Amazingly easy bread and a green onion trick!

BIDDY!!!

I didn't make anything too crazy this past week. There was dog drama and I was feeling like crap for a few days so I was not inspired to do anything near what you and George did this week. This weekend has already been pretty cool though. I made a super easy bread recipe that I've made a few times before but this was definitely the best it has ever tasted. You must make this soon! It is seriously so easy and has an amazing crust and flavor. I love love love it. It comes from the Pioneer Woman's blog. Lila and I both like her blog. I gave Lila her cookbook for Christmas. You will either like it or question our sanity for reading it. I made a few adjustments to her recipe to get the flavor and texture a little more to my liking.




AMAZING LIGHT CRUSTY HERB BREAD:
1 package of yeast
1 cup of warm water
1 stick of melted butter
4 cups bread flour *all purpose flour works too-it will change the texture slightly*
1 teaspoon salt
Approx a handful of an herb *I use rosemary, chives are what I'm going to try next, oregano would be good too*

Dissolve yeast in the warm water. Sprinkle with a little sugar and let sit while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. Roughly chop the rosemary (or the herb of your choice) and add it to the butter. In a a mixing bowl or a standing mixer, combine all of the ingredients. Mix until well combined. Then need for about 10 minutes (it will take longer if you are kneading by hand). The dough should be smooth, not sticky. The dough has been kneaded long enough when you take a small chunk and are able to carefully stretch it and achieve a windowpane(slightly transparent rather than just tearing when you stretch it). Place the dough in a bowl covered with a towel. Let rise for 1 1/2 to 2 hours in a warm spot. Punch down the dough and knead briefly. Form into a dome like shape and return to the bowl. Let rise for another 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Lightly coat the bottom and sides of a dutch oven or other oven safe pan with olive oil. Rub the dough with olive oil. Place the dough in the dutch oven and use a very sharp knife to cut an "X" into the bread (I think my cut was probably 1 inch deep). Sprinkle with sea salt.
Bake in a 450 degree oven for 30 minutes with the lid on. Remove the lid and bake for 15 more minutes or until the bread is a deep golden brown color.


This bread is so delicious! I love it with fresh mozzarella, tomato and basil on it. Super easy and crusty!


While I was wasting time one day and reading a food blog (now I can't remember which one), I read about a neat trick to do with green onions. If you put them in a little bit of water, the green top part will continue to grow and stay fresh. Mama and I tried it this past week and it works! We used an iced tea glass and put an entire bunch of green onions in there. I used green onion tops in something and put the bulb back in the water and within 2 days it had grown about 3 inches of replacement green part. It is also a cute display in the kitchen. It saves you from the slimy green onion tops wasting away in the bottom of your refrigerator drawer!

For dinner tonight we had the mackerel that mama makes sometimes with the hard-boiled egg and pimento on top. And tonight we added kalamata olives because we had half a container in the fridge. It was so good. The olives added a nice saltiness to the dish. We had fudge cake and blackberries for dessert. I love Grandma's fudge cake. Such an easy and delicious dessert!

I am excited to hear about the cake you and George make for your party tomorrow!

LTB so so much!!!!