Roasted Cauliflower Rainbow

1 head Cauliflower

1/2 Red Onion

2 ribs Celery

1 Carrot

Sprigs of Curly Parsley

3 Tablespoons Vegetable or Olive Oil

1 Tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar

1 teaspoon Seasoning Blend (such as Spike or Mrs. Dash's or any other you like)

Sea Salt and Black Pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Thoroughly wash cauliflower, celery, carrot and parsley.  Chop all into bite sized peices and toss with oil, vinegar and all spices in a large mixing bowl.  Spread mixture out into an even layer on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.  Transfer to serving dish.  Serve immediately or allow to cool before storing in refrigerator in a tightly sealed vessel.  Makes a great side dish on your holiday table or hearty filling in veggie burritos.

Adventures In Sourdough...

I adore eating bread and while it may not adore me back, because of the pounds I pack on just looking at it, I make it anyway every so often.  This all changed a week ago when I embarked on making my own Sourdough Starter.  Now I'm baking bread every day, sometimes twice.  I guess I really do live in San Francisco after all and can officially call this my home now that I am baking it's signature bread.  I've lived here for almost fifteen years, but now I think I really belong here.  LOL.  I guess I'm storing up for the winter, or something like that.

Just the smell of freshly baked bread has got to be one of the most luxurious things in life.  I plan on doing various bread installments on my blog because this sourdough starter is gifting us over and over and I have some amazing recipe ideas using different flours, herbs and aromatics.  Just please don't ask me for a gluten-free version.  I don't have one.  I'm sure it exists, I just have not gone there, yet.  I'm pretty sure my kitchen is made of wild yeasts and gluten at the moment.  The basic go-to recipe for the last few loaves of sourdough I have made is as follows:

Basic Sourdough Recipe
3 1/2 Cups+ Unbleached Bread Flour
1 Cup Sourdough Starter (I made my own in this case and feed it twice a day a combination of whole grain wheat, dark rye and white wheat flours)
3/4 Cup Warm Water
2 teaspoons Sea Salt
1 teaspoon Sugar

Each loaf gets prettier and tastier!  I am very excited about this new skill.  Stay tuned for stories, tips and more recipes!  Happy Baking!

Fourth Loaf, used starter and basic recipe (see above) baked in deep glass pie dish and made pretty design, SUCCESS

Third loaf, used starter only added Garlic and Italian Herbs, cooked it in a deep pie dish, SUCCESS and getting prettier

Second Loaf, not as pretty as I was going for but used starter only and waited 4 hours for a rise, SUCCESS, Delicious

First Loaf, I added my lovely starter and commercial yeast out of impatience (big mistake) tasted just like beer, FAIL

French Lentil Soup

1 cup French Lentils (rinse thoroughly)

1/2 Onion (yellow or white)

2 Carrots

2 Celery Ribs

2 teaspoons Olive Oil

Handful of fresh Baby Spinach

1 small Bay Leaf

1/2 teaspoon dried Thyme

1/2 teaspoon dried Marjoram
3 cups water and vegetable broth

Salt and Pepper (to taste)

Begin by finely dicing onion, carrots, celery and spinach and set aside.  Heat oil and add all vegetables to pot along with lentils and saute for about 5 minutes.  Add thyme, marjoram, bay leaf and salt and water and stir. Add water or broth and reduce heat to lowest setting.  Simmer for about 25 minutes and taste for seasoning level.  Serve immediately with crusty sourdough bread.  Store unused portion in tightly sealed vessel in refrigerator.

Sordough Starter Day 6

Well I am pretty confident that both of my starters are still alive.  I decided to add a combo of 3 flours, whole wheat, dark rye and white bread flour.  I have also been dumping out half the starter as needed.  There are bubbles forming and both starters have a nice fermented aroma.  I will keep you updated and am so looking forward to making my first loaf of sourdough.  Happy Hump Day Universe. Let all great things come to those who wait!

Quick Spicy Pickle

1 English Cucumber

1/2 Sweet Yellow Onion

1 Serrano Pepper

1/4 cup White Wine Vinegar

1 Tablespoon Sugar

Dash of Sea Salt and Black Pepper

Peel (if desired) cucumber and chop off each end.  Thinly shave cucumber on slicer side of boxed grater (or slice by hand or use a mandolin).  Set aside.  In a glass jar add vinegar, sugar, cucumber and salt and pepper.  Set aside.  Finely slice onion into 2 inch peices.  Add to jar.  Remove stem from serrano pepper and thinly slice into rounds or smaller moon shapes.  For extra spicy, leave seeds and ribs of pepper in tact.  For less spicy, remove seeds and ribs using a small spoon.  Add pepper to jar.  Seal lid tightly and shake.  Allow to sit on counter for at least 5 minutes to ensure sugar has dissolved.  Shake again and serve or refrigerate unused portion.  Garnish with chopped peanuts and fresh cilantro if you like.  Voila!  Quick Spicy Pickle!  Easy as pie!

