Saturday Morning Sourdough Bread Baking

This morning I decided to bake two loaves instead of one, and instead of the regular sourdough breads, I am baking jalapeño bread and basil pesto bread. 

The dough starter is the same sourdough starter that I have been growing for several years and have shared with friends.  I understand from a friend that the starter is now being shared across Germany by his sister!   

Nothing makes me happier than to hear that the sourdough starter is being enjoyed by Europeans, except perhaps the taste of freshly baked sourdough bread! 

pavansut wants to share this recipe with you

pavansut wants to share this recipe with you "Yummy!"

Chad Robertson's Eggplant and Charred Pepper Bruschetta springpad.com via foodthinkers.com Servings Ingredients *SHERRY VINAIGRETTE* 1/2 red onion 1/2 cup sherry vinegar 1/2 cup dried currants 2 tablespoons sugar 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup olive oil *EGGPLANT* 3 small eggplants (about 1 pound) olive oil salt 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, some left whole and some torn *CHARRED TOMATOES* 1 tablespoon olive oil 12 padrón peppers salt 6 slices toasted Basic Country Bread (See Chad Robertson's book, Tartine Bread, page 45 to make this bread yourself or purchase a basic country bread from a great local baker.) Directions View on Springpad

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St. Thomas Episcopal Church

Jaya Teas Summer Nut Tea Sale!

Jaya Teas famous NUT TEA is on sale right now. Here is what one of our customers had to say about the tea...

Jaya Nut Tea is very different from the other darjeelings I've tasted. It is excellent sweet, even with dash of milk. It is not astringent. The flavor is aromatic and flowery, but also nutty, a bit like apricot jam. It is an excellent addition to you tea pantry. It would be a good choice for someone switching from coffee, because it has a more full, dark flavor than other darjeelings, while still being distinctly a darjeeling. Nice for variety too.

Nut tea has the shells of the seed produced by the tea plant. The shells add a bit of a spicyness to the tea which is quite unique. If you want to drink it as an iced tea, I would recommend letting the tea cool for a while after brewing it and then pouring it over ice. I guarantee the tea will wow you!

Save upto $12 today - 100mg Jaya Nut Tea has been reduced for sale from $11.95 to $8.96, and 1lb bag of nut tea has been priced down from $40.85 to $28.60!

And as always, purchases over $75 are shipped free!!

No Knead Bread Recipe

Bread baking is an art form. But when that art form is reduced to a few simple steps, it just makes the art so much more accessible! Here is a recipe for no-knead bread, which pretty much any one can make with great ease. Word to the wise, if you want to bake this bread for your get together, start the day before. Otherwise, your guests will need to bring their own bread!

Simple Joy of Mozzarella Sandwich

My phone rang as I was driving home from work. It was Jaya reminding me to rush home so I could take her to the piano lessons. Since last few weeks Jaya has been taking weekly piano lessons with a local Taiwanese lady. The lessons start at 6.30 pm and last for about 45 minutes. Since 45 minutes is not sufficient enough time to be back home and return in time to pick Jaya up, I have made a ritual out of spending 45 minutes in the local grocery store Stop & Shop. Spending 45 minutes planning dinner and entertainment is a welcome relief from the hectic week end day.

There is a nice little Redbox dvd dispenser which carries many a new releases. Today, I decided to pick up a copy of "Precious" one of the movies that recently hit the Oscar jack pot. While browsing the store I noticed that the store was once again selling 99cent Italian bread baked fresh right in the store. I had noticed this once before and purchased a loaf then, but I didn't know that Stop & Shop has made this into a regular feature.

Thanks to this new "special" Stop & Shop has started something of a tradition in our home. Today, like the other day, I brought home a loaf of fresh Italian bread, some fresh mozzarella cheese, fresh basil and lettuce, and treated la famiglia to the joys of a simple tomato mozzarella sandwich, a sandwich that has become the family favorite not only due to the fact that it is easy to make but also because it is as delicious as it is filling.

You need very simple ingredients to make tomato mozzarella sandwich - clearly you need tomato, and mozarella cheese. But besides this I typically add a layer of jalapeno peppers preserved in vinegar, a thick layer of basil leaves along with some lettuce. If you have never made this sandwich, here is how to make it...

Make chutney (or pesto sauce) out of basil (Italian tulsi), pine nuts (use cashews if pine nuts are not available) and olive oil. Make the chutney in olive oil instead of water - it will stay green longer. Smear one slice of bread with the basil chutney, and lay flat. On top of this add a layer of thinly sliced tomatoes. Sprinkle salt and black pepper for taste. Add a layer of fresh basil leaves, fresh spinach, sprinkle a few slices of jalapeno pepper preserved in vinegar (you can substitute with regular hot pepper if you like, but sprinkle some vinegar to give you the tangy taste). Place the other slice of bread on top and you are all set. Cut the sandwich into two pieces, and serve with potato chips.

I can only tell you that this simple sandwich has become one of the favorite sandwiches in the Joshi household!

I only found out about the joys of mozzarella sandwich once I arrived to US, which is a true wonder because there is no reason why this sandwich should not be easily available in India. The mozzarella cheese is nothing but "chenna" nuked in microwave for a few minutes. Here is an easy recipe to make mozzarella cheese, in case you want to try to make it at home!

Video on how to make Ras Gullas

My favorite Indian dessert is Ras Malai, which roughly translated means Sweet Cheese. But to enjoy Rasmalai one has to strart with Ras Gullas, an equally delicious dessert. Ras Gullas are very popular dessert dish in Calcutta (Bengal is famous for its mithai), and I still have very vivid memories of my trips to Calcutta en route to Darjeeling, where we would buy and gulp down syrupy Ras Gullas from hawkers on the Calcutta railway station.

Manjula's recipe below is very simple one, and I recommend it to any one who wants to give it a try. In the video Manjula recommends using cane sugar, by which I suppose she means use cane sugar instead of beet sugar or sucrose. However, if one is diabetic should one give up on eating Ras Gullas? Not really. Feel free to substitute sugar with Splenda or some other sweetner. In India today its quite common to find Indian sweets made from artificial sweetners instead of sugar (India has one of the fastest rising rates of diabetes in urban areas mainly on account of lack change in lifestyle and increasing affluence)

But in preparation of the syrup, you are on your own! Use your normal substitution conversion rate to figure out exactly how sweet you would like it to be.

Here is Manjula's video - Thanks Manjula!!