Mabon Buttermilk Bread

In celebration of autumn, I made some delicious homemade bread! This was actually my first time ever making bread from scratch without a bread machine. It's so much easier this way! I adapted this recipe from a British site, so these measurements may seem a bit different. You'll need:

3 mugs of bread flour (as in, a regular sized coffee mug)
500ml of buttermilk (roughly 2 cups)
2 tspn baking soda
Chopped dried fruit and spices of your choice

Quick note: If you cannot get buttermilk, you can simply use regular milk or soy milk and add lemon juice to it. A good rule of thumb is half a lemon per 1 cup of milk. After adding the juice, let the milk sit for 5 minutes before adding it to the dough. It will slightly curdle and give you perfect buttermilk.

Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl. For this loaf, I used dried apricots, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger. Slowly add the buttermilk a bit at a time. You may end up not needing the entire 2 cups. Keep adding and stirring until you have a moist dough that is easy to handle. Prep your baking sheet with a bit of oil and a dusting of flour. Place your ball of dough on the sheet and dust the top with more flour as you shape it into a nice dome. Bake at 350F for 45 minutes.
Although there's fruit in the loaf, this is not meant to be very sweet or served as a dessert. It is very much a hearty, dense, spicy  bread with fruit bits as an accent. This is perfect at brunch with butter or jam, or by itself as a snack.

Polish Shrimp

Long time no blog! Life has been a train wreck the past few months, but has currently settled down a little bit. Let's talk food!

This is a hearty recipe that is yummy anytime, but especially during autumn.
In a skillet with either olive oil or bacon grease, saute chopped onion, bell peppers, and cabbage. When cabbage begins to soften, add 1lb of cleaned shrimp and two links of chopped kielbasa. I like to add salt, black pepper, sage, paprika, turmeric, ginger, garlic, and allspice. Mix well in skillet and let simmer until shrimp is fully cooked and kielbasa is plump. Dish into bowls and serve with green onion and cornbread. Delish!

Breakfast

Bacon pairs with sweet things so well, and this breakfast hits the spot! You can use any kind of sweet potato (we used the pre-roasted Japanese ones from our local grocery store). If you're starting with a raw potato, bake it in the oven until fork tender. While it's laying on its side, cut the very top off, lengthwise, and scoop out some of the inside to create a boat. Place 2 slices of bacon inside along with one cracked egg (I put only the egg white in mine). Place back in the oven and bake at 400F for 30 minutes. This is a favorite of ours, and is so sweet and savory and absolutely delicious!

Meatloaf

Ah, meatloaf! Another classic, stick to your ribs comfort food! Every few months I take a craving for this, and just have to make it.
There are dozens of ways to make meatloaf, but the essential ingredients are ground meat, a filler, and a binder. What you use for each of these categories is totally up to you. You can use beef, turkey, pork, etc. Common fillers include bread crumbs, crushed crackers, or even rice. The filler is used to hold in moisture, hold the meat together, give some added texture, and make the meat stretch farther (you can get an extra serving or two by adding a filler). The binders include milk and egg. These work with the filler to hold the loaf together so it doesn't crumble.

There really isn't a wrong way to make meatloaf. As long as you have your ground meat, you can pull just about anything out of the pantry to mix with it. Do what you find delicious! The way I make mine is greatly influenced by how my mom makes hers.

I start with 2lbs of lean ground beef in a big bowl. I add 1 large diced onion, garlic, salt and pepper, cumin, paprika, cinnamon, parsley, basil, 2 tablespoons of mustard and ketchup, 1 egg, and 2 pieces of bread (I tear these into little pieces by hand). Sometimes I add a splash of milk, and sometimes I don't. Mix everything really well by hand. Using your bare hands is the best and easiest way to do it. Transfer to a baking dish and pat it into a loaf shape. Top the entire loaf with a generous amount of ketchup, spreading it around with a spoon. Bake at 350F for 1 hour. A loaf this size will feed the two of us for several days.

Serve with any sides you desire. I, personally, cannot make meatloaf without mashed potatoes - they have to be together! We also love it with green beans, brussel sprouts, or pickled beets.

Ranch Chops

These are by far the most flavorful pork chops I've ever made. Very simple, and can be served with any side dish. In a shallow dish, combine 1 packet of dry Ranch seasoning, paprika, black pepper, and oregano. Coat your pork chops in this dry rub, place on a baking sheet and bake at 400F for 35 minutes or until cooked through. We love serving ours with mashed potatoes.

Quicky Chicken and Dumplings

Traditionally when making the classic comfort food chicken and dumplings, you boil a whole chicken to get your broth and it takes a very long time. If you don't have all day, this quicky version only takes 30 minutes and still hits the spot.

In a large pot, heat up 64oz of chicken broth to boiling. Shred one rotisserie chicken and add to broth, along with some black pepper, garlic, a couple of dashes of celery seed, and 1 bay leaf. While that's returning to a steady boil, prepare your dumpling dough. Sift together 2 cups of all purpose flour, 1 tablespoon of baking powder, and 1 teaspoon of salt. To this add 1 cup of milk and 1 egg. Blend well into a nice, moist dough. Use a tablespoon to drop one spoonful of dough at a time into the boiling soup. The dough will expand a bit and float on the surface. Once all of the dumplings are dropped, leave at a boil and cook uncovered for 10 minutes. Then cover with a lid and cook for an additional 10 minutes. Remove lid, give a good stir, and serve! This recipe creates delicious, fluffy, chewy dumplings. I've never tried making flat dumplings before, so that'll be an adventure for another day!

Vegan Tortilla Soup

This soup satisfies in so many ways: it's light, yet filling, and is great during the summer as well as winter. It has a depth of flavor, but is very easy and quick to make. You could have this ready and on the table in less than 30 minutes.

In a big pot, saute chopped onion and garlic in some olive oil. To that add 1 chopped jalapeno (or more if you like it hot), 1 large diced tomato, 1 cup of frozen corn, chopped green and red bell peppers, 1 can of hominy, 4 cups of veggie stock, a pinch of cilantro, cumin, black pepper, and turmeric. You can also add any kind of bean to this, but I usually leave them out. Simmer 15-20 minutes until all the flavors marry. Serve with more cilantro on top, a wedge of lime, and baked tortilla strips. Sour cream, sliced radish, and guacamole are also great garnishes.