Red Fife Wheat Flour Bread

There's a source of local wheat in NH!  I met Dick Wollmar from Moor Farm at the Rye Winter Farmers' Market.  He had freshly ground Red Fife wheat flour for sale with some delicious bread samples that totally sold me.  The wheat bread was so tasty I bought a bag made one of the recipes he shared. 

I'll also mention that Peter Allen of Newfield's Own Produce is sourcing some certified organic heritage Red Fife wheat from Canada and will be selling the flour at the upcoming Newmarket Farmers' Market.  While not local, it will be freshly ground organic whole wheat flour, so more "slow food" than local.  Still as delicious!  Here's the recipe for the delicious bread made with wheat from Moor Farm:

Red Fife Wheat Flour Bread

1 3/4 cup water
5 cups whole wheat flour
3 T honey or molasses
2 T dry milk
2 tsp sea salt
2 T vital wheat gluten
2 T butter
2 tsp active dry yeast

Prepare dough by bread machine or by hand.  I made my dough in the machine and it turned out great.  Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes.

This produced a dense wheat bread that tasted great slathered in butter!

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Homemade Strawberry Jam

Did you know you can make homemade jam in your bread machine? Totally sweet, pun intended! And let me tell you....it's SO simple! (Thanks Rebekah for the recipe.)

Are you ready for this recipe?

Strawberry Jam
1 lb strawberries (cleaned up)
3/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice

Place all ingredients in the bread machine. Set machine to "jam" setting. Walk away, seriously. Relax or do whatever you like. When machine beeps transfer yummy jam to a fridge container and store for up to a week or so. Enjoy! (It will set up a bit in the fridge. You can add pectin if you like, but it's not necessary)
And can you pretend that I used local strawberries for this recipe? Well they would be local (and in season) if I lived in California. Just save this recipe till June when New England strawberries are ripe, if you can wait that long.

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Italian Stew with Focaccia Bread

Just a quick fly-through blog post! I wanted to share with you the nice warm crockpot stew and bread machine focaccia I made last week. It features local butternut squash. I'm trying desperately to find ways to use this darn vegetable! Oh and for a good tip on how to cut through this tough vegetable, check out the video directions at GreenLiteBites. I hope you enjoy these recipes too!

Crockpot Italian Lentil & Vegetable Stew

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups dried lentils
1 1/4-lb butternut squash, cut in 1-in. chunks (about 3 cups)
2 cups bottled marinara sauce
8 oz green beans, ends trimmed and beans cut in half (2 cups)
1 medium red bell pepper, cut in 1-in. pieces
1 large all-purpose potato, peeled and cut in 1-in. chunks
3/4 cup chopped onion1 tsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp olive oil, preferably extra-virgin
Serve with: grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:
1. Mix lentils and 3 cups water in a 3-qt or larger slow-cooker. In a large bowl, mix remaining ingredients except olive oil; place on lentils.
2. Cover and cook on low 8 to 10 hours until the vegetables and lentils are tender. Stir in the oil.
Serve in soup plates or bowls. Pass Parmesan cheese at the table.

Rosemary Garlic Focaccia

Ingredients:
1 cup lukewarm water
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
3 cups bread flour
1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary

Directions:
1. Place water, 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt, garlic, 1 tablespoon rosemary, bread flour and yeast in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select Dough cycle; press Start.
2. Remove dough from bread machine when cycle is complete. Pat dough into either a 9x13 inch baking pan or 12 inch pizza pan. Use your fingers to dimple the dough every inch or so. Brush with remaining olive oil and sprinkle with remaining rosemary.
3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Cover foccacia with plastic wrap while oven preheats.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown. let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

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Baked Apple Donuts

I originally found this recipe on Michelle's blog, Scribbet: Motherhood in Alaska. I posted about it being one of the donuts I may try in the future because my first donut making experience was a complete failure.

I am happy to officially report that with the help of Michelle's recipe, I successfully make donuts! First off, I couldn't resist a recipe with dough made in the bread machine. I mean, how simple is that? Secondly, I was able to use one of my local apples. So here's the recipe with my tweaks noted:

Baked Apple Donuts

Combine the following ingredients in this order in your bread machine and set your machine to "dough" cycle:

1 cup milk
¼ cup wheat germ
3 ¾ cups flour (I used 1 cup white whole wheat flour and the rest white flour)
3 tablespoon olive oil (I used 3 tablespoons melted butter)
3 tablespoon brown sugar
1 large grated apple (1 large honeycrisp apple)
1 large egg
2 ½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ginger (I didn't have ginger so I used 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg)
1 tablespoon fast-acting yeast

When the dough is ready, shape into 14 donuts and let them rise 30 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until browned and done. Immediately dip in a cinnamon/sugar mix

Ok I totally forgot to let them rise for an additional 30 minutes. Oops! But I did roll the dough out on a floured counter to about a 1/2 in. thickness. I used my donut cutter to easily cut out MANY donuts and donut holes! They baked just fine in the 15 minute time frame.

