Sourdough Bread

I made some bread this week. I usually make my breads in the bread machine, but a sourdough requires more time that the machine does not afford you. There is so much information on sourdough out there, and I do mean a lot. I will not go into detail here, as I don't think I even fully comprehend it all anyway! Please take a look at the Sourdough Baker. This fine gentleman has so much to read on his website, and he offers advice via e-mail as well.

There are a few ways of making a sourdough starter. The Sourdough Baker website has helped me with many of these. I decided to make my sourdough starter naturally, that is, without the aid of a commercial yeast. I left my mixture of rye flour and warm water out to the open air, and a few days later, I had bubbles and a nice sour, beery smell. What happened was that my sponge made a tempting "home" for local yeasts (located in the air and in the husk of the rye particle). So they feasted and pooped, and voila - fermented flour.

I had read in a few places that in order to make a sourdough bread quite sour, there are many things to take into account. There were two that I felt applied to me. One is time - the dough needs lots of time to ferment. Sure, it will rise with time, but let it go (and go and go) after many rises and kneads, so that the yeasts have time to ferment the dough into a soury goodness. My fermentation time was approximately 48 hours. The second one was temperature - the process of taking the temperature of the dough down to 2 - 4 deg C and back up to warmer-than-room-temperature again is supposed to encourage the sour taste. So I did this twice! My dough took two cool trips to the fridge. It even rose a little in there!

The overall result was a bread that was chewy (thanks to all the kneading), light golden (higher oven temp. when baking), attractive, but unfortunately not very sour! This is my second attempt at making a good, sour bread with this starter. I thought I did all the right things to enhance the sour flavour. I guess I didn't! What I do love most about my bread, though, is the flavour. Even though it's not too sour, it is different! My local yeasts produce a very complex taste that is a little bit sweet, a touch bitter, and an almost musty (but pleasant) smell.

Overall, I am very pleased with the results. But I definitely have some more tweaking to do!

Greek Lemon Potatoes

When I was a little girl, I had a great friend, Kasi, who lived next door. She and her family were from Greece, and everytime I was invited over for dinner, her mother made these amazing lemon potatoes. This isn't necessarily her recipe, but I think it's pretty close. I like red potatoes with their skins-on. My own dad has made renditions of it, and it always turns out great - but it's never quite like Kasi's mom's! This recipe serves two.

5 - 6 medium red potatoes, washed and sliced
1 Tbsp. sea salt

1 - 2 fresh lemons, zested and juiced
4 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. chicken bouillon
1 Tbsp. Greek oregano, dried or fresh
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Parboil the potatoes with water and the first measurement of sea salt. Parboiling means to partially boil something in order to finish cooking it later. I fully cook my potatoes when I parboil them, because - believe it or not - I like soggy potatoes! Feel free to half-cook your potatoes for now. Save about 1/2 a cup of your starchy potato water to add to your lemon sauce.

Preheat your oven to 425 F. Prepare a large stone casserole or baking dish. Place the parboiled potato slices in it, along with the saved starchy water, and add the remaining ingredients (including lemon zest). Mix gently, but thoroughly. Please note: if you only like a mild lemon taste, please only use the juice of one lemon. I like mine very sour and lemony, so I used two lemons. J did not appreciate the intense lemon flavour as much as I did, so please take this as a word of warning!

Place the potatoes in your oven and bake for 20 - 30 minutes, or until bubbly and things are smelling fragrant. Alternatively, bake the potatoes for 40 - 45 minutes to further concentrate the sauces and make it nice and thick, a little bit roasty brown, and oh-so-lemony! Nostimos!

Easy Yummy Lentils

This makes a wonderful side dish for an Indian dinner night. It can be vegan - just substitute syrup, sugar, or agave nectar for the honey! My friend and I just ate these for dinner tonight. I couldn't get enough of them! What got me going was the addition of salt and honey - otherwise this would have been quite plain. The spices and oil combine to make a delicious pasty coating! This dish serves four.

1 c. dry lentils
4 c. water
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 Tbsp. cumin
1 Tbsp. turmeric
1 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. sea salt (we used Celtic salt)
1 Tbsp. honey
2 cloves garlic, minced

Bring water and lentils to a rapid boil in a saucepan or medium pot, and boil these for 10 minutes. Reduce to a simmer, and cook for an additional 15 - 20 minutes. Drain lentils. Over low heat, stir in oil and spices. Simmer for a few minutes, and stir in the honey. Stir in the minced garlic and simmer for another few minutes. That's it! Serve this dish over rice, or on its own, to accompany your favourite Indian meal.

