I emailed this recipe to one of my nieces this morning because she wanted to make a bread using as much whole wheat flour as she could, so I’m sharing it here in case anyone is interested. Some recipes using only whole wheat flour are dry and crumbly; this one is not. It’s dense, but good. When my sons were small, I used to barter these loaves with my neighbor. She would watch my younger son while I walked the older one to school. In return, she’d get loaves of warm, fragrant loaves of bread. A good trade for both of us.

Whole Wheat Bread

2 1/2 cups warm water
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. active dry yeast
1 Tbsp. salt
6 cups whole wheat flour

Pour the warm water into a large bowl. Add the sugar and sprinkle the yeast on top of the water. In a few minutes, when the yeast comes bubbling to the top, stir in half of the who wheat flour and beat very well, until the dough ceases to be grainy and becomes smooth and stretchy.

Add the salt and the remaining flour cup by cup, mixing well. Knead it in the bowl until it is no longer sticky, then turn it out onto a floured surface.

As the dough gets stiffer and harder to knead, sprinkle the remaining flour a little at a time on the kneading surface and knead the dough on top of it. Knead, push, and fold until the dough is soft and springy to touch, and return it to the bowl. Cover the bowl and allow the dough to double in bulk.

Grease two loaf pans or two 46-ounce juice cans. Divide the dough in half and flatten each half into an oblong the length of the loaf pan, or, if you are using cans, mold the dough into an egg-shaped blob, pinching the dough tightly together at the seams. Slide the formed loaves into the pans and push down all around the sides so that no air is trapped below (important if you use the cans). Cover and let rise until doubled in bulk.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees towards the end of the rising period. When the bread is rounded just above the rim, bake it for about 40 minutes. When you remove it from the pan and tap it on the sides or bottom, it should sound slightly hollow. The color should be a rich golden brown. Allow the bread to cool, then slice and serve.
Makes 2 loaves.

Dough can also be formed into rounded shape and baked on cookie sheets. It needs to be quite stiff for this free-form baking.
Also, raisins can be kneaded in if desired, and made into cinnamon swirl bread, following the usual process.

When I mentioned that I made pizza crust a few days ago, Kim asked if I’d share the recipe I use. Of course I will! There are a lot of recipes out there, and some may be better than mine, but this is so simple and has been a good base for our pizzas and calzones for a long time. I use bread flour for a crispy crust, but use unbleached flour if you like a chewier crust.

Pizza Crust That Has Stood the Test of Time in My Family

1 pkg. dry yeast (if you buy it bulk, about 2 1/4 tsp)
1 tsp granulated sugar
1 2/3 cup warm water (but not hot)
2 Tbsp olive oil, plus two teaspoons for your rising bowl
3 1/2 to 4 cups bread flour (or you can use unbleached, or a half unbleached/half whole wheat mix)
1 tsp kosher salt

In a large bowl, dissolve sugar in warm water; sprinkle yeast over water and give it a little stir to get it wet. Let stand for a couple of minutes until it dissolves. Add 2 Tbsp olive oil, then add flour and salt. Stir together until it forms a ball, then turn it out onto lightly floured surface and knead for a couple of minutes until smooth. In a clean bowl, put 2 tsp olive oil and brush around the bottom of the bowl. Add the dough, turning to coat with the oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and put in a warm place to rise until double in size, about 1 hour.

To use: divide dough in half to make two pizza crusts. Grease two large pizza pans and dust with cornmeal. Put dough ball in center of pan, cover and let rest for a few minutes to relax. With hands, start pressing dough toward edges of pan, moving in a circular pattern. If it springs back, just let it rest a little bit to relax and go at it again. If you tear a hole in the dough, don’t worry, just mash it together again. My pizza pans are 16 inches across, and one dough ball fills the pan. If you don’t need both crusts, wrap one securely and stick it in the freezer to use another time.

Once your crust is ready, spread on the sauce, fillings and cheese of your choice. Bake on the lowest rack of your oven at 400 degrees F for 25-30 minutes, or until crust is golden brown on the bottom and the edges.

If you have questions, shoot me an email and I’ll be glad to answer them!

