Apricot Bread

From Beard on Bread, a book I picked up at the library book sale lo these many years ago.

Because I had dried apricots, and because I am on a freezing-bread-and-eating-it-later-because-I-have-a-whole-freezer-to-myself kick.

James Beard says of this bread: Like all of the fruit breads made with baking powder, the apricot loaves are quite rich and have beautiful color and rather tight texture. They also have a wonderful bouquet. Don't be disturbed if the loaves crack slightly in the middle as they bake. This seems to be par for the course.

Ingredients:

1 cup boiling water
1 1/2 cups dried apricots
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 tsp double-acting baking powder
1 cup chopped nuts

Directions:

1) Pour the boiling water over the apricots and let stand until just tender, don't oversoak them. Drain off the water and reserve it (if you don't have enough, add more water until you have one cup.) Roughly chop the apricots.

2) Pour the liquid into a large mixing bowl, add the baking soda, sugar, and eggs, and mix well with a wooden spoon. Then add the apricots, flour, baking powder, and nuts and mix well again.

3) Butter and flour two 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf tins. Divide the batter into two equal parts and pour into the tins. Bake in a preheated 350F oven for about 45 minutes, or until the breads have risen, are dark in color, and a straw or knife comes out clean when inserted in the center. Cool on racks and serve.


Beard also says: With baking powder or soda breads you will notice that very often the bread cracks across the top, although otherwise it gives you a beautiful even crumb and slice. Don't worry! Such breads are wont to break during the baking period because they are usually somewhat heavier. If you find doughy or hard lumps in the slice it is certain that you did not mix the original dough well.

Teatime Popovers

From Epicurious: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Teatime-Perfect-Popovers-351609

Ingredients:

2 T. unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces
2 large eggs, lightly beaten, at room temperature
1 C. whole milk, at room temperature
1 C. all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt

Directions:

1) Preheat the oven to 400F. Place 1 piece of butter in the bottom of each of cup of a six-cup popover tin (or six 1/2 custard cups). Place the popover pan on a baking sheet.

2) In a smaller bowl, lightly whisk the eggs until they change color. Whisk in the milk.

3) In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and the salt until well blended. Gently whisk the egg mixture into the flour mixture until only small lumps are left, and set aside.

4) Place the popover tin and the baking sheet into the oven for 4 minutes. At 3 minutes, give the batter a light whisk. Using an oven mitt, remove the popover tin and baking sheet from the oven and immediately divide the batter into the six cups equally. Bake for 25 minutes without opening the oven door. The popovers will be puffy, with crisp brown crusts and hollow, moist interiors. Serve immediately.


Note: I make these in 9 muffin tin cups using the above recipe. I also think the amount of butter can be reduced, as these popovers come out quite buttery and drippy. I also made them once with heavy whipping cream instead of milk, and they did not pop at all, but were rather dense but entirely delicious and in fact the Robber prefers them that way.

Chicken Pilau

From Baljekar et. al, the Indian cookbook I am borrowing from Rebekka. We made this recipe together. We used brown basmati rice and subsequently had to adjust the timing of the cooking and things didn't turn out 100% correctly. The rice was too wet and the potatoes not quite done enough, but the dish was still good. I expected it to be more interesting, and wished it had a higher chicken:everything else ratio, but it is nice to have dishes that provide everything all in one place. Meat, vegetables, carbs. These pack well for lunch and are keeping me alive in medical school. So I suppose I will be making this again because it is fairly easy and is nutritiousy.

Ingredients:

2 cups basmati rice
6 T ghee or unsalted butter
1 onion, sliced
1/4 tsp. mixed onion and mustard seeds
3 curry leaves
1 tsp. grated fresh ginger root
1 tsp. crushed garlic
1 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. chili powder
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 tomatoes, sliced
1 potato, cubed
1/2 C. frozen peas, thawed
6 oz. chicken breast fillets, skinned and cubed
4 T chopped fresh cilantro
2 fresh green chiles, chopped
3 cups water

Directions:

1) Wash the rice thoroughly under running water, then let soak for 30 minutes. Drain in a strainer or colander and set aside.

2) In a pan, melt the ghee or butter and fry the sliced onion until golden.

3) Add the onion and mustard seeds, the curry leaves, ginger, garlic, ground coriander, chili powder, and salt. Stir-fry for about 2 minutes over low heat.

4) All the sliced tomatoes, cubed potato, peas, and chicken cubes and mix everything together well.

5) Add the rice and stir gently to combine with the other ingredients.

6) Add the cilantro and chiles. Mix and stir-fry for 1 minute. Pous in the water, bring to a boil and then lower the heat. Cover tightly and cook for 20 minutes. Remove from the heat, leaving the lid in place, and let the pilau stand for 6-8 minutes. Serve.

Serves 4.

Nutrition Notes per serving

Energy 603 cal
Fat 16.8 g
Saturated Fat 10 g
Carbohydrate 91.9 g
Fiber 2.1 g