Mother’s Wheat Germ Bread

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I think about the fires recently in the hills around us here in Southern California, and remember back to the Oakland California fires in an earlier era.  While many stories were poignant and very sad, one that has stuck in my memory is the story of the woman who lost everything in the fire.  Interestingly, she despaired the most over the loss of her recipes, some of which were family treasures passed down for several generations. (I have a few of those as well.)

Some weeks after the fire, one of her neighbors found out where she was living, and brought her a loaf of her own bread, with the recipe attached to it.  Little by little, her recipes came back to her, because she shared them.  Little by little, she rebuilt her life.

My mother cooked for a crowd: her family of seven children.  I remember coming home as a teenager to the smell of this bread, freshly baked.  It was perfect in the afternoons, just warm crumbly bread, some homemade jam, and a glass of milk.  Of course the fantasy memory might include then happily skipping off to do the homework, but I think the real memory probably was slicing one more slice, in order to avoid leaving Mom’s kitchen and her good bread.  This is one recipe I don’t want to lose, so I’m posting it here.

When I made a batch, the bread turned out to be softer than I had remembered.  How to get the *crunch* that lingered in my memory?  Toast it, slice by slice in the the toaster, and drizzle with honey. Lovely.

My mother and I talked about this recipe and she says it never lasts in their house, mainly because they give away one of the two loaves every time.  She still is still teaching me more things than just making bread.

Mother’s Wheat Germ Bread

Combine in a mixer bowl:

1 1/2 cups boiling water
6 Tbls. shortening (I suppose you could substitute butter)
1/2 cup honey
1 teaspoon salt

Dissolve 2 packages yeast in 1/2 cup warm water and add to above mixture.  Then add 2 eggs, mixing well, but not overbeating.

Add: 1 cup wheat germ and 3 cups white flour and beat for 2 minutes at medium speed.  Blend in 2 1/2 cups more flour.

“Blob it in” (the recipe says) into 2 greased loaf “tins,” and let rise to within 1″ of the top of the pan.

Bake at 375 degrees for 45-50 minutes.  Brush tops with melted butter.

I find that I’m used to a more complete recipe these days: Do I turn the loaves out onto racks immediately, or let them cool for 10 minutes in the pan?  When do I brush on the melted butter?  How long do I mix the dough?  This is a recipe from days when most women cooked, and cooked regularly, and knew what to do.  I smile at even earlier recipes that say things like “Cook in a moderate oven until done.”  Translation, please?

Pommes des Terre Rouge avec Haricots Verts

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My friend Susan, tired of not seeing her friends, got a few of us together the other night at her house for what her ninth-grade daughter christened as Salon du Chocolat.  Who knows why a French title, but it does sound really cool.  (Maybe she’d heard about the famous one in Paris?) So we all racked our brains to come up with something French to contribute to the evening.

This was mine, a mixture of sauteed haricots verts, red new potatoes and strips of lemon zest.  It’s not my recipe; head over to Food & Style to read all about it and even watch Viviane’s video.  Then come back here and I’ll tell you what I learned.

I learned that I should have cooked the potatoes earlier, like an hour or two earlier.  They were too hot when I put them into the pan to saute them up.  I also think you could get away with just 2 Tbls of olive oil, instead of 3, but that’s just us.

The secret ingredient I had that night was  this:  Fleur de Sel from the Dallmayr’s shop in Munich.  I used three hearty pinches, and yes you could substitute regular sea salt if you wanted to.  I walked past their food emporium in Munich and one of the windows was a like a scene from a bazaar, with large flat bowls of various types of Fleur de Sel.  I chose the lemon flavor–I thought it would be the most useful, and besides the jar was really cute. In earlier days, I would have saved the jar for a special occasion–always years in the future.  But now, I notice that special occasions are all around me–like tonight’s Salon du Chocolat, so why wait?

