Mary Leaf's Cardamom Bread

A few years ago at Christmas, my sisters and I all received an amazing gift from our mother ... that is absolutely priceless and precious to all of us.  We each received a cookbook containing the recipes we grew up with, recipes my MOM grew up with, recipes that mom loves, recipes that we've shared together ... it is so simply amazing, because it is personal, touching and unique to our family - it embodies our love for food, company in the kitchen, and our family's history - beginning with Mom's grandmother and many other influential women that strode into her life.  It is a living document that we all talk about updating from year-to-year, and sometimes do ... and it happens to be our "go-to" cookbook when seeking out a familiar, savory treat that we grew up with or crave being 500 miles from home!!

One age-old, tried-and-true recipe in the cookbook is probably the most vague recipe for bread that I have ever followed ... most bread recipes tend to be somewhat complex, even my favorite recipe for French bread (with only yeast, water, flour and salt as ingredients) contains multiple steps ... but this one is unique in that the directions are easy -

1. Scald milk and cool to approximately 105*

eggs in their little "hot tub" warming up
before being added to the dough

2. Combine ingredients (there is no quantity for flour - only a note to add as much as you need for a smooth, elastic dough) and knead.
3. Let rise til double.
4. Form loaves and let rise, brushing with egg mixture and sprinkling with sugar.
5. Bake at 350* for about 30 minutes.

Scalded milk? How do you know it's scalded? I just
think of that perfect cream of wheat smell
from winters in the woods at home <3

 old green (R) v. new white (L)

Wow!  This is when a prior knowledge of bread-making can be handy! Hahah  I scald my milk, adding to it the sugar and butter.  A tip for cooling it quickly? Partially fill your sink with cold water and set the pan inside .. stirring it periodically.  Use your finger as a thermometer - once it is only slightly warmer than body temperature, it is the perfect temperature!  A highlight of using this method, is that the milk+sugar+butter tastes awesome ... =)  While the milk mixture is cooling, I combine salt, flour and yeast in my stand mixer bowl and set to pealing and chopping my cardamom.  A spice grinder/mortar+ pestle would be handy here .. but since I have neither, I chop my cardamom seeds by hand, doming my left hand over the knife while my right hand chops ... that way minimal cardamom escapes the cutting board.  I don't typically add sugar to the tops of my loaves, but once I remembered the vanilla scented sugar I have lingering in my kitchen, it couldn't be avoided. <3

chopped cardamom

On a December trip to Penzey's I discovered that there are, in fact, multiple types of cardamom.  Previously, I had only known about the green pods ... and I knew they were hard to come by, having purchased some at our Farmers' Market only to be asked for MORE by a sister after admitting I found a giant packages (about 1/3 c.) for less than $3.50!!  It is hard to find cardamom that is still in pod form ... and our family recipe doesn't say "add 1/2 t." it says ... add 12 pods ... and besides, fresh ground is best, anyway, right?

There are black, green and white pods .. with the black and green varieties being utilized for Indian cooking .. and the white being most common in Scandinavian cooking .. Ah ha! So .. away with my old, dried up green pods .. and in with my fresh white pods .. the scent is so amazing .. Mmm <3

This bread makes the best toast!

The original recipe is massive, where I have used as much as 9 c. of flour ... thanking those in heaven and on Earth for our giant stand mixer ... so I usually use a half recipe.  You can see in my pictures that I also chose to use half of the dough for little clover leaf rolls <3

L is for the Way You Look at Me ...

Soo .. on Valentine's Day, my sister Margaret had the brilliant idea of sending a pink gorilla to my parents' office .. complete with balloons and a song.

Here's how it turned out -

Dad totally knew something was up among his girls when Gisela refused to schedule an appointment over the lunch hour .. she was able to put off his suspicions, though, when she said that T and I wanted to bring lunch down to everyone and spend V-day lunch with the family .. phew ..!  Conveniently, the gorilla was scheduled to arrive between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Perfect!

When that backfired (who knew lunch pick-up didn't start before 11 a.m.?) .. Mom, T and I just meandered to the office .. chillin' .. thinking of ordering in, instead.  This got Dad's suspicions waaay up .. particularly when he had to leave the showroom to head to the loading dock to get some chairs unpacked .. we told him to take his cell.

Of course, Dad saw the gorilla come into the building .. and when we called and said, " Hurry up, get down here!" He said, "NO WAY you guys!!"  .. showing up moments later.  They were both great sports - I think Mom had as much fun as the gorilla.