I’m happy to see the piles of winter squash in my grocery store, and acorn squash is probably my favorite. I love it as a side dish, all roasted and basted with butter and maple syrup or brown sugar. But recently I wanted to make a main course out of it by stuffing it with ground meat and vegetables. I made up a mixture using ingredients I had on hand, and it worked! You might think adding golden raisins is odd, but they add a bit of sweetness that is so good with the squash.

Acorn Squash with Savory Filling

2 medium size acorn squash, halved
1 lb. ground beef or pork (I’m going to try using Italian sausage next time–I think it would be delicious)
1 onion, chopped
2 ribs celery, sliced
1 large carrot, halved and sliced
1/2 cup chicken broth, if needed
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/4 tsp dried thyme
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut acorn squash in half; using a large spoon, scrape out seeds and stringy stuff. Line a baking sheet with foil for easy clean-up. Brush edges of squash with butter or vegetable oil and place cut side down on foil. Bake for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, brown ground beef or pork in skillet until no longer pink. Add onion, celery and carrot; cook until onion is translucent and carrots are fairly tender. Add broth if mixture seems dry, then stir in thyme, raisins, salt and pepper. Simmer for about 5 minutes to incorporate flavors. Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary.

Remove squash from oven. Turn the halves over and put a tablespoon of butter in the bottom of each. Pile the filling into each of the squash halves. (If the squash halves are small, you’ll likely have leftover filling.) Return to oven and bake for an additional 30 minutes, or until squash is fork tender. If meat mixture starts to get too brown, cover with foil.

I serve this with a side salad to complete the meal.

Yesterday, Elle enticed us with a yummy-sounding list of soups that her family enjoys and offered to share the recipes, so I’m jumping on her bandwagon today with a recipe from our family. I’m a soup girl all year long, but when the temperatures start to dip, there’s little that will please me more at lunch or dinner than a big bowl of soup. This is a family favorite, and very quick and easy to make at the last minute. I always try to keep the ingredients on hand, just in case I get a soup craving. Since I’ve thrown away more than my share of bags of spoiled spinach, I keep a package of chopped spinach in the freezer. It works just fine in this recipe. I just thaw it in the microwave, squeeze it dry and toss it in the soup.

Italian Sausage, White Bean, Spinach Soup

1 lb. Italian sausage (either pork or turkey)
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 (15 oz) cans Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15 oz) can diced fire-roasted tomatoes
32 oz chicken broth, or more depending on how much broth you like
10 oz fresh baby spinach, coarsely chopped (or a box of frozen spinach)

If your sausage is in links, remove from casings, breaking into small pieces. Cook sausage in olive oil; drain and crumble. Add onion and garlic to pan; saute until soft. Add sausage back into pan, then add beans, tomatoes, and broth. Cover pan and simmer until hot. Add spinach and heat until just wilted. Serve with Parmesan shavings and crusty bread. Always on the lookout for a little spice, my husband adds a few shakes of hot sauce or crushed red pepper.

I’m always on the lookout for another great soup recipe, so if you have one, jump on the bandwagon!

We’re making an effort to eat more fish, so I’m checking out recipes that take me out of my usual repertoire. Today I wanted to make a soup with a filet of cod that I bought yesterday. I couldn’t find a recipe that used ingredients I had on hand, but a few different ones I’ve looked at over the past few months gave me the idea for one I threw together in a few minutes. It turned out great, and guess what—I’m going to share it with you!

Spicy Fish and Vegetable Soup

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
3 ribs celery, diced
2-3 carrots, sliced
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 ½ Tbsp chili powder
1 ½ tsp ground cumin
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 15 oz. can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
4 cups chicken broth
1 4 oz. can diced green chiles
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1 lb cod filet (preferably wild-caught)
1 cup half and half
salt and pepper to taste

In soup pot, sauté onion, celery and carrots in olive oil until mostly tender. Add red peppers, garlic, chili powder and cumin. Stir and cook over med-low heat for 3 minutes or so until the spices are fragrant. Add broth, tomatoes, and green chiles; bring to just boiling. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Add corn and cod, cooking on a gentle simmer for another 5 minutes or so until cod is cooked. Stir in half and half and continue simmering until heated through. Salt and pepper to taste.

You’re gonna want a chunk of crusty bread to dip into the tasty broth!