I think the whole wheat flour detracted from the taste of the donut. I'll probably use all white flour next time. It was also lacking in the apple flavor department, but that's probably due to the fact that I didn't use a real nice baking apple and I could have probably used another 1/2 cup shredded apple as well.

Overall, a wonderful recipe to utilize your apples and bread machine. Plus it's a much healther "donut" considering the use of wheat germ, apples and baking vs. frying. Enjoy!

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Mexican night!

A few days ago I made Slow Cooked Pinto Chicken with Corn and Quinoa. What is quinoa?

Although not a common item in most kitchens today, quinoa is an amino acid-rich (protein) seed that has a fluffy, creamy, slightly crunchy texture and a somewhat nutty flavor when cooked. Quinoa is available in your local health food stores throughout the year.

Most commonly considered a grain, quinoa is actually a relative of leafy green vegetables like spinach and Swiss chard. It is a recently rediscovered ancient "grain" once considered "the gold of the Incas."
-The World's Healthiest Foods

I was able to purchase a box of quinoa at Hannaford. I made a quinoa pilaf with it a few weeks ago and that was delicious as well. It's also gluten-free. It seems to absorb the flavors of the meal quite well making it quite versatile. You can even make a breakfast porridge with it.

Slow Cooked Pinto Chicken with Corn and Quinoa
(borrowing the picture from GreenLittleBites)

• 1 lb (16oz) of chicken breast trimmed and cut into large chunks
• 1 15oz can of cream style corn
• 1 15 can of pinto beans rinsed and drained
• 1 15 can of diced tomatoes
• ½ tsp ground sage
• 1 tsp dried chives
• 1 tsp dehydrated onion
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp dried cilantro
• 1 cup (170g) uncooked quinoa

Put all ingredients except quinoa in a crock pot on low and cook for about 6 hours.

A half an hour before dinner, add the quinoa. It will soak up the remaining liquid.

It was very delicious and very filling. I wasn't hungry again for a looong time! I'd definitely suggest trying out this recipe.

I also made a loaf of Mexican bread in the bread machine.

Mexican Sunset Bread

3/4 cup water
3 1/3 cups bread flour
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 tablespoons taco mix
3 tablespoons chunky salsa
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon dried cilantro
1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

Place the ingredients in the bread pan in the order recommended by your
machine's manufacturer. Process on the appropriate cycle.

This recipe yields a 1 1/2 pound loaf.

This too was very tasty and moist. The following day I made chili with the ground moose burger that my father-in-law supplied. It went very well with the chili as well!

So there's my recipes for today. How is everyone doing? Have a great Labor Day weekend!

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Cinnamon Raisin French Toast

I baked up a loaf of Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free Cinnamon Raisin Bread in my bread machine yesterday. I was craving some raisin toast! I decided to make a French Toast meal for a nice Sunday breakfast. The loaf didn't mound up as I thought it would in the machine, but it made nice square slices at least!

I found this recipe in my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook.

French Toast
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 4 minutes per slice
Makes: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS
4 beaten eggs
1 cup milk
2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

DIRECTIONS
1. In a shallow bowl beat together eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Dip bread slices into egg mixture, coating both sides.
2. In a skillet or on a griddle melt 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat; add half of the bread slices and cook for 2 to 3 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Repeat with remaining butter and bread slices. Serve warm. If desired, serve with maple syrup.
So it's a fairly straightforward recipe. I really enjoyed the raisin toast mixed with the French toast mix, but Lucy and Steve didn't care for it too much. I guess they're French toast purists and prefer regular thick non-raisin Texas style toast. Which totally contradicts "French" toast!

And I must mention I had my first flop in the bread machine tonight. The bread basically just stayed a ball and baked up a little resulting in an awkward football shaped loaf. I'm going to have to make some more since I didn't buy any bread for the store tonight and my kids can't go a week without PB&J! I'll probably make another loaf of the Light Oat Bread since that was a success and very tasty.

Up for tomorrow is slow cooked pinto chicken with corn and quinoa from GreenLittleBites. I picked up some avocados too so I can make some guacamole (Steve's favorite, yet totally not local!) I realize it's not a local meal, but the chicken is organic from Hannaford's and the quinoa is an up and coming grain you should definitely try cooking.

Have a great Monday everyone!

