New Traditions with Lisa

I just picked up a bag of salad greens from my CSA, Rocky Gardens, who have been growing them in their greenhouse. Yum! There is a little bit of leaf lettuce, kale, spinach, and romaine lettuces. And because of the cooler temperatures, the greens are super sweet and not bitter like they get sometimes in the summer. So good!

Last weekend we went to the Royal Oak Farmer’s market. I had to go there to pick up my milk for our milk group and so I took advantage of all the market had to offer. I was surprised to see how many vendors were there in March. It was pretty full!

I purchased some whole wheat flour from a booth from Hampshire Farm. They are a Michigan farm and grow wheat, corn, buckwheat, and much more. The flour had been ground the day before by them which I thought was pretty cool since I have no idea how old the stuff at the store is and it wasn’t much more than any kind at the store. It was just a powdered flour - it had specs of the ground wheat berries in it. I was intreged by it’s freshness and nutrition.

So Wednesday was my big day to make homemade bread with this great stuff. I used recipe I found on Allrecipes and it turned out horribly! I believe hucky puck was the term I used to describe it. I’m sure it was not the recipe, but rather the yeast (which I am sure was totally dead and expired.) I thought the two loaves actually looked like stones and considered using them as part of fireplace makeover. Into garbage they went. All the wonderful work for not. I was depressed.

So on the internet I went and searched for some real authorities on the whole wheat bread making procedure. I also confided in my new book called “The Bread Bakers Apprentice” by Peter Reinhart. It’s a great book and full of knowledge. I learned that the “recipes” for making bread are not called “recipes” they are called “formulas”. The baking formulas are called such because it’s very important to measure everything correctly and not stray from the procedure. Following the formulas is crucial to good bread.

So, today was my second try at it. I began early this morning with my “sponge”. I did not do this on Wednesday and I found out that it really important to do this when using whole wheat flour. It helps make a nicer, softer, loaf. Anyway, into the bowl went 2 packets of yeast, 3/4 cup warm water, and 1 cup of flour. After it was all mixed up good, I covered it with plastic wrap and let it sit for about an hour. It became alive very quickly and cold see bubbles forming and bursting. It was a good sign that the yeast were alive and well.

After the sponge was done, I added an additional 1 1/2cups of warm water, 4 1/2 cups of the flour, 1/2 cup vital gluten, 2 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil (it said vegetable oil, but I am slowly getting away from v.o.), 1/3 cup honey, and a tablespoon of salt. I mixed it all together and then began (attempted to begin) kneading it with the dough hook in my Kitchenaid mixer. No sooner did I lock it down and turn it on, was it practically jumping off my counter making a crazy thumping noise. I guess it was too much for it to do at once. I cut it in half and tried again with similiar results. It wasn’t so violent as the first time, but it wasn’t really working. So onto a quarter of dough at a time. It worked but it seemed like I was going to be there forever. I did stop and let the dough rest for about 10 minutes and try again. I learned that dough needs to “relax” sometimes and it gets easier to work with if it’s rested. Sounds like me! I eventually gave up on the mixer idea and plopped it all on the counter and kneaded it by hand. It was a good workout to say the least, but kind of fun too. Once it was smooth and did not crack when I shaped it into a ball, I quit. I transfered the ball of dough into the largest glass bowl I had which had been oiled well. I turned the ball in the oil until it was completely coated. On went the plastic wrap and into the cold oven with the light on. I let it rise for about 2 hours.

You can tell the dough is ready by poking it with your finger. If the hole stays and does not fill in, it’s done. If not, it needs to rise more. I dumped it out on the counter and pushed all the air out. I didn’t work the dough, just pressed it down flat. At this point, the dough was cut in half and I formed each piece into a long reactangle. From one end I rolled it tightly together and pinched the seams together. The ends need to be pulled and tucked underneath and the seams alsopinched together. These were then placed in greased pans and placed back into the oven with the light on. There they sat for another hour until they rose again. You can do the finger poke again, but I didn’t. I took them out and turned the oven on 350. I baked them about 45 minutes after applying a little egg/water wash to the tops.

Voila, bread!

I have been saving some chicken carcasses in the freezer for making soup someday. I already have frozen chicken noodle soup and just really wanted to have the stock/broth on hand so I don’t have to keep buying it.

I first thawed the chicken bones, cut them into pieces, and then placed them in my huge stockpot. I threw in the end of a bunch of celery I and the inside leafy stalks (I also had been .saving in the fridge), several onions (chopped in half), some carrots, a handful of whole peppercorns, and 2 cloves of whole garlic. I covered them all with cold water just to the top of the chicken/veggies. Too much water will not result in a rich broth - it will be more watered down.

I cranked up my the flame to high and let it go all day. It took almost a full hour for this to actually come to a boil because it was so big. After reaching a good boil, I reduced the heat to low and kept it at a very gently simmer for 6 hours. In the book Nourishing Traditions, she suggests leaving this to simmer anywhere between 6 and 24 hours. The idea of going to bed with a big pot over an open flame on the stove did not appeal to me….so 6 worked just fine. I made sure to continually skim all the foam scum that rose to the top while simmering. Not sure what this stuff is, but it’s not meant to be in stock I don’t think.

