Though lots of rain and no sunshine...we have Asparagus!!!

That's what's one of the great things about gardening...when you've paid your bills, and don't have much money left...you have s o m e t h i n g  that can be used from the garden, whether it's potatoes, carrots...whatever...and create something to get you through.

We are going through purchasing our house and still have some transactions to deal with, and are running short this week, in addition to my being off work almost two months not helping financially.  Now that I'm back to work we are getting caught up but it's a slow process. Thank Goodness for our Asparagus!! It's coming up all over the place in it's little row out in the garden!! And, it's fabulous!! I fried some potatoes and added the asparagus and poured whisked eggs and milk over it and turned it over...and WOW what a meal!

I'd love to hear about what you've been cooking, or your garden or gardening plans!

With gas @ 4.25 down where my Mom lives...(4.19 here in Canton), we all need to make sure we do all we can to be economical and thrifty.

Is anyone reading???

Baking more bread tomorrow and going white this week...stay tuned.

Janie

Eggstra Special Tip for Boiling Eggs!

You'll also see this tip in my Potato Salad post...

About now or very soon you'll be peeling some of those colored Easter eggs to make egg salad and you'll get frustrated at the peelings not coming off so great...

Steam your eggs next time!

Steaming with lid on for 15 min will give you absolutely perfect hard boiled eggs!

Thank Farmgirls on the MaryJane's site for this tip : )

Janie

Sourdough Success!

Yes, this isn't the prettiest picture...but by the time I had the bread baked Sunday night and the company went home...and the dogs got their dinner and pills....and the cat got her dinner...and I kept laundry going...and cleaning up the kitchen...on and on this list goes...I was too tired to remember to take a PRETTY picture of the most delicious bread I made!! So bear with me please...I'll take better pics...

This bread as you can see, didn't fit in my bread keeper that well because it rose so incredibly well and puffed out at the top...and you can see I started to try to put it in a bread bag, and lost that battle, so just went with smooshing it a bit, covering it with foil and going to bed.

This is the recipe from my previous sourdough posting...half whole wheat half bread flour...and at the last minute I tweeked this recipe and added 2 tsp of vital gluten (a grain protein that helps bread rise). After the couple bricks I baked recently, I wanted to make sure this batch rose well, and boy did they ever!

The texture is perfect! Light and airy but firm and stable, not crumbly at all. A nice crust too. I am very please with this test run. The only thing is it doesn't have alot of sourdough taste, and I'm trying to figure out why. This bread is a nice go between for Chuck and I since I want whole wheat and he wants white. But I may try to make white next and see where that takes me, now that I know this method is a winner.

I am feeding my starter tonight and leaving it out for 7 days as opposed to 5 days to see what effect that has on the flavor of the starter/bread. I'll let you know how that works out next week. Now that things are hopefully going to quiet down I can bake each weekend now...my GOAL is to get the bread ready on Friday night and bake Saturday...still working on that goal.

So here I am, after work Monday, first thing is coming to post my results of the Sourdough Excursions! As this will be an ongoing adventure in BREAD BAKING here on Kitchen Weekend Warrior and I hold this project very important to me and hopefully I'll get some readers soon?? You can see what I'm having for a snack...the most wonderful homemade bread I've had in a long time...real butter and Pomegranite Herbal Tea (mixed with a little green tea too). Awwwwwsome!

Chuck ate a couple pieces before going to bed last night, and I packed his lunch sandwich with this bread and he loves it...but would rather have white bread, he is now requesting I learn how to make Italiana Bread like SaraJanes...a bread we get at Raisin Rack, it's all natural and incredibly good. I am addicted to her Onion Rye Dill bread, it's a round free form loaf and has incredible taste you can eat it plain no butter it's that good. I started getting him the Italian and he's hooked too now.

This adventure in baking all natural breads (hopefully no yeast) has just begun, and we'll see what we end up with...hopefully an easy versatile recipe, fantastic bread, and better health for not taking in all the preservatives and "stuff" they put in bread these days!

IS ANYONE READING???

Comment, and even better, become a follower so I know someone is listening?

Looking forward to hearing from you,

Janie

Spring, Easter Sunday...Sourdough Excursions, and Asparagus!!!

Just an FYI tonight I am baking with my starter FINALLY! My back was out all week and it's been just a really downer this spring with the wet gloomy weather and all...BUT...have any of you planted Asparagus?

What a spring angel our Asparagus patch has been for us this year!  We planted her three years ago, it takes three years to get to harvests your first crop you know.  We planted an heirloom seed, and these are gorgeous fern like plants, and the Asparagus themselves have purple tinted tops.

