Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Whole Wheat Loaves: Tuesdays with Dorie


Okay, I wasn't going to make this recipe.  I don't like whole wheat bread from the store.  But I read some blogs this morning on Tuesdays with Dorie and they were raving, yes RAVING about this recipe...so I put the pedal to the metal...(the KA metal!).  Mine didn't get too tall, but I used a slightly larger bread pan...it's okay, they taste GREAT!  (I think I'm raving).


After first rise.  I used fresh ground whole wheat.  Had wheat berries in the freezer and ground them up in the VitaMix.  It worked great, I think it helped with the GREAT taste. (I am raving again, aren't I?)


I just hand flattened out each half of the dough to get it into shape for the bread pans.


Rise 2:  it took a little longer than the hour, but by then I was so invested in getting this recipe done.



This was my wake up call this morning.  Guinea hens in the neighborhood looking for bug food in my backyard.  Not the smartest animals out there, but certainly very loud.  Little Sadie came looking for them later in the morning....she calls them "Click-Clacks"...that's what they sound like to her.  It was a Click-Clack morning, and a RAVING whole wheat loaves afternoon!



While I am trying to do Clean Eating right now, I decided that half white flour was better than all white flour, so I jumped into the recipe at the last minute.  I was glad I did.  This bread is nothing like the store bought whole wheat bread that I won't eat.  THIS I will eat!!!  To see what others did with this recipe this week, you can visit Tuesdays with Dorie.




Saturday, September 1, 2012

minted zucchini tagliatelle with cucumbers and lemon: French Fridays with Dorie

I feel like the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland....I'm late, I'm late, you know?  

It was such an innocent change to my home computing...so I thought.  HA!  I changed out my wireless router.  There, such a simple thing.  That took 6 hours (not the 10 minutes all the commenters on Amazon quoted), and the end result, my quirky 3 year old pc laptop was kaput.  SCREAM!!!  I admit to not being a techie, but I can usually figure stuff out.  

SO....The happy ending to the story:  New wireless router works great, new wireless camera in dog room works great (so cool!), and my NEW iMac (yes, I am through with PCs and windows) works great too.  A quick trip to the apple store, and life is good again!  

That was the long version of why this blog is being published and linked one day late.  So, onto the recipe:



I do like my de Buyer mandolin.  I forget I have it until recipes like this one pops up in the rotation, since I put it far away from grandkids' reach.  I used very fresh zucchini, which sliced up nicely.  I then tried to use an older cucumber I had in the refrigerator...yuck, it was bitter.  So I pitched that one, and used the fresh one I just got from the farmers market....much better!



I had to use dried mint leaves.  It's another sad story for another day.  Hint:  Crazy Raspberry Ants in the garden.  I'm sure it would be much better to use fresh mint, sigh.



After the hour wait it plates like it is supposed to.  It tastes okay in general, but when I factor in the ingredient zucchini, I rate it higher.  I do not care for zucchini much, so if I find a zucchini recipe I will eat, then I give it extra stars.


Oh, and that camera in the dog room?  Here's my beagle-mix, Maddie, on her couch, tucked back behind an extra blanket.  She was napping as I blogged this and I took this picture from my iPhone app that allows me to view the dog room from wherever I am.   Now I know who's naughty and who's nice!!



Yes, another keeper recipe from Around My French Table by Dorie Greenspan.  To see what others did this week with this recipe you can visit French Fridays with Dorie.