Try Something New: Week Nine

Yesterday I looked up a recipe for hash browns.
 Don't laugh at me.
I know hash browns are easy peasy, no recipe required, breakfast style potatoes.

My mother taught me how to make hash browns a long time ago (relatively speaking).
My problem is that I never go about making hash browns purposefully. I wait too late to start making hash browns and then I rush, rush, rush. I don't take time to peel my potatoes. I don't take time to rinse off the starch. And, I don't take time dry the shredded potatoes. 

I think, "I like potato skins." And, "Potatoes cook just fine in so many other dishes with all their starch." And, "Why should I go through all that trouble?"

The resulting potatoes are kind of disappointing. They are never consistent from batch to batch. No fluffy goodness on the inside. Just crispy, burnt on the outsides, and slimmey, not all the way done potatoes on the inside. Yuck.

I decided to reset my hash brown cooking mindset by getting a recipe and following it. That would make me have to think about the method ahead of time. 
It worked! My hash browns were delicious! Crispy, buttery, crunch on the outside, and fluffy, soft, goodness on the inside. Yum!

 

Classic Hash Browns From All Recipes.com

2 russet potatoes, peeled

3 TBS. clarified butter

salt and black pepper to taste

1 pinch cayenne pepper 

1 pinch paprika

 

1. Shred potatoes into a large bowl filled with cold water. Stir until water is cloudy, drain, and cover potatoes again with fresh cold water. Stir again to dissolve excess starch. Drain potatoes well, pat dry with paper towels, and squeeze out any excess moisture.
2. Heat clarified butter in a large non-stick pan over medium heat. Sprinkle shredded potatoes into the hot butter and season with salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and paprika.
3. Cook potatoes until a brown crust forms on the bottom, about 5 minutes. Continue to cook and stir until potatoes are browned all over, about 5 more minutes. 

There is a video demonstration of this recipe which I watched and enjoyed. The chef give a tip for quick clarified butter that works great. You just microwave the butter until melted and only use the oily part to cook with, avoiding the foam on top and the milk particles on bottom.

Here is the video:

What Is Different Is Not The Same: 004

Matthew 6:13

 

 KJV

 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

NIV
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.'

ESV
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

NRSV
And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one.

Obviously, they are not the same. Which one is right? How do you know?

Try Something New: Week Eight

I was really looking forward to this weeks new recipe.
I found a recipe for pizza crust by pizza maestro Tony Gemignani.
I really don't know that much about the man, but my mother told me about his book, The Pizza Bible.

I was so excited to find a recipe for his master dough with standard measurements instead of metric weights. 

This recipe is kind of complicated, requiring a couple days of preparation. It requires a "poolish," a mixture of flour, water, and yeast which is a starter of sorts. It also calls for a kind of specialty ingredient, diastatic malt, which is a dough conditioner. 

I followed the recipe the best I could. I mixed everything by hand instead of using a stand mixer. I do not have a baking stone and had to skip the pizza peel, also. I did not preheat the oven at 500* F. for an hour because pizza is not worth that much fuel to me, (We have a gas oven.), plus it is 80* here without air conditioning. One other big change I made was using whole wheat flour. That was probably a bad choice considering how the crust turned out. :/

I was hoping that even though I did not follow the recipe exactly I would still be delighted with the results. I did the steps that I thought were a little frivolous, like using such and such amount of warm water and such and such amount of ice cold water, wisking for 30 seconds, rolling the dough out to 15 inches and then cutting off an inch all the way around, ect...

I am not a pizza connoisseur by any means. I don't know the difference between New York Style and Chicago Style pizza. I just know what I like and I really, really like the way pizza crusts like Papa John's are full of big air pockets and are so chewy, and fluffy, and flavorful. I have been wanting to make a pizza crust like that for years. I have tried a handful of recipes. I have enjoyed many, but none were quite like that perfect crust that I desired.

I was sorely, sorely disappointed. :(
I didn't even take a picture of my pathetic little crusts.
They were flat as pancakes.
Very dense.
Hard.

I am not chalking this up to a flawed recipe. This is definitely a case of not following the instructions.
Maybe I will try again someday.

I can say that even in it's pitiful state my crust was very tasty. It had a complex flavor with lots of depth. Almost like an aged cheese. I am sure using the poolish and having such a long proofing time allowed the flavors to develop very well.

That wraps up this weeks new recipe.
 I hope you all have a safe and enjoyable weekend! :)

Try Something New: Week Seven

This week we tried a recipe for Catalina Salad Dressing that has honey instead of sugar.

I found this recipe on Completely Nourished website. This was my first time visiting their site. I think I will enjoy exploring some of the things they have on their website in the future.

I thought this dressing needed to be a little sweeter. I added an extra tablespoon of honey. The finished product will take a little getting used to. It does not taste like a factory made Catalina Salad Dressing. The olive oil and the tomato paste are strong flavors and they can be distinguished  as you taste this dressing. 

