The Return of the Blob ...

Some of my favorite time savers in the kitchen are my blobs.  At the end of the summer when  herbs are plentiful I make mixed herb blobs ...

Here I have a mix of basil, parsley, rosemary and thyme that I puree in a processor with a little olive oil ...

... spoon into an ice cube tray and freeze ...

... and then pop out of the tray, place in a labeled freezer bag and store in the freezer...

I make roasted garlic blobs by peeling a bunch of garlic cloves, drizzling them with a little olive oil and roasting them in a covered dish at 350 degrees for about an hour ...

Here are some roasted garlic blobs and some basil blobs getting ready to go into the freezer...

And after they've been frozen and are ready to store ...

I saute mushrooms (in this case chanterelles) in olive oil and make mushroom blobs ...

And  it seems that most recipes that call for chipotle peppers only use one or two, so I make blobs out of the rest of the can ...

Can you think of anything else that would make good blobs?

Enjoy!

Artisan Bread...Easy and Affordable...

This is a great, easy recipe for a really good loaf of crusty, artisan bread.  A loaf of artisan bread in my local grocery store sells for $3.99.  I can make my bread using locally milled organic flour for about $1.75 a loaf!

Now, I should warn you that it takes 2 days to make this bread...don't panic!  The hands on time is probably less than 20 minutes...

Here are our ingredients:

3 cups flour ( I used an  Unbleached All Purpose White Flour from Fairhaven Organic Flour Mill ), plus a little more for dusting.
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast 
3/4 tablespoon sea salt
1 1/2 cups warm water
small amount of butter

To make the bread you need 2 large bowls, a wooden spoon, a plate and a large covered pot...

Lightly coat one of the bowls with butter. Dump the 3 cups flour, yeast, salt and water into the other bowl and stir until it form a loose dough (I use my Kitchen Aid mixer for this step...it's easier on my hands).

Dust your hands with a little flour, remove the dough from the bowl and form it into a ball and place in the buttered bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap...place the bowl in a warm place and forget about it for 12 to 18 hours.   After that time it will look like this...

Dump the dough on a floured surface.... (dust your hands lightly with flour and use them to scoop out any dough that sticks to the bowl).

Fold ends of dough over a few times and form into a ball shape.  Place the dough on a generously floured plate and sprinkle with more flour...

 
Cover the dough with a towel and set somewhere warm for 2 hours (my house was cold that day, so yes, that is a heating pad under the dough :)  After 90 minutes of the 2 hour raising time set your oven for 450 degrees and set the covered pot in the oven to preheat...

After the pot has been in the oven (don't you just love my 1956 GE Range with Double Ovens?...I Do!!!) for 30 minutes, remove it from the oven (use potholders, it's HOT!), uncover and dump the dough into the pot.  Replace the cover and bake covered for 30 minutes.  Take the cover off the pot and bake another 10 to 15 minutes, until golden brown.  The bread will sound hollow if thumped.  Remove the bread from the oven and place on a rack to cool....

Serve warm...preferably with your own homemade butter  :)

Enjoy!

Deb
(Recipe adapted from Jaden Hair who adapted it from Jim Lahey)

Mmmmmmm...Butter!

Here is one of my favorite things to have in my fridge...fresh, homemade butter....

Ingredients:
Heavy Cream (preferably organic)
Sea Salt (optional)

Pour the cream into the bowl of a mixer (or food processor)....

...turn the mixer on medium low and beat until cream starts to thicken...

...turn speed up to high and beat until buttermilk starts to separate...scrape down sides of bowl as needed....

I cover my mixer with a towel at this point so it doesn't throw buttermilk all over the kitchen...it's going to start sloshing soon....

When you hear a lot of sloshing and the butter is glommed on to the beater...it's done...

Scoop the butter into a sieve and press with a spatula to remove the remaining buttermilk (you can mix in a little salt at this point if desired)....

Store the butter in a small bowl...and don't forget to to save the buttermilk!  It's great for baking (especially biscuits...but that's another post :)

Enjoy!

Deb

The Rest of the Chanterelles...But First...Some Chicken Broth...

I used the rest of the chanterelle mushrooms in a wonderful Leek, Potato and Sausage Soup.  One of the things that makes the soup so good is the homemade chicken broth I use...so I'll show you how to make it first. The soup goes together very quickly; you can make the broth and the soup easily in an afternoon.

First, the chicken...to get good broth you need to start with a GOOD CHICKEN!

Organic, free range, local...on sale...$1.29 a pound! 

I wash the chicken, remove and dispose of the gizzards, and place the chicken in a stock  pot.  I keep a bag in the freezer and whenever I have onion ends and peels, ends of carrots or celery, mushroom or parsley stems; into the bag they go.  When I make broth I grab a few handfuls out of the bag and put them in the stockpot.  Cover the chicken and vegetables with water; about four quarts.  Bring to a slow simmer over medium heat and then reduce heat to low and simmer for an hour.

After an hour, remove the chicken from the pot and allow to cool.  Remove the meat from the bones, discard the skin and return the bones to the pot.  Refrigerate the meat in a storage container...we'll be using it soon :) Simmer the broth for another hour, allow to cool and then strain through a colander, removing the bones and vegetables.  Ladle the broth into storage containers, reserving some for the soup, and
freeze the remaining broth.

I freeze some of the broth in ice cube trays, pop the frozen cubes out and keep them in a storage bag in the freezer for when I need a small amount of broth.


Coming up next...the soup...

Enjoy!

Deb