We have moved!

We have moved!!!

With all the changes in my life over the last few years I have neglected Home Cooking Mama! Well she is moving to the farm! Over the coming month all the recipes and post will be moved to their new home at Rester Farms. 

I hope you decide to join us and continue my crazy culinary adventure!!!! Trust me it's about to get really exciting in the kitchen!!!

Visit our new page here at www.resterfarms.com.

Happy Home Cooking!!!

Homemade Bread - Farmhouse White Sandwich

I posted on my facebook yesterday pictures of the bread I was making and a few asked if I would share the recipe, so I figured I would share it on here.

It's been so long since I baked bread or blogged for that matter. I have to say it felt so good to feel that dough in my hands.

I've been looking for a recipe that would hold up to sandwiches when we need a lunch for our homeschool field trips and co-op. The old recipe I used never did well. I haven't tested this one yet but I can already tell it is holding up well. It's a denser bread and has a lovely flavor.

I also love that she has the 3 loaf batch recipe. Let's face it, no one has time to bake fresh bread every morning. Although if you do, please let me know, because somehow there has to be a way that doesn't mean the alarm is going off at some ungodly hour before even King, my rooster, wakes up!

I have shared below how I followed the recipe and the tweaks I made. I didn't need as much flour as the original recipe called for. I also need longer proofing time. The key to bread making is PATIENCE! Also my recipe is only for 1 loaf, not the original 3. I baked mine at 360 instead of the 375 because my oven runs a little hotter. 

You can find the original recipe here at Farmgirl Fare. 

For you more visual learner Gather For Bread added a short video on their post of this recipe showing the steps.

Farmhouse White Sandwich Bread (1 loaf)

Ingredients:

1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 Tablespoon yeast

2/3 Tablespoon sugar

2/3 Tablespoon melted butter

1 1/3 cup warm milk

1 1/2 cups (roughly) bread flour

1/2 Tablespoon of salt

Directions:

1. Mix together the all-purpose flour, yeast, and sugar. (This could be done in your Kitchen Aid mixer if you don't want the arm workout.)

2. Make a well in the middle of the flour and add the melted butter then then milk.

3. Continue to mix, adding 1/2 cup of bread flour at a time, until you have added around 1 1/2 to 2 cups and have sticky, shaggy dough. 

4. Cover the bowl with a damp tea towel and let it rise for 20 minutes. 

5. Add the salt and 1/2 cup more of bread flour, depending on how sticky or dry it is. 

6. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead it with floured hands until the dough is soft and smooth, about 10 minutes. If you need to sprinkle with flour, do so. You want a soft dough not a sticky one.

7. I put my dough in a 6-quart container with a lid and marked where the dough was. You want it to double in size. This will depend on the dough temp and the room temperature. It took mine 1 1/2 hours to double. 

8. The dough is ready to shape when you can push a floured finger deep into it and leave an indentation that doesn't spring back.

9. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and flatten gently with your hands to remove any large air bubbles. 

10. Shape the dough into loaves and place seam side down in a greased and floured loaf pan. I used a 9 inch pan.

11. Cover with a damp tea towel and let them rise for another hour.

12. Bake at 375 for 35 minutes. The loaf should be golden brown and the bottom sound hollow if you table it.

13. Place on a wire rack to cool.

14. Enjoy! 

Homemade vanilla extract

Today's adventure on my road to Control is homemade vanilla extract. 

Somedays I feel really dumb. About a year ago I was reading a recipe book and there was a recipe for vanilla extract. And the thought popped in my head 'you can make that yourself?' Like I said it was a dumb moment because I felt stupid for thinking that something like vanilla extract is a mystical item that comes from a secret place beyond the reach of us normal human beings.

My adventures with vanilla extract began when I really started baking although I'm ashamed to say I bought that generic clear imitation vanilla extract. I don't even want to think about what sort of toxic chemical experiment that is. 

My husband had been in Mexico years ago and brought my mother in law back some real vanilla extract from there. And we're not talking some little tiny 2oz bottle this was wine bottle size. My mother in law makes the best desserts!!! Anyhow this was before I had met my husband but when one of our friends was heading to Peru she asked if he would bring back some vanilla. It was quite a funny moment. I was handed this large bottle, in church, that looked like I had just left the liquor store, of course there was no 'proper' label and if you open it it really smelt like I had hit the liquor store! 'No Pastor I know I'm from Ireland but I haven't fallen off the wagon!!!' Promptly followed by 'my mother in law gave it to me!'

Anyhow I used this wonderful real stuff and instantly noticed the difference. Goodbye imitation!!! Sadly that bottle ran out as all good things must come to an end. If you are like me and a vanilla extract purest you have probably noticed that it's getting harder to find, costing more and the bottles keep getting smaller. 

So now to the Control of my food issue. The current bottle I'm using is from Target, the Archers farm brand. It cost me $6.99 for a 2 fl oz bottle. Look carefully at the label, water, alcohol, extractives of Madagascar bourbon vanilla beans. 

Nowhere in my research did I see water added to the process!!! Plus what type of alcohol did they use? Making your own is getting control of the ingredients. My label will say vodka and vanilla beans.

