Squash and Onions

It has been a while.  This one has been busy.  As with many new blogs, my postings have waned.  Lets see if we can remedy that.  This weekend has potential as I will be attending the Magnolia State BBQ Cookoff in Columbus, MS.  To kick it off, here is one of my favorite recipes I learned from my peach selling days at the Griffins in West Alabama/East Mississippi.

 

Recipe
1 small to 1 large onion  (yellow or white work best but red would do in a pinch)
4-8 crooks of yellow squash
half a stick of butter (unsalted if you got it)
course black pepper and kosher salt to taste

Wash the squash.  Slice it into half inch or less slices.  I half the bigger parts to make them more manageable in the skillet.  Cut the onion in half after taking off the skin.  Cut the onion into slices about halves.  Cut those into halves.  Separate the onions so you have individual pieces of onion about 2-3 inches long.  Don't worry too much about the onions.  I prefer them this way but if you would rather just dice them feel free.  Put everything in a skillet with about an inch of water.  Once the butter has all melted, salt and pepper.  I eyeball it but basically a spoonful of both salt and pepper should do it..  If you used salted butter watch out on your salt.  Cook everything down until the water evaporates.  Enjoy!

Homemade Bread

Sorry it has been a while.  There has been much going on in this one's life. 


Bread day!  The first thing I do when I start making bread is pitch my yeast.  This simply means putting the yeast warm water to get it to wake up.  It also ensure you have active live yeast.  If the yeast has gone bad, you do not want to waste all your time and ingredients because of inactive yeast.  To do this take a soup spoon worth of yeast and put in half a cup of warm water.  Stir it up.  In 5-10 minutes, the water should be foamy and smell, well, yeasty.  If it doesnt, you need new yeast.










The basic bread making process involves adding flour, yeast, and water together.  You knead the resulting dough to develop the gluten.  You let it rise to allow the yeast eat the sugars in the flour and release CO2 making air bubbles that are trapped by the gluten proteins.  You may punch it down and let it do it again to develop better flavor.  Then you shape the loaf and bake it. Pretty easy right?  It is.

White bread flour is really good as a base for bread because it is light a airy. Because it is basically sugar (compared to whole grain four) the yeast can eat it really well.  I use about half white bread flour and half something else.

Note: Sourdough requires the use of starter not yeast.  Separate post for that later.

Start with wheat flour and move on to rye or barley or any other that sounds interesting. 

This loaf was rye, wheat, honey, and whole flaxseed.

Basic Recipe

Ingredients:

1.5 Coffee Cup or cup white bread flour
1.5 cup of some other flour(s) - you can use white if you like but it is better for you in taste and actually with others
1 Soup spoonfuls of yeast
1/4 Cup warm water
1 Cup warm milk
2 Soup spoonfuls of kosher salt
2 Soup spoonfuls of honey
2 Soup spoonfuls butter or olive oil

Pitch yeast.  When yeast has been pitched add white bread flour, salt, honey, sugar, warm milk, butter or oil, other flour(s) and mix in bowl with yeast.  Add flour to dough until it is of a consistency that is moist but dry enough for you to work with.  I knead it in the bowl so it is less messy.  Just keep punching it down and reshaping it for 10 minutes.  This is the hard part.  It takes time and effort.  It is the key to delicious bread.  You should notice that the dough changes.  It will become elastic and springy.  If it a'int, than you are needing more kneading.  Cover bowl with wet towel.  Let rise for an hour and a half.





It should have risen to at least double its original size.  If it has not than you need to put it in a warmer place until this has happened.  (The oven on lowest setting for 10 minutes can work sometimes, just keep checking it.)  Punch it down. 






Shape the loaf to the desired shape.  Score it. (Cut down the center or in whatever way you like.)  Let it rise for an hour.  Bake in oven at 350 for 40 minutes or so. A nice trick for the crust is to add some water in a pan at the bottom of the oven for the first 7 or so minutes to get some steam in the oven.  You can also cook the bread on a pizza stone for a nice bottom crust. Let the bread rest for 5 minutes before you cut it.  Enjoy!

