Hopped Up Sandwich Bread

Ingredients:
- 6 1/2 cups flour
- 1 1/2 tbsp yeast
- 1 1/2 tbsp salt
- 1 Konig's Pilsner plus water to equal 3 liquid cups

I started experimenting with a Pullman loaf pan when my nieces and nephews were here and wanted sandwich bread.  What I noticed about the request was that it didn't have to be uber soft, like typical American white bread, it just had to be square, for making sammies.

So, I complied with this request. We started making mayo and our version of Miracle Whip, when they needed that and this fascinated them to no end. So much so that every time they come, it is one of the first things we do together. Or they do and I watch. I want them to be self sufficient cooks when they are older and not just be able to cook, but be able to think they can replicate anything they really love. It's all about the palate and what I find with kids is that they love to try when THEY can make things. Veggies aren't that gross when kids make them for themselves. Nothing is weird, nothing is yucky. In fact, cooking with children is the fastest way to get kids to expand their minds and their palates.

This pullman loaf pan sorta scared me at first. I mean, why should I have to enclose the bread? Will it come out? But, the truth is this method of cooking bread couldn't be any easier and the top helps to make the bread perfectly square. My niece, who just graduated from high school, is about to venture into the world as a young adult and she, definitely, needed to know how to make bread. She has a tight budget to watch as she prepares to pay for college, so she'll need all the budget saving tips you can get and nothing can stretch a dollar like knowing how to cook and feed yourself. You can get a 25 lb bag of flour from Costco for about $6 and at least 25 loaves of bread.  At max, you could get around 7 loaves at the grocery store.

Prep:
Mix all ingredients until incorporated and then put the dough in a covered container to rise. I use a rising container that holds 4 qts. This batch of dough fills it by half. So in an hour or two, it is usually doubled in size and should be punched down then put in the fridge or freezer until ready to use. I keep it in the same rising container and once a week, I start a new batch.

Method:
For the method itself, I simply take my refrigerated dough from the fridge when I'm ready and put the whole batch in the Pullman loaf pan. I slide the top on nearly all the way but leave a little room to peep at it so I know when it is nearly to the top. In the summer, set a timer of max 2 hrs, because this bread tends to rise faster of course because of the warm temperatures but also because of the extra activity of the yeast in the beer. It will poop out the sides even if the top is thoroughly on and that is how you get Cheeza. But that is another story for another time. 

Bake:
Preheat your oven to 450 degrees and bake for 45 minutes. Slide the top off and use a slim butter knife just to loosen the edges of the bread from the pan and it will pop right out. You really should try to get the bread out of the pan while it's warm if you can or the bread bottom and sides will get a tad soggy as it cools off. Not to worry. If you have no choice but to leave it like that, just leave the bread to sit out for an hour or so once it is out of the pan and it will dry right up.  I cut the bread in half, put it in a bread box and that will last us all week or more. If I need to store it, I just wrap it well in wax paper and plastic wrap and freeze it.

The Humble Pinto - Ham Hocks and Pintos

Hubby made an awesome meal tonight. He's made this dish before and what I remember from the last time he made it was just how succulent the ham hocks were. I forgot the pinto, although it's hard to imagine how.  This under-estimated, under-valued supporting actress, if ever there was one, clearly shines and deserves an Oscar for her "role" in this dish.

We Northern folk forget about the pinto. Yet, it's one of the cheapest ways to stretch a budget you can imagine.  Southerners have been doing it for years.  So, it's little wonder really that my heart sorta skipped a beat when hubby made it for me tonight. I was totally in the mood for some home-cooking, some soul soothing, comfort food. Pintos are as Southern as Grits. Maybe more so. For me, it was familiar like the smells of Mamaw's kitchen; comfort food at its finest.

Let's take a look at how he put it all together:

• 2 cups of beans
• 1 teaspoon of garlic powder or 2 garlic cloves
• 2 large smoked ham hocks
• 3 quarts of water, bring to a boil, turn down to medium heat.
• 1 fresh bay leaf
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 can of American beer
   (something in the Miller/Bud category)

Simmer beans, water, garlic and ham hocks for 2 1/2 hours in a large, enameled pot over medium to low heat.  Bring to a boil, cover, then turn down the heat to medium low so that it simmers gently, but doesn't boil over.  You shouldn't need to, but add more water during cooking, if beans absorb all of the water before the cooking time is up. If that happens, definitely turn down the heat a notch as you want to keep a good deal of this bean "liquor", which gives them such a creamy taste.

Salt! (He had an exclamation in there, I swear!) We had a discussion about salt and Hubby was adamant enough on this point that I just accepted it, although every instinct felt like this might be a mistake.  I was totally wrong and glad I kept my mouth shut.  The seasoning was absolutely perfect when dinner was served.  He continues to exclaim: Salt comes later! Never add salt to beans until they are completely cooked!  This will make your beans tough! (Who knew? but these beans were so perfect, it HAS to be true! I mean, there is salt in the hockies, after all, right?)

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F ( 220 degrees C). Place the cooked beans and hocks, uncovered, directly into the oven to bake further for 20 minutes. Take out of the oven and NOW, the salting can begin.

Salt: Tonight, he added 1 teaspoon of salt per cup of beans (2 tsp total) to a can of beer and then, he poured this salty beer concoction over the ham hocks and then baked it for another half hour, which creates the crunchy, caramelized, perfectly seasoned crust for the ham hocks. The texture of the hocks is just unbeatable. The ham hocks were fall off the bone tender, yet chewy and deeply satisfying.