Lentil Barley Leek Soup

With my sourdough starters well under way, I figured it was time to whip up some soul-cradling soup.  This hearty and robust soup will fill you and your heart up with joy on a cold Autumn evening.

Lentil Leek Barley Soup

1 cup French Lentils

1 cup Pearl Barley

2 Leeks

1/2 Yellow Onion

2 Carrots

2 Stalks Celery

8 Cups Vegetable Broth

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

1 Bay Leaf

Salt and Pepper (to taste)

Begin by thoroughly rinsing barley and lentils and set aside.  Finely chop leeks, onions, carrots and celery and set aside. In a stock pot add oil and heat on medium heat then add all chopped vegetables.  Cook for about 5 minutes then add lentil and barley.  Give it a good stir and then add all vegetable broth and bay leaf.  Reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook for about 40 minutes or until barley and lentils are tender.  If you like a more "brothy" soup, feel free to add more stock depending on your preference.  Lastly remove bay leaf and add salt and pepper to suit your taste.  Serve immediately with crusty bread and garnish with fresh parsley.  Refrigerate any unused portion in a tightly sealed glass jar after allowing it to cool to room temperature.

Sourdough Starter Day 3

Alright folks I have been feeding my sourdough starter twice a day and I also started one using just whole wheat flour instead of a combination of wheat and dark rye.  On day one I fed them equal parts of whole wheat flour and water (about 1/2 cup each).  Now, today, day 3 I fed them both unbleached white bread flour.  They are both covered on top of my fridge and getting bubbly and fermenting.  I am so looking forward to making some delicious, rustic sourdough breads but for now, the wait is on!  Stay tuned beloved readers.  This one should be well worth the wait!!!

Recipe Remix - Tostadas!

To create these beauties you will need to make the following recipes found here on my blog:

Arbol Chili Sauce

Perfect Pinto Beans

Autumn Harvest Veggie Medley

Directions: grab yourself a couple tostada shells.  Now pile on some beautiful green leaf lettuce, a generous scoop of perfect pinto beans, veggie medley and chili sauce.  Voila!  Heaven in a bite - I swear!

Autumn Harvest Veggie Medley

1 sixteen ounce can Kidney Beans

1/2 Red Onion

2 Carrots

2 Stocks Celery

1 cup fresh or frozen Sweet Corn

1 cup fresh or frozen Edamame Peas

Dressing

2 Tablespoons fresh Curly Parsley

2 Tablespoons fresh Cilantro

3 Garlic Cloves

1 Tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar

2 Tablespoons White Wine Vinegar

Juice of 1 Lemon

8 Cherry Tomatoes

1/2 cup Vegetable Oil

Generous amount of Salt and Pepper

1 Tablespoon Sugar, Agave or Honey* (*if you eat honey, I do)

Begin by finely dicing onion, carrot and celery and add to a large glass bowl.  Drain and rinse kidney beans, add to bowl.  Now add corn and edamame to mixture (if using frozen, okay to add while still frozen).  Set aside.

To make dressing add all dressing ingredients to food processor, except the oil.  Blend in food processor until fully pureed.  Now, while food processor is running, slowly drizzle in vegetable oil and puree until emulsified.  It is okay is the dressing seems runny.

Finally pour all dressing onto vegetable mixture.  Stir gently so all veggies are coated thoroughly.  Now let medley sit on counter covered for at least one hour. Serve or refrigerate until ready to eat.

Perfect Pinto Beans

Pinto Beans are underrated and they shouldn't be!  Dried beans, grains, nuts and seeds should never be underestimated.  So if your pantry is not stocked well with dried goods, may I suggest on your next shopping trip you purchase the following:  dried pinto, black, lima, white and any other beans that strike your fancy.  Along with lentils (any colors), barley, quinoa and cous cous. 

What is great about having such staples on hand is you always have something to cook - no excuses.  I promise preparing your own pinto beans from dried beans, for example, is far superior to anything that comes out of a can.  Also, you may find that buying dried products, especially if you can buy in bulk is highly cost effective.  Okay, enough preaching, let's cook some beans!

Best Pinto Beans

1 pound or about 4 cups dried pinto beans

1 yellow onion

2 dried bay leaves

1 teaspoon dried oregano

Sea Salt (to taste)

Fresh cracked black pepper (optional)

Begin by thoroughly washing beans and put in a large pot of cold water.  Soak beans overnight covered on the counter. Or, if you don't have time to soak, bring beans to a roaring boil and cook for 5 minutes.  Drain beans, dump water and return beans to pot.  Cover with 8 cups cold water.  Slice onion in half and add it to the pot along with the bay leaves and oregano.  DO NOT ADD SALT YET!!  

