Seven-Grain Bread

This is one of my personal favorites for bread. It has excellent flavor and awesome texture. The molasses adds color and a hint of sweetness. Goes great with soups and chili.

Seven-Grain Bread
1 1/3 cups water
1/2 cup 7-grain cereal
2 tsp. yeast
1/2 cup oat flour (or oatmeal processed in spice grinder or food processor)
1 1/2 tsp. salt
3 Tbsp. molasses
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 tsp. walnut oil
3 1/2 cups bread flour

Heat water to 130ºF. Add cereal and let stand until warm, between 105ºF and 115ºF. Add yeast, oat flour, salt, molasses and oil. Beat well. Cover and let stand 15 minutes.

Slowly add bread flour. Mix until dough forms. Knead on medium speed until dough is smooth and springy but soft to the touch. Cover and let rise one hour.

Punch down dough, and divide into 2 to 3 loaves. Shape into round loaves, and place on lightly greased baking sheets. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes. Preheat oven to 375ºF. Bake 20 to 25 minutes until loaves are golden. Cool on wire rack.

Creamy Beef, Mushroom and Noodle Soup

This is a good soup, easy enough to prepare on a weeknight. Goes well with a salad and toasted bread.

Creamy Beef, Mushroom and Noodle Soup
Butter-flavored cooking spray
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
2 tsp. finely chopped garlic
8 oz. mushrooms, sliced
1 to 1 1/2 lbs. boneless beef sirloin steak, cut into small pieces
6 cups beef broth
1/4 cup ketchup
1/2 cup dry sherry or beef broth
3/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
2 cups uncooked egg noodles
8 oz. sour cream

Coat cooking pot with spray. Over medium heat, cook onion, garlic and mushrooms until mushrooms are softened. Add beef, and cook until no longer pink, stirring often. Stir in remaining ingredients, except noodles and sour cream. Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to medium low. Cover, and cook 10 minutes. Add noodles, and cook 5 to 7 minutes, until tender. Stir in sour cream. Cook 2 minutes, stirring often, until well blended. Serves 7.

French Bread

This would be my first attempt at artisan bread, a work of art that you then devour. My husband gave me a book called Crust and Crumb filled with techniques that require additional time and effort to yield amazing loaves of bread. This bread is retarded overnight to develop more complex flavors and textures. The best compliment I got was from my husband that he would marry me just to get this bread.

French Bread
1 3/4 cups flour
1 3/4 cups bread flour
1 1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. brown sugar
3/4 tsp. instant yeast
1 1/3 cups cool water
Cooking spray

Combine dry ingredients. Add water, and mix with a spoon until flour is gathered and dough forms a ball. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface, and knead vigorously about 10 minutes until dough is soft and pliable but not sticky. If necessary, add tiny amounts of flour or water while kneading to obtain proper texture. Once kneaded, dough should be able to be stretched apart gently to form a see-through windowpane without breaking.

Place dough in large clean bowl, and mist with cooking spray. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let sit 30 minutes. It should just begin swelling.

Knead dough 30 seconds, shape into ball and place in bowl again. Cover with plastic wrap, and let rise 90 minutes or until doubled in size.

Divide dough into two loaves and shape gently into batards, being careful not to force the dough. Place each loaf on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper dusted with cornmeal. Mist loaves with cooking spray, and place pans inside large plastic bags, making sure the bags are loose but sealed to prevent drying. Place loaves in refrigerator overnight.

Remove dough from refrigerator the next day. Loaves should be 50 to 75 percent larger than the day prior. If not, let the dough sit at room temperature two to three hours to finish rising. If completely risen, let sit one hour to take off the chill.

Preheat oven to 475ºF. Place empty cast iron skillet on bottom rack of oven. Fill water bottle to spritz loaves. Remove loaves from plastic 15 minutes prior to baking to allow surface of dough to dry slightly. Just prior to baking, score the loaves with two diagonal cuts. Place loaves in oven, and quickly pour 1 cup hot tap water into cast iron pan. Quickly spritz the oven and loaves, avoiding the oven light.

After two minutes, spray the oven and loaves again. Repeat after one minute. Reduce heat to 450ºF. Wait 10 minutes to check bread and rotate loaves if necessary. When bread has developed a rich, golden color (approximately 25 minutes), turn off the oven and leave bread inside for additional 5 to 10 minutes until it seems on the verge of overbrowning. Let bread cool on rack completely (60 to 90 minutes) before slicing.

Pork with Lemon-Caper Sauce

This is another recipe that combines different ingredients to create a good blend of flavors. The breading is really good, and the sauce even won over my husband. It was his first time with capers, too!

Pork with Lemon-Caper Sauce
1/3 cup flour
1/8 tsp. salt
3 Tbsp. seasoned breadcrumbs
3 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 large egg white, lightly beaten
4 (4-oz.) center-cut pork chops, about 1/2-inch thick
Cooking spray
2 tsp. olive oil
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 Tbsp. dry white wine
1/4 tsp. lemon rind
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 tsp. capers, rinsed and drained

Combine flour and salt in shallow dish. Place breadcrumbs, cheese and pepper in another shallow dish. Place egg white in a third shallow dish. Dredge pork in flour mixture, then egg mixture and finally breadcrumb mixture. Coat pork with non-stick spray.

Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork to pan. Cook 4 minutes on each side until cooked through. Remove from pan, and keep warm.

Add broth and remaining ingredients to pan. Scrape to loosen browned bits. Cook 2 minutes or until reduced by half. Serves 4.

Oatmeal Toffee Cookies

These are delicious, chewy cookies. And best part is each is approximately 90 calories according to the recipe!

Oatmeal Toffee Cookies
3/4 cup flour
1 cup oats
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 large egg
1/3 cup almond toffee bits

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Combine flour, oats, baking soda and salt. Stir together with a whisk.

Place sugar and butter in large bowl. Whip together until well blended. Add vanilla and egg, and mix well. Add flour mixture, and beat until just combined. Stir in toffee chips.

Drop dough by teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart onto baking sheets. Bake 11 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on pans 1 minute, and then cool completely on wire racks. Makes 24 cookies.