Oven to Blog in 3.5 Minutes

While Bella was having her surgery today to get her tongue thing removed, I was at home taking care of the two invalids (Maggie and Zach). They both have stomach stuff and Maggie has bad headaches. On the bright side, there was a CSI: NY marathon of all new episodes on today. :) Anyway, I made some awesome carrot bread to help everyone feel better. I took it out of the oven, took a few pictures, sliced it up, took a few more pictures, and now I'm posting it: oven to blog in 3.5 minutes. This is kinda like banana bread, but it's made with carrots.

Carrot Bread

3 cups white flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
3 large eggs
2 cups castor (granulated) sugar
1 cup oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup milk
2 cups grated carrot
3/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit or 175 degrees Celsius. In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. In another bowl, beat the eggs then add sugar, oil, vanilla, and milk. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well. Fold in the carrot (which I recommend finely grating so that it will blend well with the batter) and the nuts if using. Bake at 350 or 175 for 40 to 50 minutes. Enjoy!

Andy

Maybe, The Best Recipe Ever

Who doesn't like the smell of bread baking in the oven? Even better, who doesn't like the warm steam that rolls out of the inside of the bread? The best is biting into a hunk of freshly baked bread with maybe some creamy butter on top. Although it is tempting, spending 3, 4, or even 5 hours making a couple loaves of bread can kill anyone's enthusiasm. This recipe for bread may be the best yet. Now, let me explain a couple of things. This bread does not get crusty on top, it has a fine, somewhat dense crumb, and it resembles a dinner roll because of the bit of sugar in it. But, it is amazing! And this recipe for bread can be made in just 35 minutes. There are a lot of cool variations that you could do, and I'll list those after the recipe.

35 Minute Bread
Yields: 1 loaf or 12 dinner rolls or 24 small rolls

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm water
1/3 cup oil
2 tablespoons instant yeast
1/4 cup castor sugar (granulated sugar)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
3 1/2 cups flour (see variations)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit or 200 degrees Celsius. In a large bowl, combine the water, oil, yeast, and sugar. Stir gently and allow to rest for 15 minutes. Then mix in the salt and egg. Next, add the flour and sort of knead it in the bowl until well mixed. You may need a little more flour. Make sure that your dough is soft and not too sticky, but smooth. Roll into 12 balls, or form into a loaf. Place in a greased pan and let rest for 10 minutes and then bake for 10 minutes until golden brown. Cool slightly and enjoy!

Really, the possibilities are endless. If you think of something that may work, mix up a batch, add your variations, and throw it in the oven! Here are a few of mine..

-Whole Wheat Bread
Replace as much as all of the flour or as little as 1 cup with whole wheat flour.

-Pizza Bites
Once bread is soft and smooth, roll out until about 1 centimeter thin. Spread a little tomato sauce over the dough and top with cheese and your favorite pizza toppings. Roll the dough up into a log and cut into slices. I usually put the slices into a muffin tray for a uniform shape, but you could bake them on a flat pan too. Bake for about 10 minutes until brown.

-Cinnamon Rolls
Not traditional cinnamon rolls, but equally good, and quick! Roll out the prepared dough as with the pizza rolls and then spread generously with butter. Sprinkle a good amount of cinnamon sugar over the dough evenly, and roll it up. Either put in a muffin pan or pack tightly in a walled-pan.

The Christmas Collection: Banana Nut Bread and Peppermint Bark

In my opinion, the Christmas season is pretty much the best time of the year. So this year I've decided to blog my family's favorite Christmas treats! I call it The Christmas Collection. I hope you guys will try some of these recipes and let me know what you think. Hopefully by Christmas I'll have five or six recipes posted. So stay tuned as the baking and confectionery making begins, and Merry Christmas!

