Parmesan Herb Bread

What do you do when you have rosemary in your fridge that has to be used? You bake parmesan herb bread, of course!

Several months ago, my boyfriend found a recipe online for Rustic Garlic Parmesan Herb Bread by Stay at Home Chef. We made it to accompany a meal and really enjoyed it. It was relatively quick to prepare and the flavour and texture were perfection. The best part of the recipe, though, was that it suggested you form the dough into two small boules instead of one larger loaf. So, after consuming one with our supper, we tucked the other away in the freezer to enjoy the following week. Built in portion control! (And let's be honest, when it comes to freshly baked bread, we all struggle with that.)

While I'm a big believer in making a recipe as written the first time (unless there is an obvious error), I'm also one to tinker with recipes, make substitutions, and make them my own. So this time I cut the garlic, swapped in fresh rosemary instead of a selection of dried herbs, and added a little extra parmesan (because, like chocolate, you measure cheese with your heart). In less than 5 minutes, I had a smooth dough ready to begin its first rise.

As I reflect on just how easy this recipe seems to come together, I realize that the method is just as important as the ratio of ingredients. If you put the liquid in the bowl first, it's much easier to incorporate the dry ingredients than if you do the reverse. I learned this years ago when I did Bake for the Cure. One of the chefs led participants in making focaccia and that was his advice for making bread in a stand mixer. Very smart. 

After shaping two boules, leaving them to rise again for another 20 minutes or so, and scoring the tops, I popped them in the oven for 20 minutes. And voila! Delicious homemade parmesan rosemary bread. 

As much as I want to tear into one of these right now, they are both destined for the freezer to be enjoyed another day. They'll be perfect with soup or curry -- and I'm certain my future self with thank me for this partial meal prep.

Until then, do you have a favourite bread recipe? 

Cranberry Orange Muffins

A few weeks ago, I stumbled upon a YouTube channel called Cooking the Books. I quickly fell down the rabbit hole, watching episode after episode after episode. The premise is simple: Anna cooks a recipe (or a day of meals) from a vintage cook book each week. It's entertaining to see how food trends and preferences have changed, as well as gender roles and their representation through cook books. But it's most fun to spot well-loved cook books from the past and relive a moment from childhood.

It was because of this channel that I recently became obsessed with looking at the Betty Crocker Recipe Card Library again. My mother had this when I was a kid and I loved flipping through it, especially the cards devoted to children's parties and entertaining. I remember vividly a snowman cake that my mother made for my winter birthday. 

Now, you can buy these sets secondhand from online retailers, but the prices are high (ranging from $40 to $90+) and the shipping would be expensive because it's a weighty collection. I got lucky with my Facebook appeal, as a friend loaned me her set (which belonged to her mother). I spent a few hours this week rearranging the cards (with her permission) into the original order. 

As I sorted through cards, I stumbled upon one for "Favorite Muffins." One of the variations was for cranberry-orange muffins, which called for chopped cranberries and orange zest. I decided to try them. 

Ingredients:

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup salad oil

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

zest of one orange

1 cup cranberries, chopped

Method:

Heat oven to 400F. Grease bottoms of 12 medium muffin cups. Beat egg; stir in milk and oil. Mix in remaining dry ingredients just until flour is moistened. Batter should be lumpy. Fold in cranberries.

Fill muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately remove from muffin pan. Makes 12 muffins.

The recipe was quick and easy. And they baked up in only 18 minutes in my oven. The texture is nice and the orange flavour really punches through. They are perfect as a snack -- and at less than 100 calories each (according to MyFitnessPal), they are guilt-free. Top marks, Betty! (Yes, I know she isn't a real person.)

What is striking about this recipe, beyond the delicious flavour, is how small the muffins are. Compared to what we're used to today in bakeries and coffee shops, these look like miniature muffins, even though they bake in a standard muffin pan. I'm sure none of us are surprised that portion sizes have expanded over the last 50-60 years, but this really puts it in focus.

I suspect that within this recipe card set, there are a number of well-tested, reliable, quality recipes. And that is one reason to hold onto the set if you have it or buy it if you find it at a flea market. But as I've begun flipping through the cards, I've noticed one small issue with the set. A number of the recipes, at least in the baking sections, rely on Betty Crocker mixes as a foundational ingredient. (This muffin recipe was an outlier in that regard.) Unfortunately, many of those products aren't available anymore (at least not here in Canada). For example, one of the cards I reviewed started with a gingerbread cake mix. I'm not sure I have ever seen such a beast. Another uses a dry icing mix, which is also not available. All to say, it may not be possible to make some of the recipes in this set, because of the reliance on prepared mixes. Nevertheless, there's still a lot available that is made entirely from scratch. 

I'm thrilled to have delicious muffins for my lunch bag this week. And to stroll down memory lane with these recipe cards.