The smell of fresh baked bread!

I am so happy the weather is finally turning cooler! I can finally crank up my oven and do all the baking my heart desires, without passing out from heat stroke. There is something so rewarding in knowing that after stirring, kneading and impatiently waiting for the dough to rise at least 45 minutes that finally you get to slide the loved loaf into the oven. It will then reward you with the beautiful aroma of it turning golden brown, crispy on the outside and fluffy, moist on the inside. This bread has been a favorite of mine and my friends for some time. It is however the first time I've made it for my handsome husband. At first he thought I was crazy for starting to bake at 6 Pm, but we had a lat lunch and I told him it would be worth the wait. Finally after all the waiting and waiting we were rewarded with this beautiful golden loan of garlic and herb bread fresh from the oven. It went perfectly with the beef stew. We slathered it in butter then dipped it in the stew to sop up all the meaty delicious flavor. IT would have been perfect on it's own but now that it's the rainy season again in Oregon I just think I might have to make more soup and fresh baked bread to keep my husband and son happy and warm in this cooler weather.

Falafle's at home

I've decided to make something new at least once a week that looks a bit intimidating but possibly make able at my small home kitchen. I'm curious to see how easy or difficult the restaurant and street foods I love to chow down on are to make at home. My first adventure with this was the falafle. I've really only tried a couple of them at street carts in our amazing farmers markets but I thought how hard would it be to mash up some beans and fry them?

Lets just say the recipes I found were a little vauge so I kinda winged it adding here and taking there. I came out with a deliciously seasoned, crispy mouthful that I think could compete with any "pro." I also made my own Cucumber-Yogurt sauce that completely complimented the hot, spicy and crispy falafle. Needless to say that making everything from scratch, including the flat bread, was completely rewarding and satisfied my cooking itch for the day. I froze the leftover Falafle mix so hopefully they will be just as good when I cook them up in the future.

Baking Fool

With the abundance of delicious produce we are lucky to have available to us this season I've been baking up a storm. My last venture was a marathon of breads that I am happy I will be able to enjoy for a whole year thanks to a huge freezer. Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread and Banana Bread with Strudel topping are now occupying the top corner of our jam packed freezer. Here's the recipe for my Chocolate Zucchini Bread that I made my own by trying to cut the fat and add some whole grains. Some day I hope I'll make it to my pre-baby weight before we decide to have another one.

2 cups zucchini grated

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

2 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cup cocoa powder

1 1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup apple sauce

3/4 sup olive oil

3/4 cup egg substitute

1 1/2 cup low-fat milk

2 tsp vanilla

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Spray with non-stick cooking spray 2 8x4 loaf pans or 8 mini-loaf pans

In a large bowl, combine, flour, cocoa, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

In another bowl combine zucchini, applesauce, oil, egg substitute, milk and vanilla.

Stir zucchini mixture into flour mixture until just blended. Mix in the chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared pans, about 3/4 full.

Bake until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean, about 1 hour 15 minutes for the 8x4 loafs or 30-35 minutes for the mini loafs.

Cool on rack for 10 minutes, then remove from pans and cool completely.

I love taking these along on day trips or camping. They not only are a delicious and health snack but they help keep the cooler cold for some time. I don't think I'll ever be able to have a freezer without at least a few loafs of this amazing bread waiting for me. and it's a great way to use all that summer zucchini!

One of the best

As we celebrate the birthday of my lovely amazing friend Kelly we headed out to the Bread and Ink Cafe on Hawthorne. I did a little research online to see what I could find out about this unknown place I've walked by unnoticed numerous times while on my adventures hunting for unusual and cheap finds at Buffalo Exchange and Naked City. What I found was some unhappy people going off about how they weren't treated well or their food wasn't worth the money so I was a little nervous, but hey it's about Kelly most of all not only breakfast being exceptionally delicious. We packed up the boy and headed out.

We had a larger group for breakfast considering it is Friday morning and most people have to work, but fortunately we have some kind employers to allow some of us to escape to delicious breakfast. WE had a few stragglers so the waiters (I think we had 2 or 3 ?) came by at least five times in the half hour it took for everyone to show up. Which I thought way more attentive than I read about, so I was already impressed. They kept our coffee mugs full and the mimosas flowing the whole 2 hours we were there. Another feat some servers can't even come close to doing for a two top. I couldn't choose between the ABC Scramble and Eggs Benedict (my normal go to) so I favored my ol' reliable and hoped it was better than the last Benedict I had at Hale's which hollindase sauce was so thick I almost needed a steak knife to cut through it! We didn't wait that long for all 10 breakfasts to come out, another plus because my almost two year old can only last so long.

I set up my son before I dug into the very fresh hand cut hash browns with their home made catsup which was AMAZING! Perfectly balanced vinegar and sweetness flavor that didn't overpower the tomato true flavor. Then onto the Eggs Benedict... Roasted pork loin instead of Canadian bacon? Okay I know it's from the same animal but I was a little leery. Broke open the poached egg and cut off a bit. The English muffin was cooked on the flat top with a crisp edge, the pork loin melted in my mouth and the hollindase was just perfect acidic balance to the crisp, chewy English muffin and thin slightly salted sliced pork loin. Probably the best eggs Benedict I've had by far. Now to create my own that competes with it for my future breakfast nook!

After anticipating a horrible meal with equally horrible service I was completely surprised and delighted at my experience at Bread and Ink I will definitely be going back as much as possible to try out their other highly regarded breakfast items. I tasted the strawberry pancakes of a friends and I think I just might have to split with a friend next visit. Even my picky husband who doesn't eat breakfast was very happy. Loved every part of the morning!