Garlic Dinner Rolls

 

Dear Bread,

 I love you.  I crave you.  I'm not sure I can live without you.  A few weeks ago a friend of mine posed this question on Facebook, "Bread or Chocolate?".   Now, I will admit that chocolate and I have a thing too... but you?  You have my heart. 

Tender, soft, and simply irresistible, you are the perfect partner to my every meal.  Warm and slathered with butter, you become even more attractive, and then when you met garlic?  Not only did you make my house smell beyond fabulous, but you tasted positively heavenly.

We've had such a good relationship over the years, so I have to wonder... why don't you like me as much I like you?  Why do you insist on sitting around my middle just because I've entered my mid-40's?  We've been such good friends, and friends shouldn't make friends gain a pound or two.

Even still, I will never turn my back on you.  We may not be able to spend quite as much time together, but you will always be a part of my life.  I just can't quit you...

♥

Love,

Kim

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

Since the passing of Labor Day, I'm seeing a shift throughout the blogosphere moving steadily towards fall.  Pumpkins and apples are turning up on my favorite food blogs and Halloween ideas are filling their pages.

Living in San Diego, though, not much has really changed.  Actually, since Labor Day we have had our hottest days of summer, less morning marine layer (fog), and more gorgeous warm and clear mornings at the beaches that are now suddenly free of out of town travelers.  My garden is overflowing with flowers, and I think summer is finally here!

September and October are beautiful months in Southern California, and I'm not planning on letting go of my summer any time soon.  The local markets are still filled with summer berries and the heirloom tomatoes are hitting their peak.  However, in an effort to stay with current trends I'm willing to use "fallish" ingredients while still embracing my summer.

Breaking out a leftover can of Trader Joe's organic pumpkin I put together the kid's favorite Cinnamon Rolls.  Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls, while definitely exuding the essence of fall, are well received and oft requested at our home year round.  Cans of pumpkin line our pantry shelves just for these sweet spirals and the rolls grace our table numerous times a year.

Based on an October, 2001 recipe from Cooking Light, these cinnamon rolls, while not guilt free, are definitely "guilt reduced" with the inclusion of the vitamin rich pumpkin and whole grain flours.  Though the butter in dough of this recipe is most definitely reduced when compared to many other traditional cinnamon roll recipes, these rolls bake up tender and light and with a beautiful pumpkin hue.  The cinnamony goodness oozes from the spirals and combines with the sweet glaze for a true summer (or fall...) treat.

Summer Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls!

Grilled Pizza with our favorite Semolina Pizza Dough

Summer vacation... we've been waiting for weeks, literally counting down the days while eagerly awaiting it's arrival.  A time of leisurely mornings, no schedules and ultimately comments of "I'm bored... what should I do?"  Well, Mommy to the rescue!

With her family out of town, Liv's friend Celeste spent a few days with us as we began this year's summer school holiday.  Looking for a project, I set the girls to work making pizza dough, then topping and grilling their creations.  Our favorite Semolina Dough is a cinch when tossed into the bread machine on the dough cycle, but can just as easily be done in a stand mixer, or... even by hand.  Having a full day planned, we tossed our ingredients into the bread machine this time and the dough was ready when we were.

For years I've been "baking" our pizzas on our outside grill. Heating the grill to medium hot, the pizza dough is tossed directly onto the clean and oiled grates for a quick cook.  The heat is then turned down to low as the dough is removed, flipped over to the grilled side up and placed on a semolina dusted rimless cookie sheet (though someday I'm going to have a real Pizza Peel!) to be topped with your favorite toppings.

Once topped, a simple flick of the wrist will slide your dressed pizza back onto the grill for the final cooking.  My grill runs fairly hot, so I turn off the side where the pizza is cooking while keeping the other side at medium high, though for a crispier crust (my preference!) I leave the heat on for a minute or two before turning that side off.  5-8 minutes later you have an ideal, slightly crispy, cheesy and "oh so yummy" pizza ready for slicing.  The girls did a great job with the pies which were topped with cheese and pepperoni and settling themselves down onto beach towels in the sun summer vacation was here.

Golden Bread Braid

My teenage son doesn't ask for much in the way of food.  Lately he has been extremely satisfied with Trader Joe's Black Bean & Chicken Burritos and Rolled Chicken Tacos.  However, holiday time brings out a special request for his favorite Golden Bread Braid!  

My gushingly positive notes show that this bread first made its appearance on our Thanksgiving table in 2001 and it has been a guest ever since.  Words like, "Excellent" and "Best Ever" have been written by myself as well as family and friends who have enjoyed this tender loaf with us.  My favorite note though is written in crayon by my then 6 year old son reading, "Mom, I love it!".  

Asking everyone in the family what they would like for our holiday meal I had requests for varying items, but my son just looked at me and said, "You know what I want.".  Our challenge this year, with his recent intolerance to lactose, is to make this recipe without the called for milk and butter so he can enjoy to his heart's content.  

Our first experiment with a butter alternative and soy milk proved to be the only experiment we needed!  A heavenly scent permeated the house as our loaves baked away, and the same soft, tender crumb that we have come to expect was present as we buttered our warm slices.  The first loaf lasted all of 10 minutes with all of us reaching for seconds and thirds as dinner was getting to the table.