Let me tell you...I would have been planting and eating Asparagus my whole life if I would have know how good it is!

Chuck and I cut our first stalk last weekend, and ate it together still standing in the garden. How romantic right?? And it was....having planted it ourselves and watching it these past three years and waiting patiently we finally have this majical crop of Asparagus this year...you can almost watch it grow. Honestly, a stalk can grow up to 10 inches in one day...and it's true!

Today is the first day I got to put some in a tall glass with a bit of water, to save for later. We have been eating it or giving it away as fast as it's grown.

With my back out I didn't get to the store today, I hope something is open tomorrow.

We aren't doing much for Easter this year...not much family and no little ones. What did you do for Easter this year?

Considering trying to make crepes for the first time, with Asparagus and Hollandaise sauce...not sure if it will happen tomorrow, but it will be soon.

I'll come back to post a pic of our Asparagus patch on here in the next day or two, and I hope I have peaked your interest on the topic of Asparagus and you are inspired to plant some. Keep in mind the fern like fronds will grow about 5 feet tall and need full sun, and three years till you get veggies from it.

I'll be back to tell you how the bread is going...

Love to hear from you all,

Janie

Are you a lemon lover?

If you are, you can make these wonderful lemon bars anytime, as long as you have a couple fresh lemons. These are made with simple ingredients you almost always have in your kitchen and are so addictive!

These have a simple flour, butter, sugar crust that is partially baked before the filling is poured on top and baked. The filling is very simple...eggs, sugar, flour, lemon juice and lemon zest.

I even made a version of this with peanut butter in the crust and chocolate pudding on top and Chuck loved them, they weren't overly sweet, so the flavor is appreciated so much more. I'll decline on sharing that recipe as most may not like it. If you want it let me know I'll be glad to send it to you.

Crust:
1 cup flour
1 stick butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
Mix till fine crumbles and press into a greased 9x9 pan that has been lined with aluminum foil and greased again. Make sure to pat the crust at least half an inch up the side of the pan as to hold the filling inside of it. Bake at 325 for 15 min. or very barely lightly starting to brown.

Filling:
Use a wire wisk to blend...2 eggs, juice of 2 lemons, zest from one (I love lemon and hate to waste it so I use zest from both lemons), 3/4 cup sugar that you have blended into it 2 Tbl. flour very well and a sprinkle or two of sea salt to bring out flavor. I like these a bit tart, you may want more sugar in them, or honey is a nice alternative to white sugar, I use honey whenever I can! The amount of honey will be less than sugar by almost half remember. Wisk well and pour over hot crust and Bake at 325 for about 20 min.

Cool to warm and lift out of pan by the foil. Leave foil on but try to loosen any parts sticking and return to wire rack and cool completely. Cut into squares. Shake a wire colander with a bit of powdered sugar over them, but be sure they are completely cool, or the powdered sugar will dissolve and become a wet mess.

Or, you can make a quick meringue and make these lemon meringue pie bars! I love meringue don't you?
It's so pretty and elegant looking, and good too of course : )

Enjoy!

Time, never enough is there? Unless your waiting for the potato salad to marinate!!

Okay here I am on Sunday again...where does the time go? It seems Saturday's have been full for a while now. Yesterday we took my Mom to Lehman's hardware in Kidron and out to lunch at Mrs. Yoder's kitchen for her 78th birthday. Chuck found it to be mostly boring and sleep most of the trip, but that's another story. Mom and I had a fun day in spite of our male companion being bored to, well...sleep.

Today I find I didn't have the patience to prep my sourdough last night, so I am yet... trying to find the time since starting working again. I will master this plan, so be patient with me just one more week on the Sourdough Experiment, and anyway as I see, no one is commenting yet, so I assume nobody is taking the journey with me quite yet anyway... I'll get there...soon. Did anyone make starter yet???

Above you see my trifle bowl filled to the brim with the most awesome Potato Salad, and a new recipe I want to share with you.

On St. Patrick's day I made corned beef and cabbage with red skins, and this sauce recipe that was included, from Food TV Network and it was fabulous! With a bit of tweeking I wanted to try this sauce for potato salad for something new and WOW, if you love horseradish, it's a must try! Find the original recipe I started with by looking up Corned Beef and Cabbage on Food TV and below it is a sauce to serve it with, it's fantastic with this dish. And, it gave me the base to create the following potato salad dressing recipe.

********************************************************************************

Cook a 5lb bag of the smaller redskins and let cool completely. Chop how you like them for potato salad.

