Rustic Sourdough Bread

So quite awhile back I made a sourdough starter. I was all excited to use it, but instead I stuck it in my fridge and forgot about it! (oops!). So I pulled it out last week and made some sourdough bread. I have to admit I was pretty nervous about making the bread. Yeah... my sourdough starter looked and smelled right, but I had read all these stories online about how hard it is to get sourdough bread to come out right. But, I decided to be brave and just make it, and I am sooo glad I did, because my bread came out great.

I got my recipe for the bread from the King Arthur's Flour website. When I was on there I noticed that they sell sourdough starters. So if you want to attempt sourdough that might be a good way to start. But if you want to do it all by yourself- I got my sourdough recipe from this sight: http://whatscookingamerica.net/Bread/SourdoughStarter.htm

And if you do try making sourdough bread... please let me know how it comes out!


1 cup "fed" sourdough starter
1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
5 cups King Arthur Unbleached All Purpose Flour (or whatever brand you use)

1. Combine all ingredients, kneading to form a smooth dough.
2. Allow the dough to rise, in a covered bowl, until it's doubled in size, about 90 minutes.
3. Gently shape the dough into two oval loaves. Place the loaves on a lightly greased  or parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover and let rise until very puffy, about 1 hour. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat oven to 425 degrees.
4. Spray the loaves with lukewarm water.
5. Make two fairly deep diagonal slashes in each.
6. Bake the bread for 25 to 30 minutes, until it's a very deep golden brown. Remove bread from oven and cool on a rack.

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Spinach and Ricotta Stuffed Tomatoes

Okay- so I have to admit that I'm not a very big tomato fan. But this dish is delicious!!!!! And I'm pretty sure that I'll be making it again fairly soon! :) The recipe calls for 8 tomatoes, but I did 4 tomatoes and I made the same amount of stuffing. I also used fresh spinach instead of frozen. http://www.ifood.tv/recipe/spinach_and_ricotta_stuffed_tomatoes     

8 ripe red tomatoes, the best you can find

Salt for draining tomatoes

3 tablespoons best-quality olive oil

1 cup finely chopped yellow onions

10 ounces frozen spinach, defrosted, drained, and squeezed dry

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Nutmeg, to taste

1 cup ricotta cheese

2 egg yolks

1/4 cup grated imported Parmesan cheese, plus additional

Cheese to top tomatoes

1/2 cup chopped Italian parsley

Wash and dry the tomatoes and cut off their tops.
With the handle end of a small spoon, scrape out seeds and partitions, being careful not to pierce the sides of tomatoes.
Salt the cavities and set tomatoes upside down on a paper towel to drain for 30 minutes.
Heat the olive oil in a skillet, add the onions and cook, covered, over low heat until tender and lightly colored, about 25 minutes.
Chop the spinach and add it to the skillet.
Combine onions and spinach thoroughly, season to taste with salt, pepper and nutmeg, and cover.

Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Do not let the mixture scorch.
Beat ricotta and egg yolks together thoroughly in a mixing bowl.
Add spinach mixture, pine nuts, 1/4 cup of the Parmesan and the parsley, and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Gently blot tomato cavities dry with a paper towel and spoon an equal share of the spinach mixture into each one.
Top each tomato with a sprinkle of additional Parmesan.
Arrange tomatoes in a shallow baking dish and set in the upper third of a preheated 350°F.oven.
Bake until tops are well browned and filling is hot and bubbly, about 20 minutes.

French Spring Soup

I made this recipe for the first time the other day and it was delicious!!!! http://www.thecookingphotographer.com/2010/05/french-spring-soup-bruschetta-al.html The only change I made was that I substituted the asparagus with celery. I think the asparagus would be really good in it, so I'll have to try that another time. I paired the soup with sourdough bread (home made!) and spinach and ricotta stuffed tomatoes. Talk about a great dinner! :)

1/4 cup butter
1 pound leeks, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 quarts water
3 large potatoes, chopped
2 large carrots, chopped
1 bunch fresh asparagus, ends trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
1/3 cup uncooked long-grain white rice
4 teaspoons salt
Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
1/2 pound fresh spinach, chopped
1 cup heavy cream

1. Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in the leeks and onion, and cook until tender 20 to 30 minutes. The longer you cook them, the better your soup will be.

