Posts Tagged: traditional food

Blueberry Pie, Jean’s Recipe

BonAppetit-Style Blueberry Pie w/Fresh Blueberries, Less Sugar

I recently brought this to a church picnic for the pie contest. It didn’t win first place, though it won a few fans, OK, so those fans were my good friends, who also try to limit their sugar intake. They figured the pie should’ve won first place, and that it was the fault of judging team’s composition that it didn’t win: four guys who love sugar were the judges. In other words, maybe you wouldn’t serve this to a very traditional group, that expects a pie to be a vehicle for a gooey, jam-like substance. BUT, for those of us who love eating more whole, natural foods, we can splurge on this and still feel great!

Chicken, Shake n’ Bake Style

Use leftover bread for bread crumb/parmesan/herb mix on this baked chicken

I’ll admit, I was trying to use up some of the extra bread from the many experimental artisan loaves I’ve been baking. I knew I had to pull this recipe out. Because of all that bread (which made perfect bread crumbs). And, well, because the recipe’s SO GOOD! I don’t think anyone’s felt put-upon at all, eating this savory, juicy, easy-to-make chicken.

Sourdough Bread, Artisan Style

Artisan Bread w/Sourdough Starter

Man does not live on bread alone, but we tried. (This bread was that good.) There was a learning curve to getting this artisan bread thing right, but… so worth it.

Sourdough Starter Maintenance & Use & Other Details

Stiff Starter: 1/4 c. starter, 1/3 c. water, 1/2 c. wheat/rye flour blend

So… yeast and flour, mixed together, makes a pretty “one-dimensional” flavored bread. But. A well-tended starter, added to some dough, left to bulk-ferment and then have a final rise in the fridge, takes simple flour and water and creates a sum far greater than the parts! Which is why I bother babying my starter. OK, and obsessing about it just a tad… I have a deep respect for this little starter- it does amazing things.

Dilly Casserole Bread, Healthy-Style

Dilly Casserole Bread, Updated Healthy Version

You can tell by the name that the original recipe came from the 60’s, right? One friend even asked, “what does “casserole bread” mean? Maybe that’s since most people don’t even make bread anymore? (Or casseroles, for that matter?!) Well, I had to optimize this recipe for my whole wheat sourdough starter, and… it worked. I didn’t use yeast, but I kept the baking soda, adding it to the second rising, which seemed to give the bread an extra “lift”.

Tres Leches Cake w/ Coconut

Tres Leches Cake with Coconut- no leftover syrup

My husband says a cake can use a fancy name, to distinguish it from any average cake. Of course, a good recipe helps too! There are a lot of recipes for this type of cake, but I wanted one that wouldn’t leave me with pools of leftover Tres-Leches liquid. Yes, we managed to gag down…

Chicken Paprikosh

Chicken Paprikosh with Veggies

This is one of the first recipes my son wanted after moving into his own place. I don’t think it’s that it’s the most amazing recipe ever, but that we had a lot of good memories of meals shared, enjoying this dish. Chowing down on a hearty helping of this after soccer practices… that kind of stuff!

Sourdough Whole Wheat Bread

Sourdough Bread w/whole grains

If I’m going to make homemade sourdough bread using freshly ground whole wheat flour, I definitely need a system. Otherwise, I won’t have time for this! Below is the streamlined recipe I’ve been using…