Talking About it Tuesdays ~ Sourdough

Good morning. I am sharing a little bit today of my sourdough bread journey!

My original love of sourdough came from a visit to San Francisco many years ago where I ate fresh sourdough bread.  Fast forward from the 90's to last year....

There is a sourdough bakery about 45 minutes from me that I began to visit each time I went to see my sister.  The variations of loaves were of course delicious, but I was also so intrigued by all the discard pastries they sold.....sea salt focaccia bread, waffles, sourdough chocolate chip cookies & sourdoodles (think snickerdoodles, but made with sourdough starter).

After Christmas, a co-worker shared some starter with me and her recipe.  I began in January making my own sourdough loaves each week.  Since then, it is still a learning process.  I have tweaked my instructions some after talking with another friend who began baking sourdough and through a few websites.  

I have made sourdough popovers, sourdough crackers, sourdough cookies & sourdough pizza crust all with sourdough discard.  Other than making loaves, I have also made focaccia muffins, which were a favorite!  

Admittedly, I feel like I have been hit or miss with some of my loaves this summer.  I have had a few weeks where the loaves don't rise as much (I bake 2 loaves each week).  The difference has been the temperature of the house and the timing it takes to reach its peak before forming the bread and then baking.  It took a lot longer in the winter, which is when I learned, due to the colder temperature.  

However, even when the bread hasn't risen as well, it still tastes good!  If I can tell it may not rise as well due to the texture, I have made the focaccia flatbread and muffins, which I like just as much. 

 Hint: Baking the dough in muffin tins or a bread pan will force the bread to rise more!

This has really been a fun hobby to learn and share with others.  I have shared starter with 2 friends, one being our friend, Jennifer.  Jenn has really done a great job of designing her bread!

I have really enjoyed being able to share bread with friends and family.  Just last week, I delivered some to my neighbor who had surgery.  I have given her a few loaves prior to this one.  I have also shared some with friends at church and family members.  It has been fun to send back with my girls after they visit at home too.

For baking, I have used a mix of unbleached all purpose flour, bread flour and Einkorn flour, which has more protein in it. I purchase this off Amazon and recently bought this on Prime Days.

I also purchased these breadmaking tools from Amazon Prime:

Here are 2 websites I have found to be helpful if you would like to start your journey along with some pictures from my baking journey:

https://www.theperfectloaf.com/

https://countryroadssourdough.com/

Go enjoy some sourdough when you can!

 

Fall Recipes

Today I will be sharing a few fall recipes with you.

This Harvest trail mix looks like an easy, delicious snack to have for the family or a fall gathering.

I made these once before.  This is a cute touch for an October snack 

Pumpkin Pretzels

This is another treat I have made before and they are delicious and also look super cute for a fall snack!

Oreo Pumpkins

I just found this recipe on Pinterest, so I haven't made them yet, but they do look good.  Probably not something I could eat many of (which is a good thing :)), but something to make and share when you have others around to help you eat them!

Pumpkin Cookies

So, I thought I would add something besides desserts :)

This Margarita Chicken Soup is one of my favorite soups and the secret ingredient is Sprite (or 7-Up)!

Of course, there are other great go-to soups as well:

Slow Cooker Potato Soup

Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup

Slow Cooker Chili (with no beans)

And for another delicous Crock-Pot favorite:

Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti

And for an appetizer:

This is also a new recipe I have found.  I honestly just began enjoying pumpkin flavored things since I have lived in Bogota, which is very strange because they don't even sell pumpkin spice or cans of pumpkins here!  I have a friend who had some imported and made some bread that was so good. The author of this Pumpkin Dip said this was a very mild pumpkin flavor and as a dip, you can control how much of it you eat.  FYI....I still don't care for pumpkin pie.

Last but not least, here are some good pumpkin flavored breakfast items:

Pumpkin Muffins 

Cinnamon Pumpkin Spice Muffins

 (this is a mix between a pumpkin muffin and a cinnamon sugar donut)

Pumpkin Donuts

We just found this recipe and looks like a good reason to buy a donut pan!

That's all for now.  I do have some more Thanksgiving themed treats, but I'll save those for another day in November!

What's Cooking Wednesday!

It has been a while since I have highlighted some of our food we have been eating, but with Avery back from Peru, I have been meal planning and cooking a lot the past week and have really enjoyed it too. Next week is the beginning of school, and I have no meal plans past Monday, so I will have to work on that this weekend!  Now for a few highlights of our food this week.......

