PEEPS

Um, about that diet.  Let me say in my own defense that before trying to lose 10 pounds, I completely forgot that one of my favorite foods would soon be in season.  Yup, as you have probably guessed, I am completely hooked on … Peeps.  Those crazy chicks began showing up right after I started dieting, and what a harvest!  They’re ubiquitous, abundant, and best of all, cheep.  (I’m very sorry, that just slipped out).

I know that a lot of people consider chocolate bunnies the quintessential Easter treat, but I really have to disagree. 

First of all, be assured that I am a BIG fan of chocolate – dark, not milk,- milk chocolate is for sissies.  In fact, if chocolate were illegal, I would be writing this blog from a jail cell.  And, I will admit to a certain visceral pleasure in biting off the ears of a good quality, preferably Godiva, bunny.  But the Grand Pooh-Ba of Easter candy is Peeps.  Chocolate bunnies and hearts, jellybeans and candy bars can be savored all year.  But, Peeps are a spring crop, like peas, that are gone in a blink, not to be seen again until the next blooming of the daffodils.

I think, however, that Peeps are losing respect due to the proliferation of imported Chilean grown knockoffs.  Genuine, native grown Peeps are not pink chicks or purple rabbits.  They are yellow – they are chicks – that’s all they are!

Also, because homemaking skills aren’t being passed on as in the past, people have forgotten that Peeps, like avocados, must be ripened after purchase.  You have to unwrap them, and, keeping them from the reach of children and dogs, leave them to harden for a month or more until ready to eat.  I start chicking, - oops checking, -  after three weeks, but usually find they still have a little chew dead center.  Peeps are truly ripe when you can snap their little heads off with your teeth, and to me that is a way bigger rush than nibbling a bunny ear.

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Easter Babka Bread

This recipe was adapted from my Grandmother’s Babka Bread recipe.  She modified it to be her most used recipe for any sweet treat.  She would leave out the orange zest and candied peel except for Christmas and Easter Babka.  For everyday Babka it was just dark raisins, but for the holidays, always sultanas.

1-1/2 cups milk, scalded

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoons kosher salt

2 eggs, lightly beaten

2 teaspoons orange zest

2 teaspoons vanilla

6-1/2 to 7-1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

2 packets instant dissolving dry yeast (4-1/2 teaspoons)

1/3 to 1 cup sultanas (golden raisins) or currants (or combo)

1/2 cup candied orange or lemon peel

* * * * *

Shortening

2 egg yolks beaten with 2 Tablespoons water

* * * * *

In a large bowl combine scalded milk, butter, sour cream, sugar and salt.  Stir to combine.  When cooled to lukewarm, add the lightly beaten eggs, orange zest and vanilla and stir well.

Add 3 cups flour and sprinkle yeast over flour.  Stir to blend in.  Add remaining flour, one cup at a time, until the dough comes cleanly away from the sides of the bowl.  Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and scrape out the bowl.  Lightly oil the bowl and set aside.

Knead the dough, using only enough flour to keep the dough from sticking to your hands and the board.  The dough should be soft and pliable but not sticky.  When dough is smooth and elastic, knead in the sultanas and candied orange peel.

Place the dough into the oiled bowl, turn to oil all surfaces and cover with plastic wrap and a clean towel.  Let rise in a warm place for about 45 minutes, or until doubled.

Preheat the oven to 375º F.

Grease two 8 or 9-inch round baking pans.

Punch down the dough and divide in half and lightly shape each piece into a ball.  Loosely cover with plastic wrap and let rest 15 minutes.  Form into rounds.  Place shapes into greased baking pans, loosely cover with plastic wrap and a clean towel and let rise until doubled.

Brush tops with an egg wash and bake at 375º for 30 – 40 minutes or until an internal temperature of 200º F.

Remove from baking pans and place on a rack to cool.

* * * * *

For a printer friendly copy of the Easter Babka Bread recipe visit our web site (www.stoneturtlebaking.com/webdocs/recipes).

A Little Whine With My Cheese

Would whoever lost 10 pounds over the holidays please come pick them up?  I found them between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve, and they’re starting to get in my way.

Every year it’s the same old same old.  I make serious and fervent vows not to gain pounds over the holidays – then I do.  I make even more seriously serious vows to lose them – then I don’t.  Even if I manage to lose most of it, I still hang on to a couple of pounds and bring them with me, like an uninvited guest, to next years holiday festivities.  Lets see…. two or three pounds multiplied by 20 years equals…Holy Buttcheeks, Batman!

