The convent is very fortunate to have so many sisters who love to bake bread. As a result we enjoy it with many of our meals. Years ago we started making our own whole wheat bread (even grinding our own wheat) and ever since, it has become breakfast toast most mornings. Then we experimented with other varieties as more sisters became interested in learning to bake. One sister is now especially acclaimed for her Italian bread sticks, foccacia and pizza crusts. Another specializes in calzones and yet another in whole wheat pita pockets to go with her own homemade hummus.
Every Wednesday night during Lent we have a simple supper of soup, salad, fruit, and home baked bread while we discuss the week’s study topic. Last week we enjoyed a great oatmeal molasses bread — one of our most popular varieties. But tonight we are having our special dill bread. Beautiful golden braided loaves, equally as appealing when baked into little bow knot rolls.
If you have never tried your hand at baking bread you might be surprised to discover as so many others have that it is really very easy, very therapeutic and tremendously rewarding
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Votes: 10
Rating: 4.2
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Dill Bread
SERVINGS36rolls
|
COOK TIME |
PREP TIME |
READY IN1hour |
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Dissolve yeast in warm water; add milk, sugar, onion salt, eggs, shortening or margarine, and 6 cups of flour.
- Mix well.
- Add enough of the remaining flour to make a soft dough.
- Knead until smooth and elastic.
- Place in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled in bulk (about 1 hour).
- Punch down and form into rolls or loaves.
- Place on a greased pan and let rise until doubled in bulk.
- Bake for 12 to 15 minutes for rolls and between 30 to 40 minutes for loaves.
The kitchen was really busy last night. Eight of us were buzzing around cooking for an upcoming party. Really great energy. As much as I think I am a person who prefers to be alone, I love the energy of being in the kitchen with a crowd of people. Don’t get me wrong — there is something to cooking alone — being there in the quiet, creating something delicious for someone else to enjoy. It ministers to my spirit, and I sometimes get great ideas and thoughts about other projects. But a group that is working well together, chaotic as it might be, also ministers to the whole group in a way that can’t be duplicated. In the middle of this I was putting together my favorite Beef Mushroom Barley soup for guests and a retreat group the next day. What could be better on a cold rainy day! My brother in law just came through and tasted the soup. He said it needed some red wine, so I added a splash. He was so right!
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Mushroom Beef Barley Soup
SERVINGS6servings
|
COOK TIME8-10mins. |
PREP TIME |
READY IN |
Ingredients
Instructions
- Pour boiling water over dried mushrooms to cover, set aside.
- In a large soup pot, saute beef in 1 Tablespoon oil until browned, 5 to 7 minutes, remove from pan.
- In the same pot, with the other Tablespoon of oil, cook your carrots, onions, leeks, celery and baby bella mushrooms until just browned, about 8 to 10 minutes.
- Stir in barley and thyme and cook for another minute.
- Add the beef broth.
- Drain dried mushrooms in a sieve, and add that liquid also to the pot.
- Chop the mushrooms until fine, and add those.
- Toss in the bay leaves.
- Simmer until meat is tender and barley cooked (about an hour for the beef tenders, and longer for the stew meat).
- A little while before serving pour in the wine, and heat again.
- Add kosher salt and ground pepper to taste. This can be made 2 or 3 days in advance — it will taste even better if made ahead.
It is a sunny, slightly warm day here on the Cape, but cold weather is on its way again soon. I’m not quite ready for spring, though, I am still waiting for the BIG snow of the season. We did have a couple of snow falls of a couple of inches, but I would really love a good 10 to 12 inches. Snow is also great for the garden, and we are already planning what vegetable seeds to buy, along with starting another plot for a garden, so please pray that we get the big storm!
I recently had a birthday and was given one of my favorite desserts — a coconut cream trifle. I have served this in little glasses, and called it coconut cake in a glass — and it is truly divine. This recipe is a little complicated and time consuming, but I promise it is well worth the effort for any event or family gathering.
Coconut Cake in a Glass, or Coconut Cream Trifle
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Coconut Cake In A Glass, Or Coconut Cream Trifle
SERVINGS
|
COOK TIME30mins. |
PREP TIME |
READY IN40mins. |
Ingredients
Instructions
First make the simple syrup:
- Bring water and sugar to a boil.
- Stir in the coconut, remove from the heat and let sit for about 30 minutes.
- Strain the liquid into a clean saucepan, bring to a boil and let cook until the mixture is slightly reduced, about 5 minutes.
