moms wheat bread.

this is the bread i grew up eating.

unfortunately i can never get it to taste like my moms bread because she always used freshly grinded wheat flour. there is just no beating that.

i know i'm not the only one who grew up with buckets of wheat in the basement, right? do people still do this?

this bread recipe is simple, straight-forward, and is fairly accepting of additions/tweaks. i dialed the sugar back a bit last time i made it because i don't want to oversugar my 39 weeks baby baby (i'm sure baby gets enough sugar from the halloween candy i've been eating this week), and it tasted great. next time i might to try to replace some of the sugar with honey.

moms wheat bread

1/2 cup warm water - mix in 1 T. sugar and 1 package yeast. Let rise for about 10 minutes.

Mix together in large bowl:

1 egg

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 cup melted butter (margarine)

Add yeast/water mixture from above and 2 cups warm water. Stir together.

Add 4 cups wheat flour and 4 cups white flour (I usually put in about 3 cups flour at first,

then keep adding more until it gets to the right consistency.) Knead for about 5-10 minutes

(OR put it in your Kitchenaid)

Lightly grease with oil the large (clean) bowl you mixed the dough in.

Let rise until doubled.

Punch down and divide into 2 loaves. Put into greased bread pans.

Let rise to size of loaves you'll want. it will only rise a little bit more while cooking.

Bake 350-375 for 30-40 minutes.

After I take the loaves out of the pans, I put them on a wire rack to cool and butter the tops of the loaves so the crust isn't tough. Plus, butter.

salad + marv n joe

I'm learning to make dinners that are filling, but also healthy and light. You see, we usually don't eat dinner until after 9:30, so I need something that won't stick to my ribs that late at night. My stomach can't hack it. Thus the entry of the salad with slice of bread into my dinner rotation.

I've made 2 versions of this salad now, and I am in love. For some reason I've always had acute anxiety about making a good salad, since I grew up on iceberg, carrots, and cucumber with ranch salad.

Easy steps to a great salad

1. Have a few mix-in's on hand to make it easier. I like to keep pears, apples, roasted butternut squash, and roasted cauliflower on hand. And I also roasted 2 cups of assorted nuts (chopped almonds, pecans, and peanuts) that I keep in a tupperware for sprinkling on EVERYthing. It's just what I like.

2. Pick your greens: I like a good mesclun or baby lettuce mix.

3. Pick your dressing: We've really been enjoying the champagne vinaigrette from Whole Foods.

Make your salad:
We employ the big bowl method at the Taylor household. Throw your greens in a big huge bowl, add in your mix-ins (idea #1: butternut squash, cauliflower, edamame) (idea #2: pears, apples, roasted nuts), and drizzle with your preference of dressing.

Toss it all together until dressing coats the greens well. And most important rule: make sure your dinner buddy gets an equal amount of mix-in's to you (mix-in's are their own currency in our house).

A good partner to the Salad the Marv N Joe. I used to eat the Marv n Joe in the Food Court at Utah State University. It is so simple and SO delicious.

Marv N Joe

Ingredients:
slices of bread cut thick (1 - 1.5 inches)
slice of cheese - something mild like white cheddar or provolone
tomato
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper

1. Put the oven on Broil.
2. Drizzle olive oil on bread and sprinkle a little balsamic on the bread.
3. Put slices of tomato on top so it covers the bread. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper on the tomato.
4. Slice of cheese on top.
5. Put it in the oven and keep an eye on it! Your Marv N Joe will be finished just before the cheese starts to bubble. The cheese will look all melty and delicious. And the bread will be nice and crisp.

Ohhh I need another one right now.