So I hit the internet and read probably every blog posting under the sun on the subject and researched beans. There is a difference grade a and grade b. So here's the low down. Grade a is the gourmet grade and grade b is the extract blend. It's simply a case of moisture content. When you are cooking with something that require a vanilla bean you want grade a because of the higher moisture content. If you are making extract you want grade b as it is cured differently leading to a more intense flavor. Got it? 

So where do you get beans! Obviously the grocery store is not the answer and unless a trip to Madagascar is possible to the internet we go. I ordered from the Vanilla Bean Company on amazon because I love amazon and have prime. The same company is also on eBay. The beans arrived well packaged and I love the instant smell of vanilla when I opened the envelop.

Now there are a lot of beans out there from different locations and like all things grown, where they grow has an impact on taste. I'm sure it takes a true vanilla connoisseur to taste the subtle differences but as Madagascar beans seem to the popular one for extract, that's what I went with.     

Next we need alcohol. I was under the impression I needed to use bourbon but after much research the jury has decided that vodka is best. I was also under the impression that the lovely dark brown color came from the bourbon but actually as it matures it darkens the alcohol! Magic beans!!!! Ok it's nice to keep a little mystery to the process, although the homeschool mama in me will have to do a science study on that one with my boys one day! You can use bourbon and I'm sure at some stage I will experiment and even try rum so see what the difference is! I have chosen vodka because I have a bottle in my house. It's Smirnoff and everyone says to use the cheapest you can find but as a former vodka drinker I'm going to go with what I know because cheaper can taste so nasty!!! And huge FYI don't do flavored vodka just the raw stuff. Although that might be another interesting experiment!

So with my canning experiments I have mason jars everywhere so that was my choice of maturing vessel. Please don't use plastic. Although BPA has been taken out of so much I'm sure they have found an equally toxic chemical to replace it with that we just don't know the risk to. The plastic can leech into the vanilla extract and there's no telling what it will do. Let's boost the glass making industry because it's safer for taste and our health. The internet has a ton of gorgeous bottles with swing caps to pick from. My next batch I think of will splurge and get a pretty bottle! Whatever you use just make sure it seals.

So now for the process. Obviously this is going to take some time to see the finished product and I will do an updated post when I get there. So why not order some beans, grab the vodka and share your vanilla extract progress with me, there still is a little magic to this one so let's enjoy it!!

Vanilla Extract

5 Madagascar grade b vanilla beans

1 cup vodka (or bourbon, brandy or rum)

1. Split vanilla beans down the middle leaving about 1/2 inch at each end and cut bean in half. 

2. Add to a clean sterile jar.

3. Pour in the vodka and seal jar.

4. Give it a good shake.

5. Store in a dark cool place for about 6 - 8 weeks or longer. (The longer the better)

6. Once or twice a week give the jar a good shaking.

7. You can remove the beans and strain it to get the store bought look or just leave the beans in there to continue to mature. 

Happy Home Cooking!

Click those ruby slippers three time...

I've got to say when I first realized I was going to be overhauling our diet it seemed an overwhelming task. It not only means learning new things but also reprogramming my way of looking at food.

This journey began for me Valentines Day 2007 when I got the PCOS diagnosis. Honestly it probably began July 11th 2003 when I became a wife and homemaker. Up until this point food had really been mindless for me. And not healthy mindless. I love junk food and have had an unhealthy relationship with it. PCOS was only the first step on this journey; moving from processed to homemade. 

Now the road map has changed because mainly one rainy afternoon about 3 months ago my hubby was bored and while flick the channels found the movie Food Inc. I really recommend you watch this although be ready to have a Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz moment when Toto pulls back the curtain. 

Surely the food on the shelves of the grocery store are safe? Surely the advertisements of happy farmers in blue skies fields with happy livestock and produce are true? Or behind the convenience curtain lies a reality that we have fallen asleep and grown ignorant to the reality. Surely the Bees cartoon movie was just a liberal tree hugging propaganda show? Or is the reality that GMO crops with pesticide in them is killing our bee population? 

The curtain for me has been pulled back and that sinking feeling of being stuck in poisonous poppy field Oz is becoming a reality. So what could possibly be the ruby shoes of this situation? 

Education and reprogramming! 

Over the past few months going to the grocery store has left me feeling miserable. I can honestly say I hate it now. I rarely go down a middle aisle and with distrust purchase the produce and meats. My reality is my body isn't functioning right. I have a nasty cold this week that has left me drained of all energy which is making my normal functioning harder.

I'm caught in transition and like every interchange point it's hard and miserable. If money was no issue I could buy only organic, grass fed but even the processed version is over priced this weather. They don't do coupons for produce. We don't have land so growing it ourselves is difficult. We rent a house in a 'difficult' subdivision, so no chickens. In my dream world subdivisions wouldn't waste space with lawns but would have edible landscapes. As I watched my neighbors sprinklers run today I thought what a waste of land and water for just grass. Rows of beautiful homegrown produce would be much nicer to look at.

But what I can do is clip my ruby slippers three times and say 'there's no food like homemade!' Last month I got what I needed to can. I read books and with the kind hand holding of my mother in law I canned 12 pint jars of tomatoes. Guess what it wasn't that scary!!!

