Tag Archives: lunch

Pan Buns for Fifty!

by

panbuns-1

I awoke last night to the sound of rain pummeling the roof. It was a welcome sound as we south shore Nova Scotians in Shelburne County have been experiencing drought conditions recently. It’s still raining, mid-morning as I write. Some folks in town have been without water since the end of June. Glenn and I are lucky to still have water in our well, but it is getting low.

We’ve been invited out for a Thanksgiving potluck dinner this evening and my plans to make a large Grilled Veggie Salad have been foiled by current weather conditions.  It’s most definitely not a day for firing up the BBQ. So I’ve been thumbing through my ragged old notebook (filled with recipes and clippings collected over time) trying to decide what to make for Georg and Harry’s gathering.

I’ve finally decided on a recipe given to me at least 25 years ago by a dear friend from my Yukon days, Heather Alton. Perhaps this recipe, Buns for Fifty, was passed along from grandmother, to mom, to daughter … or; maybe it originally came out of an old, self-published church cookbook. It kind of has that feel to it.

Ingredients

  • 6 C lukewarm water
  • 1 T sugar
  • 4 T baking yeast
  • ½ C white sugar
  • 1 C softened butter
  • 3 eggs, beaten
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 6 C unbleached white flour
  • 4 – 6 additional cups of unbleached white flour

Preparation

  1. Dissolve 1 T of sugar in the lukewarm water and sprinkle in the yeast. Set aside for a few minutes until the yeast gets soft and bubbly.
  2. Combine the soft butter and ½ C of white sugar and beat, using a hand mixer until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time while continuing to beat using the mixer on a low setting. Pour in the yeast/water mixture and add 6 cups of flour, one cup at a time, while continuing to mix.
  3. Add the remaining flour, one cup at a time mixing by hand until the dough becomes too stiff to stir. Turn the dough out onto a clean surface sprinkled with flour and knead for 15 – 20 minutes, adding flour as needed until the dough is smooth and elastic. Oil a large bread bowl and place the dough inside the bowl, rolling it around until it is lightly coated with the oil. Cover with a clean tea towel and place in a warm draft-free place to rise, until double in bulk (about 1 ½ hrs). I place my bread bowl in the oven with the internal oven light turned on. The heat from the light bulb makes the oven a perfect warm and draft-free spot for rising bread dough.
  4. Punch down the dough and divide it into 6 equal portions. Roll each portion out into a rope about 3 inches thick. Cut each rope into 10 equal sized chunks and form these chunks of dough into round, bun shaped balls. Line cookie pans or round cake pans with parchment paper and place dough balls on the pans so they are close but not touching. Brush the tops of the buns with melted butter and let rise for 25 minutes.
  5. Pre-heat oven to 350 F and bake the buns on the middle rack of the oven for 15 minutes or until a nice golden brown on top.

Yield: 60 dinner sized pan buns

Advertisement

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

by

dsc_0011

Here’s an easy variation of my Quick Banana Bread Loaf recipe. Simply add 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips and spoon the batter into a muffin tin lined with paper cups. The yield from this recipe will be 10 large sized muffins. These moist muffins freeze well and make a great snack or lunch-box addition.

dsc_0007

Quick Banana Bread Loaf

by

Quick Banana Bread

Don’t send those black bananas to the compost bin! You can whip this recipe up in one bowl. It tastes great, stays fresh for quite awhile and around our home it’s a family favourite.

Ingredients

  • 3 very ripe bananas
  • 1 egg
  • 1 C brown sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/3 C melted butter
  • 1 1/2 C unbleached white flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda

Preparation

  1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
  2. Place peeled bananas in a large bowl and, using a fork, mash the bananas into a pulp.
  3. Crack the egg into the bowl and beat it into the banana pulp. Add the vanilla, melted butter and brown sugar. Mix well.
  4. Sprinkle the flour, baking soda and salt into the banana mixture and continue to mix until everything is well incorporated.
  5. Spray a loaf pan with cooking oil and spoon the batter into the pan, spreading it around evenly.
  6. Place the pan on the middle rack of the preheated oven and bake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre of the loaf comes out clean. Let the loaf rest in the pan for 5 minutes before removing and placing on a rack to cool.

