Saying More

Last night I posted a picture of some yummy home made pizza. There is another such picture right over there(points right). The recipe for the dough was from my 4H book(but also is in the bead machine book as the same recipe, coincidence?), the sauce was made by my mother(no recipe there, just throw some tomatoes and spices in there and let it simmer) and a cow somewhere made the cheese. The dough was described in the recipe book as “not to thin or thick” and it was. In the 4H book the recipe says it yields 8 servings, which is a lie, this will serve four normal people, or 8 for appetizer-sized pizzas. I made mine with dough, sauce, eggplant, onion, pepper, mushroom, broccoli and cauliflower. The crust tastes really good and fresh and my mom says I can make it again, which means that this was a success! For my project, I still have to make basic white bread, pretzels, bread machine cheese bread and herb loaf. There are also a few recipes from the second year of the project I would like to try such as some of the sweet breads.

~thechildcooks 

Bread Machine Pizza

Note: This will take some time, so plan ahead.

3/4 cup lukewarm water

2 tablespoons oil

2 cups all-purpose or bread flour

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons active dry yeast or 1 1/2 teaspoons quick rise yeast

Combine ingredients according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Select the dough setting and process. When the dough process is complete, take the dough out and knead it for 1 minute. Let rest for 15 minutes. Roll the dough to fit a 14 inch pizza pan or cooking sheet, you can also make mini pizzas. Place the dough on a greased pan or one lined with parchment paper. Press the dough into the pan. Let dough rise in a warm place for 20 to 25 minutes. Spread sauce over top and add cheese and other desired toppings. Bake in a preheated 425F oven for 15 to 25 minutes, depending on the size of your pizza. Remove from oven and let rest for 5 minutes before cutting and serving.

Please Sir, May I Have S’more?

Two days ago, I made homemade graham crackers. They were certainly more crackerish than the last recipe that I had used. Today, I wanted to made an easy and fun twist on s’mores. I looked around on the internet and found a few recipes for a s’more pie. I decided to use these recipes as a starting point for my dessert and off I went. I used my graham crackers and some chocolate animal crackers for a base crust. Then, in the last first minutes of baking, I added some marshmallow and let them melt over it. As the crust was cooling, I made a homemade chocolate pudding and poured it over the base. And voila, S’mores Pudding. This was my first time making a pudding from scratch and it turned out pretty well. There were no clumps or lumps and the flavor was pleasing, so I would say it was a success. Tomorrow, I am having a real s’mores roast, sans chocolate,for me.

~thechildcooks

S’mores Pudding

1 cup crushed graham crackers(crushed chocolate animal crackers mixed in are optional, add to your liking)

1 tablespoon sugar

2 tablespoons butter, melted

2 jumbo marshmallows or about 30 minis

1 recipe chocolate pudding

Preheat oven to 350F. Mix the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and butter in a bowl then press into the bottom of a 9x5x3 loaf pan. Bake for 5 minutes. While the base is baking, tear the jumbo marshmallow into bits slightly smaller than your thumb(if using minis, leave untorn). After 5 minutes take the crust out and sprinkle the marshmallow evenly over the top, bake for 5 more minutes. Take out of the oven and let cool. While the base is cooling, make the chocolate pudding and then pour over the base. refrigerate until set.  

Chocolate Pudding from Betty Crocker

1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons corn starch

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup cocoa powder

2 cups milk

2 egg yolks, slightly beaten

2 teaspoons vanilla

Mix sugar, cornstarch, salt and cocoa powder in 2-quart saucepan. Stir in milk gradually. cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir 1 minute. Stir some of the mixture into the eggs, then blend into the mixture in the saucepan. Boil and stir 1 minute. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Pour into dishes. Cool slightly and refrigerate.

Graham Crackers from King Arthur

2 cups (8¼ ounces) whole-wheat flour
¼ cup (1¾ ounces) sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 large egg
¼ cup (1¾ ounces) vegetable oil
¼ cup (3 ounces) honey
2 to 3 tablespoons (1 to 1½ ounces) milk (approx.)
additional milk for glaze
cinnamon-sugar (optional)

1. In a mixing bowl, combine whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon and baking powder. In a separate bowl, beat egg till light, then add oil, honey and 2 tablespoons milk. Stir into dry ingredients until you have a fairly stiff dough, adding additional milk if necessary. Wrap dough in waxed paper and chill until firm, about 1 hour (or longer, if it’s more convenient).

2. Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead gently until it holds together. Roll dough out till it’s about 1/16-inch thick; make sure rolling surface is well-floured, or you’ll have trouble transferring crackers to baking sheet. Preheat your oven to 375°F.

3. Cut dough into 3-inch squares, prick each square several times with a fork, and place on lightly greased cookie sheets. Brush the tops with milk, sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar if you’re so inclined, and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until crackers are lightly browned. Remove crackers from oven, transfer to a wire cooling rack, and cool completely.

BNB n’ J

Image via Wikipedia

I found some brazil nuts(see picture) lurking in the bottom of our refrigerator and decided to see if I could make brazil nut butter. Obviously you can, but is it any good? The answer to that question is  a big yes! In case you were wondering, the title is the acronym for a brazil nut butter and jelly sandwich, which I think would be a delicious use for your homemade butter. Feel free to use maple syrup instead of honey, or to add chocolate/cocoa powder for a twist.

~thechildcooks

Brazil Nut Butter

1 1/2 cups brazil nuts

1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons honey(or maple syrup)

Grind brazil nuts in a food processor until mealy. Gradually add the honey and pulse until the mixture resembles a coarse peanut butter. Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator.

Lentil Soup

As it was the weekend, I had more time to do what I love:homework! No, just kidding, that should really be cooking. I made dinner for my family out of some common kitchen staples. After doing another thing I loved-searching food blogs- I came up with enough to make my own simple recipe for yummy and healthy lentil soup. Even though I scaled the recipes down, it still make an incredibly large amount of soup, some of which went to my grandmother and more of which is going to my neighbour. This soup goes very well with a slice(or two, or three, or well, nevermind)of home-made sourdough bread. Just a note, but you may want to add more spices to your soup, because my family is slightly bland.

~thechildcooks

Lentil Soup by Me

Serves 8-10

The Stock

3 quarts of water

2 large carrots,chopped

2 stalks of celery,cubed

1/2   of a medium onion,chopped

4 cloves of garlic,chopped

Salt and Pepper

The Soup

1 1/2 cups of lentils

2 large potatoes, cubed

2 carrots,cut thin

1 cup chopped spinach

15 ounce can of diced tomatoes, drained

Put the 3 quarts of water into a 4 quart pot and heat on medium heat. In a saucepan, sweat the onions and garlic until soft, 3-4 minutes. Add to the water. In the same pan, sweat the carrots and celery until soft, 4-5 minutes and add to the pot. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt and pepper to your taste. Cover and let cook over medium heat for 20 minutes. Strain to remove all small particles and then return to pot.

To the vegetable stock, add the lentils and let cook for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare remaining ingredients. After 10 minutes, add the cubed potatoes and let cook for another 10 minutes. Add the carrots and continue to cook for 10 minutes. After the last 10 minutes has ended, add the spinach and tomatoes. Let cook for another 5-10 minutes or until potatoes and lentils are cooked. Serve hot with bread and a light salad.