My first canned tomatoes! Aren't they pretty!

Homemade salsa

Two of my Roma Tomato plants with the flowers just starting!

Bell pepper plants

Cherry Tomatoes or Potatoes as my 4 year old calls them!

Then I took some of those canned tomatoes and made homemade tomato sauce for the meatballs. Now I have control because guess what my canned tomatoes were fresh and organic and there's no salt added!

I didn't use all of the 25lbs of tomatoes I got from a local farmers market so I made salsa, one fresh and then one for canning. Next on my list is tomato paste and ketchup when the tomatoes are in full season. 

And with a little bit of luck hopefully they will be from the four Roma tomato plants I have growing in containers outside. Visions of a shelf of canned tomatoes, spaghetti sauce, tomato purée, salsa and ketchup are filling my heads. Control!!!

I see a pressure cooking down the road too! For all the low acid things I want to can. I can honestly say I have a kinda canning addiction now!

We recently gave the boys a huge life rocking announcement. The candy and junk was leaving for good. If mama doesn't make it it won't be here. So far so good!!! And nothing beats a homemade chocolate chip cookie! 

It's blueberry season and the pick your own farms are opening. Pick your own equals control!!!! So last Saturday we went and picked 6.75lbs of blueberries. They are delicious. Those store bought junk should be in the candy aisle in comparison. And the coolest part was there was a beehive in the middle of the farm and I got honey from that hive, wild flower from the blueberry and blackberry bushes and all the other wonderful pollinating plants. 

I could just eat these delicious things raw but I wanted to preserve them. So I tried jam for the first time. Very little sugar and a little hard work and I now have jars of homemade organic jam. Control!!! 

No more high fructose corn syrup on the boys pancakes they have homemade blueberry syrup instead.

The list of my recent adventures could go on. And yes it's probably not cheaper. Sure I can buy barbecue sauce buy one get one free with an additional coupon for $1 but would I rather spend my money on raw healthy ingredients and put forth a little effort or do I want to go spend money on doctor bills and medicine? That's the choice people. For the first time in history the poorest in society are the fattest. We are killing ourselves with every bite.

Before the grocery store we ate real food not science experiments in bright packaging. I was lucky, I remember a milkman dropping fresh milk from a local farm at our front door everyday. I remember look out at rows of beautiful produce growing the garden. I remember helping my parents take horse manure from the 'dung hill' to fertilizer the garden. I remember going to the bakery, the butchers shop, the produce market and only thinking the one small grocery store was for toilet paper and cleaning products. I knew milk came from a cow and not a white carton. And I'm only 35! 

I want that way of life back. I don't think I'm asking too much. Honestly people when you stop and really think about it, really look into our food source, really see that the variety and choice we have is just the different names of chemical or toxins we are putting into our bodies. But if we all just one vegetable at a time, one meal at a time, made a change then we can do this. We can tell the grocery stores to keep their junk and grow it or visit a farmer and buy it. 

I know some of you work extremely hard and time to breath never mind garden is a luxury. That's where farmers markets come in. They say for every job lost at a grocery store it would create 3 jobs in the agriculture industry.

For some of you like me you just haven't tried to garden. I have a bad track record if killing plants, but this year I gave it another go. Much to my increasing frustration I can't dig up the back yard because we rent this house. So I thought containers and I'm talking those plastic storage tubs because they are cheaper. I have over 20 bell peppers growing at the minute, more cherry tomatoes than I know what to do with. We've already eaten the lettuces and I have a constant supply of scallions.

And I've failed. I had to pull up my cucumbers and start again because they got too much water from the heavy rain and the stems split. My peas got overwatered and died. But this is a learning curve and I'm trying. Because I want control of my food back. I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired.

So come on give it a go with me. We can hold each other's hand! 

Happy Home Cooking the Home Grown way!!!

Instagram

Just wanted to let you all know that you can now follow me on Instagram #homecookingmama

A New Adventure!

I have to admit that I have been the worst blogger ever recently. Life took me in a different direction for a while. Since we moved to Florida in July life has become amazing. My life is consumed with homeschooling. We have the most amazing home educators community that we belong to and I can truly say it has been the most amazing blessing. My boys are thriving and honestly so am I. 

Being by the beach is amazing too. I am in love with Amelia Island! 

The Atlantic Ocean

Amelia Island January

The beautiful beach on Amelia Island

As for food well I do have to say I miss Louisiana. The restaurants and variety there are to me the best in the world. Sadly we haven't found too many places we enjoy here. So we don't eat out as much. 

The good thing is that we are surrounded by like minded cooks here. People who cook from scratch and pay attention to their food. I have even started a little garden and will be sharing that with soon!!!

I honestly haven't been taking my diet seriously and it's showing. So hence why home cooking mama is back. I have decided the culinary adventure I started after being diagnosed with PCOS must continue. With the addition of rosacea and psoriasis I need to take it up a notch.

So watch this space and I will share my new adventures into using food to improve my health!!!

Happy Home Cooking!  

Home Cooking Mama is moving!

Home Cooking Mama is moving! Not the blog but me! After 10 wonderful years in Louisiana, my family is moving to Florida in a few weeks. I'm excited about the adventure. I will be sad and miss so much of the wonderful food local to Louisiana.