Boil a dozen eggs (Organic or farm eggs are MUCH better) and cool completely. Chop the way you like.

~By the way have you ever had trouble peeling hard boiled eggs? The majic trick is to STEAM them instead of boiling. Using a stainless steel basket, steam your eggs for 15 min. and cool, they will be a dream to peel! I recently learned this from my fantastic MaryJane Farmgirls, a great group of women who I am so thankful to have bartered, emailed and learned so much from so far on the farmgirl websiste http://www.maryjanesfarm.com/ ~

Now, blend the dressing in the bowl you will mix it all together in:

1 1/2 c regular mayo (I use the Hellman's Olive Oil type which has more of the mufa's (healthy fat)
1 1/2 c sour cream ~ yes the real thing, no non fat here

Zest and juice of one lemon (be sure not to zest into the white part as it's bitter)
2 Tbl sugar

1/3 cup of Dill pickle relish (I get Heinz brand, it's the best hands down!)

1 Tbl. dried dill (fresh is better if you have it, use 1/4 cup)
1Tbl. dried parsley (fresh is better if you have it, use 1/4 cup)

Also~if the fresh chives were up in the garden I would have thru a 1/4 cup of these in too!

*Horseradish*-This is the star ingredient and takes some important consideration. All horseradish you get (I usually try to by Helluva Good Brand as I find it the most consistant) will most likely be of different strengths per each bottle, depending on the root they used to make it. With that said, knowing yourself well enough to know how you like it, light or stronger....START WITH 1/8 CUP first then increase if you find it too weak. We used 1/4 cup plus two tbls for ours.

Mix well and taste until you have it right for you*

Add 2 tsp onion powder, sea salt and pepper to taste, to your *chopped* eggs and potatos in your big bowl for mixing, then add your mixed up dressing above, and fold in till all is coated and ALLOW TO SIT A DAY OR OVERNIGHT IN THE FRIDGE, for flavors to develop and marinate into the potato.

Good luck with that.

Chuck and I are both loving this new dressing, we are potato salad lovers who like the traditional Miracle Whip, vinegar, sugar, celery seed and sugar dressing thing, but we are both sold on this and will use this for potato salad and the traditional for macaroni salad from now on, we love it that much!

Would love to hear comments on this one, as I'm very proud of the end result...we can't stay out of it!!

Till next week!

Sourdough Excersions Check In

I made my starter and put it in the fridge till next weekend, as we are so busy I was too tired to start my baking last night, and, I start a new job tomorrow, so I don't want to overextend myself this weekend.

Did anyone make the starter? Love to hear from you!

I'll be blogging about it next week...see you then!

Leftover Mashed Potatoes?

I don't know about you...but when I make mashed potatoes, I make a 10lb bag at a time, so we  have those wonderful leftovers!
Have you ever tried to make mashed potato cakes? My Mom used to make them when I was a kid at home, and they were heavenly. But, even Mom's potato cakes would often fall apart and end up in pieces by the time they made it to our plate. Mom used one egg in enough potato cakes for five people and didn't use flour for coating, which always helps things brown. And, a small bit of flour in the mix helps it bind together.
So, with that considered...here is my latest attempt at potato cakes, that turned out quite successful!
First, I made enough for about a dozen cakes.
I mix the mashed potatoes, 3 eggs beaten, salt and pepper, 1 tbls flour, and 1 1/2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese in a large mixing bowl by hand. ~Sprinkle the flour in first and partially mix to avoid lumps, then add the rest and mix very well.
I get a shallow bowl and put about a cup of flour in it, now using a big spoon, get about a heaping 1/4 cup of potato mix and 'plop' into your flour, rotate and cover with flour and start shaping a ball with your hands, when coated well, you'll put into your (I use cast iron) hot skillet with whatever you use for frying (I use olive oil with a small bit of bacon grease for flavor), they should start sizzling right away when you place them gently into the skillet. Leave the same about of room you do for meatballs, so you can keep turning them as they brown.
On the last turning, I smash them open, flattening them a bit, and they will sizzle again...and as you see above you have a firm golden potato cake that won't fall apart and is melty cheesy and incredible. Chuck ate these leftover right out of the fridge, cold! If you want you can serve them with a bit of sour cream and chives (fresh in the garden right now!) and I promise, this side dish will make your eyes roll back in your head! Oh my, who needs meat and veggies when they make THIS for dinner???

Try these and let me know how it goes for you...

ps-with all the gardening we are preparing for, sorry I totally forgot blogging last week, I do plan to blog each and every Saturday!

