2009 June

No-Cook Fresh Pasta Sauce

June 29, 2009 by Rebecca 13 Comments

This is what my yard looked like this morning when I went out to check the chickens.

I have a serious motivational problem when the weather is this stellar; particularly when it has been raining cats and dogs for a solid week. The idea of doing anything other than sitting on a blanket with a tall, frosty glass of iced tea and a good book seemed almost sinful. Chores kept calling me: “You know, that pile of laundry won’t shrink itself.”; “Hey! The sink is full of dishes.”; “I am your living room and I will NOT be ignored!” I emailed that picture of my yard to my Dad, telling myself that I’d get on the jobs that needed to be done afterward. He promptly emailed me back saying,

“Enjoy it while u can…… lot’s o rain coming from this direction and COLDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD. We enjoyed it while it was here but like any good guest…it left before we got used to it…”

Never let it be said that I can’t take a hint. My conscience had an excused absence thanks to my Dad. The dirt will just have to be patient and stick around until I’m done relaxing.

Some things, like taking advantage of a beautiful day when you’ve already had one rainy week and you’re staring down the barrel of another just like it, are no-brainers. Another no-brainer? No-Cook Fresh Pasta Sauce in all its wonder. It’s an unglamorous name for the most wonderful seasonal pasta sauce ever to cross my lips and it is a perennial favorite around our household. True to its name, the sauce requires no cooking whatsoever. And, ooooooh baby, let me tell you about its flavor. The ingredient list is comparatively puny; tomatoes, garlic, parsley, basil, olive oil, salt and pepper. The balanced combination, while simple, packs an unbeatable summer flavor. It is proof positive that uncomplicated food is often the best.

Adding to its charms of fabulous flavor and ease of preparation is the fact that the ingredients are currently (or soon will be) available at almost every roadside stand, farmers’ market or podunk-grocery store across America.

Just look at this. It’s so easy, so delicious, so inexpensive. It can be a lunch or a dinner, a vegetarian main dish, a side dish or a midnight snack. What are you waiting for?

One word of caution: You’d better arm yourself with a nice, fresh loaf of crusty bread. If you don’t you’ll find yourself licking the plate to get every last little bit of garlic and herb infused olive oil. I’m just saying…

For a photo-free, printer friendly version of this recipe, click here!

No-Cook Fresh Pasta Sauce

Recipe courtesy, many years ago, of Val.

If you find yourself short of fresh basil or parsley, you can substitute other fresh mild herbs such as chervil or chives. Use a light hand if adding fresh oregano, thyme or rosemary as they can easily overpower other flavors!

Ingredients:

1 pound ripe plum tomatoes
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
7 fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup packed fresh parsley, chopped
2 cloves (or more) garlic, peeled
kosher or sea salt and pepper to taste

Later, prior to serving:

1 pound hot pasta, cooked and drained according to package directions

Trim a thin disc off of the stem end of each tomato.

Stand tomato, cut surface down, and slice tomato in half. Use a the tip of a teaspoon or your fingers to remove the seed and pulp from the tomato halves. When you’re done, they should look like this:

Slice tomatoes into long thin strips. Turn the strips 90 degrees and cut across the strips to dice your tomatoes into small cubes.

Transfer tomatoes to a medium mixing bowl or container with a tight fitting lid. Place your parsley on the cutting board and top with your peeled cloves of garlic.

Sprinkle lightly with about 1/2 teaspoon of salt and then lay the basil on top. The salt helps break down the garlic and herbs as you chop, so don’t skip it! Chop it all finely.

Add herbs to the tomatoes.

Add additional salt and pepper to taste. Don’t skip the salt! It helps pull moisture from all the ingredients and marry the flavors. Married by salt. Well, there’s an idea if The Evil Genius and I ever renew our vows. I’ll carry a bouquet of cilantro. He can have a boutineer of jalapeno and Salt can conduct the ceremony. What? We had a church service for the actual wedding…

And come on, do you not just want to eat all of this right here and now? Am I the only one who wants to do that?

Now just pour the olive oil over the whole lot.

Toss gently; like a baby. Not that I advocate baby-tossing.

This is a beautiful thing.

Leave, tightly covered, at room temperature all day or in the fridge for at least 2 days to allow flavors to combine.

To finish the dish, add the sauce to the bottom of a large bowl.

Scoop the hot pasta which has been cooked and drained according to package directions directly on top of the No-Cook Pasta Sauce. And yes, it is crucial to use HOT pasta. The heat from the pasta helps take the edge off of the raw garlic.

