CrockPot Curried Lentils

There's something kind of summery about this stew.  Perhaps it's all the aromatic spices...or the fact that the crockpot, unlike the oven, doesn't seem to impact my apartment's climate at all.   A cool yogurt raita serves as a pleasant contrast to this earthy dish. ~enjoy 

CrockPot Curried Lentils 

16 oz dried lentils red lentils

2 cups diced tomatoes

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

2 cups chicken broth
3 cups water 
1 cup chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 tablespoon tikka masala spice

1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 green onions, finely chopped
1/4 cup white cooking wine  

Instructions: 

Combine all ingredients in the pot of a slow cooker. Cook on high for 4 hours hours.  Serve warm with naan (indian flatbread) or over rice. 

Bread Making With Stella

This past Friday, a dear friend initiated me in the art and science of baking bread.  Did you know that kneading "evenly distributes and activates the gluten so the bread will rise"? I told you there was science...

I'm thankful that after reading the first few chapters of William Davis' book I can still enjoy a generous slice of warm bread!

The recipe below is taken from "Beard on Bread," a tiny tome that's bursting with wheaty goodness.

Italian Feather Bread
(*Recipe makes two 12-inch baguettes.)

2 Packages active dry yeast
1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
1 Cup warm water
1/3 Cup butter
3/4 Cup hot water
2 Teaspoons salt
6 Cups all-purpose flour
cornmeal
1 egg while (or 1 Tablespoon butter)


Directions

In a large bowl, mix the dry yeast, sugar and warm water. Set aside to proof.

Meanwhile, cut the butter into small pieces and melt them in the hot water. Set aside to cool to lukewarm. Then, add the salt, and pour into the large bowl. Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon.

Add the flour, 1 cup at a time, until the dough almost comes away from the sides of the bowl. The dough will look rather soft and sticky.

Knead for 4 minutes on a lightly floured board.

Let the dough rest approximately 5 minutes. Divide it in two.

Roll each half into a 12x8-inch rectangle. Starting from the wide end, roll up (like a cinnamon roll) quite tightly. Pinch the seams as you roll.

Butter a baking sheet well and sprinkle with cornmeal. Place the loaves on the sheet and allow them to rise in a warm place for about an hour.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Brush loaves with a lightly beaten egg white.

Bake until golden brown, about 35 minutes.

While we're on the subject of bread, isn't this tote super cute?

 An ideal carryall for farmer's market runs.   

Organic Heavy Cream

Organic...Heavy.   The two words seem at odds.  It's a study in contrasts with organic evoking lightness, positivity and wholesome goodness and heavy seeming almost ominous; as if to say "buyer beware."

Heavy cream can elevate a sauce to unparalleled heights of luscious goodness,  imbue a scone with flaky perfection and oh what marvelous things it does to chocolate.  And yet it is one of those substances that causes a flurry of fear and judging by its presence alone.  You put that in my food?  You expect me to eat that?  Friends react to heavy cream as if they spotted arsenic in the kitchen, accusing me of conspiring against their health.

Perhaps that's why organic heavy cream is so hard to find.  The health conscious have a paranoid fear of cream and the name organic heavy cream sounds like an oxymoron...

This weekend I purchased all the ingredients to make Organic Creme Brûlée.  It began with a pod of fragrant Madagascar Vanilla from Savory Spice Shop.  Located in Downtown Westfield, NJ, Savory Spice Shop offers an aromatic array of spices from around the world.  It's one of my favorite stores.

While organic vanilla beans, eggs and sugar were all easy to come by, alas organic heavy cream proved elusive.  I was forced to content myself with semi-organic creme brûlée.  It just doesn't have the same ring to it...the taste however, was marvelous despite the dairy's humble origins.

Creme Brûlée

Ingredients

1 quart heavy cream

1 vanilla bean, split and scraped

1 cup sugar

6 egg yolks

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Add the cream, vanilla bean and pulp to a medium saucepan and bring the mixture to a boil. 

Remove pan from the stove, cover and allow to sit for 15 minutes. 

Whisk together 1/2 cup sugar and the egg yolks until well blended.  Add cream gradually, stirring continually. 

Pour the liquid into 6 (7 to 8-ounce) ramekins. Place the ramekins in a large roasting pan.

Fill the pan with water until it reaches halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake until the custard sets, approximately 40 to 45 minutes. 

Remove the ramekins from the roasting pan and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Remove the creme brulee from the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes prior to browning the sugar on top. 

Top each custard dish with a thin even layer of sugar.  Preheat your broiler about 5 minutes. 

Line the pan with ice to stabilize the custard's temperature.  

Broil the sugar until brown, about 5 minutes.  Serve immediately.  

Breakfast in Bed

Lazy days...so rare...so precious.  Days when a doorbell ring evokes the eternal question, "how do I make my bed without actually getting out of it?"

I am an ardent admirer of the immaculate domesticity that Martha Stewart represents.  Model, Mom, Entrepreneur; Martha is an incredibly industrious and accomplished woman.  I have never aspired to be Martha,  but when I make a Martha recipe my expectations are always high and they are never disappointed.

Breakfast is my favorite meal (wait,  unless dessert is considered a meal?) and breakfast is best consumed in bed.  Eggs scrambled with cheese and Martha Stewart's Pumpkin Pancakes were the perfect fare for my lazy day.

Click here for Martha's Pumpkin Pancake recipe.