I have big plans after the move. As many of you who have been reading the blog know I have a health issue that is made worse by processed food and an unhealthy diet. You will also know that recently I have developed a strong desire to start making everything from scratch to be more in control of the items that are in our diet. This only gets more important as more and more news stories about the harmful effects of chemicals and the fact the FDA doesn't seem to care as to whether the things they approve will kill us or not.

With all the change around here things have not been normal and I haven't been as diligent with the diet. Plus I started Weight Watchers to help me get rid of this spare tire I seem to have acquired after two pregnancies.

I am very excited that the town we are moving to has a weekly farmers market that looks amazing from the website. We have a few here but they aren't too impressive. Plus the new house has a massive kitchen and I will have the space to do what I need! More about all that in a later post! I'm excited about the new adventure and see it as a new opportunity to put the health of my family as a priority.

The biggest down side is my beloved chickens won't be coming with us. I will dearly  miss them and their fresh eggs. But I don't believe I will be going back to buy store eggs, it would be a step backwards.

So hang with me for a month or so till I get settled and then I will be sharing the journey!

Happy Home Cooking!!!

Pinterest and my homemade journey.

Again I find myself neglectful of the blog. To explain the craziness of my life is an understatement and Home Cooking Mama has been last on the list. One of these days I will get into such a wonderful state of organization and well managed time that I will be able to do all the wonderful 'extras' that make me smile.

But for now I will simply TRY.

I've been using that word alot with my oldest son recently, TRY. You never fail as long as you are trying, it's when you quit that you truly fail!

So anyhow you all should know by now that I'm trying my best to turn my meals into from scratch cooking. But recently that translated into why do they put so much crap in everything and why am I paying someone else to make this for me.

As I was checking Facebook last night I noticed a post from one of my friends about how she had made her own laundry detergent. She posted the pin from Pinterest. The thought came to me that Pinterest has changed the world for so many of us. This same friend has gone from processed meals to home cooked meals thanks to vast resources of ideas. We are now brave enough to try to make our own detergent and pretty much anything else you can think of.

I'm so frustrated by the health issues we all have now a days. Allergies are a nightmare in this house and before my journey into motherhood began I could use antihistamines, post pregnancy and breastfeeding, I have hallucinogenic nightmares (which is actually a side effect) so can't use those anymore. I do have a steroid nasal spray but really who wants to pump steroids into their body. 

Then there's the cleaning products issue, lets talk chemicals. I use bleach in my laundry (for the towels to stop mildewing in the humid Louisiana weather) well recently Clorox made their bleach CONCENTRATED. I'm trying to understand the need to concentrating everything!!!! Anyhow I have been noticing rust on my 2 year old washing machine but only on the part where I pour the bleach in and it's only appeared since the bleach got concentrated! This kind of a scary thought that this stuff is eroding my metal washer.

I have a huge problem being able to breath after I use cleaning product, Lysol being the number one culprit. Although two small kids and a stomach virus outweighs the ability to breath. So I've tried numerous products that are less chemical. I had a friend introduce me to a product that everyone that I have spoken to about has praised but sadly its a product that is tied up in some sort of multi level thing and just to become a customer it's so complicated and minimum requirements. What happened to the good old days of you have a wonderful product, you stick a price on it and the customer pays the product? Ok direct marketing rant over!!! 

My friend's laundry detergent creation has inspired me to give it a go. Then that thought lead me to the thought 'WHY STOP THERE' (famous last words!!) why not dive head first into a 'DIY Homemade from scratch so I know what ingredients are in stuff' adventure. I may not do something everyday but I'm going to share the adventure with you!!! And yes there is a huge possibility I have completely lost my mind this time and crossed the line to where a padded cell is in my near future. My life is insane at the moment and so many big issues are out of my control. Usually when this happens I start doing crazy stuff like reorganising the CD collection into alphabetical order or some other OCD behavior. Am I OCD, not usually, which is a shame, I might actually get more stuff done. 

I always have this sinking feeling that we are missing something, we have all these amazing gadgets and products to make life simpler but yet we seem to be busier and running around in circles more. We're doing something wrong, not sure what but something!!! Maybe the numerous hours spent in doctors offices or in pain or discomfort from our ailments has a lot to do with it. Maybe it's time to take control of our lives!!!!

So it's the end of the month and time for a fresh start! Let see where this adventure takes me!

WOO HOO!!!

Happy Home Cooking!!!

Better late than never - March Meal Plan

Well it's better late than ever, I've posted the March Meal Plan. Click here to see it.

I will try to get on the ball more and get the plans updated on time!!!

Happy Home Cooking!

Meyer Lemon Pudding

One of my newest obsessions is Pinterest! By far the best addition to the internet ever!!! I actually wondered the other day what I did before it existed. Not only is it a rich source of inspiration for recipes but I've built and decorated about 5 dream homes and I have the most amazing virtual wardrobe, plus an organised home-school lesson plan ideas. 

Anyhow I digress! While doing my daily trip to Pinterest land I saw this beautiful picture of a Meyer lemon pudding. So I just had to make it. With my new found desire to make everything from scratch pudding just seemed like a sure thing. Plus my sweet little hens have been lying well so using eggs didn't seem like a waste.

