truce

Whole wheat bread and I have called a truce. I won't abuse it any longer and it will continue to give me its best, even if it isn't what I find the stores. I have a recipe I like, my family eats it, it does rise (those it sinks down a little later), it's not a difficult recipe... I mean, I shouldn't complain. No, it's not super pretty like the perfect store loaves but maybe it's just the best I can do at this point in time. So be it. I'm still happy with it. :-)

salisbury steak

I'm a cookin' bloggin' machine tonight!

I purchased ground beef last week - an event that has become increasingly rare since watching Food Inc. - so I have a 5lbs roll in the fridge and wanted something to do with it. Found a salisbury steak recipe that of course I didn't have all the ingredients for so I improvised and I think it was WONDERFUL!!!  Again, I don't really measure so I'll do my best here.

Approximately 1.5lbs of ground beef.

1 egg

1/2 c bread crumbs

pepper

onion powder

seasoning salt

1/4 c oil

Mix all together and then make into thin meat patties. Fry in pan until browned on both sides. Transfer to baking dish. Do this until all patties are browned and transferred.

Without cleaning out the frying pan, add:

packet of onion soup mix 

Worcestershire sauce (I just realized I've been saying this incorrectly my entire life) 

garlic powder

about a cup of beef broth

can of mushrooms

Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Pour over top the patties and pop in 350 oven until done. I served it with brown rice and cucumbers. Yummmmmmm

obviously, this as after I partook of the fruits of my labor

roasted parsley potatoes

huge bag of said potatoes

In general, I don’t do potatoes. Why? Because I spent the last decade pretty sure they did nothing for you nutritionally and I don’t like peeling them. Now that I know most of the nutrition is in the skin or close to it, I will wash potatoes instead of peeling them. I think I like that even less now that my scrubber I used for that exact purpose died a satisfying death of use. But when a sign up sheet was passed around at church for 50lbs of red potatoes for $15, I thought about it for a few minutes and took it as a challenge.

Got my bag a few weeks ago and have made several servings since then. The first one I tried is a recipe I loooooove to have when I go out to eat or am at a catered dinner, but my previous attempts have been disappointments. Well, I’m pleased to announce that I did it! Roasted Parsley Potatoes! And they are yummy!!! My family may get sick of them before I’m done. The flavor is great, and the middles just kind of pop onto your tongue with this amazingly creamy texture. I love eating them.

just to give you an idea of the size of these suckers

So, you can see what it consists of. A few washed and cut red potatoes from my massive bag. (Sorry, I’m one of those annoying people who don’t measure often.) The pictured ingredients sprinkled and poured over top and tossed in to fully coat. If you want to eat them that night, put tin foil or a cover on so they steam. You can take it off the last 10ish minutes to brown more if you want. Oh, and I don’t know how long I cook them for – just until they are done.

I did try freezing some. I did not personally try them but gave the frozen ones to a friend. She may have just been being nice but she did say they were yummy. After a little research, I baked the to-be-frozen ones with no cover so they did not cook all the way to the center. When she wanted to use them she was instructed to put them in a covered oven dish and bake at 350 until done.

Give it a try.

"give us this day..."

I haven’t always had poor results with homemade bread. It all started when I moved to a city with an elevation over 4000 feet. Initially, the difference only seemed to show up when using beans but after my cousin informed me that she can make a loaf of bread for less than $.50, I jumped back on the homemade bread band wagon I’d fallen off of after our move.

What has turned out to be an adventure began with a basic recipe I used all the time, with great results, at sea level. But up here in the nose bleed section, disappointment met me out of the oven. My family ate it (with just slight gripping from my 14, uh, 4-year-old) but I was not to be outdone by flour, yeast, salt, water and honey. So to the internet I went.

Did you know that at higher elevations yeast has less resistance to work with (think, atmospheric pressure) so it climbs and builds and grows higher faster. Should be great for bread, right? Wrong. After all that not-so-hard-work has climaxed, the structure cannot contain itself and simply crashes (think Rome expanding too fast). So what looks like it will turn out to be beautiful bread, sadly sags. And rapidly expanding yeast? This is just one of the problems! More salt, less sweet, slow rises, and on and on.

So I turned to my cousin, “How do you make whole-wheat bread out here?!” And the truth is revealed: “Oh, I use half whole wheat and half regular flour.” Well there you go. But I want 100% whole wheat bread for my family! And I know it is possible. In grocery stores I eye with envy the loaves of plump, perfectly sliced bread that boasts to be made a few cities over and only contain five ingredients. I fantasize about gaining employment there just to learn the secrets. But I digress.

Back at home I cave and begin making 50/50 loaves, rationalizing that I have to start somewhere and build from there. And I do. I experiment. Each loaf is a little different. New recipes are tried, judged, consumed and notated. Research continues and improvements are made. I’m not “there” yet, but I am closer! Just tonight I made 100% whole wheat loaves with freshly ground Prairie Gold wheat. There was some collapse during the baking process but a lovely muffin top none-the-less! Can you tell I’m excited? My family doesn’t seem to care (even my 4-year-old nixed the complaining) as long as they are fed but this has be come a challenge, a personal crusade. I will make healthy bread. And it will be beautiful.