Pleasing pitas

No photos today. I was very frazzled by the time dinner rolled around last night. We all have those nights, right? I made the awesome greek food that I posted here previously to rave reviews from the peanut gallery. I was going to be a slacker and just buy pita breads, but the lonesome package on the shelf at the grocery store displaying an expiration date a day past didn't boost my confidence much. I've made my mom's recipe before, but hers tend to be chewier than I like, so I hit the internet and found an excellent tutorial. I made a couple modifications, and I baked them in the oven the way I'm accustomed to it rather than trying the griddle way that she mentions. I am posting this the way I made it and had an 8 1/2 out of 10 success rate with getting them to poof up all the way through.

Pita Bread

3 cups all purpose flour + additional for dusting
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 T. honey
2 t. kosher salt
2 t. yeast
2 T. olive oil
1 1/4 cups warm water

Mix the flour, salt and yeast together in a bowl, then stir in the olive oil and warm water until a shaggy dough forms. Let rest for 10 minutes. Knead for 5-10 minutes and knead in additional flour as necessary, but go easy on this. The dough will be a sticky and moist dough, which is ok. The moisture is what makes it puff up. Lightly oil a bowl, pop the dough in and flip it over until evenly coated. Leave in a warm place and let rise until doubled.

Place a baking stone or heavy duty cookie sheet in the oven with the rack in the lowest position. Preheat the oven to 475 degrees. Split the dough into 8 equal pieces on a work surface that is lightly dusted with flour and let them rest for a few minutes covered with a damp towel (this allows the dough to relax and makes it easier to roll into a round). Working with a couple pieces at a time, roll them into a 6-8 inch round, 1/4" thick. Mist each lightly with water then place carefully on the preheated stone or baking sheet. Bake for 3-4 minutes, until puffed and lightly golden on the bottom side.

Immediately remove to a wire rack and cover with another damp towel until ready to serve.
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I ate leftover breads today and they were perfectly soft and pliable. I like the hint of sweetness the honey gives, plus the blend of flours - 100% whole wheat is much chewier and less flexible, and 100% white flour doesn't have as much flavor. You also may allow this bread dough to slow rise in the refrigerator for hours, removing 60 minutes or so before you want to use it so that it can come up to room temperature. Also, if you have a couple of unruly pitas that don't puff up like I did, toast them with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of kosher salt for some excellent pita chips - fabulous for hummus!

Super-de-duper Pumpkin Bread

Snow outside = baked goods cravings. I was hankering for pumpkin bread this morning and pulled out several of my favorite cook books. I discovered that three of them had the exact same recipe. That's a pretty good indication that a recipe is reasonably fool proof, in my opinion. But I also wanted a crispy sugary topping, so I started tinkering with it. I switched 1/3 of the sugar to brown for a more deep flavor, added some more spices (because plain cinnamon is boooooring), and improvised a topping. The results are delicious! A lovely sugary crust with a perfect, soft, moist interior. I say are, because there is still a little bit of the last loaf up in the kitchen, calling to me...I don't want to confess how much I've already eaten. I made these in mini-loaf form for easy sharing.

Pumpkin Bread of the best sort

2 cups sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup oil
1 15 ounce can pumpkin (2 cups)
4 eggs
2 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
1 t. each cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cardamom
1/2 t. cloves
3 1/2 cups flour
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1 t. cinnamon
3 T. butter, softened

Combine the wet ingredients and mix well. Add the baking soda, salt, spices and flour and stir until well combined, then stir in the semisweet chips. Mist 6 mini loaf pans with cooking spray and divide the batter equally between them. In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, flour and cinnamon, then work in the softened butter until small clumps form. Sprinkle the clumps evenly over the pans full of batter, then bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes before attemping to remove them from the pan.

Apples Two Ways

I recently procured a bushel of honeycrisp apples. Oh heaven! We mostly have been eating them fresh, but one can only eat so many fresh apples. So I dusted off an old favorite that I haven't made in a few years, and also gave a recipe from Leigh Anne's blog a try. They're quite a bit different from each other, and both quite delicious. This first one came from a Junior League of Denver cookbook I received as a wedding present. I have to confess that when I opened cookbooks in the heap of wedding gifts, I was not very enthusiastic. It took me a few years to fully appreciate what a great gift they were. This Junior League has been the source of some darn good meals over the years, and I wish I could remember who gave it to me so that I could go back and really thank them in earnest. Anyway, I digress. Here you go:

Apple Breakfast Tart (anytime tart, really)

Crust:
1 ¼ cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
¼ t. nutmeg or cinnamon
½ t. baking powder
½ t. salt
½ cup butter, chilled
1 egg
1 T. milk

Filling:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
¼ cup sugar
2 egg yolks
½ t. vanilla

Topping:
2 large McIntosh, Fuji or Granny Smith apples, cored and thinly sliced
1/3 cup sugar
½ t. cornstarch
½ t cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 10 inch tart pan or pie pan. In large bowl, combine the dry crust ingredients. Cut butter into flour mixture until crumbly. In small bowl, beat egg and milk and add to flour mixture. Blend until dough forms a ball and pat dough into prepared pan.
Blend cream cheese and ¼ cup sugar, then add egg yolks and vanilla and beat until smooth. Spread evenly over crust. Layer apples over cream cheese mixture in circular pattern, slightly overlapping slices. In small bowl, combine remaining topping ingredients and sprinkle over the apples.