I have to say that it was wonderful and my sweet boys were addicted. They actually couldn't wait for it cool and we had to taste while it was still warm and it was delicious. To please my picky 5 year old is not easy!!!

So Meyer lemons. I'll be honest I've learnt a lot about them this past weekend. They are a species that originates in China and is supposed to be a cross between a lemon and an orange, strange feeling there's a joke in there somewhere!!!! Anyhow I know that they are a winter harvested fruit and we're kinda in that spring season now. I honestly didn't go looking for them and just did the half lemon/half orange switch which worked well.

One of the things that amazed me when I moved to Louisiana was the ability to grow 'tropical' type fruit. Lets face it Northern Ireland is far from tropical. So I'm thinking a Meyer lemon tree maybe moving into my back yard.

Meyer Lemon Pudding

Ingredients:

¾ cup granulated sugar

¼ cup cornstarch

2 ½ cups whole milk

3 extra large egg yolks, lightly beaten

2 T finely grated Meyer lemon zest (or 1 T lemon zest & 1 T orange zest)

¼ tsp kosher salt

½ cup freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice (or ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice & ¼ cup freshly squeezed orange juice)

2 T unsalted butter at room temperature

Directions:

1.    In a medium saucepan, whisk together the sugar and cornstarch.

2.    Add the milk, egg yolks, zest and salt and whisk until smooth.

3.    Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently at first and constantly toward the end, until thickened.

4.    Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the citrus juice and butter.

5.    Place a fine mesh sieve over a large bowl and pour the mixture through the strainer.

6.    Divide the mixture into 6 serving dishes and let cool at room temperature.

7.    Refrigerate, loosely covered (tightly covered will trap too much moisture, making a watery pudding) for at least 3 hours and up to 3 days.

8.    Serve chilled by itself or with lightly sweetened whipped cream.

Source recipe

Happy Home Cooking!

Homemade Bread!

Well on my journey to stop paying other people to make things that I can make myself (and yes I understand some people have extremely busy lives and can't) I have gone down the homemade bread road. For the last few months I've been experimenting with some recipes to see which one will fit our family. To say I have fallen in love is an understatement. This bread is moist and is still wonderful after 2 days, I don't know about any longer because it only made it that long because I specifically kept some to see. Although we have found that to make sandwiches that won't be eaten right away it doesn't seem to hold up.

I have to admit that I have been a mindless food purchaser and not really paid attention to labels and from time to time I would get a notion to but it was never a long lived thing, convenience seemed to win over. I recently took a look at the store bought bread we have used for years and saw all sorts of weird named ingredients. Now I know that they need it to preserve the bread so it has a shelf life but when you make fresh bread and see how long it lasts its a little scary how well these preservatives work! 

The trick for me is going to be timing and staying on top of the bread supply. Recently I haven't been too good at getting up early so bread for lunch has been a little late. I have horrible time management skills and really need to work on discipling myself and working to a schedule. Some recent changes around here will really go along way to helping me achieve this goal. I think a few more attempts and I will have my timing down perfect for the lunch time loaf of bread.

The original recipe this is adapted from is the Food Networks Alton Brown from Good Eats, Very Basic Bread Recipe. I love his show, well some of it, not the silly parts. I love the way he goes into the science behind cooking. It really is a science when you break it down. It also helps you to understand why you do the things you do at a specific stage in the cooking process. Anyhow I have changed the method Mr Brown used because it required some prepping the night before and I didn't feel the yeast was activating as much as I would have liked. So I got Julia Child's french bread recipe which is delicious. I took some of the method she used and applied it to Alton's recipe. Anyhow the results was amazing. The bread rose better and had a much better shape but still retained the taste.

My ingredients list is simple and this makes it cheaper than a store bought loaf. I love the fact that it is honey not sugar. Yeast needs sugar or honey to do it's thing but I much prefer the ability to use honey instead of sugar because its much less refined.

The shallow pan with hot water in it at the bottom of the oven will help to get a soft crust and keep the bread moist while it cooks. But I cannot impress on you the importance of being careful when you open the oven door, water and hot oven equals lots and lots of hot burning steam, I KNOW!!!!!! Facial like I've never experienced nor care to again!!!!

I've made the bread at night and it's been perfect for sandwiches the next day. Although it didn't seem to hold up for my husband when he made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in the morning and went to eat it at lunchtime.

By the way this is delicious with the Home Made Butter from January. In fact makes a peasant food like bread and butter feel like a luxury! I'll not even mention how delicious the BLT sandwich is either!!!

So give it a go you never know you could get addicted like me!!!!

Home Made Bread

Ingredients:

1 lb/16 oz bread flour, plus extra for shaping

1 tsp instant rapid rise yeast

2 tsp honey

10 oz of lukewarm water

1/2 tsp salt

2 quart hot water

Directions:

1. Combine yeast, lukewarm water and honey. Let stand for five minutes.

2. Stir together flour and salt in the bowl of a mixer. 

3. Using the dough hook attachment, add the yeast mixture to the bowl.
4. Knead the mixture on low for 2 - 3 minutes until the mixture comes together.

