the pasta from yesterday

The pasta from yesterday is stupidly simple but a bit of work and patience.  It really stands up well to the richness of the venison ragu.

Pasta

2 cups flour

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon (with the possibility of more) water

Put the flour and water in a bowl and mix.  Knead until smooth, about ten minutes.  Let rest at least 30 minutes (this is vital!).

Roll out and shape into the past you wish.  I wanted noodles so that is what I did.  Bring a pot of water to boil, with a teaspoon or two of salt add.  Drop in the pasta and cook until al dente.

Yumminess with the sauce!  This is my go to pasta recipe for meat sauces now.

bread and company

If you could not tell, the last couple weeks at work have been crazy.  We had friends over to dinner last night, twelve in all.

It was a simple meal of lasagna and bread, salad and cookies.  There was homemade soda and wine for any one who wished it.  Friends brought the salad, cookies, and wine and I made the rest.  I can feed twelve for close to $20 range.  A lot of it is about patience.  And the healing laughter as well.

Some of the teasing was that I used the small pan.  No one every believes the size of the large pan until they see it!  But there was not teasing about the bread.  Three loaves disappeared.  It was a simple Italian that I found in the cookbook My Calabria by Rosetta Costantino.  I tweaked it a bit.  I did not use their starter but used my sourdough starter and I changed the baking a bit.  And the raising temperatures and times.  My Beloved would call this I changed it a lot.  Fairly normal.  Recipes are just blueprints.....

Italian bread

Sourdough starter (starter, 1 cup flour, 1 cup water.  Let sit 8 hours.  Take out two to four tablespoons for next time)

3 pounds flour

8 teaspoons sea salt

3 3/4 cup water

In a very large bowl, refresh  your starter.  Make sure to take out some for next time before you get started with the rest of this.

Measure in the water, flour, and salt and start stirring.  This dough becomes very thick so you will need to put your hands it and start kneading.  You do not wish to add anymore flour or water.  This will be very soft, or what is know as wet.

You wish to knead this until all the flour is mixed in and the dough is very smooth.  I never take it out my bowl which tells you how big the bowl needs to be and how wet the dough is!

Now, I let this next stage take about eight to ten hours in about 55 to 65 degrees temperature.  I covered the dough and let it have a nice cold slow rise.  The recipe called for a warmer faster rise of 2 1/2 to 3 hours.  This gives you an idea of the leeway you have with bread dough.  Just ask my Beloved.  He is always so surprised.

When the dough has doubled (slooowwwwlllyyy!!! please!), shape into three loaves.  I put them on floured baking stones at this point and covered them again.  I let them rise slowly one more time for another cold slow rise.  Just six hours this time.  A little faster.

Preheat the oven at 500 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes.  Put the bread in.  Lower the temperature to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.  Bake for 15 minutes.  Lower the temperature on more time to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.  Bake for 35 minutes.  This gives the artisanal crust.

But if you are like my family and like a softer crust, put the loaves in a 350 degree oven and bake for 1 hour.  You want a golden crust but the crust is softer.

If you can, wait twenty minutes before cutting.  The bread will be just that much better.  But do please notice, I said if you can!  Twelve people, with other yumminess in front of them, went through three loaves with maybe three slices leftover.

Patience is the key!

The pictures are actually from two different batches.  The bread with the candles is what got eaten.  I think people thought they went to heaven!

vegetable broth

So many of the recipes I make call for broth.  In this house it is usually vegetable.  At the grocery store it is so expensive and has so much sodium.  This is really easy!

In a large pot, take one sliced or chopped onion and start to brown.

Add one head of garlic, sliced across the cloves top to bottom (leave the paper on, it is fine)

Go through your refrigerator or garden and take a couple of handfuls of vegetables that are past their prime, chop roughly and through in the pot.

Brown everything.

Fill the pot with water to two inches from the top of the pot.

Bring to a boil.

Turn down to a simmer and let simmer an hour to an hour and a half, covered.

Turn off the heat and let it cool down on the burner.

Strain into jars.

Vegetable broth!  Very yummy in risotto which is why I was making this batch.  This one will be very heavily squash flavored.

homemade chips

I really do not know why I am posting this recipe but people always look at me a little strange when I say I make my one chips.

Easy easy.

Turn your oven on to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Put a couple tablespoons of olive oil on a baking sheet.

Cut corn tortillas (gluten free preferably) in quarters.  I usually use 8 but you can use as many as you like.

Put them on the baking sheet (my case, that is a cast iron pizza pan)

Sprinkle with one pinch of salt.  You really do not need more then that.

Put in oven for ten minutes.

Stir around.

Put in oven for ten minutes more.  Stir around again.

This is where you can decide how crispy you wish them.  I find I like them darker but they go fast so keep an eye on them.  At twenty minutes, some will be crunchy and some not, but I find they are enjoyable this way too.  

Yumminess!  I have been doing this instead of buying them recently.  big grin!

roasted chickpeas - gluten free snacks

My Beloved is thinking about going gluten free again.  To me this means I have been perusing all the new gluten free cookbooks that have come out recently (I love the library).  I got this from Cooking For Isiah.  I have to admit that I have already tried different spices and baking times.  I personally like more crunchy but my Beloved likes less.  He thinks these are fabulous snack foods.

Roasted Chickpeas

One 16 ounce can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained ( I actually use 2 cups of my home cooked ones)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon cayennne (or 1/8 teaspoon ground ancho, 1/8 teaspoon smokey paprika, 1/8 ground chipolte)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Put the oil on a baking sheet.  Spread it around and then pour the chickpeas over it.  Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and cayenne.  Toss or stir about to cover.  Bake for 20 minutes.

Roasted yumminess.  My Beloved said these got him through the eighteen hour days he was working.  They were originally for salads.  Just a nice change to croutons if you if do not have to worry about gluten.  The ancho/paprika/chipolte option is more savory then spicy which really surprised me!