Ham, Mashed Turnips & Sweet Potatoes, and Turnip Greens

This was a pretty cool dinner.  The ham just came from steaks that I pan fried.  Nothing special there.  The turnip and sweet potato mash used turnips either from my kids' gardens or the CSA.  We must have used about 6 cups of diced turnips and 2 cups of diced sweet potatoes.  Boiled.  Then added a half pint of sour cream and some butter and milk and mashed.  Those were yummy.  We didn't add salt and pepper but those would not have been bad.  We'd heard that sautéing turnip greens was not the way to go.  So, we steamed them.  They took a while to steam--probably 30-35 minutes by the time all was said and done.  We had sliced garlic and bay leaves in the steamer and topped with butter and salt.  Not the most exciting greens but not bad.  Would work well with slivered almonds and a bit of parmesan too.  Overall, it was a great dinner yesterday.  Just with all those turnips and sweets it took a long time to prepare.  

pizza with radish greens

The picture you see at the side is not so different from many pizzas I have made.  However, for the first time we tried eating not just the radishes but also the radish greens.  This summer has started off as an exploration of vegetable greens and my next entry will talk about turnip greens.  But, for today, here is the recipe.  And, while I made the mistake of not taking any pictures of the preparation, I can say that my twelve year old is responsible for this as I was not really excited about greens but he thought it would be great to try.  It was!

So, begin with a dough to make a 16 inch pizza.  (If you need a recipe, I can post that as well).  The toppings for this included fresh mozzarella, smoked mozzarella, pepperoni, fresh tomatoes, radishes, and radish greens.  Everything other than the radish greens is pretty straightforward.  To prepare the greens, just saute them with a bit of crushed garlic in olive oil.  Spread all the toppings evenly and bake. Hope you will enjoy.  

Black Lava Soft Pretzels

So, this morning, I made soft pretzels with black lava sea salt.  These were at the request of my 7 year old who wanted to take them to the end of first grade picnic.  Here is a picture.  And below is the recipe. They received compliments at the picnic.

1 1/2 c warm water (approximately 110 F)
1/4 c sugar
1 tbsp yeast
4 c flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 c salt but up into small pieces
1 c cold water
1 tbsp baking soda

Preheat oven to 425 F.

Add sugar and yeast to warm water.  Let stand for 5-10 minutes.  Add flour and salt.  Mix until all ingredients are wet.  Add pieces of butter.  Mix well.  Knead for 5-10 minutes adding flour as necessary so that the dough feels just a little greasy but does not stik to the hands or the side of the bowl.

Dissolve baking soda in cold water.

Break dough into 12 pieces.  Roll into long thin segments.  Fold into pretel shapes.  Dip in the basking soda solution.  Place on parchment paper.  Sprinkle black lava sea salt on the top.  Bake for 12-14 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow to cool.  

Rye bagels

Here is an up close picture of the rye bagels I made today.  I enjoyed receiving a pound of rye flour and a small bottle of caraway seeds from one of my first grade classmates' moms.  She knew I would put it to good use.  Even the boys liked these.  Here is the recipe:

2 cups dark rye flour
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tbsp caraway seeds
1/4 cups sugar
pinch salt
1 1/2 c water
1 tbsp years
1 cup water
1 tbsp baking solda

Mixed all the ingredients in a large bowl.  In a separate bowl warm the 1 1/2 cups of water to approximately 100 degrees F and dissolve yeast.  Let stand for 10-15 minutes and add to the dry ingredients.  Mix well.  Knead for approximately 5 minutes, adding extra all purpose flour as necessary so that the dough does not stick to your hand.  Cover and let risk for 1 hour.

Punch down the dough, adding a little more flour.  Break into 12 equal pieces.  Dissolve baking soda in 1 cup of cold water. Form each piece into a ball and push a hole in the middle.  Form into a bagel shape and dip in cold water with dissolved baking soda.  Flip the bagel in the water.  Place on parchment paper on a pan.  Bake for 14 minutes.  

Chocolate Coconut Banana Nut Bread Recipe

I started this blog back when I was in the kitchen with my boys all the time.  Now, I'm still in the kitchen a lot.  And my boys are in the kitchen a lot.  But we do not always spend time in the kitchen together.  However, this morning, Daniel and I made a wonderful banana bread variation.  Someone asked for the recipe, so I thought the blog woudl be a good way to get it up.  Here is the recipe.  Much of it is borrowed from "http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/banana_bread/".  It got rave reviews from the whole family.

Ingredients

3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed

1 cup sweetened coconut flakes (the moist kind)

1 cup chopped walnuts
1 square unsweetened baking chocolate

1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Melt butter and baking chocolate square in a small pot together before starting.  Use very low heat and stir nearly constantly.  Then, with a wooden spoon, mix together the mashed bananas, coconut, and nuts in a large mixing bowl.  Then, mix butter and chocolate into the mixture that includes the mashed banana. Mix in the sugar, egg, and vanilla. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour last, and mix. Pour mixture into a buttered 4x8 inch loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour. Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve.