. Now pull off a grapefruit sized piece (you will need to cut it off with a serrated knife). Orange size if you want mini-loaves like I have pictured. Very quickly, in a matter of 30-40 seconds shape the dough into a round or oblong. Most of the dusting flour will fall off - that's good, it's not meant to be incorporated into the loaf.

Place on your cornmeal dusted board.

Loosely cover the loaf with plastic wrap and allow the loaf to rest 90 minutes. (40 minutes if you didn't refrigerate the dough)

If you don't have a board, just grease a cookie sheet and put the dough on that to rest.

Thirty (30) minutes before baking preheat the oven to 450 F. If you have a baking stone, put it on the center rack. Put a heavy broiler pan on the rack below.

Just before you slip the bread into the oven paint it with water. If you want, sprinkle it with raw sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds or a combination. Using a serrated knife, slash the loaves on the diagonal.

These are my mini loaves

Slide the loaf (or loaves) onto your baking stone, into the oven. If you are using a cookie sheet, place in oven. Quickly, pour 1 cup of hot tap water into the broiler pan and close the oven door. Bake for 30 minutes (large loaf) or 20 minutes (mini). When done the bread sounds hollow if you rap on it with your knuckle. Transfer to a rack and let cool.

Store the rest of the dough in a bowl in your fridge, covered with saran wrap, for up to 14 days. The dough will continue to develop flavor as it rests in your fridge.

Out of this one recipe I made the 3 mini loaves pictured, 6 rolls and this recipe for Honey Caramel Sticky Buns:

Honey Caramel Sticky Buns: (makes 8 to 12 buns)

Bread Recipe Above - a cantaloupe size piece of dough

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter

1/2 teaspoon orange zest

3/4 cup finely chopped nuts (I used pecans, but walnuts, macadamias or your favorite are fine)

1 cup raisins

Cream together the honey, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, butter and orange zest.

Spread half this mixture into the bottom of a 9 inch cake pan.

Roll the dough out to about 1/8 inch thick rectangle (about 10 x 8). Use enough flour to prevent the dough from sticking.

Spread the rest of the cream mixture on the dough and sprinkle with the nuts and raisins.

Roll it up jelly roll style.

Using a very sharp knife, dental floss or kitchen snips, cut into 8 to 12 rounds.

Place in the bottom of the cake pan on top of the creamed caramel, cut sides up.

Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. F. Bake in the center of the oven for 35-40 minutes. Let cool in pan for 5 minutes. Invert a plate on top of the pan and quickly turn, releasing the buns.

Top with powdered sugar glaze if desired. (1/2 cup powdered sugar, teaspoon milk, drizzle over while hot).

Serve warm.

A Cook's Notes: You can make this bread and sticky bun recipe using all white flour if you want. Decrease the water to 3 cups, omit the vital wheat glutin and use 6 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour. Follow all the other instructions as written above.

Quilt Update and Italian Wedding Soup

I've been diligently working on my quilt everyday. I try to reserve an hour or two every afternoon to cut, piece, sew and press.

After many happy hours of solitary sewing I finally put the quilt together - pinning and basting the back to the batting to the top.

Some quilt facts:

Two hundred and twenty-four patches make up the quilt top. The patches are made up of nine 2.5 inch squares each. That adds up to 2,016 two and half inch squares.

This is what the wrong side of the quilt top looks like, so many stitches!

This is what the quilt top looks like:

I am finally at the actual hand quilting of the quilt and have new found respect for our great grandmothers and their daughters and all the other generations of women who quilted. And to think they did it without the aid of rotary cutters and electric sewing machines. After all this work I'm not sure I'll ever let anyone actually cover themselves with this blanket.

With all the snow we've been getting I find myself cooking more and more warm, satisfying food. You can make this nourishing soup in 30 minutes. It makes a nice size pot and tastes every bit as good the next day as the first.

Don't wait for an Italian wedding to make:

Italian Wedding Soup (serves 8)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

For the meatballs:

1 pound ground chicken

2/3 cup panko bread crumbs (or fine bread crumbs)

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced

1/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 large egg

Combine all of the above and mix well. Form into 1.5 inch meatballs and place on parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes, turning the meatballs half way through.

While the meatballs are baking:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup onion, minced

1 cup carrots (about 3 carrots), diced

3/4 cup celery (about 2 stalks), diced

10 cups chicken broth (canned or homemade)

1/2 cup white wine

1/2 cup small pasta (I use Acini di Pepe, but you can use Orzo, tubetini, stars or any other small pasta)

12 ounces baby spinach, washed and rough chopped

Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot. Add the onion, carrot and celery (the mire-poix). Cook until tender (about 8 minutes.) Add the broth and wine and heat to boiling. Add the pasta and boil according to package directions for al dente.

