Bubble Loaf!

I've been wanting cinnamon rolls, but not the work it takes to make them. Bubble loaf is the closest approximation. Most people know this cinnamon-sugar sweet bread as Monkey Bread, but here in the Tatertot household, that term is verboten. Luke has a preternatural hatred of all things simian passed down through generations of his family.

This is not good for you. If you become an addict, I am not to blame, for you took it upon yourself to make and eat it.

I've made it before, but it took a lot of work, so I went with using the bread machine this time. It took about the same amount of time, but not nearly so much work.

Again, I am a cheater when it comes to bread making, but normal bread techniques apply.

Bubble Loaf
(375* 20-25 mins.
serves ?)

Dough:
1 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. butter
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
3 cups bread flour
2 1/2 tsp. yeast

Delicious coating:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup melted butter

Place dough ingredients in bread machine and set for the dough cycle. When the cycle ends, remove the dough from the pan to a lightly floured surface and knead 10-12 times. Cut dough into 1" pieces. Combine the brown sugar and melted butter in a bowl and coat all of the individual dough pieces with it, dropping each piece into a Bundt or tube pan evenly. Preheat the oven and lightly cover the dough-filled pan with plastic wrap and rise in a warm place (I put it on top of the preheating stove) for about half an hour or until it has risen to the top of the pan. Place the pan in the oven and bake for 20-25 mins.

When the loaf is done, allow it to cool slightly before turning it out onto a plate and allowing people to devour it. Some people also put a confectioner's sugar glaze on it, but I think it's just fine as is.

Blueberry Scones and 1st Week CSA Share

I have been unusually busy of late and our social calendar has us doing something almost every weekend these days. This is our last (so far) empty weekend until the 11th of July. So if there's been a dearth of posts, it's due to my not having time. I am in the kitchen doing stuff, but I don't always remember to take photos or it doesn't come out as pretty as I'd like. (Note: I only share that which I deem cosmetically pleasing.)

Today was the 1st day in our 19 week CSA share season. A CSA is also called a farm share. You contact a local farm offering such a program, pay a set amount and end up with lovely farm fresh produce that varies throughout the season. Madison's own local organization (MACSAC) is a great resource if one happens to be interested in such a thing. They can answer a lot of questions and even have a low-income assistance program.

As seen in the photo, we received a head of lettuce, a huge bag of salad greens, a bag of spinach, salad turnips with their greens and a bunch each chives and garlic scapes. I am excited to see what the rest of the season brings and, after being anxious for this day since January, I was not disappointed.

We also received a basil plant from our farm and it has taken up residence on the roof of Sjölind's Chocolate Haus with the herby cousins I'm cultivating (thyme, parsley, oregano, more basil and nasturtiums). The cousins are currently in micro stage and I did a bit of thinning yesterday. Luke was wondering what was taking so long when he came out to check on me. He found me hunched over a pot of basil saying, "I'm having to make Sophie's choice over and over again!". Fortunately, I was able to transplant the larger ones into another planter and I took the thinlings home as "microgreens" and used some both in my eggs (from another local farmer, we receive a dozen a week) this morning and on my salad with dinner.

I've also been making a lot of scones lately. I tried my hand at blackberry and, while tasty, they were not pretty and the seeds were simply too large for me to really be rapturous about them. Then I tried blueberry and hit the jackpot. I've made 2 batches so far and they've both been delicious.

Blueberry Scones
(425* for 15-20 mins. - makes 8)

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. salt
6 Tbsp. chilled, unsalted butter
1 cup fresh blueberries, washed and picked over
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk

Preheat oven to 425* and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. In a medium bowl combine flour, salt, sugar and baking powder. Using the large hold of a box grater, grate the butter into the flour mixture and, using a pastry blender, fork or fingers, combine until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Add liquid ingredients to dry and gently fold in blueberries. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead 4 or 5 times for a cohesive dough. Press dough out into a 7" round and cut into six equal triangles. Arrange on baking sheet and brush with cream, sprinkling with demerara sugar if desired.

Bake scones 15-20 mins. until they are lightly browned. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack. Serve warm with butter or at room temperature. They are excellent plain and I recommend freezing them should they sit around too long. Because of the fruit, they tend to mold a bit soon. I just take one at a time in the freezer and microwave it for 30 or so seconds at 40% power.

Mother's Day Brunch Pt. 1

I have a growing list of things I have recently made and fully intend to post, and before yesterday, this wasn't one of them! These scones were the result of my waking up early and fretting about how my quiche(s) would be received. I figured if no one liked the quiche, at least these would be there to save the day. I needn't have worried, but they turned out well, all 6 were eaten and they were quick to throw together with fairly minimal ingredients. Not only was everything well received, Luke really liked the scones, so I made a second batch just for him when we got home.

Most of the time when I am looking for a new recipe, instead of looking through my shelf full of cookbooks, I head to the internet knowing there are only 1,000,000 times more options out here than there are in my library. I often end up choosing things from Chow's forums. I really enjoy a good pumpkin scone, but didn't want one of the Starbuck's knockoffs. I settled upon one from Joy of Baking but I tweaked it a little. Theirs calls for both nuts and raisins, which are both tasty, but none of my eaters like them. It also calls for an egg wash and a dusting of coarse sugar. I thought a glaze with a little cinnamon and fresh grated nutmeg would be prettier, so I went with that. Next time, I might brush them with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon before baking.

