French Bread

When I was about 10 my aunt and uncle had my cousin Ruth and I come to their house for a week to learn how to sew and bake bread. This was one of the recipes we made while we were there.

I made it whole wheat because I rarely use white flour and often don't have more than a little in the house. I made the mistake of tasting it when it came out of the oven and by the time the girls and Great-grandma Gibbons had some half of the loaf was gone. I'm glad I doubled the batch. I could eat a whole loaf myself, it is that good!

Makes 1 loaf.

2 tsp. yeast

1 1/3 c. warm water

1 T. sugar

Mix these and let sit about 10 minutes.

Add :

1 T. dough conditioner

2 T. oil

1 t. garlic salt (you can't really taste this. You could still eat jam on the bread and it would be good.

3 C. flour ( I'm not sure what happened, but I used double this. I'm not sure if it was because it was fresh ground wheat or what).

Knead together and make into a loaf. Put on cookie sheet and slit top. Sprinkle top with herbs (I didn't do this). Let rise about 30 minutes. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes with a pan of water in the oven to make the crust yummy.

Lentils and Rice with Chapati Bread

Lentils and Rice (adapted from allrecipes)

• 1 cup brown lentils
• 3 cups water
• 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 cup long grain white rice
• 4 1/2 teaspoons chicken bouillon granules
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 tablespoons dried parsley flakes
• 2 1/2 cups water
• black pepper to taste

1. Combine lentils with 3 cups of water in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the onion, and cook until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes.
2. Once the lentils have simmered for 10 minutes, stir in the cooked onion along with the rice, chicken bouillon, curry powder, cumin, parsley flakes, and 2 1/2 cups of water. Return to a boil over high heat, boil 10 minutes, then remove from the heat, cover, and let stand for 20 minutes. Do not remove the lid during this time. After 20 minutes, remove the lid and stir before serving.

Chapati Flatbread

I don't love these. They are okay, but Rory and the girls like them. I need to find a better recipe.

4 c. whole wheat flour

3/4 c. water

salt

1/4 cup oil

Mix first 3 ingredients, then add oil and mix. Let rest. Make into golf ball sized balls (Makes 16). Roll out to 1/6" thick. Cook on a hot pan like a tortilla. They are best when they bubble up.

Grilled Potatoes

These are really good!!

Savory Grilled Potatoes from allrecipes

Orange Creme Cupcakes

Real quick before I forget this. I did these for Alexa's birthday. She wanted an orange castle cake. I made these cupcakes and stacked them to look like a castle with frosted cones as the towers.

Orange Cupcakes

White cake mix using orange juice instead of water, also added some orange zest.

Filled with orange curd and whipped cream. The orange curd was gross plain, the cream made it okay. Probably won't bother filling them next time.

Frosting

Marshmallow Frosting

1 big jar (I think it was 13 oz) marshmallow creme

3/4 c. butter, softened

1 1/4 c powdered sugar

Orange zest

Food coloring

Orange juice and more powdered sugar to get desired consistancy

Cream marshmallow creme and butter together. Add powdered sugar and orange juice and zest.