Herb Batter Bread

Posted on by Sarah

What’s your favorite tongue twister? I’m a fan of the “One Smart Fellow” classic: One smart fellow, he felt smart. Two smart fellows, they felt smart. Three smart fellows, they felt smart. (Sheesh, that’s even hard to type!) Then there’s my husband’s favorite: One-one was a racehorse. Two-two was one, too. One-one won one race. Two-two won one, too. Tongue twisters pretty much guarantee laughs (though I try to stay away from the more dangerous ones, like the one about the fig plucker…). When I taught German years ago, I would start first day of the semester with an icebreaker: the students had to practice saying German Zungenbrecher (“tongue breakers”) like Brautkleid bleibt Brautkleid und Blaukraut bleibt Blaukraut. Hilarious, right? ….right?

The reason I bring all this up is that the other day I made this tasty Herb Batter Bread, and every time I think about it, I think of the old Betty Batter tongue twister. Come to find out (thanks, Wikipedia) the original verse was published in 1899 in The Jungle Book and read as follows:

Betty Botter bought some butter;”But,” said she, “this butter’s bitter!If I put it in my batterIt will make my batter bitter.But a bit of better butterWill but make my batter better.”Then she bought a bit of butterBetter than the bitter butter,Made her bitter batter better.So ´twas better Betty Botterbought a bit of better butter.

Thankfully, this delicious bread is much easier on your tongue than articulating Betty Botter’s butter mishaps. (Get it together, Betty Botter!) And incidentally, it’s not bitter AND delicious with butter. As someone who doesn’t own a bread machine, I’m always thrilled when I find a loaf bread that doesn’t require bread flour and can be whipped up quickly without kneading and proofing and punching and whatever else you’re supposed to do to most yeast breads. And it’s wonderfully versatile–the fresh herbs make it a lovely accompaniment to a homestyle soup, a unique choice for a sandwich, or a breakfast simply toasted with butter. I guess what I’m trying to say is:

It’s sumptuous served on a sandwich or slurped sopping with soup

and

It’s a boon of a bread to be dotted with butter. No bitter batter in this herb batter bread–believe me, it’s better than bakery bread!

Herb Batter Bread
(Adapted from Betty Crocker’s Cookbook, Bridal Edition)

Ingredients:

2 3/4 c. all-purpose flour, divided
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 .25 oz. package active dry yeast
1 1/4 c. warm water
2 Tbsp. olive oil
3 tsp. dried parsley
2 Tbsp. fresh rosemary (or about 3/4 tsp. dried)
1 Tbsp. fresh thyme (or about 1/2 tsp. dried)
1/2 tsp. garlic powder

Directions:

1. Grease a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.

2. In a large bowl, combine 2 c. flour, salt, sugar, and yeast. Add in the water, olive oil, herbs, and garlic powder. Stir vigorously until thoroughly combined. Add remaining 3/4 c. flour a little bit at a time and mix until completely incorporated. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. Cover loosely and let rise in a warm place for about 40 minutes.

2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake 40-45 minutes or until loaf sounds hollow when tapped.

Double Cheese and Salami Calzone

Posted on by Sarah

Fun food word fact of the day: did you know calzone means “stocking” or “trouser” in Italian? Maybe because in Italy Santa Claus comes and stuffs your stocking with cheese and salami? Or maybe he stuffs your trousers with them? (If he does, I don’t want to know…though I sense a good double entendre joke inherent in that idea.) Regardless, my impression of the calzone is more of a pocket than a stocking. In fact, a calzone is basically a classy version of a Hot Pocket (contradiction in terms?). Or, more likely, a Hot Pocket is the sleazy, microwave version of a calzone. After all, I’m pretty sure the calzone came first. If you’ve never had one, a calzone is essentially a pizza folded over on itself, making it less messy and more convenient to eat with your hands (speaking of class, right?). If you like pizza, you’re sure to like calzones.

Unlike yesterday’s apple barley salad recipe, nobody could mistake this double cheese and salami calzone for being healthy…though that didn’t stop me from making it twice this week–three times if you count the fact that I made two of them last night. Because OH. MAN. it was crazy good and my family practically inhaled it. Also, it’s ridiculously easy to make–even easier than pizza. I let my kids eat it in front of the TV during our family movie night of Disney’s Robin Hood and they didn’t even get any on the floor! See, I told you it was less messy than pizza! Pizza + less mess = ultimate kid food, though I would happily serve this to dinner guests, as the flavors of goat cheese, salami, and fresh thyme definitely cater to an adult palate. All in all an easy dinner for a weeknight, movie night, or for company!

Double Cheese and Salami Calzone
(Adapted from Epicurious.com)

Ingredients:

1 lb. store-bought refrigerated or homemade whole wheat pizza dough (I always use Trader Joe’s)
8 oz. shredded mozzarella
3.5 oz. soft goat cheese, crumbled
2.5 oz. salami, sliced in half moons
1 garlic clove, pressed
2 1/2 tsp. fresh thyme, chopped
Extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

1. Remove pizza dough from refrigerator and follow package directions for rising. (Trader Joe’s dough rises for 20 minutes.) If using homemade pizza dough, follow recipe directions for rising.