Again, toss gently; like a baby. And we are all aware that I do not, repeat, do NOT advocate the throwing of babies even though they are remarkably bouncy.

Serve hot or room temperature.

Grated cheese (and you won’t hear me say this real frequently) is strictly optional. This really doesn’t even need cheese. (I feel dirty saying that but it’s true.)

Filed Under: Happy Healthy and Wise, Healthy Foods, Instructional, Main Dish, Rebecca, Recipes, Side Dishes, Stretching your dollars, Vegetarian Tagged With: easy dinner, family-friendly, quick dinner, seasonal

Watermelon Mojito Slushies: Think Pink!

June 25, 2009 by Rebecca 5 Comments

Yesterday, I mentioned that we’d been experiencing some of life’s less pleasant moments. One of those less pleasant moments was a biggie, folks. As in a life changing biggie…

*Fair warning: I am about to use the following words; breast, cancer, breasts, self-exam and self-check. If any of those words bother you, tune out until I get to the recipe. On second thought, if they bother you, you probably haven’t given enough thought to this subject and should especially stick around. This is important!

Three weeks ago, Val discovered a lump in her breast.* She called the doctor and made an appointment.* At the appointment, the doctors indicated the need for concern and scheduled a biopsy. The biopsy confirmed cancer. And within 10 days of finding the lump in her breast, Val was at a hospital having it surgically removed.

*Soapbox Moment and Biographical Interlude: Yes, ladies, it is vitally important that you do a self-check every month! This proves it. If you don’t know how to perform a self-exam on your breasts, visit here, here or here among other places. And it is also important to share that neither Val nor I likes going to the doctor. “And WHAT does THAT have to do with the price of tea in China?” You may ask? We both have a certain amount of fear and/or trepidation involved in visiting doctors. (Says the woman who has given birth to five children in ten years…) But despite our shared aversion to medical facilities and the procedures performed therein, Val still performed her monthly check and promptly scheduled a doctor’s appointment when she found something amiss. And because of her vigilance, they caught her tumor early and the prognosis is very, very positive. For this, all of those of us who love Val are eternally grateful. In other words. If you love someone, or have someone who loves you, please do everyone a favor and perform a self-breast exam on a monthly basis.

Here’s a special message to my male readers, because I know you’re out there! Please encourage the women you love to do self-exams. If you don’t know how to do it or are too embarassed to use the words to explain why it’s crucial, simply forward the link to this recipe to them.

Val has, in her typical fashion, kept the rest of us laughing instead of quietly chewing away the insides of our cheeks while waiting for test results and post-surgical updates. And (if you can even say it’s possible to have fun with cancer) Val has figured out a way to have fun with it. From turning down social events that she didn’t even want to attend with the statement, “I’m sorry. I can’t. I have cancer,” to laughing off a potential mastectomy by saying, “Hey! I told ‘em to take them both off! I’ll be able to wear a button-down shirt!” Val has kept us all in stitches while she gets real stitches.

To honor Val and her breast cancer journey, I am starting “Think Pink Thursdays“. This is my bloggy equivalent to wearing a pink ribbon all the time since the only people who would normally see me wearing a pink ribbon are my offspring and The Evil Genius husband. (And what kind of statement is a pink ribbon if no one sees you wearing it? It’s the the sound of one hand clapping near a tree falling in a forest. Er. You know what I mean.)

Think Pink Thursdays are going to be dedicated pink food and doing my part, however little it is, in trying to raise awareness of how important early detection is in breast cancer. I’d love to see any pink foods you all come up with and will publish your photos and links here if you want to send a shout-out to Val!

…Before I get to the recipe, I have one final thing to say about this, and it’s from Val. She says, “If anyone asks why I have’t posted in so long, just tell them I couldn’t. I was too busy with my cancer!”