He has a good voice, no?

Oven-Friend Chicken + a Homecoming

Thomas and I spent Valentine's-eve in transit from Minneapolis to South Bend ... It was a rather strange day to choose to travel, and I feel like I should have put a bit more thought into our schedule ... The only factor I considered was, "Excellent .. a flight that leaves at 7:40 p.m. is likely to knock T into his bedtime sleep and he'll be calm-cool-collected the entire flight ..."  I failed to consider that my family would like to have a relaxing, romantic (?) evening with their loved ones rather than spend rush hour in traffic down to the airport and back ..!! Hahah

So T and I spent the afternoon at the office.  It really was a great afternoon, and put into perspective what it may be like to take Gisela up on her offer to become her business partner.  Throughout the afternoon Thomas enjoyed playing with the balloons that the gorilla delivered to the office (video to come once my little FLIP is delivered to Indiana ... I left it at the office, woops!), scooting backward on the slick wood floor, and playing with Amma.  He even enjoyed a nap in his chair-crib .. imagine 2 plush, fluffy chairs smooshed together so the arms are touching like this [ | ] .. sleeping for about an hour.  We had lunch together, Gisela, Mom n Dad explained the remaining updates to the office space ... it will be gorgeous following the renovations!!  I joked about working at a mobile unit - receiving my "training" while poking around on the ipad ... hahah =)

Mom dropped us off at the airport around 4:30, which was a relief because for some reason security was all backed up.  I always feel a bit awkward because T is very social - smiling at strangers and opening an avenue of conversation up with someone you may not be interested in conversing with - so I turned it into a friendly little game, giving random names and ages to him when people asked ... =P Jack, Matthew, Paul, Robert ... 6, 9, 7 months old ... really? stranger in an airport? you expect me to be honest with you? =P

We were able to board the plan on time this time (we were about 40 minutes late on our flight into Minneapolis) ... and thanks to the woman who was working at the Delta desk, we were moved from our seat in row 9 to row 2 ... a plus because there was no one next to us ..!!  T is getting so big that he is all arms and legs ... once he zonked out on the plane there was no worry about his legs dangling into someone elses' lap =P

Ryan picked us up at the airport shortly after our flight landed.  For whatever reason, we wound up climbing down the stairs of the airplane into the cold, dark night .. onto the slick tarmac .. rather than zipping down the little airplane tunnel .. the flight attendant was nice enough to offer to help me tuck sleeping Thomas into our Ring Sling and carry our bag down the steps (which I did myself, graciously declining her offer - it's amazing what you can do with a sleeping baby in tow =P hehe) .. it was so nice!

Once we got home, T and I shared our chocolate stash with Ryan - two Chocolove bars (almonds and sea salt and cherry-chili-chocolate, as well as an assortment of spectacular truffles from Mom n Dad courtesy of Daniella's in Forest Lake ... thank heavens security didn't confiscate our chocolate!!) - and Ryan gave us our Valentine's gifts ..!! A beautiful potted Gerbera daisy for me, and a little V-day girlfriend for Thomas - in Sophie the Giraffe form!  Needless to say, it was a late night, resulting in a very sleepy baby and mommy.  The best gifts from Ryan? A clean home (can you say clean kitchen? bathtub? sheets? ahhh luxury) and a sleep-in morning!!  Ohh, yeah, and all the hugs and snuggles I could stand =)  It is so nice to be in our space, together as a family .. little trips like this remind us that home isn't so far away from South Bend ... ohh, yeah, and that this could be our last trip to MN ..!! Hahah

I wanted to share our recipe for dinner tonight - Ryan was craving fried chicken ... like ... real fried chicken!! Given that today was Day 1 back on track with my diet, we settled on oven-friend chicken.  A trip to the grocery store granted most of my chicken-dreams-come-true, as thighs and drummies were on sale for $.99/pound - score! All the chicken we need for dinners this week, plus 5 additional meals (not counting leftovers, sweet!) for $8 ..!!