My favorite website for bread making tips is located here.

Bread the Prequel

Bread is one of man's most ancient of domesticated food.  Nobody needs me to tell them that it has been a staple of civilization for as long as there as been a civilization.  Somehow though, many have us have lost touch with the simplicity and beauty of making and eating freshly made bread.  I must be the first to admit, I have struggled in learning how to make bread.  I will also be the first to say, that most people I know that make their own bread do it better than I do.  But, I make great bread nonetheless.  It is cheaper, healthier, tastier, and just all around better than anything I can buy at that grocery store.  I typically make a large loaf of bread on Sunday and it lasts all week.  My recent favorite is a Rye, Wheat, Honey, Flaxseed loaf that is a little sweet and packed with flavor.


So what is bread?  Bread, like many great foods, is the result of tiny lifeforms doing their thing.  In this case bread yeast consumes the sugar or carbohydrates in flour and additives.  As it does this, it creates tiny air pockets from its digestion.  These air pockets become the holes in your bread or space between pieces of bread.  If bread is properly leavened (or risen) then when it bakes those holes become the size to which you are accustomed.  Bread may be chemically leavened with baking powder or cream of tartar, etc.  Who wants that?  Not me. Bread flour is a specific type of flour.  It has a higher protein or gluten content than regular or all-purpose flour. There are other proteins in flour besides gluten but it is the most important one.  This is because it gives elasticity to the dough.  Basically this allows the air pockets formed to stay intact when the bread is baked.  You will hear a lot about developing the gluten.  What this means is that you are stretching out the protein and allowing gluten to bond with gliadin.  This makes more air pockets possible and makes a better "crumb".  Think texture when you hear this term. Here is some good reading on the subject.

2 issues that will be separate posts later.
1st - Whole grains versus white flour. - For now, suffice it to say that if you are not eating bread that is made from whole grains, you are essentially eating sugar.  Flour is made from seeds.  The part of the seed that is retained in white flour is the endosperm which is basically the sugar that feeds the young plant.  The bran and germ are removed because that will go rancid after 6 months.  In order for flour to be a commodity, it needs to never go rancid which white flour doesn't for years.  More later but for now, do yourself a favor and eat whole grain bread products.

2nd - The yeast that most people use comes from 2 general places.  The most common is regular active yeast.  This is made by industrial processes that result in a dried powder that is waiting dormant to be activated by water.  It is what I use most of time because I am in a bit more hurry than I would prefer.  The other is what is referred to as "starter" This is basically yeast that is present in the air your are breathing.  You get this by letting water with a starch mixed in sit out and collect microorganisms from the air.  You keep pouring out half of it and adding water until the yeast as won out over the other organisms, which it will because it is better at eating and reproducing in starch water at room temperature.  The bread made from this is what you know as sourdough.

Green Beans and Tomatoes

I have pretty much already covered this in my vegetables made easy post but want to remind everyone how easy it is to make excellent vegetable side dishes.  It goes like this.  Take your green beans and cut of the ends.  I bunch them up and cut about 10 at a time so it doesn't take forever.  Wash the beans.  Put them in a skillet.  Cut up tomatoes.  I used grape tomatoes here because I had some about to go bad.  You could just as well use diced or cubed tomatoes or even some out of the can.  Put the tomatoes in the skillet.  Add about a 1/2 inch of water the skillet.  Add about half a cup of olive oil to the water.  Season with kosher slat and course pepper.  Cover and turn on high.  When the water is boiling remove the top and let the water reduce out until the vegetables are at the desired texture.