Think Pink!

~~~~~~~~~~~

Now. To the food. Or drink, as the case may be… This Watermelon Mojito Slushy is the perfect way to kick off our Think Pink Thursdays. What’s pinker than watermelon? Nothing, I tell you! And the classic lime and mint mojito flavors pair beautifully with the sweet watermelon. It is not even possible for me to find words to describe how refreshing and light this drink is. Really. Just look at it!

Since the recipe relies on frozen watermelon cubes let’s begin with preparing your watermelon. Buy any size seedless watermelon you want. Could you use regular seedy watermelon? Sure, if you’re interested in seeding an entire watermelon, but I’m too lazy to sit there and pick out all those seeds. So, for argument’s sake, let’s just say you need a seedless watermelon. Using a big knife, cut it in half so that it will stand securely on your cutting board. Lay it, flat side down, and slice into quarters or eighths (depending on the size of your melon.) Use a paring knife (or even a butterknife at this point) to remove the pink part of the watermelon from the rind. Discard the rind in any way you see fit. (Our chickens lovey love love watermelon rinds.) Slice the watermelon into cubes that are roughly two to three inches across. Lay the watermelon cubes on a baking sheet lined with waxed paper and put into the freezer for several hours or until firm and frozen throughout.

If you’ve never frozen a watermelon, you’re missing out in a very big way. Even if you don’t plan on making these mojitos, at least try freezing the watermelon cubes. Since they don’t water drinks down as they thaw, you’ll probably find yourself tossing the frozen watermelon cubes into everything from iced tea to seltzer to soda to mixed drinks and cocktails. You just might wonder how you got along without frozen watermelon cubes for all those years.

For us, this drink is absolutely positively perfect when made using our Jalapeno Mojito Simple Syrup. If you don’t have any on hand, you can substitute plain simple syrup that is muddled with a few mint leaves. Our version gives a very subtle minty flavor to the finished drink. If you want more powerful mint punch, muddle a few mint leaves with the rum before adding it to the blender.

Think Pink Watermelon Mojito Slushies

Ingredients:

approximately 4 cups frozen seedless watermelon cubes (enough frozen watermelon to fill blender carafe to “MAX” line )
1/2 cup lime juice
1/3 cup Jalapeno Mojito Simple Syrup (or other simple syrup muddled with mint leaves)
1 cup golden rum
seltzer water, if needed, to thin the drink

Add all ingredients to your blender, make sure your lid is firmly in place and blend on ‘HIGH’ until smooth. Pour into chilled glasses and serve immediately. Yields between 1-4 drinks, depending on how bad your day was. Or whether you have cancer.

Filed Under: Beverages, Instructional, Rebecca, Recipes

Jalapeno Mojito Syrup

June 24, 2009 by Rebecca 7 Comments

I need to remember that no matter how weird things get around here they can always, and probably will, get weirder. Unfortunately, the last couple weeks have been peppered with some of life’s less pleasant moments. One of them, I will share with you in a future post.* The other two things I’m going to whine about right here and now.

*Not to sound mysterious or anything, but we’re waiting on a piece of information before we talk about it here… Stay tuned for further whining…

First, I spent Saturday at the Urgent Care department with little Rowan whilst the kind medical staff did their best to extract a self-administered beanbag bead from his ear. Rowan was as brave as could be; He clenched his teeth and balled up his little fists and his big blue eyes teared up; He was such a courageous little guy that it made me forget how irritated and worried I was that he had stuck the ball in his ear in the first place. But he let the doctors and nurses do their thing, and in the end, after applying several jet propelled streams of water and the world’s teensiest vacuum to his ear, the offending polystyrene ball was removed. When all was said and done, his ear felt better and he reveled in the attention from his concerned older brothers. He spent the evening repeatedly telling them how the doctor had done THIS* to his ear.

*Insert the best imitation of you’ve ever heard Niagara Falls as done by a three-year-old here. There was a great deal of spittle involved.

Second, my three best egg-layer hens were absconded with by some nefarious, and as yet undetermined, wild critter. Last Thursday, when we went to feed the chickens, we discovered that some beastie had stolen into our chicken run and coop and made off with Menya and Halgerda, a Buff Orpington and Barred Rock, respectively. The only sign of what had happened to our birds was a clearly marked trail of feathers leading out under the fence. We were perplexed and went to bed that night not knowing quite what to do. When we awoke the next morning we discovered that the vermin had come back and taken Inga, a White Rock, too.

