Flat bread simple and hearty

 

Breads are the perfect match to any meal. Sometimes they can be the meal itself. They are so versatile and loved by many and for that reason are consumed during breakfast, lunch, dinner and in between. Sweet breads are great for breakfast and they can be an awesome snack or dessert.  

 Yeast rolls, dinner rolls and French bread are well known to complement any dinner meal, but don’t forget the flatbread!  This is an amazing bread that can be used for any meal by simply topping with an assortment of sweet or savory items.  You can also add herbs or other dry ingredients like grains or seeds to the bread before baking to add flavor and consistency as desired.  One of my favorites is rosemary and garlic.  Fruits and cheeses can also be used to enhance or create a unique presentation.

I really enjoy having flatbread to create “pizza” for my family, utilizing leftovers for the toppings.  Today I prepared lasagna pizza and macaroni and cheese pizza for the kids, and artichoke dip pizza for me and my wife.  It is a great way to make a new dish out of leftovers that kids will eat without a fuss.  They actually ask for this pizza again and again.  You can also engage your kids in the creative process by letting them come up with unusual combinations themselves.  Don’t laugh, I actually asked my wife if I could make baked bean pizza and she rolled her eyes.  But don’t be afraid to try unusual combinations!

 

 

By making your own dough, you can add healthy ingredients to it and control the portion size by shaping and controlling thickness.  We will often make bread dough with the idea to make several types of bread in the process.  Our flatbread dough made several extra pies that will be eaten for breakfast or lunch and also part of the dough was shaped into bagels for later.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 2 3 4 Cake!

Well, Mother’s Day is here and it is a good idea to honor them with a great meal to truly show your love. I have to say, I am not one to go out to a restaurant on holidays simple because I don’t like crowds. I always feel compelled to eat in a hurry knowing that there are a lot of people waiting for the table (I know I should not feel that way… I just can’t help it). The best conversations are always around the dinner table. Having the time to relax and enjoy dessert later on is the perfect ending to a great dinner experience. Speaking of dessert, if you like traditional cakes, try making this 1-2-3-4 cake with a honey-roasted pecan frosting. The recipe for this cake has been around for a very long time and I know it has been used by many grandmothers and mothers out there. There is no better way to honor that special person in your life than baking a cake that will stir memories of their own childhood with their mothers. Happy Mother’s Day.

1-2-3-4-Cake

1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
3 cups sifted flour
4 eggs
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions: (Makes three 8-inch layers)
Sift together flour mixed with salt three times. Set aside. Cream butter; add sugar gradually, and cream together until light and fluffy. Add yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition.Add flour, alternately with milk, beating well after each addition. Fold in vanilla. Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry. Fold in carefully. Pour batter into three 8 inch layer pans which have been lined on bottoms with wax paper. Bake in moderate oven 355 degrees F. About 25 minutes. Cool and frost.

Honey Pecan Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
8 oz cream cheese, softened
2 cups powdered (confectioner’s, not just finely granulated) sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon of salt
1/2 cup pecans
1/8 cup honey
1/4 cup cream

Directions

Cover pecans in honey and toast them in a 350°F oven for 10 minutes. Grind the nuts and the honey finely in a blender.  Heat the cream in a saucepan, cut the heat off, and add pecan mixture. Cover and cool off for about one hour.
Beat the cream cheese for about one minute. Add the butter and mix for an additional minute or two. Finally, add the salt, vanilla extract, and pecan cream, mixing briefly to incorporate, and then add sugar. Mix this until entirely incorporated into the frosting. Chill the frosting till ready to put the cake together.

A great tamale to celebrate Cinco de Mayo

The difference between wrapping tamales with banana leaves rather than using corn husks is appearance and taste. Banana or plantain leaves infuse the “masa” to a certain degree providing a unique flavor and aroma to the tamales.  Growing up, I remember walking through a banana plantation looking for undamaged leaves.  Once located, they would be carefully cut from the plants with a machete. Immediately a bonfire was created to pass each leaf over the fire. Cooking the leaves would release its oils making them pliable and suitable for wrapping the tamales. Well, not so fast; each leaf would have to be washed to eliminate dirt and collected ashes from the fire.  Today, you can find banana leaves pre-packed and pre-washed – don’t you love convenience?

Tamales are a traditional Latino food that requires a little effort to prepare.  Although you no longer have to go to a banana plantation to begin the process, you still have to invest some time.  After taking the wrapping out of the equation, you must prepare the dough “masa” and the stuffing. The final step involves putting the tamales together and cooking them.  The results are well worth the effort.

Tamale Dough:

2 cups masa harina

1 (10.5 ounce) can beef broth

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 (4 ounce) jar diced pimento, drained

1 cup of annatto oil

In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients, adding more broth as necessary to form spongy dough. 

