I will be organizing a Challah Bake Along for The Shabbat Project Toronto. I’ll supply the recipe in advance and together we can go through the steps to fill our homes with the awesome aroma of home made bread. Let’s bake together! Share this post and join in the fun and community.
http://shabbatprojecttoronto.com/
The Shabbat Project is an international Jewish unity project. All over the world, Jews are coming together to observe one Shabbat, October 24-25.
Wednesday I went apple picking with www.notfarfromthetree.org The apples weren’t very juicy, sweet or ripe so I decided to make jelly with them. After cooking the apples for around one hour (way longer than the usual 30 minutes) the apples started to scorch a bit. So, I put them in bags and let them drip overnight. The resulting juice was very thick with pectin but there wasn’t very much so I supplemented with canned apple juice. The resulting jelly tasted like caramel apples from cooking the apples for so long.
On a balmy September evening I prepared the following menu.
Crostini di Peperoni
(Roasted Pepper and Goat Cheese Canape)
Acquacotta Della Montagna Cortonese
(Bread Soup with Wild Mushrooms)
Veal Osso Bucco
(Braised Veal Shank Slices with Gremolata served over Gnocchi and a Seasonal Vegetable)
Crostata di Mele con Frangipane
(Apple Frangipane Tart)
The Roasted Red Pepper and Goat Cheese Canapes were made from the Red Peppers that I had preserved earlier in the week.
We sliced a baguette, brushed the slices with a little garlic oil, toasted them and then toped them with goat cheese, roasted red peppers and a little fresh basil.
Teaser…..dessert for tonight’s dinner party. Recipe tomorrow. Apple Frangipane Tart. #appletart
The markets are overflowing with red peppers. Roast them, peel, chop, layer with thinly sliced garlic and fresh oregano then top the jar up with olive oil and refrigerate.
My ripe jalapeños became hot red pepper jelly today. I used this recipe from Ball Home Canning Supplies. I like that the recipe uses fresh jalapeños for heat and doesn’t rely on adding flakes to sweet peppers. http://www.freshpreserving.com/recipes/jalapeno-jelly-recipe
The recipe calls for food colouring, something I would never add…just sayin’ #hotpepperjelly
It’s a little early in the week to bake challah, so I’m going to freeze it…shhhh….don’t tell.
I present Pletzel…Well actually I shaped them like Onion Rolls so that I could use them for sandwiches.
Two bottles of hot sauce. It was all pretty easy until the recipe told me to taste the hot sauce and adjust the salt. Whaaat? Taste it? It tastes like fire! Just kidding. I smoked the cayenne peppers first and then cooked them with a little onion and garlic, added the vinegar then steeped the mixture, strained and bottled.
Nicholas is making some Yogurt Parfaits
Earlier in the day he put together the ingredients and baked them together
Here’s the recipe for our Granola
¾ cup Pecans
½ cup Almonds
4 cup Oats
¼ cup Sesame Seeds
¼ cup Butter, Unsalted
⅓ cup Syrup, Maple
¼ tsp Salt
¾ cup Dates
½ cup Blueberries, dried
Preparation
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1.Preheat the oven to 375F. Line a large shallow baking sheet with foil. Spread the pecans and almonds on the sheet and roast for 8 to 10 minutes, until lightly toasted. Transfer the nuts to a board, let cool and chop the nuts. Set aside. |
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2.Reduce the oven temperature to 300F. Pour the oats and sesame seeds, if using, in a mound on the same baking sheet. Melt the butter in a small bowl in the microwave; stir in the maple syrup and salt and drizzle on top of the oats. Stir well with a rubber spatula and then spread out the oats in an even layer. |
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3.Bake the oats for 30 minutes, stirring once with the spatula halfway through, until the oats are lightly colored. Let cool; the mixture will crisp as it cools. Add the dates, blueberries, and reserved nuts and toss. |
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4.Yield: Makes about 7 cups |
Now Nick is getting ready to make the Black Bean and Cheese Quesadillas. First we need to make the Black Bean Spread
Once you have the black bean spread it’s as simple as laying out a six inch tortilla, spreading around 3 tbsp of black bean dip, to with around 1/2 cup of shredded cheese. In a frying pan, over medium heat place a the tortilla and cook until it’s starting to brown and the cheese is melting. Flip over and fry for another minute or two. Serve with sour cream and salsa.
Here’s the recipe for the black bean dip. It’s really awesome.
1 medium red onion, chopped
2 (16-ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh orange or lime juice
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 garlic clove, peeled
1 teaspoon ground cumin
In a blender or food processor, purée the beans, red onion, vinegar, orange juice, cilantro, oil, garlic, and cumin. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