Boo and hiss, people. We not only love the eggs we get from these birds but we love them, too. If you’ve never spent time just watching chickens you’re seriously missing out on one of life’s simple pleasures. Each one of these birds has a name and a distinct personality and will be missed both for the food they provided us and their companionship. R.I.P. Menya, Halgerda and Inga. We have since turned our coop and run into the Ford Knox of chicken dwelling places. So far, the rest of the birds are safe.

Thor, our rooster, has had his harem reduced and is looking a little depressed;

Just look at that drooping tail feather.

Thor! Show some rooster pride, man up and protect the rest of your gals; That’s why we put up with you trying to spur us every time we feed you, for cryin’ in a bucket.

That’s more like it!

…Now, does anyone recognize these tracks?

The shotgun shell is there to give you an idea of the size of the track.

These, we think, belong to our chicken-killer. But there’s a mystery involved. While method of the chickens’ demise would suggest a fox, the tracks left behind would suggest a raccoon. Any ideas?

On the bright side, while we were combing the brush behind the chicken coop to try to find traces of our beloved girls, we found a hidden monster patch of mint. And in the grand and time-honored spirit of filling any voids in my life with food, I decided to do something with it.

Enter Jalapeno Mojito Syrup. Everyone has heard of mojitos, right? Oh sure, they’re delicious with their lime and their mint and their ice and their rum. It’s a concept that’s practically perfect in every way much like Mary Poppins. *

*I love ‘Mary Poppins’. I really do.

Sidebar: Can you imagine if Mary Poppins had tippled a few mojitos? Hey! Now there’s a thought! There probably would’ve been more of this:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gx7lz5X2vKk[/youtube]

…And less of this…
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHrRxQVUFN4[/youtube]

I do like a classic mojito -mint leaves muddled with simple syrup, lime, and rum- but I also like variations on the theme. When the mercury spikes and the humidity rises, there are few things more refreshing than a mojito slushy -mint leaves, ice, lime juice, rum and simple syrup blasted through the blender to make the ultimate ‘adults only’ freezer drink. But whether you’re a mojito purist or a mojito visionary, you’re bound to appreciate this spectacular mojito flavored syrup that takes advantage not only of the classic mint and lime mojito combination, but of the fruity flavor and ever-so-subtle kick of heat provided by a fresh jalapeno pepper.

If you abstain from alcohol, this syrup is a refreshing and delicious addition to a tall glass of iced tea or club soda. It also serves as the base to a show-stopping limeade. Anyway you mix it, this syrup lifts your drink to a higher level of deliciousness*.

*That’s a technical cooking term, you know.

Jalapeno Mojito Syrup can be used anywhere a simple syrup is required, so don’t just stick with beverages. The possibilities are fantastic; Brush it on cake layers to keep them moist, make rock candy or poach fruit with this elixer.

For this batch of syrup, I removed the seeds because I only wanted a background, barely perceptible heat so it would be more versatile. If you’re up for some adventure, leave the seeds in your halved jalapeno pepper for an added burst of heat with your flavor. Either way it’s danged good.

For a photo-free, printer friendly version of the recipe, click here!

Jalapeno Mojito Syrup

Ingredients:

2 cups fresh mint leaves, washed
2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups water
the zest and juice of 1 whole lime
1 fresh jalapeno pepper, washed and stemmed

Add mint leaves and sugar to a medium-sized non-reactive saucepan.

Press gently with the back of a spoon, add the water, lime zest and lime juice and stir several times. Set aside.

Place your stemmed jalapeno pepper on a cutting board and cut in half from end to end. *Friendly reminder: If you are sensitive to hot peppers or aren’t sure, save yourself some grief and wear a gloves when working with them!

Use the tip of a teaspoon to remove the seeds from the pepper.

Add the pepper to the pan.

Bring to a boil over high heat. Boil for three minutes, turn off the heat and put a tight fitting lid on the pan.

Leave the syrup to steep with the lid on for fifteen minutes. While syrup steeps, place a fine mesh strainer (or cheesecloth) in a funnel in a jar or bottle that has a tight fitting lid or into a measuring cup.

When time is up, remove pan lid. This is what you’ll be looking at. What you’ll be smelling is simply heavenly!

Pour the syrup through the strainer.

Store, tightly lidded, in the refrigerator for up to a month.

Tune back in tomorrow to see what mixological feats of derring-do I perform with the syrup.*

*Translation from Nerd to English: I’m doing something crazy delicious and unorthodox with this and alcohol tomorrow. Come back if you want in on the fun.

