Wordless Wednesday: Farmers Market Fabulous

Farmers market fresh-picked corn, the first local blueberries of the season, grilled fresh zucchini and peppers, and local free-range farm fresh burgers

CI veggie soup

The cool breeze in the air (it was in the 40s when we got up this morning!) makes me anxious for fall baking, and we started today with these pumpkin donuts from KAF.




But it's not fall yet, and we still have a fridge full of CSA veggies to use up. We are nearing the end of our CSA summer, and I'm breathing a little sigh of relief that the pressure to use all of these veggies will soon be gone. At the same time, I'm sad to say goodbye to the abundance of summertime produce...not to mention summertime weather. :-)

With school back in session, my free time to browse magazines and websites for veggie recipes is just about zero, so I was beyond excited to see a recipe in my newest issue of Cook's Illustrated (the iPad version, which I just love!) that used up almost every single vegetable from this week's box: eggplant, summer squash, tomatoes, bell peppers, onions, basil.

I was a little skeptical because the recipe didn't call for any typical soup filler: no meat, no beans, no pasta. Still, I wasn't going to pass up a perfect opportunity to use up my veggies. I made the soup this morning; as long as it called for a 20 minute rest to "let the flavors meld," I figured it wouldn't hurt to let it rest all day. Besides, soups are usually better when they're reheated.

The flavors in this soup were just amazing, so complex and interesting; it has to be one of my favorites ever. I served it with cheese, fruit, and ciabatta from ABED. A perfect summer-turning-to-fall dinner.



I adjusted quite a few of the ingredient amounts because I just used what I had in the fridge. I get the feeling that this is quite a flexible recipe, and I would happily make it again with whatever amounts of the veggies I receive next week.

Italian vegetable soup
adapted from Cook's Illustrated
makes 6 servings

1/3 cup fresh basil
2 T dried oregano
2 tsp minced garlic
2 T evoo
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1 eggplant (mine was 7.5 oz), peeled and cut into 1/2 inch chunks
1 large onion, chopped
1 1/4 lb potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch chunks
2 T tomato paste
2 c water
28 oz fresh tomatoes, peeled and diced (or 28 oz can), save juices
1 - 2 summer squash (mine was 12 oz), cut into 1/2 inch chunks
2 bell peppers (mine were orange), seeded and cut into 1/2 inch chunks
1 1/2 tsp salt
4 T olive oil
basil

1. Process the first five ingredients (basil through red pepper) in the food processor to make a paste.
2. Toss the eggplant with 1tsp salt and lay on a plate covered in coffee filters. Microwave on high until shriveled, about 8 minutes, tossing half way through.
3. Heat 1 T oil in a large dutch oven over high heat. Cook eggplant, potatoes,and onion for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Push veggies aside and add 1 T and the tomato paste, cooking until the tomato sauce starts to brown, 1 or 2 minutes. Stir the sauce in with the veggies.
4. Add the tomatoes, tomato juices, and water to the pot, and bring to a boil. Turn down to medium, cover, and cook for 20 minutes.
5. In a large skillet, heat 1 T of oil over medium-high. Add the peppers, squash, and 1/2 tsp salt. Cook for 10 minutes, until veggies are browned and softened. Push them aside and add the paste from step 1. Cook for a minute until fragrant, and then stir it in with the veggies.
6. Turn off the heat on the soup and then add the squash/pepper mixture. Pour a little liquid from the soup into the skillet and use it to scrape up any browned bits; stir those in to the soup, too.
7. Cover and let the soup rest for 20 minutes, or refrigerate until later in the day. Add fresh basil before serving.

CSA: dinner and reflections

Hubby and I decided to join a CSA for the first time last year. We'd talked about it for years, and every year I would do a ton of research on local farms...and then get totally overwhelmed by the number of choices and give up. Finally, last winter, we bit the bullet: picked a farm and sent in our money.