Others got into the spirit as well with quiches (from Susan), tartlets (which Thatcher was quick to note was food, not tiny wayward women), ratatouille from Kara, chocolate-dipped strawberries (Kris), watermelon salad (Julie), Choux Pastry with Almonds (Jo) .  Donna and Nicole joined us after the picture and I didn’t keep track of the food after that as I was in a happy haze of  delicious dishes and good company.

Sautéed Haricots Verts With Baby Red Potatoes And Lemon Zest, with changes

(I made two batches)

1 1/4 lbs baby red potatoes – unpeeled and left whole
1/2 lb haricots verts – stem ends trimmed and cut in half
1 tablespoon sea salt for the blanching water
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons olive oil
zest of half a lemon – peel zest with vegetable hand-peeler and cut in 1/8” julienne strips
3/4 to 1 teaspoon sea salt to taste
freshly ground pepper to taste

Step 1: Fill a medium heavy bottom soup pot with cold water, add the potatoes and bring to a boil at medium-high heat. Fast simmer, uncovered for 10 to 14 minutes depending on their size. The potatoes should be tender but still firm. Drain, then set aside to dry and cool.

Step 2: Fill a large bowl with cold water and several ice cubes.

Step 3: Fill a large heavy-bottomed soup pot with water and bring to a boil. Add the salt and blanch the haricots verts(tender green beans) for 3 to 4 minutes (depending on their size) until tender, but still crunchy. Scoop them out with a slotted spoon and transfer to the ice water bath until cool. Drain on towel, then pat dry, and set aside.

Step 4: Cut the potatoes in 1/2” edges. Heat a large non-stick skillet over high heat. Add the butter and olive oil. As soon as the butter is melted, add the potato slices and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes until golden. Toss the potatoes and continue sautéing for an additional 1 to 2 minutes, until golden. If needed, repeat the process until the potatoes are golden brown on all sides. Add the lemon zest, toss well and sauté for an additional 1 minute until lemon is crispy and golden. Add the haricots verts. Toss well until the beans are warmed through, about 1 minute. Add the salt and pepper, toss again and remove from heat.

White Fish with Green Gazpacho Sauce

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The other night Dave said he’d take me out, but as it got closer to dinnertime, I thought about how tired he was (we both are–this jetlag is tough this time!) and maybe it would be better if we’d just eat in.  So, like most of my recipes, I hopped onto the web to find something to cook.  My favorite site is Epicurious.com, an aggregation of the recipes from Bon Appetit and Gourmet magazines.  I like that Foodie People comment on the recipes, warning me or helping me to cook my own version of the dish, although I must admit little patience with those who substitute nearly every ingredient then say they can’t stand the recipe.  I try for a certain amount of fidelity, especially if the rating is high.

The category I browsed that night was Quick Meals, but it wasn’t until the next night that I cooked this up.  I’d give it a very high rating in these categories: low-fat, easy, quick, not-so-pricey and delicious.  Choose a mild white fish (we used Orange Roughy) that is firm and won’t fall apart. I served it with quinoa (see recipe elsewhere on this site) and some sliced al dente carrots, drizzled with the teensiest amount of honey.  We probably didn’t need the carrots, but they were good.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped English hothouse cucumber (about 3/4 of a large cake). Don’t peel, just scrub clean
  • 3/4 cup coarsely chopped green onions
  • 1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
  • 5 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons (or more) white balsamic vinegar (I used rice wine vinegar, but had to add more to bump up the taste–used almost 3 Tbls.)
  • 1 medium chopped seeded jalepeno chile–remove seeds and inner membrane (and wash hands thoroughly!)
  • 2     7-to 8-ounce fillets of a mild white fish
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 6 ounces small red and yellow cherry, pear, or grape tomatoes, halved (about two handfuls, but we like tomatoes)

Preparation

Gazpacho Sauce: Combine cucumber, onions, cilantro, 4 1/2 tablespoons oil, 1 1/2 tablespoons vinegar, and chile in processor. Using on/off turns, blend mixture until finely chopped. Transfer to bowl. Season with more vinegar, if desired, and salt and black pepper. (Note: I’m thinking this could be done a couple hours ahead if needed.  It does separate a little, but just stir it back together.)

