Braided Challah Bread

I've been wanting to make bread for a while, but have been slightly intimidated, and haven't been able to set aside the time. Then I found this recipe for Challah bread, which I love, so I decided to give it a shot. Yesterday (Saturday) was a dark dreary day, and a perfect day for making bread. This recipe is actually pretty easy, and has detailed directions on how to braid the bread (it took me a minute to understand, as I'm not a great braider, but I pulled it off). I used active dry yeast instead of instant yeast - and with help from the madre, I made it work. I put a little less than 2 teaspoons of the active dry yeast in a cup of hot water with a teaspoon of sugar to "proof" it, let it sit for 10 minutes, and then added the flour to make the "starter." Beware - if you want to try this, make sure you have a good 5 hours or so to spare.

Braided Challah Bread
Quick Starter
1 cup King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 cup water
2 tsps instant yeast
Dough
All of the starter
3 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 3/4 tsps salt
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs + 1 yolk (save 1 egg white for the wash, below)
Wash
1 egg white
1 tsp sugar
1 Tbsp water
poppy seeds (optional)

• To make the starter, mix the 1 cup flour, 1 cup water and yeast together in a large bowl. Let the mixture sit for about 45 minutes. 
• Add the dough ingredients to the starter and mix and knead together until smooth.  The eggs and oil make for soft, lovely dough. 
• Place the kneaded dough in a greased bowl, turning it over once to coat both sides. Cover it and let it rise for 1 1/2 hours, or until doubled in size.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and fold it over once or twice to break down the bubbles.  Do not punch! 
• Divide the dough into four even pieces and roll each into a strand about 18 inches long.
• On a lightly greased or parchment-lined sheet pan, braid the strands.
• Once your braid is done, make the wash by mixing together the reserved egg white, sugar, and water.  Brush the loaf with half the wash.
• Cover the loaf with lightly greased plastic wrap and allow it to rise again for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until it’s almost doubled in size.
• Brush the loaf with the remaining egg wash, and sprinkle with poppy seeds if desired. 
• Bake in a preheated 375°F oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until lightly browned.
• Remove it from the oven, and cool completely before slicing. (Or don't - it's delicious right out of the oven.)

Yield: 1 loaf, about 16 1-inch slices.

Original recipe here 

Summer recipes?!

So - I haven't posted much this month, and that's not due to lack of cooking but rather due to lack of good recipes. It's been pretty hot in my apartment most days (we're on the 2nd and 3rd floor and don't have air conditioning), so I haven't been motivated to tackle any complicated or time consuming recipes, and definitely haven't wanted to use the oven. I've tried a bunch of salad recipes from Mark Bittman's cookbook, and haven't been totally satisfied with most of them (except the ones I posted). This weekend I'm planning to try making bread (challah) and pad thai - so hopefully those go over well and I'll have something to post :). In the meantime, I'll be continuing to look for low-effort, low-cook-time recipes for summer - and, you'll know when I find them!

Birthday!

So, I turned 23 on Saturday. Was suffering a sinus infection (not diagnosed until yesterday), but was not about to cancel the party planned at my apartment for such nonsense. Unfortunately, I forgot to take any photos, but we had a great spread and I tried a few new recipes.

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp: simple and delicious.

Black Bean Hummus: a must-try; I left out the cilantro because the store was out of it, but it was great regardless. This recipe also makes a TON, so it was perfect for the party.

Creamy Dill Potato Salad: This was my first time making potato salad, and this recipe had a nice twist on a traditional potato salad. Note: this is spicy.

Moist Chocolate Cake: This was the cake that turned out to be an absolute disaster the first time I made it (see baking fail post). This time it still stuck to the pan a little bit, but the layers still turned out OK. I got a lot of compliments on it, though it wasn't as moist as the first time....

Barley "Succotash"

I won't lie and say this actually tastes like succotash, but it's a pretty good, healthy substitute. I had never cooked barley before and this was a good start - and the recipe was pretty easy.


