Comfort Foods - Homemade Bread

Ugh....I've had a really busy couple of weeks. There's a lot going on at home right now and I haven't had too much time to make any proper meals or to get creative in the kitchen. Now, it's not like I haven't been cooking at all, but I'm definitely sticking to tried-and-true favorites, like spaghetti and meatballs, sandwiches, roasted potatoes, etc.. Hmm..they all seem to be comfort foods, eh? I think that's pretty typical of family meals when parents are busy or under a lot of stress.

Today I had a bit more time so I made a simple loaf of homemade bread. I hadn't made a loaf in a while and really missed it. The best part about making homemade bread? It's so easy to make and takes very little hands-on time.

To start, mix 1 1/2 cups warm water with 1 tbsp active yeast. Let rest for a couple of minutes until the yeast begins to froth.

Add flour one 1/2 cup at a time and 2 tsp salt. Mix with a wooden spoon until it begins to get too hard to mix.

Begin kneading the bread by folding it over, turning it clockwise, and folding again. Add additional flour as needed. In total, you'll need 3-4 cups of flour. It really depends; sometimes I use less and sometimes more.You've used enough flour when the dough isn't sticky anymore and is smooth.

Put the dough into an oiled bowl and cover with a clean towel. Let it sit in a warm draft-free area for 1-2 hours. If the house is cool, putting the bowl in the oven with the light on works really well. Today, I placed the bowl on the counter and left the house to run errands. Now, that's a sign of an easy recipe!

Once risen, punch the dough down, knead lightly and place it into a bread pan. Cover with the dish towel once more and let sit for another half hour so so. Preheat the oven to 425F.

Place the bread into the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 375F and bake for an additional 30 minutes.

Voila! A loaf of comforting homemade bread!

Now, you're probably wondering what I've been so busy with at home, right? I'll make an announcement soon! It's very exciting! Until then, back to making comfort foods because it's quick and easy. Tonight? It's homemade pizza!

Homemade Oven Cleaner

When it comes to cleaning there are three jobs that I hate - (1) cleaning the washroom, (2) drying dishes, and (3) cleaning the oven. Out of the three, cleaning the oven is the worst one of all. I hate doing it so much that my husband usually breaks down and does it himself.

The main reason for me not wanting to do it, however, isn't the 'doing it' part; it's the fact that oven cleaners are just so strong and toxic. After cleaning the oven with the toxic stuff you can often smell it the first couple times the oven is used afterwards. Does the food get contaminated with the remaining fumes? I really don't want to know..

I had been 'meaning' to clean the oven for a while now but really, really didn't want to use a traditional cleaner. I did some research and found a few options for homemade oven cleaners. There was one that involved just baking soda and water. Apparently, you can cover the bottom of the oven with baking soda and then spray it with water and leave it overnight. When the baking soda is removed it should remove the grime as well. Sounds easy enough....but how would that work for the sides and back of the oven?

Another method that I found was using a hand-held steamer and then scrubbing with a cloth/sponge and baking soda. This was the one that I chose to try; especially after I saw that Canadian Tire had hand-held steamers on sale this week for $51.99 (regular $129.99).

The steamer was really easy to use. I filled it up with water, plugged it in and pressed on the trigger (yes, it was that simple). When cleaning I did one section at a time and then did some scrubbing with baking soda and a wet cloth. I did have to use some elbow grease and woke up with sore shoulders this morning but it was worth it.

I think I did a good job!

I feel good knowing that I can now use my oven without fear of any remaining cleaning fumes getting into my food.

Do you have any tricks to cleaning your oven without toxic chemicals?

2012 Foodland Ontario Calendar - February (Pork and Vegetable Stovetop Stew)

Trying new recipes is a lot like shopping for new clothes. You have a tendency of sticking to the tried-and-true and buying (making) the same things over and over. At first glance you don't think it'll suit you (taste right) but once you try it on you realize that it fits (tastes) perfectly. I often look at a recipe and think 'meh...I don't think I'd like that'. Well, you never really know until you try it, right?

My first thought when I looked at the February recipe for the 2012 Foodland Ontario Calendar was that I wouldn't like it. For one, parsnips aren't high on my list of favourite vegetables and two, I thought that it would be bland based on the ingredients. Well, I was wrong, it 'suited' my tastebuds perfectly. Strangely enough I even thought that the parsnips were the best part of the dish. Huh? How did that happen? They tasted really sweet - might have been the combination of the parsnips and sweet potatoes together perhaps? Anyways, I thought it was absolutely delicious!

Give it a try, it might fit you just right...

Pork and Vegetable Stovetop Stew

• 1 tbsp flour
• 1 tsp dried thyme leaves
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp each crumbled dried rosemary and pepper
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 Ontario Pork Tenderloin cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 Ontario Onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 medium Ontario Sweet Potato, peeled and cubed
• 2 Ontario Parsnips, peeled and chopped
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Combine flour, thyme, salt, rosemary and pepper; toss pork in mixture. In Dutch oven or large saucepan, heat 1 tbsp of the oil over medium heat. Add pork and cook until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Remove to plate.

Add remaining oil to pan. Stir in onion and garlic; cook until lightly softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in broth and bring to boil. Add sweet potato, parsnips and pork; cover and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until pork and vegetables are tender, about 25 minutes. Serve sprinkled with parsley.

