The Pantry

Friday, July 29, 2011

'Tis the Season...

Berry Season, that is!

Big, beautiful juicy red raspberries..

my favorite berry

perfect for eating fresh

making jam
(which I will be doing with the next flat)

or putting in the freezer for delicious, healthy smoothies.

Berry season makes me jolly!

Thursday, June 30, 2011

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Homemade Pizza!

Who doesn't love pizza?!

I had to share my first totally

homemade pizza!

:~P

Ooey gooey melty cheesy goodness!

And it was fun and easy!

I was inspired by my friend Camille.

Thanks, Camille! And move over

Papa Murphy!

I can't wait to try it on the grill.

Here is what I did ~

Pizza Crust:

Combine in a large bowl;

2 cups flour (Bob's Red Mill Unbleached)

1 envelope Pizza Yeast

1 & 1/2 teaspoons sugar

and

3/4 teaspoon salt.

Add 2/3 cup very warm (115*) water and 3 Tablespoons

Olive Oil. Mix with a wooden spoon until blended

and soft dough forms into a

loose ball. Knead on a lightly floured surface about 4

minutes or until smooth and elastic, adding

small amount of flour if needed.

Press dough into greased pan

(or you can try 'tossing' it like I did. Hope you

have better results than I did. I gave up

and stretched it out on my stone.)

Top with your favorite toppings!

I used~

Pizza sauce, sliced baby bella mushrooms, olives, pepperoni,

mild Italian sausage (cooked), chopped sweet onion and

red bell peppers,

and LOTS of CHEESE! Four cheese Mexican blend

and Mozzarella.

Bake in a 425* oven on the bottom rack for 12-15 minutes.

It was soooo good, I even ate the crust (which I don't usually do).

Gentleman Farmer and I

ate. it. all!

We also had some cole slaw on the side and

homemade Italian Creme Soda's.

Into a tall glass with four ice cubes, pour 1/4 cup of sweet cream

(Mine was raw.

You can use whipping cream),

a scant 1/4 cup flavored syrup

(Mine was Raspberry)

(find these in the coffee section of the grocery store)

Fill with ginger ale.

Stir with a tall spoon.

Eat, drink, and be merry!

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Homemade Chocolate Pudding! YUM!

My new favorite pudding ~

farmhouse altered recipe from

Taste Of Home.

1 cup (organic) sugar

1/2 cup (Hershey's) Cocoa Powder

1/4 cup (Agro) Cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon (Celtic Sea) Salt

4 cups (Raw) Milk

2 Tablespoons (homemade) butter

2 teaspoons (real) vanilla extract

In a heavy saucepan, combine sugar, cocoa, cornstarch and salt. Gradually add milk. Bring to a boil over medium heat; boil and stir for 2 minutes. Remove fro the heat; stir in butter and vanilla. Pour/spoon into individual serving dishes. Chill until serving. Yield:6-8 servings.

Extra yummy with fresh whipped cream made using raw cream! ;~P

Friday, March 25, 2011

Our Daily Bread!

My favorite "brown" bread to make.

It is easy, tasty and healthy.

Hope you like it too!

1 1/2 C. Boiling Water

1 C. Steal Cut Oats

3/4 C. Honey or Agave

3 T. Real Butter

1 C. Multi-grain Cereal (I used Bob's Red Mill 5-Grain with Flax seed.)

2 t. Salt

2 T. Yeast

2 T. Gluten flour (optional)

2 C. Lukewarm water

3 C. Whole wheat flour

4 C. White flour

In a large mixing bowl, pour boiling water over steal cut oats and 5-grain cereal. Let stand about 20 minutes. Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add soft butter, honey and salt to softened cereal. Stir in yeast mixture. Add the whole wheat flour and gluten flour if using. Mix well.

I transferred mine to the Kitchen Aid bowl for mixing in the 3 1/2 C. white flour. (about 10 min.)

Then I kneaded in by hand the last 1/2 C. white flour till smooth and elastic.

Place dough in a greased bowl. Grease top and cover with a towel to rise in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled.

Turn out of bowl and kneed again to remove air. Roll out into a rectangle and divide dough into 3 equal sized portions. Place in 3 greased loaf pans. Cover with a towel and let rise about another hour.

Bake 350* for 30 minutes or until nicely browned and bottoms sound hollow when tapped.

Turn out of pans and cool on racks. Brush tops with butter.

Yummy with fresh homemade butter!