Too Busy Trying...

It has been far too long since my last post...SO much rhubarb has been eaten, herbs are now plentiful in the kitchen both at home and at work, and many things have been made and enjoyed. I have pictures and stories for them all, but I have been selfish and have taken the spare hours I have to spend them with the wonderful man in my life.

Have no fear though!! I will get time this week to write all about the sourdough I have made, the latest (and I think the best) batch of hamburger buns yet, among other tasty adventures.

Thank you for your patience as I try to balance my time. Work is busy, my outside-of-work-life has a lot going on and I am trying to do all of those things, I am trying to make time to see Kyle (with both of our work schedules it isn't uncommon to not see each other for 3 or 4 days at a time...honestly...I live with the man...), and of course, try to get some rest...that is the hard part these days...As I am sure you can relate to in the busy lifestyles we get ourselves wrapped up in.

That being said, I love having goals and trying to do it all. It keeps me yearning and learning and working toward better things. And it makes dinner and a nice glass of wine with loved ones that much better and more relaxing.

Keeps your eyes and ears ready for more posts. They are coming, and I won't have to try that hard to get excited about writing about bread.

Cheers.

Annie

From Patch To Table...Rhubarb TARTlets!

It is a BEAUTIFUL May in Minnesota! Early spring has led to early produce season (YAY!!) which means, YUM!! I was over at a friends house picking rhubarb from one of her four patches (yes...patches...they are enormous!) and it made me think about picking rhubarb from my parents plants throughout the years.  At one house it was behind the shed in the back. My sister, the neighbors and I would run back there during the summer to pick stalks so we could run inside, douse them in sugar, and eat every inch of the red stalk, wincing in young agony of the tartness. But ooooh was it good...At my parents' current house, they have plants that have been growing in our family for over a century.  Every summer, pies upon pies get made by my mother and nobody ever gets sick of them.

Sitting over my gathered stash, I thought about making my mom's rhubarb pie (Nah, it will never taste like hers). Then I saw a new tart pan that I recently bought (That could be fun!). But then I thought about tartlets. Two years ago I catered hundreds of little tartlets to one of my friends' little sister for her high school graduation party. It was my first time making them, and they were pretty darn good. Free-form crusts with a standard ratio pie dough, filled with things like strawberries and basil, peaches and cream cheese...They were a lot of fun, but being a young baker, there is always room for improvement. As a bonus, I have tartlet pans I got as a gift after I catered the party!

And so it was decided. RHUBARB TARTLETS!!

I found a nice tart dough recipe and subbed in some whole wheat flour to give it some nuttiness, and then made up the filling as I went, basing it (of course) loosely on my mom's rhubarb pie recipe.

 Tart Pastry

1c All-Purpose Flour

1/4c Whole Wheat Flour

1 TB Sugar

1/4 tsp Salt

1/2c Butter, cold, unsalted

2+ TB Ice-Cold Water

In a food processor, pulse flours, sugar and salt until combined.  Add chopped butter and pulse until the texture is fine and the bits resemble oat flakes.  Add water 1 TB at a time, pulsing 3-4 times after each addition. After the first 2 TB of water are added, if the dough does not press together easily with your hands, add more water, a few drops at a time, until dough comes together when pressed.  Dump onto the counter and gather into a ball.  Wrap in plastic wrap, pressing down to flatten the ball into a puck shape.  Refrigerate at least 30 min.  Divide dough into 18 pieces (depending on your tartlet pan size).  Roll each into a 3 1/2" circle an press into tartlet pan.  Refrigerate until chilled. Arrange on a sheet pan and dock the bottom of each tartlet shell by poking each with a fork.  Bake at 425° F for 5-6 minutes, or until shells start to golden.  Cool!

Rhubarb Filling

4c Thinly Chopped Rhubarb

3/4c Sugar

2TB Corn Starch

1/4 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste (extract will work too)

1/4 tsp Salt

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.  Stir  until evenly coated.  Let stand for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  The mixture will start to release water and a puddle will form at the bottom of the bowl. Divide evenly among the tartlet shells (including that juice at the bottom!).  Bake at 350° F for about 35 minutes, or until rhubarb is soft and juices are bubbly. Allow to cool. Eat them warm with vanilla or ginger ice cream if you must ;)

the sun shines on rhubarb

still bubbling from the oven!!

These tarts aren't overly sweet, which I really appreciate.  I love the pang of tartness that keeps your mouth alive and wanting more! These really are TARTlets!

I brought some of these along to dinner with my family on Mother's day, and they didn't make it until dessert. Of course we had to eat them before dinner! I am excited to try this shell with other fillings. I think I may have to try nixing the sugar from the crust and trying a savory filling for small savory tartlets as an appetizer...so many possibilites...

In the meantime, I think I may need to help my friend clear her rhubarb patch...yum...

