I've been wanting to start a food blog for a while now, and thought that today would be a great day for such a thing to happen.
Inspired by the lovely fall weather, foggy and rainy, I started a batch of beef stew early this afternoon. I then started "stewing" over what to make to go with our yummy dinner, and decided on an herb bread that is always a hit. And since I was feeling super feisty, I sprung for dessert, a pumpkin cobbler!
Beef Stew
from "The art of simple food" by Alice Waters
3 lbs. (grass-fed) beef chuck, cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes - season generously with salt and pepper, preferably a day in advance
Heat 2 TBS Oil and add 3 slices of bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces cook until bacon is lightly brown, but not crisp.
Remove bacon and add in beef, browning well on all sides. Put browned meat into a large pot suitable for baking.
Back to the cooking pan, pour off most of the fat, lower the heat and add:
2 onions, peeled and quartered
2 cloves, stick into onions
2 carrots, peeled and cut into 2 inch chunks
2 sprigs each: thyme, savory and parsley * I used dried, since I didn't have any fresh on hand.
1 bay leaf
a few peppercorns
Cook until slightly browned and add the the beef in the pot.
Pour 1 3/4 cup red wine into pan, and cook until reduced by 2/3, scraping up all the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Pour over beef and vegetables and add:
3 diced tomatoes
1 small head of garlic, separated into cloves, peeled and chopped
1 thin strip of orange zest
2 cups beef stock
Cover pot and cook at 325 degrees for 2 to 3 hours.
*I added in 4 large potatoes and a bunch of celery.
Herb Bread
from "The vegetarian Epicure, book two" by Anna Thomas
1 C water
1 C milk
1/4 C sugar
2 TBS yeast
1/4 C vegetable oil * I use olive in place of veg here.
1 clove garlic, finely minced
3 TBS minced onion
approx. 5 cups whole wheat flour * I use half whole wheat/ half all purpose
1 1/4 TSP salt
1/2 TSP dried basil
1/2 TSP dried rosemary
1/2 TSP dried thyme
1 egg
Heat together the water and milk until lukewarm, then stir in the sugar and yeast.
Heat the oil in a small skillet and saute the garlic and onions in it until they just begin to color.
Combine yeast mixture with about 1 1/2 C flour and beat until smooth. Add the salt, herbs, oil mixture, and egg and beat again. Gradually add the flour in, and knead five minutes. The dough should be smooth and elastic and still quite soft. Form into a ball and put in an oiled bowl. Cover with towel and let rise 45 minutes or doubled in size.
Punch down loaf and form into 3 small loaves. Place in loaf pans and cover with a towel to rise for 30 minutes.
Bake loaves at 375 degrees for 35 minutes.
Pumpkin Cobbler
from desperationdinners.com
(Not very healthy, but so tasty! I'm practicing for thanksgiving hehe. Sadly, my pumpkin cobbler photo did not turn out well, apologies!)
1 stick unsalted butter
1 C self rising flour
1 C sugar
1 C milk
1 TSP vanilla
2 eggs
1 5 oz can evaporated milk
1 30 oz can pumpkin pie mix
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Cut butter into 4 pieces and place in 9 X 13 pan, put in preheating oven to melt butter
Mix flour, sugar, regular milk and vanilla. Remove melted butter from oven, put flour mixture in pan over the butter, DO NOT STIR.
Beat eggs, add in evaporated milk and pumpkin pie mix, stir well. Place in pan over butter and flour mixture, DO NOT STIR.
Bake for 50 minutes to an hour, until topping is golden brown. Let stand for at least 20 minutes before serving.
