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What's On Your Kitchen Table?


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With everyone stuck in their homes, people are spending a lot of time in the kitchen. We thought it would be fun to share what we've been cooking, and the pots that are part of the process. Please share the culinary delights you've been creating during lockdown, and the recipe!

I'll go first: I've been making sourdough bread for quite a while, but have only just become confident and competent with it in the last couple of years, thanks to Instagram and Youtube, and the wealth of information that has been shared. I make a loaf almost every week on Sunday or Monday (my days off), that I mostly use for sandwiches and panini, and on Sunday mornings I make French toast with the week old leftovers.

The loaf pictured below I just made yesterday, and it's one of the best I've ever done. I used 550 grams of flour (30% whole wheat and 70% organic white flour), 10g sea salt, 72% hydration, and 100g of 50/50 starter. I only use whole wheat in my starter. I cook my bread in a cast iron Dutch oven, preheated for 45 minutes at 450F before putting the bread in. The first 20 minutes of the bake are with the lid on, then I drop the temp to 430F until it's done, about 25 minutes more.

Most of the sourdough breads you see on Instagram are high hydration (80% or more) and have a really open crumb, which makes for great photos. But it's terrible for sandwiches because the mayo or butter or Italian dressing or whatever you like to put on your sandwich tends to go right through and get all over your hands. At lower hydration I get a tighter crumb that's still light and soft, but closed enough to make a decent sandwich.

The bowl I use to mix my bread dough is a cone 10 reduction porcelain bowl I made about 12 years ago. It has a  water etched swirl pattern and a true celadon glaze- reduced iron, not a green stain. It's slightly flawed, like many of my pots that I've kept for my own use, with a small hole in the wall from an impurity that burned out of the clay. It's a good sized bowl, big enough to be used as a popcorn bowl, and probably bigger than I need for making bread, but it's nice to have the extra space when mixing.

 

 

 

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I found enough ingredients in my kitchen to make a Shoo Fly Pie. This is one of my favorite pies, so simple and down to earth, easy to make. I’m down to my last slice. Plate by Christy Knox. Photograph by Laura DeNardo.

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1 9-inch pie crust

1 cup molasses

3/4 cup hot water

3/4 tsp baking soda

1 egg beaten

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

3 tbsp butter or shortening

 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Combine molasses, hot water, and baking soda. Stir well. Whisk in beaten egg. Pour mixture into pie shell.

In a medium bowl, combine flour and brown sugar. Cut in butter/shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle on top of molasses layer.

Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Lower temp to 350 degrees and bake an additional 30-40 minutes. 

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Ha!  I'm also baking.  Making enough to stash some cookies and cakes in the freezer for the heat of the summer.  I also make my own sourdough bread but don't have a recipe.  I've been doing it for so long that I more or less do it by feel.  But I also use some white flour, some whole wheat, throw in some ground flax and some sunflower seeds and if I have anything else appropriate that goes in too.  I make 2 loaves which last us a couple of weeks.  The bread is usually baked by sometime in the evening at which time we each have a fresh slice with butter.  It gets plastic bagged over night and is easy to slice in the morning.  Then I use strips of plastic between each slice, double bag it and pop it into the freezer. Bought bread tastes really bland now.  L

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I don't have a kitchen table. Just a counter in a galley-type space.  So, I was taking a break from prepping freezer foods "for the duration" and came to read the CAD forums---saw this topic. Went back to the kitchen and took a pic of the reduced produce bananas I scored today--62 cents for 6 good ones--that I am cutting into chunks to freeze and at some point thaw for going into yogurt or cover with melted dark chocolate.  Then I hear a racket outside.  Oh-it's you again! This bear has been visiting me for 4 years now,  1 of 3 baby cubs, when big mama used to come too.  I forgot that it's now time to bring in the feeders and suet holder. 

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No bears in the city, however quiet it is! Lotsa jackrabbits though. And coyotes. 

Tonight, no one was particularly hungry because we’re not really active. Dinner was just pasta with a good olive oil, a big garlic clove, about a pound of pan roasted cherry tomatoes and some parm.  I did the pots. 
 

 

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Pumpkin bread was yesterday.  I am going to try and Irish Soda bread today.  The pumpkin bread recipe was from my mother in law.  I use it as a base for banana bread or whatever.  It's almost fool proof and reminds me of winter and holidays and family.  And thanks @neilestrick for a great thread.  I am definitely going to try Mea's shoo fly pie.  I don't have starter for sour dough, but I love your photos!

Pumpkin Bread

1 cup raisins, 1 cup water, 4 eggs,3 cups sugar, 1 cup veg oil, 1 tsp cloves, 1 tsp nutmeg, 1 tsp cinnamon,1 tsp baking powder, 2 tsps. salt,2 tsp baking soda,1 cup chopped nuts,3 1/2 cups flour, 1 small can pumpkin (1.5 cups)  Combine all, and mix well, bake in 2 greased loaf pans at 350 for 1 hr. 

The platter was a gift and it was made by Catie Miller.  Perfect for Bread!

Roberta

 

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10 hours ago, Callie Beller Diesel said:

No bears in the city, however quiet it is! Lotsa jackrabbits though. And coyotes. 

Tonight, no one was particularly hungry because we’re not really active. Dinner was just pasta with a good olive oil, a big garlic clove, about a pound of pan roasted cherry tomatoes and some parm.  I did the pots. 
 

