Love, Despite Looks

This loaf of bread had me worried. I paused my breadmaking session on Sunday while Dustin and I went for an impromptu two and a half hour walk, and stuck my bread in the fridge to tame those hungry little yeasts while we were gone, which I've heard is a legitimate thing to do, but when I returned from my walk, I opened the refrigerator door in anticipation, and my bread had risen so high that it was squished up against the top of the next shelf!

If I were a calm and patient baker, I would have punched down the loaf, rolled it up again into a little swaddle of bread dough, and let it rise while we had our Spaghetti and Meatballs for dinner (it was my turn to choose our Sunday supper), and then popped it in the oven and all would have been tall and rounded in the land of happy bread loaves. Instead, I chose to make due with the deformed loaf I had on my hands, and throw caution to the wind by sending it off to meet it's fate in a 385 degree oven.

The loaf came out flat and rather homely looking, but I wasn't about to give up on it just yet. I mean, if ever a bread and I were destined for true love, it had to be this Cracked Wheat Walnut Cider Loaf. Wholesome and rich with the taste of toasty walnuts, along with the substance and toothsome quality that bulgar would add, and the seductively unknown taste of cider in a loaf of bread? Wow, I'm still getting excited about it again, even after my botched first attempt.

The point is though, despite appearances, this is a bread to love. It might not seduce you with a tall and stately domed top, or a golden brown crust, but what it lacks in beauty, it makes up for in character. The bread turned out a fabulous purplish shade of brown, flecked with walnuts and bits of bulgar, and it is so wonderfully moist. I had a slice for breakfast with some pumpkin butter, and a slice for lunch with my broccoli soup. Plans for the rest of the loaf include a turkey and munster sandwich tomorrow, and then it's going to play host to some creamy goat cheese, served alongside a bowl of lentils for dinner tomorrow. This is one hardworking bread!

I have plans to make this bread again very soon, and I can't wait to see how it will turn out if I give it the proper space it needs to rise!

Cracked Wheat Walnut Cider Loaf
Adapted from Macrina Bakery, by Leslie Mackie

3/4 cup cracked wheat
1 cup boiling water
1 1/2 cups walnut halves
1 1/4 cups apple cider
1 1/2 teaspoons dried yeast
2 tablespoons honey
1 cup and 1 tablespoon coarse whole wheat flour
2 1/4 cups King Arthur's white wheat flour
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 cup canola oil

Place the cracked wheat in a small bowl and cover with boiling water. Stir with a wooden spoon to make sure all wheat is moistened. Let sit, uncovered, for 10 minutes while liquid is being absorbed.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and spread the walnuts on a rimmed baking sheet to bake in the oven for about 10 minutes. Check the nuts after about 7 minutes though, to be sure they aren't browning too deeply. Remove the nuts form the oven and let cool. Coarsely chop and set aside.

Place apple cider in a medium saucepan and warm over low heat, until just warm to the touch. Pour the warm cider into the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with the dough hook. Add the yeast and honey and whisk until the yeast is dissolved. Let mixture sit for 5 minutes. Add plumped cracked wheat, 1 cup whole wheat flour, the white wheat flour, kosher salt and canola oil. Mix on low speed for one minute, then increase the speed to medium and beat for 10 minutes. The dough will form a loose ball at the base of the hook. Add the walnuts and beat for an additional 2 minutes. Be sure to watch your mixture toward the end - they have a tendency to "hop" when they are working hard, and might hop right off your countertop!

Transfer the dough to an oiled, medium bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let proof in a warm room, 70 - 75 degrees for 2 hours. Dough will almost double in size. The dough is done rising when you can poke your finger into it and the indentation stays. Punch down the dough and turn out onto a lightly floured work surface. The dough will be sticky, but don't add more flour. Gently shape the dough into a 12 by 6 inch log, with the long end facing you. Turn the egdes in to meet in the middle, then start rolling the dough away from you into a loaf, and place the loaf in a 9 x 5 x 4 inch oiled loaf pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let proof at room temperature about an hour, or until the loaf rises slightly above the pan.

While the loaf is proofing, preheat the oven to 385 degrees. Remove the plastic from the loaf and dust with the remaining tablespoon of whole wheat flour. Place the pan on the center rack of the oven and bake for approximately 50 minutes. The finished loaf will be medium brown on top. Let the loaf cool in the pan for 30 minutes on a wire rack, then run a sharp knife around the edges of the pan to invert the bread onto the rack to cool completely.

Makes One Loaf

Wild Rice and Friends

I first made this salad out of Food and Wine 3 years ago, and I have faithfully returned to it every 6 months or so since then. Probably because it uses some of my very favorite ingredients - wild rice, chickpeas, raisins, sliced almonds, and it introduced me to this wonderful curry-flavored dressing, sweetened with honey, and given a little kick by a generous pinch of cayenne.



