Provencal Bread
Provencal Bread
Here it is. The promised bread recipe from last weeks soup entry. See, I wouldn’t let you down or leave you hanging.
During my last year in law school, I started playing around with some sourdough starter. It was a lot of fun but never quite as flavorful as I wanted. My experiment went away when I started moving a lot and couldn’t be there to give it the love and care it deserved. So I was really excited to try this easy and delicious bread which begins the day before—with a rye flour starter.
It’s neither that hard or that scary. I promise.
Provencal Bread
From the Hairy Biker’s Big Book of Baking (I am slowly but surely taking over the Hairy Bikers Tumblr tag! Muhahahahha)
Starter Dough
1 tsp dried yeast
1 tsp sugar
3/4 cup white flour
3/4 cup rye flour
31 1/5 tbsp warm water (or 0.8 cups or 200 ml - sheesh. this is the problem with British conversions)
Bread
2 tsp dried yeast
1 tbsp salt
4 - 4 1/2 cups flour
1 1/3 cups lukewarm water
3 tbsp chopped fresh thyme leaves (or 1 tbsp dried)
1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary leaves (or 2 tsp dried)
Starting the day before you want to eat the bread (I know this is the hard part), make your starter. Mix the dried yeast, warm water, and sugar and allow this to sit for about 10 minutes.
Add the foamy yeast mixture to your flour and mix into a thick gloopy paste.
Cover this and let it sit in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, salt, and yeast. Dig a well in the center and set aside. In a large measuring cup or small bowl, mix half your starter and the lukewarm water to make a really goopy mess. (You can freeze the remaining starter for a month. When you want another loaf, just let it thaw overnight in the fridge before using.)
Add this to your flour and mix until you get a nice soft dough.
Knead the dough for about 10 minutes or until smooth and elastic.
Put the dough in an oiled bowl and let it raise in a warm place for one hour.
In the meantime, chop your herbs. Next time I make this I am gonna experiment with some other flavor combinations. I am think roasted garlic would be really good in this bread. Or maybe some olives. Mmmmm.
After the hour is over, you need to knead in your herbs until they are pretty evenly dispersed.
Form a nice round shape, bringing all the edges together on the bottom of the loaf. Gently flatten it a little to give it a good shape and put it on a baking sheet to rise again.
After another hour has passed, carefully score the top (I like the pretty spoke and wheel look, but do what floats your boat) and put it in a preheated 425 degree fahrenheit oven for 25-30 minutes.
The loaf is done when it has risen, is golden brown, and sounds hollow when you rap on the bottom of it.
Cool it on a wire rack before cutting.
I did not wait long enough and got some gummy bread from a too-hasty cut.
Ooops.
Orzo Soup
Yes, I know it is June. And I know it was 85 degrees here today, but you know what… I don’t care. I love soup and bread as a meal. It is delicious and fun to make and satisfying.
So I might have stolen my mother’s copy of Twelve Months of Monastery Soups by Brother Victor-Antoine d’Avila-Latourrette (and you thought your name took a long time to type!). And I might be unrepentant about the theft. I love this cookbook. Nothing but soups and each soup is put in the month that ingredients are prevalent and the weather cooperates. So we made this delicious light and easy soup on a hot day in June. And it was good. But don’t feel like you can only make it in June.
Orzo Soup
From Twelve Months of Monastery Soups
The book recipe says it serves 6-8 so I cut it way down to serve just us two.
2 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
4 cups chicken or vegetable stock (I use the Knots ready-made concentrated stock which I love)
1 cup white wine
If you’ve got it: a sprig of fresh oregano and thyme - or dried, add a tsp of each
1 bay leaf
1/4 cup finely chopped mushrooms
1/2 cup frozen green peas
1/2 cup Orzo
salt and pepper to taste
Pour the olive oil into a soup pot and cook the onions and garlic for about a minute.
Add in your stock, wine, herbs, and a little salt and pepper. I had fresh thyme but dried oregano so that’s what I used.
Bring this all up to a boil before adding your chopped mushrooms and frozen peas.
Cover and let the soup cook for 30 - 45 minutes on a simmer.
Add in your Orzo and check the salt/pepper seasoning.
Simmer with the Orzo for about 15 minutes or until the pasta is your preferred doneness. Remove the fresh herbs and the bay leaf.
Serve with fresh homemade bread (be sure to come back next week for the homemade bread recipe) and some parmesan or Romano cheese.
