Updates & Recipes

My new Book

Starter just mixed: Day 1 and Day 2

Yesterday I wrote about my excitement with the new influx of cookbooks to my shelves, mainly about bread baking. I started out almost right away, making a "Seed Starter" from scratch. I am fishing entirely for wild yeasts to ferment my starter, so there is no commercial yeast added at all to give it a boost. The particular book I am following for this recipe (The Bread Baker's Apprentice by Peter Reinhart) calls for starting out using 1 cup of white rye flour mixed well with ¾ cup of water on the first day. He explains that there may be little, if any, activity in the first 24 hours. On the next day, we mix together 1 cup of bread flour with ½ cup of water and combine this with the mixture from day 1. There is still anticipated to be very little action in the starter after the second 24 hours (tomorrow morning). Tomorrow morning, I will discard half of the starter already made (the option being to share with a friend who is into this same thing, so they might pick up the ball and continue from this point). Again I will mix together 1 cup bread flour with ½ cup water and combine with the remaining starter. It is anticipated that this time there will be a bit of fermentation taking place. I will keep tabs on that. On Day 4 it will repeat again. For the time being, I am anxiously awaiting the wild yeasts who will presumably work their magic. For now it is a boring enterprise, but I have faith!

For now, I have a couple of recipes I wanted to post, but realized that in all the hullabaloo surrounding the arrival of 4 guys into the house for a week and the Wine Tasting Event that happened on April 12th, while I was cooking nonstop, I entirely forgot to get photos of some of my finished meals. I made a most excellent Chicken Curry one evening and Naan. Since I made the Naan breads while the guys were out fishing, I did take photos of the finished product. The Chicken Curry however, was completely gone before I realized I had no photos. I made buns and potato salad earlier in the day while they guys were fishing, so I got photos. The pulled pork was finished just as they arrived home for dinner. RI will post the recipe for the pulled pork as it turned out so very good.  My pork roast had been frozen. I left it in the fridge overnight, but it was still frozen in the center when I started the roast in the crock pot.

Pulled Pork BBQ on Homemade Buns

Pulled Pork

Serves about 8 or more

1 (4.5 pound) pork shoulder roast
1 large onion, quartered, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon coriander seed, crushed
1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon cumin seed, crushed
1½ teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1 (12-ounce) bottle Guinness Stout or other liquid of choice
1½ to 2 cups Barbecue Sauce of choice

At around 8 or 9 AM, set the onions into a crock pot and set the pork roast on top of the onions. Combine all the spices together and sprinkle them over the meat. Pour on the entire Guinness Stout, cover the crock pot and set on High for 8 hours. If your roast is not frozen, you may set the crock pot on Low for the full time, or switch to Low about midway through the cooking time. I have a Crock Pot with a removable heavy crockery insert. If your slow cooker is thin walled, you may need to adjust cooking time.

Once the meat is cooked through and falling-apart-tender, remove the meat from the pot and set on a plate to cool slightly. If the remaining liquid in the crock pot is more than 1 cup, pour the liquid into a saucepan and cook over medium high heat until reduced to about 1 cup of liquid. Add the barbecue sauce to the liquid and stir to combine. Set aside.

Using 2 forks, pull the pork apart into ragged shreds. Add the pork to the sauce in the pan and toss well to combine. Serve on buns with a side of Mustard Potato Salad and Coleslaw.

Basic Coleslaw

Basic Coleslaw

Makes about 6 - 8 servings

8 cups shredded cabbage
1 carrot, peeled, shredded
¾ cup mayonnaise
¼ cup vinegar
¼ cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
a few grinds good quality pepper

Place cabbage and carrot in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients and pour over cabbage, combining well.


If you love pasta salads, there is a recipe I made recently that is good without mayonnaise if preferred, although I do add a little for the creaminess it imparts. I do use Dijon Mustard in the salad. I note this because I have a sister who hates both mayo and mustard. For anyone out there with this same dilemma, I have no idea what I would substitute for the mustard in this recipe. Maybe pickle relish? It would need something suitably piquant to compensate for the missing mustard flavor. 

My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Beer Bread Turns Out Perfect

I  mentioned a few days ago that I have been trying to prepare for the arrival of 4 guys as guests here next week. Making bread and getting it frozen so it's available at a moment's notice is one way to prepare. I saw a recipe for a bread using a whole bottle of beer, and thought, "most guys like beer, so this should be good". My husband is one exception - he hates beer. Even so, I decided to give it a try and see what the flavor was like. At worst, my husband wouldn't eat it. At best, everyone would love it. 