During the winter I always forget how good little tomatoes are. In the summer we use them all the time since they grow on the deck. Thanks for the reminder!

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13 hours ago, LeeU said:

I don't have a kitchen table. Just a counter in a galley-type space.  So, I was taking a break from prepping freezer foods "for the duration" and came to read the CAD forums---saw this topic. Went back to the kitchen and took a pic of the reduced produce bananas I scored today--62 cents for 6 good ones--that I am cutting into chunks to freeze and at some point thaw for going into yogurt or cover with melted dark chocolate.  Then I hear a racket outside.  Oh-it's you again! This bear has been visiting me for 4 years now,  1 of 3 baby cubs, when big mama used to come too.  I forgot that it's now time to bring in the feeders and suet holder. 

These are the only bears we get around here. Rarely do I find them rummaging around outside my house.

 

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not today but you reminded me of a breakfast in september in harpers ferry back in 2017.    my pieces plus a cream and sugar by del martin, a mug by seth cardew, and a thin waisted cup by john glick.   i made the square at a workshop with ellen currans in oregon.  marvelous time there.

the bacon looks excessive but it is paper thin and i microwave it on paper towels to take out the fat.   

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@Min-the bears are coming out of hibernation-it is not good (for them or us) that they are coming down from the ridge into "civilization", so I need to be more vigilant about not leaving tempting treats out at night! All this baking looks yummy! I'm doing a Plant Paradox food plan (which has cut my blood sugar way, way down!) The only bread I eat, and minimally at that, is genuine sourdough--@Neil, yours is beyond luscious looking!  @Callie-I no longer eat pasta at all---but I am coveting your gorgeous meal! @Oldlady-ya just hadda show the bacon, huh? @Mea-ooooo-pie! @Roberta12-have you no mercy? Now all I need is for someone to shove a really great potato dish under my nose, and my goose is cooked.  But I don't eat goose, so maybe I'm gonna be OK and will survive this thread without having a nutritional relapse! 

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No bears here,  there is a private zoo a half mile from us  with exotic animals,  we will have to take a drive and see what animals are out and about.   We often see a group of camels running across the fields,  their size and strength is very impressive.  The heron rookery  by the creek is full this year, nice to have them back,  they disappeared for a couple of years.    The deer and coyotes are still playing hide and seek,  I think the deer are winning.  I see some  hungry  looking coyotes around,  I have to keep a close eye on my dog.    My husband loves to cook,  so far he has made a loaf of farm type bread and a loaf of raisin bread.   The raisin bread wasn't sweet and didn't have enough raisins any suggestions would be appreciated.   We are trying to help keep some of the food places in business while everyone is sheltered in.   Went through a drive thru at a chicken place the other day,  haven't done that since we gave up fried foods twenty years ago.   IHOP is delivering in our neighborhood so we are going to order a dinner from them.  We have never had a meal there so that will be a whole new experience.  Ordered groceries on line for the first time.  we can pick them up Monday at noon, good thing I didn't need them this week.    Denice

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@LeeU if you take the same pan roasted cherry tomatoes, they’re pretty tasty on hash browns too. Or it would indeed be amazing with sourdough! 
Cut tomatoes in half, a couple of tablespoons of oil in a hot pan, clove of garlic and herbs. Fresh if you have, dried if you don’t. Comes together in about ten minutes and they get all sweet. 

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My day to bake bread. Old school long fermentation but not sourdough. I'm trying to make my yeast last as long as possible, all the stores here are sold out. Will have to start some sourdough starter.

Bowl is about 15 years old, it's a second. I had left it as bisque for quite a while, outside kiln area, and when I went to glaze it there was a small mud wasp nest inside it. Got rid of the wasp nest and I thought I had it cleaned well enough but I guess not, there was iron in the mud the nest was made from. Little bit of straw coloured glaze inside the bottom of the bowl. 

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Bit of a late breakfast. Mixed a tablespoon of hummus into some canned tomatoes, salt and pepper, a shot of hot sauce and some fresh herbs.  Simmer for about 10 minutes and then poach an egg in it. Serve with toast to dip in the yolk. Cheese toast shown, but any will do. 
These bowls are my go-to. I made them a couple of years ago and tried to make more for the public, but they weren’t as popular as I thought they’d be. 

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Also did some cooking for lunch, instead of the constant snacking today. Today has been a good energy day, so I am making hay while the sun shines. 
This is Tom Kha, or coconut lemongrass soup. There is no link to the recipe I use, because I got it off a cooking show years ago, but the link here is similar. I make a green curry paste with a whole bunch of cilantro, the ginger, garlic, onion, hot pepper and lime, but the jarred stuff works just fine. I used enoki mushrooms, because they were super cheap and they’re like extra noodles. I put some fish in, but you can use thinly sliced chicken, or big shrimp (heh) when they’re in season. 
https://www.daringgourmet.com/tom-kha-gai/

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Lunch today, 4 days to sprout the seeds in a mason jar on the kitchen counter, (clover, alfalfa, radish & mustard), hummus and hard cooked egg on ww crackers. Corner of the bowl in the background is one of my dinner bowls.

Hummus recipe is just by eyeball, chickpeas, lemon juice, olive oil, sesame oil (I’m out of tahini), garlic, salt, smoked paprika and an ice cube in the food processor.

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