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.

Turbo filets and squash

I really have to remember to start taking pictures of our dinners again.  Today, I left to pick up my 5 year old and gave the older two instructions--place turbo fillets on one pan (we had an incident a couple days ago where something went awry because dinner ended up being cooked on two pans and taking twice as long), top with melted butter mixed with cooking wine and lemon juice, place thinly sliced squash and leeks on top, put on a little olive oil.  They did it very nicely and dinner was wonderful.  Even the presentation with the yellow squash looked very nice.  Thanks boys!

Joshua's spanikopita

Joshua was in charge of a second recent batch of spanikopita today.  We have a ton of something called "lambs quarters"--it is a type of wild spinach.  We have used it twice to make spanikopita.  Today, Joshua was in charge of removing the spanikoptia from the stems, clarifying butter, sauteeing the vegetables for the filling, and then working with the phyllo dough.  We did get Daniel involved a little bit--he helped with some of the phyllo dough.  And even Christopher helped--by taking care of finishing the baking while we went to a birthday party.  The spanikopita was for a second party this afternoon and it was well received by all.  We'll probably make at least one more batch before the summer is over.  This has been a very popular product to receive from our community supported agriculture farm this summer.

Stir fry on bagels

Today, I sent my soon to be 11 year old on his first walking mission to get one thing at the grocery store.  Of course, I walked to get my parents stuff from the store when I was 11, but it was in 1981 and I had to go only around the corner.  I am proud of my middle son as he got there and back safely, handled the money properly, and asked the employee when he could not find what he was looking for.  What did I send him for?  Heavy duty aluminum foil.  Why?  We needed it to bake bacon with dinner.

Dinner tonight was stir fried squash served with crispy bacon and grated Muenster cheese on an open faced homemade bagel.  The recipe was my creation.  My oldest son did most of the cooking.  And the combination was enjoyed by all.

I am so proud of my boys.  I don't know what I'll do once they are back in school and they have less time to spend cooking.  I think it will be nice when I don't have so many days per week to go to the chiropractor.  While he has been a great help and become a good friend as well as an important influence on my health and training, I will be glad to get to a point at which I will have only one visit per week rather than three.

Pizza Made by My Sons

I did not get a picture of this one, but today I made a pizza dough before I left for work at 8:10.  I sent an email to my boys, and when I got home after seven, everyone else had already eaten and the pizza was mighty good.  What did my boys do?  The older two divided up responsibilities.  My middle one took the dough out to let it finish rising.  Then he spread it on a pizza pan.  My oldest one topped it.  We had a combination of mozzarella, feta, mango/chicken sausage, red onion, and lamb quarters (which some people would mistake for a week but which is a nice substitue for spinach).  It was a wonderfully flavored pizza enjoyed by all--including my 5 year old who had a piece and and a half just as I did.  I had a couple of brown rice cakes (that my five year old made me buy) to finish off the dinner with enough calories.  Next time my kids cook, I'll make sure to get a picture.