Beer Bread

I took the concept from that same cookbook that has so often steered me wrong in past, but with the amount of experience I have with making bread, I can usually see when there are problems and correct before they go too far wrong. Sometimes, there needs to be more tweaking, such as with the Cinnamon Raisin Bread I made last week. Eventually it comes out right or I give up the recipe concept as a no-go and leave it at that. The Cinnamon Raisin Bread was wonderfully tasty; no problem there. The only real difficulty was how it rose gigantically and spilled sticky cinnamon sugar butter all over the oven. Easily fixed: make 3 loaves instead of 2 from the recipe.

The Sponge: just mixed; after 30 minutes note bubbles

Back to the Beer Bread. Making a sponge to start with is a nice way to avoid having to knead for a full 8 or 10 minutes. The action of the yeast in the sponge takes on a part of the process. I made the sponge, and let it set for 30 minutes, though 45 minutes would also have been fine. You can see here how it is nice and bubbly after that time. The beer is slightly heated before using it in the sponge. I warmed it on the stove, while prepping the other ingredients. It takes seconds to whisk the sponge ingredients together, just until they are combined. Then you let the yeast do the work for you. After the sponge grows, you add the rest of the flour and knead for another 5 minutes or so, until the dough comes together nicely. 

This recipe uses a long, slow chilled rise after the loaves are formed, which really gives the yeast time to work slowly, and may also contribute to the overall tangy flavor of the bread. You will need room in the fridge for this long rise. Or, if you are still having freezing weather like we are - I set the pan, well covered, in my "sun room," which is at about 50 degrees. All this cold weather is good for something, after all. I set the loaves  onto a chair, and tented flour sack towels from over from the back of the chair to cover the bread. I didn't want the towels to stick to the loaves and chance deflating when uncovered. If you begin making the bread in the afternoon, you may allow the bread to do its slow rise overnight. I started the loaves early in the morning, and baked after 6 hours in the chilled sun room and the bread was done at supper time.

French Bread Pan

I have a large French Bread pan I acquired many many years ago, and it is wonderful to use. It keeps the bread nicely rounded and it is long; probably about 15 or more inches. I used the French bread pan to make my Beer Bread, forming the loaves nice and long. I lined the pan with parchment. This was a new idea; something I had never done before with this pan. The pan is perforated so the heat can really get to the crust and make it nice and crisp. Parchment is also porous, so I just gave it a try. I sprayed the parchment with cooking spray before setting the long, formed loaves into the wells. 

After all, the bread came out with a far crispier crust than I have ever managed previously with any loaf. The finished bread did have a slight bitterness at the end, but tastes wonderful. I shared an end with my husband and he liked it very much, despite that slight bitterness. I cannot truly taste beer, but it is evident that there is something very different in the flavor from other French Bread or other loaves of this sort. Here is my recipe.

Beer Bread - Just out of the oven

Beer Bread

Makes 2 long loaves

SPONGE:
1 (12-ounce) bottle of beer
1½ teaspoons instant yeast
pinch of sugar
1 cup warm water, 100 to 115 degrees
1 cup bread flour

2 cups bread flour
2 teaspoons salt
up to 2 cups more bread flour

FOR BRUSHING LOAVES:
¼ cup water
¼ teaspoon salt

Make the Sponge: Heat the beer briefly to about 110 to 115 degrees, or until it feels nicely warm, not hot, on your pinkie finger. Set aside. In a large bowl, or the bowl of a heavy duty stand mixer, whisk together the 1 cup bread flour, the yeast, pinch of sugar and salt. Whisk in the warm water and then the beer until the mixture is smooth, about 1 minute or less. Set the sponge aside to rise for 30 to 45 minutes, until bubbly. Do not try to speed this process.

Once the sponge is ready, if using the mixer, attach the bread hook and add in the first 2 cups of bread flour and the salt and slowly start the mixer. If working by hand, add these ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon. Once the spoon becomes difficult to work with, switch to kneading by hand. Once these ingredients are well incorporated, begin adding more flour, ½ cup at a time, up to 2 cups, as needed. Knead until smooth. This process should take about a total of 5 minutes. 

Loaves risen, after 6 hours; ready to bake

Set the dough into a greased bowl, turning once to coat. If using a heavy duty mixer, just remove the dough hook and leave the dough in the bowl. Cover the bowl with a towel and set aside to rise until about doubled in volume. Do not try to speed the rising process. The rising time should be about 2 hours or so.

Once risen, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into two equal pieces. Gently knead out the large air bubbles and roll each piece into a log shape, then using palms and a rocking motion, roll out to long narrow loaves. If you own a French bread pan, grease the pan. Line with parchment if desired. Alternatively, grease a baking sheet and strew with cornmeal; set the formed loaves on the baking sheet, well apart. Brush the loaves with oil, then gently dust with a little flour. Make ¼ inch deep slashes diagonally across the loaves, about 4-inches apart. Cover the loaves lightly and set in the refrigerator for 6 to 12 hours for a very slow rise.