Ingredients:
4 tablespoons olive oil (DIVIDED - I forgot this....)
1 cup pearled or hulled barley
salt and pepper
2-1/2 cups water
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 cup frozen lima beans
1 cup fresh or frozen corn
1/2 red or orange bell pepper, diced
2 scallions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup parsley
1 tablespoon minced fresh tarragon (optional)
Directions:
1. Put 2 tablespoons of oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the barley and toast, stirring frequently, until lightly toasted and fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Stir in 2-1/2 cups water. Boil, then cover and reduce heat to low. Cook, stirring a couple of times to promote creaminess, until the water has nearly been absorbed, about 20 minutes for pearled barley, 30 to 40 minutes for hulled.

2. Put the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a deep skillet over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until plump, about a minute. Add the beans and sprinkle with salt. Cover and cook, shaking the pan once or twice to prevent them from sticking, until just tender, about 5 minutes.

3. Stir in the corn, bell pepper, and scallion and cook for a minute or two. Stir in the barley and whatever cooking water remains in the pot (it should be only a tablespoon or two). Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have softened slightly and the succotash is creamy, another 5 minutes or so. Stir in the parsley and tarragon, then taste, adjust the seasoning, and serve.

(From "How to Cook Everything Vegetarian - Mark Bittman)

The best tuna salad ever?

Another shout out to linden & rosemary for this tuna salad recipe. If you're wondering why I'm posting on a Wednesday afternoon, it's because I just left work sick due to allergies and my head feels ready to explode. Not so fun. However, I had this tuna salad for lunch today, and it was probably the best part of my day!


Curried Tuna Salad with Capers and Apricots

Serves 2-3

10-12 ounces solid white albacore tuna, packed in water, drained
2 medium stalks celery, diced
4 dried apricots, chopped
1 tablespoon capers, drained
2 tablespoons mayonnaise (or plain Greek yogurt)
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar (or rice wine vinegar)
Salt and pepper, to taste

1. Combine all ingredients in medium bowl. Serve over mixed lettuces or on toasted whole grain bread with Dijon mustard and baby spinach.

Original recipe here 

Brown Sugar Banana Cupcakes with Avocado Buttercream

I haven't been great about posting over the past month - not due to lack of cooking, but strange busy-ness and otherwise lazy-ness. I've been making a lot of salads from Mark Bittman's cookbook - as it has been surprisingly hot and humid over the past two weeks and cooking for longs periods of time sounds extremely unappealing. It has finally cooled down (yay) and the past few days have been sunny and in the 70s. I biked almost the entire Minuteman Bikeway yesterday - which was fun, but was not good news for my quads. That's a story for another time.

Last week was busy with work events, and on Friday we had a BBQ as a sort of send-off for those who are leaving us soon for grad school (sad face). Work BBQ = a great opportunity for cupcakes. I found this recipe on Tastespotting, and I can't say no to something with avocado. And banana. Together.

Brown Sugar Banana Cupcakes with Avocado Buttercream

Cupcakes

makes 12-20 cupcakes, depending on your scoop
1 1/3 cups flour
1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
1 egg
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 large ripe bananas, mashed
1/4 cup sour cream (I used yogurt instead because I hate to buy sour cream for a recipe and waste it....the cupcakes were still delicious)
1/2 cup butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners.
Combine dry flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg and set aside. In a bowl, whisk egg and add brown sugar, mixing until smooth. Stir in vanilla extract. Add sour cream and melted butter and mix. Stir in dry ingredients, then add mashed bananas and mix until batter comes together. The batter will be thick. Using an ice cream scoop or 1/4 cup measure, scoop batter in liners. Bake for 15-18 minutes. Let cool completely.


Avocado Buttercream
2 ripe avocados
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups powdered sugar
pinch of salt

Cream avocado and butter together until smooth. With the mixer on low speed, add powdered sugar one cup at a time. Sprinkle in a pinch of salt and add vanilla. More sugar can be added if you’d like the frosting thicker. Frosting can be store in the fridge for up to 3 days. I recommend refrigerating the cupcakes.

Original recipe here