Whole wheat pita bread

another recipe calls for incorporating the oil into the flour as you are kneading, which sounds smart. most reviewers loved this recipe but two found the dough too sticky, one found the rise time was 1 hour. so apparently this varies according to location.

* 2 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees)
* 1 1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast
* 1 tablespoon honey
* 2 cups wheat flour
* 3 cups all purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon vegetable oil

Preparation:
Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add honey and stir until dissolved. Let sit for 10-15 minutes until water is frothy.

Combine white flour, wheat flour, and salt in large bowl.

Make a small depression in the middle of flour and pour yeast water in depression.

Slowly add warm yeast water, and stir with wooden spoon or rubber spatula until dough becomes elastic.

Place dough on floured surface and knead for 10-15 minutes. When the dough is no longer sticky and is smooth and elastic, it has been successfully kneaded.

Coat large bowl with vegetable oil and place dough in bowl. Turn dough upside down so all of the dough is coated with oil. Allow to sit, covered, in a warm place for about 3 hours, or until it has doubled in size.

Once doubled, roll out in a rope, and pinch off 10-12 small pieces. Place balls on floured surface. Let sit covered for 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 500 deg F. and make sure rack is at the very bottom of oven. Be sure to also preheat your baking sheet.

Roll out each ball of dough with a rolling pin into circles. Each should be about 5-6 inches across and 1/4 inch thick.

Bake each circle for 4 minutes until the bread puffs up. Turn over and bake for 2 minutes.

Remove each pita with a spatula from the baking sheet and add additional pitas for baking.

Take spatula and gently push down puff. Immediately place in storage bags.

Storing Pita Bread
Pita bread can be stored for up to a week in a pantry or bread box, and up to a month in the freezer. Be sure to use freezer bags when storing in the freezer.

Pita bread dough can also be refrigerated for up to one week in the refrigerator.

lemon thyme syrup

Ingredients

1. 1 1/2 cups water
2. 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
3. 3/4 ounce lemon thyme sprigs
4. 3/4 cup fresh lemon juice

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan, combine the water and sugar and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the thyme, cover and let stand for at least 2 hours or overnight. Add the lemon juice and strain the syrup.


Serve With

Drinks, dressings, sorbet.

Gazpacho Shooters

For the soup...
1 can whole peeled tomatoes in juice (28 oz)
1 lemon, sliced into rounds
half a medium-sized cucumber, peeled and sliced into rounds
juice of 1 lime
2 strips of fresh jalapeno, sliced lengthwise
1 cup vodka
2 to 4 TBS lemon-thyme syrup
Tabasco sauce
kosher salt to taste
fresh ground black pepper
chives for "straw" garnish

1. Pour vodka into a shallow bowl or baking dish. Do not use plastic as it will sully the flavor. Place lemon slices and cucumber slices in vodka. Cover and refrigerate for at least four hours.
2. Puree tomatoes in a food processor or blender. Add cucumbers from vodka and puree with tomatoes until smooth. Squeeze lemon slices into tomato and cucumber mix. Puree well.
3. Add at least two tablespoons of the lemon thyme syrup to tomato mixture and puree again. Starting with one tablespoon of lime juice, begin to balance out the flavor. You might find that you want to add more sweetener. (I usually put a bit of strained honey into my gazpacho.) The lime will counter the lemon nicely. Add the lime juice to your taste, but puree after each additional seasoning. (SEE NOTES BELOW.)
4. Add two or three healthy dashes of Tabasco to the soup and puree well again.
5. Using a funnel and a ladle, pour into individual shot glasses, top with cracked pepper and serve with a "straw" of fresh chive.
NOTES: The vodka in the gazpacho was almost overpowering on my first three attempts. If I'd just been a little more patient I would have discovered that with some extra pureeing - and a bit of time - the flavors would meld together wonderfully. Don't give up on this if at first it tastes too strong, or if the flavors seem disproportionate. Balance it to your liking with the lime and the lemon-thyme syrup. And then let it sit for at least ten minutes in your fridge. Taste it again. It will come together on its own. I used canned tomatoes here just because the fresh are still a little too unpredictable. Choose a cucumber that is medium sized and hopefully not seedy and pithy. Also, if the jalapeno smells the least bit acrid when you slice into it, don't use it!

SALAD GREENS WITH HOT BACON DRESSING

If you are not familiar with Swiss Chard let me introduce you to a hardy leafy vegetable resembling spinach. It grows easier than spinach and is milder in taste. Believe me, folks, dandelion, as well as any other garden leaves, will be great with this dressing also. I must say my number one choice is the young dandelion leaf, followed by Swiss Chard. Please read the recipe over carefully before preparing.

8 slices (1/2 lb.) chopped lean bacon
1/4 c. sugar
2 tbsp. cider vinegar
8 c. bite-size pieces of salad greens (try different types together)

Note: Wash and dry any leafy vegetables before using.

In a skillet, cook bacon over moderate heat, stirring until crisp. Remove skillet from heat and transfer bacon, with slotted spoon, to paper towels to drain. Let bacon fat stay in the skillet.

