Quiche

Tried a new dish tonight, QUICHE.  I have eaten quiche at restaurants but had not tried to make my own.
I chose a recipe out of my favorite cookbook, Better Homes and Garden Cookbook.

I think my greatest fear in making a quiche was the crust. Pie crust has always been one of my pastry weak points. Until this past Christmas when I discovered "Oil pie crust," my new no fail crust. This crust is always flaky and tender (no rolling only pressing into place) although not always pretty.

Who would have thought making a quiche would be so easy. Another wonderful way to use up some of the dozens of eggs we get every week. I used deli virginia ham (thinly sliced for lunchmeat) and spinach for one quiche and carrots and spinach for the other. The ham quiche was a super hit. The veggie quiche was acceptable but had to many carrots (made it kind of sweet).

I foresee many more quiche in our future, especially over the Summer as the garden bounty comes in.

Goats

Sometimes I just get in over my head and have a hard time admitting how much I am overwhelmed. We had our goats in the front yard (electric fenced area) or course the 2 largest goats discovered tonight how to get out of the fencing.

Seems like they (the largest goats) have managed to find escape routes from everything we have put them in. They then attack any and all fruit trees or roses. A plum tree and a Fuji apple tree have horrible scars in the bark where the goats have scraped the trunks with their hooves.

I had great aspirations for the goats, I would milk them and have fresh goat milk everyday, with extra milk turned in cheese. It is really hard to have 2 horses, 5 goats, 3 rabbits, 25 chickens, 3 geese, 1 turkey, 25 fruit trees, black berries, a huge garden, raised beds, lots of roses, 3 children, 3 parrots, 3 dogs, 2 cats, 2 hamsters, 3 lizards, 3 fish, all on 3 acres and not loose ones sanity.

Hopefully having found 2 goats a new home will bring some sanity of not looking out the patio door and seeing my trees destroyed. I know they are going to a good home and will be enjoyed by their new family. Now I just need to convince Katie the world won't end just because they are leaving tomorrow. Think she needs to go run errands with me and maybe Callie can come too.

Kitchen garden

Did manage to get another raised bed filled and last night I planted 4 tomato plants in the high end. Hopefully today I will be able to plant my peppers.

Rainy Monday

Today started out sunny and cool, a bit cooler than I like. Right now it is raining and much cooler. I was really looking forward to a sunny, cool day perfect for some outdoor physical labor. Yeah right! Loved the sunshine, not so much the cool. I did get one of the square foot beds filled with compost before my arms felt like they would fall off any moment.

I have wanted a "kitchen garden" for a long time. A nice small patch just steps from the deck, filled with herbs, tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, spinach, etc., those items that are used in the kitchen. This year I finally talked Tim into making square foot beds aka raised beds, after seeing square foot beds at our favorite garden nursery. We went to the lumber yard and purchased 2" X 12" X 8' treated lumber.

Square foot gardening is very easy to do.
 First we made the frames for the beds, cutting 2 boards in half and cutting pieces of 2x4's for stability in the corners. Then we put landscape cloth under the frames to keep the existing grass and weeds from invading our new beds.

 Fill the beds with well composted horse manure from a neighbor (love getting free stuff).

Too bad the rain has kept me from filling the rest of the beds

The art of French Cooking by Julia Child

Was delivered to day!!!!!!!!!


Watched Julie/Julia Sunday night and before the end of the movie I had ordered the books. I am honest enough with myself to know that I do not want to/ need to/ or have the discipline to cook all of the recipes in one year! I told K there are recipes in the books I can not ever see me cooking, let alone eating.


I did see some promising recipes. Vegetables are one of those dishes I need help coming up with. I get so bored having the same boiled or steamed preparations.


I refuse to eat liver, duck or lamb at current time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
One day I might try them again, or not.


Easter was my one and only time to try lamb. As soon as Mom and Dad walk into the house, I informed Mom, I would not be cooking lamb again. That is one smell I can do without.