2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

3. Toss mozzarella, goat cheese, salami, garlic, and fresh thyme in a large bowl.

4. Spread pizza dough in a large rectangle on a greased rimmed baking sheet. Mound filling crosswise on lower half of dough, leaving a 1-inch border on the sides. Fold the empty upper half of the dough over to cover filling. Crimp edges to seal.

5. Bake in preheated oven until puffed and brown, about 18 minutes. Brush with olive oil and cut into 4 pieces.

Serves 4.

Creamy Apple Barley Salad

Posted on by Sarah

I always seem to overdo it on the weekends. Between the excesses of date night on Friday and Sunday dinner at my Italian mother-in-law’s, I frequently start Monday feeling like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Woman…(in terms of bloating, not like I want to destroy apartment buildings or anything). I’d really like to become as conscious about what I’m putting in my mouth from Friday night through Sunday as I am Monday through Friday. Today, a Saturday, I found myself feeling a little guilty–and, extraordinarily, still a little full–from the Culver’s Oreo and cookie dough concrete mixer I allowed myself on date night last night. (If you don’t believe me, or if you want to feel a tremendous amount of shame for ever having eaten one, check out the jaw-dropping nutrition facts on concrete mixers.) Seriously, wow.

So this Saturday noon found me with the desire for something light and healthy for lunch. Weekend lunches at our house are usually cobbled together with random bits of whatever is left from the week–my husband always says I grocery shop as though a week has only 5 days. Sometimes the results are tasty, sometimes less so. (Tomato-shrimp omelet, anyone?) Today I realized that I had everything needed to make this creamy apple barley salad we had once before and I for one had really liked. It comes from one of my Real Simple cookbooks. What I love about Real Simple is that their recipes truly stand up to the name–more often than not, I have all the ingredients on hand. They make great use of standbys like salt and pepper, wine vinegars, Dijon mustard, yogurt, lemon juice, etc. Love it when I don’t have to run out and buy $5 oyster sauce I’ll use one tablespoon of in a year. (But, hey, no judgment if you’re an oyster sauce nut.)

This recipe pairs the sweet crunch of apple and chewiness of barley against the backdrop of tangy Dijon and yogurt. Toss on top of a bed of spinach and/or arugula and boom, it’s a salad! I added a bit of feta to give it some extra oomph, since this was my lunch in its entirety. (Adding cheese to stuff may actually be the best thing about being a semi-vegetarian.) Cheese or no cheese, though, this makes a nice light lunch or an interesting side salad for a simple entree like grilled chicken or fish.

Creamy Apple Barley Salad
(Adapted from Real Simple Best Recipes: Easy, Delicious Meals)

1/2 c. pearl barley
salt and pepper
1/2 c. plain Greek yogurt
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 large apple, thinly sliced
1/4 c. fresh mint, chopped
4 1/2 c. fresh spinach, arugula, or mixed greens

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan, combine barley, 1 1/2 c. water, and 1/4 tsp. salt. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 25-30 minutes, until water is absorbed.

2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the yogurt, olive oil, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, 1/2 tsp. salt, and 1/4 tsp. pepper. Add the celery, apple, mint, and cooked barley and toss to combine.

3. In individual bowls, divide the greens. Top with the barley mixture.

Serves 2-3 as a main dish, 4 as a side salad.

Kids’ Baptism (Party and Recipe Ideas)

Posted on by Sarah


Smile and say “holy water”!

Yesterday was a very special day in the life of our family. Surrounded by friends and family, our three children were all baptized. As you can probably tell by the picture, our kids are not infants–they’re 2, 4, and 6–so this wasn’t an infant baptism, and it also wasn’t an adult baptism. That might seem a little weird, since Catholics usually baptize infants and Protestants usually get baptized as adults, or whenever they make a profession of faith. So what are we? Catholics or Protestants? Well, we’re Catholic now, but come from an Evangelical background. My husband and I joined the Catholic Church about five years ago, when two of our three children were already born. With our Protestant history, though, we never felt all the way comfortable with the idea of infant baptism. Still, baptism is a beautiful opportunity for the Holy Spirit to do its work in any person–infant, child, or adult. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says “Holy Baptism is the basis of the whole Christian life, the gateway to life in the Spirit, and the door which gives access to the other sacraments” (CCC 1213). Believing this, we decided recently that the time had come. It was a truly momentous occasion, followed by a fun party with lots of (you guessed it) yummy food!

The afterparty started immediately after the baptism, which meant I was not home for the hour immediately preceding the party. (Kind of an event planning nightmare, to be honest.) I tried my best to plan snacks that could be made ahead of time, and settled on cupcakes, store-bought truffles, a layered fruit trifle, and a little build-your-own trail mix station.