Filed Under: Beverages, Component Foods, Desserts, Instructional, Rebecca, Recipes, Vegetarian Tagged With: jalapeno, mixological madness, mojito, summer drinks

Torteggas

June 16, 2009 by Rebecca 12 Comments

I have started and stopped writing this post fifteen different times. I’ve written as much as five paragraphs and then deleted the whole thing. I am, you might say, distractable and distracted. My children keep bursting in through the doors yelling crazy things at me. (Because apparently my children have given up speaking in favor of yelling everything.)

The following are all actual things my kids have said to me in the past week:

“Mom! Do you LOVE refrigerators? ‘Cause I think they’re AWESOME!”

“I can’t put my ripped jeans on Diggedy. Those are my wood working and snake catching pants. That would be disastrous!” (First, or the record, I did not -ever- ask any child to put pants of any kind -ripped or otherwise- on the poor, elderly beagle. And second, snake catching pants? )

“I feel hungry and empty inside!” (This was said immediately after the child had eaten three hot dogs!)

“I have a black eye! I accidentally slapped myself in the eye with my hand!” (Whah?)

“I didn’t shoot him on purpose. We were playing a game called ‘don’t move!’ and he moved. I was compelled to shoot him. (I’d like to have words with whoever invented those Nerf foam dart guns. Unkind words.)

To top it off, I have late-Spring fever, an exploding garden, and a million and a half things to get done.

So without further adieu, I will skip straight ahead to the food, eschewing all other distractions. Well, except for this one. The name of this dish is not one of my finer moments. Torteggas. Right. My pride aches just typing that. Here’s the thing. My kids asked me what was for dinner. This dish was -as yet- unnamed when the question was posed. (And my children NEED for dishes to have names. Don’t ask me why because I haven’t figured it out. If the dish doesn’t have a name it won’t pass their lips. Is it something I’ve done?) In a moment of not-so-quick thinking, I combined the words ‘tortilla’ and ‘egg’ in the only way my poor addled, distractable brain could. The result was ‘Torteggas’. Le sigh. And of course, the name stuck.

Silly name or not, this is one of the finest fast dinners in my repertoire. This egg-lover’s dream dish is a hand-held meal that combines a crisped tortilla with a lightly fried egg, melted cheese and salad. If you, like me and 4 out of the 6 other mouths for which I cook, adore runny yolks, this dish is a sure winner. The yolk makes the most amazing, velvety dressing when it breaks over the salad greens. It’s messy. I won’t lie to you. But it’s yummy, yolky, eggy messy. And the combination of flavors and textures is surprisingly sophisticated: the hot and chewy tortilla, soft egg, warm, velvety yolk, crisp greens, sharp cheese and piquant hot sauce… It just goes to prove the old adage that simplest is often best.

When you have only minutes to create and eat dinner before flying out the door for soccer/dance/baseball practice or an evening meeting this is absolutely, bar-none, the best thing you can possibly make. The egg is substantial enough to fill you up without weighing you down. And can I tell you just one more thing? I sometimes make this on nights when we’re in no hurry at all. It really is that good. And lest I forget to mention it, this is a very healthy meal. Protein and veggies in a convenient hand-held package. As if all that weren’t enough, it’s vegetarian friendly!*

*Sure, you can throw a few crispy strips of bacon in here and it’s outstanding, but that sort of takes away from the 2-minutes-and-done-nature of this dish. But I won’t tell you I’ve never done that… Because that would be lying.

Just make this. Please. Soon!

Torteggas

Ingredients (scale up or down as needed, quantities given are per serving):

1 flour tortilla
1 tsp vegetable or canola oil
1 egg
3 Tablespoons finely shredded cheese (any nicely melting cheese will do!), divided
a pinch of salt
a handful mixed salad greens, cleaned and dried
optional: hot sauce for serving

Before beginning, it’s best to lay your ingredients out, much like a stir-fry, as this process goes really quickly once you start cooking!

Warm a heavy bottomed skillet over medium heat. When pan is hot, add oil and allow that to heat. Place tortilla in pan. Fry until the top side puffs up a bit and its underside is golden brown, about 1 minute.

Remove tortilla to a plate and crack egg carefully to one side of the center of the pan. Sprinkle 1 Tablespoon of cheese over the egg.

Gently lay tortilla, fried side down, over the egg in the pan. The tortilla should be positioned so that when the tortegga is done and you fold it in half, the egg will cover one half of the tortilla.

Don't squash that egg! (Unless of course you have those who like their yolks firm and cooked through. In that case, squash away!