Bake 30 minutes, reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees and bake for 10 more minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool for 20-30 minutes before serving. Delicious with a dollop of vanilla whipped cream on the side.

***In the past, I have always made this with nutmeg in the crust. This time I switched it to cinnamon, and really liked it. Both ways are good. I find that this is also best eaten the first or second day. Over time, the crust gets soft. I usually make this in a 10 inch round tart pan, but this time I made it in a recently procured rectangular tart pan. It was so much easier to place the apples and to slice it in that shape. You can also use a springform pan in a pinch.


These puppies are RICH! Leigh Anne's original recipe called for making these in a jelly roll size pan. I put the crust dough down on one of those pans and immediately realized that if I was going to make it stretch all the way across and cover it, I'd have a veeeeeeeery thin crust and I'd be frustrated and angry by the time I finished fussing over it for 15 minutes. So I scooped it back out and used my rectangular tart pan instead, and had lovely thick bars. Next time, I will dice the apples much smaller for easier spreading. The hint of lemon, light and crispy crust, and cinnamon glaze on these is really delicious.

Apple Bars (from Your Home Based Mom)

Cookie Layer:

1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup shortening
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 cups flour

Cream fats and sugar. Blend in flour. Pat on bottom of 10x 15 pan (or half that size for thicker bars - see above). Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until light brown.

Apple Layer:

2-3 Golden Delicious Apples, peeled, cored and diced small to equal 2 cups
1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 t. grated lemon peel
1 beaten egg
1 t. vanilla
1 3/4 cups flour
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt

Melt butter in saucepan. Blend in brown sugar, apples, lemon peel, beaten egg and vanilla. Sift flour, baking powder and salt. Stir into apple mixture. Spread evenly over cookie layer and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

Glaze:

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 t. cinnamon
2-3 T. milk

Combine in a small bowl and blend until smooth. Glaze top of apple layer while still slightly warm and cut into bars.

Petite Pumpkin Carrot Spice Muffins

I'm a long time subscriber to Taste of Home, and I keep the old issues around for inspiration when I get tired of whatever current cooking streak I'm on. A recipe from last fall's edition caught my eye - Pumpkin and Spice and Everything Nice Muffins. These are touted as being better for you because they are sweetened with real maple syrup, and have carrots, whole grain and pumpkin in them. That probably just about counterbalances the butter. I baked them in mini muffin cups because they cook so much faster, and on a busy school morning, those extra 10 minutes are a big deal. The finished product was delightful and greedily scarfed up by my kids. The texture is perfect - nice soft crumb, melt in your mouth, no rubberiness or chewiness (often a problem with reduced fat recipes), only lightly sweet. Just right. I made a slight modification from the original recipe, which called for 1/2 cup of wheat bran, and I didn't have it on hand. I simply used whole wheat flour with good results.

Pumpkin Carrot Spice Muffins

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour (or wheat bran)
2 t. pumpkin pie spice (or 1 1/2 t. cinnamon + 1/4 t. each ginger, nutmeg and cloves)
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1 cup canned pure pumpkin puree
1/2 cup plain, lowfat yogurt
1/2 cup pure maple syrup or honey
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 egg
1 t. vanilla
1 cup finely grated carrots
1/2 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray two 24 cup mini muffin tins with cooking spray and set aside. In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients except chocolate chips and nuts and set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients, then add the dry ingredients and fold in until just moistened. Fold in the chocolate chips and nuts, then divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown and top springs back. Cool on a wire rack. Yield: 48 mini muffins

**These may be baked in full size muffin cups as well, and the recipe states the yield is 12. Bake for 20-22 minutes.

Just-right Gingersnaps

Over General Conference weekend, my family converged on my home for the annual stuff yourself and try to stay awake during the next session fest. Amy whipped up a batch of tasty homemade peach ice cream, and I felt that it needed something to complement it. So I pulled this recipe out, given to me by my friend Kierstin, and it was just right. Chewy on the outside, soft on the inside. Her original recipe calls for using all butter, but I find that yields flat cookies. Tasty, buttery and wonderful flat cookies, but still flat. So if you want a little volume, go for the mix of shortening and butter listed below.

