Rye bread

Another stab at the perfect rye sandwich loaf over the weekend. This time I used a recipe from an old Vegetarian Times that I had lying around, and I have to say, I like it a lot better. Less complicated and more delicious. Added some spent grains with excellent results.

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Snow day, take 2

Being snowed in leaves a lot of time for cooking, and today, baking! 

First, a rye sandwich loaf from the King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion. I think next time I will use less pickle juice, because I could taste it a bit in the aftertaste and I think that offended Nick. I also let it rise too much on the second rise, and the middle crust fell. Oh well, it tastes amazing anyway. I will have to try another loaf soon, because I have a ton of spent grains to use up (from Nick & co. brewing beer). 

Next, the red lentil and greens soup from Moosewood Simple Suppers. I was a bit skeptical of the anise, because I'm not a huge licorice fan, but we had all the ingredients and I was in the mood for soup, so... damn, am I glad I made the plunge. This soup is tasty. I added extra garlic like I do to everything, and used kale (par-boiled before the saute step) instead of spinach. The main flavor is ginger and garlic, with just a kick of sweetness from the anise and coconut. Recommended for an adventurous mood. 

Served with a side caesar... nom on. :) 

Snow Day and Shepherd's Pie

Snow day here in Atlanta.  We got about 2-4" of snow and then freezing rain on top of that so everything turned to ice.  Seems like the city will close down for atleast a day but likely two or three.

So, with our snow day, we have been doing some cooking.  We made pancakes from the New Best Recipes book, 1/2 the recipe was perfect for the two of us.  Now we are making an Italian Sausage Shepherd's Pie.  The recipe is from:

http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Italian-Shepherd-s-Pie-2 

We used 3 red potatoes, blended the cottage cheese and egg with a hand blender, and sauteed one onion one pepper and one carrot (diced) with the meat from 4 hot Italian chicken sausages.  No pie dough.  We are baking at 375 and will cook it for 35 min before checking.  It is looking delicious.

Blackened Catfish

Made blackened catfish, again from Moosewood Simple Suppers. This is a recipe that we have come back to a few times. It stinks up the house (the oil/smoke, not the fish), but it is easy, and I love catfish. Served with couscous and a simple salad (romaine, avocado, dressing). Yum.

Back from vacation

Well we are back from a great vacation but we seem to have picked up some bugs during our travels. Solution? Soup.

Tonight I made the Tomato Tortilla Soup from one of my favorite cookbooks, Moosewood's Simple Suppers. It was, like most meals from this book, excellent and super easy. I added some frozen corn for added texture, but otherwise made the soup as written. Had bean and cheese quesadillas on the side. This is one to add to the rotation!