Delicous Whole Grain Bread

This is a soaked wheat bread recipe from Sue Gregg's website, www.suegregg.com :

1. Blend well in mixing bowl (dough should not be too stiff); lay plastic wrap over top of dough to prevent it from drying out. Cover bowl with damp cloth. Let stand 12-24 hours:
2 cups warm water
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar (I use unpasteurized apple cider vinegar)
4-6 cups whole wheat flour (I soak 4 1/2 to 5 cups the night before and knead in more flour as needed in the morning)

2. Blend together and allow to stand 5-10 minutes until it bubbles up:
1/4 cup very warm (but not hot) water
2 teaspoons- 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3. Blend following ingredients and work into dough with yeast mixture until well blended:
1/3 cup coconut oil (melt if hard), melted butter, or olive oil (I use butter)
1/3 cup honey
2 teaspoons salt

4. Knead 20 minutes, adding flour as needed. (I use my Kitchen Aid for this, and it takes about 10 minutes to knead until it feels right. Also, I tend to need the full 6 cups of flour, but I don't measure exactly. I just add the flour as a I see the dough needs it. I always start and finish kneading the dough by hand so that I can feel it with my bare hands. The majority of the time it's in the mixer though.) Knead until smooth and resistant to kneading action.

5. Place dough in lightly oiled bowl, oil top of dough lightly, cover with damp cloth; let rise in a warm place until double, about 1- 1 1/2 hours. If indentation remains in dough when poked with finger, it is ready. (Another tip: I always save my empty butter wrappers to grease pans and bowls etc., so use the butter wrapper that you just took the butter out of for the recipe to oil your bowl and the top of your dough.)

6. Punch dough down gently, turn it over; cover and let rise until double, about 45 minutes. (I will often skip this rising if I am pressed for time.)

7. Divide dough in half; shape into 2 loaves; cover; let rise until almost double, about 20-25 minutes. (Don't forget to grease your loaf pan!)

8. Bake 35-45 minutes until golden brown on the bottom. Turn loaves out on sides on a rack to cool. Brush with butter, if desired; cool completely before slicing.

*Note: the recipe also says that you can use spelt or Kamut flour although I have never tried this.

Backwood Beans and corn bread

I hate to push down the fudgiest brownie recipe for another bean recipe. Sorry to be the "Debbie downer" of sorts. I made this this week and it turned out to be another cheap, healthy (high fiber!), and easy meal that turns into many meals. The first meal's main gist is pinto bean soup with corn bread. Then I used the left over beans in burritos and then also on nachos.

Backwood Beans (gluten free)

(I named it this because as I ate I couldn't help but imagine a log cabin in the Smoky Mountains, where everyone  is wearing brown tones, barefoot , the brother plays the harmonica, and the sister's hair is in braids.)

Night before:

Rinse and sort 2-3 lbs. dried pinto beans. In a large pot, cover beans with water (enough to let them double in size and still be submerged)

3 hours before dinner:

Dump out water and get fresh. Add a chopped onion to beans and simmer an hour. 

In a skillet, cook:

6 slices of bacon, cut up.

Add bacon and grease to beans (Caution: the hot grease will splatter when it hits the water, so you may want to let it cool a bit first.)

Continue to simmer 1-2 hours. Add water if necessary.

About a half hour before dinner bake:

Corn bread (not gluten free)

Oven: 400

1 C milk

1/4 C butter

1 egg

1 1/4 C cornmeal

1 C flour

1/2 C sugar

1 T baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Grease an 8x8 or muffin tin. Beat milk, butter, and egg in a large bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients until moistened. Bake 20-25 min until toothpick comes out clean. (15-20 for muffin tin.)

The next day for dinner I reheated some beans on the stove and mashed them. Then I put them and some spinach, cheese, sour cream, and sliced avocados in a tortilla and it made a tasty burrito. And the day after that I spread chips on a cookies sheet, put heated beans on top, sprinkled with cheese and sliced avocado and broiled to heat the cheese and chips. Delicious!

Fudgiest Brownies (EVER).

This is for those of us that love chocolate too much--not just a little more than most, or sometimes when we've had a hard day, but truly deeply and passionately adore it. If that's not you, then just go ahead and back away from the brownie tray and let others have at it. Perhaps *you* can have a Tootsie Roll, or a Hershey's kiss...

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped (I use chocolate chips--and it's 4 cups of chocolate.)

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces

6 large eggs

2 cups granulated white sugar

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt


Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Butter (or spray with a nonstick cooking spray) a 9 x 13 inch pan. Then line the pan with parchment paper.

Melt the chocolate and butter in a large heatproof bowl/double boiler placed over a saucepan of simmering water. Remove from heat and set aside.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl whisk (can use a hand mixer) together the eggs and sugar. Fold in the melted chocolate mixture and vanilla extract.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt and then fold into the chocolate and sugar mixture until well combined.