I still remember the article this recipe came from too - it was about a couple that had moved to Texas to escape city life, and all the recipes in the article looked wonderful. There were two other grain salad recipes, that are still on my to-try list.

Wild rice is such a treat - it's chewy and light, with an earthy taste that is a perfect base for all sorts of wonderful additions - dried fruits, nuts and seeds, smoked meats, and flavorful dressings. This particular salad fits in beautifully at the fall table, with it's muted colors and warm flavors. The original recipe calls for ham, but offers sliced almonds as an alternative, which I always use, because the salad stays longer in the fridge that way, and I always have some sliced almonds laying around.



I had this salad for lunch all week long, which my Butternut Squash Soup, and they made quite a pair for the first chilly week of fall, here in North Carolina. This salad is open for all sorts of happy experimentation - cranberries, whole smoked almonds, or even some roasted shallots... really, you could do anything with it your little heart desires. The dressing is versatile and delicious, so ladies and gents, get out your apron and get busy.

Wild Rice Salad with Chickpeas and Almonds
Food and Wine, June 2003

1 ½ cups wild rice (10 ounces)
Kosher salt
2 ½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Pinch of cayenne pepper
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 19-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (or 1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas)
¼ lb. smoked ham, diced (optional)
1 large handful sliced almonds
4 small scallions, white and light green parts, thinly sliced
¼ cup golden raisins (I used currants this time around)
Freshly ground pepper
Hot sauce (Cholula - is there any other brand worth using?)

Fill a large saucepan three-quarters full of water and bring to a boil. Add the wild rice and 1 tablespoon of salt and simmer over moderate heat until the rice is tender and most of the grains have just split, 50 minutes. Drain and rinse the rice under cold water, then drain again.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk the lemon juice, vinegar, mustard, honey, curry powder, cumin and cayenne. Add the olive oil and whisk until combined. Toss in the chickpeas, ham, scallions, raisins and wild rice. Season the salad with salt, pepper and hot sauce, transfer to a bowl and serve.

Serves 6

Buckwheat and Honey Oatmeal Bread

I have been struggling over the past year to become a better bread-baker. I am trying to follow my mom's lead, and until this past weekend, I was beginning to think I hadn't inherited her gene for taming and transforming yeast. My breads always turned out leaden, never rising quite high enough.

My family sat down to dinner together every night, and many of those meals included homemade bread in some form. Two of our family favorites were my mom's soft white bread, swirled with cinnamon and sugar, and her oatmeal bread. I was always partial to the oatmeal bread, because although it was soft, it also had substance, and held up well to a good toasting, and topping of butter and plenty of jam.

I started to wonder if my trouble with bread didn't have something to do with my recipes, since I usually choose whole grain recipes, loaded with good things like nuts and fruits, so this time around, I chose an oatmeal bread as a benchmark, since I know in my mind what a good oatmeal bread should look and taste like. Now, I don't know if it was my recipes all along, if I'm finally getting the hang of it, or if my mom's bread lesson paid off last time I was home, but I do know that this Buckwheat and Honey Oatmeal Bread turned out wonderfully - rising to unprecedented heights, tasting slightly earthy and sweet from the grains, and boosting my confidence that I too, can make homemade bread a regular occurence in my house.

Buckwheat and Honey Oatmeal Bread
Makes 2 9x5 inch loaves

2 Tbsp (2 pkgs) Active dry yeast
1 tsp Honey
1 ⅓ cup Warm Water, (105 - 115 degrees)
1 cup Warm Milk , (105 - 115 degrees)
½ cup Honey
¼ cup Vegetable oil or melted unsalted butter
2 eggs
1 Tbsp Salt
1 cup Buckwheat Flour
2 cups Rolled oats
4 ½ - 5 cups All-purpose flour
Extra rolled oats for sprinkling

In a small bowl, sprinkle the yeast and the 1 tsp honey over 1/3 cup of the warm water. Stir to dissolve. Let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes.

In a large bowl with a whisk, or in the work bowl of a heavy-duty electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the remaining 1 cup warm water, the warm milk, the 1/2 cup honey, oil or butter, eggs, salt, buckwheat flour, and the 2 cups oats. Add the yeast mixture and beat hard until creamy, 2 minutes. Add the remaining unbleached flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until a soft dough is formed that just clears the sides of the bowl, switching to a wooden spoon as necessary if making by hand.