Sunday after church, we had good 'ol spaghetti.  I had the meat cooked, added it to my slow cooker and made my own sauce in the slow cooker.  I chose this recipe over a jar of spaghetti sauce to reduce the sugar intake.

I brought back some hashbrown potatoes for the first time to Bogota.  I wish I had brought more, because they were very good!  The potoatoes sold here are very small so they would be very hard to shred.

We had shredded hasbrowns and turkey sausage for breakfast one morning.  As I've mentioned before, breakfast sausage like we know it in the states is not sold here so I am able to buy ground turkey from our import store and make my own sausage.

For dinner one night, we had crab cakes, broiled tomatoes, and criolla potatoes.  This was also my first time to make crab cakes here because I brought back some crab meat from the states, but only enough for one dinner.  (Notice our fancy dinnerware??  Remember, no dishwasher here so we use paper products 3-4 days during the week).

These are a photo of the potatoes I buy here, which are called "papa criollas'.  As you can see, it is a small and yellow potato which is used in soups, for baking, or any other way you like to prepare potatoes.

My favorite way to cook them here is to cut them in half or quarters, add one or two sliced onions, a sprinkle of garlic powder, salt and pepper.  I drizzle olive oil on top and bake them for about 45 minutes at 400 degrees (or 200 celcius here :)).  If I had access to sweet potoates, it is very good to mix Idaho or red potatoes in the states with sweet potatoes.

Last night for dinner I made this very simple, but delicious meatball recipe. We paired it with leftover potatoes from the night before, and carrots. 

We were not big carrot eaters before coming to Bogota, but now we all eat them.  Even Isabella!!!  We simply peel them, slice them, and eat them raw as a side dish to many meals or for a snack.

For dessert, I made this chocolate zucchini bread for the first time.  Everyone tried it first and then I told them it had shredded zucchini in it!  And they still said they liked it!

What else is coming up to be cooked this week??

My plan is to prepare Pesto Chicken Stuffed Bell Peppers and chili.  

And possibly this spin on waffles for breakfast one morning.

This version of frozen yogurt is also intriguing to me.  I will keep you posted!

As you may can tell, I enjoy cooking and have been inspired with recipes lately :).

What's Cooking Wednesday Waffles

One of my exciting purchases while in the states was a waffle iron attachment for my Cuisinart sandwich maker.  Avery bought me a sandwich maker before we came, which is something I really wanted.  We don't have a waffle maker here, so I haven't been able to make waffles at home, until now!  I purchased waffle maker attachments, which I actually ordered online, and made some last weekend for breakfast.

This is actually called a Griddler by Cuisinart.

These are the 2 attachments which came with it.  One side is for a panini, that we use for grilled cheese sandwiches or grilling meat.  The flat side we use for pancakes.  The machine closes or opens flat for cooking.

This is the attachment I purchased.  There is a top and bottom part that are identical.

Breakfast is served!

What's Cooking Wednesday

Today I will share a few recipes on my meal planning calendar for the rest of the week.
I try to cook lunch on Wednesdays (as opposed to leftovers, sandwiches, etc) because Avery attends a leadership meeting Wednesday nights (where he never knows if he will get food and if he does, it is usually something very strange to us).  Today's lunch is this shrimp:

Ingredients:

1 stick of butter, melted

1 lemon, sliced

1 packet Italian dressing seasoning

1 pound shrimp, peeled and de-veined

Directions:

Line a cookie sheet with foil for easy cleanup.  Pour melted butter onto pan, place sliced lemons on the butter, and place shrimp on top of the lemon slices.  Sprinkle with Italian seasoning and bake at 350° for 15 minutes.  

Tonight, we have guests arriving from our home church in Memphis!  They won't be staying with us, but we will have them at our home for dinner tomorrow night.  I plan on making one of my favorite dishes....Poppy Seed Chicken.

Ingredients

5 cups chicken breasts, cooked and or shredded

1 cup sour cream

2 (14.5 ounce) cans condensed cream of chicken soup

2 cups crushed Ritz crackers (about 1½ rolls of crackers)

½ cup melted butter

1 Tablespoon poppy seeds

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Boil raw chicken breasts with salt and pepper until done.  Let chicken cool slightly and shred. Place cubed chicken in a 9X13 casserole dish. 

Stir together the condensed soup and sour cream.  Pour over the chicken.

In a separate bowl, stir together the crushed crackers and melted butter. Sprinkle over the chicken and sauce. Sprinkle the poppy seeds on top.