Don't squash that egg with the tortilla! (Unless of course you have those who like their yolks firm and cooked through. In that case, squash away!

Cook for about 1 minute, or until you can carefully slide a spatula under the egg and tortilla. If you like your yolks runny (and I do!) be careful not to break the yolk as you slide the spatula under and flip the egg and tortilla over. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top of the egg and tortilla.

Raise the heat to medium high and fry until underside of tortilla is a light golden brown.

Remove tortegga to plate and sprinkle with salt to taste.

Oh my achin' yolk.

Drizzle with hot sauce (if using) and top one half with salad greens.

...And one for the child who doesn't like hot sauce!

...And one for the body who doesn't like hot sauce!

Fold in half like a taco and inhale!

There is no getting around it, if you like runny yolks, this is a bit messy to eat. But it’s worth every single drip! Just lick your fingers. I promise I won’t tell.

I licked this plate. And I’m not ashamed to admit it.

Filed Under: Breakfast Foods, Eggs, Happy Healthy and Wise, Healthy Foods, Main Dish, Rebecca, Recipes, Stretching your dollars, Vegetarian Tagged With: eggs, quick meal

We have ultra-scientifically determined the winner.

June 9, 2009 by Rebecca 1 Comment

I asked the boys to help me determine the winner for our Calphalon pan, Tightwad Gazette, and Pastry Scraper giveaway. In true parent fashion, I decided to make it into a math lesson. Here’s how the process went.

Mom: Okay, everyone give me a number between 1 and 43 (the total number of comments plus those who linked back to us.)
Liam: 17! (Decisively. Like it’s the only number possible.)
Ty: 10? (With a decided “Why am I doing this?” look on his face.)
Rowan: I’m three! (Fluttering eyelashes and looking adorable.)
Leif: 60! (triumphantly)
Mom: Leif, that’s well over 43. Can you try a number between 1 and 43?
Leif: 17! (“When in doubt, parrot Liam,” sayeth Leif.)
Aidan: 14 (Because I am not Liam.)

We added all of the numbers up and averaged them to come up with 12.2. After rounding down (since it’s all about the math, n’est-ce pas?) we came up with comment #12. Excluding my comment, since I can’t very well win my own giveaway that brings us to Jennifer. We had two Jennifers commenting, so I’ll specify. The winner of the Calphalon pan, Tightwad Gazette, and Pastry Scraper is THIS Jennifer:

Jennifer
June 4th, 2009 at 3:54 pm

Well sir. Where to begin.
I have never made bread before, and have remained timid at the thought, frankly, since my mom used to bake the most yummy, chewy, pull-you-in-from-the-fields-it-smells-so-good bread. To fail is unfathomable. The stakes are high. But THIS recipe! It looks simple enough for me to handle (I’m no beginner, other than bread), and the payoff… Oh geez I’m drooling. How embarrassing. Is it wrong that I want to throw in tiny chunks of dry cured hot salami? What about sun-dried tomatoes and kalamata olives? Bacon chooped up tiny and rosemary? Hell, JUST rosemary and olive oil? LAVENDER FLOWERS. Cheddar and Chipotles. Onion needs to go in there too. Ok, I’m getting carried away, I know. The bread is just going to end up as a vessel for other ingredients, let’s be honest. Ok, and the first loaves? On their way right now, smelling EXACTLY like they should. Drool. You know what I’m going to do with them? So wrong, but I’m going to slice into em from above along the ‘X’, jam some butter in there, and let it melt. MMMMMMMMMMM… Maye the next ones could have a touch of cinnamon with maple butter…
I think I’m really onto something here!
Thanks SO MUCH, from myself, and anyone within smell distance!

Wow! Thank you, Jennifer. But tell me, did you like it? Contact me via email with your snail mail address so that I can send you your goodies. Congratulations!

…And thank you to everyone else who participated. Stay tuned for another giveaway and more delicious recipes in the next couple weeks.

Filed Under: Giveaways!, Rebecca

Asiago Herb and Garlic Bread

June 3, 2009 by Rebecca 56 Comments

Time is up on the giveaway. I will now retreat with my calculator and devise a highly scientific method of picking the winner. (Actually, the winner will be chosen at random. I thought I should probably mention that!) I will announce the winner later today, so please come back to see who the lucky winner is!

Everyone needs a go-to recipe. I mean the kind of recipe you can rely on when you’re hosting unexpected dinner guests in a couple hours and can’t get to the store. Or the sort of recipe that rescues your hiney when you’ve spent the entire day on one subject with the kids (for my fellow homeschoolers) or running around to five hundred million different places (for everyone) and haven’t spent two minutes thinking about dinner. I’m talking about the recipe that can be made entirely from pantry staples. I refer to the chameleon recipe that goes with everything. I am telling you about (drumroll please…) Asiago Herb and Garlic Bread.

