Tortillas of Love

According to Rosalind, our Greek Mythology scholar, bad people go to Tartarus.
People who are just okay go to the Asphodel Meadows.
Only good people go to the Elysian Fields, where everybody gets to eat handmade tortillas, everyday.

Flour Tortillas aka Tortillas de Amor

This is based on a recipe from lookimadethat. 

2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

6 Tablespoons non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening

3/4 cup warm milk

Combine all the dry ingredients in a medium-sized bowl. Using your hands, cut in the shortening until the flour mixture resembles cornmeal. Stir in the warm milk with a spoon.    

The mixture should eventually ball up and clean the sides of the bowl.

Knead the dough (for about a minute) until smooth and somewhat elastic.

Shape into a ball.

Cover with plastic and let rest for about 30 minutes.

Cut the dough into 12 pieces for a soft taco size. Shape each pieces into balls then flatten into circles. Cover with plastic. Let rest for at least 10 minutes.

Using a rolling pin, roll a piece of dough into a circle around 6 inches in diameter.

Cook the tortilla on a hot skillet, about 30 seconds on each sides.

Yeast Pancakes

Also known as: overnight pancakes. The batter is mixed and then refrigerated overnight for the yeast to slowly work its magic. Nothing can be more convenient because all you have to do in the morning is plop globs of goo on a hot skillet. But here's the rub: to have these fluffy goodness for breakfast, you need to be a person who plans ahead.

This might be problematic if, like me, you mostly cook on a whim. But do not despair. The situation is not completely hopeless if the night has come and gone and the batter is still waiting to be mixed. We can bully the yeast into working harder and faster by not refrigerating the batter. We just have to wait an hour or so for breakfast. Or if there's an immediate need to break the fast because grumpiness is setting in, we might just decide to have the pancakes for dinner.

This recipe (which is very similar to the one at Allrecipes) is adapted from sweetfineday. Since I didn't have overnight to let the batter rise, I just kept the batter at room temperature and it was ready to cook in about an hour.


Yeast Pancakes

1 1/2 cups milk
2 1/4 teaspoons yeast
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 egg

2 1/4 cups flour
3 Tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoons salt

Measure out the milk in a glass measuring cup and warm up in the microwave (just slightly hot to the touch, about 110F). Sprinkle the yeast over the warm milk and let sit for 10 minutes. Add oil and egg.

In a bowl, mix together the flour, sugar and salt.

Pour the wet ingredients over the dry.

Whisk together just until incorporated.

Cover with plastic and let rise for about an hour.

The batter will almost triple in volume.

Heat a pan/griddle/skillet over medium heat. Lightly oil the pan and scoop the batter onto the pan to whatever size or shape you want. Cook until golden brown then flip over and cook the other side. It will take each side about a minute or two to cook.

Whole Wheat Soda Bread

There was a domino effect with the last three posts. While making buttermilk cheese, Rosalind remembered making butter at school so she decided to make butter and post about it. And after seeing Rosalind's fresh creamy butter, I couldn't help but want to slather it on a steaming slice of homemade bread.

Soda bread came first to mind because it is fast and easy make, one that Rosalind and Nina can make all by themselves. This recipe is based (very closely) on the Brown Soda Bread recipe from the March issue of Cooking Light magazine.

The technique used to mix this soda bread batter is called "muffin method." The dry ingredients are combined in a bowl. Then the liquid ingredients are mixed together in another container. Lastly, the two are folded together just until combined. The batter doesn't need to be mixed until smooth (just moistened). Since the recipe has low fat and sugar content, it's easy to overmix, which results in toughness.

Whole Wheat Soda Bread

Dry Ingredients

2 1/2 c white whole wheat flour

1/2 c all purpose flour

1/2 c steel-cut oats

2 T brown sugar

1 T wheat germ

1 t baking soda

1 t baking powder

1/2 t salt

"Liquid" Ingredients

2 c buttermilk

1 egg

Line a springform pan with parchment paper. Butter the sides.

Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large bowl.

Measure out the buttermilk in a liquid measuring cup (4 cup capacity). Add the egg and mix together.

Pour the liquid ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients. Stir until just combined.

Place the mixture in the prepared pan.

Bake in a 400F oven for about 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean.

Cheese Straws

Cheese Straws

1/4 recipe of sour cream pastry
1 T olive oil
1/4 c grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Roll out pastry dough into a rectangle (1/8 inch thick).

Brush with olive oil.

Sprinkle with cheese, salt and pepper. Press down the cheese for it to adhere to the dough.

Cut out strips (about 1/4 inch wide) with ravioli cutter, pizza cutter, or a sharp knife.

Twist each strip. Place on a sheet pan lined with Silpat, parchment paper or foil. Press down both ends to keep in place.

Bake at 400F for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.

Sour Cream Pastry

I got this recipe from Flo Braker's Sweet Miniatures. She describes this pastry dough as "a dream to work with and heaven to eat" because it "never gets tough no matter how much you handle it." This might just be true because I've re-rolled the dough a few times and it still turned out pretty flaky. I'm not one to get too comfortable though; I still stick to the rules of keeping the dough cold and manipulating it as little as possible.

Sour Cream Pastry

2 c all purpose flour
1/8 t salt
8 oz (2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 1/4 inch slices
1/2 c (5 oz) sour cream

In a bowl, mix together the flour and salt. Cut in the butter until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs but there are still pieces of butter the size of small peas.


Add the sour cream and mix with a fork.


Using your hands, shape the dough into a ball.


Divide the dough into four pieces.


Shape into circles and wrap individually with plastic. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or until ready to use. The dough will keep in the fridge for 3 days or in the freezer for a month.

Pancakes

As you see, these look like a cross between Mickey Mouse and Wererabbit (from Wallace and Gromit) so Rosalind calls them:


Monster Mickies

1 cup buttermilk (or milk)
1 egg
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 Tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
To make faces use: chocolate chips, blueberries, or raisins.

Measure out milk in a liquid measuring cup (4 cup capacity). Add the egg, vegetable oil, sugar, and salt.

Whisk together until combined.

Mix in the flour and baking powder.

Pour about 1/4 cup of batter on a hot (but not too hot) nonstick pan. Use medium heat.

Round it out.

Make the ears.

Make the face.

When you see bubbles all around, flip the pancake. Cook the other side for another minute.