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Bethany Whole Wheat Bread

5

Cape Cod faced an historic winter storm this week. As I was leaving work at Paraclete Press on Monday night, one of my customers emailed me and said, “Sister, don’t forget to stop and get your bread and water on the way home!  Be safe in the storm!”  I chuckled to myself because, little did she know, we were planning to bake fresh bread that night!

The recipe here has become one of our staples for the Convent.  It’s a lovely light whole wheat bread that we have been making for years. Shortly after it comes out of the oven, I always expect to see one of the Sisters sheepishly cutting a heel off one of the loaves and slathering it with butter and honey.  I imagine you might too!

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Bethany Whole Wheat Bread
SERVINGS
4loaves
CHANGE SERVING SIZE
loaves
COOK TIME
30-40mins
PREP TIME
15mins
READY IN
1.5hrs

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Pour water into​ a​ large mixing bowl equipped with​ a​ dough hook, sprinkle yeast over and add sugar. Wait at least 5 min until bubbles form on the surface and the yeast is active.
  2. Add the honey and the oil and mix well​ on low speed.​
  3. Add the white flour​ and salt and continue mixing
  4. Add the whole wheat flour, a cup at a time​,​ just until it starts pulling away from the sides of the bowl. You may not need all the flour listed here, or you may need more depending on the humidity of the day​. ​
  5. Dough will be barely sticky when it is ready ​- press your ​finger ​into it and see if it springs back​
  6. Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces. Knead the dough, shape into a​n​ oblong loaf and place in well-greased bread pans.
  7. Let rise in a warm, draft-free place for about 15 min. or until the dough is about 1 ½ to 2 inches above the pans.
  8. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 30-40 min. The bread should pull away from the sides of the pan and sound hollow when you tap on it.
  9. Transfer to a wire rack to cool … or slice and slather with fresh butter and jam!

Crepes with Lemon Ricotta Filling

7

Crepes are one of my favorite foods and can be quite versatile.  Used for dessert, they can be filled with a variety of ingredients: chocolate, Nutella, mascarpone to name a few.  Or served at breakfast with ricotta cheese and just a touch of sweetness.  At lunch or dinner, they can be filled with spinach, chicken and mushroom cream sauce, or thinly sliced ham and a lightly scrambled egg or even an herbed cream cheese with smoked salmon and sliced radish. Any way you serve them, they are delightful, and light on carbohydrates.

I was cleaning out our coal stoves, and discovered an old cast-iron crepe pan. I couldn’t resist! Passion took over and I set about cleaning it up, trying out recipes, and finding something that I wanted to share.  This simple breakfast crepe will be a nice change on the weekend, when you want to do something a little more special for your family.

 

Blessed New Year!

 

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Rating: 3.82
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Crepes with Lemon Ricotta Filling
Makes about 6 8-inch crêpes, recipe can be doubled as needed
SERVINGS
3people
CHANGE SERVING SIZE
people
COOK TIME
20 mins
PREP TIME
30mins
READY IN
1 hr

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Place the flour, milk, eggs, salt, and melted butter (and optional sugar and vanilla) in a blender and blend for about 20 seconds until batter is smooth. Alternatively, whisk everything together in a bowl until thoroughly combined and frothy.
  2. Cover the bowl and let the batter sit for at least 1/2 hour on the counter or overnight in the refrigerator.
  3. Before cooking the crêpes, assemble everything you'll need by your stove top: the batter, the pan, the oil and pastry brush and a spatula. If your bowl doesn't have a pour spout, have a ladle or 1/4-cup measuring cup handy.
  4. Place the pan over medium heat and brush your pan with oil to coat the bottom. Let it sit on the flame for a minute to get hot. Pour in about ¼-1/3 cup of batter. Immediately, pick up the pan and swirl it to coax the batter into an even layer on the bottom of the pan.
  5. When the crêpe has browned slightly on the bottom, carefully work a spatula underneath it and flip. Cook the second side briefly, just to set the batter.
  6. Tilt the pan and loosen the crêpe, then slide it onto the cooling rack or wax paper
  7. Continue making crêpes with the rest of the batter, brushing more oil on the pan as needed to keep the crêpes from sticking.
  8. If not eating the crêpes immediately, stack them one on top of the other as they cool. If they seem sticky, place a square of wax paper or parchment between them. Place the stack in a sealable plastic bag and store in the refrigerator for a few days or in the freezer for a few months.
Lemon Ricotta Filling
  1. Whip all of the above ingredients together in a mixer until smooth and creamy. If using cream cheese, whip this first until creamy and then add the other ingredients
  2. Spoon about 2 Tbsp of the filling into one of the “corners” of the crepes and fold into ¼’s
  3. Arrange on plate and sprinkle with mixed berries and powdered sugar to serve, or serve with homemade blueberry sauce (below).
Homemade Blueberry Sauce
  1. In a medium saucepan over high heat, combine sugar, water, cornstarch, and lemon juice.
  2. Whisk until blended, then add blueberries.
  3. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring constantly, until juice is clear and sauce is slightly thickened, about 2 minutes.
  4. Serve at room temperature

Saint Lucia Bread

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Our Monastic Bake Shop opens for Advent, just in time for people to select delicious home-baked goods for their Christmas table.  One of the favorite sweet breads that people return for is the lovely St. Lucia Bread.  A rich, dense dough filled with citron, saffron and almonds, and decorated like a wreath, has been a long-standing tradition for our Bakeshop, started by one of our own Sisters, Sr. Lucia.

