Adventures in bread making.

A couple of months ago I was very fortunate to find an automatic bread maker sitting next to a dumpster next to a mattress and a few old TVs. I decided to take the brad maker home and was thrilled to see that it worked great! I had made pies and cakes before so making bread seemed like a good idea.

I found a bread machine recipe book at the library and started to make various types of bread and dough. I started simple by making a loaf of whole wheat bread. It turned out pretty good, but a little short. Some other loaves I tried can out really short, heavy/dense. I learned that I needed to adjust the recipes to account for the levels of elevation and humidity which affects how well the yeast will work. Edmonton is a fairly dry area and an elevation of 668 m above sea level. I solved my problem by adding more water and slightly more yeast than what the recipe called for. Some loaves had too much yeast and exploded out of the machine, but eventually I found the right balance.

I found the bread maker easy to use. Most recipes just needed me to add the ingredients in a certain order (ususally liquids then solids, then yeast last) turn the machine on with the right settings and wait, or even forget, for a few hours.

Bread loaves were OK but I wanted more. So I started to make crescent rolls. They took the same amount of time but more effort on my part. I made the dough in the machine then let it rise a bit, shape it, rise some more and bake them. More work, but they tasted amazing! Next batch I made, I added a layer of Alfredo pesto that my roommate had made for a pasta dish and had leftovers of. Yum yum yum.

The next step for me was to make bread without the machine using a recipe I got from a friend. It's allot more enjoyable because of all the mixing that kneads to be done (pun totally intended!) and also getting the yeast just right. I love the shapes of the loaves handmade bread can produce. Bread is not meant to have a hole in the bottom of it! My first attempt produced two short loaves, but I am excited to keep trying, and see what I can make.

Eggplant Dishes Part 2

Asparagus Eggplant Wraps on white rice with a bun.

For the second part of my eggplant dishes I would like to present a dish that was inspired by a trip to the Granville Island Market that I took with some family members over the Christmas holidays. At the market one of the food vendors was selling a piece of feta cheese that was wrapped in a slice of grilled eggplant and held together with a toothpick. I tried it and was intrigued.

Last week I finally decided to do something similar. I like to use ingredients that I have at the house, and I didn't have any feta so I needed to improvise. My room mate had boiled a bunch of asparagus spears for his dinner but did not eat them all and let me use some to try out a new dish. I would like to present this dish simply as, 'Asparagus Eggplant Wraps'

Asparagus Eggplant Wraps

5 to 10 asparagus spears, boiled
1 small eggplant sliced thinly length-wise
1/4 C BBQ sauce (or marinade of your choice)
1 C shredded cheese

Note: The amount of all of these ingredients depends on how well you can slice the eggplant. If you can make lots of good slices then you can make lots of good wraps! If they are too thick or too thin they will not work as well.

1. Slice the eggplant length-wise, not too thin that it can't wrap or too thin that it falls apart.

2. Layer the marinade with the eggplant slices so that the eggplant slices can absorb the flavor. Let it sit for a few hours.

Marinade

3. Fry the eggplant slices in a frying pan until they are not covered in wet sauce anymore.

Fry

4. Remove the eggplant slices from the frying pan and onto a cutting board. Cover one side of each slice with cheese, then place the asparagus spear near the end of the slice. I like to place the spear so there is a bit of shaft before the eggplant, then cut the bottom of the shaft off so there is equal amount of asparagus on each side of the eggplant.

Wrap

5. When an asparagus spear is wrapped, impale it on a skewer; place about 5 wraps on each skewer. If you can, balance each skewer on the edges of an oven pan so that none of the wraps are touching the pan. Broil in the oven till the cheese is melted and begins to harden.

Broil

Again, I must stress that the amount you can make depends on how well you can slice the eggplant. But I believe it is possible to get 10 or even 12 wraps out of an eggplant. Good luck and enjoy!

Eggplant Dishes Part 1

So lately I have been trying some new things with eggplants that have turned out quite well. On its own I find eggplant to be a bit bland but is quite tasty when added to other kinds of foods and flavours. The first dish I would like to share is 'Yam/Rice Casserole' I'm not sure if casserole is the right word for this dish, but it feels right, so I'll go with it.



