Cheese Makes the Sandwich

A very quick dinner:

ciabatta bread

spinach

sliced tomato

parrano cheese

The latter of which we found as a special at Hannaford, and is described as:

"The unforgettable cheese with a disctinctly Italian temperament; the alluring nutty flavor of a fine-aged Parmesan with the versatility of a young Dutch gouda."

And it is so good.

Happy (as a Freakin' Clam)

I still cannot believe I had not cooked seafood for myself until a week ago. I love it so, yet I always viewed it as an "out to eat" commodity. But now there are so many exciting possibilities!

So to begin, I simmered:

~1 c. pinot grigio

chopped parsley

sprinkle o' dill

1 garlic clove, chopped

The dill is surprisingly necessary and apparent in the final product. The only time I've consciously had it was when Dear Moth baked salmon fillets topped with sour cream & dill; a very comforting childhood memory).

When it was a'bubbling, I added (2 cups?) of chopped mushrooms; crimini and shiitake and oyster. Such a scrumptious bunch, they are.

I let them simmer until the sourdough bread that Bean had plans with (he made french toast and fried eggs -- a combination I will never understand) was done. Then I added the clams; precisely one dozen. How many does one person eat? I am at a loss; when I was a child we would race for the last one without having any inkling of what "one serving" was. So I played it by ear.

A study in clams:

Lunch for Dinner

It's dinner time. What to do?

Sandwiches are a food that it never occurs to me to make, but when I do, I remember how interesting and delicious they can be!

oatmeal bread

spicy capicola meat

grated mozzarella

kimchi

spicy brown mustard

spinach

oyster mushrooms

sliced cucumber

Tomato Soup

Bean is obsessed with soup, and I'm rarely in the mood. Today, though, I'd determined to make something I liked, and so when I got home from work I was ready to whip off to the store for some tomatoes in order to make something creeeeeamy and delicious. Much to my surprise, I found a box o' chopped tomatoes sitting tantalizingly on the countertop!

And look at the amazing ingredients!!

Into the pot went:

2 cups chopped tomatoes

1 tsp lobster bouillon (not so bad!)

2 mushrooms

stalk o' celery

chopped onion

bits o' pasta

thyme

basil

oregano

salt

pepper

and I let it all boil for what seemed like eons -- the smell of spices finding their way pleasingly into my nose as I slowly sipped a slightly-sour wine.

And when it was done, I did not forget about dinner! It went beautifully with our homemade thyme-bread from yesterday. Mmm...

Bread!

A freshly-baked loaf of french bread, with some thyme sprinkled in. Tastes as good as it smells, luckily.

Back-to-School Burgers

tiring joyous weekend

love everywhere

but still

happy back.

This was a burger made from Greenland Farm's ground beef; Moth was reluctant about giving me a package but!

Mixed into the burger were:

soy sauce

oregano

salt / pepper

and adorning it:

Simon's homemade bread

Gouda cheese

spinach

Quite nice.

Late Dinner

Class ended at 10 PM again; I'm sure whoever scheduled that winner is chuckling quietly with their hot cocoa right now...

But the point is, I had to have dinner. Bean has been strangely motivated lately in the bread-making department, so I used up our old spinach and an egg (and a fresh basil leaf and salt and pepper and butter) and made a scrambled egg mess. On top of the bread went Provolone cheese and spinach.

And it was damn good.

As soon as this was over I spent too many minutes making this card for my Nana; I'm going home for her birthday festivities this weekend, and for some hardcore fiddle playing with the gurls in Amherst.

Breadbowl!

Breadbowls are the most delicious thing on all of Panera Bread's menu, so Simon and I decided to try making them tonight. It was a lot of work, and took longer than expected, but it was definitely well worth it.

To make, dissolve a packet of yeast in 1 1/4 c. warm water. When it has reacted, add:

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp (+) olive oil

3 1/2 c. flour (added in stages)

We kneaded that for a few minutes, and let it rise in an oiled bowl for about 45 minutes. Took it out, punched it down, and separated it into four pieces. After letting it rise 45 minutes more, we realized they weren't big enough for a meal, so we massacred one and split it up between its brothers so that there were three total. It rose beautifully and we brushed it with a mixture of egg white and water before putting it in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes.

While it was baking, we cut up

one carrot

bunch of spinach

garlic cloves

and put them in a pot to simmer with

water

chicken bouillon

basil

bay leaves

red pepper flakes

salt / pepper

When the 15 minutes were up, we brushed more egg mixture on the loaves and put them back in for 15 more. We dumped some tortellini in the soup at the exact moment of bread removal, so that the soup would be done when the loaves were cooled. Then we excavated those bitches, ladled in the soup, and went to town.

Oatmeal(ish) Bread

We made bread tonight, and it was something like

1 c. warm water

0..25 oz yeast

1 c. bread flour

1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 c. wheat flour

some amount of oatmeal

some brown sugar

We let it rise twice, which was tough because I wanted it NOW NOW NOW. But it was worth the wait -- perfectly sweet and then

we put it on sandwiches with avocado slices and provolone cheese, and eggs in Simon's case. Geez, just so good.

French Loaf

Simon made a baguette, and I made the slightly-old remnants into a deliciously toasted tomato + spinach + provolone sandwich.

I think his bread-making skills are improving.