In case you're unfamiliar,

In basic terms, CSA consists of a community of individuals who pledge support to a farm operation so that the farmland becomes, either legally or spiritually, the community's farm, with the growers and consumers providing mutual support and sharing the risks and benefits of food production. Typically, members or "share-holders" of the farm or garden pledge in advance to cover the anticipated costs of the farm operation and farmer's salary. In return, they receive shares in the farm's bounty throughout the growing season, as well as satisfaction gained from reconnecting to the land and participating directly in food production. Members also share in the risks of farming, including poor harvests due to unfavorable weather or pests. By direct sales to community members, who have provided the farmer with working capital in advance, growers receive better prices for their crops, gain some financial security, and are relieved of much of the burden of marketing.

From the USDA's National Agricultural Library: http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/pubs/csa/csadef.shtml

Last year was not a good year for many of our local farms, so it wasn't the best for us either. It was too cold and then too hot and then too wet and then too dry...nothing much grew. We got squash, squash, and more squash...and that was it. I appreciated that the farm wanted us to feel like we were getting our money's worth (as much as they could, given the weather), but it was way more than we could deal with. I made every zucchini recipe known to man, froze a bunch of sliced squash and no-noodle lasagna, made countless jars of pickles, gave a ton of food away, and still couldn't keep up.

So hubby and I had a big heart-to-heart this winter; we knew that it wasn't fair to judge CSAs based on last year's experience. We decided to give it another try this year, although we switched to another farm that several friends had joined, knowing that they got a lot more variety than we did, even with last year's crazy weather.

This summer has been a true CSA experience. This farm offers us an amazing variety of veggies each week, but not too much of any one thing (except maybe cukes). The farmer sends fabulously detailed newsletters each week, filled with farm news, recipes, and pictures of the interns working on the farm. We were a little overwhelmed by the amount of greens at the beginning of the season, until we started making green smoothies as an afternoon snack each day.

Our box this past week provided us with this amazing meal: fresh tomatoes, garlic, carrots, celery, and onions went into this fresh tomato sauce. Scallions went into the cheddar and scallion rolls (twitterbaked with Kayte and Margaret). Fresh garlic, parsley, and basil went into the meatballs. We ate delicious broccoli on the side. All of the veggies are incredibly fresh; I can't believe how much better everything tastes than when we buy them from the grocery store. Even the celery, which I think of as being so bland, smells and tastes so celery-y. The whole family is excited to see what we get each week, and the kids love asking which of our foods came from our veggie box.

We still have many veggies to use before our next pick-up on Thursday. Farm potatoes and peppers will go with our grilled chicken tomorrow. Tuesday night's fried rice will include the rest of the broccoli, scallions, carrots, and cabbage. I gave two eggplants to my mom, I'll have to make another batch of pickles, and I'm waiting for inspiration for the giant bag of beets.

Which leads me to my final reflection: as wonderful as the food tastes, as much as I love the connection to a local farm, as much as I believe in the ideals of a CSA, I don't think we'll do it again. I miss choice; we get so much food that our meals are all determined by which recipe uses up the most farm veggies. This is especially challenging at the beginning of the summer when you get the same foods over and over (I could make this bok choy and kale recipe in my sleep!). I miss shopping at the farmer's market; although we still go, I can't justify buying additional produce when I can't keep up with what we have and when we've already spent so much money. And I can't stand the guilt of throwing food away when we can't get to everything, even though our farmer insists that it's still worth it and we're still doing good.

Still, it's been such a valuable experience, and I'm so glad we tried it...and I'm excited to see what's in this week's box! :-)

Summer bounty

I meant to do my final post for ice cream week today, but instead spent my day dealing with the over-abundance of produce from our CSA.



The past three week's worth of beets became these chocolate beet muffins (thanks to Sara for tweeting about them yesterday, as I'd had no inspiration for dealing with the shelf full of red globes). They were a huge hit with the whole family, and I'm sure the extra cup of beet puree that I stashed in the freezer will be put to similar use soon.

The drawer full of cukes became seven jars of bread and butter pickles, a hot packed version of these fridge pickles. I love the ease of refrigerator pickles, but just don't have the fridge space.

And finally, I revisited small batch canning when I received a bag full of tomatoes, a ton of green and hot peppers, and onions in this week's box: three jars of hubby's favorite salsa.

For the first time, canning seemed more natural, less overwhelming. I didn't need to review the instructions every two seconds, and I made all of the salsa and almost all of the pickles without needing another pair of hands. Makes me feel more confident about the next over-flowing box of goodies coming my way!