Big Soft Ginger Cookies

2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 t. cloves
2 t. ginger
3/4 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. salt
1 t. baking soda
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup molasses

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Beat the butter until fluffy, and gradually add 1 cup of sugar and beat for a couple minutes more. Add the egg and molasses and beat well. Stir dry ingredients into the mixture until well incorporated, then roll into 1 inch balls an roll in cinnamon sugar before placing on cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until top is just crackled and barely set. Remove from the oven and allow to rest on the cookie sheet for 2-3 minutes before removing to a wire cooling rack.

Tami's Southwest Rice and Bean Salad

I found this recipe at From My Kitchen Cafe. These days make one or two dishes a week and eat them for multiple meals. I have changed the recipe to suit what was in my pantry. Here's my version of Tami's Southwest Rice and Bean Salad.

5 cups cooked rice, warm or at room temperature
2 teaspoons salt
I added some chopped Roma tomatoes for color and sweetness. LOVELY.
1 (16-oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (16-oz.) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed (I only had black beans, but I'm sure pinto would be great)
2 cups cooked, cubed chicken (rotisserie or I also like to put a couple chicken breasts in my crockpot before I leave for work and then just cut them up for this salad when I get home).
1 (12-oz.) can corn, drained (frozen corn would work great, too)
4 green onions, chopped

Dressing:
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
2/3 cup canola oil
4 pickled jalepeno pepper rounds (found in the glass jars next to the olives, usually)
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin

Combine all of the salad ingredients together in a large bowl. Combine dressing ingredients in blender until peppers are finely minced. Toss with salad. Serve warm or at room temperature. The second day my salad had dried out a bit. It was perfect to wrap up in a fresh tortilla.

Hearty roasted southwest chicken soup

I have long sought a recipe for chicken tortilla soup that's hearty rather than brothy, packs a robust flavor into the bowl, and doesn't call for "cream of fill-in-the-blank" soup (banned from my kitchen, I'm afraid). The frost propelled us to clear out the last of the peppers and tomatoes from the garden, yielding bags full of each. We froze a bunch of the peppers until we got tired of chopping, and stashed the remaining couple dozen jalapenos in the fridge. I mulled over what to do with them all day and around 3 in the afternoon, started experimenting. This soup requires some advance planning, but it is not difficult. It is very nutritious and a great way to get some veggies into your kids. And it is delicious! Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Chicken Soup for the Soul

15 roma tomatoes, sliced in half vertically and seeds removed
1 large purple onion, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch wedges
8 cloves of garlic, peeled
olive oil
kosher salt
freshly ground pepper

Prepare the veggies as above, then spread out on a jelly roll pan, drizzle with olive oil, toss lightly to coat, and face all of the tomatoes cut side up. Tuck the garlic into some of the tomatoes, sprinkle everything with salt and pepper, then roast in the oven at 300 degrees for 2 hours. No stirring required - just walk away.

When it's done, it should look like this. Meanwhile, prepare the chicken and jalapenos on the grill:

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, thawed
cumin, coriander, chipotle chili powder, garlic powder
1 lime
8-10 jalapeno peppers

Sprinkle each chicken breast with the seasonings. Place the jalapenos and the chicken breasts on a preheated grill and cook for 8 minutes over medium heat. Rotate the jalapenos to get even browning of the skins, and remove them once they begin to split. Before turning the chicken breasts over, squeeze half a lime over them to moisten the spices. Cook for an additional 8 minutes, or until the juices run clear. Remove to a plate to allow the juices to settle before cutting each breast into thin strips across the grain, then chop the strips into 4ths. Slice the stem end off each jalapeno, cut lengthwise, and remove the seeds.

Do not fear the jalapeno. This may seem like an outrageous number of the feisty little buggers, but the grilling and subsequent simmering mellows the heat to almost zero. If my 2 year old can eat the soup without complaining, so can you.

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Next, pull out an 8 quart soup pot. Scrape all of the tomatoes, onions and garlic in, and toss in the jalapenos. You will now need:

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2 cans chicken stock

1 cup corn, frozen or canned (drain first)

1 can black beans (rinsed and drained)

1/2 t. each oregano, cumin, coriander and if you're feeling spicy, chipotle chili powder

1/4 t. smoked salt (you can substitute liquid smoke, but add it cautiously and taste after every few drops - we're just trying to round out the flavor, not overwhelm it!)

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

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Pour the chicken stock into the pot with the veggies and use an immersion blender to puree it all until smooth. If you'd like your soup runnier, add another can of stock. Stir in the corn, black beans, diced chicken, seasonings, and adjust to taste. Simmer on medium low for 5-10 minutes to allow the flavors to meld, then stir in the fresh cilantro and squeeze the other half the lime in just before serving.

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Serve with avocado wedges, lime wedges (this one is really important - the kick of fresh lime squeezed into your bowl is just awesome), grated jack or chedder cheese, sour cream, and tortilla chips. This quantity will serve 4- 6, depending on how hearty the servings are.