Next month's recipe for February will be a Chicken and Vegetable Stir-Fry.

**If you wish to view the online version of the calendar you may access it here: http://www.foodland.gov.on.ca/english/calendar/2012/index.html

**If you'd like to view my blog entries for last year's calendar click on the 'Foodland Ontario' label on the left side of the page or view them by following this link: http://southwesternontariofoodie.blogspot.com/search/label/foodland%20ontario

Wild Rice, Mushroom, Tomato and Cheese Casserole

Where does rice come from? It doesn't come from Canada that's foresure. Well, traditional rice doesn't anyways. Wild rice on the other hand is mainly grown in Canada and in the Northern United States. Did you know that?

Actually, did you know that wild rice isn't rice at all? It's actually the seed of an aquatic grass? It grows 'wild' in the rivers and lakes of Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Northwestern Ontario. According to an article that I read in Canadian Living wild rice is a challenging crop to grow and is not suitable for large-scale production which, in turn, makes it a more expensive rice. It's still mainly harvested by the Native Americans too, by boat.

Cooked wild rice is high in protein and dietary fiber, is easily digetible, has higher protein than brown rice, and is low in fat. It is a good source of vitamins and minerals, especially zinc (15% DV) and manganese (20% DV). It's also gluten-free.

A while back I had bought a small bag of wild rice from Oh Canada Wild Rice (http://www.ohcanadawildrice.com/). It's one of those things that sat in my pantry for a while and that I kept 'meaning' to use. Well, I finally decided to use it last week. I'll never let it sit in the pantry ever again; it was really, really good. I think I love wild rice! Good thing too, it's the only 'local' rice that we have available in Canada (for now anyways...I did find some studies online of people trying to grow traditional rice in Canada).

Wild Rice And Cheese Casserole
**from package of Oh Canada Wild Rice

• 4 cups cooked wild rice - (1 cup dried makes about 4 cups cooked)
• 3 cups mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup butter (I used less)
• 1 cup old cheddar cheese, grated
• 1 14oz can diced tomatoes

**to cook the rice: Combine 1 cup wild rice with 4 cups cold water. Please in a heavy 2 quart saucepan, and bring to a hard boil. Reduce heat, cover tightly and boil gently for 30 minutes. Shut off heat, let stand on burner for 25 to 35 minutes until the rice reaches desired texture. Drain.

Saute mushrooms and onion in butter (about 5 minutes). Toss wild rice with mushrooms/onion and other
remaining ingredients. Spoon into 2 quart casserole dish. Cover. Bake 1 hour at 350F.

Eat Fresh, Eat Local, Eat REAL Food!

Covent Market Calendar - February (Herbed Ontario Mushroom Crostini)

It's already time for the February calendar recipes. For the Covent Garden Market calendar it's all about mushrooms this month--Herbed Ontario Mushroom Crostini

As a child I loathed mushrooms. Now, as an adult though I absolutely love them. Well...I love them cooked anyways. I still won't eat them raw.

As I spoke about in my January post my goal is to make all of the recipes from the calendar and collecting the ingredients required from the market itself. After some though I think I'm also going to profile a vendor in each post going forward as well.

For this post I needed a baguette. Right away I knew that I would be getting it from The International Bakery. A vendor at the market for over 40 years they have many products available - from whole wheat bread, rye bread, pizza, focaccia bread, buns, ciabatta, cakes, cookies, treats, and of course, baguettes. When the outdoor farmer's market is open (May to December) they have a table out there as well. I love their focaccia breads/buns the best - I like to slice them open and use them for sandwich bread. Delicious!

Ingredients:

• 20 slices baguette (from International Bakery)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup finely chopped shallots (from Doris Family Produce)
• 4 cloves minced garlic (from Havaris Produce)
• 6 cups assorted Ontario mushrooms, sliced (from Havaris Produce and Doris Family Produce)
• salt
• 1/3 cup white wine
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Canadian Parmesan (from Smiths' Cheese)
• 1/4 cup mixed herbs, minced (from Doris Family Produce)
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 20 parmesan curls for garnish

Heat oven to 400F. Brush both sides of the bread with olive oil. Place on baking sheet. Bake for 4 minutes per side. Remove from oven and set aside.

To make topping: In a large skillet, heat 2 tbsp of olive oil over medium heat. Add shallots and garlic, saute for one minute. Stir in mushrooms and saute until softened and beginning to brown, 5-10 minutes. Add a bit of salt at this time.

Turn heat to high and add the white wine. Stir for a few minutes until liquid has evaporated. Remove from heat, stir in the grated parmesan, herbs, salt and pepper.

To assemble: Warm up the toasts for another minute, top with warm mushroom topping, and garnish with a Parmesan curl.

For an online version of the Covent Garden Market Calendar see this link: http://www.coventmarket.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/2012-Market-Calendar.pdf

For other blog posts about the Covent Garden Market (and the calendar) see here: http://southwesternontariofoodie.blogspot.com/search/label/Covent%20Garden%20Market

March Recipe? Lemon and Maple Shrimp Fettuccine - my husband is excited about this one. He loves shrimp!