Seeds, Spaghetti and French Bread

The seeds for this year’s garden have been purchased. The seed catalogs were of no help - I’ve continued to ignore both the ones that came snail-mail and the daily barrage of emailed exhortations to have “the best garden ever” if only I’ll purchase their offerings. I shopped locally, both at the grocers and a hardware store. I’ve had plenty of good food grown from those sources.

A couple of boxes of seed potatoes were even to be found. Since the extension office noted via Facebook that their seed potatoes were already spoken for, I snapped up those seed spuds. I do plan to purchase plants (tomatoes and peppers for sure, possibly cucumbers and squash, probably flowers) from the local greenhouses, once the time is right for that. The plan is to have a smaller garden this summer. Of course, I’ve had that plan before, but have always failed to execute it effectively. This might be the year it works.

I had a strong hankering for spaghetti with meat sauce last week. I don’t make it often. I’ll never understand why Dennis enjoys hamburger and macaroni but turns up his nose at spaghetti. Anyway, I made a large pot for my own enjoyment, and he didn’t grumble. A pound of hamburger was browned, sprinkled with sausage seasoning rather than thaw and add actual pork sausage. Then I opened my spice cabinet and added those that struck my fancy: marjoram, oregano, parsley, thyme, and of course, freshly ground black pepper (yes, the spices are alphabetized). A few cloves of fresh garlic went through the garlic press and into the pot. I had a few of last summer’s onions that were sprouting. Those green sprouts were chopped into the pot as well. I had one jar of roasted tomato sauce left and it was added along with a commercially produced can of tomato sauce. I rinsed both the can and the jar with water, and added at least a (14oz) can of water. Five sun-dried tomatoes also went into the pot. As it simmered, I stirred in a bunch of whole-wheat spaghetti noodles. I’m all for fewer pots and pans to scrub. Again, I’ll never make this exact spaghetti sauce again, which is too bad, as it was excellent.

Earlier that morning, I’d made a new recipe for French bread. It sounded easy, and really, French bread doesn’t use a lot of ingredients. Usually I mix up the dough using my bread machine, but went old-fashioned that day.

One-hour French Bread

4 to 4 1/2 C bread flour

1 tsp sea salt

1 1/2 Tbl yeast

2 C warm water

Heat oven to 350°, leave for three minutes, then turn off. Line baking sheet with parchment or silicone mat. Put yeast in a glass bowl, pour the warm water over it. Combine 3 C flour and salt in a medium bowl, then pour the yeast water into it. Stir with a wooden spoon until combined. Dough will be shaggy. Add 1C flour, mix until less sticky. On a floured surface, knead the dough, adding more flour as needed. Divide in half. Roll or press each half into an 8x10” rectangle. Roll up tightly into a long log, pinching the seam closed. Put on the baking sheet, seam side down. Cover with a tea towel, and put into oven for 10 minutes. Remove from oven, and heat oven to 425°. Once oven is hot, remove tea towel and bake the bread 20-25 minutes. Cool 10-15 minutes before slicing.

I’d recommend oiling the surface you roll the dough on. Mine wanted to stick to the counter. I cut four slashes in the tops of both loaves with a really sharp knife. Next time I’ll cover the loaves with plastic wrap sprayed with no-stick spray before adding the towel. Mine stuck a little, but I peeled most of that off the towel and stuck it back onto the loaves. After baking, I brushed the loaves with melted butter to which I’d added three pressed cloves of garlic and generous sprinkles of both dried parsley and dried basil. I’m enjoying this bread thickly sliced, buttered with that same mixture, and then toasted under the broiler until the butter is browned and the bread is crisp.

I’m glad I’m able to enjoy bread right now, but I am trying to do that in moderation. I’ll be back on that Whole Life Challenge starting April 10th. If I keep eating this way, I’ll really need that discipline again. (I’m also glad I can indulge in Easter treats.)