Sunday Sunday Sunday...

Weekend breakfast rocks!  Sourdough waffles with hot syrup, black forest uncured bacon, and a fruit salad made from pummelo, oranges and pink lady apples.  Strong coffee chilled with chocolate milk in it.  I found a low sugar high protein chocolate milk, and oh my!  It's wonderful in iced coffee.
Sourdough Waffles
2 C baking mix
2 eggs
1 C sourdough starter
1 1/2 C buttermilk
1 T oil
Mix all ingredients and let sit fifteen minutes.  I mix it then plug in the waffle iron.  When it's finally hot and ready to start using it, the batter will be actively bubbling from the sourdough, and light and lovely.  You may need to thin the batter a little if it seems heavy.  I just use regular milk to do that.  When we are done, we'll freeze the leftover waffles for use later this week.
I cooked my bacon on a foil lined sheet pan this morning.  When it was crispy and done, I filled the sheet pan with slices of trimmed cauliflower and crimini mushrooms I seasoned with Mrs. Dash and drizzled with olive oil.  It will get used to make a creamy oven roasted cauliflower and mushroom soup for lunches this week.

Roasted Cauliflower and Mushroom Soup
1 onion diced
2 T olive oil
In a large skillet, saute' the onion in oil.  Add:
1 C bell pepper strips
1 C  diced celery
2 diced peeled carrots
1 minced clove garlic
pinch of red pepper flake
tsp dried parsley
1 quart turkey or chicken stock
Add the roasted vegetables (see above) to the soup, and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer twenty minutes.  In a large measuring cup, mix 2 C milk with 4 T cornstarch to make a slurry.  Add to simmering soup, and stir until thickened.  Finish with a pat of butter, and adjust seasoning.  Once this is cooled, I'll fill quart jars and store in the fridge.

We went to the grocery store early today, so I took the opportunity to prep that cauliflower and mushroom soup before putting all the produce away.  I also prepped the half boneless ham for sandwiches by slicing it thin, and used the end to dice for the freezer.  I'll use it for split pea soup, or to cook with black eyed peas one day.
I purchased a half turkey breast.  All the skin and bones go into my stockpot filled with water, along with some black peppercorns and a couple fresh bay leaves.  I'll have about seven or eight quarts of turkey stock to can when it's done.  I'll divide the breast, and slice thinly half of it for sandwiches.  The rest gets diced for turkey pot pie, or turkey tettrazini.

Sourdough Orange Butterhorns are a favorite treat around here.  they are much like a cinnamon roll, but with a brown sugar orange filling, and an orange glaze on top.  These are whole wheat rolls, and are made with Splenda Brown Sugar,  and Splenda glaze, but you could certainly use regular brown sugar, and white powdered sugar instead.  I made these for family, but also gave a big plate of them to our paper carrier as a gift.  If you make them in a muffin tin, they raise up like a sheep horn in the middle, hence the name butterhorns.  I like to bake them in a 9 x 13" pan, as they seem to stay more moist. (Recipe below) 

Christmas is such a busy time.  I was very glad to have canned goods already done.  I made lots of pickled spiced peaches, and jam and salsa, so I just had a few batches of candy to make, and then my gift bags were complete.  I made homemade gumdrops this year, and candied orange peel dipped in chocolate, plus some Ritz candy.  The orange peel recipe is in a previous post, but I will share the other two here: 

Ritz Candy

1 box Ritz peanut butter filled crackers.  You'll want the tiny ones.

3 squares of chocolate almond butter candy coating

2 heaping T of swiss baking chocolate

In a double boiler, (I use a glass bowl above a saucepan of simmering water).  heat candy coating and chocolate until they are smooth.  You can also do this in a microwave, but the probability of the chocolate seizing is high, so I prefer this method.  Dip peanut butter filled crackers into chocolate coating mixture, and place on a wax paper lined baking sheet to dry.  Top with sprinkles if desired.  These are suprisingly good, and you'd never know they were only crackers. 