Pour into the prepared pan and bake for about 40 - 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack. Serve at room temperature or chilled. Store leftovers in the refrigerator. These freeze very well. (I freeze them to keep from eating continually...they are still quite good. As for the serving recommend, I usually like mine scalding hot straight from the oven, because I'm impatient. Of course, they are delicious however you eat them--even slightly frozen.)


As is usually the case with truly remarkable recipes that I adore, this comes from joyofbaking.com.

p.s. She put this recipe back up because I sent an e-mail of alarm and chagrin that it was no longer there for the rest of world to enjoy. She calls them "fudgy", but I can't resist the superlative.

Turtle Ice Cream Pie

It's even more decadent than it sounds. First of all, you make your own caramel. It's easy and wonderful. Secondly, the crust is about half nuts. Who could resist? Thirdly, three layers of caramel and a ganache topping. Come on...you know you want some. And nobody else is going to make it for you. (Don't look at me, I already made and consumed the whole thing. Digging through my freezer will verify this.)


Ingredients
crust

* 1 1/2 cups pecan halves or pieces (6 to 7 ounces), toasted, divided
* 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (about 5 whole graham crackers, finely crushed in resealable plastic bag)
* 1/4 cup sugar
* 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted

sauce and filling

* 3/4 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
* 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
* 3 tablespoons dark corn syrup
* 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
* 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 2 pints (4 cups) premium vanilla ice cream, divided

ganache topping

* 5 1/2 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
* 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
* 1 1/2 tablespoons dark corn syrup
* 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
* Pinch of salt

Preparation

crust

* Preheat oven to 350°F. Using on/off turns, finely chop 1 cup pecans in processor; transfer to medium bowl. Mix in graham cracker crumbs and sugar. Drizzle butter over; blend until evenly moistened. Press mixture firmly over bottom and up sides of 9-inch glass pie dish (not on rim).
* Bake crust until golden brown, about 12 minutes (if crust puffs, press firmly back into place). Cool crust completely. Wrap in foil and freeze at least 1 hour. DO AHEAD Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep frozen.

sauce and filling

* Bring first 3 ingredients to boil in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat, whisking until sugar dissolves. Boil caramel 5 minutes, whisking occasionally. Turn off heat; whisk in butter, vanilla, and salt. Cool completely.
* Slightly soften 1 cup vanilla ice cream in microwave on low in 10-second intervals. Spread ice cream evenly in frozen pie crust; spread 1/4 cup caramel over. Freeze pie until ice cream and caramel are firm, about 1 hour. Repeat with remaining vanilla ice cream in three 1-cup portions and caramel in two 1/4-cup portions. Freeze pie overnight. Cover and reserve remaining caramel at room temperature.

ganache topping

* Combine chocolate, cream, and corn syrup in medium metal bowl. Place over saucepan of simmering water and whisk until melted and smooth. Remove from heat. Whisk in vanilla and salt. Cool ganache at room temperature until thick but still pourable, about 30 minutes.
* Pour ganache evenly over frozen pie. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup pecans. Freeze until ganache is firm, at least 45 minutes. Drizzle decoratively with 1/4 cup reserved caramel. DO AHEAD Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and keep frozen. Cover and chill remaining caramel.
* Let pie stand 10 minutes at room temperature. Rewarm remaining caramel, stirring over low heat. Cut pie into wedges and serve with caramel.

* test-kitchen tip
To remove the first piece of pie, slide the knife between the crust and the dish all the way around the pie. Then cut out the first slice, being sure to cut through the crust completely.


(Also, many thanks to bon appetit magazine for this recipe. They spoil me.)

Lemon Fusilli with Arugula

This is a Barefoot Contessa recipe passed to me from Rena.

1 tablespoon good olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic (2 cloves)
2 cups heavy cream
3 lemons
Freshly ground salt and pepper
1 pound dried fusilli pasta
1/2 pound baby arugula (or spinach with stems removed and leaves cut into thirds)
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, halved

Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic, and cook for 60 seconds, then add the cream, the zest and juice of 2 of the lemons, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until it starts to thicken.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add 1 tablespoon salt and the pasta, and cook al dente according to the directions on the package, about 12 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain the pasta and return it to the pot. Immediately add the cream mixture and cook over medium-low heat for 3 minutes, until the pasta has absorbed most of the sauce. Pour the hot pasta in to a large bowl and add the arugula, Parmesan, and tomatoes. Cut the last lemon in half lengthwise, slice it 1/4- inch thick crosswise, and add a few slices to the pasta. Toss well, season to taste, and serve hot.

Creamy Grape Salad

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 pounds seedless green grapes
2 pounds seedless red grapes
3 tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons chopped pecans

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, sour cream, sugar, and vanilla until blended. Add grapes and toss to coat. Transfer to a serving bowl. Cover and refrigerate until serving. Sprinkle with brown sugar and pecans just before serving. Yield: 21-24 servings