EAB Designs

Artisan Bread 101

 

Growing up with a father who loved bread, and a mom who was a fabulous baker, it's no wonder I share both of their passions.  Learning to bake my own bread was one of the first things I set out to do in my own kitchen.  Happily, I discovered I had a knack for turning out delicious sandwich and sweet breads which we enjoy each week.  This year, I decided to educate myself on the process of creating sourdough and whole-grain recipes with age-old-bread-making traditions.  I borrowed an armful of Artisan bread cookbooks from the library and have been studying up.  I'm amazed by not only the process, but the science behind it as well.  First up, was the simple baguette which I baked on Sunday.

A baguette is a great place to begin as it doesn't require any liquid levain, or starter. A starter can take up to ten days to create.  I must confess my first attempt at cultivating a liquid starter failed miserably and I had to throw it out.  Although disappointed, I'm going to start again tomorrow. As for my baguettes, they turned out beautifully.

 

 

Crunchy artisan breads are best eaten right away so check back later this week to see what meals we've been enjoying them with.

Local Breads, by Daniel Leader, was my favorite book from the lot I borrowed from the library. Interesting reading and recipes.  Definitely will be purchasing a copy to add to my cookbook collection.

Elizabeth & Mr. Darcy - 200th Anniversary

 

Jane Austen's best known and most loved novel, Pride and Prejudice, was published 200 years ago today in 1813.  It's my personal favorite as well.  Afterall, what girl doesn't wish for love and happiness and their own Mr. Darcy.  Thankfully, I have found both. With Valentine's Day just around the corner I can't think of a better time to revisit Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy at Longbourn and Pemberley.

A Favorite iPad Subscription

I'm a big fan of Donna Hay's cookbooks.  Donna is a popular Australian food stylist, author and magazine editor.  I would have loved to subscribe to her magazine, but coming from Australia the cost was phenomenal.  However, I was thrilled when she released her magazine for iPad.  An annual subscription is less than twenty dollars and each issue is more inspiring than the next. Today I baked these yummy Gingerbread cookies from her holiday celebration issue.

The iPad edition is beautiful and filled with remarkable food photography, videos, step by step cooking instructions and charming animation.  The first two issues were available for free, one being the celebration issue.  Recipes are based around fresh seasonal ingredients with lots of seafood dishes to choose from.

I bundled up some of the cookies to give as gifts and the rest I'm saving to make Gingerbread Lemon Ice Cream sandwiches.  (Growing up, my mom used to make gingerbread cake with a lemon pudding sauce and it's been a favorite flavor combination of mine ever since.)  Enjoy your weekend and stay warm!  We're expecting a bit of snow if a few hours and I'm looking forward to watching it fall.

Sweet Paul Magazine Holiday Issue 2012

 Sweet Paul  magazine's holiday issue is available today!  I have been a super fan of this magazine since it's premiere and still considerate it my favorite.  I'm especially thrilled they chose my personalized burlap Christmas stockings to be featured in the issue.  In addition to unique handmade ornaments and crafts, there are fabulous recipes for holiday desserts, meals and so much more! You can view the online version of the magazine here, or pick up a printed copy at Anthropologie, or select stores.  Printed copies, including back issues, can also be ordered online here.  Enjoy!

Bread & Jam

I love baking bread, especially on a cold and rainy day like today.  I made two loaves of my favorite whole wheat bread and I wish you could smell the kitchen right now.  There's nothing like a fresh slice of bread with a bit of butter, or as I prefer, toasted with my favorite jam.  I must confess, I was first drawn to Bonnie's Jams because of the label design.  Isn't it great?  I especially love their Black & Blue jam (blackberries & blueberries mixed).  The raspberry is equally delicious though. My favorite bread recipes come from a book I've owned for many years, The Book of Bread by Judith Jones. The hardcover is out of print now, but used copies are available. If you enjoy all kinds of homemade bread, even if you're just a beginner baker, I would highly recommend adding a copy to your cookbook collection.

Oh How Sweet!

The Spring 2012 issue of Sweet Paul Magazine was released last Friday.  I've been saving it to enjoy over a leisurely breakfast on Saturday morning.  Based on a few peeks, this issue is as inspiring and beautiful as the previous ones.  To view the online digital issue, click here.  I've also read that a printed version will be available for sale at Anthropologie. Enjoy your weekend!

My Dreams for a Potager Garden

 

 

I have long dreamed of planting a proper potager, or kitchen garden.  One of my favorite places to visit when we travel are beautiful gardens.  Whether it's the formal gardens of Paris, or country gardens in the English countryside;  I am most happy roaming pea gravel paths lined with boxwood and perennial borders.  Here in Virginia, there is so much inspiration to be found - with visits to the kitchen gardens of Colonial Williamsburg, Monticello and Mount Vernon, as well as historical gardens in nearby Georgetown and Leesburg.  So after years of dreaming, I'm excited to actually start designing our very own potager. The past couple of weeks, I've been borrowing a long list of books from the library filled with loads of information.  The above is my weekend reading.

