Easy Shmeezy Homemade Bread

I spoke way too soon. Spring sprung, and then the frost froze. As I sit here, the heat in our house is on, I am wearing a sweater, my faux UGG boots, and my portable heater set on high. Brrr...

My inability to re acclimate to the cooler weather may have something to do with the cold that I came down with this past Thursday. I have been sniffling, sneezing, and feeling quite lethargic. I hate getting sick.

It is on these chilly and dreary days that my craving for fresh, hot, homemade bread is rekindled. Lucky for me, my dear friend Erdal shared with me her recipe for homemade Romanian bread, taught to her by her mother, which she learned from her grandmother. Erdal was kind enough to let me share her recipe with you.

What I like about this bread is that has simple ingredients, it is easy to make, and fairly inexpensive. It has great flavor and will knock your socks off when it is warm out of the oven with a generous smear of butter or earth balance and a drizzle of honey.

Erdal's Homemade Romanian Bread

(makes about 3 small loaves)

3 tsp. yeast

1 tsp. sugar

approx. 1 cup of warm water

8 cups of flour (I use 4 cups white whole wheat flour and 4 cups unbleached white flour)

2 1/2 tsp. salt

3 T oil

3 cups of hot water

In a regular bowl mix the yeast, sugar and water. Let stand over a warm surface until the mixture grows significantly, usually for about 10 minutes. Mix in the flour, salt, oil, and hot water into the yeast mixture. Knead for about 4 minutes. Add more flour if the dough is very sticky (I usually add the white flour). Let rise until double (about 2 hours). Divide the risen dough into 3 loaves. Knead each loaf individually, pulling the sides of the loaves towards the center. Place each loaf into bread pans and let rise until double (about 1 hour). Bake a 350 until the loaves are golden (about 45 minutes to 1 hour). Remove bread from their loaf pans and cool on cooling racks. Once the bread is cool, wrap in plastic wrap.

This bread freezes well. It is tasty at room temperature for about two days, and then wonderful when toasted for the next 5 days or so.

Sweet Peanut Sauce with Vietnamese Spring Rolls

Ithaca comes alive again every year in mid-April. This year, however, Ithaca decided to bump it up a month. I couldn't be happier. The cherry blossoms are in full bloom, my black raspberries are sprouting leaves, the forsythia are on fire, and my sweet purple, yellow, and white crocuses seem to be smiling at the sun. I especially love waking up every morning to the birds singing again. It sure beats the "BEEP BEEP; BEEP BEEP" of my phone alarm, even if they do wake me up 45 minutes earlier.

With the warmer winds and stronger sunshine come the cravings for something cool and light in the evenings.

A few years ago, my Mom mentioned to me that she went to a Vietnamese potluck where she enjoyed a "build your own spring roll" station. She described how flavorful and light they were, and wanted me to try making some for Nick and I. This past week, my dear friend Crystal mentioned that her Mom made these for her and her husband when she was visiting them, which sparked my memory of the recipe my Mom had shared. Well Mom, it's taken me about two years, and as usual, you were right. They are amazing, simple to make, and healthy. A real winner! Thanks for the awesome tip!

This particular recipe is a conglomeration of some of the fresh veggies and herbs that are traditionally a part of Vietnamese Spring Rolls as well as some I added in because I enjoy them. The sweet peanut sauce, which I found at "Two Peas & Their Pod," makes this recipe sing. When I say sing, I mean sing like the first time you hear Josh Groban master "You Raise Me Up."

I am in love with this sweet peanut sauce recipe. As an ode to the sauce, I put its name first in the title and the Vietnamese Spring Rolls second (as my students would say, "no offense to the Vegetable Spring Rolls.").

I was tickled pink to have some of the sweet, creamy sauce left over, and enjoyed it for dinner last night over some frozen broccoli and rice.

This I'm-definitely-going-to-make-this-again-and-again recipe is for everyone to enjoy, but especially my dear friend Amy, who just went gluten-free.

