More Cookbooks?

So a while back I told myself I wouldn't buy anymore cookbooks.  Some how this came in the mail:

Yep, I see this in my future:

Then a friend bought me this!

And look at this!

I found it funny that they are called Breaking Bread and Breaking Breads.  This is why I can never be on a Paleo diet.   So instead of kicking myself for having new cookbooks, I decided I was celebrating the fact that 14,000 year old toast was found.

Cooking From Cookbooks

I think I made an unconscious resolution to cook more from my cookbooks.   I have a lot, it's an addiction, but it has been far to easy to just hop on Google to look things up.  So far the round up this week has been:

Vegetable Literacy by Deborah Madison.  This book was a birthday gift from my sister-in-law.  It is a beautiful book.  I made the carrot cake recipe.

It even looked like the picture!  Not everyone enjoys carrot cake here but everyone tried it and loved it.

Another winner:

Shell pasta with cauliflower and red pepper flakes.  I am the only one who likes cauliflower and everyone had this and liked it.  My husband said, "It's the best way to choke down cauliflower."  

More of a common sense recipe I made was pan fried potatoes from this book, another gift from my sister-in-law:

The New Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone also by Deborah Madison.  

Last night I made this in the slow cooker:

From:

Art of the Slow Cooker by Andrew Schloss.

It was good but over cooked due to user error not the recipe.  Even though I increased the recipe my slow cooker runs hot and I have to remember to adjust times not only for this fact but I did not use bone in chicken thighs.   I do look forward to making this again. 

I have had the first two cookbooks for months and the the slow cooker book for well over a year and hadn't cooked from them.  I seem to make more from my bread books. 

Just Wait 5 Minutes

It was hot, hot!   Then all of a sudden the skies opened up.

But before the rain there was bread:

Why I did not listen to my own intuition when the book said to slash and my brain said " Don't do that", is beyond me.  My dough dropped down to three inches, it was still fluffy and cooked through but it was gloriously risen before I took the knife to it.  

This is my second recipe from A World of Breads by Dolores Casella.  The name of this bread is My Good Father's Shepherd's Bread, isn't that a hefty title?  It is a monster of a bread!

BTW, the downpour lasted 5 minutes and it is hot, hot again.

I Saw The Sign

As you can see Seamus Cuddy (yes I named my statue), is a little wet but has had plenty of small snails to keep him company.  We have had quite a bit of rain which started last Wednesday and has kept up ever since.  I am not really complaining, everything is green and fluffy and I am sure I will wish for rain when the sun comes burning through.

Last week I noticed that a used bookstore opened up in town.   My daughter had a friend visit over the weekend and it turned out that her grandmother owned the bookstore and her mother works there. Since I had to drop her off there I took that as the stars were in alignment.  I walked away with a handful of books and you will be surprised to know only one cookbook.  I see more trips there in the future.  

A Word of Breads by Dolores Casella 1966.  Oh my gosh!  Bread recipes galore.  I was in bread heaven.  I flipped through and made her Onion Rye Bread p.80-81.  Very good!  I made DH a sandwich with it when he arrived from Missouri last night and he asked for another one made from it for lunch today.   With 294 pages of bread recipes it will take me a while to bake through this book but it tastes like a winner already.  I paid $3 for my copy but I think on Amazon used I have seen them for $.29.  

The Bread Also Rises

A long, cold winter is good for baking.  I did a lot of that.  Once upon a time I tried to turn into an artisan bread snob.   Which turned out worse than my even thinking about being a foodie.  I went from not being able to make a simple loaf of white bread to trying to grow mold...on raisins...under the full moon, etc.   Then there is feeding different starters.  It is a little like having a newborn in the house, the feedings are spaced out a little longer.  Baking bread, once enjoyable, became a chore.  Mold, which is easy to come by in the South, did not want to grow on raisins in my kitchen, and my starters were hit and miss and my bread was nothing to brag about for all the trouble.  I was on message boards with too many rules, the main one being no commercial yeast, and I needed chemistry lessons.  Not a bad thing, but I wanted to enjoy bread again.  It was with a homicidal heart that I ended the life of all but one of my starters.   It is all a matter of what works best, if I don't have yeast on hand, I use potato.  Most breads I make do not require starter.   I love to bake bread.

