Rural Simplicity

Photo Credit: Edgard Garrido Carrera

 

This image has nothing do do with this blog other than it has a girl on bike and I like the photo. There's something about the image that moves me; it's very yearning. It makes me want to visit this place. If you'd like to read the NY Times article from which this image was culled click here.

Test Your Awareness...

This is really interesting, it's a test of your awareness...on how well you notice things around you (and yes, it relates to bicycles...you'll see at the end). It's only a bit over a minute long . I have to confess that I failed miserably. I'd be interested to hear what others have to say about their findings.

More Fortune Cookie Philosophy

I'm trying...

(Click here to read more.)

Just For Laughs...

100% Whole Wheat-Honey-Brown Rice Bread

This bread is another example of whole wheat bread that is not only really delicious, but super nutritious as well. That's them pictured above after just being placed in the oven...beautiful, aren't they? It is easier to make than the recipe may seem at first glance, and the resulting bread is as soft and airy as any supermarket bread (yet it still only has a handful of wholesome ingredients, all of which are pronounceable). This is actually not unlike my Ezekiel bread recipe but is a bit easier (less ingredients to boil), and while it is called a brown rice bread nearly any grain can be substituted (I used a mixture of brown, black, and wild rices). For an Ezekiel bread recipe, click here; for other bread recipes, click here; for recipes using all whole wheat, click here.

Whole Wheat Brown Rice Bread

Makes 3 loaves

1 cup (6.6oz/187g) brown rice

3 quarts (96floz/2.83L) water

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cooked rice

2/3 cup (5.3 oz/157ml) cooking liquid

2 cups (11oz/312g) whole wheat flour

2 teaspoons (.2oz/5.6g) instant yeast

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4 cups (21oz/595.3g) whole wheat flour

3 tablespoons (.75oz/21g) vital wheat gluten

2 cups (16fl oz/.47L) cooking liquid

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1/4 cup (2fl oz/59.1ml) honey

1/4 cup (2fl oz/59.1ml) olive oil

3 teaspoons (.3oz/8.5g) instant yeast

3 teaspoons (.5oz/14.1g) kosher salt

Combine the grain and water in a medium pot and bring to a boil; lower the heat to simmer and cook the rice for about 45 minutes or until very soft. As the grain cooks add more water to the pot as necessary because the cooking liquid, which is full of nutrients, will become part of the recipe. After the grains are cooked allow them to cool in the liquid to room temperature, refrigerating if necessary. Then drain it, squeezing it with your hands or the back of a spoon, reserving the cooking liquid.

Place two bowls side-by-side; one will hold the pre-ferment, the other autolyse. In one bowl combine the cooked and drained 7-grains with 2/3 cup (5.3 oz/157ml) of the cooking liquid, 2 cups (11oz/312g) whole wheat flour, 2 tablespoons (.5oz/14g) vital wheat gluten, and 2 teaspoons (.2oz/5.6g) instant yeast. Stir just until combined then cover it with plastic wrap. In the other bowl combine 4 cups (21oz/595.3g) whole wheat flour and 1 1/3 cups (10.5fl oz/315ml) cooking liquid; stir just until combined then cover it with plastic wrap (take care not to get yeast into this bowl). Allow the bowls to rest at room temperature for about an hour, during which time the preferment will begin it's job multiplying yeast and fermenting flour, and the autolyse will soak liquid, swelling the gluten.

After an hour or so, combine the ingredients from both bowls into the bowl of an upright mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add the honey, olive oil, salt, and 3 teaspoons (.3oz/8.5g) of yeast (add the yeast and salt on opposite sides of the bowl). Knead the dough on medium speed for about 8 minutes. Place the dough in a lightly oiled container, cover it loosely, and allow to ferment for 1-2 hours, or until doubled in bulk. Deflate the dough and allow it to ferment an additional 30 minutes.

Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and cut it into 3 pieces. Shape into loaves and place into lightly oiled pans. Loosely cover the loaves with plastic wrap and allow to ferment for 30-60 minutes, or until double in size and when gently touched with a fingertip an indentation remains. Preheat an oven to 450f (232.2C).

Bake the breads for about 30-40 minutes, adding steam to the oven a few times (either with ice cubes or a spray bottle) and rotating the breads every ten minutes. The breads are done when they are dark brown and sound hollow when tapped upon. Remove the breads from their pans and allow them to cook on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes before slicing.

How to Make Really Good Mushroom Soup (and a few others)...four recipes and a link.

“Good soup is one of the prime ingredients of good living. For soup can do more to lift the spirits and stimulate the appetite than any other one dish.”
–LouisP. De Gouy

As the weather turns colder so to do our appetites seem to turn heartier. Soups and stews are often on the menu this time of year and there are none more luxurious than those that are "creamed." And as delicious as they are, cream soups are exceedingly easy to make. Some cooks like to make cooking seem to be more complicated than it needs to be when it is really just a lot of common sense. A person has to listen to their own inner instinct when cooking--not necessarily what others have to say or what a recipe says--but also practice and taste continually...and this is what I was thinking as I made a 10-gallon pot of sherried mushroom soup today while at my job.