In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar, vinegar, a pinch of salt and 2 tablespoons water until the sugar is dissolved. Add 1/2 of mixture to the bacon fat, stirring, and heat the dressing, stirring, but do not let it boil.

In a large bowl toss the greens with the bacon and the remaining vinegar mixture. Pour the hot dressing over the salad and toss. Add salt and pepper to taste. May garnish with lemon wedges.

LEAF CHARD SALAD

Italy. A wonderful family dish.

12 lg. Swiss chard leaves, or 20 sm. leaves without stalks
3/4 c. green onions, chopped, or 2 shallots, minced
3/4 tsp. salt
2 - 4 tbsp. olive oil
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp. chives or parsley, minced
4 tbsp. ham, cooked and minced (optional)

Cook leaves: Tear chard leaves in half, and wash thoroughly in plenty of water. Shake excess water from leaves, place in large saucepan with 3/4 teaspoon salt, and cover. Bring to a boil quickly, reduce heat to a gentle boil, and cook 12 to 15 minutes until barely tender.

Drain, season: Transfer chard to colander. Press chard gently with spoon to extract excess water. Place in au gratin dish or shallow baker. Fluff leaves with 2 forks. Cool 1 to 4 hours until lukewarm or room temperature. When ready to serve, sprinkle remaining ingredients on top, toss gently and serve. Yield: 6 to 8 servings

Rosemary Olive Oil Cake

this from 101 cookbooks. i love rosemary and these ingredients sound like a great idea.


As Kim notes,you don't need to use a specialty olive oil for this cake. But if you have one with a lot of flavor, the cake will be that much better. This is one of those recipes where I think using regular sugar is the way to go. There was plenty going on with the interplay between the rosemary, chocolate, and olive oil - and I'm not sure adding less refined brown or Muscovado sugar would have been the way to go. The last note I'll make is to suggest chopping up a chocolate bar for this. It's just not going to be the same if you use uniform chocolate chips. Aim for big chunks 1/2-inch in diameter, you'll end up with all sorts of shavings and littler pieces as you are chopping, and having that mix of flecks and the big chunks is pretty great.

Olive oil for the pan

Dry ingredients:
3/4 cup / 3 oz / 80g spelt flour
1 1/2 cups / 7.5 oz / 210 g all-purpose flour
3/4 cup / 4 oz / 115g sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Wet ingredients:
3 eggs
1 cup / 240 ml olive oil
3/4 cup / 180 ml whole milk

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, finely chopped
5 ounces / 140 g bittersweet chocolate (70% cacao), chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
2 tablespoons sugar for top crunch

Preheat the oven to 350F / 175C. Rub a 9 1/2-inch (24 cm) fluted tart pan with olive oil. Alternately, I used a long (4 1/2 x 13 inch) loaf pan, and lined it with parchment paper.

Sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl, pouring any bits of grain or other ingredients left in the sifter back into the bowl. Set aside.

In another large bowl, whisk the eggs thoroughly. Add the olive oil, milk and rosemary and whisk again. Using a spatula, fold the wet ingredients into the dry, gently mixing just until combined. Stir in 2/3 of the chocolate. Pour the batter into the pan, spreading it evenly and smoothing the top. Sprinkle with the remaining chocolate and run a fork along the length of the chocolate so that the batter envelops it just a bit. Sprinkle with the second sugar.

Bake for about 40 minutes, or until the top is domed, golden brown, and a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. My cake, in the alternate pan, took closer to 50 minutes. Also, just when my cake was nearly finished baking, I decided I wanted a bit more color on top. I finished it under the broiler for a minute - which caramelized the sugar on top as well and gave it a bit of crunch. Don't walk away from the cake while it is under the broiler.

The cake can be eaten warm or cool from the pan, or cooled, wrapped tightly in plastic, and kept for 2 days.

Serves 8 -12.

Recipe adapted from Good to the Grain by Kim Boyce.

sausage and chard with penne

we had this last night. Our first dinner at home in two weeks, since Ruthie was born and I went to Nashville. It was so good that DV commented a half dozen times. I shoulda take a picture. I have an abundance of swiss chard in the garden. I used already cooked sausage = aidell's cajun andouille, and a vidalia onion. white wine from the glass dv had poured. after dinner, we watched "man on wire." great 2008 oscar winning documentary about phillip petit, who walked across a wire he anchored between the world trade centers in 1974l