But just you wait until you get to the scene about the Pintos...  A perfect pinto bean is well, tricky. I have had the traditional Mexican pinto which resembles nothing of the sad, pasty Taco Bell or even El Paso canned pinto bean you may have tried before.  The beans were creamy yet firm in texture and had fantastic flavor.  No bland, pasty bean up in this joint!  This, I assure you, will be a "Whoa, Nelly!" moment.

When you realize just how easy it is to make a good Pinto recipe, it may stop you dead in your tracks and you may never go back to a pinto that lacks texture, succulence and downright goodness again. Let's face it, the ham hocks always lend flavor to the party so its hard to go wrong with this one. However, if you have time some weekend or weeknight for this Slow Cooking recipe, you won't be disappointed.

A Heart-y Early Spring Soup

 So, it's been awhile. An UrbanGirl gets busy sometimes and gets forgetful of passwords and well, worse things have happened... I tell myself: "Tomorrow is another day, Scarlet."

Today, my hubby helped me recover and claim my long-lost and honestly, missed, blog about our kitchen adventures.  Obviously, in 2005, I was all about Thai and I still am, but today, it's all about a soup that can be made from the bounty of my early spring garden.  A heart-y soup to soothe the soul. The one that's desperately awaiting for Spring to really and honestly begin.

Here we go:

• About 2 quarts of homemade chicken stock
• 2 lbs of kosher chicken drumsticks/legs, seasoned with salt/pepper
• 1 large onion, coarsely chopped
• 4-5 medium tomatoes, chopped
• About 2 quarts of white wine
• 1 fresh bay leave
• 2 lbs of greens

This is one-pot-stop cooking. One pot. Everything in the pool. So easy a cave-chef can do it. I know, it's complicated. Just throw everything in and simmer for about 2 hours over medium-low heat.  But if you want the nitty gritty details, I added the stock first, the drumsticks, onion, tomatoes and covered with wine. Once the stock had simmered, I threw in the greens.

A word about Greens:
I am lucky enough to have greens growing year round in the greenhouse. No need to covet the idea. You can do it too; even on a windowsill. You can't know what you can grow until you try and "greens" of unimaginable varieties will do the trick in this recipe.

Until then, though, think about what you do have in your crisper or taking up space in the freezer.  Do you have beets with the tops on? frozen collard greens? A half-eaten head of cabbage? A handful of brussel sprouts? wilting scallions? Radicchio?  I usually buy vegetables with "greens on" or basically, still with their green tops or leaves in tact. This way, I can usually make use of the entire vegetable without throwing half of what I just paid for in the composter or down the disposal. What a waste! Use it! Get creative. If you like to eat it, chances are good that the greens will please you just as much.  If not, substitute spinach or cabbage for the 2 cups of "greens" and you're loving life.

Tofu Pockets - Instant Appe-Thai-sers

Pocket-schmocket. These little deep fried tofu pockets, which are not really pockets at all but more like fluffy tofu sponges, are an ideal way to conceal a myriad of surprise packages, just waiting to be discovered. These inocuous little gems were an accident brought home by an adventurous spirit who thought they were already put together, ready to go, just heat and eat. Well, they're almost that quick and easy but not quite ready for Prime Time, empty as they are, vulnerable, right out of the package.

For our first experience with these little morsels, I carefully made an incision and stuffed them with a frozen Thai Meatball. Oooh, shocker, I know. Fact is, it was what I had handy and trying to think quick on my feet, I did what any partner would do for another who is clearly a little dismayed that his "Surprise, look what I got!" didn't quite have the impact he had hoped... I improvised. Ok, I read the package and it said, "Cut small opening and stuff with chicken, pork or fish." Not quick enough for that particular save-the-day moment, I used what was at my immediate disposal instead, the meatball. Mused and amused by my own genius, I proceed.

1 package prepared deep fried Tofu Pockets
filling of your choice

1. Stuff and seal. My package had instructions as I mentioned above. If your package is in Thai and you're having a hard time translating, just cut a small slit into the side of each tofu pocket. Gently spoon or stuff your ingredients into the small opening and secure with a toothepick if necessary.
2. Heat or reheat. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place stuffed tofu pockets on a cookie sheet and bake in the oven for 15 minutes. You can let the tofu pockets warm up with the oven, that's just fine. No need to preheat.
3. Serve. Serve tofu pockets with a favorite dipping sauce such as sweet and sour or fish sauce or pad prik.
   

A true delight for the meat-ball-aholic (really, say it one more time), this recipe or clever use of ingredients is not only fast, but is kinda fun because of the endless possibilities. We came up with more than just a few ideas as we devoured eight of them for lunch one day. They crisp up in the oven and are really quite tasty, especially served with a favorite dipping sauce. We made a quick sweet and sour, but you could use anything your heart desires. Even ketchup, if you grew up in Minnesota.

Remember, leftovers can be so incredibly handy and can spawn quite a few creative new dishes, if you're not afraid to experiment. Some filling ideas to consider:

• Cream cheese, chives and garlic such as you might use with wontons to make fried cream cheese puffs
• Thai Meatballs, of course
• Cold curried chicken (leftovers from the night before, maybe?)
• Any leftover cold noodles
• Leftover Laab Gai salad
• Even leftover mashed potatoes (maybe not authentic, we'll call this fusion...)