1 1/2 cups cubed pumpkin or a small 14oz. can of pumpkin (not pie filling)
1 can coconut milk (light or regular)
4 cups chicken stock
1 Tbsp. green Thai curry paste
2 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp. freshly grated ginger
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. cumin
1 oz. shredded coconut, about 1/4 cup
In a large pot, sweat carrots and pumpkin on medium heat for 10 minutes (**if using canned pumpkin, just sweat the carrots and reserve pumpkin puree for later)
Add garlic, Thai curry, salt, pepper, cumin and ginger. Stir and cook for 2 minutes. Add chicken stock, canned pumpkin (if using), coconut milk and coconut (if using).
Cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 35 minutes or until carrots are cooked.
If you prefer a perfectly smooth soup, puree with an immersion blender or in small batches in a blender. I like it with a bit of texture so I usually just mash it a bit with a potato masher.
Taste, and season with more salt and pepper, if necessary.
Serve, garnished with a dollop of sour cream and lime peel. Very nice with a rustic, crusty bread.
Place cereal in large bowl. Pour 2 cups boiling water over. Let stand until mixture cools to between 105°F. and 115°F., about 20 minutes.
Sprinkle yeast over cereal. Add 1 cup bread flour, oil, sugar and salt and stir until smooth. Gradually mix in enough remaining bread flour to form dough. Cover dough; let rest 15 minutes.
Turn out dough onto floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, adding more flour if sticky, about 10 minutes. Oil large bowl. Add dough to bowl; turn to coat. Cover bowl with clean kitchen towel. Let dough rise in warm area until doubled, about 1 hour.
Mix all seeds in bowl. Punch down dough. Turn out onto lightly oiled surface. Knead briefly. Shape into 12x4-inch loaf.Sprinkle baking sheet with 2 teaspoons seeds. Place loaf atop seeds. Cover with towel. Let rise in warm area until almost doubled, about 30 minutes.
Position 1 oven rack in center and 1 just below center in oven. Place baking pan on lower rack and preheat oven to 425°F. Brush loaf with water. Sprinkle with remaining seed mixture. Using sharp knife, cut 3 diagonal slashes in surface of loaf. Place baking sheet with loaf in oven. Immediately pour 2 cups water into hot pan on lower rack in oven (water will steam).
Bake loaf until golden and crusty and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool.(Can be made 1 day ahead. Wrap in plastic; store at room temperature.)
Chicken Pot Pie with Cream Cheese and Chive Biscuits
adapted from cookingforengineers and kingarthurflour
Makes one 9×13-inch dish with 12 biscuits
For the Biscuits:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/2 to 1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper (depending on how spicy you like your biscuits)
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
1/4 cup (2 ounces) unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
4 ounces (half of a brick) cream cheese, cold
3/4 cup buttermilk, cold
For the Filling:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups whole milk
4 ounces (half of a brick) cream cheese
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
3 cups shredded chicken meat
2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 small garlic clove, minced
1 1/2 cup thinly diced carrots
1 cup diced zucchini (optional)
1 1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
Start by making the biscuits. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, black pepper, and chopped chives.
Add butter and cream cheese to the dry ingredients. Use your fingers to quickly incorporate the fat into the flour. Break up the butter and cream cheese with your fingers until some of the fat is the size of oat flakes and some of the fat is the size of small pebbles.
Make a small well in the center of the fat and flour mixture. Add the buttermilk. Using a fork, combine the wet and dry ingredients. Try to moisten all of the flour bits with the liquid. Dump the shaggy biscuit dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead together until dough forms a disk about 1 1/2 inches thick.
Use a round, 1 1/2-inch biscuit cutter to cut biscuits. Gather the dough scraps, knead for a few turns, and cut out more biscuits until no dough remains. Place biscuits on a small cookie sheet and place in the fridge until ready to bake.
Next, make the filling. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Dice onion, garlic, carrots, zucchini, and thaw the frozen peas. Set aside.
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Whisk in the flour. Mixture will be very thick. Heat for 1 minute. Turn flame to low and add the chicken stock. Whisk until no flour bits remain. Whisk in the milk and add the cream cheese. Heat over medium low heat, stirring often, untilcream cheese has melted and the mixture is the consistency of warm, thick pudding. Add chicken, lemon, and nutmeg. Stir. Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove mixture from heat and set aside.
In a medium skillet over medium heat, melt butter (or olive oil, if using). Add onions and saute until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add minced garlic and saute for one minute more. Add carrots, zucchini, and peas. Cook for about 3 minutes. The vegetables will not be entirely cooked through. That’s ok! Remove from heat and add vegetable mixture to the creamy chicken mixture. Stir to combine.
Spoon filling into a 9×13-inch pan. Remove the biscuits from the fridge and place them on top of the filling. Brush the tops of the biscuits with heavy cream, buttermilk, or egg wash.
Bake for 20-23 minutes, or until biscuits are puffed and golden, and the sides of the pot pie are bubbling. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before serving.
To reheat, preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Cover dish with foil and bake until warmed through, about 15 minutes. Serve.
Chicken Pot Pie will last, well wrapped in the refrigerator, for up to 4 days.
Cottage Cheese Muffins
3/4 cup cottage cheese
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 tsp vanilla
2 tablespoons oil
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
about 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese finely grated
3 or 4 tablespoons grated cheddar cheese (I used a lightly aged orange cheddar, not something I usually buy though) (Note: might need less as the oil might weigh them down a bit, play with it and the cheese you are using)
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 tablespoons white sugar
Mix all the wet ingredients in one bowl, mix the dry stuff in another.
Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and blend with a spatula until barely moistened through. DON’T OVERMIX!
Pile into 6 jumbo muffin cups and bake at 375F until done. My oven is temperamental so it takes about 25 minutes. Set the timer for 15 minutes and check them, they are done when they are a lovely golden brown on top (probably about 20 minutes).
Turn out of the muffin tin and allow to cool.
2 tablespoons dry active yeast
2 cups warm water
2 tablespoons sugar
5 cups all purpose flour (substitute whole wheat flour for one cup of all purpose flour if you like)
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried thyme
3 tablespoons olive oil
Method: Stir yeast and sugar into water and set aside until the top is creamy. In a large mixing bowl place flour, salt and herbs. Stir to mix. Add the wet ingredients including the olive oil and mix thoroughly. If you have a KitchenAid mixer with a dough hook, let it run for five minutes. If you are doing it by hand, turn the dough onto a large flat surface generously dusted with flour and knead until the dough is warm and elastic. Coat with olive oil and set in a large bowl to rise for one hour. Place a pizza stone or large, heavy cookie sheet in the middle of your oven and preheat to 500 F. Place a large sheet of parchment paper on your rolling surface and roll about 1/4 of the dough to your desired thickness. This dough is fluffy when thick and crackery when thin. Slide the parchment and dough onto an upside down cookie sheet and coat the dough with sauce, toppings and cheese. Slide the parchment and assembled pizza onto the pizza stone and bake for 10 to 13 minutes. Pull the parchment and pizza back onto your upside down cookie sheet and transfer to the cutting board.
