Christmas Bread (Yes, Really)

Is there anything, really, better than the smell of fresh baked bread right out of the oven?  I started seriously baking bread about two years ago.  I have some sourdough starter that was given to me and I make a lot of sourdough bread for my family.  That got me interested in baking all kinds of breads.  I now bake all my own bread.  It is fun to try new ones.  This is not sourdough, but it is my nephew, Tyler's, favorite.  I call it Christmas Bread, only because I first made it at Christmas and it has spices that smell like Christmas.  But it's delicious any time and I make it all year long.  It is especially good toasted and spread with peanut butter.  (My favorite breakfast).

Here's the recipe:

Christmas Bread

1 cup oatmeal

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 T. honey

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

4 cups all-purpose flour

1 T. instant yeast

1 T. salt

4 T. butter

2 t. cinnamon

2 t. ground coriander

zest of 1 large orange

2 1/2 cups boiling water

 

Mix oatmeal, brown sugar, honey, yeast, salt, butter, spices and orange zest in a bowl.  Add boiling water and let it sit while the oatmeal softens and the butter melts.  After about 15 minutes, add the flours and mix to combine.  Knead by hand or with a dough hook on your mixer until it forms a soft, slightly sticky dough.  Shape it in a ball and put it in a greased bowl covered with a towel or plastic wrap.  Let it rise for an hour or until doubled.  Form into loaves.  I do freehand boules, but you can put this into a loaf pan as well.  This will make 2 large loaves or 4 small.  I prefer the small loaves.  Let them proof for another hour.  Sprinkle the top with AP flour and then slash the loaves.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 35 to 40 minutes.  Voila!!

 

Let me know how you like it! 

 

 





A Gift in Return

This year my husband put three raised beds next to our driveway.  I have a real vegetable garden for the first time since we've lived here.  We put the garden out front out of necessity.  We have no space in the back.  But a wonderful thing happened.  I have met more neighbors than I could have imagined.  And the abundance of the garden?  Well, there's just too much for only my husband and I.  So we give to the neighbors and often, when one of us is out front, a stranger will walk by and compliment the garden.  There is always a spare head of lettuce or tomato or pepper to give away.

Today I was out tying up the tomatoes.  A very nice elderly gentleman, a native of India happened by.  My husband had been cleaning out the garage and had put some old stuff on the curb (as he often does) with a "free" sign.  The gentleman stopped and asked permission to go through the stuff and I said, "Of course.  Help yourself."  He found a few treasures and then he turned to me with a big smile on his face.  "In India, nobody would give these things away," he said.  "In India, people would sell them and make a little money."  I smiled at him and nodded.  I really didn't know what to say.  I didn't want to say that I don't need the money.  We could all use a little more money.  He kept smiling and he repeated what he said, as if I didn't really understand him.  Finally I said, "I have enough.  I have what I need.  We don't need that stuff anymore and maybe someone else does."  With a very wide grin, he said, "Thank you."  I wanted to add, "Thank you, too."  I hadn't really thought of my life that way very often.  He made my day. 

 



My Grateful Years

 This morning I went to the Campbell Farmers Market with my sister, Julie and niece, Melissa.  We go nearly every Sunday morning.  We have come to know many of the farmers and we are always welcomed by them.  I started this journey to buy local whenever I can after reading The Omnivore's Dilemma , a book my sister Chris recommended for our book club.  Every so often you read a book that changes your path even in a small way.  A tweak, so to speak.




Dahlias from the Farmer's Market



The book made me much more aware of what it means to eat "clean" food.  To know what is in the food I'm eating.  To care about whether the eggs, dairy and meat I eat come from animals that are treated humanely.  To support local farmers in order to try and preserve honest, wholesome food that is grown on a smaller scale, with less pesticide and less chemical fertilizer.  To try to find heirloom seeds for my own home garden.

I am not an expert on these things.  Not by a long shot.  But I am learning.  And I am grateful that we have such an abundance of wonderful, locally grown and organic food that is easily accessible.  Oh, and FUN!  Going to the markets are fun, too. 

Melissa with a Basil Bouquet