 

A few years ago, we installed this raised cedar bed for our herb garden.  (You can read more about that here.)  The kitchen really is the heart of our home and there is nothing like heading outside to gather what you need.  My plan is to add three or four more cedar beds, in the same dimensions as this one and plant them with vegetables and a cutting garden.  While I initially had every intention of installing them this spring, I had to be honest with myself and realize that I truly want to take more time to design our potager and educate myself on vegetable gardening.  I'm looking forward to sketching all the details and purchasing supplies.  The planning and anticipation is such a fun part of the process and I don't want to rush ourselves and end up with a design we wish we would have done differently.  

So with that in mind, our goal is to have the design completed and the beds installed by the fall. We have some very large shrubs and boxwoods to remove in order to take advantage of an area with full sun, so we have our work cut out for us.  I can't wait to begin!

By the way, if any of you are interested in starting your own vegetable garden, Manuela of a Cultivated Nest has started a weekly "Vegetable Gardening 101" series.  She is always so kind to offer lots of advice and inspiration, not only about gardening, but about also home decor and celebrating everyday life.  It's always a pleasure visiting her blog.

Beautiful Brioche

I wish all of you could visit me right now, because these brioche just came out of the oven and my house smells like a Paris boulangerie.

I do love making bread, but brioche was always something I thought would be difficult - until yesterday when I decided to have a go at it.  It's a bit more difficult than baking a traditional sandwich bread, but mostly it just takes more time as the bread has to rise a number of times and then be left overnight before you can bake it off.

Here's my brioche on the left, after resting overnight in the fridge, and then being shaped into balls and placed in the brioche tins.  The brioche, on the right, has risen about 90 minutes and is ready to bake.

When my husband got home last night I told him I made brioche dough and I needed some brioche tins to bake them.  He happily drove me to Sur La Table after dinner and we purchased the last 12 they had.  I tell him everyday, but I truly do love that man!  And how did I repay him?  I baked the brioche before he got home and devoured not one, but two of them!  I couldn't help it - see how good they were?

The brioche recipe came from "Around my French Table" by Dorie Greenspan.  (I also made the cauliflower soup recipe which was equally delicious.)  The brioche will only stay fresh for about a day, so the rest will be made into a bread pudding - another favorite dessert of ours.  Let me know if you try any of the recipes from the book.

Favorite Christmas Gifts

I received the most thoughtful Christmas gifts this year, and thought I would share just a few of my favorites in my next couple of posts.

It's always the little things that make me the most happy - like these long-handled wooden tasting spoons I received. Beautifully made from six different woods, they will be perfect for taste-testing all of the winter soups and sauces I'll be preparing in the weeks ahead.

 

My sister gave me (and each of my girls) this fun diary, Q&A A Day / 5-Year Journal.  Each day of the year has a writing prompt and space for you to jot down a short answer.

An example of some of the questions are:  "Who inspires you?"..... What's the most creative thing you've done recently?...."What did you wear today?.....If you had to move to a new city, where would you move?"  I think it will be great fun to compare your short answers from one year to the next and also for my girls and I to share some of our answers as well.

Records & Reading

Does anyone remember the part in the movie "Little Women" when Jo, upon completing her novel, ties up her manuscript and tucks a flower into it?

Well, I didn't write a novel, but I did finish working on my business tax expenses for last year.  Here they are in chronological order, categorized, and entered into an excel spreadsheet.  It's a little summary of all the work I've put into my business last year, so like Jo, I tied my expense receipts with a ribbon, inserted a piece of boxwood (no fresh flowers around), and left it in my sweet husband's office so he can prepare our taxes. To reward myself, for a job well done, I took extra time off to read this novel.

 

Actually, I found it hard to put down and finished it in less than two days.  I loved it and was happy to hear it was made into a movie which will be premiering in August.  "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett, a wonderful story filled with unforgettable characters.

Favorite Gifts

I would much rather read a well-loved classic than a new novel, and when Penguin books came out with their new collection of beautifully embossed classics, I instantly fell in love.  This Christmas, my youngest daughter gave me my first of these books, "The Secret Garden" to begin my own collection of favorite titles. My oldest daughter gave me this beautiful glass calligraphy tray, which I have secretly admired for quite a while.  I adore both gifts and feel so loved they know me so well.  Another favorite gift, sent from my Mom in California, was a box of "Nuts & Chews" from See's Candies.  I must admit, I think I ate three quarters of the box all by myself and thoroughly enjoyed every bite of that yummy caramel and nougat!

My Much Loved, and Well Used Cookbook Collection

My cookbook collection holds not only wonderful recipes, but many cherished memories as well.  For amongst the shelves are books given to me by my mom - a favorite being my "Lemons" cookbook filled with beautiful photographs and unique recipes all of which use one of my favorite ingredients - lemons!  I also have several books which my brother gave me.  Having lost him a few years ago, at a young age, I cherish every inscription he wrote in each book.  Like my mom, he always selected the perfect book to give to me.  Of course, the books that my husband and I bought together when we were first married bring me right back to that special time.  Many of those recipes have also become my girls' favorites.  They love to cook and bake and you'll find a few titles of their own here as well. We have a great organization system, and believe it or not, a book rarely gets put back in the wrong place.  Our only worry is the day our collection outgrows the beautiful bookcase my husband built.  From the look of the titles on our Christmas wish lists, it won't be long now.