Banana Nut Bread
 Yields: 1 loaf
 
10 tablespoons butter, softened
1 cup mashed ripe bananas
1/2 sour cream or greek yogurt
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups white flour
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons castor sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup walnuts, pecans, or similar nuts

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit or 175 degrees Celsius. In a food processor, blend the bananas, sour cream, eggs, and vanilla until smooth. Next, in a mixing bowl, place the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add the butter to the bowl and beat with a hand mixer until blended, about 30 seconds. Now add the banana mixture in three batches, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Gently fold in the nuts. (Optional: Before baking, you can also sprinkle additional nuts over the top of the batter.) Pour into a lightly greased loaf pan and bake for about 1 hour. When done, the bread will be lightly browned and bounce back when touched. Cool and enjoy!

This next one is the easiest Christmas candy recipe ever! With only two ingredients, this recipe hardly takes 15 minutes to make.

Peppermint Bark
 Yields: About 10 servings

About 1 pound of white chocolate
Candy Canes or Peppermint disks, crushed (enough to sprinkle over a 9x9 or8x8 pan of chocolate)

Melt the white chocolate in 20 second increments in the microwave. Cover a 9x9 or 8x8 pan with aluminum foil or baking paper (optional). Pour the chocolate onto the pan and even it out. Sprinkle the peppermint candy over the chocolate according to your taste. Refrigerate for 10 minutes or until set. Break into shards and serve.

Variations:  
-You could also use milk or dark chocolate in place of white.
-You could substitute peppermint candy for sprinkles or other hard candies. 

A Mediterranean Feast, and Candy Corn Cookies!

I've had a couple requests so far, and one has been for chicken, and the other was for flat breads. The first thing I could think about was herbs, feta cheese, and olives. Mediterranean was on my mind and I was determined to do it. The subtle yet bold flavors that are contained in this cuisine are always light and fresh. For my feast I made Grilled Mediterranean Chicken, Greek Salad, and Pita Bread. But since its close to Halloween, and my family loves desserts, I also made sugar cookies that look just like candy corns. You'll have to see the picture, and they are so easy! Now, to the recipes...

 Mediterranean Chicken
Yields: 4 to 6 servings

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
3 or 4 bay leaves, dried or fresh, chopped (optional)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Olive oil (about two tablespoons)
2 pounds of chicken (I used leg quarters, but breast meat would do nicely as well)

In a large bowl, mash all of the herbs and spices together, and then start adding the olive oil. You will need about two tablespoons, but keep adding the oil until you have a loose paste. Add the chicken to the bowl and toss to coat all of the chicken. Marinate for about 6 hours or overnight. Marinating is optional, but it deepens the flavors. Once ready to cook, grill the chicken for about 20 minutes on each side for bone-in or 8 minutes on each side for boneless. Check the inside with a knife before removing from the grill. If you don't have a grill, the chicken can also be baked at 400 degrees Fahrenheit or 200 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes, and then reduce the heat to 350 degrees Fahrenheit or 175 degrees Celsius for about another 20 minutes. Check with a knife when done. Another option is cooking the chicken in a pan. Cook on medium heat for about 15 minutes on each side for bone-in, or 6 minutes on each side for boneless. Serve with lemon wedges.

 Greek Salad
Yields: 5 servings

For the salad:
1 head of iceberg lettuce, torn into pieces
3 tomatoes, cut into wedges
1 bell pepper, cut into thin strips
1 onion, cut into rings
1/2 cup olives
150 grams (6 ounces) of feta cheese, crumbled

For the dressing:
6 tablespoons of olive oil
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Combine all dressing ingredients in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Wash the salad and place in a large bowl. Dress the salad, but be careful: you may not need all of the dressing! Toss the salad and dump into a serving bowl. Enjoy!

