Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for May, 2007

Breakfast Burritos

Posted in breakfasts, cooking on May 23, 2007 | Leave a Comment »

p1080709.jpgHere’s a great idea for breakfasts. This morning we had breakfast burritos. I used my homemade tortillas, scrambled eggs (with a little milk and gruyere), some leftover filling for beef and rice pastries, homemade sour cream, and salsa (we cheated and used commercial salsa).

Read Full Post »

Salmon Spread

Posted in lunch, recipes on May 21, 2007 | 4 Comments »

p1080703-1.jpgI like to take this to work for lunch.

  • 1 14.75oz can of drained Alaskan Red Sockeye salmon with bones and skin
  • about 10 large olives sliced
  • 3T capers
  • dollop of mayonnaise to desired consistency (I make my own)
  • 1T brown mustard
  • salt
  • pepper

Mash it all together and spread it on your sandwich.

Read Full Post »

No-Knead Bread

Posted in baking, bread, recipes on May 21, 2007 | 14 Comments »

bread.jpgI’ve been refining this bread recipe. The beauty of this recipe is that it is so easy and doesn’t take much time. It seems to stay fresh longer than some of my previous recipes. I make it on Sunday and it is still reasonably fresh for my Thursday lunch sandwich. By Friday it is starting to get a bit dry and stale, but what more can you expect?

  • 15oz hard red spring wheat
  • 12oz tap water
  • 2T unpasteurized apple cider vinegar or whey
  • 1/4t active dry yeast
  • 1 1/2t celtic sea salt

Grind the wheat as finely as possible. Mix in yeast and salt. Add the vinegar to the water. Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture and pour in the liquid. Stir until mixed, cover, and refrigerate over night.

In the morning wet your hands and knead the dough about 10 times. Don’t do it much more than this. I have succeeded in over-kneading my dough after an overnight soak and a very short knead. Cover and let sit at room temperature.

Sometime in the afternoon (anywhere from 3-5) place a piece of parchment paper on an edgeless cookie sheet or pizza peel. Wet your hands and dump out the dough on the counter. Gently fold the dough as you would a business letter and then again once the other direction. Tuck the seams gently underneath – shaping it into a ball – and place in the center of the parchment. Sprinkle a little flour on top and cover with a towel. Let it rise for 1-2 hours. Don’t let it rise too long.

Place a pizza stone on the center oven rack. Place a pan of water on the bottom rack and preheat the oven to 450F. Let the oven preheat at least 30 minutes. Loosen the parchment paper on the cookie sheet so that it slides easily. With a quick jerk slide the bread onto the pizza stone. Bake for about 30 minutes.

So far the inside comes out perfect. The top sometimes gets a little too brown. I think more steam seems to help keep the bread from getting too dark.

UPDATE (9/16/2007): If found that if you put the pizza stone too high in the oven, you will get overdone crust. I put the stone on the lowest or next to lowest rack and then put the pan of water on the top rack.

I also recently tried using hard white spring wheat instead of the red. It make a much lighter colored bread. However, it also seems to be more thirsty. I bumped the water up to 13oz. The extra water seems to make the crumb a little more open as well.

Read Full Post »

Egg Gravy

Posted in breakfasts, cooking, recipes on May 10, 2007 | 2 Comments »

image0.jpgMy daughter Hannah absolutely loves biscuits and gravy. Usually we (she likes to help) make sausage gravy, but sometimes we run out of sausage. When that happens we make egg gravy. My mother-in-law makes this and calls it “Eggs ala Golden Rod.” Here’s how I do it.

  • 4-5 eggs
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • milk (whole)
  • salt
  • pepper
  • nutmeg

Cover the eggs with cold water in a sauce pan. Cover and bring to a boil. Turn off the burner and let it sit on the burner for 10 minutes. Drain and cover with cold water. Let cool for 5-10 minutes before peeling.

Melt the butter in a sauce pan on medium-low heat. Whisk in the the flour. This is called a roux. Turn up the heat to medium and let it bubble for at least a minute while whisking gently. This eliminates the flour taste. Continue whisking and pour in some milk. Bring to a gentle simmer until it thickens. Whisk in additional milk to obtain desired consistency.

Chop eggs and add to gravy. Season with nutmeg, salt, and pepper or use your favorite seasonings. Shari is partial to garlic.

Serve over whole wheat biscuit.

Read Full Post »

Deeper Nourishment

Posted in faith on May 3, 2007 | 1 Comment »

Why do I believe anything? Usually my basis for belief in anything is based in knowledge I have gained through study and experience. I have chosen to serve my family foods that are traditional and nourishing because I believe that is the best way to obtain and maintain a healthy physical body. I believe that because I have studied the literature. My belief is based in knowledge.

In a similar way, I believe there is a God. I don’t believe there is a God simply because that’s how I was brought up. I believe it because the evidence is there to support such a belief.

If you don’t believe in God, I’m not going to convince you in one blog post. But from one reasoning person to another, I have seen the evidence and I am convinced. Investigate with an open mind and I believe you will conclude the same.

While physical nourishment is important, it is only temporary. 100% of all life ends in death. Don’t neglect the nourishment of your spirit.

Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” John 6:49-51

Today is the National Day of Prayer. Don’t miss this opportunity to partake of the bread of life.

Read Full Post »

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.