Sprinkle fish fillets on both sides with salt, pepper, and cumin. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add fish and cook 5 minutes. Turn over, cover, and cook until fish is just opaque in center, 4 to 5 minutes.  (This photo is the fillets, before cooking.)

Ladle some gazpacho sauce on each of 2 plates. Top each with 1 fish fillet. Scatter tomatoes atop and around fish and serve.

Per serving (without quinoa or carrots): Calories 361, Total fat 20g, Saturated Fat 3g, Cholesterol 151mg, Sodium 188mg, Carbohydrate 5g, Fiber 1g, Protein 39g

White Beans

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Last week in Italy, for our 20th Anniversary Dinner, we had two appetizers, healthy servings of pica (homemade spaghetti) with meat sauce, and to chase all that, these white beans.  Theirs were made from scratch, not canned, with bits of green onion, red onion, Italian Elixir of Life (that would be olive oil), a little salt and that’s it.

Cut to today, when it’s in the low hundreds, fires raging outside, and I’ve been grading and those beans sound like a good thing to pull together.  But I’m doing it SoCal style.

First mix up a batch of Lemon Vinaigrette, Casually.  Then get out your can opener.

Open two cans of Great Northern White Beans; Ralph’s has  good kind.  Drain, then rinse well, then drain again, then dump into your serving bowl.

Cut three 1/4″ slices off a large red onion; chop into small dice.  I guess that’s about 1/3 cup.   Scrape onto beans.

Go out into your garden and get a couple of springs of basil and a sprig of tarragon (optional), wash then cut the leaves into ribbons, adding to the bean mixture.

Having visited Costco recently, of course you have some deboned rotisserie chicken in bags in your freezer (about 2 cups each) and you actually remembered to thaw one out today.  Chop that coarsely, and add to the melange.  Pour the Lemon Vinaigrette over everything and gently stir with a spatula. Let sit until you are finished with your grading, or your project or until your spouse comes home, about 1 hour.

Chop some fresh tomatoes (about 1 large, or 3 Romas) into 1/2″ dice, and place into a separate serving dish.

When you were at Costco, you also remembered the Bake-Your-Own-Tortillas so cook some of those up, keeping them warm either in your cheezy styrofoam tortilla container, or a (clean) folded dish towel.

Serve the beans in a shallow bowl, accompanied by the tomatoes and the tortillas.  An easy supper on a hot day, but I think this would even be good on a cold day, if you heated everything up.

Elizabeth’s Lemon Vinaigrette

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This is a really easy recipe.  Just whisk it together and enjoy.

First, squeeze the juice of 1 lemon into a medium bowl.

Add a shake of Herbes de Provence, a few grinds of salt and pepper, about 2 Tbls. water and about a 1/2 teaspoon of sugar.

Whisk to blend, then add about 1/2 Tablespoon Dijon mustard (a healthy squirt) and whisk again.

Keeping that whisk going, dribble in olive oil until it starts to thicken, then add some more.  I probably use about 1/3 to 1/2 cup in total.  Don’t measure–just concentrate on it going from watery looking to slightly thicker as it emulsifies.  That’s your lemon vinaigrette.

Granola

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granolaThis recipe started at The Seven Wives Inn in St. George, UT, a long long long time ago.  I asked for the recipe from my father, after I tasted the granola at his house one day–apparently he and Mom had it on a jaunt down there when they stayed at the Inn.  I don’t even know if the Inn still exists, at any rate, I’ve changed the recipe over the years to reflect my changing tastes.

8 cups whole rolled oats (NOT the quick kind)
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4- 1/3 cup wheat germ
8 oz raw almonds (1 cup)
8 oz. raw cashews (1 cup)
1/2 cup sunflower seeds

Mix in bowl.