My niece has been sharing produce from her garden with us, much to our delight. Last Friday she brought me a bag of goodies, and I was so happy to get some fresh Roma tomatoes and a big bunch of fresh, lovely-scented basil. I used them in a simple but delicious pasta dish that went together so quickly—it’s one of those last-minute dishes that come to the rescue when you have neither time nor inclination to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. And I’ll tell you this: leftovers are even better than the first-run meal.

16 oz. spaghetti or fine linguine
1 lb. bacon, chopped
3 tbsp olive oil
1 cup red onion, diced
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
3 tbsp fresh minced garlic
2 1/2 cups fresh Roma tomatoes, diced
¼ cup red wine
4 tbsp fresh basil chiffonade
¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper, to taste

In a large stock pot, cook pasta until al dente.

In a large sauté pan over medium heat, add bacon and cook until crisp. Remove bacon and drain on paper towel. Pour off most of the bacon fat, leaving a couple of tablespoons in the pan. Add olive oil, onions, and crushed red pepper flakes. Cook until onion is translucent; add garlic. Cook for two minutes, and then add tomatoes. Saute  for 4-5 minutes, then add the wine. Cook for a couple more minutes to blend flavors.

Drain the pasta and add to the tomato mixture.  Add basil, bacon and cheese. Toss gently, adding salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Turn into a large serving bowl and sprinkle with additional Parmesan. Add a crisp salad and dinner is ready.

…and you know what happens if I’m home when it rains, don’t you? I bake something. Just can’t help myself. So I grabbed one of my favorite cookbooks, Dorie Greenspan’s Baking From My Home to Yours, to see what might beg to be made. When I read through the ingredients in this bundt cake, I suspected a toothsome winner. The combination of orange and chocolate is so good—you should taste the batter. I did, just to see, and then I tasted it again. And again. It’s that good. Remember when bundt cakes were so popular, and about the only dessert at a church potluck—though I’m guessing some of you weren’t even born yet or eating solid food in the 70′s! Good thing Dorie G. revved up the boring bundt cake of the past and made it something special. Judging from the scent coming from my oven, we have a treat in store after supper.

And because my mama taught me to share, here you go!

Nutty, Chocolaty, Swirly Sour Cream Bundt Cake
from Dorie Greenspan’s Baking From My Home to Yours

For the swirl:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped, or 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips
1/3 cup plump, moist raisins (dark or golden) or dried currants
2 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg (I forgot to add this)
Pinch of salt

For the cake:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 3/4 cups sugar
Grated zest of 1 orange
2 sticks (8 oz. each) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream

Confectioner’s sugar, for dusting (optional)

Getting ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 35o degrees. Butter a 9 to 10-inch Bundt pan, dust the interior with four and tap out the excess. Don’t place the Bundt pan on a baking sheet—you want the oven’s heat to circulate freely through the Bundt’s inner tube.

To make the swirl: Put all the ingredients in a bowl and stir to mix.

To make the cake: Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Working in the bowl of a stand mixer or in another large bowl, rub the sugar and zest together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and aromatic. Add the butter. Beat on medium speed for 4 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each egg. Beat in the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low and mix in the sour cream. Still working on low, add the dry ingredients and mix only until they disappear into the batter.

Give the batter a last stir or two with a rubber spatula (just to make sure all the dry ingredients are properly incorporated), the scoop about one third of the better into the Bundt pan. Evenly sprinkle on half of the swirl mixture, the spoon in the rest of the batter. Make a shallow indentation with the back of the spoon in the center of the ring of batter and fill it with the remaining swirl mixture, then cover the mixture lightly with the batter on the sides of the indentation—the batter probably won’t cover the mixture completely, but that’s fine.

Bake for 60 to 65 minutes, or until thin knife inserted deep into the center of the cake comes out clean. Transfer pan to a rack and let the rest for 10 minutes before unmolding onto the rack to cool to room temperature. Just before serving, dust the cake with confectioner’s sugar, if desired.

We had the absolute joy of joining my extended family at my brother’s lake house for an early Fourth of July celebration. He had emailed me and my sisters beforehand to ask if one of us could make some good old-fashioned strawberry shortcake with sweet biscuits, like our mother used to make. I volunteered to make it, since it’s always been one of my favorite desserts. There were 25 of us, plus some unexpected guests who came just in time to share our cookout. My brother loved the shortcake and the general family consensus was that I’m to bring it to every family get-together from now on. Tip: my food processor bowl was large enough for a double recipe. Handy, since I had to double it three times. Leftover biscuits are great for breakfast the next morning. Toast them in your toaster oven, then spread with butter and jam. Good eats.

