River Cottage Pita Bread

Many things have converged lately to make me want to try my hand at pita bread.

At the moment, I'm reading "A Year in the Village of Eternity", a memoir by a British woman who lived for a year in a remote mountainous village in Italy. She learns the traditional, seasonal way of eating, which involves a lot of homegrown vegetables and olive oil. This diet, coupled with a lot of physical activity, leads to an extremely healthy population, and the village has a high percentage of centenarians and actively aging elders.

Also, I just finished the Hunger Games trilogy, and all that talk about "Peeta" made me crave some flatbread. And maybe some homemade hummus to go with it.

I am currently making my way through the wonderfully British "River Cottage" series, including the River Cottage Cookbook, Jam Book, and Bread Book. The books follow a certain English chap (Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall) who buys a farm in the countryside and learns how to raise or make his own... well, everything! Now the farm is also a cooking school and hub of fair food activism.

I found this recipe in "The River Cottage Bread Book" (and made a few changes). Technically, it's called Turkish flatbread, but it sure looked like pita bread to me, so there you go. Whatever you call it, it was the best flat bread I have ever had, and this will not be the last time I make it.

Flat Bread
(Makes about 12)

4 c. bread flour
4 c. whole wheat flour
1 T. active dry yeast
4 tsp. sea salt
1 1/3 c. warm water
1 1/3 c. plain low-fat yogurt, warmed
2 T. good olive oil

To use a food mixer: fit the dough hook and add the flours, yeast, salt, water and yogurt to the mixer bowl. Mix on low speed until combined, then add the oil and leave to knead for about 10 minutes, until smooth and silky. Shape the dough into a round, then place in a clean oiled bowl. Leave to rise, covered with a plastic bag, in a warm place until doubled in size.

Deflate the dough, then if you have time, leave to rise a second, third, even a fourth time (this improves the dough but is by no means essential). Tear off pieces the size of small lemons. One at a time, shape into a round, then using plenty of flour, roll out to a 1/8" thickness and leave to rest for 5 minutes or so; this improves the finished bread dramatically.

Meanwhile, heat a large cast-iron skillet over the highest heat and set the oven to broil. When the pan is super-hot, lay the first bread in it. After a minute or possibly less the bread should be puffy and starting to char on the bottom Slide the pan under the broiler, and watch your creation balloon magnificently. Remove the bread when it starts to char on the top, drizzle with olive oil, and feed your awestruck friends.

P.S. This bread was awesome with my homemade hummus. I'm going to stuff the rest with homemade falafel!

Super Natural... Every Day?

In 2008, shortly after I started my blog, I discovered 101 Cookbooks, one of the most popular food blogs on the web. Heidi Swanson seemed like the sort of person who ordinary people want to spy on, or live vicariously through, depending on your perspective. After all, would wouldn't be curious about a vegetarian hipster from the Bay area who travels, cooks healthy, exotic food and photographs it all as she goes?

After a while I became disenchanted. Who was this health nut of a character with a pantry full of ingredients like tempeh, millet and wild nori seaweed? I found it all a bit much. However, with Heidi's new cookbook, Super Natural Every Day, selling like hotcakes, I decided to give a go at a few of the simpler sounding recipes.

I made:

Green Lentil Soup

And Baked Oatmeal with Blueberries

I really liked the lentil soup, despite the small rock I bit into one particular bite. (They aren't kidding when they tell you to pick through your lentils! There is a reason for that, I've learned.) The soup was simple, dotted with spiced butter and sprinkled with green chives. The flavor was reminiscent of an Indian daal, and it was very tasty with wheat saltine crackers.

The baked oatmeal was rich (even more so because I substituted part leftover coconut milk from the lentil soup for the regular milk) and a hearty yet healthy breakfast. I loved the flavors of the coconut, spices, blueberries and walnuts all layered in one dish.

Heidi, maybe you and I can be friends again after all.