5. Cover the dough in the bowl with a tea towel and allow to rest for 20 minutes.

6. After 20 minutes, knead the dough on medium speed for 5 - 10 minutes. The dough will be sticky but shouldn't be too sticky to handle.

7. Add half of the hot water to a shallow pan and place on the bottom rack of your oven. DO NOT TURN THE OVEN ON.

8. Place the dough in the mixer bowl in the oven on the rack directly above the hot water. Cover and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 1 - 2 hours.

9. Once the dough has risen turn it onto a counter top, lightly dust your hands with flour and press the dough out with your knuckles.

10. Grease the loaf pan with butter and sprinkle with flour.

11. Mold the dough into a shape about the size of the loaf pan and set it inside. Cover and allow to rest for about 30 minutes till 1 hour until it has risen.

12. Turn your oven on to 400 degrees F. Add more water to the shallow pan if it has evaporated. REMEMBER BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL OPENING THE OVEN DOOR FROM THIS POINT ON - STEAM!!!!!

13. Place you bread in the oven and allow to cook for 35 - 40 minutes. Once the bread has reached an internal temperature of 205 to 210 degrees F, remove from oven and place on a cooling rack for 30 minutes. (If you are like me at least give it a few minutes so you don't burn yourself!).

Happy Home Cooking!!!

Turning a new leaf...

I know I have been absent from the blog for awhile and I apologize. My life is non stop on the best of days but recently it's been back to back sickness around here. It really has got me frustrated.

You know I'm all about home cooking and pretty much from scratch too. Being diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome was the beginning of a change for me. However pregnancy, breast feeding and motherhood have side tracked me a little. I do wonder what I used to do with all my free time before the boys.

I have replaced a huge amount of the processed prepackaged food but recently I've been wondering if I have gone far enough and if our diet is healthy enough. Before the beginning of the sickness period I had danced with the idea of the Low Glycemic Load Diet. There's just one problem, I'm from Northern Ireland and carbs are in our genetic make up, it was like trying to learn to write with my left hand after always being right handed. So in the middle of that horrible stomach virus and the aftermath where ALL I wanted was a cup of tea and a slice of toast I had a rethink. After all potatoes, pasta, bread, rice, etc have been part of my diet all my life. What changed 10 years ago was my activity levels. Who knew having a car was bad for your health!!! So I decided that as much as I hate exercise, that is the direction of my path to reduce the weight. After all look at how gorgeous Nigella Lawson is and she loves to cook real fun food.

I have recently become more aware of what is in our food. I mean Hamburger Helper and the like are no brainers, you know that they are full of preservatives. But then I looked at our bread label, and the shredded cheese bag and suddenly I realized my naivety. Did you know that they use a ton of stuff in the cheese to keep it shredded and don't get me started on the bread. Needless to say that I am now buying blocks of cheese and dusted off the wonderful cheese grater that our niece gave us as a wedding present. 

I feel like I'm on a journey right now with regard to food. I guess that I have been ignorant and mindless about my food for years. I remember the day when I discovered you could make mayonnaise, it was from the little cafe below my office in London that made the best bacon butty. I asked them which brand of mayonnaise they used and they told me they made it fresh every day. I was amazed and awe stuck and you could taste the difference. And yes I've been working on the perfect mayonnaise recipe. 

So hopefully I can get you all caught up with the Home Cooking Mama kitchen. The one thing my journey is showing me is that from scratch is so much better. And yes I know not everyone has the time and I understand that, I will always try to keep that in mind when I'm posting recipes. 

For now I'm going to sign off and go have dessert - homemade Meyer Lemon Pudding. The boys have been driving me nuts since I put it in the fridge to set, so I guess I'll put us all out of our misery!!! I'll share the recipe later in the week!

Happy Home Cooking!

Sad day for Home Cooking Mama!

It's a sad day for me as one of my sweet hens, Sexlink, is no longer with us. She was a good wee hen but had been sickly recently. Thanks for all the delicious eggs! I hope she is resting well now!

Sexlink

March 2010 - February 2013

Who says you can't have your cake and eat it!!!!

I have a friend that I have the hugest amount of respect for because she has done something that I am not capable of doing. She has converted to a completely carb and sugar free life for her health. Not only has she lost weight but she looks so fabulous now. 

Well after her conversion I had a dilemma, I love to make birthday cakes or cupcakes or something for a friends birthday and well cake and cupcakes are no longer an option for her. So last year I got the idea to make a fruit cake, not your Granny's fruit cake that is dry and soaked in ten million gallons of alcohol. It's a cake made from fruit and nothing else. Now if sugar had been option then something with cream cheese and sugar could have been added but we're sticking with straight fruit.

Anyhow it isn't the best looking cake but it's definitely better than no cake.

I made the base of the cake from seedless watermelon. This was messy as the melon was juicy. A little freezer time would make it easier to carve.

I used wooden skewers and placed a round slice of kiwi on the watermelon then added green grapes with a strawberry on the top. To add a little decoration to the bottom I sliced green grapes and placed them around the bottom edge.

I really don't recommend that this cake travels too far and like I said I'm sure some sort of glaze or frosting would have help secure everything but if you want just fruit.

I will have to revisit this idea later and maybe be more adventurous. 