Homemade Gumdrops

2 C sugar

1 1/3 C applesauce

2 pkg jello gelatin( either cherry, lime, or orange flavored)

2 pkg Knox unflavored gelatin

Flavoring:  2 drops Clove oil (for cherry) 1 tsp mint extract (for green) and 1 tsp orange extract (for orange)

In a saucepan, heat all ingredients until dissolved and they come to a boil.  Boil for one minute, then pour into a well greased chilled 8 inch baking pan.  Add 2 drops of clove oil for red, 1 tsp of mint extract for green, and 1 tsp of orange extract for orange.  Stir with a spatula encorporate flavorings.  Refridgerate for 3 hours.  With a spatula to coax the jello out, turn onto a wax paper lined baking sheet.  Cut into one inch strips, and with a sharp kitchen scissors, cut into small pieces in a single layer on the wax paper.  Top with an additonal 1/3 C sugar, and roll in the sugar to coat all the sides.  Let dry for 24 hours before packaging.  These are delicious, and so much softer than store bought ones. 

These are so pretty mixed together in a serving dish for a Christmas buffet.  For gift giving, I had gift bags shaped like Christmas trees tied with curling ribbon.

Sourdough Orange Butterhorns
1 C buttermilk
1/2 C sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 C butter
2 T yeast
1/4 C tepid water
2 eggs
1 C sourdough starter
6-7 C flour (I use 3 C white and about 3 C wheat)
1/2 C brown sugar
1/3 C butter
the peel of 1 orange grated

Glaze
juice of 1 orange
enough splenda, or powdered sugar to make a thin glaze

In a bowl or large measuring cup, microwave buttermilk, sugar, salt and butter until milk is hot, about 1 minute.  Cool.  Proof yeast in tepid water.  In the mixer bowl, beat eggs.  Add starter, bloomed yeast and milk mixture.  Add 3 C white flour, and with the bread hook attachment, mix on medium speed for 4 minutes to develop the gluten.  Slowly add wheat flour 1/2 C at a time and allow the flour to be incorporated before adding more until the dough collects into a ball and starts to clean the sides of the mixing bowl.  The amount of flour needed will vary according to the humidity on that day.  It should be a soft tender feeling dough.  Turn out into a greased bowl and cover with a dampened tea towel.  Let raise in a warm place for two hours, or until doubled.
Meanwhile, mix the brown sugar with the orange peel and set aside.  It helps to do this now, as the orange oil in the peel flavors the sugar. 
Punch down  the dough, and on a lightly floured surface roll out into a large rectangle.  Spread butter evenly over the surface, and then add an even layer of the sugar/orange mixture.  Sarting at the long side, roll up the dough into a log, and slice into 1 inch rolls.  Place in a greased 11x13 inch pan, and let rise 1 1/2 hours covered.  Brush with melted butter, and bake at 375*F for 15-20 minutes, or until rolls are golden and sound hollow when tapped.  While they are hot, drizzle with glaze.

My Sourdough has Bought the Farm

I have been "under the weather" lately, and haven't been doing the normal baking and cooking I usually do.  Consequently, my sourdough has died.  It sits on my counter lifeless with a layer of black ooze liquid on top.  I feel a tremendous amount of guilt, as I had cultivated a very tangy and tasty starter, and now I will have to start over.  Poor little bugs.  I neglected them to death. (Don't let the HSUS know! They'll file a lawsuit against me!)
All is not totally lost.  I can do one of two things:  Try to rehabilitate the old starter and hope some spark of life is left, or start fresh with a new one.  To rehabilitate a dying starter, I would stir it up, black gunk and all, and add a cup of milk and a cup of flour.  After 24 hours, I would pour off half that starter and add milk and flour again, until I get a bubbly fresh starter going again.  It could take several days to bring it back to life, which means wasting a lot of milk and flour.
It seems at this point, it would take several tries to get this baby alive a kickin' again, so I will opt to dump it down the sink (great for your septic system, if you live out of town) and start over.   Here is my recipe for sourdough starter:
Sourdough Starter
1 C plain yogurt with active cultures
1 C milk that has been scalded and cooled
1 1/2 C flour
1 tsp yeast
Mix all ingredients together with a whisk in a plastic or glass jar/container.  Let the mixture set out in a warm place for 24-48 hours, (uncovered) or until it becomes bubbly and smells sour.   If at any time your starter turns pink, throw it out and scald the container before using it again.
You can store this in the fridge for a week without feeding it, or leave it on the counter if you use it frequently during the week, just remember to add a cup of flour and a cup of warm water to feed it, every time you use it, and at least once a week.

