trix and stuff

Sourdough Baguettes

2011-05-20T14:05:00.000-07:00

French Baguettes. The ingredients: Sourdough starter refreshed with water and unbleached white King
Arthur Flour. Then I used King Arthur Unbleached white bread flour, water, about and 1/8 to 1/4 cup of freshly ground rye flour, a tsp
to a tbsp of barley malt flour, celtic or 'real' sea salt. Before putting it in the oven I dusted the loaves with rice flour then made slashes
with a serrated tomato knife with the blade nearly flat as I made 3 slashes. I placed a low pan of water on the oven rack lower than the
bread baking rack. I proofed & baked the loaves on 'goldtouch' perforated (double) french bread pan and placed that on a cookie
sheet pan. I preheated the oven to 505 degrees for the first 12-15 mins then lowered it to 425 for the rest of the baking time of 30
min. or so. I sprayed the loaves with water before closing the oven door at the start of baking. The bread was baked 24 hours.
after removing the starter from the fridge and refreshing.

Lamb Rogan Josh

2010-03-28T13:27:00.000-07:00

Lamb Rogan Josh:

Lamb Rogan Josh is a wonderfully flavorful dish. It has such a depth of flavor with so many spices. I served this with saffron and turmeric basmati rice.

1 to 2 pounds Lamb shoulder cut into 1 to ½ “ cubes, salt the meat. Buy some lamb that has some bones (usually a couple of marrow bones and a little strip of rib type bones). From the bones, make a broth for the 1 cup of liquid used in the recipe from the bones. (optional)
½ cup plain whole milk yogurt, I use Fage Greek
4 green cardamom pods
1 small cinnamon stick
1 black cardamom pod
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
4 cloves
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon red chili pepper (paste or powder)
2 teaspoons garam masala
pinch of asafetida powder
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 large onion, or 6 shallots, chopped
1 (2-inch) piece of ginger root
2 t garam masala
1/4 cup ghee
1 cup water (I use lamb broth)
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
up to 1/2 cup more of yogurt
Cilantro springs for garnish
Slivered almonds (optional)
(some recipes call for tomatoes or paste –optional)
Salt to taste (I use celtic sea salt or Real Salt)
Directions:
In a bowl or zippered plastic bag, toss lamb with yogurt. In a blender or spice grinder, pulverize whole cardamom and cinnamon. Add to lamb mixture with paprika, turmeric, coriander, cumin and cayenne. Can cover and refrigerate a couple of hours or overnight.

In a food processor, combine garam masala, garlic, onions and ginger; purée until smooth.

Using a pressure cooker if you want to considerably decrease the time: In a pressure cooker, heat oil over medium heat. Stir in lamb and marinade. Stir in water.

Lock the lid in place and bring cooker up to full pressure over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, just to maintain even pressure, and cook for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and release pressure quickly. The lamb should be fork tender. If not, return to full pressure and cook for another 5 minutes. Release pressure quickly.

Remove lid and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer curry until nicely thickened. Stir in cilantro just before serving. Garnish with cilantro sprigs and slivered almonds(optional).
Serve with basmati rice. Optional: Rice can made with several golden raisins, saffron, turmeric, 1 bay leaf.

Sourdough Bread

2010-03-22T07:08:00.001-07:00

I make sourdough rye and wheat breads. I grind the whole grains fresh with my Champion Juicer with a grain mill attachment.

We don't eat lots and lots of bread. Maybe a slice or two a day. I leave a half of a loaf out, then slice and freeze the rest.

One tip I got from a French baker: when making slits in the bread dough before baking: use a sharp serrated tomato knife and make the slits with the knife laying flat/on it's side, as you make the cut about an inch deep.

Organ meats

2010-03-22T06:55:00.000-07:00

For those of you who were not raised on them we can add ground organ meats to your ground beef in recipes. You'll add nutritional value and you and your kids won't even know it is in there. Examples: add to a Bolognese sauce, chili, shepherd's pie, and meat loaf. I've recently been using hearts and liver in this way.

Beef Short Ribs

2010-03-02T13:43:00.000-08:00

This was Short Ribs, with Yukon Gold mashed potatoes, and broccoli.

6 Beef Short Ribs:
salt and peppered
3 T Ghee
1 onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
6 cloves of garlic
4 sprigs thyme
1 or 2 bay leaves
2 T balsamic vinegar
2 cups red wine (or so)
4 cups beef broth (or so)*
4 sprigs flat parsley
3 or 4 dried prunes, finely chopped/processed (optional)

I pressured cooked this then transferred it to a Le Creuset pot to finish reducing. For this, I actually used some white wine, port, and a little cognac because I didn't have any red wine I felt like opening. I removed the vegetables pressing them and all the liquid into a sieve before reduction.
* I used homemade beef bone broth...nicely gelatinous.

Pressure cooked potatoes were mashed plenty of raw butter, raw cream, and celtic sea salt and pepper to taste.

This was really yummy.