To Bake: Preheat oven to 425 (400 on Convection). Remove the bread from the refrigerator. Mix together the ¼ cup water with the ¼ teaspoon salt. Using a pastry brush, gently brush this over the loaves. Set the pan in the oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, brushing with the salt water once more about half way through the baking time.  When done, the loaves sound hollow when tapped. If you own an instant thermometer, the internal temperature should be about 204 degrees. 



My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Beef Rump Roast in a Crock Pot

Crock Pot Rump Roast

Thank goodness for Crock Pots. They allow for things that could be difficult otherwise. Things like setting and forgetting. I have been busy working on a cookbook that I wish could be published someday, and as I am the author, typesetter, graphic artist and photographer, it is going slowly. So I work on it daily, mainly because I really enjoy doing all those things. Cooking is still required in order to make the recipes, so I must keep at it. Some days are more inspired than others, and yesterday wasn't one of the more brilliant days. I have a freezer full of a side of beef, which in this weather comes down to making things like roasts, stews or spaghetti. My husband has had tooth problems on and off for months, so he doesn't want to eat the roasts, as it hurts to chew. So, what to do?

I decided to chance it. I pulled a Rump Roast out of the freezer yesterday morning. It was like a rock, and would likely take at least a day to thaw properly. So - here comes the crock pot! I have never really had a "recipe" for a roast in the crock pot. Some days the thing comes out tastier than others, but they are all good. Yesterday, though I didn't feel terribly inspired to begin with, and was running low on groceries (something I remedied today), the roast and its gravy were just plain delicious. 

A serving of the roast with gravy

I had no potatoes in the house, so I just set some carrots in the bottom of the crock pot, as a sort of rack. Since the meat was frozen solid, I wanted to give it some space underneath for the heat to circulate. I set the frozen roast on top of the carrots and stepped back to think; what would taste good with the roast?

The first thing I thought of was the Dry Onion Soup Mix I created a couple of months ago. I still had enough in the jar to use the equivalent of one store-bought envelope, so I measured out the 1/4 cup of the mix and strewed it over the meat.  I tossed in a bay leaf. Then, because I wanted to make gravy later, I added in about 1 teaspoon of Kitchen Bouquet to make sure the color of the gravy would be good. I have Guinness Stout in my pantry, for cooking purposes (I like beer on occasion, but not Guinness Stout for drinking), so I poured one bottle in onto the roast. Then, because I wanted a rich color and flavor, I added in about 1/2 cup ketchup. I put the lid on and turned the pot to high. This was at 8:30 AM. Meanwhile, this is my recipe for the Dry Onion Soup Mix:

Dry Onion Soup Mix

4 Recipes of Dry Onion Soup Mix

Makes ¼ cup, equal to about one packet. Reconstitute with 4 cups liquid.

3 tablespoons dried minced onion
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon sugar, optional
½ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon turmeric
¼ teaspoon celery seeds, crushed or ground
¼ - ½ teaspoon black pepper

Mix all ingredients together and store in a glass jar in a cool dark place.

If mixing up more than one batch at a time for future use, be sure to mix thoroughly before using, as the onion will tend to surface and the finer ingredients will sink.
About 1 PM I came downstairs to check on the roast. I did not uncover the pot, but the house was smelling really wonderful, so I figured I had done something right! I turned the temperature to low and went back upstairs to work. 

At 4 PM I came back down and removed the lid from the crock pot. The roast was completely cooked! I removed the roast from the pot and set it aside and poured off the liquid into a saucepan. I did not strain the liquid, as there were all the reconstituted onion bits and other good things in there, but if preferred, it could have been strained. I mixed up about 3/4 cup of water with about 4 - 5 tablespoons of flour (or so - I wasn't measuring). I put this into one of those Tupperware containers with the little insert so it blends the flour and water well. With the saucepan at a simmer, I whisked in the flour and water slurry, whisking while the mixture thickened. As I was not measuring anything, I cannot say how much of the slurry I used - most of it - and the amount of liquid in the pan had originally been about about 3 - 4 cups. 

Here I must interject - neither my husband not I have a gluten intolerance, and if making things normally, I use wheat flour to thicken gravies. If one were to make this roast with gluten free gravy, substitute cornstarch for the thickening agent.

I let the gravy simmer for a few minutes, stirring occasionally, so the flour was cooked. The color was beautiful. The gravy tasted just wonderful. I served the meat and gravy with some rice (with a pinch of saffron, just because), and it was one delicious meal!



