Monthly Archives: August 2012

Homemade Pita, the perfect pocket for meals of all sorts!

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Seriously now, breads are easy. My lovely friend Angela (who is leaving us in a few days for the boonies) brought homemade pita to a party months ago and casually mentioned that it wasn’t that hard to make. We all revelled in her culinary genius but I had never thought to take up the task. Well, consider that task taken up. It was truly not that hard, and it was definitely worth it. Pita made at home is fluffy and delicious. I baked these up in no time and we stuffed them with that Curry Chicken Salad. It was an awesome dinner, made all the better by fresh pita.

Pita Bread

Makes 8 pitas
Preparation: 2.5 hours
Cook time: 10 minutes

INGREDIENTS

  • 3 1/2- 4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/4 cup warm water
  • 1/2 tbsp active dry yeast
  • 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt
  • a pinch of sugar

DIRECTIONS

  1. Combine the yeast, 1/2 cup of the warm water, and a pinch of sugar in a small bowl, stirring until the yeast is just mixed into the water. Set this mixture aside and let it do its thing for 10 minutes, until creamy.
  2. In a large bowl, mix the rest of the warm water with the flour, salt ,and olive oil.
  3. Pour in the yeast mixture and mix until a soft dough has formed. Knead the dough in the bowl until you have a soft, smooth dough that springs back when poked.
  4. Place the dough in an oiled bowl, rubbing some oil over the dough as well, cover let it rise for 1.5 hours, until doubled.
  5. Heat the oven to 400°F.
  6. Turn out your risen dough onto a lightly floured surface. Gently deflate and section the dough into 8 equal balls.
  7. Roll each ball into a circle of about 6 inches, about 1/4 inch thick.
  8. Cover your rolled-pitas and allow them to rise for another 10 minutes.
  9. Place the circles on a parchment-lined (or greased) cookie sheet. Bake for 7 to 10 minutes or till puffed up and light brown.
  10. You might have to do a couple rounds of baking to get all your pitas done.
  11. Stuff with Curry Chicken Salad, or whatever you gosh darn want.

Soft and oiled pita dough.

Pita in it raw form… also delicious…

Puffed and prime for stuffing.

 

 

 

Tentative consistent schedule!

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So, with this summer filled with visitors, visiting, and work (I wish I could’ve got another ‘v’ in there), I have been really erratic with my posting. When I first started Not Crocker I had hope for my sister having time to post, but with two small children, there just hasn’t been time, so it’s all me. I was posting as often as possible, but this left me exhausted with no energy to cook. When folks came into town, or if I took a vacation I didn’t have any posts ready to go. So. A schedule has been made! I am going to post Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday. There will be occasional posts in and around these days, heck I get excited about the stuff I make, but you can count on great posts on those four days. And don’t worry, this isn’t today’s post! I have a recipe for Pita Bread coming out in an hour, it is easy and delicious and amps up any sandwich.

Here’s a photo of my messy-faced niece telling YOU to come back for more!

“I want YOU to come back for more!”… no really, she can’t talk yet, but it is clearly what she’s thinking.

Chocolate & Nut Date Balls- chocolate cravings killer

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These sticky treats are not your grandma’s date balls. They are fudgy and packed with chocolate flavour. I added a lot of nuts, probably more than you might want, but they are tasty. And they are easy to adjust to what you have on hand or what your tastes are. I am often finding myself pining for chocolate and these have successfully satisfied those cravings time and again. They keep wonderfully in the fridge and travel well. While I happily used my food processor that I got from my friend Kim, these could be made without it by chopping things up very small by hand and mixing well, though they will be less fudge-like. They are pretty darn healthy, there is no butter or sugar added as the dates act as both.

Chocolate & Nut Date Balls

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 1/2 cups of pitted medjool dates (can be whole, chopped, whatever. You are processing them)
  • 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 cup walnuts
  • 1/4 cup sliced almonds
  • 1/2 cup salted cashews (I just had these on hand and they were awesome, the saltiness added a new dimension)
  • 1/2 cup shredded coconut
  • 2-4 tbsp cocoa powder (start with two and work up to your desired fudginess)
  • 1/3 cup dried oats (whole oats if you are using a food processor; quick oats if not, as they are already chopped up)
  • 2 tbsps of semi-sweet chocolate chips are optional (totally not necessary but will further amp the chocolate factor)

DIRECTIONS

  1. Chuck everything into the food processor and blend. Start with only 2 tbsp of cocoa powder and add more as needed. If the texture isn’t coming together more dates will add the necessary stickiness. Add more nuts, coconut, dried fruit, etc. as desired.
  2. Once things have been chopped down to your taste, roll into balls, place in a tupperware and refrigerate to firm them up. Feel free to roll these in some additional cocoa powder or coconut.
  3. If you are making these by hand, which is definitely possible, chop all the ingredients that need it, as well as you can. Pop everything into a bowl and stir aggressively (that’s right, aggressively!) to combine. You are looking for the ingredients to stick together and distribute evenly.
  4. Eat morning, noon, and night.