Good to the Grain

My latest favorite thing to do in San Francisco is to get Burmese food (because really, where else are you gonna find it?) and meander around Green Apple Books, which is located in the vicinity of several good Burmese places.

During my last such trip, while looking through the impressively massive selection of used food-oriented books, I spotted a nice copy of Kim Boyce's highly acclaimed Good to the Grain.

A former pastry chef at LA's Spago (a restaurant by Wolfgang Puck), Boyce describes the history and use of each grain, then offers various recipes to complement their subtleties. Wheat is only the beginning here - she details all kinds of flours including less common, less known varieties such as kamut, amaranth, spelt, and teff. She offers insights such as this: "With a scent that is strangely reminiscent of ripe apricots, barley flour is almost tart." Who knew?!

I'm just getting started, but already her recipe for Oat Molasses Sandwich bread helped me produce a gorgeous golden, raised, finely textured bread. Slices of it were dynamite today with sliced turkey, cream cheese and some homemade chutney.

New Additions to Cookbook Collection

This year, my Christmas haul was exceedingly heavy on the side of cookbooks and food memoirs- and I am pleased as punch about that fact. Some books are made to be looked at an appreciated visually, and that’s enough. I have been known to eat a homely meal happily as long as I may do so while indulging in a particularly delicious-looking cookbook. Other cookbooks are more practical, with healthy ways to incorporate goals for the new year into busy, every day life.

And food memoirs connect personal stories with the foods associated with them. I am currently immersed in Molly Wizenberg’s “A Homemade Life” and enjoying getting to know the famous blogger known as Orangette. (I know, she’s been around for like 6 years - I’m a little behind, but working on catching up.) I became fascinated with M.F.K. Fisher and her unique, historically intriguing essays when I read her short book "How To Cook A Wolf", and look forward to reading more of her now that I have her collected works, "The Art of Eating".

Anyway, here are a few of my new treasures that I will be adding to my collection:

Whole Wheat Bread - The Minimalist Way

My husband knows me too well. He was dead on in his birthday gift for me last week, picking out a cookbook that I hadn't even mentioned to him but is, nonetheless, the kind of thing I am totally into: Mark Bittman's "The Food Matters Cookbook: 500 Revolutionary Recipes for Better Living". Most of the recipes involve vegetables, whole grains, and occasionally a small garnish of meat. Better for the environment, for the world, for our bodies - doesn't that sum up most of our New Year's Resolutions?

Known as the Minimalist in his food column for the New York Times, Bittman has a way of simplifying cooking. Take, for example, his recipe for REAL whole wheat bread (no cheating using part bread flour; this is what he calls an "honest loaf"!). His method requires no kneading, merely a process of "stir-wait-pour-bake". The resulting bread is dense and flavorful, and I love that it's so low-maintenance you could mix it in the morning on a work day and bake it when you get home. We ate ours with Stew and Minestrone Soup. Thank goodness there's still such a thing as an honest loaf in this world!

Real Whole Wheat Bread

3 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp. instant yeast
2 tsp. salt
2 T. olive oil or vegetable oil

Combine the flour, yeast and salt in a large bowl. Add 1 1/2 c. water and stir until blended; the dough should be quite wet, almost like a batter (add more water if it seems dry). Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rest in a warm place for at least 12 (or up to 24) hours. the dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Rising time will be shorter at warmer temperatures, a bit longer if your kitchen is chilly.

2. Use some of the oil to grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan. Scoop the dough into the loaf pan and use a rubber spatula to gently settle it in evenly. Brush or drizzle the top with the remaining oil. Cover with a towel and let rise until doubled, an hour or 2 depending on the warmth of your kitchen. (It won't reach the top of the pan, or will just barely.) When it's almost ready, heat the oven to 350F.

3. Bake the bread until deeply brown and hollow-sounding when tapped, about 45 minutes. Immediately turn the loaf out of the pan onto a wire rack and let cool before slicing.

We're Jammin'!

