Today's Vegetable and Flower Views.

Today I had made a commitment to myself to get out front and to check the garden as last I had looked there was an orange sized very yellow tomato. I certainly wanted to pick it before a bird or other critter took a liking to it!! I grabbed the camera and treaded out the door.

Blood red Don Juan roses are blooming on the way south to our little plot. Cone flowers and Daises blooms purple at the corner of the house and red and yellow lily's bloom around the bird bath.

Yes, there it is!! Big, fat, and juicy, our first full sized tomato of the season.

Hoosiers get really silly about their tomatoes, especially those of us in southern Indiana!!

More are on the vine and the cabbage is beautiful now before it is too hot and buggy!!

Multi-Grain Bread with Sesame, Flax, and Poppy Seeds

http://recettes.de/yeast bread

Multi-Grain Bread with Sesame, Flax, and Poppy Seeds baked on a stone.

Monday's are sometimes an easy supper depending on what I have left from Sunday or the weekend in general. Today's treasures are a small tray of crisp cleaned vegetables left from a large tray of veggies and dip and a nice portion of fried chicken breast pieces prepared for those who didn't care for the crappie (a type of freshwater fish). All the fish is gone and the remaining chicken can be heated and top a lovely chef salad for supper.

To finish the meal I have made a wholesome loaf of multi-grain bread to accompany the salad.

The original recipe was found on epicurious.com and I have adapted it to use the things I keep on hand and like to use. It goes like this:

Ingredients:

1/2 C. unsweetened multi-grain cereal (I use King Arthur 6 Grain Flakes)
2 C. boiling water

1 scant T. dry yeast ( Red Star Instant)
4 1/3 C. (about) bread flour
4 t. Lora Broady All Natural Bread Dough Enhancer
1 T. olive oil
1 T. dark brown sugar
1 1/2 t. salt

2 t. sesame seeds
2 t. flax seeds (I grind these before using)
2 t. poppy seeds

2 C. water

Place the cereal in the bottom of large stand mixer bowl and pour 2 C. boiling water over. Let stand until the mixture cools to between 105 degrees and 115 degrees F. , about 20 minutes.

Mix the seeds together in a small bowl and set aside.

Sprinkle yeast over the cereal. Add one cup of the bread flour, oil, sugar, and salt and stir with a wooden spoon until smooth. Add 2 t. of the seed mixture. Attach the dough hook and gradually add enough of the flour to form a dough. Cover the whole bowl with a clean kitchen towel and let the dough rest for 15 minutes. (I leave the dough hook in place and just cover everything.)

Using the dough hook knead for about 10 minutes adding flour as necessary or a few drops of water until you achieve a smooth and elastic ball with no dough sticking to the walls of the bowl. 

Fill a large heavy glass bowl or crock with hot water, quickly empty it, dry it, and oil it. Ass the dough to the bowl and turn once to coat with oil. Again cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel. Let dough rise until doubled, about 1 hour.

Punch down the dough and turn it onto an oiled work surface. Knead briefly. Shape into a 12" x 4" loaf. Sprinkle a baking store or baking sheet with 2 t. of the seed mixture. Place loaf atop seeds. Cover with towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes.

Bread dough at completion of rising time.

Position 1 oven rack in the center of the oven and 1 just below it. Place a baking pan on the lower rack and preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Brush the loaf with water and sprinkle with the remaining seeds. Using a sharp knife, cut 3 slashes diagonally across the surface of the loaf.

Place the baking sheet with the loaf in the oven. Immediately pour 2 C. water into the hot pan on the lower rack in the oven (water will steam).

The addition of the steam component makes for a crusty finished loaf.

Bake loaf until golden brown and crusty, about 35 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool. Can be made 1 day ahead. When completely cool wrap in plastic and store at room temperature.

Fresh Corn Chowder

Fresh Corn Chowder with Chives

Every spring rolls around and a whole new world of food and cooking opens with the availability of beautiful fresh produce. I am envious of those who have places like "thegreenbean.com" and get local shipments of produce direct from local growers on a regular schedule. It isn't available to us here but I would love it if it were!!

Instead I haunt local Farmer's markets and butcher shops as well as the groceries looking for the best in freshness and quality for my food dollar.

I buy all of my bacon at Rivertown Butcher as well as almost all of my meat. There is just no comparison to having your burger ground for you as you wait for freshness and flavor. Or having you roast or steaks cut right while you are standing there!!

Did you ever break open a package of ground beef from the grocery and notice a color variation? Sort of a darker brownish cast to the inside beef and a red bright outside?

My conclusion when I see this is that air causes the color change and the meat in the middle has been left and not been sold so it is packaged or reground inside the fresh bright recently ground beef to move the product along. That will not happen at a good butcher shop.

(The reason I say almost is that i like on the bone chicken breasts and my butcher does not normally offer these so I buy them elsewhere.)

Well anyway I was fortunate to find wonderful fresh corn and wonderful thick sliced platter bacon as well as some Yukon gold potatoes and a big vadilia onion this past week and that spells fresh corn chowder at my house. Here is how it goes:

6-7 slices thick cut platter bacon, cut into 1/2" dice
2 T. olive oil
1 large sweet onion, diced
6-8 small to medium potatoes, peeled and diced
3-5 ears of fresh corn, shucked and cut from the cob
1 quart half and half
3 C. milk
1/2 t. red pepper flakes
1 t. salt

1/2 t. black pepper

Using a heavy bottomed soup kettle add the oil and heat to medium high. Cut the bacon into 1/2" dice with a kitchen scissors into the heated oil and stir, cooking until crisp. Remove the bacon to a paper towel to drain and add the peeled and diced onion stirring and cooking for about 4-5- minutes. Add the peeled and diced potatoes and cook another 2 minutes.

Add the half and half and milk and reduce to a low heat. The pot needs to be brought to a low and slow boil to cook the potatoes, but you need to watch it and not scorch the pan by cooking it too hard. It should take the potatoes about 10 minutes to become fork tender.

When the potatoes are tender add the red pepper flakes, the corn, and salt and pepper to taste. Continue to slow boil for another 10 minutes. 

At this point I add the bacon back to the pot and ladle the soup up in mugs garnishing with chives or green onion tops. Some folks use the bacon as garnish but I prefer the smoky taste it adds to the broth when it steeps in the bowls.http://recettes.de/soups