Traditionally, when we make our first profession as Sisters, we also take on a new name – symbolizing our new life wedded to Christ.  Sr. Lucia became a novice in early December.  When she was preparing to take her vows, she prayed about what her new name should be.  One of the Sisters told her that she had an idea of a name for her. The Sister next to her said, “Now don’t overwhelm our new novice with another big decision!” But she couldn’t bear the suspense, and she told her the name: Lucia.  A bit later, a different Sister mentioned that she had received a name for her, and it was the same one!  She decided to learn more about who St Lucia was, only to discover that her feast day was celebrated on December 13th — the exact day that the name had been suggested to her!  She couldn’t deny that God was speaking.  It turns out that her middle name had been Lucille after her maternal grandmother, and years later it was discovered that her actual given name had been Lucia!

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Saint Lucia Bread
SERVINGS
2loaves
CHANGE SERVING SIZE
loaves
COOK TIME
20-25mins
PREP TIME
30mins
READY IN
2-3hrs

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. In a large mixer, soften the yeast in the warm water
  2. Heat the milk until warm. Add the oil and sugar and stir to dissolve.
  3. Add this mixture to the yeast mixture in the mixer
  4. Add salt and saffron
  5. Add the 3 slightly beaten eggs and mix with dough hook.
  6. Add the lemon zest, citron and almonds and continue mixing
  7. One cup at a time, add the flour and mix well after each addition. Stop adding the flour when the dough starts pulling away from the side of the bowl. Adding more flour if necessary.
  8. Turn the dough out onto a floured board and knead for 5 min, or until dough becomes smooth and elastic; adding flour as necessary.
  9. Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place until almost doubled in size, about 1 hr. (At this point, you can refrigerate the dough, if you want to work with it later).
  10. Divide the dough into six equal balls and roll into large ropes and then braid three together, making two braids.
  11. Pinch the two ends together and tuck under, forming two circular loaves.
  12. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line two sheet pans with baking paper, or grease, and put a braided loaf on each pan.
  13. Cover and let rise in a warm place, until doubled.
  14. Combine the remaining egg with a tablespoon of water to make an egg wash, and brush on the braids.
  15. Bake for about 20-25 min or until the loaf feels firm to the touch. If you would like to use a thermometer, the internal temperature should read about 190 degrees.
  16. While the bread is baking, prepare your frosting, mixing all ingredients until smooth and on the thicker side. Cut your cherries in half.
  17. Remove bread from the oven and cool slightly, then decorate, using the green cherries as leaves, and the red as berries.

A blessed Advent to all!

Villa Sacra Stuffed Peppers

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This weekend, we will be harvesting the last of our peppers from our garden.  We have been so blessed to have such an abundance of beautiful vegetables this year, so much so, that we are still reaping the benefits of the eggplant, leeks, butternut squash, and pumpkins.  My brain goes into overdrive, as recipe after recipe comes to mind.. what magical combination can we concoct next?

We had a special request for stuffed peppers from one of our Sisters. She adores them, and has happy childhood memories from her Pennsylvania roots.  I was delighted to fulfill her request.  While in Italy, I came across this wonderfully spicy stuffed pepper recipe.  I modified it with the ingredients I had on hand.  I’ve never been a big fan of green peppers, but I love the sweet, colored varieties, as recommended here.  The flavors of Italy abound: balsamic, red pepper flakes, fennel and spicy sausage. This is sure to be a family favorite.

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Villa Sacra Stuffed Peppers
SERVINGS
8
CHANGE SERVING SIZE
COOK TIME
1hr30 mins
PREP TIME
30mins
READY IN
1 hr50 mins

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
  2. Bring rice and water to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until the rice is tender, and the liquid has absorbed, 20-25 min. Remove from heat and set aside
  3. Cook the ​chopped ​leek in olive oil over medium low heat until the leek begins to soften (watch that it doesn’t burn), about 5 min. Transfer half of this mixture to a large bowl and set aside.
  4. Stir tomato sauce, beef broth, balsamic vinegar, and red pepper flakes into the skillet with half the leek mixture; cook and stir for 1 minute.
  5. Pour tomato sauce mixture into a 9x13-inch baking dish and set aside.
  6. Combine ​the ​ground beef, Italian sausage, fennel seeds, diced tomatoes, parsley, garlic, salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper into bowl with reserved leek; mix well. Stir in cooked rice and 1 cup of Parmigiano Reggiano. Stuff bell peppers with beef and sausage mixture​, heaping slightly.​
  7. Place stuffed bell pepper halves in the baking dish over tomato sauce; cover baking dish with aluminum foil, and bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes.
  8. Remove aluminum foil, sprinkle with remaining Parmigiano-Reggiano, and bake until the meat is no longer pink, the peppers are tender and the cheese is browned on top, an addition​al​ 20 to 25 minutes. Andiamo Mangiare!

