Bagels

Easy to make, yummy to eat!

Here's the recipe from this recipe book (which I love... lots of tips and troubleshooting):

These chewy, ring-shaped white rolls were once the everyday bread of Eastern European Jews, but have since become equally associated with New York City and the classic breakfast of bagels and cream cheese. Before baking, the bagels are poached; this gives them their characteristically shiny, chewy exterior and dense, tender interior.

INGREDIENTS:
2 tsp dry yeast
1 1/2 Tbsp sugar
1 1/4 cups water
3 1/2 cups unbleached flour, plus extra for kneading
1 1/2 tsp salt

DIRECTIONS:
1. Sprinkle the yeast and sugar into 1/2 cup of the water in a bowl. Leave for 5 minutes; stir to dissolve. Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the center of the flour and pour in the dissolved yeast.

2. Pour about half of the remaining water into the well. Mix in the flour. Stir in the reserved water, as needed, to form a firm, moist dough.

3. Turn the dough out onto a well-floured work surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. As you knead the dough, gradually work in as much additional flour as you can comfortably knead- this dough should be very stiff and firm.

(Dough is sufficiently kneaded if you gently press your finger into the top of the dough and it springs back immediately- if it does not, continue to knead)

4. Put the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, turning the dough to coat, and cover with a dish towel. Let rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Punch down, then let rest for 10 minutes.

(To make sure rising is complete, test the dough by gently pressing it with a fingertip. When rising is complete, the indentation made will spring back gradually. If the dough is under-risen the indentation will spring back at once. If the dough is over-risen the finger will create a permanent mark that will not spring back at all.)

5. Cut the dough into eight equal pieces. Shape each piece into a ball (see directions below). Form each ball into a ring by inserting a floured finger into the center of each one.

To form dough into a ball: press gently down on each piece of dough to expel any air bubbles. Cup the palm of your hand over each piece and roll it over a floured work surface until it forms a smooth ball.

6. Work the finger in a circle to stretch and widen the hole. Then twirl the ring around the index finger of one hand and the thumb of the other hand until the hole is about 1/3 of the bagel's diameter.

7. Place the bagels on a lightly oiled baking sheet, then cover with a damp dish towel and let rest for 10 minutes.

8. Bring a large pan of water to a boil (I used a pot), then reduce the heat to allow the water to simmer. Use a perforated skimmer to carefully lower the bagels into the water in batches of two to three at a time. Boil each batch of bagels, uncovered, until they rise to the surface, about 1 minute, turning them once. Remove the bagels from the water using a perforated skimmer, and drain.

9. Transfer the drained bagels to a lightly oiled baking sheet. Bake in the oven (preheated to 425°) for 20 minutes, until golden. Cool on a wire rack.

Then cut in half, spread with cream cheese and enjoy! I'm going to experiment with cinnamon and raisins, and maybe asiago cheese. My sister Erin already tried some with diced onion and black sesame seeds (after boiling she spread the top of each bagel with egg white and then sprinkled on the onion and sesame seeds before putting them in the oven- she said it was delish!). If you guys try these and do some variations, let me know how they turn out!

loves,

Kat

Dinner Tonight

Salmon Burgers... they're actually pretty dang good (I buy the "patties" at Costco). My kids love 'em. But my kids also love brussels sprouts, so you know, maybe I have those kids.



Toppings include:
Mayo
Red Onion
Tomato
Lettuce
Cheese
and... Pesto (I got the Pesto idea from NieNie- see her recipe here)

Try it, you'll like it!

On the Mend...

I feel so much better today than I did yesterday. So much better. I think it was the chicken soup I made last night for dinner. Chicken soup that literally brought tears to my eyes when I took the first bite- it was that good. Lemon and chicken broth and rice. Of course, I might feel really good today because of the NyQuil I took at midnight last night. Two doses. Oscar was up until eleven because one of his front upper teeth is coming in (it finally "popped through" this morning). Ben was gone until about eleven-thirty practicing for a gig he has Saturday night. When Ben got home he put the baby in his crib, brought me a tall glass of water and gave me four NyQuil pills. I hardly thought twice about taking a double dose, I was that desperate for a good night's sleep. And a good night's sleep I got. I was knocked out until ten in the morning. Ten o'clock! Ben got up with the kids and gave them their breakfasts and I didn't even hear a thing until he finally woke me. All day long I've been in a medicinally induced fog. Needless to say the house looks like a war-zone. I reclaimed our couch this afternoon by folding the mountain of clean laundry that had taken up residence there. Hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to clean a little more. The bathtub needs scrubbing, the kitchen floor needs to be mopped, closets need organizing, and clutter needs to be dealt with. But for now I'm turning in for the night. A second night of heavy sleeping might be what I need to kick this little sickness to the curb. But before I turn in, I'll share the recipe for that magical chicken soup with you (it was such a hit at our house that Ben actually had me make it again tonight... that's never happened!):

Yummy Chicken Soup with Rice

6 cups chicken stock
1/3 cup rice or tiny pasta
1 tsp grated lemon zest
3 egg yolks
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Simmer the chicken broth and rice for 15 minutes. In a bowl, beat the 3 egg yolks and add the lemon zest and lemon juice. When the chicken broth and rice have cooked for 15 mins, scoop out a small portion and add it to the egg mixture, stirring constantly (the idea is to bring the egg mixture up to a warmer temperature so the egg won't cook in chunks when you add it to the soup). Slowly pour the egg mixture back into the broth stirring constantly. Continue to stir and cook for 5 minutes. Soup will thicken slightly. Add salt and pepper. Serve hot. Yield: approx. 6 servings.

