Homemade Baguettes

Yesterday I told you about some fancy cheese my Mom surprised me with. When I have fancy cheese in the house, my first thought is always "oh, I wish I had a baguette". Cheese and bread is a favourite of mine, it's so simple and delicious. Being baguette-less and not wanting to drive to the store (or to spend the $1.50-$4.00 for a store bought one) I wondered if I could make my own. I found a recipe in my bread maker recipe book, made some dough, and ended up with two 15" baguettes. The cost of all the ingredients (flour, sugar, salt, yeast) was about $0.75, so a significant savings if I make them myself. They were also super easy to make, as most of the prep was just waiting for dough to rise.

Homemade Baguettes:
1. Make dough in the bread maker (1 hour, 15 minutes)
2. Turn dough into a greased bowl, and let rise for 30 minutes
3. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough with rolling pin until it is a big rectangle (this dough was incredibly easy to roll out)
4. Cut dough in half and roll each half up 'jelly roll style' and round out the ends
5. Let rise for 40 minutes, then cut some diagonal slashes in the top
6. Bake at 425°F for 10 minutes, turn down to 375°F and bake for an additional 8 minutes

The baguettes tasted great and were really easy to make. I'm so happy that I can make them at home and have a fresh baguette any time I need one.

The Gift of Cheese

I visited with Mom yesterday and she surprised me with a basket full of cheese, tea, and chocolate. She put it together herself, even shredding pieces of Christmas paper to make a bed of confetti for all the treats. Isn't she the best? I would have taken a photo but I was waaaaayyyy too excited to tear open my tea (Twinings Earl Grey), put the cheese in the fridge, and put the chocolate in my face.

Because of this wonderful gift, today I woke up with Gouda in my fridge. I knew I wanted to have some sort of sammie with it for lunch, so I Googled some ideas. I found this blog post that blended spinach, avocado, and Gouda for use in a kick ass grilled cheese. My bread options were limited, so I decided to eat mine as an open face sandwich.

I added a few handfuls of spinach to my mini food processor, and pulsed it until it was nice and chopped. Then I added half an avocado and pulsed it a few times to mix it with the spinach. Lastly, I added some chopped Gouda (thanks Mom!) and processed it until it looked spreadable.

I scooped my mixture onto a toasted bagel and then broiled it for about five minutes in the oven.

Yummy!

I'm also currently making some baguette dough in the bread maker so that I can eat more wonderful and fancy cheese with fancy bread.

Happy Halloween #FoodPicFriday

Happy Halloween!! I hope you are having a great one!

I made a batch of double chocolate cookies earlier this week and then kicked myself for not making them Halloween themed somehow. But the moment I got the idea, I knew I could correct it. All I needed was a little icing sugar and some orange food colour and Halloween cookies came to life.

So these are my afterthought Halloween Jack o' Lantern double chocolate cookies! Happy Halloween everyone!

Simcoe County Battery Collection

The County of Simcoe is collecting used disposable batteries next week as part of the regular curb side collection. They mailed out battery collection bags a few weeks ago, and all we have to do is fill them with dead batteries and put them out at the side of the road. I love when they make it easy for people to do the right thing.

Battery Collection Bag

The waste management program in Simcoe County is already really good at diverting materials out of the landfill, as there are lots of items that can be dropped off at the local dump for free. Last year we did a big clean out of our garage and dropped off a few carloads of old paint cans, half full cans of various chemicals, car batteries, and scrap metal, all for free. It makes me feel good that I can help the environment and still get rid of the things I need to dispose of.

So I have happily filled my battery bag and I'm glad this new program is here to keep these items out of the landfill.

Batteries ready for pick up

Bread Maker Buns

Over the weekend I made some homemade chicken soup and some homemade buns for soup and sandwich night. I've posted about the soup here, and I thought it was about time I posted my bun recipe. Using my hand-me-down and awesome bread maker, these buns are so easy to make and a weekly staple in our house. I've also used this bun recipe many times for dinner rolls, making 24 rolls instead of 12 buns.

Home Made Buns (adapted from Sanyo's The Home Bakery Book, 1988)

4 cups all purpose flour
4 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup margarine, softened
2 tbs milk
2 eggs, each added with water to measure 3/4 cups (or use yolk only, if desired)
2 tsp active dry yeast

1. Place ingredients in bread machine pot in order listed. Let stand 5 minutes. Use DOUGH setting and press start. Dough will be complete in 1 hour 15 minutes.

2. Remove dough from bread maker and place in a greased bowl, turning to coat.

3. Let rise 20-30 minutes.

4. Punch down dough and shape into 12 buns. I like to use a scale to get them all about the same size.

5. Let rise 20-30 minutes.

6. Bake at 375°F for 10-13 minutes.

Enjoy as part of a soup and sandwich combo for maximum enjoyment.