- Let cool.
Then the custard:
- Bring milks to a simmer over low heat in a nonreactive saucepan.
- Whisk together the yolks, sugar, and cornstarch in a large bowl.
- Whisk in a small amount of the milk mixture to the egg mixture to temper the eggs, then slowly whisk in the rest until smooth.
- Return mixture to the pot over medium heat, and bring to a boil, whisking constantly, until thickened.
- Scrape mixture into a bowl, and whisk in the rum and vanilla extract. Let cool to room temperature, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold.
Now the cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Generously butter and flour 2 (9″by 2″) cake pans and line bottoms with parchment paper.
- Whisk together the milk, egg whites, vanilla in a medium bowl.
- In the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
- With mixer running at low speed, add the butter, one piece at a time, and continue beating until mixture resembles moist crumbs.
- Add all but 1/2 cup of milk mixture to crumbs and beat at medium speed until the mixture is pale and fluffy, about 1 1/2 minutes.
- With mixer on low speed, add remaining milk mixture, increase speed to medium and beat 30 seconds more.
- Scrape sides of bowl and mix for another 20 seconds.
- Divide batter between the 2 pans and smooth tops with a spatula.
- Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few crumbs attached, about 22 to 24 minutes.
- Cool for 10 minutes on a rack, then invert onto the rack, removing the parchment. Let cool completely.
- Toast the 1 cup of coconut until golden for topping.
- Whip the 1 1/2 cups of cream, and fold 2/3 of it into the cooled custard for the filling between layers of cake, reserving the last 1/3 for the final layer of the dessert.
To assemble:
- Slice each cake into 2 layers, brush with the simple syrup, and then chunk up into bite size pieces.
- You can make these either individually in glasses, or for a crowd in a large glass bowl.
- Put a layer of cake pieces in the bottom of your container, then a layer of the custard mixture, continuing until your container is full, final layer being the last 1/3 of the whipped cream, and sprinkle with the toasted coconut.
- This is most delicious if you refrigerate it for a couple of hours so the flavors meld.
This is a busy time of year for us in Paraclete House Kitchen. We are in the process of making baked goods and preserves for the holiday season, some of which will also be for sale in Priory Gifts. Most Saturdays there are about fourteen people of all ages in the kitchen — from 5 years to 80+ years — making jams, chutneys, baking loaves of bread, cookies, pies, and cakes, as well as putting together mid-morning snack for the 200 other people out working on various projects around the community. We have of course been making a lot of things with our plentiful apple harvest; caramel apple pies, apple harvest jam, and my favorite, apple carrot chutney. This is a delicious accompaniment to roast pork, ham, or chicken, and is also wonderful for ham and cheese sandwiches. It’s especially good with cheese on a cracker or mixed into a spread.
Apple Carrot Chutney
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Apple Carrot Chutney
SERVINGS5cups
|
COOK TIME3 - 5mins. |
PREP TIME |
READY IN |
Ingredients
Instructions
- In a heavy pot, sauté carrots in canola oil until almost tender, about 3 to 5 minutes.
- Add in all the other ingredients, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer about one hour until slightly thick, stirring frequently.
- Ladle into hot, sterilized jars and seal, or transfer into a container and store in the refrigerator.
This is a busy time of year for us in Paraclete House Kitchen. We are in the process of making baked goods and preserves for the holiday season, some of which will also be for sale in Priory Gifts. Most Saturdays there are about fourteen people of all ages in the kitchen — from 5 years to 80+ years — making jams, chutneys, baking loaves of bread, cookies, pies, and cakes, as well as putting together mid-morning snack for the 200 other people out working on various projects around the community. We have of course been making a lot of things with our plentiful apple harvest; caramel apple pies, apple harvest jam, and my favorite, apple carrot chutney. This is a delicious accompaniment to roast pork, ham, or chicken, and is also wonderful for ham and cheese sandwiches. It’s especially good with cheese on a cracker or mixed into a spread.
Apple Carrot Chutney
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Votes: 24
Rating: 2.75
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Apple Carrot Chutney
SERVINGS5cups
|
COOK TIME3-5mins. |
PREP TIME |
READY IN |
Ingredients
Instructions
- In a heavy pot, sauté carrots in canola oil until almost tender, about 3 to 5 minutes.
- Add in all the other ingredients, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer about one hour until slightly thick, stirring frequently.
- Ladle into hot, sterilized jars and seal, or transfer into a container and store in the refrigerator.