I joined a bread group and this book was all the rage:

After seeing pictures of breads made from the recipes of this Better Homes and Gardens 1973 edition book, I bought one (did you think anyone had to twist my arm on this?).   I shelled out $1 on Amazon used, plus shipping.   I love this book.

This is Pilgrims' Bread (pg. 61), made with white, wheat, rye, and cornmeal.  This double loaf recipe lasts quite a while.  

Best-Ever Muffins (pg. 87), were a hit as well and were made with the blueberries picked and frozen from last year. 

Hoagie rolls were not from the book, were from a shared recipe:

Amie's Sub/Hoagie Rolls

1 1/2 tsp. (about 1/4 oz) active dry yeast

1 1/2 cups warm water (about 110 degrees)

2 tsp. honey

2 tbsp. olive or vegetable oil

2 tsp. kosher salt

2 cups bread flour

2 cups all-purpose flour



Directions

In a small bowl, add honey to the warm water and stir to dissolve. Add yeast and let sit for 5 minutes, or until frothy/foamy. Add oil and stir to combine.

Combine salt and flours in a medium mixing bowl. Using a stand mixer, or by hand, add the wet mixture to the dry mixture. Beat until smooth on medium speed. If dough is too wet, add a little more flour to make the dough soft.

On a lightly floured surface (or in the mixer bowl with bread hook), knead dough until smooth and elastic, about 5-6 minutes.

Lightly grease a large bowl with a bit of oil and place dough into bowl, turning once to coat. Cover with dish towel and let rise for 45 minutes, or until doubled in size.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set oven to 400 degrees.

Punch down dough and, on a lightly floured surface, divide into 8 balls. Shape each ball into a long oval, roughly the size of the hoagie roll you wish to make. Arrange long ovals on parchment paper about 2 inches apart. Cover again and let rise an additional 25 minutes. Brush on an egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds, if desired.


Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool on wire rack.

Very good but because of the sodium content will not make very often.  

This was baked on the same day so since I had the oven going in went a lasagna:

I guess I should have made some Italian bread!

All About The Slow Cooker

Lately the slow cooker has been getting quite the workout.  I like using the slow cooker because earlier in the day dinner is decided.

Slow Cooker Revolution from America's Test Kitchen has been great for me.  Usually when I tell the gang dinner is in the slow cooker it is not met with any sort of appreciation.  DH's eyes glaze over and you can feel the sense of dread radiating in waves from him.  One word goes through his brain...mush.  I asked him for a new slow cooker last year I was surprised he bought one for me.  So here is the slow cooker I use:

It is a Hamilton Beach 7qt slow cooker (with lid rest).  I needed a larger slow cooker to cook a variety of meals.  I do have to reduce cooking time in using the recipes out of the cookbook, my slow cooker runs hotter.  It all works out because I can keep it on the Keep Warm function if it finishes before we are ready to eat.
If you noticed, I emphasized how Slow Cooker Revolution works for me.  In the reviews a lot of people complained about prep/cook times.  This book works best if you have more time in the morning or the night before to prepare the meal.  Some meats need to brown first in a pan and some vegetables and seasonings need to sweat in a pan also.  Some recipes only have a 4 hour cook time and need a timer used.  I have more time in the morning to devote to prep and less time in the afternoon so this works out perfectly.  This is not your dump and go cookbook.  They do have a Slow Cooker Revolution 2, yes I have it, where prep times are shortened.  I have not tried anything out of the second one yet, but it is also receiving good reviews.  I should have taken pictures as I made things out of the book but I wasn't anticipating it to work as well as it does.  So what have I made?

Braised Brisket and Onions
Cassoulet
Smothered Pork Chops with Onions and Bacon
Maple-Glazed Pork Loin
Beginner's Pulled Pork
Sticky Wings
Chicken Divan
Old-Fashioned Tamale Pie
Chicken Enchilada Casserole

I few of these I have made more than once and as you can see I have few marked off in the book that are on deck.  Last night I made the Smothered Pork Chops with Onions and Bacon.  When DH called to see what was for dinner and I told him pork chops were in the crock pot you would have thought I shot the cat.  I told him it was a new recipe from "the book" and he calmed down a little.  Now this recipe doesn't call for browning first, so the pork chops didn't look very attractive cooking.  They all loved it.  I have not made chili, stews, soups, sauces, sides, or deserts yet so I have a lot more to try and am looking forward to it.

Just to assure everyone that no domesticated animals were harmed here is a picture of the rotten cat doing what she does best.