I’m only five feet tall (and shrinking as we speak).  An extra 10 pounds looks like 20 and an extra 20 pounds looks like - never mind!  I know from sad experience that the high protein-low carb, low-carb-high protein, cabbage soup, grapefruit and all the other “miracle diets” don’t work for me.  And, I really do understand the concept of calories in – calories out.  However, my life revolves around food.  I love teaching about it, writing about it, preparing it and eating it with equal fervor.  Kidding myself into believing I’m going to forego most of my favorites is just wishful thinking. 

But, since I’m already collecting Social Security and I’m diabetic, it’s time to get on a diet pony that I can actually ride.  So, in honor of the new year, I’ve devised a radical weight loss program.  I call it “The Public Humiliation Diet”.  It’s the first week of January now and my birthday is in the first week of April.  I’ll confess my current weight at the end of my blog and report my weight loss on my birthday.  If I don’t lose at least 10 pounds, you get to say Na Na  NaNaNa.  I’ve also asked Mike if he would be willing to join my in this very public venture and share his weight with you.  He said “Fat Chance!”  What do you suppose he meant by that? 

P.S. I have resolved that this is the year I purge a lot of “stuff” out of the house,
and one of the things that has to go is the package of lady fingers that I purchased in early August and have been reporting on for months.  The lady fingers are still fine, although a little less springy than a couple of weeks ago, and it’s clear that they, along with a few cockroaches, will still be around after the apocalypse, so I’m, sadly, letting them go to the big dumpster in the sky.  Farewell, ladyfingers.  I’ll miss you!

My current weight is 145 pounds. 

The next recipe is a dish we serve for lunch at class at the Stone Turtle Baking and Cooking School and has been requested by hoards and hoards of people.  O.K., two.  Anyway, it’s really yummy and it’s also vegetarian and low fat.  Enjoy.

                                            Moroccan Vegetable Stew

1 medium onion, peeled and chopped

1 large leek, white and light green parts, cleaned and chopped

2 ribs celery, 1/2-inch slice

1 fennel bulb, cored and medium chopped

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil, preferably olive oil

2 quarts vegetable broth, homemade or packaged

3 carrots, 1/2-inch slice

1 cup turnip or parsnip, 1/2-inch cube

1 28 ounce can chopped or diced tomatoes with juice

2 medium potatoes, 1/2-inch cube

1 or 2 zucchini, halved lengthwise, seeds removed, 1/2-inch slice

1/2 cup chopped dried apricots or golden raisins

1 Tablespoon fresh chopped rosemary

2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1 teaspoon dried or 1 Tablespoon fresh thyme

1 Tablespoon Ras El Hanout *^{See note 1 below}

1 heaping teaspoon dry Harissa or 1 teaspoon paste Harissa *^{See note 1 below}

Salt and pepper to taste
Roux to suit *^{See note 2 below}

In a large pot, over medium heat, sweat onion, leek, celery and fennel in the oil until soft, but not browned.  Add vegetable broth and simmer for 5 or 10 minutes.  Add carrots, turnip or parsnip, tomatoes and potatoes.  Simmer until veggies are just tender, about 10 or 15 minutes.  Add zucchini, raisins or apricots, herbs and spices and cook until zucchini is just tender, 5 or 10 minutes.  Add salt and pepper to taste and thicken to desired consistency with roux.

Note 1:

Ras El Hanout and Harissa are key Moroccan spices.  We get ours on-line from

Zamouri Spices.  They are a great on-line site for fresh spices from around the world, particularly North African and Middle Eastern spices.  We use their Ras el Hanout and Harissa (both dry and paste) extensively.  It’s also a source for Nigella seed (Charnushka on Russian Black Bread).

We understand that there’s a new spice company in Maine - Gryffon Ridge Spice Merchants.  They are from Dresden, Maine and have a space at the Brunswick Winter Market on 14 Maine Street (the Fort Andross Mill complex).  We hope to visit them soon.

Note 2:

Roux

1 pound butter

1 pound unbleached all-purpose flour (about 3-1/2 cups)

In a wide, flat-bottomed pot or frying pan, slowly melt the butter.  Do not brown.  Slowly add the flour, stirring until smooth and lump free.  Stir constantly until its a light tan color and smells a little nutty.  Spread on a rimmed cookie sheet to about 1/4 inch thick.  (It doesn’t have to go all the way to the edge).  Refrigerate until solid, then cut into pieces about 2 inches by 2 inches.  Put in a plastic bag in your fridge.  It will keep for months and can be used to thicken soups, stews, gravy and sauces.  

A printer friendly version of this recipe can be found on our web site at http://www.stoneturtlebaking.com/webdocs/Moroccan_Veg_Stew.pdf.