Here is how we made our oven-fried chicken -

Complex Oven Fried Chicken -
The Dredge
Add some flour (about 1/3 c.) to a dish ... combine your herbs and spices here, as well - salt, pepper, 1/2 t. cayenne, 1/4 t. garlic powder - and set it aside.
The Moisture
Your choice - butter, 2 eggs, whipped, buttermilk - set it aside in a separate bowl. We used eggs. My grandfather's recipe uses butter. Buttermilk? Ryan said it was overrated =P hahah
The Crunch
Your choice here, as well ... You could use crushed up cornflakes, saltine crackers, Italian, plain or panko bread crumbs ... we used panko breadcrumbs (about 1 c.), 2T. cornmeal, salt, pepper and parsley.  You could repeat your herbs/spices from the dredge here, as well, to ensure a pop of flavour.

Prep
Set your chicken pieces aside so they are easily accessible.  If you have a cookie sheet with 4 sides (ours don't .. boo .. so we use a 9x13" pan so the juices don't leak all over the oven ...) line it with foil to capture the ooey gooey juices making clean up all that much easier.  Place a wire rack above your 4-sided baking container.  Preheat the oven to 425* F.

Dredge / Moisture / Crunch
Take your chicken and roll it into the dredge. This will ensure that your egg and crunch will stick super-well. Dredge > Moisture-dip > Crunch ..!  Place your chicken onto a slightly greasy wire rack.  Pack the crunch onto your chicken if desired.  At this point, with all your juice chicken on the rack, Grandpa would drizzle the remaining butter moisture onto the chicken.  I asked Ryan if he'd like me to drizzle some olive oil onto our chicken .. he said not necessary .. so I drizzled half our chicken with it and left half alone.  Once it came out of the oven, you couldn't tell which were O.oil dripped and which weren't ... so this step is totally up to you!

Bake It Up
Bake your chicken about 35-45 minutes ... It was so juicy, so flavourful ... I used a bit less than 1/2 t. cayenne and I wish I had used it all if not a bit more of it and the garlic powder - the flavour disappeared a bit.  It satisfied Ryan's craving for greasy friend chicken, as well!

Give it a go, see what you think, let me know if you try it, if you like it! I am pleased to say that this recipe is all my own, different enough from what I've read and what I've tried .. and fabulous all the same! So exciting!

Chicken Noodle/Rice Soup

Well, I was going to post last week about an amazingly delicious and easy chicken noodle/rice soup Ryan and I made ... but alas I caught myself on the phone with my sister, instead!  That was a week ago. Literally.  It has been such a busy week.  Thomas and I were caught up in the business of preparing to travel solo to Minnesota for a few days to see friends and family, and what a great trip we had.  Getting through security with an infant in tow was a trip ... lol ... but we made it thanks to a super easy-to-do ring sling I was able to make before we traveled.  I'll have to blog about that project when the time is right.

Our travels were very busy and family-filled, as we were able to see friends at a bridal shower, visit with all of our family, tour Gisela's new (stunning) home, and enjoy the serenade of a pink gorilla .. yep .. a pink gorilla .. once I get my video camera back (go figures, I always leave something in Minnesota ..) I'll be sure to post a video ;-)

Anyway - it's been a long time since I've been able to post!! I am looking forward to sharing many recipes, update my sewing progress on a quilt I've been working on, and dabble in the workings of a few projects I uncovered while browsing the net over the weekend ...

Here is the recipe - quick and dirty, no wild details, just a simple recipe:

All-in-the-Pot Chicken Noodle/Rice Soup - 
Chopped Veggies - 
I recommend any combination of the following: carrot, celery, onion, parsnip
Chicken -
Ours was a giant frozen breast of chicken - in the theme of chicken noodle soup (at least to my family), I threw it in whole, raw and frozen ... letting it release it's tasty juices right into the vegetable broth.
Broth - 
Your choice - you could use bullion cubes, liquid broth, or just plain water. Note that if you use water you'll want to be sure to salt / pepper / herb it up to your liking.
Rice or Noodles -
Again, your choice.  We like egg noodles in our chicken noodle soup ... but we didn't have any and we were both feeling a little lousy, so we were not in the mood to make them (Ryan is The Noodle Master, having made egg noodles on many occasions) ... so we went the rice route, adding about 1/3 c. of rice.  We add the rice/noodles about 10-15 minutes before serving, cooking only until tender.  Beware - adding too many noodles could turn your soup into "Noodlemuck" as Margaret calls it ... and they will get rather soggy if you have any leftovers to put in the refrigerator. There is no shame in cooking your noodles on a per-serving basis with only the amount of soup you are going to be eating ... reheating your leftovers on the stove w/the noodle addition later.
Any Extras?
We add a handful of chopped fresh parsley to our soup .. salt and pepper to flavor.  Serve it alongside a delicious grilled (ham and) cheese sandwich - our favourite right now? Pumpernickel bread and muenster cheese. <3

Simmer simmer simmer ... at least until your chicken is cooked through and your veggies are tender ... even longer if it suits your fancy!