Since I bought "The Bread Baker’s Apprentice" by Peter Reinhardt, baking bread has become a hobby and way of actively participating in sustaining myself. From golden dinner rolls at Christmas dinner to a traditional Challah at Easter to every day whole wheat bread, Reinhardt’s book has become my bible of baking. My freezer is seldom found without a leftover loaf of bread that can be whipped out for a quick snack or simply dinner accompaniment.

When I looked in the refrigerator today, I realized that I have accumulated a dizzying array of jams to go with my baked goods. Here’s how it stacks up so far:

- Prickly Pear Jam from when my family visited Arizona and the Grand Canyon
- Strawberry Guava Jam from when my family visited Hawaii
- Apricot Pineapple Jam, which a family friend shared from their bumper crop of apricots last year
- Lemon Curd, leftover from our Mother’s Day Brunch in May - wonderful served with lemon poppyseed bread
-Sour Cherry Conserve, slightly tart and imported from Italy. It was on sale at the Nugget Market and I was curious to see what it would taste like. Me likey!
- Homemade strawberry jam that Paul and I made on Monday

Since we do have PB&J fairly often (especially on Meatless Mondays), this surplus of fruity condiments does not bother me in the slightest. In fact, I am even thinking of making more when plum season comes around. I’ve never had plum jam before, and I think nothing makes a better gift for friends than a jar of homemade jam!

Persian Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

For many years, my elderly Irish co-worker was married to a Persian man. During this period of time, she learned to cook many of the "comfort food" dishes that her husband loved, and is very knowledgeable concerning the cuisine of this ancient country. Now known as Iran, Persia has a rich history of tradition and the food is a part of that.

This co-worker lent me an old, weathered cookbook called "In A Persian Kitchen" that was first published in 1960 by a woman who came from Persia and made America her home. The author shares many family recipes that her mother passed on to her, that she has successfully made for American friends who enthusiastically embraced the exotic, delicious fare.

I have long been wanting to try one of Ms. Mazdah's recipe, and since my husband and I have a tradition of eating cabbage on St. Patrick's Day, I decided to try the following recipe (which has been adapted slightly to our tastes and the modern kitchen). It's a fascinating dish - the sauce is just sugar and vinegar (at first I wondered, "Where's the tomato sauce?"), but it adds a delightful sweet and tangy touch to the cabbage. The meat inside stays moist and flavorful. If you have never tried cinnamon and meat (common in Middle Eastern cooking), it's a wonderful combination! If you want to try something a little exotic that doesn't require too much effort or any strange ingredients, here's your chance!

Stuffed Cabbage Leaves with Sweet-and-Sour Sauce

1 large head of cabbage
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 c. medium onion, finely shopped
1/4 c. Minute Brown rice
1/2 c. parsley, chopped
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. water
1/3 c. white sugar
1/2 c. apple cider vinegar

Core cabbage, set it in a pot of boiling salted water, cover, and cook until almost tender (be careful not to overcook it). Drain well and remove leaves, cut out midribs. Put ground beef in a bowl. Add onions through seasonings and mix well. Take each leaf in your hand and put a tablespoon of meat mixture on it. Shape into little packages. Line the bottom of a saucepan with cabbage leaves that couldn't be used. Pack in stuffed leaves, placing any remaining leaves between layers. Pour water on the cabbage, cover pan with lid and simmer on low heat for 35 minutes. Mix sugar and vinegar and pour over the cabbage and let cook for another 20 minutes. Makes 4-5 servings.

Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes A Day

I received this book, "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day", as a wedding gift (thanks, Allison!), and I've had the opportunity to try several different things from it now. I don't want to share the recipes because I guess the right thing to do would be to encourage you to buy the book, as the authors are trying to make a living... and since the book is more about the method than the ingredients.