Baked Fish

I love fish.  I used to be really bad at cooking it though unless it was deep fried.  I have recently conquered my issues with healthier cooked fish.  This is important because I love to fish.  if you also love to fish or know someone that does, you can really save some money on your protein budget.  Be careful though.  Know where your fish comes from if it s wild.  Here is the link to the current fish consumption advisory in Alabama.  If you want to get angry about pollution read this document.  One thing to keep in mind is that most pollutants are stored in the fat of the fish.  If you are concerned about the fat being polluted, cut it off.  Also, you should broil with a drip pan or grill the fish as it allows the fat to drip off.  Cooking alone will not remove them.

Enough with that.  On to the fish!  These were farm raised tilapia so I am not concerned about pollutants.  If your fish are frozen a trick i learned from restaurant work is to put them in a bowl in the sink.  Fill with cold water.  turn the faucet on cold on the lowest setting you can get it just above drip.  Warm water will "cook" the fish so use cold to get it defrosted.

Baked Fish
Half a stick of unsalted butter
fish filets - 2-8
half a coffee mug of olive oil
a thimble full of garlic powder, onion powder,  and kosher salt each
1 small spoon of paprika and course pepper each
a small spoonful of an herb (basil, rosemary, oregano(my preferred) etc)


First, make the sauce.  To do this put everything but the fish in a small sauce pan.  Turn the heat to medium until the butter melts.  Whisk it good.  (Note - if you don't have a whisk use a spoon)

Line a metal dish with aluminum foil.  This will make it easier to clean.  Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Put half the sauce on the bottom of the pan.  Put the filets in the pan.  Pour the rest of the sauce on top.  cover with aluminum foil.  Bake for 10 mintues or until the fish flakes off with a fork.  Take off the top layer of aluminum foil.  Turn the oven on high broil.  Broil for 1 minute to brown the top.  I use a soft spatula to pick them up so they don't fall apart. Enjoy!

Early Spring Garden

Now is the time to get that spring garden in.  My compost from last year is lovely.  It is moist, rich, and looking like dirt.  This time we planted 3 lettuce varieties, cauliflower, cabbage, spinach, onions, beets, and breakfast radishes.  If you live in Alabama and are wondering what you should plant - here is the gardening guide put out by the extension service.  Although, in my experience up to now I feel like you can make some adjustments.  Global warming is happening and gowning seasons are extended.  I had my last fresh squash of the year in late December!  My broccoli never succumbed to the frost and snow.  Also, if you are worried about too much shade in your summer garden, remember that it is going to be super hot.  Hotter than it has ever been.  That shade may be difference between an okay garden and a dead one.  The more sun typically the better but water is the key factor in that statement.  One trick a friend of mines dad uses involves PVC pipe.  He takes one end and drills holes in it.  He then buries it about 1-2 feet next to where he is going to put in his tomatoes.  Then he just waters the pipe.  This means more water retained longer at the root structure. When it is really hot, it is hard to keep that top layer of soil wet long enough to get the plant properly watered. 

Shrimp Etouffee - Mardi Gras Season!

So it is Mardi Gras time again.  This means creole and cajun cooking in the kitchen.  Last week a few friends and I had a creole cook off of sorts.  I made a shrimp etouffee.  I pretty much followed exactly the recipe from this amazing blog I want to share with all of you - Nola Cuisine.  I would recommend using his rice recipe.  It is how I will be cooking rice henceforth.  Here are some pics of my preparation of his recipe.  I didn't get any pics of the final dish as there hungry mouths waiting for me to finish.  Trust me this recipe is excellent.

Tuscaloosa Food Summit

I am trying to organize a food summit for the fall here in Tuscaloosa.  If you are interested in reading about this have a look.  An informational and forming meeting is taking place at Grace Aberdean - Habitat Alchemy at 2124 9th Street in Tuscaloosa tonight at 6:30.  Here are my remarks for tonight. (if you come you will get to hear me read a version of this - bonus!)  We will have a meeting on campus in a few weeks depending on how this one goes tonight.