Vegetable Spring Rolls

3/4 cups carrots, shredded or julienne-cut

3/4 cups cucumber, julienne-cut

3/4 cups bell pepper, julienne-cut

4 romaine lettuce leaves, cut int 4x2 inch strips

1/2 cup of chopped cilantro

1/2 cup of chopped basil

1/2 cup of chopped mint

4 oz. of extra firm tofu, julienne-cut, sauteed with some vegetarian chicken seasoning OR 4 oz. of cooked chicken strips (can be chicken breast or chicken nuggets, for example), julienne cut.

1 package of rice paper (look for the package to say "Spring Roll Rice Paper." Here is an example of what a package looks like. I found mine at my local Wegmans for $1.99.)

1 recipe of the Sweet Peanut Sauce (see below)

Heat about 2 cups of water to boiling. Chop all the vegetables and herbs. Put the boiling water in a pie dish and dunk one rice paper for about 3 seconds. It won't be completely soft, but it should be somewhat pliable. It will soak in more water as time progresses, so don't worry if it is a little dry when you take it out of the water. Lay it flat on a cutting board and begin piling on the veggies (about 1 Tb), herbs (about 1 tsp) and tofu or chicken (about 1 Tb). When you have added all of your ingredients, roll up the spring roll like a burrito. If it's not perfectly shaped the first time, don't worry. It will taste JUST as good, I promise. Obviously, I speak from experience. :-) When you have rolled as many as you can for the ingredients that you have, serve them with the Sweet Peanut Sauce (below) and enjoy!

NOTE: What is so fun about this recipe is you can omit whatever you or you family don't care for, and just increase the amount of a different vegetable or herb.

Sweet Peanut Sauce (this recipe was taken from "Two Peas & Their Pod.)

1 piece of lemon grass, outer layer peeled (I bought 1 stalk at my local Asian store for $0.18.)

1 Tb. freshly grated ginger

1 cup of water

1/2 cup fresh hoisin sauce

3 Tb. smooth peanut butter

1 1/2 Tbs. sugar or 1 T honey

Cook a 3 inch piece of lemon grass in the water for minutes. Remove the lemon grass. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir for 6 minutes. Let cool for 20 minutes before serving. Any left over sauce is AMAZING with tofu, veggies, cooked meat (I imagine), all served with rice.

A Simple Indian Soup

Usually, I don't have time to make pot pies for dinner on a week night. I especially don't have time on Fridays.

I don't know about you, but I come home from work on Friday exhausted, relieved, and hungry. Simple sounds good. When 5:00 creeps up, I quickly scan through some of my favorite food bloggers websites (many of which I found through my friend Jen. Thanks Jen!) and look for a recipe that is both quick, easy, but still adventurous.

This past Friday, I decided to make a soup from 101 Cookbooks. Heidi is a gifted writer, photographer, and chef extraordinaire. I've tried a few of her recipes and I've loved every single one. This past Friday, I decided to make recipe for "A Simple Tomato Soup Recipe," I have adapted her recipe to my taste and what happened to be available in my 'fridge. It was delightful.

This soup is the perfect amount of simple and exotic. It's as much cozy comfort as it is wild and different from Campbell's blend of bland. The smooth texture, the hint of a land far away, and the final surprise bite at the end makes this soup a new favorite.

A Simple Indian Soup

3 T. olive oil

2 medium onions

1 tsp. salt, plus more to taste

3 tsp. curry powder

1 tsp. ground coriander

1 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. chile flakes (feel free to omit them if you don't like any kick to you food)

2 (28 oz.) cans whole tomatoes

1 cup cashew milk (1/4 cup of cashews, blended REALLY well with warm water)

In a large pot over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onions and salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions really soften up-about 10 minutes. Stir in the curry powder, coriander, cumin, and chile flakes, and cook just until the spices are fragrant and toasting-stirring constantly at this point. Stir in the tomatoes, the juices from their cans, and 4 cups of water. Simmer for 15 minutes. Puree in a blender and serve hot.

