Bread again

                                                           I made three baguette shapes.

Okay; it seems that I talk about bread a lot.  But I have to tell you about the bread I made tonight, it was really great.  I decided to make lentils this morning, it's an easy way to have dinner ready with no fuss.  There is nothing better than fresh bread with lentils so I tried to find an oatmeal bread recipe.  Not an easy task, just about everything is loaf type bread, I wanted bread bread.  I finally found a recipe but like most it is for bread makers which I don't have.  So I altered it for my cooking needs and it was fabulous.

• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1 cup  oats
• 3 cups  flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup honey (called for molasses but I used honey)
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 cups water

The recipe was for a bread maker so I'll just tell you what I did with the ingredients.  Put the yeast, oats, flour and salt in the mixer.  Heat the water to approx. 80 degrees and pour into flour mixture while slowly mixing.  Add oil and honey and continue mixing.  Mix well and put on the bread attachment, continue mixing for approx. 3 min.  Oil a large bowl and put dough in and roll around covering the dough with oil.  Cover with clean dish towel and place somewhere warm.  Let rise until double in size.  Punch down and let rest.  Form into whatever shape of loaf you like.  Cover with towel and place in warm area to rise double sized again.  Bake at 400 for approx. 10-15 min. until golden brown.  

This is a great recipe, the bread was so good that I ate way too much.

Jeremy's on the Hill

Taken this morning as we were headed home.

First I have to say that I forgot my camera when we headed out to dinner lastnight.  Several hours of shooting wolves was my every thought, of course that is until I sat down to eat.  Jeremy's on the Hill is just minutes outside of Julian, CA.  A town with a permanent population of just 300 so I wasn't sure what to expect when my husband said he'd made reservations.  He had talked to woman at the Hotel and she said it was one of the best. 

Jeremy's on the Hill is a family owned and run business with Jeremy Manley as the head chef.  Jeremy is only in his early 20s, a graduate of Cordon Blue and been cooking since the age of 10.  There is no age limit on being a great Chef, but from speaking with the locals this is one happening restaurant with great food. 

We pulled into the parking lot, the restaurant is very understated from the outside.  We headed in to the restaurant where we were cheerfully met by the staff immediately and brought to our table.  We got a great seat right in the corner by the fireplace, very romantic.  It is a very small and cozy type restaurant.  We made our wine choice from the California wines and were not disappointed.  My wine was amazing, just like the waitress had said it was. 

Chardonnay – Jessie’s Grove Winery – 2008 – Lodi, CA

The waitress brought bread/butter to the table which was some of the best bread I've eatten.  I had to ask if it was made at the restaurant or brought in.  This amazingly delicious bread comes from the town of Julian in a little bakery called The Candied Apple.  (More on this little bakery in another blog)

My husband ordered the mushroom soup for an appetizer which was very good.  Warm and earthy, served in a small cup, a great beginning to dinner.  We both order the Chicken Cordon Bleu as our main entre........................it was amazing.  I haven't had a good Cordon Bleu in quite a while, it is something that I've eaten a lot of in my life and that I make myself.  This was a great one.  The plates were nice and hot and the food presently nicely.  It was lightly breaded on the outside and rich and moist on the inside.  The smokey flavor of the ham and cheese really gave the dish flavor. 

The service was very good, our waitress was friendly, helpful and knowledgeable about the menu and wines.  The evening was relaxed, there was no sense of rush at all and the atmosphere was friendly.  The tables are set nicely apart so that you don't have that feeling of others being on top of you. 

I did not order dessert but my husband order the Chocolate Mocha Pot de creme.  It was very good, my husband loved it. 

Veggie Chili

I made veggie Chili last night, it was delicious and very non fattening.  Good news for the New Year eh?  The chili itself was vegan, but being a big dairy lover I added a dollop of sour cream and smoked grated cheddar at the end.  No, it wasn't as non fattening with the additions but it sure was good.  So if you are a vegan, just skip the end additions. 

I love the slow cooker, it is the greatest thing for those days you just don't feel like cooking.  I throw everything in, clamp the lid down and walk away.  About a half hour before dinner I come and check on it, give it a taste and ta da, dinner is served.   An added bonus was that it was almost completely organic.