Simply tossing 1/2 of a recipe in the bread machine on the dough cycle makes getting this bread onto the table easy.  Removing the dough and shaping it into the lovely braid makes it look like it's not so easy!  Best the day it is made, but it is still possible to make the bread a day earlier and reheat for wonderful, nearly fresh from the oven results.  Left overs make wonderful toast, or even a tasty French Toast.

Orange Cranberry Bread

Cranberries symbolize the arrival of fall and the approach of the holiday season which is seemingly sneaking up on me.  As a young girl I was never very fond of the jiggly "stuff" that came out of the can in a sort of gigantic bullet shape - except on a leftover turkey sandwich.  However, the discovery of a new world of cranberry delights has opened my eyes and reined me in as a cranberry fan with freshly made sauces and relishes, muffins, cakes and breads.  With the ability to purchase the berries in a dried form, cranberries aren't just for Thanksgiving anymore!

Slightly sweet Orange Cranberry Bread marries the citrus/tart flavors in a bread that easily comes together with the touch of a button in the trusty bread machine.  Bright with orange juice and orange peel this bread is a perfect blend of fall flavors, but it's fresh, light tastes feature themselves just as nicely on your spring Easter table.

Toasted with a smear of butter the bread is a pure delight.  Soaked in an egg batter with cinnamon and topped with pure maple syrup the bread becomes decadent!  Liv and her brother both asked for seconds this morning as they gobbled their Orange Cranberry French Toast with weekend gusto.

Herbed Focaccia

14 years ago, 4 days after my son was born, we had a knock at the door and our wonderful neighbor, Brenda, brought me this delectable focaccia.  After eating hospital food for a few days, I can't even begin to explain how good this homemade treat tasted.  Soft, herby, a hint of garlic and a touch of salt.  Mmmm...  Beyond amazing!

Over the years we have served this bread at dinner parties as a side, with a dipping sauce as an appetizer, and sometimes simply split and layered with turkey and vegies for a quick lunch or snack.  Popping the ingredients into a bread machine on the dough cycle makes easy work of kneading while you are finishing up other errands or daily chores, or simply enjoying a nice glass of wine.  A final stretch of the dough, then topping it with oil, herbs and a touch of salt brings the bread to life as you pop it into the oven, and less than 20 minutes later you have a house that smells like a restaurant and a side of bread that your family will devour!

Usually I simply grind a sprinkle of Sea Salt over the top of the oiled dough, but today I had a special treat.  A couple of weeks ago I was the lucky winner to Deb from the Kahakai Kitchen's Captain Cooked book giveaway!  I won a signed copy of the recently released Captain Cooked book (a tale set in Hawaii with a foodie flair!) and Deb so kindly included spices and other foodie goodies along with the book.  Today we broke out the prized Red Alaea Hawaiian Sea Salt.  Coarse and a lovely reddish color, we ground it a bit smaller and sprinkled it over our oiled and herbed dough.  Traditionally Hawaiians use Alaea salt in ceremonies to cleanse, purify and bless tools and canoes, as well as in healing rituals for medicinal purposes.  Further reading taught us that the salt is rich in natural minerals and is frequently used in traditional Hawaiian dishes such as Kalua pig.  We truly felt special using this blush colored salt, and would like to extend our hearty thanks to Deb for our special treat!!

Oatmeal Bread

Bread is one of those things that I don't think I could live without.  Hot from the oven, slathered with a touch of butter or maybe topped with sweet orange blossom honey.   Crusty breads spread with thick slices of brie cheese, or maybe dipped into a fresh bowl of garlic herbed olive oil.  Ahhh... pure carbs and absolute love on my part.  I seem to have passed on these carb loving genes to the kids as it took me 3 loaves to get photos of our most recent Oatmeal Bread.  

The first loaf finished late at night, not optimum for photo taking.  Not a problem though... I popped another loaf in the bread machine two days later and knew the lighting would be just perfect when I got home from school pick up.  Imagine my surprise as I walked into the house just a few minutes behind the kids to find them both smiling in pleasure and munching on the still warm slices.   The third time had to be the charm... and it was!  With the kids standing behind me orchestrating my every move and the food design we got our shot.  Several to be exact.  

With the kids having such a good time helping, this was the most fun I've had shooting any of the foods that we have made.  They arranged the slices, sprinkled oatmeal and adjusted the shutter for that perfect shot.  Much as I hate to admit it, I believe the shutter for this shot was actually released by my son, not me.  Even more amusing was the total destruction of our "set" the second I proclaimed we had our shot.  I'm still cleaning oatmeal off of the floor!

With three loaves gone in just over a week, I'm thinking I don't need to tell anyone how good this bread is.  Frankly, I preferred it fresh out of the oven or toasted.  Soft and melt in your mouth on day one, it seemed to lose it's freshness fairly quickly.  48 hours later it was a bit dried out, only really good for toast (and really good toast it is!!).  However, we haven't really had to worry about any of those issues as ours doesn't seem to last for more than 24 hours!