Sour Cream Pancakes
I think I may have mentioned, but allow me to reiterate: my husband is obsessed with breakfast! Completely and totally obsessed! So when I got a copy of the beautiful Pioneer Woman Cooks cookbook I knew that one day I would be making him the Edna Mae’s Sour Cream Pancakes.
And that day has arrived.
Now I hate sour cream. With a passion. I find it utterly just gross… but I love sour cream in my baked goods. Soon I will have to make the amazing soft and moist and delicious sour cream bread my mother makes for ya’ll. And there is this Christmas bread we make every year… it features prominent sour cream in the dough but is so so good…
Anyway…. these pancakes are also amazingly light and moist and delicious. The only problem I found was, when I halved the recipe, there just weren’t enough pancakes! So I am giving you the full recipe - the pictures are of the half.
Sour Cream Pancakes
From The Pioneer Woman Cooks ( Also online
1 cup sour cream
7 tbsp flour
1 tbsp sugar (I like sweet pancakes so put in a little more - ok, I doubled it)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
Whatever lovely toppings you prefer on your pancakes
For this you want a nice hot frying pan or griddle. (We don’t own a griddle. It makes my husband sad.)
Put the sour cream in a mixing bowl and add in the flour, sugar, and baking soda. I know it looks like the sour cream is way too much and the flour is way too little, but this is right.
Mix until just beginning to come together.
Now beat your eggs together with the vanilla. I know I hate using another container for it… more to wash… but because you really don’t want to over-mix your pancakes here is one time when I just have to suck it up and dirty that second dish. Sigh….
Add your egg and vanilla mixture to the flour and stir just until combined.
Melt some butter in your nicely hot skillet or griddle.
Scoop in about 1/4 cup of the batter.
Now this is important - these cook a little differently than regular. So you don’t need to wait for the bubbles - indeed if you do wait you will overcook them. Instead just give them a good 2 minutes on each side and you are done. They will be softer than your usual pancakes. Don’t worry about it. They will still be delicious!
Top with your favorite pancake toppings. Whip up some eggs and sausage. Enjoy!!!!
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Lemon Blossoms
Shhh don’t tell anyone but these are super easy. They have a box lemon cake mix in them but no one would ever know. They are so so so good.
And classy
And did I mention delicious?
My little sister found this recipe for a fundraiser/jewelry party she threw for her 1000 Shillings trip and they were a huge hit. I might have consumed many… all by myself…
Lemon Blossoms
Adapted from Paula Dean by Crazy About Cakes
For the cakes
1 box yellow cake mix (shhhh)
1 box cook-and-serve lemon pudding (they say you can use instant too if you got it)
4 large eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
For the glaze
4 cups confectioners’ sugar
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp lemon zest (about 1 lemon - so I just used 1 lemon and didn’t measure)
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons or, you know, the above mentioned one lemon and the concentrated stuff from the fridge)
3 tbsp water
Preheat the oven to 350 degree. Spray muffin tins (also great with mini-muffin tins if you have them) with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside
In a large bowl beat the cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, and 3/4 cup oil for 2 minutes.
Spoon the batter into each muffin tin.
Bake for 12-15 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. (I told you these were easy.)
In a medium bowl combine the confectioners sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, 3 tbsp oil, and water.
Stir until it becomes a smooth drizzly consistency.
Dip each cake into the glaze while the cakes are still warm. Try to get as much of the cake covered as possible.
Place the cakes on a wire rack to cool (Be sure to put something under the rack or you will have a drippy lemon-flavored mess.).
Let the glaze set completely before eating (if you can!).
Store extras in an air tight container.
Lemon Cardamom Cookies
Well, after last week’s post, you all knew it was only a matter of time. And I did it. I found a bunch of Hairy Biker’s recipes on the BBC-Food website.
It is a slight problem. I love this show!
I chose the Cardamom and Lemon Stamped Cookies to make from the Bakeation series trip to Norway. Plus they are delicious, flavorful, and dead easy. While I don’t get to make them at a UNESCO World Heritage site like on the show, they did come out really delicious. Would have been better with a waterfall, though.
Lemon Cardamon Cookies
From The Hairy Biker’s Bakeation (Episode 1 Norway)
1 stick butter
a scant one cup of sugar
1 lemon zest
2 cups flour
1 heaping cup ground almonds
3 tsp ground cardamon
5-8 tbsp of milk to bring the dough together
I have converted the measurements into US measurements as best I could. If you would prefer the British measurements, please feel free to click on the link above.
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
Beat the butter, sugar, and lemon zest until light and fluffy.
Add in the flour, almonds, and cardamom. (I could not find ground almonds in the store, so we used a food processor and pulverized those suckers)
Mix well.