 

Banana Bread Loaf

 

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Tabouleh (Tabbouleh)

by

Tabouleh on Turquoise 4

We have had hot muggy days over the past week; the type of weather that isn’t conducive to indoor cooking. Who wants to slave over a stove in the summertime anyway? Not me. Tabouleh is a perfect option when the temperature soars and there’s no need to even crank up a burner. Just use the kettle to boil water for the bulgur. That’s it! Even though tabouleh is a filling salad, the fresh mint along with the lemon juice in the dressing keeps it tasting light and refreshing.

Ingredients

  • 3/4 C bulgur (cracked wheat)
  • 1 C boiling water
  • 1 C tomato, small dice
  • 1 small red onion, fine dice
  • 1/2 C red bell pepper, fine dice
  • 3/4 C peeled & seeded cucumber, fine dice
  • 1/2 C minced fresh parsley
  • 2 T minced fresh mint
  • 1 tsp kosher salt flakes
  • 1/4 tsp chili powder
  • 1/4 C lemon juice
  • 1/2 C olive oil

Preparation

  1. Pour hot water over the bulgur and set aside for about 30 minutes. During this time the bulgur will absorb the water and soften up. Chill the prepared bulgur in the fridge for at least an hour before mixing with the remaining ingredients. I often prepare the bulgur the night before I make tabouleh.
  2. Combine the tomato, red onion, bell pepper,cucumber,parsley, mint and kosher salt.
  3. In a separate container mix together lemon juice, olive oil and chili powder.
  4. Add the chilled bulgur to the vegetable mixture and combine with the prepared dressing. Chill before serving. Garnish the salad with sprigs of fresh mint.

 

Tabouleh on Turquoise 1

 

Save

Save

Ham & Cheese Strata

by
DSC_0003

Ham & Cheese Strata photo by: Janet Moore

Glenn and I are hosting a Boxing Day brunch tomorrow morning and I’ll be assembling this ham and cheese strata before tucking in tonight. It will come right out of the fridge and pop into the pre-heated oven a half hour before we plan to eat. This recipe serves six but can easily be scaled up or down to suit the number at your table. It might sound odd, but I use Sweet Thai Chili sauce in the strata for added zing! Give it a try – you’ll find it adds a unique flavour to a tried and true brunch favourite.

Ingredients

  • 2 T butter
  • 1 large onion, finely diced
  • 6 stale croissants cubed
  • 3 C of shredded old cheddar cheese (225 gm)
  • 2 C  of baked ham cubed
  • 3 oz of cream cheese cut into small chunks
  • 12 eggs
  • 1½ C milk
  • ½ C Sweet Thai Chili Sauce
  • 1 T Dijon mustard
  • 1½ tsp garlic powder
  • 2 tsp fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried thyme
  • ¼ tsp salt (omit if ham is salty)
  • Grinding of pepper

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 350 F

  1. Sauté onions in melted butter until softened and beginning to brown – remove from heat and cool slightly.
  2. Spray large casserole or individual ramekins with cooking oil
  3. Place half of the cubed croissants into a large casserole dish or 6 individual ramekins. Add half of the ham, sprinkle on half of the sautéed onions, ½ of the cream cheese chunks and half of the grated cheddar cheese. Repeat this layering process ending with the rest of the grated cheddar cheese.
  4. Wisk the eggs, milk, Sweet Thai Chili sauce, Dijon mustard, garlic powder, thyme, salt and a grinding of pepper together in a large measuring cup.
  5. Pour the egg mixture over the casserole (or spread evenly amongst the ramekins) and cover with plastic wrap. The strata(s) can now be refrigerated overnight.
  6. In the morning pre-heat the oven to 350F and place the strata on the middle rack once the oven is hot.
  7. Bake for 30 minutes (20 – 25 minutes for individual ramekins).

To test for doneness insert a metal skewer into the centre of the strata. If it comes out clean the strata is ready to serve.

1-DSC_0004

Save