Happy Birthday Dr. Suess

Green eggs for Dr. Suess's 108th birthday!!! Just use your favorite Deviled Egg recipe and add in some blue & green food coloring to the yolk mixture.

(We had ham for dinner as well, but I forgot to get a picture of it.)

Preserved Meyer Lemons

Preserved Meyer Lemons

(AKA Pickled Lemons)

The Meyers lemons from the food co-op are gorgeous. I want to roll around in them like a little kid in the ball pit at Chuck-E-Cheeses (do they still have ball bits there? I haven't been since I was like 13 years old so I don't know if they do or not). 

At any rate, I have been making all things Meyer lemon. About six weeks ago, I made some preserved lemons to use in...well, just about everything it turns out. Traditionally they are used in Moroccan cooking, but I have discovered they are incredible in anything that needs a bit of a punch of lemony-goodness. Soups. Salads. Casseroles. Desserts. Fish. Poultry. Drinks (Thai lemonade, anyone?)

I just pull a few quarters out of the jar, rinse them well, slice, dice or mince them and away we go. My latest obsession is putting them in the tabbouleh salad I can't seem to eat enough of. I use Meyer Lemon Oil and Meyer Lemon juice to dress the salad and then I toss in preserved Meyer lemons and I am in lemon heaven.

From what I gather, preserved lemon are considered a condiment. I consider them one of the best ways to extend the lemon season throughout the year.

1. Scrub some lemons well. 

2. Slice them into quarters, being sure NOT to cut all the way through. You want them to be attached at the base, kind of like a flower.

3. Pack the lemons full of a good rock salt and place in shallow dish. I use an organic sea salt. I have used Real Salt in its rock form but the lemons don't end up very pretty at the end of the process. Tasty, but not very nice to look at. I use those in dishes where the lemon will be "hiding."

4. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand for about 24 hours. This helps to soften the rinds a bit and allows you to pack the lemons quite tightly into the jars.

5. The next day, pack as many lemons as you can into a sterilized jar. Pour in any juice that has collected in the bottom of the dish you set the lemons in.  Don't be shy about this step! No need to treat these little beauties with kid gloves. You want them to release as much juice as possible and to get real close to their neighbors there in the jar.  As you fill the jar, use rock salt to fill any spaces.  I can usually get 10-12 Meyer lemons in to one quart size jar.

6. Top off with more rock salt. No part of the lemon should be exposed to the air.

7. Top jar with an air tight lid and date it. These lovely little things have to sit around for 6 weeks before they are ready to enjoy. I tuck mine in a cupboard where I have some space for fermenting foods (BTW, if you haven't had homemade sauerkraut, then you are missing out on one of the great pleasures of life).  Periodically, I will take it out and shake it gently to make sure the juices and salt are reaching all the lemony bits in the jar.

8. After six weeks, enjoy a bit of preserved sunshine! Just pull out what you need and rinse them well. You can ditch the pulp if you want, but if you do use it, it really pumps up the lemon flavors in your dish. Pour a bit of olive oil on top of the ones left in the jar, then store in the fridge for up to 6 months.  Oh - and don't toss the liquid. It can be used for all sorts of things as well.

There are some people who use a water bath to preserve these even further.  I haven't tried that yet, mainly because I didn't know how good they were and I didn't wan to invest the time and effort to put up 24 pints of preserved lemons just to find out they were terrible. But they aren't terrible at all. They are terribly tasty!

So if you happen to find a couple of pounds of Meyer lemons that you aren't quite sure what to do with, try this out with them and see if you like them, too.

I tried slicing some up for a pint sized jar of them. I will let you now how they turn out. It isn't the traditional Moroccan way, but it might make it easier when I only need a little bit of the preserved lemon.

It's a Marshmallow World in the Winter

Inspired by this pin over on pinterest:

Source: bettycrocker.com via Melynda on Pinterest

I did this: 

These little creatures are some of the most brilliant things. EVER. Now I just have to figure out where to hide them until the Christmas party tomorrow night! All my men folk will i.n.h.a.l.e. these if they get wind of them.

P.S. Making homemade marshmallows? Ridiculously easy. Like comical. And as always, way better than the stuff you buy in a bag.

P.P.S. Sara - this is SO not a GAPS compliant recipe. ;)

Hearty Chicken Stew with Pumpkin and Wild Rice

So I was over at Pinterest this morning and  came across a recipe for this:

Source: cookincanuck.com via Melynda on Pinterest

It's official title is "Hearty Chicken Stew with Butternut Squash & Quinoa."