Slowly add one tablespoon of milk at a time, just until you can form a stiff dough.
Roll the dough into roughly 24 balls (I got 30 out of mine but a few could have been made bigger) and place on either a parchment-lined cookie tray or a lightly greased cookie tray.
Press a cookie stamp into the dough. If you have one. I went to both Target and Bed Bath and Beyond and could not find one today and so, because of my lack of forethought, used a cup to just make them flat. It worked fine, though I also found some cookie stamps pretty cheap on Amazon, so I might pick one up the next time I have an order.
Bake at 375 degrees for 12 - 14 minutes (mine took all 14 minutes) until cookies are a nice light golden brown.
Put them on a cooling rack to crisp up.
Make a pot of tea, enjoy the cookies. (Wish you were in Norway looking at magnificent waterfalls.)
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World Nutella Day
Everyone is talking about some football game or something today but do you wanna know what big day I am waiting for? Tuesday, February 5th: World Nutella Day!!!
I first came across Nutella when I was in Corciano, Italy in the fall of 2003. I ate it on strawberries, I ate it on toast, I ate it on bananas, I ate it on digestive biscuits, I even ate it on Melba toast. My roommates and I went through a lot of Nutella. A lot.
And I am still eating it. Often. On toast, on fruit, baked into brownies, Nutella is a staple in my pantry.
My favorite way to eat it? Dip in a grape. The sweet/ tart chocolaty combination is perfect.
My husband’s favorite is on a banana. Usually in sandwich form.
Though I have a tendency to find this too sweet, he swears by it.
My newest favorite creation with Nutella and fruit is to make a Reese’s banana. Take peanut butter and liberally spread on the top of the banana. Then swirl a strip of Nutella into the peanut butter.
Delicious.
But possibly my favorite new recipe is from Wandering Chopsticks:
Mexican Nutella Hot Chocolate
For one cup you will need:
1 cup of milk
1.5 tbsp Nutella
2 pinches of cinnamon
1 pinch nutmeg
1 pinch cayenne pepper
Feel free to multiply by as many cups as you feel you need to make.
In a saucepan, heat the milk on low. Add in the Nutella and stir until completely melted.
Add in the spices and stir until well combined. Taste and adjust spice or Nutella as necessary.
If you want a frothy top (and to avoid that unfortunate scum which can develop), beat briskly with a whisk for about a minute. Then pour into a mug and enjoy.
For a more adult hot chocolate, add a shot or two of Bailey’s Irish Cream. The hazelnut in the Nutella plays well with the Bailey’s flavor and it makes it super-creamy.
Either way, this is a great, easy hot chocolate for cold, cold nights.
And be sure to celebrate World Nutella Day on Tuesday by checking out even more Nutella goodness! How can I do that you ask? Well you can Go to the official website, or check out the pages of the creators!
Cranberry Salsa
I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving - or Thursday, if you are not in the United States. I am still recovering from it all. Too! Much! Turkey! So my wonderful husband volunteered to write up his signature salsa. And it goes great with all your holiday entertaining and food. Enjoy!
Hey everyone! The Husband here!
I’ve been itching to share this with the world for years now, and I don’t think there’s a better way to highlight it than on Creamed Butter.
I don’t recall what brought me to this recipe, but you’ll find that I’m the first one that ever commented on it back in the mid-aughts, so I must’ve had my finger on the pulse of the salsa community at one point or another.
Winner of the Spark Productions Most Original Salsa! 
http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/cranberry_salsa/
CRANBERRY SALSA
- 1 1/2 cups of fresh or frozen cranberries (one bag, typically)
- 1/2 an apple, cored (I like a green apple to get a nice color)
- Chopped serrano or jalapeño chili to taste (about a half a chili, but taste for desired heat)
- 4 tbsp sugar
- Zest of one orange
- Fresh cilantro
- Dash of lime or lemon juice
- Dash of salt
You’ll also need
- A food processor (or blender, but processor will make the process a LOT easier)
- A medium sized bowl
This is the easiest recipe you’ll ever make. Check it out.
- Pulse the cranberries and 1/2 apple in a food process or blender, around 5-10 short pulses until they are coarsely shredded.
- Combine the shredded cranberries/apple mixture, orange zest, chile, and sugar in the medium bowl. Let this sit for 15 minutes so the ingredients macerate (soften in the sugar).
- Add the cilantro, lime juice, and salt to taste.
Dig in with tortilla chips! This will also go great with turkey dishes, or any dish that needs fresh salsa.
I hope you enjoyed my recipe. Next week my lovely wife will be back with another wonderful holiday dish!
