Maple Minis, Five Minute Fresh Bread, etc.

It just dawned on me this morning that I have been in the kitchen a lot lately. I think with Elise being gone, I have had more spare time to fill than usual. I mean, I do love playing with the kids, but one can only play with blocks, or sing “Ring Around the Rosie” so many times before you start feeling like the walls are closing in on you. And it hasn’t helped that the rain has been relentless this past week. So as I’ve been perusing blogs, and seeing recipes that intrigue me, I thought, why not give them a shot? A couple of these recipes are now staples in our house.

I’m sure a lot of you have heard about Artisan Bread in Five Minutes. If you haven’t you really should look into it. After hearing rave reviews from my friend Genevieve, and my mother-in-law, I gave it a try. It so easy, you’ll be amazed. I mean, I am all about feeling and working with the dough, but why not have a quick and easy, and not to mention delicious, version to reach for when you’re short on time? I’ve been using this website’s recipes of both the white and wheat breads. There are other recipes there I am excited to try when I get the chance. And you really can keep the dough in the fridge for days, and it bakes up nicely (after a good, long, warm rise-which I do in my oven with a pot of boiling water in the bottom) whenever you’re in the mood for it. This is so easy, in fact, we’ve gone through several loaves in the past couple weeks. Once we ate it with bbq pulled pork, mashed potatoes, and salad, and again with cream of celery soup. A perfect compliment to both meals, and truly melted in the mouth. Here is the wheat loaf I made this morning from dough that had been in the fridge since Monday night. I have to say, as much as I love a good wheat bread, the white version of this bread is heavenly. especially a few minutes after leaving the oven with butter. I’ll try make the wheat when it’s for everyday purposes, and the white for more special occasions.

Feeling the need to detox a bit (we were in a little rut, having a lot less fresh produce than I would like), this pasta sauce was making my mouth water. I love my former neighbor’s recipe blog, and want to make everything she posts, but this seemed like a great use of my little spare time. The first batch I made was pretty chunky, which I love. The next batch, I followed Cindy’s advice, and blended up the tomatoes. Both are great for different reasons. In fact, I think I’ll turn the chunkier version I have in the freezer into a minestrone soup by thinning it out with broth and adding pasta, some kidney beans, and meat. I didn’t add meat to mine while initially cooking it, because I didn't have Italian sausage at the time, which sounded really good, and I like to make meatballs when I’m feeling up to it. I’ve been using this recipe for years (which I’m sure I tweak every time I make them depending on what I feel like that day). I like a recipe that goes a long way, and this was a good one. See, I have some in my freezer just waiting to top some angel hair pasta when I’m in the mood.

I’m not much of a jello person, but the picture of these darling jello blocks caught my attention, and I had to know more. Too bad the kids aren’t taking to it like I thought they would, because like I said, jello isn’t what I reach for when I want something to eat. But it was fun to make nonetheless. I even made them a second time with a different color scheme and cut them out with a cookie cutter. I think I just wanted to play, more than enjoy the final product, and I really did have a good time.

And how could I not buy these adorable mini doughnut pans when they were on clearance and Wegmans? I mean, I already have a mini cheesecake pan, mini tart pans, and a mini muffin pan, so it just seemed necessary to have them. (A mini dessert party is definitely in order so I can get some use out of these novelty pans.) Thanks to Corinne for posting this Whole Wheat Doughnut recipe (I wanted to do the wheat version, since it will just be our little family eating them, and it seems like much less of a junk food when you add a grain, right?), I made these cute little doughnuts this morning, and finished them off with a maple glaze, my mom’s favorite. The kids each ate two or three at lunch.

I feel funny writing down these simple baking projects as if I’ve never baked before and this is a huge accomplishment. Well, let’s just say, I’ve taken quite a few steps back in the baking department since I got pregnant a couple years ago. There was a time that it was rare that I didn’t bake everyday. If I had the time and the metabolism, I think it would still be a daily activity. But as for right now, while I have cute babies to kiss all day, these little projects will do to fulfill my craving to simmer, sauté, knead, and whisk.