Heat together until bubbly (I put everything in a 2-cup liquid measuring cup, then microwave it for two minutes and stir it well):
5/8 cup water
5/8 cup oil
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup peanut butter

Add 1 tsp. vanilla and pour over dry ingredients. Mix well and spread on two large cookie sheets. Bake in 200 degree oven for about two hours (I switch tray positions after 1 hour and stir a little bit). Store in airtight container. (If it’s a humid day, I turn the oven off and let it sit in there for a while—another 1/2 hour or so. If you live in a dry climate, you may need to adjust the cooking time downward.)

2017 Note: I modified the liquid ingredients to lower the amount of honey.  The original amounts were all 1/2 cup.

Torta di Pere

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I found this one on one of my food blogs, who got it from another food blog, who got it from the restaurant that invented it.  While the original dish called for pears, I didn’t have any pears, so I used apples. If you do this, sautee the apples slightly, to the consistency of — what else? — pears.  The secret ingredients in this cake are brown butter and whole eggs that are beaten to the point of forming stiff peaks. When combined, they give the cake its springy texture and subtle nutty flavor. Serve this cake with whipped cream with a bit of almond extract.

Update: I made it again last night for the 21st Anniversary of Our First Date (an occasion if there ever was one) and used pears (Bosc–ripe, not crisp) and bit too many chocolate chips and IT WAS DIVINE.  We didn’t even use the whipped cream,  as it went freshly out of the oven and into Anniversary mouths.
(Makes one 9-inch cake, which serves about eight people)

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 eggs, at room-temperature
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter
3/4 cup sugar
3 pears, peeled, in a small dice (I used apples, lightly tossed in a pan with 1 Tbls. melted butter)
3/4 cup bittersweet chocolate chunks (I used chocolate chips)

Lightly whipped cream with a touch of almond extract (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9-inch springform pan and dust with flour; set aside. Stir the flour, baking powder and salt together, set aside.

Using a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the eggs on high speed until pale and very thick. (It will take about nine minutes to get sufficient volume–just below Stiff Peak Stage.)

While the eggs are whipping, brown the butter. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan (because it will foam a lot) and cook it until the butter browns and smells nutty (about 6 to 8 minutes). It helps to frequently scrape the solids off the bottom of the pan in the last couple minutes to ensure even browning. It turns all-of-a-sudden, so be ready.  Remove from the flame but keep in a warm spot. (I poured the butter into a spouted measuring cup for the next stage.)

Add the sugar to the eggs and whip a few minutes more. Just as the egg-sugar mixture is starting to lose volume, turn the mixture down to stir, and add the flour mixture and brown butter. Add one third of the flour mixture, then half of the butter, a third of the flour, the remaining butter, and the rest of flour. Whisk until just barely combined — no more than a minute from when the flour is first added — and then use a spatula to gently fold the batter until the ingredients are combined. It is very important not to over-whisk or fold the batter or it will lose volume.

Pour into prepared pan. Sprinkle the pear and chocolate chunks over the top, and bake until the cake is golden brown and springs back to the touch, about 40 to 50 minutes, or a tester comes out clean. (Try this a few times to make sure you’re not hitting a pocket of pear.) Serve with whipped cream.

Note: After licking the bowl, I decided it didn’t really matter what kind of fruit I used, as the batter had this amazing taste.  I used Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate chips.

Angel-hair Pasta with Fresh Tomato Sauce

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Angel-Hair Pasta with Fresh Tomato Sauce
Gourmet  | July 2006
by Ian Knauer

This is my new favorite summer recipe.  I can never figure out how much 3 pounds of tomatoes is.  Here’s my guesstimate: 4 huge tomatoes, or 6 large tomatoes, or 8 regular tomatoes, or 12 Romas.  I guess I could weigh them, but these aren’t the kind of tomatoes you buy in the grocery store.  They’re the kind you get from your, or your neighbor’s, garden.  Really Fresh tomatoes.