Pita bread
Yields: 12

1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) of dry active yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1 teaspoon castor sugar
3 cups flour (any combination of white and wheat, I used 1 cup wheat and 2 cups white)
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 cup lukewarm water

Dissolve the yeast and sugar into the 1/2 cup of warm water. Meanwhile, combine the flour and salt in a large bowl. Make a depression in the middle of the flour. Once the water is very frothy (about 10 minutes), pour it into the depression in the flour mixture. While stirring, slowly add the cup of lukewarm water. Dump the dough out and knead it for about 10 minutes until it's smooth and elastic. Place the dough into a large oiled bowl, and very lightly coat the bread with oil as well. Allow to rise for 1 1/2 hours, or until doubled in size. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees Fahrenheit or 260 degrees Celsius. Put the rack as low as possible.  When doubled, roll the dough out into a rope and cut it into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a circle about 5 to 6 inches wide. Bake on a greased pan for 4 minutes on the first side, and when it puffs up, flip it. Bake for 2 more minutes. Spread a little butter on each one once baked to keep them soft. Repeat with each pita. Enjoy with grilled meat, or as a wrap.

Candy Corn Slice and Bake Cookies
Yields: About 3 dozen cookies

3 cups white flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup castor sugar
5 tablespoons oil
4 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Food coloring

 Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a medium sized bowl. Beat sugar, oil, and butter on high with a hand mixer until smooth in another bowl. Add eggs one at a time, and then add vanilla. Slowly add flour mixture, and mix until just combined. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit or 175 degrees Celsius. Dump the cookie dough out, and shape it into a triangle. Cut lines where the colors would meet on an actual candy corn. You should have three pieces of dough. Color each one accordingly: the smallest portion leave white, the middle portion color orange, and the other portion color yellow. Freeze the dough for about 8 minutes before proceeding.  Roll each piece, starting with the yellow, into a log. Flatten it out and place on a cutting board. Repeat with the orange, and then with the white. Pile the dough on top of each other to form a slope. Shape the dough into a elongated pyramid shape, and refrigerate for about 12 minutes. Cut the dough into 1/4 inch slices and place on a baking sheet. You can reshape the dough a little once cut to be more like a triangle if needed. Bake for about 8 to 10 minutes. Enjoy with a big cup of coffee and a good book!  

German Soft Pretzels

A couple of weeks ago, my mom told me that we would need to prepare a report on a country for our homeschool co-op. Immediately I knew that I would do Germany. I've always wanted to visit Germany and I have thought of their culture as fresh, upcoming, and exciting. So as I was preparing my report, I came across this recipe for German soft pretzels. It's originally Alton Brown's recipe, with a few tweaks. I made these and took them to the co-op and everyone loved them. Hope you like them too!

German Soft Pretzels
Yield: 8 large pretzels

1 1/2 cups warm water
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons butter, melted
Oil, for bowl

10 cups water
2/3 cup baking powder

1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon water
Pretzel salt or Sea Salt

Combine warm water (1 1/2 cups) with sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle the yeast on top and stir gently. Allow the mixture to sit for 5 minutes, or until it begins to foam. Using a mixer with the dough hooks, mix in the flour 1/2 cup at a time. Mix on low speed for 2 minutes and then on medium speed for 4 minutes until dough pulls away from the side of the bowl and is sticky. Take another bowl and oil it well. Place the dough in it and put the bowl in a warm place for about 1 hour, or until the dough has doubled in size. In the meantime, pour the water (10 cups) into a large pot and add the baking soda, and bring to a rolling boil once the pretzels have been shaped. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit or 230 degrees Celsius. Dump the dough out onto a greased workspace and cut it into 8 equal pieces. Take each piece and roll it into a thin log that is 24 inches long. Make a U shape, then cross the ends over and twist the dough. Press the dough down at the bottom of the pretzel. Place each pretzel, one at a time, in the boiling water for 15 seconds on each side. Then place on a baking paper-lined pan, or a very well greased pan. Beat together the egg yolk and water (1 tablespoon) and brush it on each pretzel to ensure golden color. Then sprinkle each pretzel with salt. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool for at least 5 minutes.

I really like to enjoy them with a little honey mustard. You could also put cinnamon sugar on top instead of salt before baking, just be careful not to let the sugar burn. These are really nice and chewy, and they make a great snack, breakfast, or lunch.