 

My Finds, Local and Internet

I was excited to find a Smith-Corona Silent, 1950's, on Craig's List.  This is my only purchase using Craig's List, I couldn't pass it up.  It is a little rough looking for things down on the coast since Katrina to find items that haven't flooded.  This machine is beautiful, (can a typewriter be beautiful?), and the only thing needed is a new ribbon.  Early Christmas gift from mom, thanks MOM!

Off to the Salvation Army.  A new one opened in the next town. 

Every year Weight Watchers publishes their yearly annual recipes, they have to be ordered through Weight Watchers and are not available in store.  A woman at my local meeting center has all of them and would go through them and bring in recipes to share.  I picked up 2002 and 2005.  Now on a mission to find more. 

Item I have not yet ordered but would like to try out, the Grilliput:

 

 

The bottom looks like a large steamer basket, minus holes, and folds like one also.  They have two sizes of fire baskets.  The grill comes apart and is a single tube when it is put away.   Sold separately, each piece weighs less than a pound. I am not affiliated with this company, nor taking part in a promotion.  This looks pretty handy and may make a home here in the near future.    Here is the link for the Grilliput from Industrial Revolution.  

 

News Fast

Yes, I've taken a little bit of a news fast this week.  I turned it on this morning to hear yet another rant about Snowden.  Yeah, we spy on them they spy on us.  I turned it off.  Right now Obamacare is what is bothering me the most, that and the big F (furlough) that starts in a week.  It seems that my insurance company and it's underwriters or whatever, are in renegotiation with a lot of it's doctors, I am only assuming it for the upcoming changes in January.  So, my dermatologist, is one of those doctors, and I am due for my cancer screening.  She is a great doctor (remember when Obama said you can keep your doctor?), well either I go as out of provider and try to recoup some of the cost or I wait six months to see if maybe they worked it all out.  Why don't I try another doctor?  Most of the ones in my area are in renegotiation, I have already had skin cancer, and did I mention previously my doctor is great?   As long as the children's doctor is o.k. that is all that matters right now. 

I have been busy crocheting, my youngest likes bears:

I made the one on the right first and so much fun with it I made the one on the left.  Now they hang out together.  The pattern is from http://www.lalylala.com/.  I bought it a while ago and finally sat down to make them.  Small hooks are starting to get to my hands and I might have to buy the ergonomic hooks.   

Previously I did a rant on writing more letters.   I read an article not too long ago about a 22 year old man having to have his grandmother's diaries translated.  Not because they were in a foreign language, but because they were written in cursive.  Did I not hear a blurb about a witness in the Treyvon Martin case signing a statement and couldn't read it because it was in cursive?   I have a pen pal in Australia, a lovely woman in her 70's that I write to.  She sent me this chalk picture that I have to have framed:

I love it.  It is winter there so I am working on a shawl for her:

This pattern if from Ravelry and it's called Anna's Shawl.  It is a free pattern and easy to do.  I am 95% finished with it but unfortunately I did not pick up enough yarn, it takes 4 skeins and I had to go up two hook sizes because I crochet too tight, I am hoping the dye lot won't be too far off when I pick up another skein.  I hope she likes it, you can't see it too clearly in my picture but if you click on the link you will see how nice it really is.  I also plan on doing more crochet for charity, which I will share in a future post.

Also, my pen pal is looking for other pen pals in their 60's and 70's to write to.  She asks that they are born again.  Now her handwriting is a little rough but she really is a lovely woman.  If interested let me know. 

On to food,  I am mixed up mutt of nationalities which makes me an American, that means if I wanted to experiment with foods from all of those nationalities, I would never run out of new things to try.  Italian food makes my heart sing.  My husband jokes that if I don't have sauce (and it is sauce not gravy), I go through withdrawal.  Growing up on Italian food and cooking it, I rarely look at Italian recipes.  One morning I saw this young Italian guy cooking on T.V. and thought I'm buying that book.  So here he is:

I have tried a couple of recipes and I like them and hope to make more.  Fabio Viviani is proof that the American Dream is still alive.  He is young, cocky and works hard.

My oldest is here from New York, we actually got him here without having to drive to another state to pick him up unlike last year.  That is the main reason why I haven't been posting lately.  Week one of his visit is over and we are starting on week two.  So far so good, he hasn't been bored enough to run screaming.  

Hope all is well with everyone, try to stay cool!