Why Did I Decide to Bake Bread in this Heat?

This summer has been so mild; at work its been cold even. The Farmer's Almanac is predicting a mild winter for us as well. However, this week and the previous week we've actually had some hot weather. What better way to celebrate than bake bread? Yeah, I'm a rebel.

We're been attempting to cut gluten from the majority of our diet, to see if we notice any effects. But we also like a good piece of toast with melty cheddar alongside a cup of coffee on weekend mornings. Last week I bought a loaf of gluten-free tapioca flour-based bread. It was tiny, and very dry, pricey, and just kind of sad overall, though I did make some mean sandwiches for dinner one night with it. I'm going to look into making my own gluten-free goodies, but in the meantime I picked up a bag of Bob's Red Mill GF Hearty Whole Grain Bread Mix.

The bottom left picture makes me think the bread is raising an eyebrow at me. 

It is quite good! They recommend a stand mixer to make the dough, but I used my food processor with the dough blade and dough cycle and it worked out just fine. I did have to add a few more tablespoons of water than the mix indicated though. I also let the dough rise until it was puffed up over the bread pan (I had something else in the oven, so let it rise extra long inadvertently), which I will definitely do again. The bread is nice and light, not dense as I was fearing it might be. The taste is close to pumpernickel or rye, with a moderate carraway seed flavor. There are whole sunflower and sesame seed that provide good texture. The loaf is a good size, and the cost of the mix is about half the cost of buying premade GF bread at the store. I'm hooked! I'm also looking forward to playing with all of the GF flours out there.

I also made this quiche from a new-to-me blog, Dixie Caviar.

I had some trouble with the crust, perhaps because I was using my food processor rather than mixing by hand. It was too crumbly to roll out (probably needed more water) so I ended up just pressing it in to a pie plate, and its nowhere as pretty as Nealey's version. I also used salted butter since its what I had on hand and could have done without adding the extra salt to the dough.

The quiche itself is very, very good. It is simple and not too eggy, as I find many quiches to be. I even used all half-and-half in place of the milk and cream, and it turned out great. To me this is comfort food with a glass of wine, a great light dinner. In fact, I'm going to go have leftovers now.

But before I go, just a reminder that my dog is funny:

She's a good girl and let's me do pretty much anything to her, and the white tank top did make her easier to see when I took her out that night to with the laser pointer in the dark. She loves chasing the "laser bug" and its a great way to tire her out a little more before bed. And the ears? They flip inside out all the time - they're her Princess Ayla buns.

Related Recipes:
Zucchini Bread
Banana Bread with Macadamia Nuts and Chocolate Chips
Tomato Swirl Bread

Change of Weather

I was woken up early yesterday morning by rumbling thunder and a few flashes of lightning. As summer draws to a close I become anxious to turn up the oven and bake.


Last week I got a craving for zucchini bread. I cannot remember the last time I actually had zucchini bread, but I picked up a few squash at the market.


The recipe I based my bread on is from Smitten Kitchen, and I used my handy mandoline with the julienne insert to grate up two zucchini.


A fragrant hour later and I had these two beauties. I love the cracks in the top of breads, it always makes me think of minimiam (really, check that site out!).

Zucchini Bread

2 eggs
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup nonfat plain yogurt
1/2 cup olive oil
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 zucchini, grated
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease two 8×4 inch loaf pans.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs with a hand mixer. Add applesauce and mix again. Add yogurt, oil, and sugar, then zucchini and vanilla. Combine flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl. Stir into the egg mixture. Divide the batter into the pans.

Bake loaves for 50 minutes, plus or minus, until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

I do not taste much zucchini in this bread, but I feel healthier eating a baked good when it contains vegetables. You could also add nuts, dried fruits, or even chocolate chips. I enjoyed mine plain, with butter melting atop a warm slice, and a cup of chamomile tea.

Bananas for Zin

Clockwise from top left: Souvenir wine glass; me sipping something-or-other;
my patio Princess lilies; wine glass and festival flyer.

Today Chris and I went to the ZinFest Wine Festival at Lodi Lake. I found out about this event a few months ago and had been looking forward to going for quite a while, simply because it was something new and I got a killer deal on the tickets. We arrived about half an hour after the opening, which I think was perfect. It was hot, being Lodi in the summertime so it was somewhere in the 90°s F, but we were on the lake and there was ample shade to help keep us cool.

After parking in the lot we walked to the entrance, rather than wait for the shuttle where we would just be riding pressed up against other sweaty people. There are very few people I want to be that intimate with, and the ten minute walk was probably just as fast with the added benefit of getting a little exercise. Then our IDs were checked, a little further down we handed over our tickets and they stamped our hand with a little red smiley face indicating we were of drinking age, then a bit more further down they slapped an orange wristband on us, I think it was for re-entry if we left. Another short walk and we were handed a souvenir glass and program, then a small loaf of bread to help soak up the wine that would soon be in our bellies. After the intricate entry procedures we were free to roam.

There were fifty local wineries present, pouring more than 250 different wines. I wonder if anyone tried them all? Or at least every winery? I ended up trying less than ten, but honestly I cannot recall how many. The standout wine from what I tasted was the Gnekow Family Winery Old Vine Zin: it was incredibly mellow and smooth. There were also a number of local restaurant booths with food, some arts and crafts (though far fewer than I would have expected), live music, and a few roaming entertainers. Some people came ready for the day with picnic blankets, camp chairs, and I even saw a tent. We ended up staying a few hours overall before heading back to the car; I can only sip so much wine in one afternoon.

