Local Harvest
Relay for Life
The Animal Rescue Site
The Hunger Site
F. J. Lindheimer
I have always had an affinity for roses. Some of my fondest memories of going to my grandmother’s house as a child were going out with her and trimming off roses to fill the many vases and brandy snifters that she kept around just for roses. I am not certain but I believe she had Chrysler Imperial roses which have a distinct citrus note to their scent and gorgeous, velvety red petals. The bushes were taller than I was. As the years went by my grandparents were unable to tend them and eventually the plants were removed.
I’ve been sick the past week, so no baking. This means I’m behind with the BBA Challenge. I’ve got my salami and a good, sharp cheddar ready to be cut up and shredded for the Casatiello, though. Challah should be easy as well so, once I’m feeling 100% I’m going to bake them both this week to get caught back up.
Painting by Lisa Orgler
@ The Lunchbox Project
In the meantime, however, I’ve been noticed! Lisa Orgler over at The Lunchbox Project uses the food photos of others as inspiration for her artwork. She paints on the backs of playing cards, so each unique piece of artwork fits in the palm of your hand. Her palette is one of mostly pastels and her style is very fun and illustrative, reminiscent of a modernized “folk” feel or children’s book illustrations. Even in such small work you can see the brush techniques being used. I’m very pleased to have been chosen as an inspiration. You should go check out the rest of what she’s done.
On Friday I delved back into the Bread Baker’s Apprentice Challenge. I’ve barely been keeping up. Last week’s challenge was brioche, a classic enriched French bread. If this recipe for Paula Deen’s Fried Butter Balls appeals to you, then you may like brioche.
The Albion bakery and cafe in London is now using Twitter to let customers know when fresh bread is available. Let’s just hope that Krispy Kreme doesn’t start doing this, or we’ll see even more expanding waistlines in the U.S.!
About a year ago I was getting ready to go on vacation and I was lamenting what to do about my head. You see, I have baby-fine hair and it is inevitable that I’ll be sunburned on the top of my head. There’s really not much you can do aside of keeping your head covered, but I look like an utter dork in almost any hat. More importantly I would feel compelled to take it off when going inside, especially restaurants, and the case of hat-head that was going to be involved just made me cringe at the very thought. Things just weren’t going to be pretty after walking around Austin, Texas on Memorial Day weekend when the temps would be running in the low 100s.
When I decided to do play along with the folks doing the BBA Challenge there was one item in Peter Reinhart’s “Bread Baking Apprentice” that had me quivering in my apron. OK, maybe not. I don’t wear an apron… but the fact remains, the idea of homemade bagels scared me. Unfortunately the book is in semi-alphabetical order, and so the fated Battle Bagel arrived all too quickly.
I’d tried to make bagels once, about er… well, let’s just say a VERY long time ago. Suffice to say I was just out of college at the time, and I remember life before MTV and call it good, shall we? That early disaster left me scarred and, if it hadn’t been for the BBA Challenge, I probably would have never made another attempt. Boy, would I have been missing out!
I would not be surprised at all to learn that there’s a rule here in the South (Even if I am rather SXSW) that when it comes to comfort food, pot pie is it. Go into the freezer section of the grocery store and there’s an entire section with at least four different brands of pre-made pot pies. They’re even regularly found on the menu of restaurants such as Marie Callender’s. If you go over and do a search at MyRecipes.com you’ll quickly see that eight out of the first fifteen chicken pot pie recipes were from Southern Living magazine, making them a regular staple of the magazine’s repertoire.
This, however? This is not your grandma’s chicken pot pie.
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“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I —
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”
-Robert Frost, “The Road Not Taken”
In the culinary world, the road “less traveled by” is the road that must be traveled by those with special dietary needs. For many that need is to avoid added sugar, especially processed sugars, as much as possible. Fructose, found in agave nectar and as the natural sugar in fruit, is a bit easier for the body to handle as it has a lower glycemic index. Cherries themselves are very low on the glycemic index. Agave nectar, which is about 90% fructos, is at the very bottom of the glycemic index with a GI of a measly 11. It’s no surprise, then, that someone looking to make a low-sugar jam would go for a cherry jam.
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There seem to be as many variations of Greek Celebration bread, or “Artos” as there are holidays, each with their own tradition and meaning in both when they are made and the symbology of their ingredients. For the second in the line of the Bread Baker’s Apprentice challenge I chose Christopsomos. My choice was based on aesthetics more than anything, as I liked the decidedly fancy look of it when compared to the plainer, fruitless loaf or the braided Lambropsomo with its red-dyed eggs nestled inside. Having not yet done such a fanciful shape as the Christopsomos presents one with, I was at first intimidated by its complexity. As with all breads one starts with the basics of flour, yeast, water salt. Christopsomos, however, is a highly enriched bread. If it were not for the lack of butter, I would say it has far more in relation with a brioche than your average white sandwich bread. Don’t let the long list of ingredients worry you though, it’s easier than it looks.
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Download your Wallace and Gromit wallpapers at the official Wallace & Gromit site!
Wallace and Gromit’s newest short film “A Matter of Loaf and Death” will be coming to North America in June. If you’re lucky enough to be a subscriber to AT&T’s U-verse you’ll be able to access it FREE for three days before anyone else.
My husband loves Wallace and Gromit. I’m a fan, and I LOVE baking bread. We have Uverse. Our calendar is marked!
Want more details? Check HERE