Happy Home Cooking! 

My Personal Meal Plan

I sat down this morning and took a look at the meal plan for the rest of the month. Just in case you ever wondered what my personal one looks like by the end of the month, I thought I would share it.

As you can see nothing is written in stone or permanent ink for that matter. It's constantly being reevaluated as the month and our needs change. 

That's the whole point to the Month Meal Plan system, it's a starting point from which you can explore. Usually when I get to this stage I redo the whole thing and make it look neat and tidy. It also helps me when I go to do next months plan.

And before you say anything, yes it's not exactly the same as the one that I post on here. Some of the recipes are not refined enough yet and I do make changes to my personal one to suit our family.

If you are wondering the top food name for each day is lunch. I'm trying to some sort of schedule for that so that I don't have 2 screaming kids starving and me trying to figure out what I can make them quickly before my last thread of sanity is severed!!! Again work in progress!!!!

I just thought I would share this with you to show you that it doesn't have to perfect and it is OK to be flexible!!!

Happy Home Cooking!

Beef & Vegetable Soup

Recently I've started making soup at the weekends for lunch. Something comforting about soup in the winter, really any time of year. Anyhow I want to share one of my family's favorite soups, Beef & Vegetable Soup. It's delicious and it's even better the next day!!!!

Beef & Vegetable Soup

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs stewing steak

1/4 cup butter

1 cup coarsely chopped onions

1 cup coarsely chopped celery

1 cup coarsely chopped green bell pepper

1 cup slice carrots

1/4 cup minced garlic

8 cups beef stock

1 pint diced tomatoes

8 oz can tomato sauce

6 cubed red potatoes

1 cup corn

1 tin red kidney beans (drained)

Directions:

1. In a stockpot, melt butter over medium-high heat. Sear meat to nice brown coloring then add onions, celery, bell peppers, carrots, and garlic. Saute for 3 - 5 minutes or until vegetables are wilted.

2. Add beef stock, tomatoes and tomato sauce and cook until meat is fork tender, about 2 hours.

3. Add potatoes, corn and beans. Cook an additional 25 minutes.

4. Season to taste using salt and black pepper. Additional beef stock may be added to retain the volume of liquid.

Happy Home Cooking!

I made BUTTER!!!

OK before I get starting I have to warn you this post comes with a RANT warning!!!

BUTTER...

I mentioned in the Rice & Gravy recipe post about my love of butter and that I would save the comments well I decided to not wait too long. One of my facebook friends posted about margarine and some interesting facts so I am jumping deeper into the situation.

If I had my way ALL margarine would be BANNED! Please people stop eating it!!!

Lets take a look at the ingredients:

American Margarine: Country Crock

Vegetable Oil Blend: (Liquid Soybean Oil, Partially Hydrogenated soybean oil, Hydrogenated cottonseed oil) Water, Whey, Milk, Salt, Vegetable mono and diglycerides, Soy Lecithin, Potassium Sorbate, Calcium Disodium Edta, Citric Acid, Artificial Flavor, Vitamin A (Palmitate), Beta Carotene (for color)

American Butter: Land O Lakes

Sweet Cream, Salt

So 15 ingredients versus 2!!!!! And two natural ones at that!!! Plus lots of vague mystery items like Artificial flavor which could mean anything. The most alarming ingredient is the Calcium Disodium Edta, which is made using FORMALDEHYDE! 

British Margarine: Flora

Water, Vegetable Oils (seed oils 83%), Buttermilk, Salt (1.4%), Emulsifiers (Mono- and Di-Glycerides of Fatty Acids, Sunflower Lecithin), Flavouring, Preservative (Potassium Sorbate), Citric Acid, Colour (Beta-Carotene), Vitamin A and D

British Butter: Kerry Gold

Milk, salt

So again about 11 ingredients versus 2.

Now I know all the cholesterol arguments and trust me I grew up in a house where Flora was the stable and I hated the taste of the stuff. On my journey over the last few years of looking at what I'm eating, labels have become somewhat interesting to me. I am a recovered Diet Coke addict, and yes I was addicted and yes I think rehab would have helped me kick me, it was that bad!!!! What really stopped me with the Diet Coke was when it came out in the news that Benzene, one of the ingredients, is a component of gasoline. So when I looked at the label and saw the chemistry experiment that is Diet Coke it didn't seem very appetizing anymore. We really don't drink soda anymore in our house and if we do I tend to make it Coke or 7 Up which both seem to have non chemical ingredients. So margarine is that same category for me, a chemistry experiment disguised as food! Let's face it margarine was not created by a culinary genius but by a French Chemist in 1813.

Back to the cholesterol issue, yes we have heart disease but I've heard many people state that the low-fat/non-fat diet has not done a thing to reduce heart disease and in fact since the whole thing began obesity and diabetes have increased astronomically. So really is fat that bad? Is cholesterol in our diet the killer? Have we really looked at the long term effects of a preservative that is made from FORMALDEHYDE? A molecule here and a process change there and some of these 'food' items are one step away from plastic! And if they are preserving the food what are they doing to our bodies? Never mind the fact that they have to add artificial flavorings to all this to make it consumable. 