I removed the pot from the heat and strained it all into another large pot. I did not keep the chicken from the bones I used because the amount was so small, but if you wanted to I guess it’s good to eat. Per Alton Brown’s advice, I placed the hot pot into my sink filled with and ice bath. This brought down the temperature quiet nicely and since it was going on 9pm, i didn’t want to stay up and wait for this to cool on it’s own. Once the temp reach 40 degrees (about 45 minutes), I put the whole pot in the fridge and went to bed.

Today I took it out and skimmed all the hardned fat from the surface and tossed that. I have heard that this can be used in cooking and frying - but oil is cheap and it just seems gross.

In Nourishing Traditions it says that the stock will gel after sitting overnight in the fridge. Mine did not. The gelling is from the marrow from the bones. The book also recommends chicken feet which have alot of good gelatin and make the stock gel - sorry, no chicken feet here!! Oh well, no big deal.

I did, however, do something new to this stock which I had never done before. I put it back on the burner and re-simmered for a couple hours. The stock had reduced in volume and yeiled a much deeper, golden stock. The stock from yesterday was yellowish but today it’s a deep golden color. Yum! I am considering canning some of this and also freezing some. Canning is a messing business at times - we’ll see how motivated I feel!

I am so happy with this stock. It’s better than anything I can ever buy and it was free! Well, the initial chicken investment was not free, but basically this was free by-product!

A couple of months ago, I purchased a big 5 pound package of ground beef because it was on sale for a super great price. I divided it up into a 2 pound section and two - 1.5 pound sections. The 2 pounds were made into meatloaf (2 loaves), one 1.5 pounds made italian meatballs, and the remaining 1.5 pounds was formed into hamburger patties. I flash-froze them all on cookie sheets, tossed them into vacuum bags and then sealed them with my Foodsaver. I did brown the meatballs and cool them before freezing, but left the meatloaf uncooked. On this same day, I had also purchased a big container of ricotta cheese, which I used to make stuffed shells which I froze too. They sell those bags of frozen shells and ravioli - so I made my own for a lot less.

So…..Monday night I was really tired and didn’t feel like cooking. I opened the freezer and saw the meatloaf….perfect, I thought. I tossed it on a cookie sheet and put it into a 350 degree oven with some baked potatoes. Easy, easy, easy. I think the hardest thing I did was steam some broccolli. Whew, hard work. I wasn’t sure how long to cook it since it was frozen, so I started with an extra half hour which turned out to be right on. It took about an hour and a half to cook total. I am so happy I did this and will continue to have a meatloaf in my freezer at all times. And again…last night, I made the stuffed shells - yum. I poured some of my homemade canned pasta sauce in a dish, added the frozen shells, and cooked for 30-35 minutes. WAY easy. Served with homemade garlic toast and salad. Voila, dinner from the freezer again.

Here are the recipes:

Meatloaf

- 2 pounds ground chuck/sirloin/hamburger
- 2 sleeves of crushed saltines
- 2 eggs
- fresh chopped parsely
- chopped onion
- milk

Combine all ingredients and add as much milk as needed to make it moist but not soupy. I generally find mixing with my hands is the best, but some people have a fear of touching ground beef (why?) so you people can use a spoon. Add other spices or green peppers, whatever. It’s meatloaf, not souffle. Some people put BBQ sauce or ketchup on meatloaf…go ahead if you want…I think that sounds disgusting, but go ahead.
Form into two loaves and cook immediately at 350 for about an hour OR place on a parchment-lined cookie sheet and freeze about an hour. Then place in vacuum bags or freezer bags, label and date. When cooking from frozen, add a half hour to cooking time.

Meatballs

- 1 - 1 1/2 pounds of ground chuck/sirloin/hamburger
- 1 sleeve of crushed saltines or 1 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
- 1 egg
- fresh chopped parsely
- chopped onion
- minced garlic
- dried italian seasonings (oregano, basil,etc)
- milk

Just like with the meatloaf, combine everything and add a little milk to keep it moist, but not soupy. These need to be rolled into balls, and they can’t be too moist or they will not hold their shape. Heat a skillet with a little oil until smoking. I like to roll a bunch of ahead of time and then brown them…but you can roll as you go I guess too. Do not overcrowd the pan. Turn them frequently to brown on all sides. I did not cook mine all the way through, just browned them and transfered to a cooling rack on a cookie sheet to drain the grease. These need to be cooled before freezing. Freeze them on a cookie sheet for about an hour and then toss into the freezer bag. Freezing them this way, prevents them from sticking together in the bag. When you are ready to use them, take them out of the freezer and toss into a pan of simmering sauce until cooked and warmed through.

Stuffed Shells

- 1 pound of jumbo shells pasta
- 1 large container of ricotta cheese
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1/2 grated parmesan cheese
- 1 egg
- fresh chopped parsely (dried, if you don’t have any)
- minced garlic
- italian seasonings to taste (oregano, basil, garlic)

Cook the pasta 2 minutes less than package directions to keep them shells from falling apart when stuffing them. Drain the pasta. Combine all other ingredients in a bowl. I scoop the cheese/egg mixture into a quart size sandwhich/freezer bag, twist around and cut off the corner. This makes it easy to squeeze the mixture into the shells but use a spoon if you want. As ech shell is stuffed, place on a parchment lined cookie sheet. When they are all done, freeze them for about an hour on the sheet. Then place into a vacuum bag or freezer bag. Freezing them this way will prevent them from sticking together. When you are ready to prepare these, add them to a dish with your favorite sauce and bake for 30-35 minutes at 350 degrees.