sourdough bread and white bean soup

yesterday was a gloomy day in albuquerque. no sun, only gray clouds and drizzly rain off and on throughout the day. a good day for splashing in puddles, baking bread, and making a big pot of soup. dinah and i woke up early to make bread before she had to go to preschool. first, we fed our sourdough starter, then she helped me mix up a loaf of bread with the leftover starter. she dumped the flour in the bowl and turned on the mixer and even help me knead the dough. then we put it into a big bowl and i set it on the top of our bookshelf and told her it would be busy rising while she was at school.

when i picked her up at noon, it had risen a whole bunch and was about to pop over the sides of the bowl. it needed to be pushed down earlier, but i didn't want to do it without dinah there to help. as soon as she got home, she helped me beat down the bread and then we shaped it into a loaf and let it rise again. while we waited, we splashed in some mud puddles and played a little while in the rain. then we went inside for tea and cuddles, and then started the soup.

we made a white bean soup with sausage, root vegetables, and kale. a flavorful and hearty winter soup.

rustic sourdough bread

1/2 cup sourdough starter

3/4 cup warm water

1 tsp instant yeast

1/2 TBS sugar

1 and 1/4 tsp salt

2 and 1/2 cups flour

this recipe makes one loaf. put a 1/2 cup of starter in a mixing bowl. dissolve sugar, salt, and yeast in the warm water and add to starter. then add flour and mix to combine. once combined, knead the dough on a hard lightly floured surface, for about five minutes. place in a greased bowl and put somewhere warm. let the dough rise to double its size. push down and shape into a loaf. cut slats in the top, sprinkle with water. then let it rise to double the size again and bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. 

rustic tuscan white bean soup

2 TBS olive oil

1 lb sausage (the recipe recommends sweet italian)

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 large carrots, peeled and finely diced

1 large potato, peeled and finely diced

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

2-3 bay leaves

2 15 ounce cans of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

2 big bunches of kale, finely chopped

6 cups chicken stock

heat olive oil in a large pot, add sausage and brown, about 10 minutes. add onions, carrots, potatoes, and bay leaves. cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes. add garlic and beans, cook for 2 minutes. add kale, and cook until wilted. add chicken stock, and bring to a boil. simmer for about 30 minutes, or until potatoes and carrots are soft. serve with parmesan cheese grated on top. 

sour cream chocolate cake

dinah asks to make a cake frequently, like every day, probably. i generally say no, not today, honey. but finally, when she asked for a dinosaur chocolate cake (she loves dinosaurs), i agreed. this year for our new year's day cake, we made a chocolate sour cream "dinahsaur" cake.

the original recipe is from smitten kitchen, which i made for my little brother's birthday a few years ago. it has peanut butter frosting and chocolate peanut butter glaze (ummm, yummm!), but this time, i just made the cake part with a chocolate buttercream center.

this cake is super moist, almost brownie-like, and super delicious, but really, really super fragile. the cakes will completely fall apart if you don't grease the pans properly or freeze the cakes for 30 minutes before trying to frost them. normally, with all round cakes i make, i vigorously grease the bottom and sides of the cake pan, add parchment paper to the bottom, grease the bottom again, then dust with flour, and so far all my cakes have popped out perfectly. this time, although i was excited about baking a cake with dinah, waller was not. i usually cook and bake wearing him, and it's generally no problem -- he's either asleep or happily cuddled up against me. this time, he was not happy and fussed and squirmed the entire time. so, trying to rush, i skipped the o.c.d. cake pan greasing step, and merely greased and floured. ugh, big mistake. the cakes didn't come out very pretty. one was so stuck in the pan, that it came out in a million pieces. of course, the scraps were still tasty, so it's not like i tossed it or something, but still, what a bummer to have a two tier cake instead of three.

it's a rich cake all by itself, so i whipped up a simple chocolate buttercream frosting to slap on the middle of the two cakes and decided to dust the top with powdered sugar instead of icing the top as well. and anyway, dinah asked for a dinosaur cake, so i had to get creative with decorating the cake top.

sour cream chocolate cake

this makes an 8-in triple layer cake that serves 12-16 people

2 cups flour

2 1/2 cups sugar (i used only 2 and it was plenty)

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (i used hershey's special dark)

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 cup canola oil

1 cup sour cream (i didn't have enough sour cream, so i used 1/2 cup sour cream and 1/2 cup buttermilk)

1 1/2 cups water

2 TBS distilled white vinegar

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs

grease pans, line with parchment paper, then grease and dust with flour.  whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl, set aside. in your mixing bowl, whisk oil and sour cream until blended, gradually beat in water, vinegar and vanilla. beat in eggs until well blended. mix in dry ingredients and mix very well. divide among the three prepared cake pans.

bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. let cool in the pans for 20 minutes. invert onto wire racks, and carefully peal off parchment paper liners, then let cool completely. since these cakes are so soft, place in the freezer for 30 minutes before frosting. 

chocolate buttercream frosting

1 cup salted butter, softened

3 1/2 cups powdered sugar 

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (i used hershey's special dark, again)

4 TBS heavy whipping cream 

2 tsp vanilla

cream butter until smooth. mix in powdered sugar and cocoa powder on low, then add whipping cream. beat on high until blended and fluffy.

put a generous layer between cake layers and dust the top with powdered sugar. 

posole

posole

a christmas tradition we've started doing since moving to new mexico is making posole and tamales for christmas dinner. someday, i would like to make tamales from scratch, but so far we've only bought them pre-made and just steam them christmas day. however, this year, with two tiny children, i totally slacked and i did't get to the posole until new year's day and didn't even bother picking up tamales at all. oh well. next year. maybe.

this year, i made posole with pork shoulder. i cut the meat off the bone and chopped them into bite sized pieces, then created bone broth from the bone. i merely simmered the bone in water for 24 hours in a slow-cooker, then strained the fat and bits of stuck-on meat, then skimmed the fat off the top as it cooled. it didn't make quite enough broth, so i supplemented with store-bought chicken bone broth. i also used the left over red chile sauce i had frozen from a few weeks ago when i made carne adovada.

i got this recipe from a mom friend a couple years ago, but adjusted it slightly here and there. it turned out delicious. my brother-in-law and his roommate came over to celebrate new year's day with us. his roommate is a new mexican native and has been eating posole his entire life. he said mine was just as good or better than his grandmother's! wow! it must be a good recipe.

posole

1 pound frozen posole, thawed and rinsed

1 large onion, chopped

2 pounds lean pork, cubed (i used bone-in shoulder)

2-4 cloves garlic, minced

1-2 cups red chile sauce

1 tsp dried oregano

1-3 tsp salt

about 6 cups of bone broth

rinse posole several times to wash off the lime. chop onion and mince garlic. saute both in a splash of olive oil. add cubed pork and cook on medium heat for about 5-8 minutes. add rinsed posole, salt, oregano, broth, and red chile sauce. bring to a boil. simmer for about 1 hour, or until the posole blossoms. it can be eaten now, but i transferred it to a slow cooker and cooked on low for a couple of hours, and then switched to warm for several more hours. i think slow cooking at the end helped blend the flavors and soften the meat. garnish with chopped green onion, cilantro, and quartered limes.