Pizza

I love making pizza from scratch! Last night it was pepperoni, mushrooms, olives, and green chili. I didn't get a picture of the pizza after it was baked because we eated it.

Dried Tomato, Basil & Garlic Bread

I added dried tomatoes, garlic and basil to a French Bread recipe I found online. Yummy!

Oven Dried Tomatoes

Whenever I can get tomatoes for under 50 cents a pound I always grab a few pounds to dry in the oven. I love to use them in pasta dishes or on a pizza. Yesterday I started out with 3.12 pounds of Roma Tomatoes.

I popped them in a 170 degree oven for 21 hours and ended up with 6 oz. of dried tomatoes. I think money wise I end up breaking even, but at least I know my tomatoes are fresh!

The Bread Baker's Apprentice - Multigrain Bread Extraordinaire

Another loaf from The Bread Baker's Apprentice - Multigrain Bread Extraordinaire. It's a moist and chewy bread that's slightly sweet thanks to both brown sugar and honey. The grains I used are brown rice, coarse polenta, rolled oats and wheat bran. I think it will make good toast.

The Bread Baker's Apprentice - Pugliese Bread

I made Pugliese bread today from The Bread Baker's Apprentice. My bread slashing technique is getting better! The first few times I tried it I did not do anything photo worthy. The crust came out nicely because I used a cast iron skillet in the oven with water in it to create steam. The interior of the bread needs work, it should be filled with lots of big holes like ciabatta, but haven't been able to create that kind of crumb yet. Practice makes perfect!

More Baking - Pizza and Wheat Bread

If your boyfriend ever asks you if you need anything from Costco and you say bread flour, be prepared for him to come home with 50 pounds. I'm going to be doing a lot of baking! Today I tried another recipe from The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Light Wheat Bread. It makes a nice plain sandwich loaf and it's one of the few recipes from the book that only takes one day to make.

I also whipped up a couple of pizzas for dinner. One veggie with zucchini, artichoke hearts and roasted yellow peppers; and one meat with pepperoni, sausage and green chili. Now I just have 47 more pounds of flour to use up.

The Bread Baker's Apprentice - Anadama Bread

I've decided to learn how to properly bake bread so I checked out a copy of "The Bread Baker's Apprentice" from the library. There is so much information in this book that recipes (called formulas in the book) don't even start until page 103! Today I made Anadama Bread which has cornmeal and molasses in it. The recipe made three 1 pound loaves so I baked one, put one in the refrigerator to bake in a few days and froze one. I'm really curious to see how the frozen dough works out. It would be nice to have a few different kinds of bread ready to go in the freezer!

Cooking From The Veganomicon

Last night I made the Leek and Bean Cassoulet (P. 172) from the Veganomicon cookbook. I used veggies that I bought at the farmer's market and fresh thyme from my windowsill herb garden. It was so good! One word of caution: this recipe makes a lot of food!

Turkey Stock

I'm making stock today with the bones I saved from my Thanksgiving turkey. I'm following the recipe in "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" and using fresh thyme grown in my Aerogarden. I can't wait until it's finished!

Sausage and Barley Soup with Swiss Chard

Ingredients

Olive Oil
2 Carrots - Chopped
2 Ribs of Celery - Chopped
1 Onion - Chopped
2 TBS Minced Garlic
2 Italian Sausage Links - Cut Into Small Pieces
1/2 Pound Mushrooms - Quartered
1 Can of Diced Tomatoes
1 Cup Dry Red Wine
5 Cups Beef Broth
1 Cup Pearl Barley
1/2 Pound Swiss Chard - Chopped
1 tsp Crushed Red Pepper
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Pepper
1 tsp Dried Thyme

In a large pot heat olive oil (2 or 3 tablespoons) over medium heat. Add the onions, carrots, celery and garlic. Cook until onions are translucent.

Add sausage and mushrooms, cook until sausage begins to brown and the mushrooms release their liquid. Add all of the other ingredients except for the chard. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer for 25 minutes.

Add the chard, it looks like a lot but don't be scared - it cooks down! Give everything a stir and continue cooking for another 10 to 15 minutes.

Enjoy your hearty, scrumptious soup!