The idea goes like this: Day 1, you mix a big batch of dough in a bowl, let it rise for a couple of hours, then cover the bowl and refrigerate it. For the next one to two weeks (depending on the recipe), you can then take out however much dough you want, let it rise for 40 minutes, then bake it at a high heat on a baking or pizza stone. To create steam, you pour hot water in an empty broiler pan placed on the bottom shelf. This method is meant to imitate that of a professional oven, thereby creating a crisp crust, a soft interior, and a bakery-level quality of bread with a limited time investment.

So far, I've made a light whole wheat bread and used the same dough to make a rosemary focaccia. They were all very good indeed. I have to hand it to the 2 authors of this book for simplifying bread-baking to the bare minimum of effort. While the process does require more than 5 minutes as the title suggests, I am loving it and would like to try some of the other recipes included. Challah with raisins, Sticky buns, and really everything sounds delicious!

How to Bake Like the Pros!

The Christmas dinner rolls that I made (a la Peter Reinhart)

One day, while visiting the Ferry Building in SF and browsing through the cookbooks at Sur La Table, I found one called The Bread Baker's Apprentice by one Peter Reinhardt. This lovely book was distinguished by two gold stickers - one for the James Beard Foundation's Cookbook of the year, and another by the IACP Cookbook Book of the Year. Intrigued, I bought it, determined to learn how to bake truly great bread.

It has not disappointed me. Reinhardt is completely devoted to the art of bread baking, and his writing expertly guides even amateur cooks through the perils of this initially daunting realm of baking.

For Christmas dinner, I used his recipe to make dinner rolls. They were the most professional-looking bread I've made, with an excellent texture and kept wonderfully for several days, giving us a chance to savor them. I did alter it a bit by substituting part whole wheat flour for the bread flour, and I'm simplifying the recipe a bit. Enjoy!

Professional Dinner Rolls

3 3/4 c. unbleached bread flour
1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
3 T. sugar
2 tsp. instant yeast
1 large egg (slightly beaten, at room temperature)
1/4 c. butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 c. buttermilk or whole milk, at room temperature
1 egg, whisked with 1 tsp. water until frothy, for egg wash (optional)

Mix together the flour, salt, sugar and yeast in the bowl of an electric mixer. Pour in the egg, butter, and buttermilk and mix on low speed with the paddle attachment until all the flour is absorbed and the dough forms a ball.

Mix on medium speed with the dough hook, adding more flour if necessary to create a dough that is soft, supple, and tacky but not sticky. Continue mixing for 6-8 minutes. The dough should clear the sides of the bowl but stick ever so slightly to the bottom. Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Ferment at room temperature for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until the dough doubles in size.

Remove the fermented dough from the bowl and divide it into 18 2 ounce pieces. Line 2 sheet pans with baking parchment. Place dough on the baking sheets, lightly spray with oil and cover with plastic wrap. Proof the dough at room temperature for 60-90 minutes, or until rolls nearly doubles in size.

Preheat the oven to 400F. Brush the rolls with the egg wash if desired. (I suggest doing so, as it will give the rolls a gorgeous golden color.) Bake the rolls for about 15 minutes, or until they are golden brown. When they have finished baking, remove them immediately from the pans and cool on a wire rack for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Me and the Naked Chef in the Kitchen

I received “The Naked Chef Takes Off” as a birthday present as a teenager. I was a huge fan of Jamie Oliver’s hip cooking show and loved looking at the pictures and reading this cookbook, which is chock full of British slang and Jamie’s quirky personality. Yet I never tried any recipes... Until last night, when I made an attempt at his “fantastic roast chicken”!

A whole chicken is a wonderfully economic thing to make for dinner, particularly for a young couple. Besides a delicious dinner, you’ve got leftovers for the next day’s lunch (great for sandwiches or salads), as well as a carcass and tidbits to freeze and use to make stock and/or soup at a later time. I made many (healthier and/or more desirable, in my opinion) adjustments to Jamie’s recipe, and was thrilled when it came out “absolutely fantastic”, as he would say. You simply must try parsnips with the vegetables - they were the best part!