Bake for 20-30 minutes in the preheated oven, until the top of the casserole is browned and the sauce is bubbly. ( I will serve this with rice and a salad)

Friday and Saturday night, we are hosting a couple at our apartment for the weekend.  This couple will be moving to Bogota hopefully by the end of the year to start a RUF college ministry here.  We have spent time with them before and are glad to have them stay with us.  Because we will take our other guests sightseeing on Friday, I will cook this in the slow cooker for our house guests Friday night.

Ingredients:

4 thick-cut pork chops, bone in or boneless

1 (10.75 oz) can cream of chicken soup 

1 (1 oz) package dry ranch dressing mix

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup chicken broth

pepper to taste

Directions:

Combine soup, dressing mix, garlic, and broth.  Sprinkle chops with pepper (do not salt).  Place chops in slow cooker and pour soup mixture over top.  Cover and cook on high 4 hours or low 6-7 hours.  (I plan on serving this with baked parmesan tomatoes and garlic pasta with breadcrumbs.

(As always, I got most recipes from links of Pinterest.)

Enjoy your Wednesday and meals today too!

What's Cooking Wednesday

Today I will share a classic, easy recipe I have used the last 10 years.  It is simply for chicken tortilla soup.

The recipe is basically all from cans, but you can use fresh cooked chicken instead, which I do most of the time.  This can be cooked on the stovetop or in a slow cooker.  The base of the soup is thick, so it is a hearty soup, certainly not a broth.  If you want it to have a thinner base, only use 1 can of cream of chicken soup. I made this last week, but forgot to take a picture of the finished result.  Here is the original recipe:

Chicken Tortilla Soup

2 cans of cooked chicken 

1 can of Ro-tel

1 can of corn, drained

1 cup of milk

2 cans of cream of chicken soup

dash of garlic powder

Add all ingredients to slow cooker on low for 4-6 hours or add to pot to bring to a boil on the cooktop & simmer for 30 minutes.  Garnish with tortilla chips, cheese or other options such as avocado (my favorite).  Enjoy!

What's Cooking Wednesday

Today, I am going to share a Colombian recipe with you, & 2 other good 'ol American recipe links. First, a little background information on the definition of arepas:

Arepa - Arepa is a flatbread made of ground maize dough or cooked flour prominent in the cuisine of Colombia and Venezuela (courtesy of Wikipedia)

Arepas are super common here.  You see arepas being sold on many street corners from food vendors. Arepas are a typical breakfast food here, but are served at any time of the day.  Most arepas are flour based.  A few weeks ago, we tasted arepas con choclo, which are arepas made from corn. They were delicious, so Clara helped me make some this week.

You can actually buy the arepa mix made from corn.

Instead, we bought 4 small bags of maiz tierno, which is sweet corn.  I rinsed the corn, then soaked it to clean it.  

We then put the corn in the magic bullet.  

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It became somewhat of a pancake type batter.  Add about 1 tsp. of salt & 2 Tablespoons of sugar, or to your liking.

Then you simply put it on the griddle, like a pancake, although they take longer than a pancake to cook on each side.  Another way of preparing this, is to put a little oil in a skillet & fry the batter in the skillet.  I think this method actually would make them taste a little better.  

However, ours still turned out good.  I froze our leftover arepas & will probably fry them when I re-heat them to give make them crispy.

With this one, we simply added a piece of cheese & made it into an arepa sandwich.  You could also add ham, turkey, avocado, or whatever you prefer.

For 2 other recipes, totally unrelated......

One night last week we made one of our family favorites....breakfast food.  I would normally cook biscuits, but wanted to do something different, so I made these cinnamon rolls.  They were a quick, easy fix, & I promise they turned out much better than the picture looks.  For some reason the picture on the link looks like canned cinnamon rolls.

Last weekend, I had some potatoes to use, so I made this potato soup.  This turned out very good, & of course, the shredded cheese & bacon bits really made it taste great.  

I didn't take any pictures of these recipes, but they were good!

What's Cooking Wednesday

Today I will share an easy recipe I made last week.  As with most easy recipes, this was made in my slow cooker.

(Disclaimer:  Most every recipe I cook comes from Pinterest, All Recipes, or Mix and Match Mama websites.)

Creamy Taco Chicken

1 can Rotel 

Boneless chicken breasts

4 oz. cream cheese

Add Rotel & chicken to slow cooker.  Cook on low for 6-8 hours;  shred chicken 30 minutes before finished cooking & add cream cheese.  Serve on tortillas with toppings of your choice, or this would also be good served over rice.  And thanks to bringing Rotel from the states to Colombia, I can make this easy, tasty, creamy taco here!