I added chunks of chicken meat to my soup- it made it a little more hearty. My mom always cooked her own chicken and made her own chicken broth, but because I've been under the weather, I just went the super easy route on this one and used canned chicken broth and a rotisserie chicken from the supermarket (or at least that's my excuse!). Ben thought it was a little too lemony the first night, so I used a little less than 1/4 cup tonight and he liked it better. I used bottled lemon juice, which may be stronger than fresh...

Bon appetit!

Making...

{Making} mom do a double take:


Cash shed his pants and boots like a denim-wellie snakeskin before hopping into the bath... I walked into the bathroom and did a double take. Kinda freaky looking, no?

We LOVE baths at our house:



{Making} me want 15 kids:

He gets cuter every day... (so cliché, I know, but it's hard-wired into the mother's brain and I am no exception).

{Making} me cheat my "no sugar" diet:



Good thing I only made half a batch, cause we ate them ALL. (Well, all except the two that we saved for daddy- and that was really hard, daddy-- really hard...)

{Making} new bedding for Maggie:



I want to make a duvet cover like this for me... the back is a really soft, red dot minky fabric. So cozy.

{Making} art:




All of this {makes} life pretty sweet (and me pretty exhausted).

yogurt making 101

I made yogurt a couple of days ago, and will probably make another batch in the next couple of days... it's so easy! Here's what I did, mostly following my sister Ashley's instructions:

Heat a quart of milk (4 cups) to almost boiling (180°F).
{I used whole milk for creamier, thicker yogurt}
Remove from heat and let cool to 100°F.
When milk is at 100°F, whisk in 1/4 cup of plain yogurt either from the store, or from your last batch (it needs to have active cultures- read the label).
{You could play around with adding flavors at this point... I added a little vanilla to mine, but failed to add any sweetener so my yogurt still tasted pretty sour- like plain yogurt}
Pour yogurt into small glass jars or ramekins and place into a 9x13 pan filled with water heated to 100°F.
Place in oven set to 100°F and let sit for 7-9 hours.
Make sure the water in the water bath stays at a pretty constant 100° (too hot and the yogurt cultures die, too low and they won't grow).
After 7-9 hours, the yogurt should be set. Cover the jars and store in the refrigerator.

Easy as that! My sister used an electric skillet to do her hot water bath, which may be easier than trying to set an oven to 100° (most ovens "start" at 150°, I just set it a little below that and kept a candy thermometer in the water bath). Anyway, the yogurt turned out great. Maggie likes hers with agave nectar and granola mixed in. Ben likes his with agave, granola and berries or bananas. Anyway, it was fun and I feel oh-so domestic! I'll definitely be making more!

What's for wunch?

Maggie's favorite question to ask, my least favorite to hear. She always seems to ask this as I'm finally getting the kitchen all cleaned up from breakfast. Anyone have ideas for yummy lunches? Is there anything else besides soup from a can, leftovers or PB & J? Hmmm, maybe I'll make some of those mini pizzas on an english muffin. But, if you have any bright ideas, please leave a comment. I'm seriously struggling here. Lunches (for me) have to be easy to make, quick to clean up, and taste oh so good. Oooo, maybe a salad would make a good lunch? What do you guys usually make???

Mmmmm

That's all I could think of when I saw this:



Being one who is in love with Brie and bread, you can be sure I will be trying this recipe.

Eat your heart out

This year for our family reunion we're doing something new... we're having a home made ice cream contest. Since ice cream is my all time favorite dessert, I HAVE to get in on this contest. So, I searched the internet for a recipe that was sure to win. And I found this. Chocolate Gelato. And I made it (with the help of my sister, Sarah). And it's delicious. It brought back memories of Florence and Rome and eating nothing but Gelato for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for three days straight. As my sister Sarah would tell you, the recipe's a little involved, but it's well worth it. The recipe also calls for bitter-sweet chocolate. And it's very bitter-sweet. I'd like to try perhaps adding a little more sugar and using semi-sweet. And maybe swirling in some nuts and caramel. Anyhow, tell me your favorite ice cream recipe or flavor. I'm on an ice-cream kick and am looking for some great recipes to try out.
Ciao!

Going Granola

Here is a GREAT recipe for granola. Eat it over lowfat vanilla yogurt (trader joe's is excellent) with fresh berries. You could even get fancy and layer it in parfait fashion.

Granola

4 cups oatmeal
2 cups flaked coconut
2 cups sliced almonds

Mix with hands

Add:
3/4 cup vegetable oil (you can reduce this to 1/2)
1/2 cup honey

Mix oil and honey into dry mixture. Spread out onto a baking sheet and bake at 350° for 20 minutes, stirring twice. When done baking, add raisins, dried apricots, pecans, etc. (I like mine with pecans and raisins, but it's great plain, too).

Store in an airtight container.

Enjoy!