Summertime bliss

CSA chef salad with maple-dijon vinaigrette and garlic bread from KAF's honey-oat pain de mie

followed by homemade mint chocolate chip ice cream in a homemade waffle cone

Wordless Wednesday: CSA squash, anyone?

Twitter Avatar Fun: Nigella's pumpkin seafood curry

CSA pumpkins...aren't they cute?!

Phew, September is already half over, and I've yet to change my Twitter avatar! This month's chef was chosen by Marthe, and she picked Nigella Lawson, another chef I've heard a lot about but have never tried.

Looking for a dinner recipe that would please the family and use up some of these CSA veggies that continue to overwhelm my kitchen, I stumbled across this recipe for Thai yellow pumpkin and seafood curry. It's not the most Twitter-avatar-friendly picture, but hey, you can't win 'em all, right? =)

I ended up making a ton of changes...not my original intention at all, but just because I was rushing to cook this after a busy day at the Renaissance Festival and texting hubby who I'd sent on an emergency trip the grocery store. In other words, a typical evening at my house! =) I used a different kind of chili paste because it was in the fridge, and had to sub in veggie stock because I didn't have any fish stock. My pumpkin ended up getting a little overcooked because hubby unknowingly chose shrimp that had to be deshelled, which took longer than anticipated. And I tossed in a bunch of extra veggies because we needed to use them up and I thought the extra color would be nice. Finally, I realized as I was going to serve the meal that, in the craziness of dinner prep, I'd forgotten to make rice, so I hurriedly soaked some Thai rice noodles and we had it over that instead. The rice noodles were fine, but I would definitely make rice next time.

It didn't matter. This recipe is amazing and flexible; the base is so good, and we spent much of dinner chatting about different variations we could try. I'd especially like to try mixing up the meats: making a chicken version, or a mixed meats one with chicken, sausage, and shrimp. And next time, I'll be sure to top it with cilantro which I forgot to put on the shopping list, and maybe even something crunchy on top like some slivered almonds? Whatever changes you make, this recipe is a must-try!

Pumpkin seafood curry
based on Nigella Lawson's Thai yellow pumpkin and seafood curry

1 can Thai coconut milk
1 tbsp red Thai curry paste (NL suggests 1-2 tbsp. I was worried about the heat, so only used 1. It wasn't hot at all, and I'd probably up it to the full 2 tbsp next time.)
1 1/2 cups vegetable stock (NL calls for fish stock)
3 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp sugar
zest from one lemon (NL calls for 3 lemongrass stalks, but we didn't have them.)
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
3 pounds pumpkin, peeled and cut into large bite-sized chunks
2 cups mixed vegetables (chopped red pepper, sliced carrots, and chunks of summer squash)
1 pound salmon, skinned and cut into large bite-sized chunks
1 pound raw shrimp, peeled (and cut in half if large)
1/2 cup swiss chard and spinach, destemmed and chopped
1 lime, juiced
(NL calls for cilantro for garnish, which we sadly didn't have.)
(Rice. I forgot it, so I'm adding it to the recipe so I remember next time!)


1. Skim the thick top off the can of coconut milk. Put it into a large dutch oven with the curry paste, and cook it over medium until it sizzles. Then whisk the two together.
2. Add the remainder of the coconut milk, stock, fish sauce, sugar, lemon zest, and tumeric. Bring to a boil.
3. Add the pumpkin, and cook on a "fast simmer" (as NL says) until the pumpkin is getting close to tender, about 10 minutes.
4. Add any hard veggies (carrots, peppers) and cook for another few minutes.
5. Keeping the stock at a fast simmer, add the shrimp and salmon, and cook until they're cooked through, about 4 or 5 minutes.
6. Add the greens and push them down. Once wilted, stir in the lime juice.
7. Off heat, add the cilantro. Serve over rice.

Summer squash (no-noodle) lasagna

As I've been mentioning, we've been getting a ton of zucchini and summer squash in our CSA boxes. I've been looking for creative ways to use it, and read in several places about people who used planks of zucchini in place of noodles in their lasagna. I was intrigued. My first try was okay, but not great: way too much cheese, not enough meat, although it was clear that zucchini really did make an acceptable substitute for noodles in lasagna.

