Safe Home Farm

A New Farm Adventure

Every winter we tend to our inside house chores: painting bedrooms or remodeling bathrooms. This year we don’t have any painting plans, thank the home goddess. For many years we have talked about baking breads. This December we gave it a try.

Grandma Timm always had homemade bread in her kitchen. Monday was laundry and bread-baking day. When grandma had a stroke and was unable to use one arm, grandpa took over. His bread was as light and airy as grandma’s bread.

My mother was a fine bread baker, too. With 4 children and a husband to tend to, it was a daunting task to bake enough loaves for our hungry mouths. None of us were shy when it came to grabbing a piece of warm bread and butter.

One of my fondest memories is berry day. As a summer treat, my mother would take us out to pick strawberries. First we gorged ourselves in the pick-your-own patch. Mom always threatened that we would be weighed, pre- and post-picking.

When we got home, I helped clean and prepare the berries. We would slice and package berries for the freezer and then make many batches of strawberry jam.

While I was making the jam, my mother would whip up the bread. I loved watching her turn and knead the dough. About the time the jam was in the freezer and the kitchen cleaned up, the bread came out of the oven. We didn’t let that bread cool before it was covered with butter and fresh jam. My mouth waters now, just thinking of it.

Somehow in pursuing careers and other adventures, the art and habit of baking bread has disappeared. As Jayne and I are settling in and simplifying our lives (HA!) it seems a good time to let this art reappear.

We have a good friend who has offered to share some tricks with us. Jayne thought we should try a batch on our own so we had some questions to ask.

On a damp, chilly December day, we pulled out Deborah Madison’s Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone which has great descriptions of cooking technique. We read the basics and moved into picking a recipe. Since we were out of all-purpose flour but had plenty of whole wheat bread flour and since I like hearty breads, we went for the All Whole Wheat Sandwich bread.

The recipe required building a sponge. There were instructions on building a sponge but no reason why. As everything works better when there is a reason to do it, we looked in a classic cookbook, The Joy of Cooking, to find out about sponges.

Sponge breads were popular when yeast strains were unpredictable. Today sponges are used with whole wheat flours to make lighter, coarser grained breads.
To build the sponge we dissolved yeast in water and then added a portion of the flour. This mixture ferments for about an hour when it becomes foamy and spongy. The sponge is then added to the rest of the ingredients and the dough is left to rise for about an hour. Then we punched down the dough and formed it into loaves which were left to rise another 45 minutes after which we baked the loaves for 45 more mintues. You do need to be nearby on bread making day.

Jayne and I have different learning styles and in this case, it worked out well. Jayne read the instructions, incorporating all the important points into her brain. I measured, poured mixed and kneaded, getting the hands on learning that my brain requires. Together we enjoyed watching our sponge develop its layer of foam and then watching the dough rise in the bowl and again in the pans.

And wow, did we enjoy eating the fresh, hot, hearty bread with butter and honey. The loaves were very dense and we wondered how it would be the next day. Warmed in the oven, the bread was delicious with a bowl of broccoli soup.

I’m excited to practice more varieties and see if I can start tossing the dough around like my mom and grandmother. Life on the farm renews another peaceful tradition.

Until I get more practice, I will give you recipes to accompany your homemade breads.

Savory Bean Pot

1 cup dry beans (Vermont Cranberry, Brown Dutch, Cannellini, Kidney, etc)
1 cup couscous or bulgur
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic
1 quart tomatoes
2 Tbsp dried or 1 Tbsp fresh Savory
2 Tbsp basil
pinch of sugar and salt

Cover beans with one-inch of water and soak for 6 to 8 hours. Drain beans then cover with water. Bring to a boil; simmer for 45 to 60 minutes, until beans are tender.

In a separate pot, boil 1-1/2 cups (for couscous) or 2 cups (for bulgur) water. Add couscous or bulgur and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until water is absorbed. Remove from heat.

Heat olive oil in a stockpot. Sauté onion and garlic for 5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients along with the beans. Stir in couscous. Heat thoroughly.

Serve with crusty bread and a green salad.

Serves 4

BIG SOUP II

Freezer style

We usually make Big Soup in the peak of garden season. Big Soup II helps us clean out the freezer, before the fresh veggies are in. Use all or a few of the veggies and spice it up to your desires.

INGREDIENTS
2-3 cloves garlic, minced                           2 Tbsp olive oil
1-2 large onions, chopped                                   1-cup mushrooms, sliced
1 frozen roasted bell pepper, chopped             ½ cup frozen parsley, chopped
1-2 hot peppers (optional)                                  1 tbsp dried oregano, chopped
1 small head of cabbage, chopped                       1-2 tsp dried savory or thyme, chopped
2 medium carrots, sliced or grated            Freshly ground pepper
2 cups cooked kidney beans
½-1 lb frozen string beans
4 cups water with 1 Tbsp vegetarian Worsteshire sauce and 1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1 cup grated frozen zucchini, chopped
2 to 4 cups canned tomatoes, chopped
1-2 cups frozen broccoli or cauliflower florets
1 cup frozen corn
½-1 lb frozen Swiss chard, leaves and stems, chopped
½-1 cup frozen basil or pesto, chopped

METHODS
Sauté onion and garlic in olive oil until fragrant, add mushrooms and sauté another 3 minutes. Add pepper(s), cabbage, carrots, kidney beans, string beans, parsley, oregano, savory or thyme ground pepper and broth. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low and cook about 15 minutes, just until veggies are heated through. Add broccoli, Swiss chard, tomatoes, mushrooms and basil and cook 5 more minutes, until everything is heated through.

Serves Many

WINTER TOFU SCRAMBLE

Freezer style
All the vegetables in this recipe come from our garden, even though it is January. We roast and freeze eggplant and peppers then take out what is need for the scramble.

1 Tbsp olive oil
½ cup chopped onions
¼ cup roasted pepper, chopped
1 large or 2 long roasted eggplant, cut in ¼ inch slices
½ cup mushrooms, sliced
1 lb fresh tofu, crumbled
2 basil ice cubes, thawed
1 teaspoon turmeric (this makes the tofu turn yellow so the dish looks like scrambled eggs)
Freshly ground pepper

Drain tofu, crumble between your fingers (squish it), add the turmeric and set aside. In an electric fry pan, sauté onions and peppers in olive oil. Add eggplant, mushrooms and tofu. Heat through. Stir in basil. Sprinkle with salt and ground pepper to taste. Serve hot.

BROCCOLI/CAULIFLOWER SCRAMBLE
Grab some broccoli or cauliflower from the freezer and keep scrambling.

1 Tbsp olive oil
½ cup chopped onions
¼ cup roasted pepper, chopped
2 cups broccoli and/or cauliflower florets, cut in ¼ inch slices
½ cup mushrooms, sliced
1 lb fresh tofu, crumbled
2 basil ice cubes, thawed
1 teaspoon turmeric (this makes the tofu turn yellow so the dish looks like scrambled eggs)
Freshly ground pepper

Safe Home Farm Kitchen

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