Vanaema's Sauerkraut

My grandmother (vanaema in Estonian) told me, verbally, how she makes her sauerkraut. I'm not sure if I remembered it in its entirety, and I just kind of made what I thought she said. It turned out great and I make it this way all the time. It's a hard one to screw up, though. *Edit: I talked to her the other day and she told me that I had it all wrong! Oops. I'm still not going to change it because this is how I make it!*

This sauerkraut is rather sweet. It's certainly not the kind of 'kraut you get from the jar! Try different ways of sweetening this recipe - brown sugar, white sugar, maple syrup, or apples.

1 head of green cabbage, shredded or julienned
1 jar of naturally fermented sauerkraut (not wine-fermented!)
1 large vidalia or sweet onion, chopped
2 - 3 apples, peeled, cored, and chopped
1/4 c. vegetable oil
1/4 c. apple cider vinegar
1/2 c. brown sugar
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. fresh ground pepper
Optional: 1/2 lb. bacon, ham, or pork, chopped

Mix all ingredients together in a large pot with a lid. Place in the oven at about 300 F for 4 - 5 hours, stirring occasionally. The sauerkraut will turn golden brown, smell a little sour and a little sweet, and you'll get awesome chewy bits where the mixture has been baking up against the side of the pot. It will have caramelised nicely because of the sugar and apples, and the cabbage will be oh-so-tender.

You can also make this in your slow cooker, on HIGH for 6 hours or LOW for 10 hours. Enjoy!

Cornbread

This one's an old favourite. Like biscuits, cornbread makes an excellent accompaniment, or is great as a snack just warmed up with butter. This recipe is easy to vegan-ify, and tastes exactly the same. My cornbread is moist, tender, slightly sweet, and very fluffy! Vegan verson in (brackets). Adapted from Molly Katzen's Moosewood Cookbook.

1 c. corn meal
1 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. buttermilk or yogourt (soymilk + 1 Tbsp. vinegar)
1 egg (1 portion egg substitute)
1/4 c. white sugar (Redpath sugar)
1/4 c. vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a loaf pan with butter, margarine, or spray oil. I usually grease a muffin tin for portion-sized cornbreads. Combine dry ingredients together. Whisk wet ingredients together in a separate bowl or ewer. Add wet to dry, stir just until combined, and fill loaf pan or muffin tin. Bake for about 12 minutes for muffins, or 20 minutes or longer for loaf. Remove from the oven when a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Easy Biscuits

I love biscuits, particularly fresh from the oven at breakfast. This is a simple recipe, and can be used to accompany any meal, including chili, sausage gravy, or strawberry jam or compote.

2 c. flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1 Tbsp. sugar
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 c. cold butter (or margarine)
1 c. milk

Preheat oven to 450 F. Combine all of the dry ingredients, and cut the butter into the dry. Another way to do this, is to freeze the butter and grate it into the dry with a cheese grater. Do not overwork this step. Then, stir in the milk until everything is just combined. Flour a flat surface, and knead 8 to 10 times only. Roll the dough out to 3/4 inch thickness. Cut with cookie cutters, or into squares with a knife. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet (or plop squares into a muffin tin - this method works great). Bake for 10 - 12 minutes, or until very puffy and just golden on top. Serve hot and fresh!

Cream of Mushroom Soup

This is a mushroom soup recipe that even I like. It is so earthy and rich in flavour. I got the idea from Chef Michael Smith on the Food Network show, Chef at Home. This recipe, in the style of Mr. Smith, is all about taste. You don't need to measure to get the flavour you want - just taste it as you go!

Melt about 2 Tbsp. butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute a variety of mushrooms (oyster, portobello, crimini, etc.) in the butter until golden. The more mushrooms you have crowding the pan, the less likely they will brown properly. You can saute the mushrooms in two batches if need be. Add a few Tbsp. white wine (red is OK too, it just tastes stronger) and reduce for a couple of minutes. Add 1 - 2 c. strong beef broth (depends on how much soup you would like to make). Add fresh grated garlic, salt, and pepper to taste. Chop about 1/8 c. fresh thyme and add to soup. Add more wine to taste, if desired. Simmer until flavours meld and mellow, about 10 minutes.

When soup is at your desired flavour and temperature, add a spash or two of heavy whipping cream (or table cream), until your desired colour and thickness is reached. Remove skillet from the heat and let the soup thicken slightly. Serve hot, with fresh garlic-rubbed toast.