Tonight, I offered to make dinner for my dad's birthday at the ballpark; knowing pasta isn't good for him, I decided to give the no-noodle lasagna another try...and this time, it was perfect! My stepmom was the only one who said she could tell it was missing noodles, and my dad, who is my most honest critic, said it was really good! Even the kiddos, who didn't like the first version I made, ate theirs.

There are a lot of steps, but that's true of regular lasagna, too. This version is healthier, tasty, and uses up that plethora of zucchini and summer squash!

Summer squash (no-noodle) lasagna
makes six servings

for the sauce
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp minced garlic
12 oz ground meat (I used turkey)
28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

for the lasagna
1 large or 2 smaller zucchini and/or summer squash, sliced into 1/4" planks (enough for 6 planks)*
1 red pepper, cut into four sides*
3/4 c ricotta (I used part-skim)
1/8 c + 1 tbsp Parmesan cheese, grated
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 tbsp chopped fresh basil
1 cup mozzarella

*If you prefer, leave out the red pepper and use an extra 3 planks of zucchini or summer squash in its place.

1.  Preheat oven to 425º.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
3. Add the onion and salt and cook for about 4 minutes, until the onion is starting to get tender.
4. Add the garlic and saute for 30 seconds, until fragrant.
5. Add the ground turkey and cook for about 5 minutes or until no longer pink.
6. Add the crushed tomatoes, red pepper flakes, and oregano. Turn down heat and simmer for 15 - 20 minutes, until thickened, stirring occasionally.
5. While sauce is cooking, coat a large jelly roll pan with cooking spray or brush with olive oil. Put the zucchini, summer squash, and red pepper planks in a layer on the pan. Coat with cooking spray. Cook for 15 minutes, flip, and cook an additional 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender but not falling apart.
6. Place the red pepper (if using) in a zip-top plastic bag for about 10 minutes, and then remove the skins. (When I skipped this step, the red pepper flavor was much more dominant and the peppers were extremely difficult to cut through.)
7. While the sauce is simmering and the veggies are roasting, make the cheese blend: in a small bowl, combine ricotta, 1/8 cup grated Parmesan, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and chopped basil.

Once all of the pieces are ready (see photos below):
8. Spread 1/4 cup sauce evenly on the bottom of an 8x8 baking dish.
9. Place 3 squash planks on top of the sauce.
10. Spread 2 tablespoons of the ricotta cheese mixture on each of the squash planks.
11. Sprinkle 1/3 cup of mozzarella on top.
12. Pour 1 cup sauce on top and spread evenly.
13. Lay red pepper pieces on top (or squash, if omitting red pepper), being sure to keep them even with the squash slices below. (The first time I made this, I jigsawed the veggies rather than keeping them in even columns, and it was impossible to cut! When I was careful to maintain columns, it sliced like a dream.)
14. Repeat ricotta layer (you may not use all of the cheese), mozzarella layer, and sauce layer.
15. Lay final 3 pieces of squash on top, again maintaining the columns. Pour the final 1 cup of sauce over the top and spread evenly. Sprinkle on the rest of the mozzarella. Dust with 1 tablespoon Parmesan.
16. Cover lasagna with foil coated with cooking spray.
17. At this point, you can either bake the lasagna or stick it in the fridge overnight. When ready to bake, bake in a 350º oven for 30 minutes, covered. Then remove the foil and bake for 15 minutes uncovered.
18. Let sit for 10 - 15 minutes before slicing. (Because of all of the zucchs/squash, it will be more liquidy than normal lasagna.)

Bierocks (?!)

As I've mentioned in some recent posts, we joined a CSA for the first time this year. It's always fun to see what goodies are in our box, and the boxes have been getting heavier and heavier each week.

I've found it a bit challenging to deal with the variety of veggies...but in a good way! Sometimes, there are veggies I've never seen before and I have to send a cell picture to people to help me identify them. Sometimes it's challenging because there's just so much of one thing; how many pickles can one family can and eat?! (Luckily, after making six jars of refrigerator pickles last week, and receiving another NINE cukes yesterday, I discovered that one of my coworkers (a young, single, just-out-of-college guy) loves cucumbers, so I sent a whole bag home with him yesterday afternoon.)