Tamale Filling:

1 1/4 pounds pork loin

1 large onion, halved

1 clove garlic

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 can tomato paste

2 cups water

DIRECTIONS:

Place meat into a Dutch oven with onion, garlic, salt, tomato paste and add water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer until the meat is cooked through, about 2 hours. Spread the dough out over a 12 x 12 piece of banana leaf and press to less than 1/4 inch thickness and 5-6 inches in diameter. Place 2 tablespoons of the meat filling into the center (I added cheddar cheese on top of the meat). Fold the sides of the leaf in toward the center and fold the ends in (similar to wrapping a package). Tie together with string to hold.  Place in boiling water for 1 hour.

   

Annatto oil: 

1 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup annatto seeds

In a small saucepan, combine the oil and annatto seeds and bring to a simmer over low heat. Remove the pan from the heat, cover and let the oil cool completely, about 30 minutes. Strain the Annatto Oil into a jar.

Annatto seeds are also known as onoto or achiote seeds. The seeds are used throughout Latin America to add a red color to sautéed foods, stews, rice and corn flower for the masa preparation. It can be used as you would use saffron. Annatto seeds are available at grocery stores and in the Latin section.

Roasted Mexican Corn: Que delicioso!

O.k, do you ever wonder about the first person that ate a tomato or a banana? Was he or she crazy? The risk of eating something that can be fatal will prevent me from eating stuff I am not familiar with. Think about corn, not only is it all wrapped in the husks, it also has what looks like hair coming out of it. Appealing? I think not. Now, I am glad someone decided to harvest and eat it, so that we can all enjoy it. I love corn cooked in any form or shape.

Cinco de Mayo is coming up and I thought I needed to do something that can be easy to prepare and would be easy to grab while enjoying a beer or a Margarita. So, Mexican corn on the cob sounded great.

To me, roasted corn awakens memories of summer. It is very popular all over the world. In Mexico it is considered street food and is known as Elote. In India, they have wooden carts where you can buy fresh roasted corn that is eaten with lime, salt and chili powder.

Ingredients:

8 ears of corn

1/2 stick of butter, room temperature

4 Tbsp. mayonnaise

1 tsp. chili powder

Juice of 2 limes

2 oz. Cotija cheese, finely grated *

Pinch of salt

Chopped cilantro just for garnishing – optional.

Directions:

Boil corn with the husks for about 15 minutes, then finish on the grill when ready to serve. Mix together all the remaining ingredients. Pull back the husk, remove silk and spread a generous amount of mixture onto each ear of corn fresh off the grill. Sprinkle with shredded cheese and cilantro (if desired).

*Cotija is a Mexican cheese that has a crumbly texture. It can be found in most major supermarkets. Queso fresco, is a good substitute and Wal-Mart carries it in the cheese section. 

You can make a healthier version of this recipe by using non-fat greek yogurt instead of mayonnaise. Add some onion powder to the yogurt, spread that over the roasted corn with some black pepper, paprika and chili then add cotija or Parmesan and squeeze lime over it. Still delicious (and much healthier!)

LOVE, LIFE AND BAGELS

It is so important to stop for a moment and take pleasure in what we have and do. We need to celebrate our happy moments because they can help us fight aggravations and disillusionment in life.

Try adding a dash of love, respect and memories to your meals. Those ingredients shouldn’t have to be included in each recipe. They should be understood – like preheating the oven before baking.  A good meal can make you feel loved and give you a sense of belonging.

“Sure, but I don’t know how to cook,” you say. “How can I achieve all that?” Do not miss the point of this blog entry! You can open a can of tomato soup, and serve it with a grilled cheese sandwich and create a memory. When family or friends gather, take advantage of those moments to make a lasting impression. Whether you prepare popcorn on Fridays for family TV night, or pack a lunch box with a little note for your kids, you will be making memories.  Choosing a favorite food item that says I love you is as easy as picking up a bagel.

Our oldest son loves to eat bagels and he is always asking to stop and pick some up at the nearest bread shop. He would eat a bagel for breakfast daily if we let him. I wanted to try a shortcut to make bagels and be able to have something easy to make that he would enjoy. I could make a recipe from scratch, like I have done with croissants, but I know many of my blog followers would think that it is too much work!  Bagel stores are popping up everywhere these days. For a little over a dollar per bagel, who wants to stay in the kitchen for hours making a batch of bagels besides me? Oh, don’t answer!

So, here is how to make a bagel with very little effort. I bought a packet of Parkerhouse style rolls.  I let them thaw out and combined two rolls.  I shaped them into a ball and pulled them apart to make the hole in the center,  and then let them rise for about an hour.  In a medium size pot, I added salt and enough water to cover the bagels.  I boiled them for 3 minutes per side.  When I pulled them out of the water, I let them rest on a cookie sheet previously coated with corn meal.  After they rose for the second time they were coated with an egg wash and baked at 370 degrees till they were golden brown.