Ingredients
1 small garlic clove
3 lb tomatoes
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar (optional)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 lb dried capellini (angel-hair pasta)
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil

Accompaniments: finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling

Preparation
Mince garlic and mash to a paste with a pinch of salt using a large heavy knife.  This is kind of a cool mixture.  Mash and mash until you can’t tell one from the other–really moosh them together.  You’ll feel like a real chef.

Core and coarsely chop two thirds of tomatoes. Halve remaining tomatoes crosswise, then rub cut sides of tomatoes against large holes of a box grater set in a large bowl, reserving pulp and discarding skin. Toss pulp with chopped tomatoes, garlic paste, lemon juice, salt, sugar (if using), and pepper. Let stand until ready to use, at least 10 minutes. Note: Tomato mixture can stand at room temperature up to 2 hours.

While tomatoes stand, cook pasta in a 6- to 8-quart pot of boiling salted water, uncovered, until al dente, about 2 minutes. Drain in a colander and immediately add to tomato mixture, tossing to combine. Sprinkle with basil.

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

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(My Favorite Recipe—from Sunset)
I’ve been making this for more than two decades and have made some changes along the way. Please see notes at the end of the recipe. Many changes I have incorporated into the recipe below.

1 cup solid shortening
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
4 extra-large eggs
1 Tablespoon vanilla
1 teaspoon lemon juice (freshly squeezed!!)
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats (I use Quaker Oats brand.)
2 to 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 large packages (12 oz. each) semisweet chocolate chips–that’s about 4 cups [Note: I use 2 cups of regular semisweet chocolate chips, and 2 cups of Guittard Semi-Sweet Maxi Baking Chips, or similar. Sometimes I use the dark chocolate version.]
2 cups chopped walnuts

In a large bowl of an electric mixer, beat shortening, butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar at high speed until light and fluffy (about 5 minutes).  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Beat in vanilla and lemon juice.

Add oats.  Mix together soda, salt, whole wheat flour, cinnamon.  Beat into creamed mixture until well combined; add rest of flour until dough is not too sticky when you pick up bit with your fingers.  Stir in chocolate chips and nuts.

For each cooky, drop a scant 1/4 cup dough on a lightly greased baking sheet, spacing cookies about 3 inches apart.  If you have one, use a cookie scoop, about 2-inch size.

Line one cookie sheet with parchment paper. Scoop out all the dough onto the cookie sheet, letting each scoop touch each other. Cover. Freeze, or give it a heavy chill in the freezer. When ready to bake, line a second cookie sheet with parchment paper, and place cookie balls about 3″ apart. I can get about 12-15 on one cookie sheet.

Bake in a 350 oven for 16-18 minutes or until golden brown.  (If they are just out of the freezer, it may take longer.) Remove from oven and set on a rack; let cool for 2 minutes (approx.). Grabbing the edge of the parchment paper, slide the cookies onto a wire rack, and let cool.  Makes about 3 dozen large cookies.

*Note: if you don’t have whole wheat flour, you can use all white (all-purpose) flour.

Quinoa Basic Directions

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Follow the direction on the box or bag.  Really.

I usually use 1 cup dry quinoa (and I don’t rinse it) to 1 1/2-3 cups liquid.  I like using water, then I can mix it with other things, but I’ve also used chicken broth.

If this makes too much, dump the cooked quinoa into a ziploc bag and freeze it.  To use, put it in your microwave on a defrost setting, just until you can mush it between your fingers.

If you want to get fancy, you can go this way:
Wash 2 cups dry quinoa (about 10 ounces) in 3 changes of cold water in a bowl, draining in a large sieve each time. Cook quinoa in a 4- to 5-quart pot of boiling salted water, uncovered, until almost tender, about 10 minutes. Drain in sieve, then set sieve over same pot with 1 inch of simmering water (water should not touch bottom of sieve). Cover quinoa with a folded kitchen towel, then cover sieve with a lid (don’t worry if lid doesn’t fit tightly) and steam until quinoa is tender, fluffy, and dry, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand (still covered) 5 minutes.