1 Tbs. olive oil; more as needed
5 oz. sweet Italian sausage (about 2 sausage links), casings removed, meat crumbled
1 small red onion, chopped
1 small bunch red, green, or yellow Swiss chard, tougher stems removed, leaves roughly chopped
2 small cloves garlic, minced
Pinch dried red pepper flakes
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup homemade or low-salt chicken or vegetable broth, or dry white wine
8 oz. dried penne or fusilli
1 Tbs. balsamic vinegar; more to taste
1/4 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted
1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for cooking the pasta. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the sausage; cook, breaking it up and stirring with a wooden spoon, until browned and cooked through, 7 to 10 minutes. With a slotted spoon, remove the sausage and set aside. If the pan seems a bit dry, add enough oil so there's about 3 Tbs. fat in the pan. Return the pan to medium heat, add the onion, and cook until just tender, 3 to 5 minutes, stirring and scraping up any browned bits with a wooden spoon. Add the chard, garlic, and pepper flakes, season with salt and pepper, and toss until the chard begins to sizzle, about 1 min. Add the broth, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the chard is tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Meanwhile, cook the pasta until just tender. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water and then drain the pasta, leaving drops of water clinging to it. Add the pasta and 1/4 cup of the cooking water to the skillet, using more of the water if needed. Return the sausage to the pan and add the balsamic vinegar. Heat gently for a few minutes to let the flavors meld. Add the pine nuts and half of the Parmigiano, and taste for salt and pepper. Add a bit more of the cooking water if the pan seems dry. Serve warm, passing the remaining Parmigiano at the table.
nutrition information (per serving):
Size: based on two servings; Calories (kcal): 840; Fat (kcal): 33; Fat Calories (g): 300; Saturated Fat (g): 5; Protein (g): 42; Monounsaturated Fat (g): 10; Carbohydrates (g): 95; Polyunsaturated Fat (g): 5; Sodium (mg): 1180; Cholesterol (mg): 45; Fiber (g): 7;
photo: Scott Phillips
From Fine Cooking 42, pp. 56-60
December 1, 2000

Pappardelle with Spiced Butter

from Heidi's simply recipes.

Yotam uses fresh, home-made saffron tagliatelle (the recipe is included in the book), but wanting to throw together a something quick so I opted for a good-quality dried pappardelle I had on hand. On the spice front, you will definitely get some heat from the cayenne pepper, so scale back a bit if you are sensitive. Also, feel free to double up on the spice blend, I've been using the extra in all sorts of things - from eggs to vinaigrettes. Also, this recipe make quite a good amount of spiced butter. Use as much or as little of it as you like. You can always reserve any leftover for drizzling on potatoes, crepes, vegetables, etc. later in the week.

1/4 teaspoon saffron threads
pinch of salt

1 stick / 4 oz / 100 g butter
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

6 medium shallots, chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
scant 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon red chile flakes
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/4 teaspoon+ fine grain sea salt
black pepper

1/2 pound / 8 oz / 225 g dried pappardelle egg pasta
1/2 pound / 8 oz / 225 g asparagus, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds

splash of cream
1/2 cup / 2 oz / 60 g pine nuts, toasted and chopped
2 tablespoons roughly chopped mint
2 tablespoons roughly chopped parsley

Place a large pot of water over high heat and bring to a boil. In the meantime, use a mortar and pestle to crush the saffron and salt into a fine powder. Set aside.

To make the spiced butter: Place the butter and olive oil in a frying pan and cook the shallots gently for about 10 minutes, or until they soften and the butter browns just a bit. Stir in all the spices, the salt, and a bit of freshly ground black pepper, remove from heat (but keep warm).

Salt the water generously and cook the pasta per the package instructions, or until al dente. Barely thirty seconds before the pasta has finished cooking, add the asparagus. Drain and return the pasta and asparagus to the pot. Stir in the saffron salt. Pour about half of the spiced butter over the pasta, add a small splash of cream, and toss well. Taste, then ask yourself if you need to add more spiced butter or salt. I suggest adding more butter until it is to your liking, then reserve any leftover for later use (see head notes). Serve the pasta in a large bowl, or divided across plates, sprinkle with pine nuts and herbs.

Serves 4 - 6.

Inspired by the Saffron Tagliatelle with Spiced Butter in Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi. Ebury Press, May 2010.

chicken tacos with spicy onion rings

Ingredients

1 1/4 pound(s) skinless, boneless chicken breast
1/4 cup(s) garlic-lime marinade
3/4 teaspoon(s) ancho chili powder
1/2 teaspoon(s) salt
1/4 teaspoon(s) freshly ground black pepper
1 can(s) mexicorn (11-ounce) rinsed, drained
1/4 cup(s) fire-roasted salsa verde
1/4 cup(s) diced red onion
2 tablespoon(s) chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon(s) fresh lime juice
1/2 cup(s) french-fried onion rings
8 yellow- and blue-corn taco shells
Shredded romaine lettuce for garnish
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Preparation

In a medium bowl, toss chicken with marinade, 1/2 teaspoon of the chili powder, salt, and pepper.
In a medium bowl, mix mexicorn, salsa verde, onion, cilantro, and lime juice, tossing to combine.
Prepare an outdoor grill or heat a stovetop grill pan over medium heat. Cook chicken 3 to 4 minutes per side until cooked through. Remove from grill.
Meanwhile, in a skillet over medium heat, toss onion rings with the remaining 1/4 teaspoon chili powder; heat, stirring, until warm, about 3 minutes.
Cut chicken into 1/2-inch pieces. Fill each taco shell with chicken, dividing evenly. Top each with 2 tablespoons of the corn mixture and 2 tablespoons of the onion ring mixture. Garnish with lettuce.