One organic chicken ( I used a 5 lb. Chicken)
1 large lemon (I used a Meyer lemon)
1 large clove garlic, chopped
2 handfuls of fresh thyme, leaves picked from stems and finely chopped (I used a bit of fresh rosemary along with thyme)
salt and freshly ground pepper
1/4 c. softened butter
Vegetables: chunks of potato (I used fingerlings), carrots, parsnips (they’re sweet and wonderful!), onions cut into quarters (if you do slices, they may burn), whole gloves of garlic if you like

Pre-heat the oven and an appropriately sized roasting pan to 425F. Wash your chicken inside and out and pat dry with paper towels. Using your fingers, part the breast skin from the breast meat. It’s important to try to push your hand gently down the breast, being careful not to rip the skin. With a zester, remove the fragrant yellow skin of the lemon, placing the peel in a bowl. Then add the softened butter, garlic, and whatever herbs you’re using. Season, then scrunch it all together. Push this into the space you have made between the meat and the skin - rub and massage any that’s left over in and around the bird. It’s all tasty stuff. Slash the thigh meat to allow the heat to penetrate a little more, which makes it taste better. Cut the peeled lemon in half and push it into the cavity. Prepare your vegetables by cutting them into approximately uniform sizes to cook evenly, season with salt/pepper, and pour them into the bottom of the roasting pan. Then put your chicken in the roasting pan and roast in the preheated over for 20 minutes. Stir the now-melted butter into the vegetables and continue to cook until the chicken is done. The whole baking process will probably take about an hour. Leave the chicken to stand for about 10 minutes before carving.

New Cookbook Acquisitions

One of my most recent tantalizing acquisions....Mmmm!

There is nothing I love better than to sit down and read a good cookbook. I like oogling the vibrant, mouth-watering pictures, I like reading the descriptions of the foods, I like the interesting anecdotes the author writes about the recipes, and I like getting inspiration for future meals. Between Christmas, my birthday on the 28th, and a used bookstore I found in Mendocino, this holiday season was a real winner for me. Here's the DL on the goods:

From my husband for Christmas:

Julia’s Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking:
We recently watched "Julie & Julia" together, so he got me the "Bible of French cooking" featured in this film. I’m hoping to get out my Le Creuset and prepare a traditional French casserole or stew this winter!

Bon Appetit Fast, Easy Fresh:
This one is cool because all of the dishes can be made in under 30 minutes. The dishes are a bit exotic so it can also double as what some refer to as "food porn" - you know, the glamorous recipes you fantasize about as you eat your bowl of Spaghettios or hot dog or whatever you, in your slovenly laziness, threw in the microwave for dinner.

My Birthday:

Rustic Fruit Desserts:
My sister-in-law Chelsea got this one for me for my birthday. When it comes to dessert, I never turn down anything with fruit in it. This book features just the sort of thing I adore - cobblers, crisps, pies, and slumps, all based on fruit fruits by the season. I can’t wait to start making these for my family!

Not Your Mother’s Slow Cooker Cookbook:
As a working girl, I love to come home and know that dinner is ready for my husband and I. It gives me time to clean up the apartment or work out. ( One of my New Year’s goals is to go to the West Sac Recreation Center gym 3 times a week, so I intend to use this book a lot this year!) Forget about old-school canned soup and artificial ingredients - this book is chock-full of appetizing recipes using fresh, from-scratch ingredients to make everything from Steel Cut Oatmeal to soups to Thai Pork to Peach Cobbler.

Moore Used Books in Mendocino:

Nigella Bites:
Featuring the British author/TV star Nigella Lawson, this is her follow up to the bestseller How to Be A Domestic Goddess. I got this one because most of the recipes focus on local British favorites- nothing I’d prepare myself, but I love to read her interesting commentary on it. Great pictures, too!