My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

A Wonderful, Warming Winter Stew

Carbonnades Beef Stew with Beer

I read about this stew a very long time ago. The book, no longer in print, was called Glorious Stew, by Dorothy Ivens, copyright 1969. It has been one of my favorite cookbooks since I got it as a soon-to-be new wife, way back then. The stew is supposedly Flemish in origin, and according to Ms. Ivens, the meat was meant to be cut in thin, flat pieces. Two things that made this stew stand out was the amount of onions and that it used beer as some of the cooking liquid.

I tried making the stew as Ms. Ivens suggests, but over time, some things just seemed easier to do a slightly different way. I liked the idea that the onions should be equal in weight to the meat. Onions are very sweet when cooked, and these just seem to melt down to nothing during the stewing period. I like beer, and learned to drink heartier beer while living in Guatemala, so a heartier beer is what I have always used. Ideally, a Belgian Ale would be the right beer for this stew. In Guatemala, I only had Guatemalan beer to choose from. Since living in the US again, I have used German beer over the years. Now, beers from anywhere in the world are available, so finding a Belgian Ale is not such a difficult thing to find anymore. Still, as with wine; if it is good enough to drink, then it is good enough to use for cooking.

Ingredients for Carbonnades

This recipe is found all over the internet, and is made in widely varying manners. The only thing that is consistent is the use of beer as some or all of the cooking liquid. There are enough beers available singly that even if beer is not your drink of choice, a bottle can still be acquired to use for the stew. The alcohol is cooked out completely with the long stewing process, but the flavor is just wonderful. My husband absolutely dislikes anything bitter, and never, ever drinks beer. That does not stop him from loving this stew! I generally use one normal sized bottle of beer. If needed, I may open a second and use a little more (then I drink the remainder!).

Steps 1: Bacon and Beef in Pot

For me, a stew is a one-pot meal. I might, on a rare occasion, serve a salad first, but generally, if I make a stew; that is dinner. My husband will eat bread with it, but I find a stew filling enough on its own. The stew has potatoes in it. I put the potatoes in at the beginning of the cooking period, as I do not like extra pots to clean afterwards. If you prefer potatoes that still taste and look like potatoes, peel them and cut in chunks near the time the stew is finished. Cook them in salted water until just tender and then drain and add them to the stew as it is served. If tarragon vinegar is not available, use cider vinegar and add in a half teaspoon of dried tarragon or 1 to 1½ teaspoons chopped fresh tarragon.

Carbonnades Beef Stew with Beer

Makes about 4 servings

2 pounds beef rump or chuck

Step 2: Onions and seasonings in the pot

2 - 4 slices bacon, cut across into 1/4-inch pieces
2 pounds white onions, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 bay leaf
1½ teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
2 cloves garlic, smashed
2 teaspoons salt
a few grinds of pepper
1 - 2 cups beer; Belgian Ale preferred
4 medium potatoes, peeled, cut in chunks
2 tablespoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons tarragon vinegar
Extra parsley for garnish

Preheat the oven to about 300 degrees. The stew should be able to maintain a simmer; adjust the temperature later, accordingly.
Cut the meat into 1 to 1½-inch cubes. Set the cubes of meat on paper toweling to dry; this ensures it will brown in the pan. Have a large stew pot or braising pan with a lid ready.

Step 3; adding the beer to the pot

In a skillet, brown the bacon. Remove the bacon from the skillet with a slotted spoon and add to the stew pot. Retain the bacon grease in the skillet and add in the onions. Saute the onions until they are limp and golden colored, but not browned. Remove them to the stew pot with the slotted spoon. A few pieces at a time, brown the meat cubes. Do not crowd the pan or they will steam. Remove them to the stew pot as they are browned.


To the ingredients in the stew pot, add the

Step 4: Potatoes into the pot

sugar, 2 tablespoons parsley, bay leaf, fresh thyme, garlic, salt and pepper. Pour in the beer and stir all the ingredients to combine. Set the stew pot on a burner and gently bring up to a simmer. Cover with the lid and set the pot in the preheated oven. Check the pot after about 45 minutes to see if it is at a simmer. If it is boiling, lower the heat; if it is not simmering, raise the heat slightly. Check again about halfway through the cooking time to make sure there is still enough cooking liquid. If it is dry, add either more beer, or supplement with beef stock or water. Cook for 2 to 2½ hours in all, or until the meat is tender.

In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch and vinegar. Set the stew pot on top of the stove, remove the lid and set the burner on medium low. Gently stir in the tarragon and cornstarch mixture, stirring until the stew has thickened slightly. Allow the stew to continue at a simmer for about 5 minutes more, to ensure the cornstarch is completely cooked through. Garnish with more parsley before serving.

My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.