We’ve been doing standardized testing this week for the big boys and lemme tell you, they’ve not been thrilled. They stress over questions they don’t know even though I’ve told them repeatedly that they are expected to miss things on a standardized test. I have no idea whatsoever where they got their perfectionist tendencies. I am so sanguine and never, ever obsessive compulsive over results.*

*I’d like to throw an idea out there for any braniacs or creative types who read my blog. Could someone PLEASE come up with a ‘Sarcastic Font’ that could be used universally? And then could you do the work to get it accepted, recognized and widely used? It would be so much easier than italicizing every other word when I’m trying to force my keyboard to drip sarcasm… Thank you!

During testing week, the boyos require a little more, er, understanding. They’re cranky with themselves, crabby with The Evil Genius and me, and absolutely foul-tempered toward each other. I’ve only found two things that ameliorate some of the short fuses; food and one VERY effective threat*. Both approaches need to be used for either of them to work well. The food has to be served much like Chicago style voting; early and often. And the threat? Well, don’t judge me until you’ve walked a mile in my Crocs, but I threaten to make them sit on the couch facing each other while holding hands and singing, “Kumbaya”. It works like a charm. (Another friend recently informed me that she made her now grown sons hold hands in a circle while reciting, “How blessed it is when brothers live together in unity.” I’m keeping that one handy for future reference.)

Oh, how the food flowed this week… And by the time we got to evening before last, the cupboards were showing the strain. Naturally, I hadn’t planned anything for dinner and I realized this at 3 o’clock. ACK!

The inspiration for this bread comes from a recipe that I’ve been preparing for years: Cuban Bread (from ‘The Tightwad Gazette: Volume II’, Amy Dacyzyn). This recipe always appealed to me because it is prepared, rested, baked and ready to stuff in my face in an hour and a half. It has a simple, honest bread flavor that just happens to be very budget friendly. And that made it the perfect candidate to accompany a quick, monstrously huge pot of spaghetti last night. But last night, simple honest bread just wasn’t cutting it for me. I wanted something spectacular… And messing with the recipe yielded one of the most delicious breads I’ve ever had. Ever.

The addition of indecent quantities of Asiago cheese, Italian herbs, and garlic turned humble Cuban Bread into the most gorgeous brown, cheese-crusted and cheese-studded, herbed, garlic bread I’ve ever had the pleasure of tearing apart with my teeth. We consumed all but five slices of the bread in less than twenty minutes. It was so good that I dreamed about it. The next morning I used the remaining slices of bread to make “Toads in a hole” for breakfast. Then I started another batch of the bread. It was done and out of the oven just in time to send a loaf home with my kind-hearted and prolific-gardener friend, Deb, who brought some extra seedlings she had started for our garden.

I don’t want to hear anyone saying, “But I don’t bake bread!” This bread is so easy to make that it is almost impossible to mess up. I’m serious. You can mix it by hand, in a stand mixer or in a food processor. There’s no preheating the oven or multiple rises to this bread. It is as easy as it gets. But, oh, the payoff!

I refuse to tell you how many batches of this bread I’ve made since Monday. We’ve eaten it plain (if such a loaf can be called plain), buttered and/or as toast. You’ve never tasted such toast as that made with this bread, I tell you! My backside is evidence of how many slices of this bread I’ve consumed while sitting at the table proctoring tests…

…But tests are now done! I’m in proud Mama mode with both the kids and this bread. If you’ve just finished up the school year drop me an email or find me on Facebook. I’m there. Even if only to freak my kids out a little. No kids? Send me a picture of pets, your favorite book or a loaf of freshly baked bread! I love you hear from you all.

And I’m in the mood for celebrating. I’m going to whip up another batch of this bread but I’m feeling pretty punchy and I’m not sure that’ll suffice. Hey! A giveaway might just do it… So, to celebrate the end of this round of schooling, the end of testing and the discovery of Asiago Herb and Garlic Bread I’m going to give away a bunch of goodies!

This Calphalon Commercial Hard-Anodized 12″ Everyday Pan with Lid! This is my favorite pan in my kitchen. I use it *gasp* everyday! Were those Calphalon folks clever when the named it or what? It can’t be beat for versatility and it’s heavy enough to stop an intruder when applied to the intruder’s head. It’s suitable for stovetop, oven and broiler cooking. I make spaghetti sauce, baked fish, bacon, and all other sorts of things in it. Since it’s hard-anodized it’s non-reactive and it doesn’t absorb or impart odors or off flavors.