The decision what to eat can be one of the most private and personal of human experiences.  At the same time, almost no one eats food that they are solely responsible for making, growing, finding, or cooking.  Personally, I recall being a child and eating meal after meal of highly processed food.  Our food came from a freezer in Sam’s club.  At the same time, I can also remember going to visit my grandfather’s house and picking most of what we ate out of his garden.   So what happened in a few generations? 100 years ago, almost everyone in this country was responsible for making a substantial part of their food.  With the industrialization and commoditization of our food chain, we have allowed business and government policymakers to take control of what we eat, how we eat, and where we eat it.  Many of us feel that some incorrect decisions were made along the way and substantial change must occur. Some statistics that I find interesting along these lines:

According to the CDC, 1 out of every 4 children born in the year 2000 or later will get diabetes in their lifetime.  For African- Americans and Asians born after 2000, specifically, that number jumps to 1 in 2.

For the first time in over 50 years we have seen a decline in the life expectancy though the CDC says that is not a trending occurrence.

1 in 8 Americans rely on Food banks or similar assistance for their groceries or food.  Of those 40% have full time jobs.

Over 1/3 of all Americans are obese.  Over 2/3 of all Americans are either overweight or obese.  2 out 3.

That obesity rate is even higher in lower income citizens.

In Birmingham, a person living in Ensley without a car has to take 2 buses and spend more than 3 hours round  trip to buy what most would call even decent food.

If you go to the cancer.org website and read about nutrition, you will see that about 70% of the space in your grocery store is out.

We subsidize the production of a few crops building mountains of corn that ends up in most of that 70% of the grocery store space. 

3 companies – Monsanto, Dupont, and Syngenta own over 47% of the world seed patents.  They own even seeds they had no part in creating.  If your field that is next to one planted with their seed gets contaminated, you pay the price.

We talk about making cheap food available for all but ignore the externalities that abound from this food in terms of much higher health costs, social and environmental costs, and a reduction in our general quality of life.

On the other hand, the prevalence of farmer’s markets has made them almost ubiquitous in most communities at least one day of the week.  Even the white house has a garden.  We have seen even Wal-mart get into organics and move to offer more locally produced food.   There is certainly a lot to be excited about.

 

This is an event for the community.  I think the food summit model of a one-day conference with a day of classes and tours is the right style.  But that should be discussed.  One person cannot make something like this happen.  There are many, many things that need to be addressed. If you would like to help, let me know.

Email mdlawrence@crimson.ua.edu
Phone: 205-936-6120 


Here is an itenerary that of what I woul like to see happen.

Breakout Session and Panelist Topics

Ø   - The Health Benefits of Eating Organically Produced Food

Ø   - The Complete Cost of Food (a discussion of the economics, social implications, health consequences, and environmental impact of eating from the modern food supply system)

Ø  - Monocultures and the concerns over the reduction of biodiversity

Ø  - Community Gardens and Urban Agriculture

Ø   - Seed banks, Genetically Modified Food, and the Patenting of Seeds

Ø  - Food Banks, Food Security, and Food Deserts

Ø  - University of Alabama Dining, Campus Farm?, Campus Composting?

Ø  - CSA’s and their role in sustainable agriculture

Ø  - The Slow Food movement

Ø  - The Role of Faith Based Initiatives in Sustainable Food

Ø  - The Future of Urban Farming – Vertical Farming, (http://www.verticalfarm.com/) The Hantz Farm of Detroit (http://www.hantzfarmsdetroit.com/introduction.html) Jones Valley Urban Farm

Ø  - How can business be part of the solution?  - A sustainable food supply chain, The Stonyfield Story, Net Impact (http://www.netimpact.org/)

Ø  - The Grocery Gap – The work of Social Compact (http://www.socialcompact.org/)

Tours/Events

Ø  Snows Bend Farm

Ø  The Druid City Garden

Ø  The garden at Canterbury Episcopal Church

Ø  Any others that would like to host

Ø  Taste $2.78 – an invitation to Tuscaloosa’s chefs to prepare their best, healthy meals for the cost of a school lunch

Ø  Classes

Ø  Canning/Cooking raw vegetables

Ø  Bread Making

Ø  Home yogurt and cheese making

Ø  How to start an organic garden

Ø  Composting

Oven Beef Roast

 

 While the deathly crush of winter continues, I must make with the protein posts.  I am looking forward to an excellent spring and summer.  But for now, it’s all about roots, meats, and dairy.