Turn out the dough onto a well-floured work surface and knead until firm yet still quite soft and springy, about 3 minutes, adding only 1 Tbsp flour at a time as necessary to prevent sticking. The dough will retain a nubby, tacky quality because of the whole-grain flour. Do not add too much flour, or the bread will by dry and hard. Place in a greased deep container, turn once to coat the top, and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Turn out the dough onto the work surface. Divide into 3 equal portions and form into rectangular loaves. Place the loaves in 3 greased clay or metal 8 by 4 inch loaf pans that have been sprinkled on the bottom and sides with rolled oats. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. Twenty minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Bake in the center of the oven until the loaves are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped, 40 - 45 minutes. Remove from the pans to racks to cool completely before baking.

Notes
I made 2 large loaves in 9 x 5 pans instead.

The Ghost of Freshman Past

When I was a freshman in college, I subsisted solely upon Grape-Nuts, Veggie Burgers, Grilled Cheese and Tater Tots. Oh, what a happy day Grilled Cheese Day was! I had friends that would eat 5 or 6 at a time! Occasionally, the cafeteria gods would smile upon us suffering underclassmen, and they would proclaim that we should be served something different....something healthy, but tasty....and they would serve us Stuffed Peppers. In Kittridge Hall, they would stuff green peppers with couscous and vegetables...they were a little boring, so I'd always top them with whatever soup or pasta sauce was offered that day. Dorm room living wasn't glamorous, but it sure was easy, wasn't it?

I would hardly say that stuffed peppers were ever a favorite of mine, but in the dredges of a freshman diet, they create an excitement that is surpassed only by a meal eaten OUTSIDE the dorms. This is no shining introduction to our recent dinner of Stuffed Peppers with Spicy Collards and Scallion Pilaf, but it is the truth. Stuffed Peppers have a pretty homely reputation, and it is for good reason. Vegetarian versions still carry with them that 70's veggie vibe that scares most people away from "vegetarian" eating. BUT, if something is good, and it happens to be meat free, then most people will gladly forget their carnivorous ways.

Dustin and I don't eat meat that often, and it's especially easy to forgo eating meat during the summer, when there is produce knocking down the door, and taking over the refrigerator. Lately we've eaten some fantastic vegetarian meals, like Zucchini and Corn Enchiladas, from Fields of Greens, Mediterranean Panzanella from Martha Stewart, and Linguine with Parsley-Mint Pesto, from this month's Food and Wine. These stuffed peppers came from Food and Wine as well, and were featured in their regular Well-Being section, in an article about cookbook writer Celia Brooks Brown. I changed the recipe according to what I had on hand, and added a quick yogurt sauce flavored with chives, lemon juice, honey and cayenne pepper. It turned out to be a delicious and virtuous dinner, which I love, because it left plenty of room for dessert. More on that later.



I'd say that stuffed peppers are the the most flexible dish in the world - add whatever you have in your fridge, but just make sure you add some texture and some serious flavor, or they can turn out a little bland. I'd also recommend cooking them long enough that the peppers get really nice and soft... if they are still a bit toothsome, they will lack depth of flavor. It is helpful to make the stuffing ahead of time, if you want to cook this on a weeknight, because of the long cooking time.

Stuffed Peppers with Spicy Greens and Scallion Pilaf
Adapted from Food and Wine, Celia Brooks Brown, Aug 2006

1 1/2 cups short-grain brown or white rice, rinsed and drained, cooked according to package directions
3/4 lb Swiss Chard or Collards, trimmed, ribs discarded
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
6 medium scallions, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves
3/4 teaspoon tumeric
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 medium tomato, diced
3 tablespoons currants, soaked in white wine if desired
3 tabelspoons pine nuts, toasted
Fresh lemon juice
Salt and Pepper
4 Yellow or Orange Peppers
1 cup veggie or chicken broth, or 1/2 broth, 1/2 white wine

For Yogurt Sauce
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons minced chives
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon honey
pinch of cayenne

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large skillet, heat 1/2 inch water to a boil. Add the chard or collards and cook until tender, about 2-3 minutes. Drain and let cool, then squeeze dry and coarsely chop.

Heat the olive oil in the same skillet over moderate heat. Add the scallions and garlic and cook until softened and fragrant. Season with salt and pepper, and then add the spices and cook, stirring, another 2 minutes. Deglaze the pan with a little white wine, if you happen to have some on hand, or in hand! Add the chard and currants and cook until the liquid evaporates. Add the chopped tomato and cook a few minutes longer. Remove the skillet from the heat and add the cooked rice. Squeeze a few tablespoons of fresh lemon juice over the mixture. Season with salt and pepper.

Cut the tops off the peppers and reserve. Scoop out the seeds and ribs. Spoon the rice filling into the peppers and replace the tops. Stand the peppers in a baking dish that will hold them snuggly, and pour in the broth (and wine if using). Cover tightly with foil and bake 1 hour, or longer, until the peppers are tender. Serve warm or at room temperature.