Izzy eats a hamburger!!!

Its a miracle! She has never eaten a burger before. Not once. She always turned her nose up at them. Rob isn't a burger guy either and he has never eaten a burger for longer than I've know him. Well, I made homemade burgers last night and they loved them! I just had to share my recipe. I based it on a box of frozen gourmet burgers I saw last year but never picked up.


Portobello Swiss Beef Burgers

Lean ground beef (I think I used over a lb but I bought it in bulk.)
2 eggs
Chopped up bits from 2 or 3 lg portobello mushrooms (I even used the gills & stems.)
App. 1/4 cup of italian bread crumbs
Chives
Oregano
Sauteed onions and garlic
Worchestershire sauce
Asiago cheese (freshly grated)
Parmesan cheese (freshly grated)

I worked all the ingredients together in a large bowl. I can't say how much I used of the spices, cheese or onions. I just toss it all in as I go along. My family is used to extra garlic in everything.

Grilled on the BBQ. Toasted some whole wheat buns. Added a couple slices of swiss cheese to the meat when cooked and let them melt before serving.

It was the best burger I've ever had. I like the savory flavours so we just ate them as was - no ketchup or mustard. Lettuce, or better still, spinach would have been a good addition but they were quite perfect bare.

Recipe Request - Muffins

This was once posted on the Canadian Heart & Stroke foundation website but I can't find it there now. The recipe comes from Rosie Schwartz (The Enlightened Eater's Whole Foods Guide). These are what my friends know as my maternity muffins. I started calling them that because I bake them for everyone I know when they have a baby. Healthy, nutritious and very yummy! They freeze well and each muffin packs 4 grams of protein, 3 grams of fibre and 219 mg of potassium. They are an odd muffin to make. They remind me of little nests. The muffin is mostly vegetable so when you scoop the mixture into the muffin tins it feels and looks like just a clump of wet carrot and zucchini.



Carrot Zucchini Bran Muffins
(makes 12 muffins)

3/4 cup bran cereal
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup grated carrot
1 cup shredded zucchini
1 egg lightly beaten
1 egg white lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees (200 celcius). Soften bran by mixing together with buttermilk in a separate bowl; set aside. In a large bowl mix dry ingredients and carrot & zucchini. Stir well. In another large bowl combine eggs, vanilla and oil. Mix in mushed buttermilk and bran. Mix dry and wet ingredients. Do not over mix. Spoon into greased muffin tins. Bake 18-20 minutes or until tester comes out dry.

What can I say? I'm a BLITZ blogger!

I usually have a lot to say. I don't always have the time to say it. This is why I post several blogs in one day. I like to sit at the computer for a few hours and just get it all out there. In the interest of time, I am just going to do another week in the life through photos.

We made lop-sided houses, a helicopter and marshmallow men with mini, fruity marshmallows (stale and on sale for 25 cents) and tooth picks.



We stole our friend J's cake decorating idea and made a birthday caterpillar for my niece's birthday.



Izzy rediscovered puzzles and she is really, really good at them.



I made some lemon and lemon cherry bread. Everyone *LOVES* this bread, which is actually a cake recipe that I fiddle with. Sometimes I add poppy seeds, sometimes blueberries. Really anything I just have in the kitchen. Recipe is found at Martha Stewart's site. Oh, and I've made it as the cake too, with the lemon curd and and fruit. To. Die. For.



Alex took the left over lemons and made himself some lemonaide.



Alex started his week long stint as a pioneer student at Black Creek Village.



Rob took Tuesday off to meet the teacher at Izzy's JK intake interview.



She looks so tiny at the school. Plus it is a pretty small school!



Mrs. F-T even handed out homework for the first day in. Cut out pictures of your favourite foods and glue them to a piece of paper. Check out mommy's little perfectionist! The pictures were pretty good squares and they had to be neatly arranged in rows.




She wrote her name on the back. Not bad for a kid who isn't 4 until November.



We picked some tomatoes and made more bruschetta.



Packed a special *Mommy & Izzy Day* picnic, including the cupcakes Izzy made and decorated that morning.



Took the babies for a stroll along the waterfront trail in Whitby.



Found some great stones to skip on the water.



Came back to Heydenshore Park the next night, this time with Daddy, Alex and a bucket of KFC chicken in tow. Had a nice family picnic along a pretty stretch of vacant beach. Found a table mere inches from the water on the rocky shore. The children chased the seagulls from the table and we took a walk down the pier.



Took Izzy to her first real day at school.



She lined up with all the other kids and smiled. A few seconds later she realized she was waving good-bye and would be entering the building sans parental units. There was a little panic and hesitation. I knew she would cry a bit and prayed it would be short lived. I walked back down the path and waited for a friend away from the window so we couldn't see each other. It was hard enough. Thankfully the day turned out well for her.

How Alex will Remember Me

When I am long gone from this world, Alex will lament the loss of my cooking - those meals that make his eyeballs roll to the back of his head. I always know I am appreciated when my boy is at the kitchen table.

Me: Hey, I found a new pancake recipe online. Want me to try it for lunch?
Alex: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah!!!
Me: Should I make some raspberry jam for it?
Alex: [eyes wide] Could you?! Yes, Please!









Alex: Mmmmmm, mmmmm, we need to have this again! Is Izzy eating all of hers?