It Can Rain On My Parade

So rainy. It is a beautiful spring day, here in Minnesota.  The grass is green, the flowers are blooming, the rhubarb is everywhere (including in my new favorite summer drink-rhubarb lemonade!!), and the sky is cloudy and leaking rain every now and again.  The earth is alive!

Maybe it is the west coast girl in me, but I really do love rainy days. It is cool and damp outside (which is perfect for a romp around the block in big knee-high rain boots with the dog), and warm and dry inside (PERFECT for cooking and baking with a glass of wine or a cup of tea).

I had that perfectly romantic idea in my head when I set out to make a new bread this week. I have a bag of Red Fife whole wheat flour that I got from a wheat grower in my area. She wanted me to develop a bread recipe for her to take to farmers markets to hand out with the flour she sells, so obviously I take her up on that offer! An excuse to play? Homework for fun?! I was thinking a nice whole wheat bread with a little molasses for that dark sweetness...mmm...I had this idea...aaaaaand then it failed. I got a flat loaf that tasted too salty and was...well...just plain bad.  I was sad, upset, frustrated and bummed.  I refused to let my boyfriend try it, even though I know he would have told me "it wasn't that bad" or "it would be good with something", though that something would have to be powerful enough to mask the dry/salty/bitter/molasses brick I had created.

He really is sweet.

So there I was. Bummed about my failure.  This perfectly ideal 'trapped inside so I get to bake' day has been completely ruined. No good food came out of it.  But as I thought about it, it was still a 'trapped inside so I get to bake' day, the process was relaxing, and I still created something. It may not have been worth a picture, but the experience was worth a thousand words.

Yay for springtime rainy days.

Buns, (veggie) Burgers, BAM!!

Being a bread enthusiast, I love rustic breads. Slow fermentation, crispy crust, big and airy holes throughout the chewy loaf with a nice bite of flavor that can only come with dough's best friend; time. But also being a working adult (50 hour work week in a kitchen), I also appreciate the quick and simple. Quick flatbreads to soak up and eat curries with, soda breads to eat with cheese and stew, and my new BBQ best friend...hamburger buns!

I have tried impromptu recipes before, but this is my favorite thus far. Soft crust and crumb, slightly sweet and wheaty, and a perfect vessel for summertime favorites. You can top it with sesame seeds, minced onions, cumin seed and cayenne for kickin' buns, or leave them plain jane. I made a whole batch and froze half of them for later use, and it makes last minute dinners a snap.

1 TB dry active yeast

1c warm water

3 TB vegetable oil

2 1/2 TB sugar/honey/agave syrup

1 egg

1 tsp salt

1 cup whole wheat flour

2-3c all-purpose unbleached flour

1 egg white, whisked

sesame seeds/poppy seeds/toasted cumin seed/minced onion/caramelized shallot...

Stir yeast into warm water in a mixing bowl until mostly dissolved.  Add oil and sugar and let rest for 5 min.  Add egg, whole wheat flour, salt, and enough all-purpose flour to form a ball of dough.  Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for ~5 minutes, or until the dough becomes smooth and elastic.  Take care not to add too much flour, but just enough so the dough is not sticky.  Divide evenly into 8 parts.  Shape each into a ball and place on a lightly greased baking sheet (dusted with cornmeal if you like that added taste and texture in your breads) 3" apart.  Lightly press down on each dough ball to flatten it slightly.  Lightly oil the tops of the dough balls, cover and let rise for 20-30 minutes, or until doubled in size.  Brush with egg white and sprinkle tops with desired topping.  Bake at 425° F for 8-12 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool on wire racks.

I didn't use an egg wash on the buns pictured above, but I wish I had! They would have had a nice gloss and the seeds would have stuck to them much better. Next time!

We ate them with quinoa burgers!

 

1 c quinoa, rinsed and cooked (generous 2 c cooked)

1 carrot grated

1/4 red bell pepper, diced (~1/3c)

1/2c diced mushrooms

1/2c fresh spinach, chopped

1 shallot, minced

2 cloves garlic. pressed

3/4c cottage cheese

4 eggs

1/4c all-purpose flour

1/4-1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper, or to taste

red pepper flakes to taste

olive oil for cooking

Mix all ingredients except for olive oil in a mixing bowl.  Heat 1/2 tsp olive oil in a frying pan over medium-low heat.  When oil is hot, using a 1/2c measuring cup, drop a scant 1/2c onto pan, spreading it out to a thickness of 1/2".  Allow to cook for 4 minutes, or until golden brown.  Gently flip with a large spatula (I used a fish spatula and it worked well) and cook the other side until golden (about 4 minutes).  Repeat with the rest of the mixture. Yield 10 burgers

I served the burgers with fresh fruit and a simple spinach salad with a SUPER tasty and easey honey-dijon dressing

5 TB honey

3 TB dijon

2 TB rice vinegar

pepper to taste

Whisk together and serve!

And to think this whole meal started with wanting to make some sort of bread...Healthful, homemade, delicious, and happy tummies all around :)