So in my book a little butter is a much safer risk than a chemistry experiment. It's flavor is natural and before you say anything I use unsalted butter and rarely the salted variety. I was watching an episode of Paula Deen's show and she had the Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond, on and Ree made the comment that she doesn't count the butter she has in her refrigerator by sticks but by pounds. I had to giggle because I'm the same. Two of my favorite cooks and they are both like me butter fans!!!

So this whole thought process got me thinking about the whole making it myself instead of paying other people to thing and I decided to give it a go. After watching numerous videos on the internet (and there are numerous videos on the subject) I got busy. Thankfully modern technology has made it easier for us than my grandmother and I didn't have to get a butter churner out, although I want to give that a go!!!! My Kitchen Aid mixer is by far one of the best gifts my husband has given me (after our two gorgeous precious sons of course, and my sewing machine)! The whole process was done in less than 10 minutes!!!

Now a quick note of the by-product, buttermilk! I have heard of people drinking a glass of buttermilk as a treat before bed, but the buttermilk I've got at the store never seemed appealing in that way! Well I tried the buttermilk from my experiment and it was delicious!!!! OK now I understand!!!!

So go on, if you have some heavy whipping cream and a mixer give it ago. Trust me you will not be disappointed. I can't wait until the next time I'm in Northern Ireland because the milk over there is a million times more superior to here and I can only imagine how much more delicious that butter will be!!!!!

Oh one last note, care of my husband. The TV show Modern Marvels is a favorite in this house and it just so happened that yesterday butter was the subject. They said that they store butter in containers that you can't see through because light can cause the butter to go rancid quicker. So just a tip for storage, keep an old butter container and use that.

Homemade Butter

Ingredients: 

2 cups of heavy cream (at room temperature)

Ice water

Pinch of salt

Directions:

1. With the whisk attachment on the mixer add the cream to the mixer and set to high (or whatever level is going fast but not sending cream flying everywhere!!).

2. Sit back and wait, all of a sudden the butter and the milk will separate, if you do walk away you will hear a sloshing noise all of a sudden.

3. When they separate switch the whisk attachment for the paddle, it will make life easier. Turn the mixer back on for a few minutes more.

4. Carefully drain the buttermilk into a jar and set aside.

5. Add a little ice water (but make sure not to get ice in it!!) to the butter and start the mixer again. You are sort of washing the butter to get the last of the buttermilk out. Pour out the milky water and discard.  Repeat this process until the water stays clear.

6. Add a pinch of salt and mix one last time and store in the refrigerator!

Happy Home Cooking!!!!

Rice & Gravy

Ok rice and gravy is probably the most unimaginative name for this one but over the past 10 years when my hubby asked what's for dinner that's what I told him and he knew what I meant.

I use round steaks and cook them in a gravy. And yes, you guessed it, I serve it with rice! Although the Northern Irish comes out in me and I have to have potatoes of any form with it! Recently I've been on a roast potatoes kick, although honestly they have always been one of my favorite ways to eat potatoes. There is nothing more glorious than a perfectly crisp roast potato, with it yummy fluffy inside, smothered in gravy! YUMMY!!! At this time I'll take a moment to wipe the drool from my face and compose myself!

OK back to meal in hand, Rice and gravy as I call it. This is a little more involve meal and requires starting early (although if you went to play in Pinterest land and lost track of time like I do frequently, a hotter stove and constant attention can reduce the time.)

This is also an amazing dish for the crock pot. Left alone all day to cook makes this dish perfect and I need to use my crockpot more!

I use butter for my roux with this one, oil will work too but I prefer the taste of butter and the creamy feel it adds. I'm sure somehow I'm a close relative of Paula Deen! However the butter issue will be a for another day and post, trust me I have strong opinions there!!

As the title suggests you can serve the steaks and gravy over rice but really any side dish works great with this, roast potatoes, mashed potatoes, mac n cheese, wild rice...and the list goes on. We have rice and potatoes the perfect Cajun/Irish mix! I always do some sort of vegetable too, again whatever works for your family.

Oh and one other note, I'm crazy about garlic, so I add a nice amount of it. You can omit it or reduce it to your taste.

Rice & Gravy

4 eye of round steaks, trimmed of fat

1 onion, finely chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

Salt and pepper

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/3 cup flour

4 cups beef stock

1 teaspoon kitchen bouquet

Tony's seasoning to taste

1. Season steaks with salt and pepper (or Tony's if you are me!).

2. Add onion and garlic to skillet. Place the steaks on top and cook until the steaks turn brown. A little debris at the bottom of the skillet is OK, if it gets too bad add a little water.

3. When steaks are brown remove to a plate and set aside.

4. Add enough water to the skillet to deglaze it and pour liquid into a bowl. You could use wine although I've never tried.

5. Melt 4 tablespoons of butter in skillet and add flour. Stir constantly for 5 minutes.

6. Using a whisk, stir in the beef stock (it's always a good idea to have the beef stock warm). When nice and smooth add kitchen bouquet and seasoning.

At this stage you can add it to the crockpot and let it do its thing all day.

7. For the stove top method, Cook on low for about 2 hours stirring regularly to prevent burning. Trust me on this one!!!!

Happy Home Cooking!