Last week, there was a cabbage. I was brainstorming recipes for our various vegetables and listing off some cabbage-related recipes, when suddenly hubby said, "Hey, what about bierocks? Would you make me some of them?!"

Um, what? I'd never heard of bierocks before. When I searched for recipes, most were from Kansas, which explains why hubby grew up on them and I've never heard of them. Hubby said that back in Kansas, they were often sold at school fundraisers; apparently they're very good frozen. When I asked Kayte about it, she said that German ladies in the town next to where she grew up used to make them; she said they were really popular with farmers, a quick grab-and-go meal.

The recipes all seemed fairly similar and fairly simple: cook beef with shredded cabbage and onion, season with salt and pepper, place in bread dough (or refrigerated crescent rolls), and bake.

Hubby was in seventh heaven at dinner last night; he said they were just as he remembered, but with better bread; he ate his with ketchup. The baby girl liked hers plain; the little guy preferred his with mustard (how he eats hamburgers these days, too). I thought they were pretty plain, but they still made a nice, easy meal. The ultimate comfort food.

Bierocks
 for the bread dough (from PR's ABED)
1 3/4 c + 2 tbsp (425 g) milk, warmed to 95º
1 tbsp (9 g) instant yeast
6 1/4 c (794 g) bread flour (I used 400 g bread flour, 394 g white whole wheat flour)
2 tsp (14 g) salt
5 1/2 tbsp (78 g) sugar
6 tbsp (85 g) melted unsalted butter
1 egg (50 g)
 
for the filling
1 pound ground beef (I'd guess ground turkey would work just as well)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 head cabbage, chopped or shredded
1 large onion, chopped
1 tbsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp allspice

for the bread dough
1. Warm the milk. Whisk in the yeast until dissolved; let sit for 5 minutes.
2. Combine the flour, salt, sugar, oil, and egg in a large mixing bowl. Add the milk mixture and stir until it comes together in a shaggy, slightly sticky ball.
3. Mix with a dough hook in a stand mixer on 2 for 4 minutes (or knead by hand for 4 or 5 minutes). The dough will be soft and supple.
4. Form the dough into a ball and place in a large bowl coated with cooking spray. Refrigerate until ready to use. (Dough can rest in the fridge for 1 - 4 days.) OR Let rise until doubled, 1 - 2 hours.
5. Remove dough from the fridge and allow to come to room temperature, 1 - 2 hours.

for the filling
1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
2. Add meat and brown, about 5 minutes.
3. Add cabbage, garlic, and spices, and cook until softened, about 15 minutes. Cool slightly.
4. On a floured surface, roll the dough into a large rectangle, about 1/8" thick (I actually rolled mine in several batches because I was working on a fairly small board).
5. Cut the dough into 4" squares.
6. Place 1/4 - 1/3 cup filling in the center of each square (I put in as much as I could fit, and they still tasted bread-heavy). Fold the corners up to form a little packet and pinch closed in the middle.
7. Place filled bierocks upside down on a parchment lined sheet pan. Cover and let rise for 20 - 30 minutes.
8. Bake at 375º for 15 minutes.

Bierocks can be frozen: Wrap cooked bierocks in foil and then place in a large zip-top plastic bag. When ready to eat, defrost in the fridge and bake for 10 - 15 minutes at 325º. (I'd bet they could be baked frozen, too, but we haven't tried it yet. I'll update when we do!)

Refrigerator pickles

Even though our local CSAs are having a really rough year (weeks of over 100º weather followed by torrential, destructive storms), summer squashes and cucumbers are having a fabulous year. I've been doing my best to keep up. For the zucchini and summer squash, I've used them in egg bakes, made fritters, made a no-noodle lasagna, zucchini hash browns. There seem to be a lot of creative things to do.

For the cukes, I've really struggled. We use them on our dinner salads, but that doesn't even come close to dealing with my veggie drawer full of cucumbers. So I've been making a lot of fridge pickles. These are perfectly balanced: deliciously sour from the vinegar, slightly sweet from the sugar, with a hint of spice and a nice crunch. This is our new favorite recipe.