On our way home we stopped off in Tracy for lunch at The Olive Garden, to use up an ancient gift card that I think my parents gave us at least five years ago. It was a predictably bland meal: Chris said his lasagna tasted like Chef Boyardee, and my fettuccine Alfredo was passable. But free food always tastes better, we were hungry, and the service was actually quite good. The rest of the day has been spent relaxing, with a quick BBQ on the patio for Chris' steak and my double-stuffed wasabi "baked" potatoes. Its been very nice sitting here, playing on the computer with a Midori sour in my other hand, a dog or two at my feet, and enjoying the warm night. Everyone should be this lucky.

* * * * *

The other night I had an insatiable craving for banana bread. My mom makes a great one, and I have her recipe, but I wanted to try something a little different so I opened my copy of How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman. With a few adjustments based on what I had on hand, I came up with this, and it was good.

Peek-a-boo, little chocolate chips!

Banana Bread with Macadamia Nuts and Chocolate Chips
adapted from "How to Cook Everything Vegetarian"

8 tablespoons (1 stick butter), plus more for pan
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
2 eggs
3 very ripe bananas, mashed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons half-and-half cream
1/4 chopped macadamia nuts
1/4 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan.

Mix the dry ingredients together. In a separate bowl and with a hand mixer, cream the butter and beat in the eggs and bananas (I didn't bother pre-mashing my bananas; I added them whole here and used the beaters to mash them). Stir this mixture into the dry ingredients just enough to combine; lumps are okay. If your batter seems a bit too dry, like mine did, add the half-and-half at this point. Gently stir in the nuts and chocolate chips.

Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake for about 45 minutes, until nicely browned and a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out mostly clean. Cool on a rack for 15 minutes before removing the bread from the pan.

Enjoy slathered with melty butter and a good cup of coffee. I've had a thick slice of this for breakfast for a few days now. Its great to start off the day with chocolate!

* * * * *

I think I'm about ready to curl up in bed with my newest read - The Lunatic Cafe, the fourth installment of Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series - and perhaps a slice of pie.

What, you don't eat pie in bed?

Rainy Day

When can we go outside?

Its been a rainy day. Ayla spent a lot of time looking forlornly out at the patio. I took both dogs for a walk in our complex at one point and Mac kept trying to eat the rain. Picture him trotting along with his head up, biting at the rain drops. Silly boy. I let Ayla off leash since she was crazy - water gives the dogs the zoomies - and she ran around with a big goofy grin on her face. Then she slid out in the grass and ended up smeared all down her left haunch with mud. Getting her in the tub once we were back inside, I ended up with most of the mud on me. She doesn't hate baths, but she doesn't like getting in the tub (whereas Mac jumped in on me in the shower recently, he loves it). I think its going to be a long, muddy winter. I'm glad we took out the carpet in the living room, and we'll probably be removing it in the bedroom after the winter.

Tomato Swirl Bread

I've had my eye on the Tomato Swirl Bread over at Baking Delights for a while now. I think I've written about my love for grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato soup before, so I've been waiting for the chance to make this. Here's the recipe:

Tomato Dough:
1 c tomato sauce
2 tbs butter
2 tbs brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cloves
2 Tbs ketchup
1 package of dry yeast (or 2 1/4 tsp)
1/4 c warm water

4 c whole wheat flour or white flour

Soften yeast in water. Heat tomato sauce, butter, and ketchup and let cool to lukewarm. Add sugar, cloves, salt and yeast mixture to tomato mixture and mix in enough flour to make a soft but kneadable dough. Turn out and knead until smooth and elastic. Oil and set aside to rise.

Whole Wheat Dough
1 1/2 c warm water
2 Tbs butter
2 tbs brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1 pack dry yeast (or 2 1/4 tsp)
4 c whole wheat flour

Soften yeast in 1/4 c water with sugar. To other 1 1/4 c water add butter until butter melts (you may need to microwave it and let cool to luke warm). Add salt and yeast mixture, then add flour until you get a soft, kneadable dough and proceed as above.

Let balls of dough rise until double-about 1 1/2 hours. punch down and knead lightly…cut each ball of dough into 2 equal pieces. Let rest 10 minutes. Roll each ball out into a rectangle of equal sizes. Place a tomato dough rectangle on top of a whole wheat rectangle and roll up tightly pinching dough together at bottom to seal. Repeat with other loaf. Let rise in greased bread pans for 1 hour or until double.

Bake at 375 for30 minutes or until loaves sound hollow when tapped. Let cool... if you can.

Swirly!

The bread turned out well. It has a nice crumb, soft and wheaty. It could have a stronger tomato taste, and I'm not overly fond of the cloves (they remind me of a friend in high school who smoked clove cigarettes). If I make this again I would leave out the cloves and add a couple tablespoons of tomato paste to kick up the flavor. This recipe makes two loaves, so I've put the second loaf in the freezer. I made grilled cheese for dinner tonight and the bread grilled up very nicely, though the tomato flavor was overpowered. It sure is a pretty loaf though, isn't it?

I also made mini pumpkin pies:

Aww... cute!

These are just the recipe from the back of the Libby's Pumpkin Pie Mix can, put in these mini graham crusts I picked up a while back and, from the date on the package, expired yesterday. They are topped with home-whipped cream though, since I'm out of Cool Whip. :)