Recipe from CityMama:

* 1/2 cup sifted flour
* 1/2 cup milk
* 2 eggs
* 1/2 tsp nutmeg
* 3 tablespoons of butter (I originally used four as my recipe called for but I would reduce the amount next time)
* 3-4 tbsps of powdered sugar (sifted first or sprinkled through a sieve)
* juice of half a lemon

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In mixing bowl combine flour, eggs, milk, and nutmeg. Whisk together until well-blended. Melt the butter in a large oven-proof saute pan (11-12 inches) or equivalent baking dish. Pour batter into pan, put in oven, and bake for 18-20 minutes until puffed and golden brown. Sprinkle with sugar and lemon juice, return to oven for a minute (watch so it doesn't burn), then remove. Serve garnished with fresh fruit if desired.

Pizza Dough Recipe

For those who loved the bread, here is something else to make the family go gaga!

Makes 4, 1-pound loaves...so it says. I just break of bits at a time and make mini pizzas for the family.

2 3/4 cups lukewarm water
1 1/2 tbsp yeast
1 1/2 tbsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
6 1/2 cups flour

Mix all wet ingredients. Add flour. Mix without kneading. I just get my hands in there and work it until it is one sticky mass. Cover (not airtight) and rest at room temperature until dough rises and then flattens on top, app. 2 hours. Dough can be used immediately or refrigerated up to 12 days.

It is very sticky and can be hard to handle. When pulling off a piece, dust with flour to keep from sticking to your hands. I just pull at it until somewhat round. Can use rolling pin or a neat trick is to set a flattened piece on an upside down bowl and let it pull itself down.

Works best on pizza stone, preheated. Bake pizza at highest temperature available 450-500 degrees. Let stone warm up at least 20 minutes. Cooking time will vary with size of pizza. I can fit three small pizzas on my stone and it takes about 7-8 minutes.

If you are using pizza stone, put dough on parchment paper first (with cornmeal to coat bottom if you like) then add sauce/toppings from there. This will be the easiest way to put pizza on the stone. Dough is too sticky to slide off a plate or sheet. I coat my pizza peel with cornmeal and then slide it on the hot stone.

Enjoy! I also make panzerotti with this recipe. Brush pastry or crust with a little olive oil and then rub with the inside of a clove garlic for an extra treat.

I think this is why my family likes me so much...

Not *my* Home-made Artisan Bread Recipe

I've had a few requests for the recipe so Izzy and I decided to document our bread making to post along with the recipe.

Start with the ingredients:

3 cups lukewarm water
1 1/2 tablespoons yeast
1 1/2 tablespoon kosher or other coarse salt
6 1/2 cups unsifted, unbleached, all-purpose flour
Cornmeal for pizza peel



Add yeast and salt to warm water.





Mix.



Add flour and mix with kneading beaters on mixer...or get in there with your hands.



Mix together until ingredients are combined. Do not knead.

`

Cover with loose lid or cling wrap. I like to put my dough into an old salad container with lid which fits nicely in the fridge (a later step).



Allow to rise a minimum of two hours...can take as long as five, depending on temperature of room. My kitchen was very warm, hence the spillage. Dough will be very sticky.



You can use some of this dough now but it is ideal to refrigerate it first. Dough can stay in fridge up to two weeks and this allows for five portions or loaves. I like to transfer it to my salad container first. Dough will deflate. This is okay!




***BAKING DAY***

This method uses a pizza stone and steam to bake. Any baking stoneware should do the trick. I have not tried it on a cookie sheet, myself, but I have read online that it should still work fine. You may not get the same crunchy bottom as the one I make but the steam will work its magic on the rest.

Cut out a piece of dough to work with, about grapefruit size. The dough will be pretty flat. Use some extra flour when cutting the dough to prevent sticking.



Hold the mass of dough in your hands and add a little more flour as need so it won`t stick to your hands. Gently stretch the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter turn as you go. The bottom of the dough may appear to be a collection of bunched ends but it will flatten and adhere during resting and baking. This should take only 30-60 seconds.

Rest the loaf and let it rise on pizza peel (or cookie sheet) with cornmeal on it. It will stick to paper or peel without it. Let it rise about 40 minutes. It will rise more in oven so don`t be concerned too much about its size.



Put baking stone on the middle rack. Have another rack inside the oven that won`t interfere with the loaf. I put it right underneath the stone. This is where I will add a cookie sheet for the water when the loaf is ready to be baked. Set oven at 450 degrees F. The stone needs to be heated a minimum of half an hour at the high temperature.

Dust and slash the loaf. Top the loaf with flour and slash the top of bread with a serrated knife in scallop or tic-tac-toe fashion.



With a quick motion, slide loaf onto pizza peel or put cookie sheet with loaf in. Add one cup of hot tap water to the other pan. Close the door quickly.



Bake for 30 minutes or until crust is nicely browned and firm to touch. Cool on rack.



Yummy!!!

This bread is very easy to make. It takes about five minutes to make the dough. We have found that the flavour peaks around the 4th-5th day in the fridge and then starts to sour...also a good thing for an easy sour dough knock-off. I have also made pocket sandwiches, taking out smaller portions and wrapping them around meat and cheese.



The book is called Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois. I have used many other recipes from this book, like the chocolate bread and pizza dough, and they were fantastic!