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Homemade pizza a la toddlers

Yes, I found another great bread machine recipe yesterday. Bread Machine Pizza Dough. Oh my gosh is this stuff so tasty and so simple! Have I convinced you to find a bread machine yet? (Check Craigslist for used machines).

Bread Machine Pizza Dough

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup flat beer
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 1/4 teaspoons yeast

DIRECTIONS

1. Put beer, butter, sugar, salt, flour, and yeast in a bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select Dough setting, and press Start.
2. Remove dough from bread machine when cycle is complete. Roll or press dough to cover a prepared pizza pan. Brush lightly with olive oil. Cover and let stand 15 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
4. Spread sauce and toppings on top of dough. Bake until crust is lightly brown and crispy on the outside, about 24 minutes.

I decided to make up this bread dough this afternoon and have the kiddos "make" their own pizza for dinner. You know, be the "cool" mom who lets her kids get really messy. Yeah, I loved cleaning up shredded cheese all over the floor! But the kids had fun, so that's what matters, right? Anyway, I put a bunch of toppings in individual cups in a cupcake pan. This was fun because Lucy discovered she actually did like pineapple. It must have been the novelty of eating it out of a cupcake pan!Since my kids are sensitive to tomato products, I used Alfredo sauce as the base. Lucy ended up with a cheese pizza with a glob of mushrooms in the middle and one piece of pineapple (most got eaten prior to baking) and Evan ended up with a cheese pizza as well, but in the middle of his was a glob of olives. I guess my kids have to learn how to "spread the toppings out!" That's why mommy is here to help!

As you can see, I had the more refined pizza pictured above. Alfredo sauce, tomato slices, onion and green pepper with a dash of garlic. My apologies, but only the tomato and green pepper were local, but at least the crust didn't have a million different added ingredients!

We ran around in the backyard enjoying the rain-free weather while the pizzas cooked. Once they were out of the oven the kids were ready to eat! And I must say they did eat the pizza for the most part. Lucy wasn't too keen on the mushrooms, but she did try them. And Evan was happy as ever. (My big boy who will be TWO in eight days!)

So yes, this is a fabulous recipe! And don't tell anyone that my can of beer held 12 oz. and I only needed 8 oz. Gee, I wonder where the other 4 oz. went... :)

I went on ahead and made another batch of dough to see about freezing up a bunch of dough balls to have on hand. It's in the freezer now so we'll see how it thaws and rolls out. Oh yeah, and I recommend using an actual rolling pin and not a rolling pin designed for Play-Doh! Add that to my "kitchen needs" list.

So sorry for the long-winded post, but I had to share the cute pictures and the fabulous recipe! I hope you enjoy making some homemade pizza dough. Have a fantastic Friday!

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A little bit of this and that...

Just a little blabbing about what I'm doing and a small recap.

I stopped by Brookford Farm tonight to pick up my raw milk. The raw milk is $4/half gallon with an initial $2.50 bottle deposit. They also have quark (farmer's cheese), yogurt, cream, low fat milk, eggs, lamb, beef, and vegetables. Click here to read up on the benefits of raw milk.

I didn't get to stop by the Dover Farmer's Market today, but my father-in-law brought me some fresh peaches, blackberries and green beans. As well as some ground moose! I'll be at the Barrington Farmer's Market this Saturday for sure.

Speaking of peaches, be sure to head over to Butternut Farm this week and pick some fresh peaches, nectarines, plums, apples, blueberries, and tomatoes! They will have a nice ripe crop for the weekend. I'll be back later to post about freezing peach slices.

I'm also baking my first loaf of Light Oat Bread as I type. The waiting is killing me, I want to see it finished, but I have to wait for the kneading and rising to happen first. I'll update you on how it turns out soon!

Check back this week for a post on my favorite recycling containers.


And lastly, don't forget to purchase one Annie's Homegrown item and then go sign up for your free year subscription to Kiwi magazine. My kids love the Cheddar Bunnies so give those a try!

Have a good Thursday everyone!


**Update**
The Light Oat Bread is delicious! It does have a bumpy top so I'll have to troubleshoot that, but the taste is yummy. I will definitely be making this one again!

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Can you smell that?

My mother-in-law brought me her Breadman bread machine today! I'm going to try my hand at bread making. I figured the best place to start would be in a bread machine.

Do you have a bread machine? Do you bake bread? Any tips, recipes, websites, etc?

This is the first recipe I think I'm going to try. I'll take pictures and let you know how it turns out!

Light Oat Bread

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups water
• 2 tablespoons margarine
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

Directions

1. Add ingredients to bread machine pan in order recommended by your manufacturer. Use regular light setting.

Recipe from AllRecipes.

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