When the meatballs are done baking, add to pot with broth and pasta. Simmer for 2 or 3 minutes. Stir in the spinach and simmer for one more minute.

Serve with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese on top.

A Long Day and A Long Recipe - Cassoulet

We live in a very progressive school district.

When there are delays due to inclement weather, parents receive both an email and an automated phone message from the school district. It's all very high tech and efficient.

So as not to clog the system, the phone calls go out in alphabetical order, beginning around 7:00 pm the night before (when the weather can be predicted that far out).

Since our name is located somewhat far back in the alphabet, our automated phone message came at 4:30 am. Just after the plows finished their 8th. sweep of our street - which they began at 3:30 am.

The phone is on my side of the bed.

"Hey Mom, they woke me up too!"

Since I was up I thought I may as well put together a cassoulet.

If you've only heard about, but never eaten, cassoulet you may be expecting everything french like butter and cream and wonderful herbs and bread and cheese all rolled into an exotic fare fit for a king. In reality, cassoulet is a french country dish. It was traditionally prepared using leftover meats and vegetables and would be cooked over the course of 2 or 3 days. Cassoulet is good country comfort food.

There are as many versions of cassoulet as there are frenchmen in France. Here is my humble version, an American who adores french food.

Cassoulet starring sausage, lamb and duck* (serves a crowd or 4 very hungry people with leftovers - and the leftovers are fantastic)

1 pound andouille sausage

4 lamb shanks

1/2 pound bacon, diced and divided into half

2 duck leg confit (or 3 chicken thighs*)

32 ounces beef broth

red wine

5 tablespoons tomato paste

1 pound large white beans (lima or great northern white)

1 large onion, diced

4 stalks celery, diced

6 medium carrots, peeled and cut in thirds on the diagonal

sprig of fresh thyme

sprig of fresh rosemary

2 medium bay leaves

salt and freshly ground pepper

2 cups fresh bread crumbs

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

Large crock pot or large dutch oven.

If you are using a crock pot, set to low. If you are using a dutch oven, follow all the instructions and you will then cook everything on a very low flame.

Soak the beans overnight OR place in bottom of heavy pan, cover with hot water and boil for 2 minutes. Let cool in cooking water for 1 hour.

Cook 1/2 the bacon in a large dutch oven.

When the bacon is crisp remove with a slotted spoon and place in the crock pot. Add to the pot with the bacon fat, the onions, carrots and celery (the mire-poix) and cook gently until onions and celery are softened. Place in crock pot with the bacon.

Pour the beef broth into the crock pot.

Add the tomato paste and stir around to combine.

Make an herb garni using cheese cloth and the thyme, rosemary and bay leaves. Tie and add to the crock pot.

Add the soaked beans (strain) to the crock pot.

Slice the andouille sausage and add to crock pot. This is what your cassoulet looks like so far:

Place the remaining bacon into the dutch oven and cook until crisp. Remove the crisp bacon with a slotted spoon and place in crock pot.

Sprinkle pan searing (or wondra) flour over lamb shanks. Add the shanks to the dutch oven with the hot bacon fat and brown all over, about 10 minutes.

Add the browned lamb shanks to the crock pot.

Deglaze the dutch oven with a cup of red wine.

Scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Add to the crock pot. Place a lid on the crock pot and walk away. Cook on low for 6 hours. You can do all this the night before. Just cook it the next day, on low, all day long.

Final presentation:

One and a half hours before dinner, preheat oven to 400 F.

Taste and season with salt and pepper. Spoon Cassoulet into an oven proof casserole, arranging the beans and vegetables on the bottom. Add sliced duck confit*. Add any cooking juices to cover the beans and vegetables. Top with lamb shanks. Sprinkle with 2 cups dry white bread crumbs mixed with 1/2 cup chopped parsley. Drizzle with a bit of olive oil and bake, uncovered for one hour.

Serve with crusty french bread and a young red wine. Prepare to be wowed.

A Cook's Notes: *if you are not using Duck Leg Confit, use 3 chicken thighs. Brown them in bacon fat or olive oil and add to crock pot. After 5 hours, remove chicken thighs, remove skin and bone and shred, adding chicken back to the crock pot with beans and vegetables.

This recipe seems long and complicated, but it really isn't. Just follow the steps, adding the ingredients to the crock pot or second dutch oven. Then just walk away and let the slow cooker do the work.

