The Healthy Russian Diet...

I toasted these walnuts in olive oil and sugar, which gave them a nice "candy."

Then I chopped them up and put them in this large chicken salad. This was our super healthy dinner night. Although after all the stuff I put in it, I wonder how healthy it really is. Like feta. Isn't that fattening? But on the brighter side, there are raw veggies like green bell pepper, tomato and cucumber. 50% of what we eat on a daily basis is SUPPOSE to be raw. So I find myself trying harder and harder to not cook veggies. It's kinda sad how humans have managed to evolve into such a sophisticated being, but we seem to get dumber about the way we eat.

Fresh baked bread to go along with dinner. This took me a whole 5 minutes! Still can't get over the whole artisan bread in just 5 minutes a day. Love it!

My top off to a good day, a long day, but also a "here goes" to what I anticiate will be a very stressful week. Nothing like good chilled vodka, Kahlua and some trustee half n' half to make me a strong white russian...talk about bad health habits!

The other day I took Mia and we went into the Skagit Valley Food Co-Op. For those unfamiliar, this is a place to get top dollar, organic locally grown foods. It is by no means cheap. But they have a nice deli that has some awesome eats and treats, so Mia and I went in and got ourselves a piece of carrot cake. Last time I had this, a long long time ago, I remember thinking it was good. NOT this time! I was disappointed and thought back to the labor I put into a carrot cake last summer...I think I may need to get on that to cancel out the dry, tasteless cake I paid way too much for. Anyways, Mia still enjoyed the frosting and so we paid for our $5 a bottle pear juice that I needed for Isabel and left. That was sadly the first time I have left there a bit disappointed.

I'm getting ready to try making scratch pizza again. I'm trying a new dough recipe thats really good that I got from a friend at our last dinner party. Can't wait!

Cinammon Rolls Galore!

Basil cheddar biscuits made to go with dinner.

Brown sugar meatloaf, homemade simple rice pilaf with peas. It tasted a lot better than it looks. I promise.

The start of a great thing! Cinammon rolls.

Pouring my hot mixutre of sweet stuff and butter into my flour, eggs and yeast mixture.

Butter, cinammon, and brown sugar mixture.

Dough rose perfectly. I used the oven to do the rising. I started it at 350 and let it stay on only for about 45 seconds and then turned it off. Worked perfectly.

Rolled and ready to be cut. This picture is out of order, sorry.

I spread cold butter on the dough before I spread the cinammon mixture. Per the "professional" who had some good tips on making good rolls.

All cut and ready for the fridge. At this point, you can either bake them or store them in the fridge for up to 24 hours. I baked one batch this morning and I think I will save the next one for tomorrow morning. I used string to do the cutting, using a knife just sounded messy. Besides, the dough is very soft and flexible and a knife would have definitly smashed them.

Breakfast is served! You bake these for 20-25 minutes. I went with 22.30. My next batch I think I will do the 20 minutes to prevent the browning that I got here, but they are still delish!

I thought that I had pinched the seals well enough, but some of the rolls kinda started to unroll themselves, but not enough for me to really care too much about. Next time, I think I will glue the edges together with water which is really what I should have done. Oh well, I'm still thrilled I pulled this off. Combined total of time it took from start to finish (minus fridge time) 4 1/2 hours. Good day!

Bye Bye Sourdough!

I haven't written in a while because in my little world of cooking and baking, I've been very upset. I spent 1 week on a sourdough starter, and 1 whole day actually making the bread. It was aweful! It went straight into my compost bin. Yuck! I plan on getting back into my groove either today or tomorrow. Sorry for the long periods of no food talk. I've also decided that I will not be wasting any more time on sourdough and plan to start learning how to make French bread.

I am thoroughly enjoying my coffee this morning.

A Dash Of Hooch, Fluff, Puff, Throff & Frothy

This is proofing. Or sourdough "sponge". I took what has been in the fridge growing for the past week and threw it in a bowl. I added some warm water and flour and then mixed it well.

Our breakfast! French toast. A not so top secret recipe involving nutmeg. It was yummy!

Froth. This is what I was to look out for while doing my sponge, or proofing. A bubbly white froth that clusters on the top. Must be accompanied by a bad smell, or at least a sour smell. This tells you it's ready. (I know the picture is bad, didn't realize it at the time but you can still see the froth puddling on top)

At this point, I've added sugar, oil, salt and a lot of flour. I've kneaded and kneaded and missed a bit of the football game to do so. It sat in a bowl for about 6 1/2 hours to rise. I've also learned that when you produce your own bread yeast, rising time is dramatically different. No more 30 minute rises! This picture is actually of the 2nd rising. After the first, it was kneaded a bit more and then placed on the stone. I had to cover it with a paper towel to sit for just a bit. When I was ready to bake, directions specifically state that you put the bread in the oven while the oven is stone cold. THEN you turn the oven on and start the timer. No pre-heating allowed.

