Experimental Challah

Several years ago, my sister in law gave me a fun Jewish cookbook which of course contains a tried and true challah recipe. This recipe comes from Bubby Irma's kitchen. And it makes four loaves of challah. On Friday, I sat down to make challah for my super husband only to find that while the recipe needed three eggs, I had two.

I decided to cut the recipe in half. First part of the experiment. Then I decided to use one egg and one egg white, leaving one egg yolk for brushing. Second part of the experiment. Next, I had some leftover dried cranberries and golden raisins. With the phrase "in for a penny, in for a pound" running through my head, I added them. Third part of the experiment. Lastly, Bubby Irma encourages half white and half wheat flour to make a great challah. Me? I just used whole wheat pastry flour and crossed my fingers. The fourth and final part of the experiment. How did it come out?

Dear husband was thrilled and finished a whole loaf within twenty-four hours. (He is so good for my culinary ego!) Hope that you enjoy!

Experimental Challah:

1/4 C olive oil

1/3 C honey

1/2 T salt

1 egg, 1 egg separated

1 C warm water

1 Packet of yeast

4 C of whole wheat pastry flour

1 C raisins and cranberries (or whatever dried fruit you have lying around the house)

1. Mix all ingredients together.

2. Dump out bowl onto a floured surface and knead. Bubby Irma says knead for 10 minutes, I go by feel. If it is elastic and smooth looking, I stop.

3. Let the dough rise in an oil bowl. (Place dough in bowl make sure all sides are oiled and dough is as well. Place a towel over bowl and let it rest.)

4. Punch down dough when it has risen. Let it rise a second time.

5. Then punch down and pull dough out to...that is right, braid it!

6.Braid dough. ( I wish I knew a trick, but I keep to the simple three strand bread braid.)

7. Brush with egg yolk.

8. Let bread rise on pan for another 20 minutes and then place into a preheated 350 degree oven. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.

Pumpkins and good times

Now, I am a serious pumpkin lover! I love pumpkin bread, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin pie and pumpkin rolls. I even love carving pumpkins or painting on them. I will glitter, glue, stencil and display pumpkins proudly. Knowing all that, it is strange that it has taken me this long to work out how to make my own pumpkin puree`.

First step is to find appropriate pumpkins for pureeing. I did this by heading to a nearby (fairly relative term as I live in Los Angeles, CA) pumpkin patch. By talking to the staff and explaining my plans for using the pumpkin, they suggested a few varieties. The two suggestions for puree and bread were the Fairytale and the Lumina pumpkin. Now the Fairytale is a greenish pumpkin that eventually matures into a browner pumpkin. The Lumina is a beautiful white baking pumpkin that reminds me a little of Cinderella's coach. The key in both is that I asked for a "baking" pumpkin and I found someone a great deal more knowledgable than myself to guide me!

Second step is to then...well, bake the pumpkin. There are several suggestions for how to do this including some given to me by the pumpkin experts that helped me choose the pumpkins. After gathering some suggestions I went with the one that sounded the least challenging and the most fun. I say most fun because the method I chose allowed me to use the cleaver! Laura from Heavenly Homemakers cooks the whole pumpkin. She is terribly brave! The folks at the pumpkin patch suggested peeling the pumpkin, removing seeds and cutting it into cubes. Then boiling the cubes until tender. Remove from water and puree`. I went with my friend, Sarah's recommendation. She suggests cutting the pumpkin in half horizontally. Immediately, I pulled out the cleaver and whacked into the Lumina. The dogs ran and hid. Next, you need to remove all seeds and stringy stuff. Clean off the seeds and save them for roasting if you are so inclined. Then bake each half in a preheated 350 degree oven for 60 to 80 minutes. Mine took about 75 minutes. When done, take out of oven and scrape out insides. Mash in food processor and enjoy the puree`.

I decided for the Fairytale pumpkin I would cube some of it and use it in my butternut squash recipes as a substitute. Yep, I did not get too far with that. It looked so good that I simply threw about two cups of cubed pumpkin into a bag with some olive oil (maybe a quarter cup), a tablespoon of chili powder and a tablespoon of jamaican jerk seasoning. Shook it up and poured all contents onto a baking sheet. I baked for 40 minutes at 425 degrees. Tasty treat!

And that folks is the tale of how this year I made my mother's pumpkin bread recipe with pumpkin puree that I made by hand. I don't think I will be able to go back the canned pumpkin again. This stuff is just too good.

My Grand Adventure

Recently, my husband and I moved to Los Angeles, California from Louisville, Kentucky. We left our three bedroom house with a fenced in backyard and heirloom roses for a one bedroom apartment four blocks from the beach. I have made forays into homesteading in the past (e.g., canning tomatoes and homemade jam, making homemade granola and composting). However since moving here, I cannot quell the urges I have to become more self sufficient. I have been gorging myself on homesteading books. Learning about beekeeping, chicken raising, goat herding and banjo picking. I cannot abandon the idea that I could be doing more from my urban dwelling. Maybe I cannot build my own chicken coop or design a plan for an acre of vegetables, but I can find a few activities to begin this journey.

Beginning in May, I will work on developing an Urban Homestead that fits into a one bedroom apartment with a shady patio. I intend to investigate fermentation, sewing, cheese-making, knitting, guitar playing, and garden planning. This begins my journey toward a life style relying more on me and less on stuff.