For the fruit trifle, I layered about two cans of sliced peaches (drained), about one pound of grapes, 7 sliced kiwi, two pounds strawberries, and 12 oz. blueberries. In my experience, people get excited about anything in a trifle dish. Maybe it’s because it just makes everything look pretty. This held true for this fruit salad–it was gone even before the cupcakes. A simple, healthy, pretty party treat!

For the build-your-own trail mix station, we had a variety of bite-sized, mixable goodies: honey roasted peanuts, yogurt raisins, salted almonds, and (my favorite) key lime yogurt pretzels. This could be endlessly modified to include dried cranberries, cashews, M & Ms, cereal, candy corn–whatever your trail mix-loving heart desires!

When it comes to party food, presentation can elevate your menu from the everyday to the unforgettable. Because this was such a big event in our kids’ lives (and because we had about 60 people attending!) I wanted the food presentation to make a visual impact. So, using a gold-flecked burlap runner from Michael’s, I formed the shape of a cross on our rectangular kitchen table. Then, when the cupcakes were done–an assortment of jumbo and regular-sized chocolate and yellow cake with white and turquoise frosting–I placed them on the runner to enhance the image of the cross:


I thought it turned out cool!

Lastly, a couple pics of other decorations–delightful tissue paper puff balls (which I think I want to be a permanent fixture in my kitchen):

And a customizable banner (thanks, Party City)!

Aaaaand a few awesome, newly baptized kids!

Caprese Tart with Basil-Garlic Crust

Posted on by Sarah

The funny thing about eating seasonally in the Phoenix area is that it’s all bass-ackwards from pretty much everywhere else in the country. Knowing what little I do about gardening and harvesting in Illinois, where my family is from, I realize that Midwesterners–and therefore probably other cold-climate residents–are used to tomatoes in the summer (and probably almost nothing in February). Right now in our garden, however, sits a bed of tomatoes as crowded as Wal-Mart on Black Friday.


Unlike Wal-Mart shoppers on Black Friday, we have not had to call the cops on them.

Or Disneyland on this ill-timed weekend last December:

NEVER. AGAIN.

With this tomato horde taking over our garden bed, I’m on a mission to use every single one of them–not because I’m afraid they’ll take over our entire property (well, maybe a little) but because my husband has spent so much time and devotion planting, watering, and tending to them. (I don’t even try to pretend I have anything to do with it. I seem to have the opposite of a Green Thumb–something like the Black Thumb of Death.) I do enjoy the harvest, though, and fresh-from-the-garden tomatoes are one of life’s best simple pleasures.

This week’s tomato feature is this delightful caprese tart. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect after reading through the recipe. Would it be dessert-like, with its buttery crust? Or pizza-like, with its tomato-basil-mozzarella topping? Strange as it sounds, it was exactly both of those things–in the best way possible! The crust certainly sets this apart from your typical pizza with its thick, rich texture, but the melted mozzarella, oven-softened tomatoes, and crispy baked basil identify it as definitively savory. Kind of makes your mind go in chicken-or-the-egg circles–pizza or tart? tart or pizza? It’s a mystery. A delicious mystery that you might as well just eat.

Caprese Tart with Basil-Garlic Crust
(Adapted from Annie’s Eats, originally from Ezra Pound Cake and The Complete Vegetarian Cookbook)

Ingredients:

For the crust:

1/3 c. fresh basil leaves
2 cloves garlic
1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
8 Tbsp. unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
4-5 Tbsp. cold water

For the filling:

8 oz. fresh mozzarella, sliced
1 c. ripe cherry tomatoes, sliced
1 Tbsp. olive oil
Salt & pepper
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp. minced fresh basil

Directions:

1. Make the crust dough: in the bowl of a food processor, combine basil and garlic. Process, scraping the sides down as needed, until finely minced. Add flour and salt and process briefly to mix. Add butter pieces and pulse about 10 times, or until the mixture resembles pea-sized crumbs. Add 3 Tbsp. of the cold water and pulse a few times to incorporate. Add 1 more Tbsp. water and pulse again to see if the dough forms into a ball. If not, add the remaining 1Tbsp. water and pulse again until a ball forms. Remove the dough, flatten into a 5-inch disc, and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

2. When you are ready to bake the tart, preheat oven to 425 degrees. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface (or a greased sheet of wax paper–less messy) and roll out into a 12-inch circle. Lay the dough in a 10-inch tart pan and press it into the sides. Lay a piece of aluminum foil or parchment paper loosely over the dough and fill the center with baking beads. (Rice, dry beans, or small pasta also work as baking beads.) Bake 10-12 minutes, then remove foil and beads and bake another 5 minutes. Lower oven temperature to 375.

3. Layer the bottom of the pre-baked crust with the sliced mozzarella, followed by the sliced cherry tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Top with Parmesan and fresh minced basil.

4. Bake about 30 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown. Allow the tart to rest at least 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

Makes 1 10-inch tart.