Finally, a finished product! I smelled no sourdough smell while this was baking and the cool time is pretty long. I honestly have not cracked into it to taste. I think I'm a bit scared. So much time and effort into one loaf of bread, I'm not sure what I would do if it didn't taste the way I want it to.

One a different note, we had kielbasa & potato soup for dinner with fresh baked artisan bread. I was too lazy to take a picture. The recipe is my mothers and has been a long standing favorite of mine since forever. I don't dare change it with the exception of the meat. Originally you would put ham in it. I went to make this years ago and didnt have ham and didnt want to go to the store so I put ground sausage in it. It was just as good! With the sausage, it sort of starts to taste like the sausage soup they have at Olive Garden. It's also good with polish sausage and kielbasa. I can never resist making a huge pot of it so that I can have some for breakfast the next morning. Yumm!

Grr!

I spent all this time writing about todays sourdough adventure. I accidentally deleted it, I'm too tired to do it all over again. I promise tomorrow I will start over and repost.

Quick Fixes And Fresh Bread

Ya know, for January, I've been pretty darn busy! Isn't this suppose to be the quite month of the year? WTH? I feel like I've had no time to really cook. Some things I didn't get pictures of b/c my batteries were charging. Some things I just forgot. But here is 1 breakfast. Over medium eggs, bacon, toast and potatoes. I like these things much better in one giant pot. With cheese please! Still yummy and filling of course.

Husband was at Aikido, made the miss and I spaghetti with fresh baked bread. Only it wasn't really spaghetti, more like spaghetti sauce with penne pasta. I need to grocery shop. Bad!

Bubbly, Smelly, Somewhat Frothy! Success?

Have I possibly succeeded? According to the experts, this is looking good so far! It's expanded which is really good, it has a slightly "off" smell to it, but not quite the beery smell Im looking for. I think now I will put it in the fridge and take a look at my super long instuctions and carefully see what's next. I believe I have to "proof".

Roast Me A Roast

I did my roast today. Just some quick history, I've never been good, nor really wanted to be good at dealing with large pieces of meat. It's been an unwritten rule in my house that if its bigger than a chicken breast, my husband cooks it, or grills it, or smokes it, or whatever. Just a couple months ago I started buying roasts on a regular basis, in bulk from Costco and then I come home and foodsavor everything into smaller packages.

So I thought that this would be a good time to sort of get my foot in the door and learn all about meat. So far, every roast I've done has been in the crock pot. I did try some recipes that came out pretty good. Todays wasn't bad, but it wasnt great. I didnt use a recipe, I was kind of just going for simple. Start from the bottom and work my way up.

I started by doing a dry rub of various herbs, salt and pepper, then I browned it in a pan with a bit of oil. I chopped carrots, potatoes, celery and garlic then threw it all over the roast in the pot. I used beef broth, some water and some other seasonings. I used a digital meat thermometer that becomes more and more awesome the more I use it. That told me when it was ready. Even though I turned it off to let it cool a bit, then put it on the warm setting, it did continue to cook so it was about 10 minutes too well done. I should have stopped it at 150 instead of 165. Lesson learned. My husband helped me out with his by suggesting I do a dry rub, and marinate it over night. Good thinkin' love!

During all this, I made some bread to go with dinner. I sure missed having artisan bread in the fridge at all times, so I made a batch. I usually let it sit in the fridge overnight before I use it, but I kinda wanted it today. I knew I would think this way so I started it a few hours before I started my roast so it would at least get 4+ hours of fridge time. The bread was still good but I felt like maybe I rushed it a bit to much. Next time I'll be smart and just not be without! Imagine that.

I fed my sourdough started today. It seems to be doing ok. I think 2 more days at the most of feeding and then maybe its ready to be used. I'm not sure how I would handle another disappointement with this. I would probably walk away for quite some time and move onto french bread. Or cinammon rolls! My husband wants me to make those. They sure take a while though. Maybe something that I would do the night before and then I could just wake up and throw them in the over. I have to do more research on that to see if that would be possible.

P.S...Im eating a peanut butter chocolate chip cookie with a giant glass of milk and Im enjoying every calorie of that and if my husband is reading this, Im sure Im in trouble!

Cookies And Coconut And Evil Starters

I made peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, yumm! Believe it or not there are still some left! I have to hide them from my daughter, I think that helps me limit myself. I also made coconut chicken. I've made it many times before and it now sort of seems like it's reserved for nights where I am crunched for time, like last night.