Snowy Weather and Sourdough Excursions

Welcome to April Fool's weekend!

Let me tell you about my recent discoveries with Sourdough Starters and baking 100% Whole Wheat bread. I'm a new fan to MaryJane's Farm, she has a magazine and website, and has written about this topic, so adventurist that I am, I decide it would be great to bake homemade bread without any of the extras, no yeast no gluten or bread flour, just good for you ww flour and water, a little salt and honey. Well, there's a definite science to this and much patience is needed, but I know in the end it will be worth it : )

Only flour and water is used here to attract "wild" yeast in the air. I have a good starter but it has a more sour taste than we prefer and it's not raising the bread as it should, yet...?

Above you'll see my second attempt at the baking process, more successful than the first mind you, but not quite a success story as of yet. I'm not actually impressed with my first instructions, as were many other pioneers with this project through MaryJane's, so I have researched online and read many variations and measurements and am going to let this first starter rest, and continue on trying a new one. I'll still bake with my old one, resting it in the fridge, but not adding to it for active baking for the time being.

It makes good sense to me, since I'm trying to create good bread with as few ingredients as possible, instead of baking with yeast, to add yeast to the begining starter to build a stronger raise with less sour taste.

Armed with my new information and thoughts, here is my new starter recipe and it will be fed for the next week and used next weekend. I'll be back then to give you the results. Meanwhile, keeping a starter going is so incredibly easy, and if you think about it, its the way bread was made so many years ago, and so much better for us than eating the bread with the list of ingredients a mile long and most we can't even understand or pronounce! Baking on the weekend for the rest of the week is pretty easy to find time for too, you can set your bread to rise Friday night before going to bed and bake Saturday morning. You can set to rise Saturday morning and bake Saturday night etc.

Another consideration is I love to knead bread and it's also supposed to help the rise. The recipe on the MaryJane site is for no knead, and well, I can't help myself, I need to knead! Not that I like to play with my food, but there is something relaxing and stress releasing about kneading bread, do you agree?

This will be an ongoing journey for me, to experiment and find what works best and takes best. I'll be sharing information from time to time at how it's going, and you may want to join me in the journey? I'm here for questions, concerns and help anytime!

Sourdough Starter Recipe #2 (the first is on the MaryJane site www.maryjanesfarm.org/recipes and is on the back burner for now)

2 1/2 cups warm water (distilled)
1 pkg active dry yeast
2 tbsp raw honey

2 1/2 cups all natural King Arthur  unbleached white whole wheat flour

Using a glass bowl, pour all in and stir with wooden spoon until yeast disolves. Begin adding flour a cup at a time stiring well. Cover with light weight cloth (I use flour sack cloths). Let sit for 5 days, mixing well each day. Then store in frig until ready to use.

1 cup of starter will be used for 2 loaves of bread. Replenish starter by adding equal amounts of flour and water and replace what is used each time, repeating the process of sitting for a week, and storing in the frig unless your using it right away.

The Bread Recipe for Honey White Wheat Sourdough/Starting the night before is recommended : )

4 1/2 cups white whole wheat King Arthur like used in the starter
3 3/4 cups warm water
1 cup starter

1 tsp baking soda (I think this helps cut the sourness a bit too)
2 tsp sea salt
1 tbls raw honey
1/2 cup olive oil
5 cups bread flour

Mix ww flour, warm water, and starter. Cover and let sit overnight, covered with a light towel.

Morning, stir down the spongy texture and mix in soda, salt, honey and oil (I add all to the oil first).

Mix in bread flour reserving that last half cup if you have very stiff dough, if not go ahead. This sometimes depends on how you measure your flour! Spoon flour into cup, don't use cup to dip flour it compacts it and you end up with more flour that way. Dough should be sticky but holding together well.

Knead on floured surface 5 min, with floured hands. Let rest 10 min, while greasing two loaf pans with olive oil or butter. (I save my butter wrappers to use for greasing pans) (I use seasoned stoneware loaf pans).

Divided dough in half and knead into a nice log shape with crease facing down side, place in pans.

Cover with towel and let rise 2 hrs or until dough is up over edge of pan. Set some real butter out to soften because anyone within wafting range will be ready to dive on this bread when it comes out of the oven!


Bake at 425 for 20 min, reduce to 375 and bake another 30 min until sounds hollow when tapped on. Turn loaves out of pans to cool.

After all of my research I have high hopes for this starter and recipe I'll be working on this next week.

I hope you decide to join me in my sourdough journey!

Janie