Pumpkin Scones
(400* for 20 mins.
serves 6)

2 cups flour (I used bread flour because I was low on all purpose)
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 stick butter
1/3 cup buttermilk (I use powdered and water)
1/2 cup pureed pumpkin
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 400* and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a medium bowl whisk together dry ingredients and set aside. In a smaller bowl combine pumpkin, buttermilk and vanilla. Grate the stick of cold butter into the dry ingredients and blend with a pair of forks or a pastry blender until it resembles coarse crumbs. Add wet ingredients and stir until combined. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead 4 or 5 times before shaping it into a disk about 7" around and 1 1/2" high. With a chef's knife or bench scraper divide into sixths and place on baking sheet. Place in oven and bake 20 mins. They will be puffed and just beginning to turn golden. After removing them from the oven, place them on a cooling rack and allow to cool, glazing if desired.

For the glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar
2 T. milk or cream
pinch nutmeg
pinch cinnamon

Combine ingredients in a bowl and mix until it forms a thick icing. Spoon over cooled scones and allow to set slightly.

Homemade Granola

I have long read about how easy and economical it is to make granola at home, but I always just figured it was more difficult than I was told. So, this past week, Luke was trolling around the web and found a granola recipe for me. I looked at it and some others, but found none of them to be exactly what I wanted. It was up to me to create something I would want in a healthy, cereal that uses no high fructose corn syrup. I had some blanched almonds kicking around and a bit of sweetened coconut. A good granola also has to have the proper amount of sweetness, oats and dried fruit, so I replenished my supply of rolled oats and picked up a couple of pouches of dried cherries, cranberries and blueberries, figuring those would make a nice change from the old school raisins.

It turned out quite tasty and the making of it went incredibly quickly. I even had a bowl for breakfast yesterday!

Homemade Granola
(Makes 1 gallon zipper lock bag)

4 cups old fashioned rolled oats
2 cups chopped nuts
2 cups sweetened coconut
1 1/2 cups dried fruit, chopped
1/2 cup canola oil
1/3 cup honey
2 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350* and combine all ingredients in a bowl, stirring to coat everything evenly with liquids. Pour onto a baking sheet and bake 20-25 mins., stirring occasionally with a spatula, until everything is a light golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely, stirring occasionally to prevent too much sticking and store in an airtight container.

(6.25.09) I made this a second time and made a couple of tweaks. I upped the sweetness a bit by adding 1/3 cup brown sugar and a little over 1 tsp. of vanilla. Also, instead of allowing the fruit to bake with everything else, I tossed it on when I pulled it out of the oven. Dried fruit is already a bit chewy and baking it makes it a lot harder to chew, so best not to expose it to extra heat. I also lined the baking sheet with parchment to ease cleaning. The first time was tasty, the second a taste sensation!

Saturday Egg Scrambler

This is something I have started making since we're now getting a weekly dozen organic eggs from a local farmer. It's not so often that we can go through a dozen in a week, but it's definitely easier when they're as good as these are. It's basically a slipshod version of migas, which is a Spanish/Mexican egg dish made with sausage, eggs and breadcrumbs/tortillas. Instead of either of those starches, I usually bake a couple of baby red potatoes in the microwave and dice them.

You can basically throw in whatever you have handy and seems good at the moment, but I do shallots or onions, some favorite herbs and cheese. Today I had some bulk breakfast sausage lying around and some leftover red bell pepper, so those went into the pan, too.

A majority of our dried herbs come from Penzey's, to the point where we have an entire cabinet shelf stocked with little glass jars and a drawer full of bulk sacks. Their prices are reasonable and you can find just about anything you're looking for, no matter the cuisine. I used their Bouquet Garni blend for this.

I didn't measure anything, but I'll try to come up with an approximation.

Saturday Breakfast Scrambler
(Serves 2-3)

1 finely minced shallot or 2 T. onion
3 small red potatoes, baked in microwave
2 oz. breakfast sausage, cooked (can cook in pan prior to adding shallot/onion)
2 T. red bell pepper, 1/4 inch dice
3 eggs
1-2 T. cream
1 oz. grated/crumbled cheese of choice (I used a leftover blend of Jack and cheddar)
1/2 tsp. dried herbs
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
Salt and Pepper to taste

Melt a small amount of butter over medium heat in a mid-sized skillet. Add shallots and bell pepper, cooking until shallot is translucent and pepper softens slightly. Add diced potato, sausage and garlic powder, allowing potato and sausage to heat. Meanwhile, crack eggs into a small bowl, add cream and herbs and whisk with a fork until color is consistent. Push vegetable/sausage mix to one side of pan and pour egg mixture into empty portion. Scrape the bottom of the pan gently to form soft curds. (Some of the egg mixture will seep into the veggie territory and that's fine.) When eggs appear to be about halfway done, bring the veggie/sausage half back into the mix and sprinkle with cheese, allowing it to melt. Divide onto plates and serve with buttered toast or English muffin.