Calizones

Using the same bread dough, I made calizones to day. Super easy. Here's the recipe I came up with on the spot using things we love.

Individual Calizones

refrigerated Boule dough

filling

1 package bulk Italian sausage

1 package sliced pepperoni (cut into quarters)

shredded mozzarella

sliced olives

creamy Italian dressing

Preheat oven to 550 degrees or as high as oven will go if not 550

with pizza stone in oven for 20 minutes or 15 if using baking sheet

Dust dough with flour and pinch off orange size pieces of dough

cloak dough

roll dough (using as little flour as possible) into flat rounds or rectangles

place fillings on half of round/rectangle leaving border along edge

fold dough over filling and pinch edges

place on cornmeal dusted peel or baking sheet

cut slits across top of calizones to vent steam

repeat for number of calizones needed

Bake until golden brown -- time will vary according to size of calizones and thickness of dough

Recipe for Boule (5 min Bread)

Recipe for 5 min bread :) -- Boule bread
6.5 cups AP flour does not have to be perfect measurement
1.5 Tablespoon dry active yeast
1.5 Tablespoon salt
3 cups warm to touch water (hot tap water)
5-6 quart tub or container w/ loose fitting lid

dump all ingredients in to container, mix with spoon until combined (do not knead or over mix -- think muffins)
will be very sticky and un-bread dough like
allow to sit with loose lid on and rise on counter top out of draft for 2-5 hours or until rising slows and starts to sink on top
refrigerate with loose lid on

To bake bread -- dust top of dough with flour
pinch off grapefruit sized piece of dough with floured hands
"cloak" dough by turning dough under with hands while turning 1/4 turn
will look bunched on bottom
allow dough to rest on peel dusted with cornmeal 40 minutes
20 minutes before cooking preheat oven to 450 degrees with baking stone and a metal pan below stone/cooking rack for water (do not use glass will explode)
Score bread with serrated knife (parallel, criss cross, etc) allows steam to vent, otherwise your bread will have a blow-out

Place bread on stone (or cookie sheet) in oven and add 1 cup hot water to bottom pan for steam
Bake until golden brown.
Cool for 10 min (if you can and listen for the "crackling" as it cools)
Super yummy warm with butter or dipping in OGB (olive oil, garlic, basil, parmesan sauce)

Pictures of baked bread and sauce below.

5 minute artisan bread

Over a week ago I was lurking on 2 Peas in a Bucket and found an entry for "5 minute artisan bread." Wow, was I intrigued. Is it possible to make bread in 5 minutes a day? Well, not surprisingly, I was on amazon.com in a flash and the book was to be delivered in 3 days. The Book is "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day" by Jeff Hertzberg, MD and Zoe Fancois

I read through the book and was still a little skeptical. Life got in the way and I put the book off to the side. Then last Sunday, I felt like really cooking! Spending a week in bed vomiting does that to me. I was hungry and needed something to occupy my time while the meat was browning for a simple pan of spaghetti. I pulled out the 5 min bread book, flour, yeast, salt, a wooden spoon, a measuring cup and a 6 quart plastic tub with lid. 5 minutes later I had bread rising and all that needed cleaning up was the wooden spoon. I just dried the measuring cup (only measured water with it) and washed the spoon. Amazingly, I was able to make the bread in the tub, let it rise then refrigerate until I want fresh bread. Of course, I wasn't thinking very well and do not have any pictures of the process.

Today I pulled out my dough, formed a ball, let it rise, baked it and proceeded to eat it! All in less than one hour!!!!!!!!!!!! This is now to be my go to bread recipe and yes, I did take a few pictures.

the bread was cooling and making wonderful crackling sounds, I made a dipping sauce. Do I love dipping sauce! Super simple: olive oil (extra virgin), garlic (fresh), oregano, thyme, basil, Parmesan cheese (use fresh). Oh, so tasty.

Now I wonder will there be any bread left for the rest of the family by the time they get here after school and work. Probably not, better bake more!