Well, as quick as is possible when dealing with yeast bread: from the mixing bowl to the table in 2 hours!
From the King Arthur Flour blog comes this simple recipe for a quick yeast bread. All the ingredients are mixed at once in a single bowl, and the bread only rises once. The article mentions that using extra yeast to hurry things along compromises the flavor a bit, but you can’t prove it by us!
Good Bread, Quickly
1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) warm water
3 tablespoons (1 1/4 ounces) olive oil (plus additional for drizzling)
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
3 1/2 cups (14 ¾ ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 tablespoon instant yeast
pizza seasoning, optional. we use Penzeys Buttermilk spice mix.
1) Lightly grease a 9″ x 13″ pan, and drizzle 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil in the bottom.
2) Combine all of the ingredients, and beat at high speed with an electric mixer for 60 seconds.
3) Scoop the sticky batter into the prepared pan and spread it out, cover the pan and let it rise at room temperature for 60 minutes, till it’s become puffy.
4) Preheat the oven to 375°F.
5) Drizzle it lightly with olive oil, and sprinkle with pizza seasoning, and/or the dried herbs of your choice, if desired. We used Penzeys Buttermilk spice mix.
6) Bake the bread till it’s golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes.
7) Remove it from the oven, wait 5 minutes, then turn it out of the pan onto a rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
To make cheese-stuffed bread: Add 1 cup crumbled feta cheese to the dough after it’s been kneaded for 60 seconds.
Honey Ginger Soy Chicken
Taking advantage of ingredients on hand, I whipped up this light Asian chicken dish tonight. It was good enough I decided to write it up for future use. With that in mind, note that I didn’t measure anything, but this is my best guesstimate as to the amounts used.
1/4 C soy sauce
2 Tbs honey
1 Tbs vinegar
1 Tbs grated ginger
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp cracked pepper
1/8 tsp Chinese 5 spice
water to yield 1 C total
7-10 chicken wings (thighs or legs should also work; breasts might be a bit dry)
Mix together the first 7 ingredients, then add water till there’s one cup total marinade.
Marinate the chicken if desired and then bake in a foil-wrapped dish at 350 degrees until done, about 40-45 minutes. I actually start the chicken at 500 degrees and turn it down after 3-5 minutes.
Remove cover and broil until skin starts to turn brown.
Serve with coconut rice, recipe below.
Coconut Rice
1 C rice
3/4 C water
1/2 C rice
1/2 tsp salt
Bring ingredients to boil, cover and reduce heat to low simmer, cook till liquid is absorbed.
The drippings from the chicken may be spooned over the rice for a bit of added flavor.
Sheryl found this recipe during the holidays, and we’ve made it a couple of times since then. They are extremely tasty!
The Union Square Cafe’s Bar Nuts
Recipe courtesy Nigella Lawson, 2007, modified by Mike & Sheryl, 2007
2 1/4 cups (18-ounces) assorted unsalted nuts, including peeled peanuts, cashews, walnuts, pecans and whole unpeeled almonds.
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh or 1 tablespoon dried rosemary leaves
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons sea salt
1 tablespoon butter, melted
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Spread nuts out on a baking sheet. Toast in the oven until light golden brown, about 10 minutes.
In a large bowl, combine the rosemary, cayenne, sugar, salt and melted butter.
Thoroughly toss the toasted nuts in the spiced butter and serve warm. Once you eat these, you will never want to stop.
Thai Green Curry is one of my favorite dishes, and a fine restorative as well! Until recently, the only way to enjoy it was by dining out, and our hands-down favorite Thai restaurant is a 3 day drive away!
So, desperation drove me to try a bottle of green curry paste. I made the dish more or less according to the directions on the bottle, and while enjoyable, it didn’t come close to the taste of a truly great Thai green curry.
It seemed that the paste mainly added heat, and the rest of the expected flavors were muted. The potential was there, so I took a close look at the ingredients that made up the paste. It was easy enough to add fresh chilis, onions, ginger, etc. and the result is much closer to what a good Thai green curry should taste like.
I’ll likely refine the recipe over time, but this is a good starting point; enjoy!
Thai Green Curry with Chicken
Ingredients
1/2 chopped onion
2 carrots, sliced for stir-fry
2 celery stalks, sliced for stir-fry
1/2 small can bamboo shoots
2 roasted long green chilis, chopped
1/4 roasted poblano chili, chopped (optional)
1-2 minced garlic cloves
1-2 tsp minced ginger root
1 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp curry powder
salt to taste
2 chicken breasts, cut into small pieces
1-3 Tbs green curry paste (Thai Kitchen brand is the only one we’ve tried so far)
2 Tbs brownsugar
1-3 Tbs fish sauce
14 oz can Thai coconut milk
1/2 C frozen peas
1/3 C chicken broth
Preparation
Saute the first group of ingredients until the onions are slightly browned. Set aside and saute the chicken, along with a bit of garlic and ginger.
Mix the curry slurry and heat slightly on the stove or in the microwave.
Combine the meat and vegetables and cover with the curry mix. Simmer for at least 15 minutes, taking care not to boil. Garnish with fresh basil (if available) and serve with steamed jasmine or basmati rice.
These are some of the best ginger snaps I’ve ever had.
Ginger Snaps
Ingredients
3/4 C butter
1/2 C brown sugar
1/2 C white sugar
1/4 C unsulphured molasses
1 large egg
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 C (280 grams) all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
Preparation
Cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy (about 2 - 3 minutes). Add the molasses, egg, and vanilla extract and beat until well mixed. In a separate bowl mix together the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices. Add to the butter mixture and mix until well combined. Cover and chill the batter for about 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Place about 1 cup of white granulated sugar in a medium sized bowl. Roll the chilled dough into 1 inch balls. Roll the balls of dough in the sugar, coating evenly. Place on a parchment paper covered baking sheet, spacing about 2 inches apart and, with the bottom of a glass, flatten the cookies slightly. Bake for about 12 - 15 minutes or until the cookies feel dry and firm on top. Cool on a wire rack.
Makes about 4 dozen cookies.
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