Yam/Rice Casserole



1 Yam (cubed)

2/3 C. Rice (1 1/3 C. Water)

1 Small Eggplant (sliced)

3 tbsp. Hoisin Sauce

2/3 C. Shredded Cheese

Desired Seasonings.

1. Wash Rice before cooking it. Cook rice and water in a small pot. when the rice begins to boil, cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until all the water has evaporated.

2. Boil the cubed yam until you are able to mash it with a fork.

3. While the rice and yam cubes are cooking, fry up the eggplant slices and season as desired.

4. In a small mixing bowl blend the yam with a hand blender until smooth

5. add the mashed yam to the rice, mix thoroughly.

6. Put the yam rice mixture in a small oven safe pan (such as a loaf pan) spread the hoisin sauce on top then layer with the fried eggplant slices. Cover with shredded cheese.

7. Bake in the oven (400 F) until the cheese is completely melted.

Makes 2-3 servings.

March Catch-up!

I apologize for not updating my Blog on a regular basis. I haven't been too busy to do it, I've just been a bit lazy, that's all. But I did a couple noteworthy food stuff in March (other than Pi Day) that I would like to share.

First up are "Maffles" and "Mancakes". These are Waffles and Pancakes with meat added to the mixture. The assumption is that adding any kind of meat to a meal that doesn't usually have meat in it makes it a man's meal. Therefore it warrants a 'Manizing' of its name (Waffles become Maffles and Pancakes become Mancakes). For these breakfast dishes I went with Bacon, the king of meats, on the suggestion of some friends.

I simply cooked the bacon up to a point where it was cooked but not crispy, still flexible. I suggest using a microwave to cook the bacon because it is much quicker than using a frying pan. I then chopped the bacon into smaller chucks and mixed it in the batter. I tried Maffles and Mancakes (and one botched Mancake that got scrambled).

I much preferred the taste and texture of the soft Mancake to that of the crispier Maffle. It is hard to tell from the outside appearance that there is even any bacon in them but cutting them up reveals the delicious chucks of bacon. I used maple glazed bacon because I figured it would go well with a bit of maple syrup.

Maffle and a scrambled Mancake.

Where's the Bacon?

There it is!

The other interesting food dish I made is what I would like to call a "Pudding Parcel". For the Pi Party my roommate had made a bowl of lemon pudding but didn't serve it because there was already lots of food to eat. We ended up putting it in the freezer because there was no room in the fridge. It froze and we noticed it a few days later and wanted to have some, but of course it was frozen. That's when I got an idea. I had some leftover pie crust dough from a pie I made for the Pi Party and suggested that we combine them to make a delicious treat, my roommate agreed.

I rolled out the leftover dough and cut it into squares (about 5" by 5") . Then I scooped out a chuck of semi frozen lemon pudding and placed it in the center of the square, folding the dough over the pudding to envelope it and seal the pudding inside. I then put the pudding parcels into the deep fryer. I don't remember how long they were in the deep fryer but it was long enough that the dough was crisp and the pudding was fully thawed but not hot. After the deep fryer I patted them down with a paper towel to remove some oil and sprinkled them with a bit of icing sugar. I was very impressed with how they turned out (crispy, sweet, but not hot) and look forward to trying it again with other flavors of pudding.

Lemon Pudding Parcel

By Request: Butternut Pie

A few of you have been interested in the Butternut Pie that I shared at last weekends Pi Day Party. Butternut pie is similar to pumpkin pie in texture and is one of my favorites to make and eat! So, by request I give you the recipe for Butternut Pie (I found it at http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,1950,156185-238194,00.html)

1/4 c. melted butter

1 c. brown sugar

1 1/2 c. mashed butternut squash

2 eggs

1/2 c. milk

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 unbaked pie shell

1. Prepare the butternut squash by peeling the skin, scooping out the seeds and cubing the squash. The seeds may be roasted like pumpkin seeds if you wish. Boil the squash cubes until you are able to mash them with a fork.

