Soda Bread

In my life there are few things that come before food. Food is very exciting to me, but not only eating it. I also want to make it. I am a terrible "oh hai, that looks simple, lets recreate that" type of person. One thing I am happy I taught myself to do ages ago is make bread. but if yeast and warm water seems to daunting to you, I offer a simple favorite of mine... Irish Soda Bread. No, I am not talking about that weird bread they have at the supermarket that tastes like sugary french bread with raisins in it, (ALSO, you DON'T put raisins in soda bread!) I am talking super simple and super delicious Soda Bread. (recipe below)








Use a bread hook on your machine, or just arm muscles. Don't be like Twila and use a whisk attachment or you will spend 20 minutes pulling dough out of the whisk. Also, don't sample the dough, it tastes ridiculous not cooked.

Now the lovely thing about soda bread, is you make it and eat it hot with dinner. Then in the morning you eat it with breakfast. I usually just eat it on the side, but I recently tried it with bacon gravy all over the top like an Irish biscuits and gravy minus biscuits... yes that is a technical term...

Here is the recipe I usually go with:

You need:
2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups low-fat buttermilk



Directions:

Preheat oven to 450F

Combine the flours, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Mix thoroughly. Make a hole in the center of mixture. Add buttermilk to flour mixture and stir until blended (dough will be sticky). Turn dough out onto a generously floured surface. Knead lightly 4 to 5 times. Shape dough into an 8-inch round loaf and cut an X into the top. place on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray.

Bake at 450 for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 400 and continue to bake for another 15 minutes, or until loaf sounds hollow when tapped underneath. Cool on a wire rack.

BUT! if you want a slightly sweeter version, I have also successfully made this recipe and its very yummy.


Go make bread and be merry!

Breakfast Army {Screen Door}

This week, the troops rallied at local hot spot Screen Door to enjoy some southern flair. Known for their chicken and waffles and extremely long wait times the Screen Door is a must on lists of places to try at least once in Portland. This Sunday, the wait times was as painfully long as possible, and to add insult to injury it was extremely cold and rainy. I was unable to get outfit pictures until we got home and could be housed safely on the front porch. The Cajun Bloody Mary however, was totally and completely worth the wait.








In the last picture I am scowling at an unknown noise coming from the side yard, because when in doubt one should always get angry at things you can't understand.
I am almost positive this whole outfit other than my tights was entirely thrifted! How cost effective of me!

Building a Breakfast Army

I don't usually find myself gracing the morning hours with my awake-ness, but Sunday morning breakfast traditions have changed that fact. I now rise early to prepare for a new edible adventure every Sunday. This week was not so new, as we returned again to the J & M Cafe. What was new to this outing was our company. It appears we are recruiting troops for the breakfast army, which this week included Toma's sister, her fella, Philip as always, and the entire Team Jessup. Next week I promise we will find somewhere different to eat so you can at least see some different scenery.

I wore my 70s Ranch Wear pearl snap shirt, with a cute western style skirt I bought from Solanah. I also took this blogging opportunity to demonstrate how ridiculous the slouch pose is, and how much I hope it falls off the face of blogging and fashion modeling soon.

Traditional

Based on recent Sunday traditions coming into existence I find myself wondering if I should transition over to a Portland foodie blog format instead. (OH! I just found this one!) No! I wouldn't that to you all, but Monday morning posts seem to be recollections of my Sunday morning habitual breakfast with friends in the city. So, in new tradition I bring you Monday's recall of the previous day's deliciousness.
This week we waited on the street in the cold for nearly an hour to eat at GRAVY on Mississippi St. The cold wait was well worth the giant omelets and super fresh ingredients. As usual the team was in full attendance, Me... looking ever fashionable (ha!), Toma, our friend Philip, and lest we forget Baby Olive. Olive slept through breakfast entirely, so she can't submit a review on the kid-friendliness of the establishment, but other babies and kids smiled, waved, and even gave us a fist bump!

My outfit is almost completely purchased from the Urban Eccentric. Except my "leggings" I got those at a department store, and was sorely disappointed when I got home and realized they had no feet! Footless tights make no sense to me, and my poor feet were very cold on this chilly winter/spring day. Baby Olive is swaddled in a quite fashionable blanket that was a gift from fellow blogger Art Deco Dame.

Stillness

Yes I am still pregnant. Still having false labor. Still wishing to just be at the get it done stage. I have literally filled my day planner to the brim with things to occupy my time. Luckily our good friend Philip recently sold a fabulous 8' original painting and wanted to celebrate over breakfast! I will never turn down food or friends, so we headed over to J&M Cafe in Portland to get down on some feta cheese covered eggs.

I didn't get a picture of Toma at breakfast, other than his hand, but he made me include this one of him getting ready so it didn't look like I was out on the town with another man... (he was kidding of course... but I added this for good measure/guilt trip)

Tomorrow we are going back to Portland to keep me side tracked. Must stay busy to forget about the pain I am in! Well, back to bed to fight this dreadful insomnia I seem to have developed.

ThanksChrEaster

I don't really do holidays, and I don't really have a lot of family. But I do have a lot of friends, and I do really love to host a dinner. So I created a Holiday... a high class conglomerate of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter. I packed it all into one night full of my favorite people, tons of food, and endless wine. I am a firm believer in building your own family, one made of all of your favorite people! Holidays need not be stressful nightmares of distant relatives, they do need to be fun and uplifting! ThanksChrEaster was all of those things. Can't wait til next year.

Bleu for You

Today, our local bakery finally re-opened under new ownership. I met Solanah, Coedith and her whole family to test drive the new baked goods. They revealed themselves at Bleu Door Bakery, and offer french style breads and pastries. It was tasty, but I am a sucker for fresh baked treats, and small local business, so it goes without saying that I am going to be a fan.

I wore my Fleur De Lis tights from Sock Dreams, and a cozy silk velvet dress to ring in the opening, and the kids... acted like kids.

Fry Your Tomatoes

If you remember from posts prior, I have a small tomato garden brewing on my front stoop. What started as a tiny 6" plant, has magically grown in to a monstrous heap of greenery. The plant which once stood taller than me, has now toppled sideways, and is growing out across the front yard. There are about 30 green heirloom tomatoes on it, and that is not including the 4 other plants growing out front. Yes dear friends, I am about to be in a massive abundance of tomatoes.




What to do with the excess you might ask? Why fry them right up! On that note, I thought I would share my favorite recipe for...

Fried Green Tomatoes

Ingredients:
Firm Green Tomatoes
Salt and Pepper
1 Egg
Cornmeal
Cajun Seasoning (optional)
Olive Oil or Bacon Grease

Do This:
Slice the tomatoes into 1/4" slices, sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Mix cornmeal and cajun seasoning in shallow dish.
Beat egg, coat tomato slices in egg and then coat in cornmeal mixture.
Fry in pre-heated hot oil.
Cook about 3 mins per side, or until golden brown.

This is one of my favorite summer side dishes! If you have never tried a fried tomato, now is your chance. This is an excellent use of end of season tomatoes that just havent gotten to blush yet.

Garlic Fries.

One of my favorite thing about the one day a week we get a baby sitter, is Happy Hour. When my husband gets off work at 3:00 we head to the water front and eat at a McMenamins, which are local bohemian, main-stream funky, brew pubs.
When you are as thrifty and poor as we, you only have dates during Happy Hour, but that is OK! I love being able to enjoy Garlic Fries for $1.00 and Hummus with Pita for $2.00. All of this, of course, with my favorite hat from my grammy, and a pint of good locally brewed beer.

I love Happy Hour! Where is your favorite spot to garner happy hour splendors?