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Sloppy Joes
So I don’t like most sloppy joes. Or really any sloppy joes.
Except for this recipe. I guess I am a sloppy joe snob? Seriously, no Manwiches please. But my grandmother’s sloppy joe recipe? I’ll take two… happily.
And it is so easy to make. A great home after work/class/what have you meal. Throw in some Fritos and fresh fruit and I am a happy girl. Really, the only thing that can make it better is a really good roll to put it on… mmmm.
Sloppy Joes
This recipe is from my mother, who got it form her mother, who got it from a United Methodist Minister’s Wives cookbook which was originally put together in 1955.
1 tbsp butter/ shortening
1 chopped onion
1 tsp salt
1 lb. hamburger meat (You don’t want to go super lean here. You need some of the fat for flavor.)
3/4 c ketchup
1 and 3/4 tbsp vinegar
1 and 3/4 tbsp yellow mustard
1 and 3/4 tbsp sugar
1 and 3/4 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp celery salt
1/4 c sweet pickle relish
Cook the onion in the butter until soft.
Add the hamburger meat…
And brown.
Add in all the remaining sauce ingredients:
Ketchup and vinegar…
Mustard…
Celery salt and sugar…
Worcestershire sauce…
And relish
Simmer for 30 - 45 minutes on the stove top.
Serve on a sliced bun.
See: told you this was really easy.
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Lemon Tea Bread
This was one of my Dad’s favorite breads. Even after he was diagnosed with diabetes, this was still on the top of his list for ways to cheat the diet. It’s a sweet and tart quick bread, really just full of lemon flavor.
Plus, it is super easy to make and keeps well for a few days. And I am always looking for something delicious to have with my tea!
Lemon Tea Bread
From The Southern Living Cookbook
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
grated rind of 1 lemon
glaze (1 cup sifted powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons lemon juice)
Cream the shortening with the sugar. Beat well with an electric mixer or KitchenAid. (My KitchenAid is, alas, still in storage, waiting for us to move and get it back out - so electric mixer it is for me.)
Add the eggs, beating well after each addition.
Combine the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, and salt) and, alternating with the milk, and beginning and ending with the dry mixture, slowly beat into the egg/shortening mixture.
I usually do mine in three steps: half the dry ingredients, the milk, the other half of the dry ingredients. Stir in lemon rind (Be sure to keep the lemon, as the juice from this now de-rinded lemon is perfect for the glaze.).
Pour the batter into a greased loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for 50 - 55 minutes…
or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Cool. Completely.
While the bread is cooling, you can make up your glaze. Simply combine the powdered sugar and lemon juice, stirring like crazy to get out any lumps.
I like using the juice of the fresh lemon from the bread but, depending on your lemon, you may need to supplement with bottled lemon juice to get the full two tablespoons.
Pour the glaze over the bread.
Allow it to harden.
Slice as needed for consumption.
Stewed Callaloo
Ok, true confession time… I have not the slightest clue what Callaloo is. I use spinach. So pretend this is called Stewed Spinach Jamaican Style… maybe that is just a better name all around.
My mom found this recipe in the Relish magazine inserted into our Sunday newspaper forever ago. Seriously, the clipping is very crinkled and aged. And she has put her own spin on the recipe in a lot of ways (the original calls for carrots for example. and my mom is not a big carrot fan by any stretch of the imagination).
We had this side with roast chicken and I thought they went together very well. I have a minor iron deficiency problem and don’t really like spinach, so this is one way that I am happy to eat it… always a good thing to find.
Stewed Spinach Jamaican Style (aka Stewed Callaloo)
From Relish Magazine, adapted by my mom (Hi, Mom!)
1 - 2 tbsp olive oil (enough to make a thin cover on the bottom of a skillet)
1 medium onion, chopped
Garlic powder
salt and pepper
Sandwich Sprinkle (my favorite is from Penzey’s, but any garlic mix of spices would be good if you’ve got it)
If no Sandwich Sprinkle, put in some thyme, more garlic, oregano, basil, and a
pinch of rosemary
A handful of cherry tomatoes, chopped
Roughly 4 cups baby spinach
Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan or skillet. Add in the onion and spices. Sauté until just soft.
Add in as much of the spinach as you can—it will be a huge mound of spinach.
Don’t worry if you can’t fit it all in at once.
As it cooks down, the spinach magically seems to disappear and you can put in more and more.
Cook until the spinach has begun to shrink down pretty good and then add in the tomatoes. Continue to cook, allowing the liquid to bubble away, stirring often.
Serve immediately.
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