Cook on high until it reaches a boil.  Reduce heat to simmer and cook partially covered (just crock the pot lid to the side) for at least 2 hours, stirring occasionally.  Taste test a few beans for tenderness.  If the beans are not tender enough to your liking (this can happen when cooking at a very low temperature), continue cooking for another 30 minutes.  

By now your beans should be tender.  Drain beans, reserving adequate liquid to keep beans in a bath.  I like my beans to have some liquid.  If you prefer a dryer end product you can drain all liquid but keep in mind that is flavorful broth that would make a beautiful bean soup!  

Remove bay leaves and onion (they have done their job.  Now add your salt and pepper to taste.  Serve immediately and store unused portion in glass jars in refrigerator for up to one week.

Optional addition:  If you are not concerned about adding fat to this one pot wonder, after beans are cooked you may want to add a drizzle of olive or canola oil to give the beans added richness.  Similarly, you can "re-fry" cooked and cooled beans in a little oil and smash them for a refried bean texture.

My First Sourdough Starter

Alright beloved readers, this is going to be an ongoing post that I will update as I discover my successes and failures on my adventures in making My First Sourdough Starter.  Who doesn't adore sourdough bread?  Here in San Francisco we are known for our Sourdough Bread.  I have often flirted with the idea of making my own sourdough starter but have never done it.  Today that is all going to change as I embark on the challenge.  I researched some recipes online but decided I would be experimental from the get go as I so often am on my culinary adventures.  Let the games begin!

I will post pictures after the first 24 hours so you can see what I'm working with.  Stay Tuned.

Sourdough Starter Recipe as follows (so far):
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup whole grain dark rye flour
1/2 cup plus 2 Tablespoons bottled spring water

I combined the flours and water and put them in a large stainless steel stock pot that is now basically covered (the lid has a small steam hole in it and I put a dishtowel on top).  I have the pot sitting on top of my refrigerator.  My understanding is the temperature level should stay somewhat consistent and ideally be over 70 degrees F.  In my poorly insulated home in San Francisco, 70 degrees F this time of year is a tall order but I'm hoping by putting the concoction on top of the fridge, the temperature will remain somewhat consistent.  We shall see.  I have set a reminder to myself to start "feeding" the starter 24 hours from now and twice a day, roughly 12 hours apart, from this point forward for at least a week before using the starter.

PLEASE NOTE:  My inspiration for this recipe came from the following recipe and website: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/blog/2012/04/05/creating-your-own-sourdough-starter-the-path-to-great-bread/

Bread Machine French Bread

Do you have a bread machine?  Do you use it?  I use mine all the time because it makes making homemade bread so EASY!  I makes homemade rolls, pizza crust, pita bread and more.  Today I am tackling a basic french bread recipe.

The inspiration for this recipe came after watching an episode of Top Chef New Orleans where the teams were charged with cooking Vietnamese cuisine.  Great episode that left me drooling for some crusty french bread drenched in butter.

Upon researching a recipe for Banh Mi Tay, I discovered this gem of a site -http://www.vietworldkitchen.com/blog/2007/05/vietnamese_bagu.html
I decided to give the recipe a go in my bread machine and see how it came out.  Although I don't mind making my own "loaves" I figured I'd let the bread machine do all the work today.

Bread Machine French Bread - (Vietnamese Baguette Recipe borrowed and adapted from http://www.vietworldkitchen.com blog, see link above)

1 1/2 cups warm water
1 package active dry yeast (or 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast)
1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
3 1/2 cups unbleached bread flour (or all-purpose)
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt

Add all ingredients to bread machine in the order listed (or according to your bread machine recommendations and set for basic bread cycle.  Remove when cooking cycle completes and allow to cool uncovered for at least an hour before slicing.  If you try to slice bread when it is hot/too warm, you will end up crushing the beautiful masterpiece you have just created so have a little patience.  I promise it will be worth the wait!  Serve toasted with lots of vegan butter.

Chef's note:  If you prefer to form your own loaves, set bread machine for "dough" and remove and form your own loaves to bake in your oven.  After forming two loaves, allow loaves to rise covered with a tea towel for 40 minutes.  Cut three slits in loaves (not just pretty but allow steam to escape) and bake at 450 degrees F for about 25 minutes.  Cooking times may vary based on your oven and size of your loaves.  Be sure to let bread cool to room temperature before slicing so you don't end up with a gummy mess.