With this starter, I can provide my family with tasty warm breads and cakes that are much cheaper than buying store bought.  It really doesn't take much more effort to use sourdough in my pancakes, or make up a batch of refrigerator biscuits, or fill the freezer with waffles to pop in the toaster.
I have about three or four standby recipes that I use every week, but you can add sourdough to any recipe.  You just add 1 cup of sourdough, and reduce the liquid and the dry ingredients by 1/2 C each.  You can also add in a cup of sourdough to store bought cake mix, or brownies, and not reduce the ingredients, and get a very moist and tangy product.  Just follow the directions on the box, and add the 1 C sourdough also.


Sourdough Refrigerator Biscuits

1 T yeast proofed in 1/2 C warm water
6 C flour
1 T baking powder
1 t baking soda
1 1/2 t salt
3 T sugar
1 C Crisco or Lard
1 C Sourdough starter
2 C Buttermilk

Cut shortening into dry ingredients, in a separate bowl, mix wet ingredients, and add to flour mixture. Turn into a greased 10 C plastic container with a tight fitting lid, and store in the fridge. This is good for five days if kept cold.
To make biscuits, take out desired amount of dough, and pat out to 1/2 inch thick on a floured board. Cut biscuits, place on a baking sheet or pizza stone with sides touching, and let rise for half an hour. Brush with melted butter, and bake at 400 for 15-18 minutes. This makes about five dozen light as air biscuits.

You can make a quick starter the night before, if you are wanting to make sourdough pancakes for a special occasion, but don't want the responsibility for keeping a starter full time.  Just use 1 C warm water, 1 C flour, 2 T sugar and 2 1/2 T yeast.  Mix the ingredients up in a bowl the night before, and then dip out 1 C of starter and make the pancake recipe below.  

I like to use this recipe instead of a more traditional one where you make the "sponge" the night before, and then measure out 1/2 C of the mixture to put back in your starter.  I am not disciplined enough to remember to set out the sponge, so I just dip out of my starter jar and make these. 

Sourdough Hotcakes

1 1/4 C flour (I use a whole wheat) 

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 T sugar

1 egg

1 C sourdough starter

2 T oil

about 2 C buttermilk, (just add it until you get the desired consistency)

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl with a whisk.  Fry on a hot greased skillet until lightly golden brown on both sides, and serve with hot syrup and butter, or stewed spiced apples. 

As I bake this week, I'll add more sourdough recipes to the blog, and take pictures.    

Baking From Scratch

It was my husband's birthday last week, and we had his party this Sunday to celebrate.  We had eighteen guests, which makes for cramped quarters in my small house, but as usual, everybody had a good time.  It is after all, mostly about the fellowship.

Of course the star of the party was the cake(s).  I baked two:  Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting, and Sourdough Brandied Cherry Cobbler. The Carrot Cake was the sugared version, and I made the Cobbler with Splenda, as I am diabetic. 

Both of these recipes are easy and NOT fussy, so would be a good choice for a beginning baker.

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting:
In a large mixing bowl, sift together the first 5 ingredients
2 C Cake Flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
In another bowl combine the following until well mixed: 
2 C sugar
1 1/2 C oil
4 whole eggs
Add this to the batter:
2 C grated carrots
1 8 1/2 oz. can crushed pineapple drained
1/2 C raisins (dusted in a little of the 2 C of flour to prevent them sinking to the bottom of the cake).
Add in dry ingredients until fully incorporated. Pour into a greased 9 x 13 baking pan, and bake at 350 F for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Frosting:
1/2 C butter softened
1 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese softened
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 pound of confectioner's sugar

Cream the butter and cream cheese, and add the vanilla and powdered sugar.  Beat until soft peak stage.

Sourdough Brandied Cherry Cobbler:
2 cans/ pints cherries in water
3 T cornstarch
1 tsp cinnamon
1 C Splenda ( or sugar)
1/3 C Brandy (or so, )
In a cold saucepan, combine the liquid from the canned cherries with the cornstarch with a whisk.  Add the cherries, and the cinnamon and sugar.  Bring to a boil and simmer until thickened.  Add Brandy, and cook a couple minutes more, and then remove from the heat.  Place filling in the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan and top with the following cobbler batter:
1 C pancake or biscuit mix
1/2 C rolled oats
1/2 C Splenda brown sugar
1 stick of melted butter
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 C sourdough starter (can omit, just increase buttermilk by 1/2 C and baking mix by 1/2 C)
1 C buttermilk
2 eggs

In a large mixing bowl, mix the above ingredients until batter is uniform.  Pour over cherries, and bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes.
Top with chopped pecans if desired.  Serve with a big spoon, and add ice cream or whipped cream.