If you are using a dutch oven, place on back burner of stove over very low flame and let cook for 5 hours; stirring occasionally.

Winter Dreams and Pistachio Crusted Chicken

Here we go again.

We got out early this morning for our walk, Holly Bear and I. The snow had already begun to fall and the weatherman is predicting a massive storm with snow, sleet, rain, ice and wind. When it is all said and done on Friday night we should have 16 to 18 inches of snow on the ground with a middle layer of ice and 50 mile an hour wind gusts.

"My" swan was still in the pond. Where did he come from? How long will he stay?

This morning he had some company. A gaggle of geese with snow on their backs. Bet they are wishing they had flown just a bit more south....


We closed on our land last week so we are now official owners of 12.5 acres of a dream.

We have been busy pouring over house, barn and out building plans. In March we have a meeting with a builder who specializes in geothermal heating and cooling. We are dreaming. TBHITW is dreaming of a barn and workshop, just for him.

I am dreaming of a small, one room guest house located in the woods, just beyond the main house.

When family and friends aren't visiting I'll use it for sewing and quilting and maybe a summer kitchen.

Of course we are both dreaming of building the "main" house.

We were going to go "up" to the land this weekend but the weather (just 3 hours north) is supposed to be even more intense with 30 inches of snow predicted, high winds and 6 foot drifts. Guess we'll postpone our winter picnic.

What do you dream about on snowed-in days?

This recipe is from my incredibly talented and beautiful sister, J.

Pistachio Crusted Chicken (serves 4)

1/2 cup unsalted, shelled pistachios

3 tablespoons black sesame seeds (you can use light colored seeds too)

2 teaspoons ground coriander

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 egg

1 tablespoon water

1/4 cup flour

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 6 ounces each)

Cooking Spray (or butter if you prefer)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Coat a foil lined baking sheet with cooking spray (or smear with butter)

Finely chop pistachios in a food processor or by hand. Transfer to a shallow bowl and stir in the sesame seeds, coriander and cumin. In another shallow bowl beat the egg with the water. Add flour to a third bowl and season with salt and pepper- this is your breading station.

Dip a piece of chicken in the flour and shake off excess, dip in egg mixture, then pistachio mix, turn and coat both sides.

Transfer to the greased baking sheet and repeat with remaining chicken pieces. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until juices run clear when pierced with a knife in the thickest part of the chicken breast.

Glazed carrots will make a not only attractive, but tasty side dish.

Glazed Carrots:

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

6 carrots, sliced 1/4 inch thick on the diagonal

1/3 cup orange juice

1 1/2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped (optional)

Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add cumin seeds and cook until fragrant (about 2 minutes). Add carrots and toss to coat with oil. Season with salt and pepper. Add orange juice, cover and cook for 8 minutes. Reduce heat to medium low and stir in honey. Continue to cook, uncovered for 4 to 5 minutes or until liquid evaporates and carrots are tender.

Yum. Stay Warm. Keep Dreaming.

Putting the Greek in Spaghetti

My family loves spaghetti and meatballs and many a Wednesday night, pasta, sauce and meatballs will grace our table.

TBHITW and I practice yoga on Wednesdays so I am always looking for an "on the stove" and "ready for the table" dinner for when we arrive home, starving, at 7:00 pm. The youngest kid-adult will be in charge of making the pasta (aka boiling water) and his sister will set the table.

I put a Greek spin on tonight's dinner and used ground lamb for the meatballs. No one will be able to quite put their finger on why these meatballs are so good, but you'll know. The secret ingredient is mint.

Minted Lamb Meatballs:

1 pound ground lamb (you can also use hamburger)

2 eggs

1/2 cup fine bread crumbs

1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon thyme

large pinch of salt

few grinds of fresh pepper

1 tablespoon dried mint

Mix everything together quickly and gently. Yes, you can toughen up meat by over handling. Make 12 to 15 meatballs (slightly larger than a golf ball)

Add directly to simmering sauce (preferably homemade) and cook for 1 1/5 hours on very, very low flame.

Serve over your favorite pasta.

Beauty and Weather and Cassoulet

The weatherman is telling us here in the Northeast we are in for a cyclone, blizzard, snow storm, snow hurricane. Whatever.

I saw this beauty on my walk this morning.

Nature is amazing. Even Holly Bear was awed.

Tomorrow I will post a new, easy recipe for cassoulet. I've been working on it for some time. Seems like a good thing to cook during a blizzard, don't you think?