Anyhow, most of these soups can be made using a similar but basic formula...saute a mirepoix in butter,add and cook an equal amount of flour--forming a roux--and then add broth, making a sort of veloute. Then the soup becomes whatever you like, depending what vegetable you add to the pot. Then, of course, you add cream and nearly any other flavoring you see fit. Puree it or leave it chunky; it's up to you.

If you'd like to learn how to make your own broth (very simple), or would like to see a few additional recipes, click here.

Sherried Mushroom Soup

Yield: about 10 cups

3 tablespoon butter

1/4 cup diced onion

1/4 cup diced celery

1/4 cup diced carrot

1 pound mushrooms, washed and sliced

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 cup flour

4 cups chicken broth

2 cups heavy cream

1/2 cup sherry

Heat the butter in a small heavy soup pot over high heat. When the butter begins to bubble add the onion, celery and carrot; sauté over for approximately 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms, salt, and pepper; sauté an additional 5 minutes or until the mushroom juice evaporates. Stir in the flour, lower the heat to medium and cook the flour, with the mushroom mixture, for approximately 5 minutes while stirring constantly to prevent scorching. Whisk in the broth making sure to remove any lumps. Bring the soup to a boil, lower it to a simmer, and cook the soup for 15 minute. Skim any scum that may rise to the surface. Add the cream, then the sherry; simmer an additional 5 minutes. Serve while hot.

Cream of Broccoli and Cheddar Soup

Yield: about 12 cups

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 cup diced onions

1/2 cup diced celery

1/2 cup diced carrots

2 teaspoons minced garlic

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons black pepper

1/2 cup flour

4 cups chicken broth

3 cups chopped broccoli

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Sauté the onion, celery, and carrots, over medium heat in the butter or olive oil for 5 minutes, then add the garlic and sauté for another minute or two. Stir in the flour and cook over medium/low heat for 5-10 minutes. Add the chicken broth, stir with a whisk to remove any lumps. Stir in the broccoli. Bring to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes. Add the heavy cream simmer 2 minutes, then add the cheese and stir until melted. Puree in a food processor or blender.

Butternut Squash Bisque with Apple and Toasted Walnuts

Yield: 6 cups

2 tablespoons butter

1 small onion, peeled and diced

2 tablespoons flour

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

2 pounds peeled and diced butternut squash

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup chopped, toasted walnuts

1/2 cup small diced apple

Melt the butter in a small pot over medium heat and add the onions. Sweat the onions over medium heat for 5 minutes or until they are translu­cent. Add the flour and stir over medium heat for 2 minutes. Stir in the sugar, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, salt, pepper, and diced pumpkin; sauté another minute. Add the broth and simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until the squash is very tender. Add the cream and simmer for 1 or 2 minutes longer. Puree in a blender or food processor. After ladling the soup into warm bowls, garnish it with the toasted walnuts and diced apple. 

Roast Red Pepper Bisque

Yield: about 12 cups

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 cup diced onions

1/2 cup diced celery

1/2 cup diced carrots

2 teaspoons minced garlic

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons black pepper

1/2 cup flour

4 cups chicken broth

3 cups diced roast red peppers

2 cups heavy cream

Sauté the onion, celery, and carrots, over medium heat in the butter or olive oil for 5 minutes, then add the garlic and sauté for another minute or two. Stir in the flour and cook over medium/low heat for 5-10 minutes. Add the chicken broth, stir with a whisk to remove any lumps. Stir in the diced peppers. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Add the heavy cream simmer 2 minutes. Puree in a food processor or blender. Strain if you desire a smoother consistency.

Things That Can Be Carried on a Bike (#367), Why You Should Ride Your Bike to the Store, and a Few Things I Saw Today

What I carried on the bike: A gym bag full of wet clothes, a 4.4lb. bag of dog food, a tin of pinto beans, 3 liters of red wine.

Why you should ride your bike to the store: Well, this is pretty obvious for many reasons, especially if you,re a regular reader of this blog. But I was prompted to include this in tonight's post when I came across this article on the NPR website. It discusses the positive effects on a person's health--as studied by researchers at the University of Wisconsin--when a bike was used even for just small jaunts to replace the car. Here's an excerpt.

They found that if the Midwesterners ran half of their short-distance errands by bike rather than by car, 1,100 deaths would be avoided each year, and $7 billion would be saved in reduced health-care costs. The trips were 2.5 miles one way; less than a 25-minute bike ride, the researchers figure.

Click here to read the full story. 

And finally, here's a few things that I saw today while traveling within my miniscule daily circumference on my bike (and this is still within the same vain that a person sees and experiences so much more of their environment when traveling by bike, click here, here, or here for previous posts on the topic...or just to see more pictures).

Occupy Your Junk Mail

Though I shamefully admit I haven't been down to the Occupy Buffalo site in a while I know that they are still there; my thoughts and prayers are with them. I've posted on the movement a few times in the past, click here, here, and here. This short video is not only interesting and entertaining, it makes sense to me. I probably won't mail a piece of wood or a shingle, but it has definitely changed the way I think about unsolicited credit card junk mail (and I will for sure mail back the envelope stuffed full of other junk). If you are at all interested in this movement I hope you watch this short video. Peace.