Yummy in my Tummy

Here's a pic of my first (successful) sourdough batter bread. It's my second try, and I haven't worked out all of the kinks yet, but it's a great basis for further experimentation.


My mother dough is about 80% whole wheat and I'm using 100% whole wheat flour (no white flour at all!). This is the main reason for my choosing to do a batter bread instead of kneaded bread. Anyways, I will post a tutorial for this bread and for my mother dough soon. :)

Later!

Pattern of the Week...with a twist

Okay, so this week wasn't as horrible as I thought it would be. It has been very looooong, though. So, I'm glad the weekend is here.

Anyways, back to the "pattern" of the week. This week I decided to do something different and post a recipe...just because that's how I roll, ;). Today's recipe is pita bread, pita bread, pita bread!!! I LOVE pita bread. I'm a big fan of crusts so this is the best kind of bread for me :)

ROTW: Pita Bread (picture from about.com)

I found this recipe online and it is fabulous. The author, Dedemed, is very thorough with her explanation. You will get about 15, 6-7" pitas with this recipe.

I've made these pitas twice, once with 100% whole wheat flour and once with 100% all-purpose flour. The whole wheat version didn't puff up very much, but the all-purpose version was just beautiful and yummy with a warm, yeasty smell.

If you want to use whole wheat, I strongly suggest you mix it with all-purpose flour if you want the bread to puff up (I would say 1/2-1/2, but I haven't tried it yet so you might want to stick with a 1/3 to 2/3 ratio).

Here are some other pointers so that you can get the best pita bread possible:

• Yes, the oven has to be THAT hot (500°)
• You have to use plenty of flour to roll out the bread, because the dough gets very sticky.
  
• Don't leave them in the oven too long. I don't let them brown, because they tend to get brittle if they bake too long.
  
• Store them in a plastic bag to keep them moist. Make sure they are cold before you stick them in the bag...you don't want wet pitas.
  
• Fry them up. This recipe makes yummy pita chips.

That's it, guys. I must say it again: this recipe makes great pita bread. Don't be afraid of the yeast, just let it bubble up and it's good to go. Happy cooking!

p.s. If you have a problem with the link, let me know, and I'll see what I can do.

Portion Control

First of all, let me just say that keeping up with two blogs is a CHORE. But, that’s not what this post is about :). It's about eating and losing weight.

I’ve have a weight issue since I was 10. I wasn’t overweight then, but I did think I was. So, I thought the logical thing to do was eat as if I were overweight. Ergo, my issue with food began.
It’s been a long road, but I have managed to lose about 80 lbs in the last 10 years and keep it off. I’m still not at my target weight. I’ve been struggling for the past 6 or so years to take it off. So, now I’ve decided to start with portion control.

I’ve done it before, and it has shown results. But, I usually slack off after a few weeks. Boo, for me. But this time I have a “buddy”, my sister. We’ve made a plan to cook food on the weekends and freeze it in individual containers. It’s scary because you get to see just how little food you really need to eat. Then you realize how much you were actually eating! We started Monday and so far so good. Today is fried rice day. I’m using Kylie Kwong’s recipe as a base. So you see, pre cooked meals can be convenient AND tasty!

I really support the buddy system when it comes to losing weight. I think that it’s really hard to do it by yourself. Kudos to those who do. To all of you out there who are on the same mission as I am: GOOD LUCK and STAY STRONG. It’s all for a healthier and stronger you :)

How to Make Chilean French Toast

Okay, I'm back. Sorry about the disappearing act, but I'm trying to get a lot of work done before I go on vacay (yea!!!!!!!!). But, more about that later.

During my absence from blogging, I got a craving for one of my favorite foods in the world: French toast (thank you Denny's for making me an addict;)). Let me just tell you that there is NO French toast in Chile :(...at least not around Valpo. So several years ago I "created" Chilean French Toast.

Since this is a fusion dish, I couldn't just use the same old bread that comes pre-sliced (yes, that I can find in the grocery store) or the typical syrup (also in the grocery store, although it's a little pricey for plain, old maple syrup). So, I tried using bread from the local bakery.

In Chile, there is a bakery or small store selling fresh bread on every other block, even Santiago. Therefore, you are never far away from fresh, crispy bread. You will find several types of bread at any one of these stores, but the most popular types are hallulla (ah-yu-ya) and batido (literally whipped, but I'd go with kneaded. it's also called marraqueta in some places). In the first type, the dough is rolled out to 1/4" thickness and cut with round cookie cutter-like things. In the second, the dough rolled into the shape you see below.

So, here goes the recipe:
Have the whisked eggs ready with a little bit of milk in them. Take your day-old batido and slice it to about a 1/4". The bread can't be too fresh cuz it will turn into a glob of mush. I suggest discarding the slices from the top and bottom crusts.

Dip the slices into the egg and milk mixture and let them get soaked through. The milk will help soften up the bread, which can get a bit dry and hard. Then, throw the soaked slices onto a hot, greased griddle or non stick pan. Once they are golden brown, serve them warm with coconut palm syrup or your favorite jam. And that's it. Simple, fast and tasty, my favorite type of food.

I tried to get a picture of the finished product, but the vultures beat me to it! They were gone in 5 minutes. :D