Sunday, March 27, 2011

This Is What REAL Food Looks Like!

In the Washington Post this weekend there was an article about dyes in food, and how the average American doesn't know what real foods look like without dyes being added.  Real tomato juice is brown,  and nothing on earth is the color of your lime green or purple yogurt.  That is a great reason to make a home made dinner tonight! 

Since Lent started we have gone meatless on Friday, and also on Tuesday because that is the day that we designated to be "cereal night" and donate what we normally would have spent to our favorite Thai NGO.  The more meals that you go meatless the less you miss meat at the table at all (although my husband is telling me that when I am at a conference next weekend he and the kids will be eating all of their meals at The Burger Joint...I think he's kidding).

Our most delicious veg meal was Friday, I made the easiest homemade bread and we had some stuffed baked tomatoes (Pomodori al Riso) from the Apron and Sneakers blog that were gone in record time.  I got the recipe for the bread from Culinary Chronicles on Tastespotting and it's so easy and requires only 15 minutes of rising for a dense, easy to slice and very very good bread.  The only "hard" part is the eight minutes of kneading, but I'm a wimp about kneading.


Simple Bread
Slightly adapted from Marcia Passos Duffy
Ingredients:
5-6 Cups All Purpose Flour
2 Tablespoons Dry Yeast
2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
1 Teaspoon Fresh Thyme (optional)
1 Tablespoon Kosher Salt
Sea Salt (optional)
2 Cups Hot Water (120-130 degrees F.)
A cake pan of hot water
Mix 3 cups of the flour with the yeast, sugar, thyme and salt.  Pour in the hot water and beat 100 strokes (or 3 minutes with a mixer).
Stir in the remaining flour until the dough loses its stickiness.  Turn onto a floured surface. Knead for 8 minutes.
Place dough in a greased bowl and cover with a warm damp cloth.  Let rise for 15 minutes in a warm spot (away from drafts).
Punch down and divide the dough into two pieces.  Shape into round loaves and place on a greased baking sheet.  Cut an “X” one-half inch deep in each of the loaves with a wet sharp knife. Sprinkle the tops with sea salt.
Place baking sheet with loaves in the middle of a COLD oven.   Place a pan of hot water on the lowest shelf. Heat the oven to 400 degrees and bake 40-50 minutes until golden brown.

1 comment:

  1. Lorelei's class just learned the Hot Crossed Buns...song? poem?...and she's been asking me if I know how to make hot crossed buns. These look like they might fit the bill!

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