I think I will probably make this salad dressing again. I may find some other recipes, though, and do some tweaking for next time.

Here is the recipe how I made it with the extra tablespoon of honey:

Catalina Dressing Without Sugar

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup raw apple cider vinegar
  3 TBSP raw honey
2 TBSP tomato paste
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp paprika
¼ tsp dry mustard
¼ tsp chili powder
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper

Whisk ingredients together in a bowl.
Use a funnel to transfer to a storage bottle.
Enjoy!
This recipe makes about 1 cup.

Denim Skirt Sewing Project

 The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the Lord thy God.

Deuteronomy 22:5

 

 I wear skirts/dresses all the time, but I am kind of picky about the ones I wear. I like the durability and versatility that denim skirts offer. 

A good denim skirt should be:

Long,
Quite Full,

and have
Deep Pockets.

  

I rarely find all of these qualities in a skirt. That is why I end up making my own a lot of the time.

I recently finished a denim skirt that I sewed for myself. Here are some pictures I took along the way.   

This is the wrong side of the fabric before I sewed the final seam.

This is the right side of the fabric.

I made pockets and belt loops.

I put a zipper closer in the back.

This button is just one that I used because I already had it. I may replace it when I have the chance. I almost always wear my shirts un-tucked, so, in any case the button won't be seen.

I top stitched all of the seems. 

This is the finished product! I am pleased with the results and will, hopefully, get plenty of use out of this skirt! 

Try Something New: Week Six

 This week we tried the Light and Fluffy Soaked Cornbread from Cultures for Health.

 This is a rather rich cornbread, using 3 eggs and 1/3 cup of honey. 

I could easily taste the honey, which I thought was nice, but I generally don't like cornbread that is this sweet.

I wouldn't describe this cornbread as, "Light and Fluffy," I thought it was on the dense side, but it was quite moist.

This cornbread uses 1/2 cornmeal 1/2 whole wheat flour, and does not have a very corn-y flavor.

I think this cornbread was okay, but not great. It was a little too rich and bread-like for my taste.

INGREDIENTS:

1½ cups cornmeal

1½ cups flour

2 cups buttermilk

2 Tbsp. lard or coconut oil

1 tsp. salt

½ tsp. baking soda

1 Tbsp. baking powder

3 eggs

⅓ cup honey

¼ cup melted butter

INSTRUCTIONS:

Combine the cornmeal, flour, and buttermilk in a bowl, mixing to moisten everything. Cover and leave in a warm place for 12-24 hours.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350°F. Place a 12-inch cast-iron skillet in the oven with 2 Tbsp. lard or coconut oil.

In a small bowl, mix salt, baking soda, and baking powder.

In another small bowl, whisk eggs and mix in honey and melted butter.

Pour wet ingredients into the soaked flour and fold in just a couple of times. Sprinkle the dry ingredients over and continue mixing until thoroughly combined.

Carefully remove the hot skillet from the oven, swirl the melted fat around to evenly distribute and cover the edges, then scrape the batter into the hot skillet.

Place skillet in oven and bake for 30-40 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

Cool at least 15 minutes before cutting and serving.

Sourdough Coffee Cake

This recipe is one I came up with last summer. I am sharing it now for the Sourdough Surprises challenge of the month.  
This is a really tasty coffee cake. I could not taste any of the sourdough flavor in the finished cake, but it still has the health benefits that sourdough offers.

Sourdough Coffee Cake

1/2 c. sourdough starter
1/2 c.+2 T. kefir or buttermilk 
1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. melted butter
1 egg
3/4 t. salt
3/4 t. baking soda

Strussel

1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. whole wheat flour
2 t. cinnamon
3 T. melted butter

 Mix starter, buttermilk and flour. Cover, and rest overnight. 
In the morning mix together the strussel ingredients in a bowl. 
To the flour/kefir mixture add the egg, butter, sugar, and salt. Beat until the batter starts to come together and resembles cake batter.
Sprinkle baking soda over the batter and stir briefly, but, well. 
Pour 1/2 of the batter into a greased 8x8 inch pan. Sprinkle 1/2 of the strussel over the top. Pour in the remaining batter and top with the remaining strussel. 
Bake at 350* F. for 40-45 minutes. 

Promoting A Giveaway At Precious Moments

I am excited to share with you all that,
Ashley from:

 is hosting a giveaway!

The prizes include this beautiful leather bound KJV Bible:

and these lovely note cards:

To enter the giveaway all that you have to do is visit her blog and leave a comment with your name, favorite Bible verse, and your choice of the Bible or cards.

Please visit Ashley's BLOG.

She is always posting encouraging scriptures, hymns, and quotes.
I would recommend checking out her posts on Creation Moments in the archives. HERE is one about how spiders are able to lure insects their webs.