All the good stuff, ready to mingle.

Mozzarella & Basil Bread

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I am doing a terrible job of using my basil plant to its full capacity. I constantly forget that it’s hanging out on our balcony, growing away for us. But when I remember to us it, it is always awesome. Fresh basil on pizza with some sliced tomatoes, and fresh mozzarella, perfection. Fresh basil in a loaf of bread, awesome. I’ve gotten so much better at making bread, thanks largely to my birthday mixer. I am a terrible kneader, as I am sure my family will attest, so having a mixer that can do so much of the work for me has allowed me to make fluffy, stretchy, beautifully consistant loaves. I am in heaven, as is my husband. So here is my latest loaf, a cheesy, basily loaf that according to Gen is reminiscent of pizza… It makes great bread for a sandwich, oh my it would be heaven for grilled cheese! It is also awesome when sliced open, slathered with some garlic butter and chives and broiled for garlic bread. Make it: moral of the story.

Also, thanks for your patience with my very-brief hiatus. I needed that time.

Mozzarella & Basil Bread

Adapted from here.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 cup lukewarm water
  • 1 1/2 tsp white sugar
  • 2 tsps active dry yeast
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour, more as needed
  • 1 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 2 tbsps milk
  • handfull of fresh basil, about 1/4 cup (or 2 tbsp dried basil) *technique time: layer all your leaves of basil together and lightly roll lengthwise. Cut this roll into thin strips, BAM you’ve cut all your basil in one shot.
  • 1 egg, beaten for eggwash

DIRECTIONS

  1. Combine the yeast, sugar, and warm water in a cup, stir lightly and allow to sit for 10 minutes, until creamy.
  2. In a large bowl combine the creamy yeast mixture with 1 cup of bread flour to form a loose batter.
  3. Stir in 1 more cup of flour and the salt.
  4. Add in the third cup of flour with the shredded mozzarella, milk, and roughly chopped basil. Mix in additional flour if needed, until a soft dough forms and pulls away from bowl.
  5. Turn the dough out onto a well-floured work surface, and knead until the dough is thoroughly mixed, but still sticky, 5 to 8 minutes. Add flour into the dough as you knead, if necessary. Form the dough into a ball, and place into an oiled bowl, lightly oil the dough to keep it moist. Cover, and allow to rise until double, about 1 hour.
  6. After it has doubled, punch it down in the bowl, to deflate. Turn the dough out onto a well-floured work surface, and knead for about 3 minutes. Form into a football, tucking the seam at the bottom. Place on a parchment-lined (or greased) cooking sheet. With a sharp knife, slash the loaf in your desired pattern… nothing elaborate. Cover again and allow to rise for 25 minutes.
  7. Preheat oven to 425°F.
  8. Uncover the loaf, brush lightly with your beaten egg.
  9. Bake until browned, about 25 minutes. Allow it to cool for about 25 minutes before slicing. Seriously, try.

Cheese is shredded and basil is plucked!

*Basil ribbons… not precise or even, but delicious!

Crisp crust, fluffy interior with little cheesy pockets. I cut it before it had time to cool, I was just that excited.

My lovely husband brought me lovely flowers. Ooooooh.

Brief Hiatus— Super brief, I will be back at it Sunday

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I am in the midst of buckle-down time for a number of real-life work projects. My stress level has peaked and I need to let something sit for a bit while I get stuff done. Not Crocker has been doing wonderfully the last few weeks and I hate to stall progress, but I really need to wrap up some other projects so I can back to a normal level of stress. But, don’t fret, I am just going to take the rest of this week and will be back with a couple of glorious posts. What to look forward to? Flourless chocolate cake with praline and cayenne, inspired by a favourite restaurant; pasta sauce made with mascarpone (seriously, I still have a ton); a new and exciting braided and stuffed bread; at least one new dip; something blueberry (blueberries are out and about!).

To tide you over, photograph-style, here are a couple photos from the summer.

I am crazy about radishes and happily my parents always have a bowl of them in the fridge.

 

My husband and mom being sassy.