I think I may have killed my sourdough starter. I thought I was suppose to put it in the fridge after the first 24 hours of hanging out on the counter, so I did and then read my instructions more carefully and oops! I think Im suppose to wait until after 4-5 days. It dosent say specifially when to put it in the fridge. Im going to continue to feed it and see what happens. How frustrating!

I took a roast out last night. Its still thawing, but I plan to start it with veggies, potatoes and some herbs in a few hours. Maybe if I feel tickled enough I will make some bread. I haven't started a new batch of artisan bread, and its been less than a week, and Im wondering what my initial thought on why I haven't done that is. I miss having that in the fridge. Maybe Ill start that right now.

Swedish Meatballs

I probably should have taken a picture of it all plated up. Tonight was swedish meatballs. I've made it once before, about a year ago. I served it with mashed potatoes and marionberry sauce. I simply didnt feel like doing a veggie, shame on me I know.

I ran into the same problem that I did last time, I had a hard time getting them to stay nice n' round when they were browned. Some kinda just fell apart. I remembered this problem and so I added more bread crumbs thinking that would help them hold their shape. No, just no. But as I said once before, whats home cookin' without a bit of imperfection!

My sourdough seems to be coming along. I have "hooch" which is the clear liquid that rises to the top. It's apparently alcohol. If I opened the lid, it would smell like strong beer. Depending on how the starter itself is doing, I can either mix it back in or drain it out. It's looking pretty wet so I think in the morning I will pour the liquid out. I need to read the recipe again, but I think that tomorrow I start "feeding" the starter. This is where the real nurturing comes into play. Oh boy, I hope this goes right this time!

Rekindled Joy And Bad Cornbread

Last night I made chili and cornbread. Again, I can't find my cornbread recipe and so I went to the books for one. Bad...just bad. There was no sweetness to it at all. I ended up throwing most of it out. I was in a hurry and I forgot to put peppers in the chili. Anyways, we were all fed and it was fine but definitly not my best pot of chili. :(

Also, after a long time in group therapy, me and sourdough have rekindled our relationship and I started a starter today. It has to sit in the glass jar, well forever but for the first 24 hours it needs to hang out on the counter. Then I can start feeding it. This is a different recipe and since I used commercial yeast last time, which I found out was "taboo" in the world of sourdough bread making, I opted to grow my own this time. I feel like I'm in high school doing a chemistry project.

Because We Don't Know What Nutmeg Looks Like

Last night, my husband was doing his Aikido thing in Bellingham. So I opted for the quickest and easiest dinner for Mia and I. Chicken alfredo. Who needs veggies? Aweful, I know.

Today I woke up actually NOT feeling sick and its a great feeling to have energy again. I was going to make Swedish meatballs for dinner but would need to run to the store for a few things and I don't feel like doing that, so I looked outside for some belly inspiration....and I came up with chili and cornbread. I recently bought new recipe cards and I was going through my recipe box and still didn't see my honey cornbread recipe and it's driving me nuts! Thats going to irritate me but I will make a different recipe. Anyways, I think I'll make the meatballs tomorrow for dinner, its better that way especially b/c then my husband can enjoy them hot and fresh and not reheated.

I need to buy bananas, beef broth; I don't much like the taste of beef bouillion cubes, and as Im sitting here thinking about what to get at the store tomorrow, I have completly forgotten! Finally healthy yet now I'm clueless. Not cool.

Sweet N' Sour

Tonight I made sweet n' sour chicken. Much different than what you would get if you ordered it in a Chinese restaurant. I appreciated the different taste, mainly from the pineapple. It was refreshing! I picked up some fresh greens to go as a side, they were only steamed for about 1 minute. I wanted to preserve the sweet, crisp taste of them; they are so easily over cooked. Once the "juices" were thick and bubbly, I served it over steamy hot Jasmin rice. I've had a thing with Jasmin lately...my long grain and brown rice are starting to feel lonely in my cupboard. My husband isn't a huge fan of lots of pineapple, but he was a trooper for me tonight and I feel good enough to say that I think he did enjoy the healthiness about it.

I bought Canola oil for the first time ever to make this dish. I now feel I need to find other recipes just to use the oil up or I fear it will sit in my cupboard FOREVER! I'm still sick so I have no idea what I will be eating tomorrow. I'm sort of leaning towards making some more chicken noodle soup, maybe just a small pot for myself along with fresh baked bread. Im going to bed now.

Sick Sick N' Sick...With Chicken Noodle Soup

I have been soo sick lately and my girls have also been fighting the same icky cold. So cooking has been pretty much on a stand still. I did however make some chicken noodle soup with fresh baked artisan bread. It was delish!