Fridge pickles
adapted from Cooking Light

3 English cucumbers, cut into 1/4" inch slices
1 large onion, sliced
3/4 cups apple cider vinegar
3/4 cups white vinegar
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 tsp minced garlic

1. Layer sliced cucumbers and onions in jars.
2. Combine vinegars, sugar, and spices in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook for 1 minute.
3. Pour over cucumbers and onions. Cool and refrigerate.

Makes 3 pint jars of pickles 

Eggs in jars!

A couple of months ago, Nicole linked to this awesome breakfast idea from Food in Jars. Hubby and I have been trying to start more of our days with protein rather than carb-laden breakfast cereals. But it's often challenging to spend time cooking anything more involved than pouring a bowl of cereal when we're trying to get ourselves and the little ones ready and out of the house by 6:30 a.m.

So I loved the idea of making a little jar of eggs in advance, and plus they're just so cute, aren't they?

At first, I was bothered by the lack of the specifics in the recipe (no specific amounts, no particular vegetables), but since then, I've experimented. I've used various meats (ham, sausage links, turkey sausage), veggies (onion, peppers, zucchini, squash, mushrooms, spinach), cheeses (cheddar, pepperjack, gruyere), all with success. I'm including specific ingredients and amounts below, just so you can get an idea. You can make these in little jars or ramekins, and I've tried both. I really love the wide-mouthed half-pint mason jars; they are a perfect serving size, after cooking you can just slap the lid on and stick them in the fridge, and the wide mouths make them easy to clean.

Eggs in jars
Cooking spray
1 tbsp olive oil
8 breakfast turkey sausage links
1 large onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped1 small patty pan squash, chopped
4 ounces mushrooms, sliced
2 cups of fresh spinach
10 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup grated sharp cheddar
1/4 cup grated pepperjack
1 tbsp butter (to coat jars)

8 half-pint jars, brushed thoroughly with melted butter
Preheat oven to 350º.

1. Spray a large skillet with cooking spray and cook the sausage on medium-high links until done (about 5 or 6 minutes). Remove the sausages.
2. In the same skillet, heat the olive oil. Cook the onion, pepper, squash (any of the harder veggies) for about 5 minutes, or until slightly softened and beginning to brown.
3. Add mushrooms and spinach (any veggies that don't need to cook as long) and cook for another couple minutes.
4. Slice the sausage and add to the veggie mix.
5. Divide the mixture evenly among the jars (I used about 1/3 cup veggies and meat per jar; the jars will be quite full).
6. Pour the eggs over the veggies.
7. Sprinkle about 1 tbsp of cheese over each cup and stir gently.
8. Cook in a 350º oven for 25 - 30 minutes, or until eggs have set.
9. Cool, cover, and place in fridge.

In the morning, just microwave the uncovered jar for about 45 seconds and enjoy a healthy breakfast!

Focaccia con formaggio (Mellow Bakers)

The ciabatta with stiff biga recipe makes a little over three pounds of dough, perfect for the two 9" focaccias that we devoured I made yesterday plus just enough left over for focaccia con formaggio, our other Mellow Baker focaccia choice for August.

The focaccia con formaggio is a less-time consuming recipe than the regular focaccia. You go straight from bulk fermentation of the ciabatta dough to dividing and forming the focaccia to the oven to eating (JH says to eat it warm). I imagine the entire process could take less than an hour, as there are no additional rise times.

I, of course, had actually made the ciabatta yesterday, so I pulled the remainder of the dough out from the fridge, divided it in two (about 13 ounces each), and rolled each ball into a rectangle-ish shape. One rectangle is placed on a sheet pan covered with parchment paper; it's then spread with ricotta, olive oil, coarse salt and pepper, and toasted fennel seeds. Then the second piece is plopped on top, the edges are crimped, the top is brushed with a little more oil, some vents are cut, and the whole thing bakes on a preheated pizza stone.

Because I was also cooking dinner, my focaccia con formaggio actually got some rise time while the oven was busy. I'm not sure if that's why, but mine took an additional five or so minutes before it was golden on top.