Chili recipe

1 can pinto beans
1 can  black beans
1 can  tomato sauce
1 can  fire roasted chopped tomatoes
1/2 chopped red onion
1/2 cup frozen red, green and yellow peppers
5 slices fake bacon chopped
1/3 cup red quinoa (added at the end, should cook at least 30 min.)
1/4 cup REAL maple syrup, that's right maple syrup!!!!!
1 big tablespoon of chili powder or to taste
light sprinkle of chipotle seasoning, or more if you like it hot
salt/pepper

Throw it all in and shut the lid.  Of course you could do this on the stove top as well on low and simmer it all day.  If you find that the quinoa soaks up too much liquid just add a bit of water or veggie broth.  Mine was just perfect consistency.   And like I said before I added sour cream and smoked grated cheese on top.  But I did just eat another bowl of it with just the cheese and it was fabulous. 

Bread in general

Is there anything like a great warm homemade bread and butter?  In my books?  Nope.  I love bread, I always have and I always will.  And I really enjoy making bread, I don't think anything comes close to the whole satisfying process.  From the moment you open that little package of yeast, the aroma hits you and grows with the bread.  There are so many great bread recipes, I have found this one that I make every year for Christmas morning.  It is in the Better Homes and Garden Cook book and it has never failed me.

The recipe is for sweet rolls which I have made as well many times.  But for the Christmas bread I simply prepare them differently the ingredients are all the same.

Sweet Rolls

2 cups all purpose flour
1 package active dry yeast

Heat and stir 1 cup milk, 1/3 cup sugar, 1/3 cup butter and 1/2 tsp salt to 120-130 degrees.  Do not overheat or you will kill the yeast and you will have flatbread.  Add this liquid to the flour mixture and add two eggs.  Beat with an electric mixer or Kitchenaid 3 minutes on high.  The more you mix the better with bread.  Add another 2-2 1/3 cup flour until you have a nice soft squishy dough.

Knead with bread attachment if you have one or turn onto a floured surface and workout your arms.  Knead for at least 5 minutes or until your arms feel like they will fall off.  Shape into a ball and place into a well oil bowl, cover with clean dish towel and place somewhere warm.  I usually turn the oven on for a few minutes then turn it off and let the bread rise in the slightly warm oven. 

Once it is double in size punch it down, literally.  Cover and let rest for 10 minutes.  Then roll the dough out as flat as possible, butter it leaving about 1 1/2 on one side not buttered.  Spread a good amount of brown sugar, nuts of your preferance and cinnamon.  I braided the one above, so only put the filling in the middle.  I cut the sides to give me braidable pieces.  Or you can roll it up and make a donut shape with it.  Cut a few slots in the top to let steam out and it looks nice.

Bake at 375 for 20-25 min until golden brown.  Drizzle with powdered sugar and water and spread nuts or cherries on top. 

Orange Hill Restaurant

With the Holiday season come and nearly gone; it's been a busy time.  And, I haven't been on here for a while, sorry.  I thought I'd review a recent restaurant visit, it's a family tradition.  When we first moved to California we came to Christmas Eve and didn't know what to do with ourselves having no family or friends as of yet.  We went to Outback our first Christmas Eve, charming......not.  Then after a few fumbled restaurant visits we settled on Orange Hill, the ambiance is amazing, the view spectacular and the food great. 

Over the years the food sort of went downhill a bit, not hugely but it had slipped slightly  Christmas 2009 we decided to go somewhere else because the year before Orange Hill had served up a really substandard vegetarian dish for my girls.  Well our new choice had been an even worse one so we decided to head back to Orange Hill hearing that they had a new vegetarian dish on their Christmas Eve menu.  We love the feel; and frankly it felt like home we'd been so many times. 

This year the only thing that I was disappointed in was our table location.  We had specifically asked not to be placed in the bar area, it's much louder than the other sections of the restaurant.  As soon as we got there we were lead to our table in the bar area.  It was loud and I really would have liked not to be sitting right beside the bar but we did have a window table, which I guess sort of made up for all the noise.

We were pleasantly surprised by the menu and the food was amazing, every item that was chosen was delectable.  Orange Hill has upped their game, a nice surprise.   One thing that had not changed was the ambiance, and the other their delicious pesto, butter and breads.  I could literally just go there for the pesto, bread and wine.   The Christmas Eve menu is different from their normal menu and new since we last visited.  You choose an appetizer and entry and the dessert was set. 