Fantastic Apple Pecan Fantans

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I seem never to tire of anything that made from apples. This fruit is delicious in all its forms…cold and crunchy, or hot and spicy baked in desserts, sautéed, or simmered into a sauce. Apples are one of the most versatile fruits that lend themselves to most any form of preparation.

I am always eager to try any new apple recipe, such as the one that follows. I have named these Fantastic Apple Pecan Fantans, and that is absolutely what they are!

With practice one can become adept at producing perfectly shaped fans. However first attempts often result in irregular shapes, which I personally prefer. No matter what shape they turn into, they taste so fantastic that shape becomes incidental. The fact that they include whole wheat flour is comforting and always makes me feel like I’m enjoying a “healthy treat!”

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Fantastic Apple Pecan Fantans
SERVINGS
1dozen
CHANGE SERVING SIZE
dozen
COOK TIME
18-20mins
PREP TIME
2 hrs25 mins
READY IN
2 hrs45 mins

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Prepare Dough: Combine first three ingredients in bowl of a heavy-duty mixer; let stand 5 minutes. Stir in egg, next three ingredients, and 1 1/2 cups bread flour. Beat at medium speed, using paddle attachment for one minute or until smooth. Gradually beat in whole wheat flour and enough remaining bread flour to make a soft dough.
  2. Turn dough out onto a well-floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic (6 to 8 minutes), sprinkling surface with bread flour as needed. Place dough in a lightly greased large bowl, turning to grease top. Cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place (85º Fahrenheit), free from drafts, 45 to 55 minutes or until doubled in bulk.
  3. Meanwhile, prepare Filling: Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add apples and brown sugar, and sauté 4 to 5 minutes or until apples are crisp-tender. Cool completely (about 30 minutes).
  4. Punch dough down; turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll into a 20- x 12-inch rectangle. Spread remaining 8 tablespoons softened butter over dough. Stir together 3/4 cup granulated sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over butter, and top with pecans and apple mixture.
  5. Cut dough into 5 (12- x 4-inch) strips; stack dough strips. Replace any apples and pecans that fall out. Cut stack into 6 (4- x 2-inch) rectangles; cut each rectangle in half crosswise to form 12 (2-inch) squares. Place stacked squares, cut sides up, into cups of a lightly greased 12-cup muffin pan. Cover loosely with plastic wrap; let rise in a warm place (85º Fahrenheit), free from drafts, 45 minutes to 1 hour or until rolls rise about 3/4 inch above rim of pan.
  6. Preheat oven to 375º Fahrenheit. Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until deep golden brown. Cool in pan on a wire rack 5 minutes. Remove from pan to a wire rack.
  7. Optional: Prepare Glaze: Bring 1/3 cup butter and 1/3 cup brown sugar to a boil in a 1-qt. heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly; boil 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; drizzle over top of warm rolls.

Dinner Rolls

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There is no meal so plain or so elaborate that cannot be enhanced by the addition of freshly baked homemade bread. Whether it’s a simple soup and salad lunch or a full oven rolls is guaranteed to bring exclamations of joy from the eaters. It seems to convey a sense of special care and attention that warms their hearts.

We served these beautiful, easy-to-make rolls to a retreat of ladies for lunch today and their response was absolutely overwhelming.

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Dinner Rolls
SERVINGS
36rolls
CHANGE SERVING SIZE
rolls
COOK TIME
PREP TIME
READY IN
1 1/2 - 2hours

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. This recipe is best made in a standing mixer with a dough hook.
  2. Dissolve the yeast in some water with a pinch of sugar and let sit for approximately 5 minutes to proof.
  3. Add milk, sugar, 1/2 cup melted butter, salt and eggs. Mix well.
  4. Add flour as needed and mix well.
  5. Blend at medium-low speed for about 5-10 minutes, scraping down sides of the bowl once or twice.
  6. Cover bowl with plastic wrap; let rise in bowl about 1 hour or till doubled.
  7. Remove the plastic wrap and turn mixer on low to “punch down” the dough; if you wish, you can let the dough rise a second time as it makes for a more flavorful roll.
  8. Remove the dough from the bowl and divide into 36 rolls. The dough will be very sticky.
  9. Place rolls, edges just touching, in a buttered 9″x13″ or 9″ round pan.
  10. Cover pan with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, about 30-40 minutes.
  11. Brush with reserved butter before baking or an egg wash.
  12. Bake at 300 degrees Fahrenheit convection oven or 350 degrees Fahrenheit conventional oven until golden.