2. Beat the squash until it is smooth.

3. Add melted butter, brown sugar, eggs, milk, salt and vanilla and beat with a mixer.

4. Pour the filling into an unbaked pie shell.

5. Bake at 300 F for 35 to 40 minutes.

Pi Day, March 14, 2010

Chocolate Pistachio, Butternut, Chocolate Mint

'Pi Day', or more accurately, 'Pi Approximation Day', is recognized on the 14th day of the 3rd month; hence 3.14 the mathematical constant used in geometric equations involving circular objects. It is mostly recognized by geeks and people who love pies. Fortunately both of these apply to me.

I have been aware of Di Day for a few years but have never celebrated it in the past. This year I decided to throw a Pi Day Party. I invited some close friends over to enjoy some homemade pie and good company. I have never had so many people over at my place before and it went great. I am glad that so many people had a good time.

For this party I served 4 different pies: Apple, Butternut, Chocolate Pistachio, and Chocolate Mint. I have made the first three but the Chocolate Mint is a new experiment; it uses a pudding base similar to the one found in the Chocolate Pistachio Pie recipe (http://fromthemindofkenneth.blogspot.com/2009/11/chocolate-pstachio-pie.html). The basic pudding pie filling I use includes pudding mix, maple syrup, eggs, and melted butter. Such pudding based pie fillings usually turn out to be moist, spongy and soft. The chocolate pudding filling is topped with crushed King Peppermints that I received from a care package a few months ago (Thanks Mom and Dad!). It turned out pretty good.

Chocolate Mint Pie

1 pkg. Chocolate Pudding Mix
1 tbsp. Maple Syrup
3 Eggs
2 tbsp. Melted Butter
3/4 c. Milk
1 Chocolate Pie Shell
1 tsp. peppermint powder
1/2 c. crushed peppermints
(The last two items can be obtained from crushing 2 rolls of King Peppermints)

1. Crush peppermints, sift out powder and larger chunks.
2. Mix well pudding mix, syrup, eggs, butter, milk, and powdered peppermints into a large bowl.
3. Pour the mixture into the pie shell and sprinkle with peppermint chunks.
4. Bake for 30 minutes at 325 F.

One man's junk is another man's treasure

For those of you who don't know what I have been up to recently, I am kind of on the down and out. For the past 3 months I have been looking for work in Edmonton but have been unsuccessful. I am looking for part time work while I deal with some things and I think finding part time work is more difficult than finding full time work.

Although I do have money left over from my last job and I am kind of been supported through family, friends and EI I am still ambitious to make more so I can support myself. Since work is hard to find I have resorted to finding whatever I can as I journey through the city. Some times I find loose change or bottles and cans or discarded clothing... whatever. If I think it is useful and someone threw it away I might take it.

Anyway, Yesterday I started to do something I did not do before, I started to dig through trash cans to look for recyclables. I found many bottles and cans that people had placed in the wrong spot, but also some other interesting items:

• A decent cake pan (the kind with the removable side)
• A pair of gloves
• A slightly dented unopened can of diced tomatoes
• An unpeeled greenish yellow banana
• A pair of Uggs
• A pack of sheets talking about self esteem (very good advice for me on those sheets)

I took everything but the Uggs; they were not my size. Digging through the trash is humbling, but I am sure that it is a reality that many people have come to in these hard times.

I feel that I am being drawn towards a lifestyle of poverty and that I can not seem to escape from it. During the last Bible Study I went to someone posed the question 'What is God doing in your life [right now]?' This question is based on the assumption that God is always doing something in my life whether I am aware of it or not. Therefore, whatever I am going through right now, God has a part to play in it. This leads me to believe that my state of semi-poverty is somehow ordained, even if it hurts and I don't understand. What is God trying to tell me?

In a recent Facebook status I talked about foot washing and how it has appeared in my life throughout the past 6ish years. The symbol of washing someones feet brings up ideas of humility, service, health, cleanliness, relationship, trust, etc.; it is all around a good thing. When I couple foot washing with my exposure to a lifestyle of poverty I begin to wonder if I am supposed to 'wash the feet of the poor' or whatever that might mean realistically. I will have to look at this closely.