Cook It - Home-Ec 101

Spanish Rice

Heather says: This flexible side dish can round out many Tex Mex meals. The recipe is flexible, what’s important is the ratio of liquid to rice and the technique. Feel free to increase the amount of chili powder, or add a little cayenne to kick up the spiciness. If you are serving beef, change to …

White Bread, Basic

Heather says:

At long last, the first in the series of simple bread tutorials. We are beginning with a plain white bread recipe. This version is extremely simple. It is free of most allergens (wheat being the obvious exception) so it is useful for those avoiding eggs and dairy. Nutritionally, well, let’s just say that you won’t be making great strides over store-bought, but at least there is no high fructose corn syrup. Warm up the oven, roll up your sleeves, and let’s get started.

Simple White Bread

Ingredients

2 cups warm water ~110°F

1 1/2 TBSP Active Dry Yeast

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup vegetable oil + extra for bread pan & bowl (vegetable or olive

6 cups bread flour (may be slightly less in dry climates)

Directions after the jump.

Heather says: This method of baking is fast and simple. If you can fold foil around salmon, you’ve got it in the bag. If you don’t care for rosemary try dill, basil, or cracked black pepper. As an added bonus, the rosemary makes for a fancy-schmancy picture, eh? Ingredients: Salmon olive oil salt lemon, sliced …

Classic Fudge

Heather says: I recently found an old recipe for fudge, it wasn’t my own, as I have never truly enjoyed candy making. Thankfully the ingredients were simple and some research into the chemistry of fudge making gave me the tools to pass along this tasty and traditional version. In the near future I’ll post newer …

Heather says: Sometimes the tastebuds say, “Grill up a steak!” but the weatherman says, “Snow, rain, blizzard, hurricanes, cats, dogs, plagues of frogs!” What to do, what to do? Why pan sear, of course. Now, it isn’t quite the same as grilling a marinated steak, but it has some of the same qualities. I enjoy …

Heather says: I live near a small city, but my weekly shopping is close to home and the store doesn’t always have the same variety you can find elsewhere. I was happy to see they have begun carrying turkey cutlets. If you haven’t run across them before, they are simply turkey breasts cut across the …

Heather says: This is classic, but most of the ingredients are staples, so it can be thrown together on a night that you may otherwise say, “There is nothing to eat in this house!” Add a salad and a crusty loaf of bread and people will believe you know your way around a kitchen. Don’t …

Heather says: This is a simple recipe that can be expanded with little effort to feed a large family. Simply double or triple the sauce according to the number of pork chops you cook. The sauce below is for 4 -6 1/2″ thick chops, reduce the browning time for thinner cuts. The technique for the …

Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies Recipe

Heather says: If you just can’t decide whether to make oatmeal or chocolate chip cookies this is the joyful union of both. These are a little chewy, a little soft, and a whole lot of chocolate. Ingredients: 1/2 cup butter, softened 1/2 cup white sugar 1/2 cup brown sugar 1 cup all purpose flour …

Chocolate Pudding

Heather says: Did you know that pudding doesn’t have to come from a box? No, I’m serious. On the difficulty scale I’d put it slightly above total n00b. That’s novice for those of you who have managed to retain your brains and don’t surf the web all day. I’m teasing, don’t get touchy. Ingredients: …