2. Pour water into the pot. Mix in potatoes, carrots, asparagus, and rice. Season with salt and lots of freshly cracked black pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 25 to 30 minutes, until vegetables and rice are tender.

3. Stir spinach and heavy cream into the soup mixture, and continue cooking about 5 minutes before serving.

Jamaican Sweet Potato

Okay- this is one of my favorite recipes. It's got GREAT flavor, it's easy to make and it's healthy. What more can you ask for?
I'm guessing that if you've ever been to Claim Jumper you've probably seen this on their menu. I've never had it there, but my Mom did once and later on she told me about it. So I decided to try making it myself, and it's been a favorite ever since!

Let’s start with the chicken first-

Jamaican Jerk Chicken:

1 tablespoon allspice
1 tablespoon thyme
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons sage
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
3/4 cup orange juice
3/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup olive oil
2-3 teaspoons lime juice
2 garlic cloves, minced

In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients. Add garlic and liquids, and stir with a wire whisk. Pour over chicken and marinate for at least one hour.


An hour before dinner time make sure you get your sweet potatoes in the oven-

Baked Sweet Potato:

Wash sweet potatoes, cut off ends, rub with olive oil and place on a baking sheet. Cook in a 400 degree oven for 60 minutes.


While your sweet potatoes are cooking, grill your chicken:

3 chicken breasts
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 jalapeno pepper, thinly sliced
1/2 green pepper, thinly sliced
1/2 red pepper, thinly sliced
4 green onions, finely chopped

Grease a grill pan (the grill pan from Ikea is absolutely perfect for this!). When pan is heated (about medium heat) add chicken and vegetables. Pour some of marinade over chicken. Grill on both sides, slowly adding marinade until all of the marinade is used up, and the chicken is cooked through. Shred chicken and mix back in with the veggies.

Serve mixture over baked sweet potato and drizzle agave nectar over the top. Enjoy! :)

Roasted Carrots

Like I said- I am addicted to roasted veggies! So here's another great recipe- roasted carrots. I think it's my new favorite way to eat carrots! Yum!

So here's what you need:

1-1/2 lbs carrots- peeled, and cut into uniform pieces (well... as uniform as you can get!)
2 tablespoons butter- melted (I like unsalted butter)
Salt, pepper and thyme- to taste
Agave nectar

And here's what you do:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Adjust oven rack to middle position.
Line baking sheet with foil.

In a large bowl combine carrots, butter, salt, pepper and thyme. Spread in a single layer on the baking sheet.
Cover baking sheet with foil and cook for 15 minutes. Remove foil and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, for an extra 30 minutes. Transfer carrots to serving dish and drizzle with agave nectar. Enjoy!

Parmesan Roasted Broccoli

Well... it seems that I have a new addiction- aka- roasted veggies. Mmmmm... talk about good! I made parmesan roasted broccoli the other day and it was an instant hit! I was browsing the Food Network website the other day and found this Ina Garten recipe http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/parmesan-roasted-broccoli-recipe/index.html. I am soooo glad that I found this recipe, and I hope you enjoy it also! : )

• 4 to 5 pounds broccoli
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
• Good olive oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
• 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons julienned fresh basil leaves (about 12 leaves)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Cut the broccoli florets from the thick stalks, leaving an inch or two of stalk attached to the florets, discarding the rest of the stalks. Cut the larger pieces through the base of the head with a small knife, pulling the florets apart. You should have about 8 cups of florets. Place the broccoli florets on a sheet pan large enough to hold them in a single layer. Toss the garlic on the broccoli and drizzle with 5 tablespoons olive oil. Sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Roast for 20 to 25 minutes, until crisp-tender and the tips of some of the florets are browned.
Remove the broccoli from the oven and immediately toss with 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, the lemon zest, lemon juice, pine nuts, Parmesan, and basil. Serve hot.