Real Simple Meals:
Basic recipes, pared down to the most basic ingredients and steps, just begging to be played with and adapted to the cook’s own individual tastes. I already made one of the recipes - Fettuccine with Bolognese Sauce, and it was great. (See my last blog)

Once Upon A Tart:
Written by the owners of the café by the same name situated in NYC, this book features some inventive yet practical and delicious recipes for soups, salads, dressings, sandwiches, and of course... tarts! Almost all of which sound amazing, I might add. Quirky, helpful, and just my cup o’tea.

That should satiate my cookbook fetish for a while. Anybody else have a favorite cookbook they want to recommend? (Hey, Valentines Day is coming up....) :-)

Cooking with Seinfeld

In 2006, moms cheered as Jessica Seinfeld (wife of you-know-who) published a cookbook titled Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Foods. The premise is that moms can steam or roast and then puree vegetables and surreptitiously add them to familiar favorite foods, thereby injecting an added measure of nutrition into picky eaters’ diets.

Yet as I flip through the pages, I scratch my head. Scrambled eggs with cauliflower? Chili with carrots? Chocolate pudding with avocado? Can these recipes really fool people besides small ignorant children? How is the quality of taste affected by these added ingredients?

The Test
I decided to put Seinfeld’s methods to the test. I volunteer to bring a dessert to family home evening and experiment upon my siblings and parents. My siblings certainly qualify as picky eaters, turning their nose up at anything other than "white kid food" (read: pizza, hamburgers with no vegetable condiments, Caesar salad, artificially flavored meats and cheeses, and so forth). My dad is a fairly tough food critic in his own right.

The Plan
The recipe I chose: brownies - with spinach and carrots. I envision the deceit in my mind: To the naked eye, I imagined it will appear a nice chocolaty brownie, innocuous looking with its dark coloring, and so attractive with the powdered sugar I will sprinkle on top. Just in case the flavor is slightly off, I planned to serve it with some nice vanilla frozen yogurt.

The Prep
Monday night after work, I prepared the purees, steaming the carrots and wilting the spinach, then blending these until smooth in my food processor. I worried that it wasn’t quite smooth enough, but it was the best my machine could do. I melted the chocolate, then mixed in the purees, sugar, etc. In the end, the batter looked grainy. Concerned, I sprinkled some semisweet chocolate chips on top. I baked the brownies (they emerged from the over looking relatively normal), sprinkled with powdered sugar, and headed over to my family’s house, leaving the brownies in the car and hoping they would be cool by the time we finished decorating the Christmas tree. (Seinfeld warns that the spinach flavor will remain detectable while the brownies are yet warm.)

The Panic
The moment of truth arrives: My dad asks, "Didn’t you bring some dessert?" My husband runs out to fetch the pan of brownies from my car, but as he places the pan into my hands, I notice with chagrin - they’re still warm! Worse, my mom reveals that she thought I wanted plain vanilla yogurt, and they must be served alone. Panic strikes and my entire cooking life flashes before my eyes. A grim vision of the future looms before me, in which I am discovered, my reputation soiled, and no one in my family will henceforth partake of my baked goods without poking and prodding and questioning me to death.

The Results
I improvise with some whipped cream and chocolate sauce and serve the rather dense squares of brownie, holding my breath. Mom and dad both comment that the brownie is good (my dad even says, "Very good!"). Little sister and adult brother, no comment. The only suspicious one was my 15-year-old brother, who has some kind of nutritious sixth sense which protects him from consuming any substance which might be beneficial to his body.

"What’s in this brownie? What kind of chocolate is in this? Is there anything organic in it?" Finally, we put him to peace by assuring him that the air he’s breathing is organic and he finishes it in silence.

The Conclusion
The brownies with carrots and spinach were OK. I don’t know that anyone will ask for the recipe, but it packs loads of vitamins and fiber into a decent chocolate treat. In my opinion, Seinfeld’s book is most beneficial for parents with kids who refuse to eat vegetables and/or fruit and are still young and gullible enough to eat foods with textures and flavors that are slightly "off". It also may also benefit adults who are looking to eat foods that pack more of a nutritional punch.

But shhhhh... It’s our little secret!