…and since I’m still feeling giddy, I’m also giving away a copy of the book that inspired the heaven-sent bread: The Complete Tightwad Gazette, by Amy Dacyzyn. This book is the last word in thrifty living. While no one really expects to adopt EVERY suggestion in the book, there are countless tricks and common sense approaches to cutting the fluff from a budget. It’s an awfully helpful and nice resource to have on the shelf.

While I’m at it, I’ll throw in one of my favorite, low-tech kitchen gadgets: The Oxo Pastry Scraper (bench knife). This little thing separates bread dough, cleans up gummy countertops, helps remove recalcitrant pastry crust or cookie dough from surfaces and whacks a calzone in half in less than two shakes of a hummingbird’s wing.

Want to enter? Details are after the recipe!

For a photo-free, printer-friendly version of this recipe, click here!

Asiago Herb and Garlic Bread

Ingredients:

6 cups all-purpose flour
1- 1/2 cups plus 2/3 cup grated Asiago cheese, divided
2 Tablespoons dry yeast
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 Tablespoon salt
1 Tablespoon dried Italian Seasoning
1 teaspoon dried Rosemary
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (adjust up or down according to heat preference)
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic (optional)
2 cups hot tap water (around 120-130 degrees)
4 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided, plus a little for the bowl

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, 1-1/2 cups grated Asiago, yeast, sugar, salt, Italian seasoning, rosemary, red pepper flakes, onion and garlic powder.

(If using a food processor, simply add those dry ingredients to the food processor bowl and pulse 5 times.) Pour in the hot water and stir 100 times (That is equal to 3 minutes with a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. If using the food processor, drizzle the water in while the machine is running until the dough forms a ball.)

Knead the dough for 8 minutes (If using stand mixer with a dough hook, allow to mix on low for 4 minutes. If using the food processor, allow the ball to spin 20 times.) Form the dough into a rough ball.

Drizzle some olive oil into a bowl. I just carry on using the mixing bowl of my stand mixer. Feel free to dirty another dish, though…

Place dough into the bowl and flip over, so both sides are lightly coated with olive oil.

Cover with a damp tea towel or paper towel.

Allow to rise for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, the dough will be puffy.

Punch down dough.

Divide into two equal pieces. Form the dough into rounds. To make a nice tight ball, pull the top of the dough over and down the sides of the wad of dough. Then, tuck under the excess. Voila! Tight dough balls! Place about 6 inches apart on an ungreased, rimmed baking sheet. Gently pat the dough rounds down so they are relatively flat on top.

Use a sharp knife to slash an ‘x’ about 1/4″ deep over the tops of the loaves.

Drizzle each loaf with about 2 Tablespoons of olive oil.

Then top each loaf with about 1/3 cup additional grated Asiago. Really pack that cheese on there. I wouldn’t judge if you decided to go with more like 1/2 a cup…

This is DEFINITELY one time when less is NOT more! (Go on. Put more cheese on that dough!)

Place baking sheet in a cold oven over a cake or loaf pan filled with hot tap water.

Set oven to 400°F. As soon as you turn the oven on, set your timer for 40 minutes. Begin checking the bread when the timer goes off. If it is still light colored, pop it back in the oven. You may need as much as 10 more minutes.If bread is a gorgeous deep golden brown, remove it. See this loaf? It’s perfect in every possible way except for one. That one is that I haven’t eaten it yet.

Remove the bread and serve hot, warm or room temperature. This is one bread that tastes great any way you slice it!

How to Enter the Contest

To enter, just try making the bread and leave me a comment about how it turned out for you. If you plan on making it, what will the bread accompany? Or if messin’ with recipes is your style, tell me how you made the bread your own. Or if you hate bread, feel free to share. Just leave a comment!
One entry per person via comments. However, should you choose to mention this wee contest of mine in your blog, email me or leave a comment with the link and I’ll throw your name in the hat a second time.

Important Bits and Pieces

The contest ends 12 noon EST, Monday, June 8, 2009.
There will be a maximum of two entries per person. Righty?
My family cannot win these prizes. I think everyone in my family has these already, anyway!
This is a contest sponsored by yours truly. No corporations or authors were exploited, harmed or otherwise injured in the course of this contest.

Filed Under: Bread, Rebecca, Recipes, Stretching your dollars, Vegetarian Tagged With: asiago cheese, homemade bread, quick yeast bread