By Jeanne, on December 20th, 2011
On these chilly winter mornings, it’s essential to fire up the oven and create something warm and comforting. Something with a hint of holiday spice and a dollop of freshly whipped cream. Brew a cup of tea and wait for the sun to rise over the trees, finally slanting into the window later and later each day. During the dark days of December, my one small kitchen window receives only a precious hour or so of sunlight. This little window looks out on the white brick wall of our neighbor’s garage, which is about four feet away. My window faces east, but receives no direct sunlight due to the proximity of this garage. Instead, the early afternoon sunlight bounces off the white wall and into my kitchen. It’s the ultimate reflector for photography, and I am rewarded with great natural light if I time my baking just right.
Continue reading “Sourdough Gingerbread With Spiced Whipped Cream” »
By Jeanne, on November 26th, 2010
What would life be like if we measured our nation’s success based on Gross National Happiness instead of Gross National Product? If we valued health, education, and sustainable communities above cash and consumer goods? Or, at the very least, broke our addiction to material goods?
These are some of the questions that I have been pondering over the last few months. An ever increasing number of people are changing their perspective on our consumer culture, and today we celebrate that shift in thinking. Buy Nothing Day seeks to inspire consumers to break the habit of spending and avoid the stress of shopping. Let’s do things differently today. Go for a hike, read a book, create art and music, bake a cake. To kick off Buy Nothing Day, I’ll be cutting up this credit card.
Continue reading “In Celebration of Buy Nothing Day” »
By Jeanne, on May 4th, 2010
Sometimes good breads come in small packages. This bread was not a high-riser, but it certainly packed a lot of flavor! I may have used pans that were too large for the amount of dough. But looks aren’t everything, and I’ll eat a good slice of bread no matter what shape or size it comes in.
Continue reading “Molasses Oatmeal Bread” »
By Jeanne, on December 5th, 2009
Cornmeal and molasses give this bread a deep, rich flavor. You can taste the absence of refined sugar. That flavor is intensified with the addition of whole wheat flour. It tastes just as great with butter and fresh jam as it does with a savory tomato and olive bruschetta.
I will definitely make this bread again and again. So how does this recipe compare with the recipe that I posted yesterday?
Continue reading “To Knead or Not to Knead? Anadama Bread, Part 2” »
By Jeanne, on December 4th, 2009
Anadama bread requires a few ingredients that I don’t normally stock in my kitchen. I’ve been wanting to make it for ages, but I never seem to have everything on the list. Namely, corn meal, molasses, and unbleached bread flour.
OK, so I actually found some molasses way in the back of my spice cabinet but the “best by” date was January 2009. I frequently stretch the limits of the expiration date, but this seemed a little extreme. I went out and bought a brand new bottle (best by 9/23/2013 – that gives you some insight into just how long that old bottle had been around) for making gingerbread scones. Then I decided it was time to jump in and try Anadama bread.
Continue reading “To Knead or Not to Knead? Anadama Bread, Part 1” »
By Jeanne, on November 21st, 2009
Ah, gingerbread. The smell of the holidays. I figure that it’s time to start baking with gingerbread when the stores have their holiday displays up. I’m pretty sure that they used to wait until after Thanksgiving to deck the halls. But yesterday I found myself in the middle of a winter wonderland as I did some (what I thought was “early”) Christmas shopping.
Continue reading “Gingerbread Scones” »
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