This tasted much more like ciabatta than focaccia to me. Hubby and I both thought that it was really good, but that the fennel was really strong and unexpected (and I actually only used half of the specified amount because a tablespoon seemed like too much). I can see making something like this and using garlic or...some other spice inside. I served it with a salad, fruit, and a vegetable (non-noodle) lasagna ~ a recipe I'll continue to work on and hopefully perfect and post soon ~ it's a must for dealing with all of these CSA summer squash!

Everyone in the family preferred last night's focaccia, and we really like the normal ciabatta recipe, too, so I'm not sure we'll make this one again...but not because it wasn't delicious!

Mellow Bakers: Focaccia (August)

My second bread for August for the Mellow Bakers is actually two new recipes in one: our official recipe is focaccia, but it is made with the ciabatta with stiff biga from earlier in the book. When ciabatta came up last December, I chose the one made with a poolish (which we loved), so this one was new to me.

Last night, I whipped up the biga (bread flour, water, and yeast) and let it rise overnight. This morning, I measured out the rest of the ingredients (more bread flour, water, salt, instant yeast)...and my scale errored right in the middle of weighing the water. Gr! I really need a scale that measures above three pounds, but it's so hard to justify getting something new when you have something that works perfectly well, you know?

But I digress. So I added a few more splashes of water and I think I added a bit too much as this was a very wet dough, maybe the wettest I've ever worked with, but I just did a few extra stretch-and-folds and they worked their magic: after two hours of bulk fermentation, I had a workable (although still really sticky) dough. Then I needed to go to book club, so I stuffed it in the fridge while I was out.

When I got home, I put about 400 g of dough into two 9" cake pans coated with oil. I stretched them into circles, put them on the counter to rise, and ran off to the Children's Museum. Even though I hadn't allowed them their proper rest after preshaping and they didn't fit the pans when I left, by the time I'd gotten home, they filled the pans beautifully.

JH doesn't give a lot of specific instructions about topping the foaccia, so I ended up using an herb-infused olive oil (which we loved on the BBA focaccia). I poured some olive oil in a small skillet, dumped in some Italian seasonings, kosher salt, and pepper, and warmed them. Then I added some sliced onions and one sliced mushroom. We are not usually very good at being minimalist with our toppings, so I worked extra hard at it today. I used the infused oil on both focaccias and then sliced onion, mushroom, a tiny bit of pepperoni, and a tiny bit of cheese (mozzarella and parmesan) on one; green olives, pepperoni, and cheese on the other. They baked for 20 minutes. (Note: The focaccia was very challenging to remove from the pan, even with all of the olive oil. Next time, I'll line the pans with parchment as well.)

As for the taste? Isn't a picture worth a thousand words?

Oh yeah, it was as good as it looked. We served the bread with a lovely salad (CSA greens, avocado, hard boiled egg, and pancetta with this buttermilk dressing) and a fruit salad (perfectly ripe nectarines and blueberries). Isn't it nice when a simple little supper puts a smile on everyone's face?

Mellow Bakers: Potato bread with roasted onions

Wait! Haven't we seen this one before?

We Mellow Bakers did, indeed, already bake a roasted potato bread back in October, and my family loved it. Needless to say, we were pretty excited to see this one come up: essentially the same bread but with the addition of roasted onions.

This one starts the night before with mixing up a pâte fermentée and roasting potatoes and onions. All easy enough, except that I forgot I was only wearing one pot holder as I was dealing with the pan of hot onions and got a nasty little burn on my finger.

The rest of the recipe is the same as the roasted potato bread (bread flour, whole wheat flour, water, salt, instant yeast, and the onions and potatoes). Easily made and baked in a morning, with a little pause in the fridge while we went shopping.

I only made one 1.5 pound loaf and it flew off the dinner table. The little guy who never likes my bread ate thirds and the baby girl ate fourths (and both asked for another piece). This was a very flavorful bread.

We ate it with this recipe for Tuscan roasted chicken which I bookmarked on Margaret's blog during our vacation. Instead of fennel, I used shallots, which appeared in our first CSA box yesterday. (We actually are on week 3 of our CSA, but were out of town for the first two weeks of it.) We finished the meal with a little fruit salad and a CSA-inspired salad. Quite a tasty summer meal!

1st CSA box