Old-Fashioned Strawberry Shortcake

Strawberries: Rinse, hull and slice 2 quarts of ripe strawberries. Coarsely mash a third or so of them to release juices. Add remaining sliced berries and enough sugar to sweeten to taste. Optional: Add a few curls of fresh lemon zest. Set aside to sit at room temperature to macerate while you make the sweet biscuits.

Sweet Biscuits

2 cups all purpose flour, plus more for work surface
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
5 Tbsp sugar (divided)
8 Tbsp unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup plus 1 Tbsp half and half or milk
1 large egg white, lightly beaten

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat oven to 425 degrees. Mix flour, baking powder, salt and 3 Tbsp sugar in food processor. Scatter butter pieces over and toss to coat butter. Cut butter into dry ingredients with 5 one-second pulses. Continue cutting in butter until flour is pale yellow and resembles coarse cornmeal, with butter bits no larger than small peas, about four more 1 second pulses. Turn mixture into medium bowl.

Mix beaten egg with half and half; pour into bowl with flour mixture. Combine with spatula until large clumps form. Turn mixture onto work surface and lightly knead until it comes together. Pat dough into 9×6 inch rectangle, about 3/4 inch thick. Cut into 6 biscuits using a 2 3/4″ cutter. Gently pull together dough scraps and cut out 1-2 more biscuits. Place one inch apart on baking sheet. Brush tops with egg white and sprinkle with the remaining sugar. (Biscuits can be refrigerated at this point for up to 2 hours before baking.) Bake for 12-14 minutes, until golden. Cool pan on rack for about 10 minutes before splitting to assemble shortcake.

To assemble shortcake: For each serving, split warm biscuit and put bottom half in dessert bowl. Top with a generous spoonful of berries; add a big scoop of vanilla ice cream; add top half of biscuit, then another spoonful of berries. Finally, add a dollop of sweetened whipped cream. Your sweet tooth will be fully satisfied.

No need to eat boring salads, especially in the springtime when berries and fresh pineapple are available at prices that may not choke you so much. This salad was a yummy addition to our Easter dinner. So fresh and good!

Raspberry-Pineapple-Spring Greens Salad

8 cups baby greens
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
1/4 red bell pepper, julienned
1/4 green bell pepper, julienned
1 cup sliced celery
1 cup pineapple chunks, preferably fresh
1 cup fresh raspberries
1/2 cup slivered almonds, lightly toasted

Raspberry Vinaigrette:
1/3 cup raspberry preserves
1/4 cup canola oil
4 tsp. rice vinegar
1/4 tsp. cider vinegar
1 Tbsp. dry white wine (can substitute with white grape juice)
1 tsp. prepared mustard

To make vinaigrette: place preserves in bowl; gradually whisk in oil. Stir in rice vinegar, cider vinegar, wine and mustard. Add salt and pepper to taste, if desired.

To serve salad, arrange greens on individual plates or, alternately, on a large platter. Top with red onion, peppers, celery, and pineapple. Drizzle with vinaigrette, then sprinkle raspberries and toasted almonds over the top. Enjoy immediately.

This is a basic coffee cake that I often make for my family on Sunday morning, or if an unexpected visitor drops in for coffee. It takes about 5 minutes to throw together if the nuts for the streusel are already chopped. By the time your oven pre-heats, the coffee cake is ready to pop in to bake. I usually double it and bake it in a 9×13-inch pan so we have plenty of leftovers.

Sunday Morning Coffee Cake

Cake:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup canola oil
3/4 cup milk
1 egg

Streusel:
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans
2 Tbsp butter, melted

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease 9-inch baking pan. In mixing bowl, blend dry ingredients for cake. Add remaining cake ingredients and stir until well blended.

Mix streusel ingredients in small bowl.

Spread 1/2 of the cake batter into baking pan. Sprinkle with 1/2 of the streusel topping. Top with remaining batter, then the remaining streusel. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Serve warm.