I didn't have any butternut, but I had some pie pumpkins. I didn't have any quinoa but I had some wild rice. And I didn't put any olives in it because...well, because my family just wouldn't eat kalamata olives. I would eat them, no problem, but the rest of the crew? Not so much.

Here's my version of the stew:

And the family gobbled it up, baby girl included.

Have I mentioned how much I love Pinterest?

Halloween Candy Cake

Inspired by this:

Source: madeinmelskitchen.com via Melissa on Pinterest

I made these:

I made five of them for the cake walk at our church Trunk-or-Treat party last night. They look deceptively difficult but are in fact, a breeze.

I used two 6" cake rounds stacked on top of each other (you can get the pans at your local WalMart) and 14 fun-size Kit-Kats for each cake. I iced the layers with my favorite chocolate icing and then just stuck the candy bars on the sides and candy corn on top.  (If you try this, I would recommend sticking the Kit-Kats in the freezer before handling. It made them much easier to unwrap and put on the cake without getting fingerprints all over them.)

With very little work, I had some totally awesome small cakes for the cake walk.

Happy Halloween!

Gingerbread House Cookie Dough

It only took me 10 months to get this recipe up, but here it is, just in time for the Halloween Gingerbread house making fun. This stuff will make walls so sturdy you can drill right through them without fear of breaking them. 

I forgot to cut a notch for lights, so we just drilled, baby, drilled!

 

Gingerbread House Cookie Dough

 Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 cups whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2-1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
• 2 Tablespoons baking soda
• 1 Tablespoon ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1-1/3 cups light or dark molasses
• 9 cups all-purpose flour

Preparation:

Line 12 x 15-inch rimless baking sheets with parchment paper. (I just cook it on the back side of a jelly roll pan because (a) I am cheap and (b) I am thrifty. See pictures below.)

In a small bowl, whip cream and vanilla until it holds soft peaks. Set aside.

Homemade vanilla. Yum.

In a large bowl, whisk together brown sugar, baking soda, ginger, and cinnamon.

Beat in the molasses and whipped cream mixture until well-combined.

With mixer running, gradually add flour, beating until completely mixed.

(I use an old-school Bosch. It handles this recipe with no trouble at all.)

Lightly flour a pastry board or mat. Roll out a portion of the dough until flat, but not so thin that you cannot pick it up without it tearing. Drape it over the rolling pin and move to the prepared baking sheet.

Continue rolling the dough to an even thickness on the baking sheet. This is easily achieved by placing two equally thick wooden strips on either side of the baking sheet to support the rolling pin. An even thickness is important. Lower areas will bake darker in color and be more brittle. You will need about 2 cups of dough for each 1/8-inch thickness, about 4 cups for each 1/4-inch slab, and about 6 cups for each 3/8-inch slab.

Bake two sheets of dough at a time.

After 20-30 minutes (depending on thickness of slab), position your gingerbread house pattern cut-outs as close together as possible on the sheet of cookies. Cut around the pattern with a sharp knife, remove the pattern, and separate the scrap pieces (may be baked later to eat. Mely's note: We just eat 'em while they are warm and soft!!!! A big glass of milk and you could almost consider it a meal. Almost.)

Return house pieces to the oven, swapping their rack positions, and continue to bake.

Bake until fairly firm in the center. The temperature and time will vary with the thickness of the slab. For 1/8-thick slabs, bake in preheated 300 F. oven for about 1 hour; for 1/4-inch slabs, bake at 275 F. about 1-3/4 hours; and for 3/8-inch slabs, bake at 275 F. about 2-1/4 hours.

While the pieces are baking, any remaining dough may be rolled out for cookies or additional decorative gingerbread house pieces.

The darker color of these was because they were made with blackstrap molasses.

When pieces are finished baking, loosen gently with a flat spatula and let them cool on the sheet another 5 to 10 minutes before moving to a rack to cool completely.

At this point, you may wrap the gingerbread house pieces airtight in plastic wrap and store up to one month. Or proceed to assemble and decorate your house or cookies using icing cement (below).

Yield: about 9 cups dough, or 4-1/2 slabs 1/8 inch thick, 2-1/2 slabs 1/4 inch thick, or 1-1/2 slabs 3/8 inch thick. Each full slab is 10 by 15 inches.

Challah (Egg Bread)

  (Adapted from Joan Nathan via The Smitten Kitchen)

Have you ever longed to make the perfect bread pudding but it always left you feeling a little bit...meh? Well, look no further because challah is here to rescue you from bread pudding purgatory! Sometimes I make it just so I can have "leftovers" to make bread pudding out of.


