Pizza and Soup

I used the Peasant Loaf base to make pizza. Since the dough had been in the fridge for several days, it was taking on a sourdough quality. It lent a strange flavor to the pizza, I thought. Josh liked it more than I did. It was definitely a tasty crust - really fluffy and chewy, yet light. Josh never eats his crusts from take-out pizzas but he said that this was a crust that deserved to be eaten. That's a good thing. I topped it with some mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, and homemade pesto. Pesto really deteriorates after a couple of days in the fridge. And the verdure is gone in a matter of minutes. I have heard that you can blanch the basil and that keeps the green color, but I have yet to try this out. Who wants to get out a pot, wait for it to boil, uhhhhh. Too many steps.

I am loving this bread book. I am about to try a baguette! If you have ever made one the traditional way, as I have, it's tough. In fact, I didn't even finish my loaf because I messed up the first proofing step. I consider myself a baguette connoisseur. Well, that's too strong. Maybe I am a demi-connoisseur... or a pseudo-connoisseur. Anyway, I have strong opinions about my bread, and I really hope I can make this work.

This soup looks weird and sounds weirder, but is so good! You simply must make it! Chilled Watercress Soup with hard-boiled egg. No way, you're thinking. Not for me. Oh, yes it is.

Watercress Soup:

2T unsalted butter

3 medium leeks, white and light greens parts, washed and sliced

1 medium potato (Russet, or other non-waxy potato, about 8 oz.), peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice

3 cups chicken broth (or more)

2 bunches watercress leaves and some stems are fine too

1 generous cup baby spinach

salt and pepper to taste

fresh lemon juice

hard-boiled eggs

Melt the butter in a medium pot over medium heat. Add the potato and leeks and sweat until softened, about 5 minutes. Add broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook until veggies are tender, 10-12 minutes. Add greens and stir to wilt, about 1 minute. Puree in a blender, or a food processor, or with a stick blender, or however you can. Add salt and pepper and lemon juice, to taste. We ate the soup warm with egg, but it is "supposed" to be chilled. Do as you wish, but, for goodness's sake, do!

Lazy Saturday

As my re-introduction to the kitchen (and blogging) after our vacation to Decatur, Ill., I decided to make bread. My friend Richie recommended this bread book that he swears by. Now, I already have a baking book and a couple of cookbooks that have breads in them, but this book is revolutionary! The authors' idea was to have homemade bread daily without working on it for hours. In fact, it's called "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day." Of course, that doesn't include rise and baking time, but you don't have to knead (!) and the way that it takes mere minutes to throw together is because you make a huge batch and refrigerate it! You can pull four loaves from that base over the course of two weeks. You need to invest time on day 1 to make the dough, but there is no blooming or kneading or anything. It's fabulous. Really, anything that Richie recommends is guaranteed to be fabulous. The guy is a Renaissance man. He lives in a yurt! That he built!

I opted to start with the European Peasant Loaf. It's chewy and light and lovely. You use steam for this particular loaf, so you have to put a pan in there, like I have done before. No big deal. So, without really thinking it through, I grab what it closest: a Pyrex. I see if it will fit in the tight space between the racks and, hey, leave it in there while the oven heats to 450. I then pull it out to pour in the boiling water because ... I am the dumbest girl on the planet! Please note that boiling water is 212 and the oven was 450. What happens when there is a 200 degree difference between glass and water?

It explodes.

Well, it pops and then falls all over the place. I managed to only let out a little scream of shock. It was a good thing I took the Pyrex out of the oven to fill. Normally, I would have slid it out of the oven just a bit to pour in the water. That would have meant glass in the oven and all over the floor. As it turned out, I had it on the range. Thank goodness my burners are sealed. But, man, those shards went everywhere.

I had freshly made banana bread sitting next to the range, too. I picked off a couple shards, but refused to throw it away because it was really good banana bread! I made the right decision because neither Josh nor I have a torn esophagus.

Veggies

My parents came to visit and I made a couple veggie dishes that were quite good, if I do say so myself. One was sauteed bok choy. We all know that this vegetable can be bitter, but if you sear it over high heat and use the right sauce - given that you have chosen young enough specimens - you get something great. I managed to make this dish great. It makes me extra happy when that happens for guests. I just hate it when I mess something up when people are coming over. I want to ensure everyone that I am better than that, really.

Bok Choy: 1lb. baby bok choy, cut into quarters; 2 T chicken broth, 1T oyster sauce, 1.5 tsp. soy sauce, 1.5 tsp. cornstarch, 1/2 tsp. sugar, 3T veg oil, 2 ginger slices (optional), 1 clove crushed garlic. Procedure: Combine broth, oyster sauce, soy sauce, cornstarch, and sugar. Heat a wok or large skillet over high heat until definitely hot. If using ginger, add half of the oil and ginger, and fry for 10 seconds until fragrant. Add the rest of the oil, bok choy and garlic. Let the bok choy sear before stirring for 2-3 minutes total until leaves are limp but still green. Add sauce and let thicken for 1-2 minutes. Note: you can double the sauce, but only use 2 tsp. cornstarch.

The other dish was out of Bon Appetit. There was a glut of greatness in the last issue. The current one looks promising too. This is green beans and zucchini in a sauce verte. I don't normally like zucchini, but if you caramelize and cover it in a nice sauce, what's not to like?

Sauce verte: 1/3 cup basil leaves, 1 green onion, 1T parsley, 2 T capers, 1T lemon juice, 2tsp. Dijon, 1 garlic clove, 3T e.v. olive oil. Puree the first 7 ingredients, adding the oil slowly.

Vegetables: 1T olive oil, 1lb. green beans, trimmed; 12 oz. zucchini, in strips; 3 T water (optional - see below), 2 T parsley. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add veggies and stir until coated in oil. Sprinkle salt and water over and cover. Cook about 4 minutes, until crisp-tender. Uncover and cook through to tender, about 2 minutes more. Alternately, you can omit the water and simply saute the veggies until seared and tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in sauce, season to taste, and garnish with parsley.

Two Haiku

Pasta eggs - couscous

Flying fish eggs - tobiko

Both stick to tables

Couscous sticks to hands

Tobiko to the table

Finding both in hair