Simply delicious!

Milestones ..!!

So .. I've heard crawling isn't officially a milestone .. but it's still amazingly exciting to watch Thomas achieve that little step toward mobility .. I am still in shock over how quickly this has all come about .. Just yesterday he figured out how he could get around the house, travelling from one thing to the next - each time he'd encounter a non-baby-proofed-space, I'd pick him up, "No, no, baby," and put him back w/his toys .. Here is what he got into:

• Dog food 'area'
• Dog Toys
• Cords to the Lamp
• Under-television-storage (cd bins, remotes, video game cases...)
• Recycling
• Box of La Croix fizzy waters
• Stuck under the couch
• Boots and shoes

I'm sure I could go on and on ... but he literally managed to roll to each space from the middle of our living room within about 30 minutes ... and then this evening he started to ARMY CRAWL. What?!  Here's a video I shot while little T and Ryan were playing together - 

Cute, huh?

Poor little guy popped a fever this afternoon, so we gave him some tylenol. He was pretty fussy all night ... except while playing with "Dad" ... and during his bath, where he chose to grab the back of the tub and attempt to pull himself up on it .. what?! Where did my tiny baby go??  It truly is amazing to watch - he acquires new skills on an almost daily basis.

He's already stirred from sleep, after just 45 minutes .. something tells me it could be a looooong night ..!  I hope he is getting teeth and not coming down with an illness or ear infection. Poor little guy. =)

Oven Fries Gone Hash

We made some plain-skinless oven fries for Thomas ... He looooved them!

While pregnant I developed a crazy craving (well, more like a desire...) for french fries and ice cream ... We kept a giant bag of fries in the freezer (probably in part because they were so easy to make for dinner) and I think I ate an ice cream cone/ice cream in a coffee mug every night of my 3rd trimester ...

Once I joined weight watchers, both ice cream and french fries were thrown out of the freezer (not literally ... we just stopped buying them).  Instead, when craving fries, we reach for whole potatoes ... and we roast our own.

I regret not taking any pictures, because not only are these oven fries delish, they are pretty, easy, and filling .. with a fraction of the ingredients list you might see on the back of those frozen fries.

Oven Fries -
Cut your potatoes into what ever shape you'd like - We go the traditional "fry" shape, and I try to get them pretty thin .. you could also do wedges, discs, if you have a criss-cross-cutter you could even do waffle fries ...

Rinse your potatoes once they are cut and plop them onto a dish towel to dry them a bit ... we're roasting, not steaming ... Once a bit dry, put them into a bowl and drizzle with some olive oil (about 1T, more or less depending on your flava-flave).

From here, add what ever spices you'd like ... we always go for cayenne pepper (just a smidge), salt, pepper and parsley (fresh or dried) ... but you could also go for rosemary, parsley, oregano, chive, etc.

Sprinkle your potatoes across a cookie sheet (a cooling rack works great here, mine just isn't large enough) and bake them at 375* for about 15 minutes.  Check 'em. Flip 'em. Set your timer for another 15-20 minutes, or until they are as crisp as you'd like them to be.

Voila! Oven Fries!

Be sure to make extra ... so you can make this awesome breakfast/brunch Ry and I just threw together ...

Oven Fries Gone Hash -

Dice up a variety of vegetables - bell pepper, mushrooms, onion, zucchini, what ever you'd like or what ever you've got lingering in your refrigerator.

Pull out the left-over oven fries and put a rough chop on them.

Add some meat if you'd like ... we had some creepy turkey ham lingering in the fridge from boiled dinner a few nights ago ... so we went that route.  It's also a weight watchers friendly meat, why, I'll never know.  It's creepy.  You could also add some left over roasted chicken, bacon, steak, what ever you've got.

Saute your veggies in a teaspoon-or-so of olive oil.  Once they are tender/translucent, add in the ham and fries.  Salt your veggies if you'd like (depending on the saltyness of your fries, I can imagine), and add your fries and optional meat.  Saute saute saute ... until warmed through.