In all seriousness, this is one of the most lovely breads you can ever learn to make. Traditionally served on the Jewish Sabbath and other holidays, it will become a favorite in your kitchen and a workhorse in the menu. While it is sublime eaten fresh and warm, it makes incredible french toast and bread pudding. You can use the dough to make cinnamon rolls or caramel apple buns. If you can dream it up using an enriched dough, this is the recipe for you! The honey rounds out the richness of the bread and sends the flavor profile through the roof. And there are few things closer to heaven than the smell of fresh baked challah wafting from your oven. 


Have fun and happy baking!

Love,

M.

Traditional Challah

Time: about 1 hour, plus 2 1/2 hours rising
Yield: 2 loaves

Ingredients:

• 1 ¾ c. warm water
• 1 1/2 packages active dry yeast (1 1/2 Tbsp)
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 1/2 cup oil, plus more for greasing the bowl (I used coconut - olive or vegetable is fine, too)
• 4 large eggs + 1 more for egg wash
• 1/2 cup honey
• 3 tsp salt
• 8 to 8 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup raisins per challah, if using, plumped in hot water and drained
• Poppy or sesame seeds for sprinkling

Directions

1.  In a large bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar in 1 3/4 cups lukewarm water.  

2.  Whisk oil into yeast, then beat in 4 eggs, one at a time, with honey and salt. Gradually add flour. When dough starts pulling away from the sides of the bowl, it is ready for kneading. Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8-10 minutes by hand.  

(Smitten Kitchen says: "You can also use a mixer with a dough hook for both mixing and kneading, but be careful if using a standard size KitchenAid–it’s a bit much for it, though it can be done." Melynda here: I have a Bosch mixer and it can handle a double batch – 4 loaves – with no problem.)

3. Place dough in a well greased bowl, turning once to coat.  Cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour, until almost doubled in size. Dough may also rise in an oven that has been warmed to 150 degrees then turned off. Punch down dough, cover and let rise again in a warm place for another half-hour. (Melynda here: I do the second rising in the refrigerator because it makes the dough easier to handle when making the strands.) 

While the dough is rising, go watch this video: 



Pretty cool, eh? Trust me, you will get the hang of it and when you do, you will feel so accomplished!!!  


4. After the second rising, you can knead the raisins into the challah, if you’re using them, before forming the loaves.
 
5. To make a 6-braid challah, either straight or circular, take half the dough and form it into 6 balls, approximately 150 gms each.

6. With your hands, roll each ball into a strand about 12 inches long and 1 1/2 inches wide. 


7. Place the 6 strands in a row, parallel to one another. Starting with the strand on the far right, pinch the tops of the strands together. (Note: The key to following then braiding by numbers is to remember to FORGET THE OLD POSITION NUMBER OF THE STRAND.  Just remember there are six POSITIONS from left to right 1-2-3-4-5-6.)


8. Next, establish the base of the braid:

o   Move the far RIGHT strand all the way over to the right. (6 --> 1)

o   Move the 2nd strand on LEFT to the far RIGHT (2-->6)

o   Separate the middle four strands (2.3.4. & 5) into two sections (2 ,3  and 4, 5)

o   Move the outside LEFT strand over two strands (1-->3)

9. After base is established, repeat the following pattern:

o   Move second strand on the RIGHT to the far left (5-->1)

o   Move the far right strand over to two strand (6-->3)

o   Move the second strand on the LEFT over to the far right (2-->6)

o   Move the outside LEFT strand over two strands (1-->3)

The braiding pattern by numbers is this:

• Establish base: 
• Move strand in position 6-->1
• Move strand in position 2-->6
• Split the four in the middle
•  Move strand in position 1 -->3

•  Repeat this pattern until strands are braided 
• Move strand in position 5-->1
• Move strand in position 6-->3
• Move strand in position 2-->6
• Move strand in position 1-->3

10. For a straight loaf, tuck ends underneath. For a circular loaf, twist into a circle, pinching ends together. 


11. Make a second loaf the same way. Place braided loaves on a greased cookie sheet with at least 2 inches in between. 

12. Beat remaining egg and brush it on loaves. Either freeze breads or let rise another hour.

13. If baking immediately, preheat oven to 375 degrees and brush loaves again. Sprinkle bread   with seeds, if using. If freezing, remove from freezer 5 hours before baking.


14. Bake in middle of oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until golden. (If you have an instant read thermometer, you can take it out when it hits an internal temperature of 190 degrees.) Cool loaves on  a rack.