My Apologies

Hello everyone,

I'm sorry that I've been gone so long. As you can see by my last post, I have a troubled relationship with food and cooking, and it got overwhelming for a while. I did manage to keep cooking, some of the time at least, but blogging seemed like too much.

Part of the problem is that there was this big wedding at the end of July... that happened to be mine... so I was a little busy! The wedding went great, though, and the food was amazing. We went through all Michigan vendors: Paesano for the Italian buffet, Sandhill Crane Vineyards for the wine, the Jefferson Market Cakery for cupcakes, caramel favors by Nanci Jenkins of Sweet Sensations, plus Michigan-made beers. You can see some wine and cupcakes to the left (and my mother's beautiful table decorating!).

Now that I'm back home, with lots of new toys for the kitchen, a weekly CSA subscription, and no wedding to plan, I'm trying to get back into regular cooking and more frequent blogging. Please bear with me if it takes a while to get back into it. And if you come over for dinner, remind me to take pictures - I keep forgetting.

To tide you over, here's the bread recipe I've been adapting lately to make bread several times a week. It's a ridiculously easy recipe written in a very friendly and approachable way, so if you've never made bread before, it's a good place to start. If you live near me I'd be happy to share some dry yeast; you probably already have the other ingredients.

Thanks for sticking with me!

Love,

Katie Mae

Mediterranean Dinner

Inspired by Amy of Runs with Spatula, I decided a few weeks ago to try making hummus again. To round the meal out, I made mujadara (a lentil and rice dish) and homemade pita.

It turned out pretty well. I'm starting to realize that when I compare my versions of certain dishes with the ones I get from stores and restaurants, they're disappointing, but if I approach them as a new and different food, they can still be good. This happened with the mujadara - it didn't taste like what I get from Aladdin's or Sultan's, but Chris doesn't remember those versions and thought mine was perfect.

Recipes after the break -

Zucchini & White Bean Pizza (from scratch!)

Another meal that's often hiding in an emptying kitchen, waiting to be made, is pizza. Last week I decided to get ambitious and make my own crust for the first time. It was much easier than I expected, though of course not as easy as pita pizza. I couldn't find much to put on it; then I remembered the chopped zucchini in my freezer and the can of white beans in the pantry. Bingo.


Zucchini and White Bean Pizza with Whole Wheat Crust

Directions (ingredients in blue this time)

1. Prepare the crust according to your favorite recipe (I used this one from Andrea Meyers and it worked pretty well), or get out the store-bought crust or pita.
2. Move an oven rack to the lowest position. Preheat the oven to 500 F.
3. Spread tomato sauce (I used Prego onion & garlic this time) on the crust; add diced zucchini and white beans, some oregano and red pepper flakes, and shredded mozzarella.
   
4. Bake for 10-20 minutes - watch for the crust and cheese to start browning.

Note: My future father-in-law makes AWESOME pizza. I'll try to get a guest post from him sometime.

Garlic-Cheese Soda Bread

I've always liked soda bread (plus, I haven't worked with yeast yet and I'm sort of intimidated). Kevin at Closet Cooking posted this recipe back around St. Patrick's Day; I made a couple loaves then, and I've made it a few times since. It's good, and it's easy! Kevin makes his in a bread pan, but I've only made it on a baking sheet. Last weekend I decided to make it more interesting with garlic and cheese. Mmm. Great fresh and warm, or reheat it in the oven before serving.

This recipe, like the original recipe from Closet Cooking, makes one medium-size loaf.


Garlic-Cheese Soda Bread

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour (I use at least 1 cup whole wheat flour)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1/4 cup oatmeal
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for top
• 1 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 1 egg, beaten (optional - for egg wash)

Directions

1. Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl.
2. Mix in the buttermilk and form a dough. It should hold together, but not be too sticky to handle.
3. Shape the dough and place it on a baking sheet or in a loaf pan. Cut an X in the top with a sharp knife. Brush with egg to make a shinier crust (optional). Sprinkle extra cheese on top.
4. Bake in a preheated 375F oven for 40 minutes or so (the top should be golden brown).

*If you don't have buttermilk, add 1 tbsp white vinegar or lemon juice to 1 cup milk and let it sit for a few minutes. Probably works better with 2% or above.