I had the mushroom soup to start with, it was rich, earthy, a tad spicy and warm, perfect.  My husband had the beef skewers which he said were really great and full of flavor.  Then both myself and my husband had the scallops which was a great choice being that I had eaten so much of their bread and pesto.  The scallops were bacon wrapped and seared to perfection, simply delicious laid on a bed of black rice and baby bok choy.  My daughters who are both vegetarians had the mushroom raviolli as an entry which was fabulous, a very welcome surprise for vegetarian diners.  My son enjoyed the salmon which he said was delicous as was the roasted chicken enjoyed by my daughters boyfriend. 

Dessert was the chefs selection, and it could not have been a better selection.  The waiter described it as a raspberry chocolate mousse sort of thing but I tasted no raspberry in it except for small decoration drizzle on the plate.  We all tasted a hint of mint but the rich chocolate mousse was the hit of the dessert.  It was rich, really rich and anyone who knows me knows that I rarely think anything is too rich.  But being that this was so rich a quarter sized serving would have sufficed.  Other than the crust being slightly tough, it was definitely delectably delicious. 

All in all a wonderful meal, great view and wonderful company.  We'll be back for Christmas Eve dinner next year, definitely hope to be there sooner though.

A little taste of heaven

Sometimes things just work, I mean really work.  When I take a bite of a new experiment and "oh my gosh" is the first thing out of my mouth, that's usually a good thing.  Well, these were one of those.  I call them Almond butter truffles.  I was inspired to make them by the original Peanut butter balls commonly made at this time of year.  I had a new jar of organic Almond butter in the fridge so, gave it a whirl.

After making the filling I wasn't sure that it would be sweet enough.  The almond butter isn't like regular peanut butter with added sugar and "stuff" in it.  It is basically almonds and a bit of salt.  But once dipped into chocolate, cooled and eaten they proved to be perfect.  They are so good and creamy that it is quite difficult to stop at one.  So I've had to ignore them, or at least try.  It has been made easier but suffing them into the freezer, that way I have to thaw first making it more complicated than simply scarfing.  Hope you enjoy. 

Happy Holidays

Almond butter truffles

2 C. powdered sugar
1 C. organic Almond butter
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 bag milk choc. chips
Cream, enough to make a creamy consistency

Mix all together very well, add enough cream to make a stand up consistency.  When you pull a spoon through a long strand can stand alone and then start to droop.  Put in the fridge to harden overnight.  Roll teaspoon amount into a ball and place on a tray with parchment.  Put in the fridge again to firm up. 

1 1/2 bags semi sweet chocolate melted,
3 tsp corn oil. 

Mix well and put into deep narrow bowl.  Dip each ball into the choc. and shake off well.  Sprinkle immediately so that the sprinkles stick.  Once the chocolate cools, ENJOY!!!!

The amazing Nanaimo Bar

It's been a while, but t'is the Season of goodies, so I will hopefully have time for more posts because there will be a whole boatload of treats made at my house.  I baked Nanaimo bars today, I'm on the Joy of Baking on Facebook where they posted about Nanaimo bars today.  So I was inspired to make my first of many batches.  The Nanaimo bar was originated in.....................................................................Canada.   They were originally thought to have been the invention of some wonderful baker in Nanaimo, BC.  But it seems that there is conflicting information on their true origin.  They may have originated somewhere in Alberta, possibly Ladysmith, BC, who knows.  But wherever they come from they are very Canadian.

I have been making Nanaimo bars my whole married life (26 years).   There are many different recipes but they are generally similar.  Nanaimo bars are deliciously creamy, chocolatey, nutty squares that do not require oven baking.  They are by far the favorite in this household over the holidays and pretty much a big hit for those who have tried them.  No one person that I have asked in Southern California has ever heard of them.  I know this because as soon as you say Nanaimo, they say "Nan what?"  They are delicious and I grew up eating them.  No they are not calorie free, nor are they sugar or fat free.  They are filled with everything that makes them worth every caloric bite.  And I say if it's not worth the calories, why eat it? 

Some Nanaimo Bar interesting sites.

Practically Edible

Wikipedia

Joy of Baking - with recipe