At this point I decided to add some Rojo seasoning ... I bought it at Penzey's in December ... we received it as a gift when we were married as a part of Penzey's Taco Seasoning gift box   - which created a monster out of us (check out all of their gift box options - they come beautifully sprinkled with bay leaves, whole nutmeg and cinnamon sticks). We love Penzey's.  Their bold chicken taco is also fabulous ... what a great gift!  Either way - the rojo combined with the veggies, ham, cayenne-potato-wedges ... it was FABULOUS.  I added about 1T.  If you are Rojo-less ... add what ever you'd like to your pan - pepper, paprika, your choice.

This is where you have a choice.  You can mix your eggs up scrambled-egg-style (# of eggs, splash of milk, whisk), or you can plop them on top.  I decided to plop them on top.  If you plop them on top, add about 1/3 cup water to your pan and cover it with a snugly fitting lid for a few minutes until your eggs are done to your liking.  (Ryan reminded me to add the water .. so kind of him .. so ours wound up covered for about 10 minutes ... 7 w/steam, 3 with out ... so I don't have a time recommendation here )= sorry!)  Sprinkle with cheddar cheese, warm up a little corn tortilla or two ...

And you have a fabulous brunch!  (**wound up being 8 points for the meal - 3 for the oven roasted potato wedges, 5 for the veggie/egg/creepy turkey ham hash)

We both agreed this was waaay too much food ...

My First Jelly Roll

quilt for baby Kutemeier

Two years ago this March, Erica's had a super awesome sale where everything in the store was a certain %-off depending on what time you shop.  The earlier you arrived, the better the deal, the better the selection.  I was there at 5 a.m. and scored 30% off a mountain of fabric ..!! Most of which I used for a friend's baby quilt - so gorgeous!  But on this day, I also bought my first Jelly Roll and pattern book (Jelly Roll Inspirations)!  Once I finished that stunning baby quilt (from this book - Happy Hour), I dug into my Jelly Roll.

not my jelly roll .. just "a" jelly roll

What is a Jelly Roll?  It is a roll of fabric, beautifully bound together, containing any number of fabric strips (typically 40-45) that are 2 1/2" x 44" in size.  The appeal to me was the fact that they were all perfectly matched.  I have a hard time picking out and matching fabrics sometimes, and I prefer to shop in "fabric families," because, like any family, they were meant to be put together ..!  Another appeal? You have significantly less fabric to cut, something I don't necessarily LOVE doing ... especially when dealing with all of the fabrics found in the jelly roll.  A lot of the tedious work is done for you!  I was so excited to get started, that I popped it open right when I got home ...

 

And I was disappointed.  Something wild must've happened when the fabric was cut into it's beautiful roll ... because the strips were not cut beautifully.  There were about a half a dozen of the 40-45 strips that were uneven - randomly wide at points, cut off too thin in the middle or on the ends - such a disappointment.  If it weren't months after I made my purchase, I probably would have taken it back. =(  Disappointment aside, I found a pattern that would "work" with my usable fabric, and I thought my jelly roll would look fabulous as this pattern - double bonus! ... so I began to match my strips into pairs, working around the "damaged" strips.  I sewed all 19 sets together, draping them carefully over an unused table leaf so they wouldn't wrinkle ... and they stayed there for almost 2 years.

Until last Wednesday afternoon!  While Thomas napped, I began cutting each of my 19 sets into 16 strips to be pieced together into 4-patch squares.  Even when Thomas woke up, he was content playing on the floor of the bedroom, mostly rolling toward Otto... his new BFF and laugh-factory... or grabbing at the long strips of fabric awaiting their turn on my new self-healing rotary mat that fits perfectly on my table..!!

Given the business of the days to follow - trips to the mall of walking + window shopping, mom's group knitting, play date at a friend's house, mom's night "in" at a friend's house, errands out to the market and grocery with "Dad," family movie night with our mom's group ... the little strips sat awaiting my return to my freshly cleaned and tuned-up sewing machine!

Today, all 304 little strips were sewn together into their 4-patch squares!  All 152 squares are in a heap on my sewing table, though, taking a little break ... they are (almost) all attached too ... hahah  I love the convenience of being able to just buzz them thru the machine with out cutting them apart!  If it weren't for a run-in with an empty bobbin, they'd be all stuck together.  It might be time to invest in one of these little do-hickies to make separating them a bit easier ... ;-)

Tomorrow?  I shop for border fabric and separate the squares .. pressing them out!