This soup is best served with fresh/dried oregano sprinkled on top; naan, jasmine rice, a grilled cheese (a combination of mozarella, sharp cheddar and parmesan or Daiya) sandwich; and a small salad.

Adapted from 101 Cookbooks "A Simple Tomato Soup Recipe" which was inspired by Melissa Clark's "Curried Coconut Tomato Soup" in her book "Cook This Now."

Prep time: 5 minutes. Cook time: 25 minutes.

Vegetable Pot Pie

Being from California, I never really understood winter until I moved to the east coast. There are aspects of winter I like and aspects I abhor. One of the grand benefits to the frigid season is the limitation to one's domicile. It is during these months that I busy myself with a myriad of indoor activities. One of my favorites has been cooking.

Nothing is more rewarding than sitting down at my wooden table, looking out the window at the wind blowing snow across our deck, and taking a bite out of a piece of warm home-made bread or a tasty berry crisp. It's weird, but these cozy comfort foods just don't taste as good when it's 60 degrees and sunny.

Thanks to the June 2011 issue of Vegetarian Times, I've found a new winter winner that makes my taste buds swoon--Vegetable Pot Pie.

Warm. Creamy. Crusty. Tasty right out of the oven and then again reheated the next day. These have worked great when I have company because I make them a day ahead and then re-heat them without a hitch. The recipe says they can be frozen, but I have never tried it.

Here's to curling up on the couch with a blanket, a good movie, and your own personal pot pie. Enjoy!

Dough

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 4 Tbs. cold soy margarine, cut into pieces

Filling

• 2 Tbs. olive oil
• 1 medium leek, white and green parts chopped (1 1/2 cups) or 2 onions, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups chopped celery or fennel
• 2 large carrots, diced (1 cup)
• 8 oz. button mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 2 Tbs. all-purpose flour
• 2 cloves garlic, minced (2 tsp.)
• 4 oz. red-skinned potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (1 1/2 cups)
• 2 1/4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
• 1 tsp. poultry seasoning (I use McKay's Poultry Seasoning)
• 2 Tbs. creamy cashew butter, optional (I blend a 2 Tbs. of cashews with water instead)
• 6 asparagus spears, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1/2 cup fresh or thawed frozen peas
• 1/2 cup fresh or thawed frozen corn kernels
• 1 bell pepper (optional)
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1. To make Dough: Whisk together flours and salt in bowl. Cut or rub margarine into flour mixture until no large pieces remain. Stir in 3 to 4 Tbs. cold water until smooth dough forms. Wrap in plastic wrap, and chill while making Filling.

2. To make Filling: Heat oil in large pot over medium heat. Add leek, celery, carrots, and mushrooms (I have also added parsnip with great success); sauté 5 to 7 minutes, or until tender. Stir in flour 
and garlic, and cook 1 minute. Add potatoes, broth, and poultry seasoning. Cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 10 minutes. Stir in cashew butter (if using), and 
cook 1 minute more. Remove from heat, and stir in asparagus, peas, corn, and bell pepper (if applicable).

3. Preheat oven to 400°F. Roll out Dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut into 8 4-inch rounds.

4. Divide Filling among 8 1-cup ramekins. Place dough rounds on top, pressing dough around sides of ramekins with fork to crimp and seal. Poke hole in top of each pot pie. Place pot pies on baking sheet, and bake 30 to 40 minutes, or until tops are golden brown. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Why can't I help myself?

I can't help myself. I love food. Always have. Always will.

I can't help myself. I love to admire and take pictures of food. I remember reading food magazines over a bowl of cereal and almond milk at age 7. It's been a life long obsession.

I can't help myself. I don't have time to start a blog about the very best healthy recipes I discover, but I want to. I can't help myself.

I hope you enjoy the pictures, my musings, and the recipes that are nearest and dearest to my heart and sensory organs.