Roasts are one of my favorite things to make especially when it is cold outside.  They are easy, taste great, make your house smell awesome, and leave plenty of leftovers.  I actually do not own a crok pot currently so I just use my oven but you can do this in a crok pot on low for 7 hours instead if you want.

This basic recipe is for beef but can also work with a few changes for a pork roast (Boston butt, etc).  If you are doing a pork roast that is fatty, you can leave out the broth and veggies and just salt and pepper it fat side up.  It is fine to do it with chicken broth if you want the veggies but it will work without it too. If it is lean pork use chicken broth and add Thyme and/or Sage as well if you like.

Ingredients

1 roast

Potatoes – At least enough to fill up a cereal bowl

Carrots – as many as you like (the ones pictured came out of my garden in  January!)

Onions – at least one but up to two medium onions (white is best but use what you got)

Beef or vegetarian broth (note, if you can freeze and reuse the broth. It will be even better the next time) – I make mine up from dried granules per instructions.  When I get into buying large cuts of meat I will probably start making it but not there yet

Kosher Salt

Pepper

Rosemary (optional)

 

Take roast.  Cover it in salt and pepper.  Cut up potatoes into cubish wedges.  Peel the carrots and cut into whatever size you like.  If the carrots are smaller I tend to just wash them as the skin doesn’t bother me really.  Dice onions.  Put the roast in a pan that can hold up to 2 inches of broth when filled.  Evenly distribute the onions, potatoes, and carrots.  Pour in the broth.  Cover very tightly with aluminum foil a few times to ensure a tight seal.  Heat on 200 degrees for at least 5 hour and no longer than 7 or 8.  I prep this and put it in the oven at lunch on a day when I am coming home for lunch.  It is then ready for dinner when I get back.  Enjoy!

Labneh - our first cheese

Labneh is a cheese made from yogurt. Check out the wiki link for more info. I make this every time I make yogurt.  I cook with it and use in place of Boursin or Cream Cheese as a spreadable cheese. 

So it is time to make that first cheese!

This is so simple and delicious.  I keep saying that but it's true.  I get very busy and in order to be able to eat the way I want to on budget, I have learned to mostly eat food that is simple to prepare.  This is very versatile as well.  You can add whatever flavorings you like.  My favorites are honey/almond, garlic/chive, and lemon/basil.

Whatever you come up with, get it cooked if it is like garlic chive in a little olive oil until it is brown.   I recommend using a food processor to get everything small or you can hand chop it.  An easy trick on crushing nuts is to put them on a counter.  Take a cutting board.  Out that on top of them and smash them up!  The goal is for this to be an oil or the size of dried spices.

Ingredients

1 Mason Jar (or tub) of Yogurt

1 large spoonful of salt (use that kosher if you got it)

Flavorings of your desire

Equipment

Colander – or big strainer

Mixing bowl of some sort

Cloth *

String

 

Pour yogurt and salt and flavorings into bowl.  Stir.  Line a colander with cloth.  Pour mixture into cloth.  Bring four corner of cloth together.  Tie string around the cloth.  Hang it up somewhere to drip.  Put bowl under it.  10 hours later, you got cheese!!

*I have a white cloth that I use only for cheesemaking.  It is not cheesecloth as that is actually too porous.  It is just a large white cloth that is pretty thick.  Keep it clean though.  Hand wash this in bleach water when you are done and air dry after a good rinse.