Whole Wheat Bread

I heart homemade bread. We love it so much in fact, that we never buy bread from the store anymore, and when we do, it tastes yucky. I have been experimenting with a new recipe, and thus far we are loving it. I am not an expert bread maker yet by any means, but hopefully one day I will master the art.

This is what my first attempt of Nie's bread looked like. Hopefully my other loaves will look better... but it sure tasted good!

I got my recipe from (any guesses?) Nie's blog. She didn't post any measurements, so I had to kind of guestimate. With the help of my sweet friend Emily, we guess it is this recipe. If any of you have any suggestions, please let me hear them. Thanks a ton!

4 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup honey
2 tbsp oil
1 tsp salt
1 cup warm water
1/4 tsp sugar disolved
2 1/4 stp yeast
1/2 cup powdered milk

Putting it all together:
Disolve sugar in water. Add yeast mixture and let sit for 7-10 minutes until spongy (placing it in the microwave is a good place to let it rise). Once it has risen and is spongy, add it to the flour, salt, powdered milk, oil, and honey. Once it is all mixed together, knead for about 10 minutes. Cover with a damp dishcloth and place in a warm place to dry (mine is going on the floor in the sun). punch it down, and let it rise again. (Here Nie rolls it out, but I tried that last time, and it ended up giving me problems. If anyone knows what exactly she means by rolling it out, please let me know. Thanks.) Shape into 2 loaves and bake at 350* for 30 minutes. Immediately after removing the bread from the oven, cut one slice, slather with honey or butter and enjoy!




Buen Provecho!

Skinny Enchilada Soup

This soup is absolutely delicious! I love it, and when we are craving a nice hot soup (such as today) I just whip it together. It is probably one of the simpler soups I have ever made. With the calander telling us it is long into Spring, and the weather telling us it is still Winter, we need a little warmth, comfort and stability in our bellies. This soup does the trick perfectly!

What You Need:
1 Can refried beans
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup veggie broth
1 cup frozen corn
3/4 cup salsa
1/2 cup water
dash or two of cumin
optional: 1/2 packet of fajitta or taco or even enchilada seasoning
2 cups cheddar cheese, divided
tortilla chips (I like to use Fritos)

What You Do:
In a nice sized pot (or even a crock pot; I like to let mine sit a couple of hours for the flavors to fuse) combine the all ingredients but cheese and chips. Bring it all to a boil. Add 1 cup of cheese and stir over low heat until it is all melted. Serve topped with as much cheese and chips as you deem necessary.


Buen Provecho!

Bruschetta

I made the bruschetta, and it was a smashing hit! I kind of followed a recipe, but more so made up my own. You lucky people will get the privilege of having my rendition of the stuff.

Bruschetta
1 Loaf French Bread
or a Baguette
4 TBSP Olive Oil
3 cloves garlic
6 Roma tomatoes
handful of fresh basil ribboned
2 green onions
handful of parsley
Parmesan cheese
mozzarella cheese
1/4 tsp pepper
mushrooms

What you do:
Basically you cut the french bread in half, and lay it cut side up on a baking sheet (pretty obvious, I know). Put your olive oil into a small dish, along with the minced garlic, pepper, and a dash or two of Parmesan cheese. Once you have mixed that all up, spread it on the bread. Next, chop up your tomatoes, green onions, and parsley, then spread that on top of the oiled bread. Liberally spread your cheese on top of the tomatoes, I added a few dashes of Parmesan cheese as well, and top with mushrooms.
Put in pre heated oven at 350* for 5-10 minutes (or until the cheese has melted) then broil until the edges turn brown. Take it out, and ENJOY!

Evidently the Italians eat this as an afternoon snack. They know how to snack, is all I can say. Delicious! And as always

Buen Provecho!

Menu April 12-17

Whew, crazy week. I have been sick a bit, so the menu is just a suggestion for this week. We almost didn't follow it at all last week. At any rate, this week I am thinking to go very simple. I am thinking we are going to try some:

Elegante Bruschetta
Roasted Mashed Potatoes
Grilled Fish
Spaghetti with Veggies
Tortellini Antipasto Salad
Creamy Tomato Soup
Summer Zucchini and Leeks

Hopefully this will work for our family this week. I will post either the recipes (if it is new to this blog) or links as I make them. Enjoy.

Ribollita

Sunday my MIL asked me to bring a soup for family dinner. I pulled this one off The Sister's Cafe, and it is one of my hubby's favorites. I promised I would post the oh so tasty and healthy recipe here. Enjoy!

Ribollita

Italian Bean and Rustic Bread Soup

Ribollita is a traditional (peasant) Tuscan soup whose name translates as ‘reboiled’. Traditionally it sits on the stove for a few days, being reheated and dipped into whenever one is hungry, and it develops amazing flavor. Tradtionally the soup has stale bread added to thicken it. With this recipe you put dried rustic bread cubes or my favorite, croutons on the bottom of your bowl and then ladle on the soup. It is intensly flavorful, filling and just wonderful, really. It tastes so fresh and wholesome!

*These are the croutons that I use--they are great for this soup!

Ribollitta

submitted by Melanie

1/4 c olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

1 leek, washed very carefully and chopped--I added this last time and it was great!!

1-2 carrots, peeled and chopped

2 ribs celery, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

28 oz can Italian tomatoes, crushed or pureed

6-8 cups chicken broth

2 15oz cans great northern beans (don't drain)

salt to taste (or bouillon)
1 tsp dried red pepper flakes

1 bunch Swiss chard, tough ends removed, green leaves coarsely chopped (spinach or kale will work as well but Swiss chard is best)

Dried rustic bread cut in cubes or flavored croutons (Costco Fresh Gourmet Roasted Garlic Focaccia croutons are great!)

fresh Parmesan or Romano cheese, grated

In a heavy dutch oven, or stockpot heat oil. Add onion, carrot, leek and celery. Cook on low heat, stirring often, until vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes. Stir in garlic; cook another 2-3 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, broth, beans, salt and red pepper flakes. Cover and simmer on low for 20 minutes. Add Swiss chard and cook uncovered until chard is tender, about 10 minutes. Taste for seasoning. Serve by putting bread cubes or croutons in bottom of bowl. Spoon soup over bread and sprinkle with cheese.

Fettuccine Alfredo

Yesterday we tried the Fettuccine Alfredo. We didn't think it tasted much like alfredo at all, but it was still good. I didn't have any mushrooms in the house, so I added some spinach instead. The spinach was delicious and if I make it again, I will be adding the spinach plus mushrooms. If you make this, don't expect an exact duplicate of Alfredo, but expect a different, albeit delicious taste. Buen Provecho!

Fettuccine Alfredo

This is really, really, good be sure to give it a try!

1 Tablespoon olive oil
8 +/- fresh mushrooms, sliced or chopped
3-5 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1 can coconut milk
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (don’t leave out)
½ -1 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
juice of half a lemon

2 Heaping Tablespoons whole wheat flour mixed with ½ cup rice milk

Saute the mushrooms and the garlic in a pan over med-low heat, for about 5 minutes or until the way you want them. Separately, bring the coconut milk to boil over a fairly low heat. As soon as it starts boiling, add the nutritional yeast, nutmeg, pepper, lemon and remove from heat. Mix it all together. Add the mushroom mixture to the sauce and simmer on low heat. While stirring slowly add the flour and milk mixture. Make sure to stir constantly or it will burn. Just stir until it come to a consistency that looks like alfredo sauce and serve immediately over noodles of choice. We use whole wheat spaghetti or fettuccine noodles. Would also be good with spelt noodles.