I also haven't done any baking with the exception of bread. I can't get over just how awesome it is to always have bread dough in the fridge just waiting, smiling at me everytime I open the fridge door. It takes almost no time at all to take out, cloak, shape and start the oven. It's perfection I say!

Today I am feeling a bit more up to cooking so plan on making sweet n' sour chicken. Should be interesting. We got 6" of snow yesturday and I'm watching it snow right now, although very lightly; Im sure this wont make a difference in how much we have.

I am thoroughly annoyed. A few weeks ago, I am 100% sure that I bought Cod fillets to make fish tacos with, and I can't find them anywhere! It's driving me insane!!

Ahh!

I haven't written lately due to constant go go go. I've hardly had time to even sit at the computer. On top of all the busy busy stuff, my husband was really sick, now my 3 year old is sick but starting to get better and now I'm getting sick.

I did however start another batch of artisan bread today. It's in the fridge and ready to be used. I experimented and put a bit of herb in the dough. We'll see what happens. I am also starting to research on how to make homemade bagels. Really no harder than making regular breads. There's mixing, rising, and kneading. There's also boiling involved so this little venture will be interesting and I'll probably do that in the next couple days IF I can kick this nasty cold that my body is fighting hard.

I'll be making myself and the rest of the family some chicken noodle soup with fresh baked bread tomorrow. I had some tortilla soup today from La Casita - only the best little Mexican restaurant in the whole world. It's a tiny little restaurant that my husband has been taking me to since we started dating. They know him well and always remember me when I go in there without them and they use fresh local food. I know this for a fact when we ran into one of the owners at the local market. Anyways, they have a special little place in both our hearts so it's always nice to know I can get good soup from them b/c I don't make torilla soup for myself.

I'm gonna go to bed early and try to get some good sleep. Oh and, tonight was girls night, even though I had to cut it short. It was homemade pizza night which was a bit different than what we normally do. I was really mad at myself for forgetting my camera so I didn't get pictures. The dough was awesome! We made Meditteranian and Thai chicken pizza. I've never ventured outside the typical pizza and I've always wondered why people would want chicken on pizza...until tonight! It was SOOOO good!

Goodnight!

Ouch!

I went to the dentist today and got my teeth cleaned...ouch! I have serious sensitivity issues and eating tonight I knew would be painful so my husband spared me the task of cooking tonight and went for Burger King. I do plan to make a huge breakfast in the morning. I will be baking fresh artisan bread to go along with that. Yumm! Hope my teeth feel better by then!

From Spaghetti To Rabbit Food

Sorry I didn't take pictures of dinner or much of anything for the past 2 days. Yesturday I made spaghetti, we all know what spaghetti looks like! LOL! Anyways, it was good and that morning I had taken out some of the artisan bread dough that is in the fridge and baked that. I made it into a bigger loaf this time. Perfect for dinner just one dinner.

Tonight I went with rabbit food. I cooked 2 chicken breasts with oil, water, paprika and pepper. When it was done, I cut it all up and tossed it into a bowl with lettuce, fresh tomatoes, green bell peppers, and feta cheese. I also candied some walnuts with a bit of sugar and oil and chopped them lightly and tossed em' in. It was a nice balance of "I'm eating healthy" and "mmm, like a simple dessert." They were perfectly sweet. Goodnight!

Sweet Bird Treats And Tortilla Soup For The Husband

My pictures are backwards again but I'm too lazy to fix it right now. Why must I always do this? Let's go backwards shall we?

Picture #6 was taken by the sweet birds while in my kitchen in the middle of the night. They made us blueberry scones with blueberries from my own garden.

Picture #5 is them just before we inhaled them.

Picture #4 is the carefully thought out mix of spices for tortilla soup. There's really suppose to be 5 spices, but last minute I realized I was out of one of them and I didn't want to go back to the store just for one silly little thing. So I went without, it was a first but it came out good...although it seemed a bit spicier than normal.

Picture #3 are the crispy chips I fried. You fry a bunch of these after you cut tortilla into triangles and then you use the remaining oil to start the soup with. Helps carry the flavor over.

Picture #2 is the start of the soup. I've added onion, spices, and garlic to my hot oil. You let this cook for about 5 minutes on high before adding the rest of your ingredients. I'm not gonna lie, this is a special recipe and I only give it out to those who I know will cherish it as I do.

Picture #1 is the finished soup garnished with avocado. It's also good with a bit of sour cream and sometimes shredded cheese. I went without today. If your sinuses aren't cleared after eating this that you don't have any at all.