Rosemary-Lemon Knot Rolls

Sometimes life feels like layers of complications, choices, questions, big life altering decisions.

Sometimes life does not follow the golden rule of moderation. 

Sometimes life does not play fair.

Adult problems. 

Traffic and cavities and getting laid off and never finding a job and houses and bills and friends and family drama. 

Pile it on. More. More. More.

Complicated.  

It happens.

It happens to the best of us. EVERYONE. 

Adult size decisions are rewarded with adult size rewards. 

Our reward is out there, just waiting for the perfect timing.

Patience.

Uncertain times tests my will power, I give in. Guilt is so 1990's. I give in to fresh warm bread straight from the oven. Just try worrying while eating fresh bread, impossible.

 

This bread is aromatic, twisted, simple. Knotting the bread distracts you from far more complicated things such as gainful employment and other big adult size problems. Worrying is for the birds (employment, not my bread!). Birds don't worry, they fight back.

 

Rosemary-Lemon Knot Rolls

recipe adapted from Donna Hay's and ELRA

makes 8

2 teaspoons dried yeast

1 cup (250ml) warm water

2½ cups (375g) bread flour

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 tablespoon olive oil

a few sprigs of finely chopped rosemary

Zest from half lemon, or more

For sprinkling and brushing

1/2 tsp finely chopped rosemary

1/2 tsp coarse sea salt

1 tsp olive oil

Place dried yeast, flour, rosemary, lemon zest and sea salt in a mixer bowl. Using a spoon mix this ingredients together, then add water, and olive oil. Knead using a dough hook attachment on low speed for 5 to 10 minutes until the dough is elastic. Turn off the machine. Gather the dough into a ball, place it in a lightly grease container, cover, let rest for an hour.

Take the dough out from container, fold onto itself once. Divide into 8 equal portions, roll into ball, place it on a baking sheet.  Repeat with the rest of the dough in the same manner. Cover the rolls with clean kitchen towel, let rest for an hour. If you want to  shape  it into knot rolls instead of round rolls, check out this video on how to.

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Mix finely chopped rosemary, and coarse sea salt in a small bowl. Set aside.

Just prior to load the rolls into oven, brush each with olive oil, then sprinkle some rosemary mixture. 

 

Bake 15 to 20 minutes until golden.

 

For Yeastspotting and Meatless Mondays

Meatless Monday Recipes

 It is Monday - Meatless Monday.

What better time than the beginning of Spring to dive into a day filled with fresh vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts..... you get my drift. Eating plant based for one day is super easy.

 Don't believe me yet...... just look at what I have to offer:

Ribboned Aspagus Salad 

Living in the fertile heartland of Washington State, early Spring is a robust time to capture the first harvest of a long and fruitful growing season of the Pacific Northwest. The first substantial crop that appears are tender spears of fresh asparagus. Raw crisp asparagus is a gem this time of year, providing a wholesome crisp flavorful awakening from Winter's long battle. A bright combination of lemon, rice vinegar and oil dresses raw ribboned asparagus in a way that celebrates the coming bounty that awaits the patent.

Carmalized Onion Hummus spread over hearty oatmeal crackers

We all need to snack, make it healthy and packed full of protein and fiber to keep you happy and full of energy to conquer the world.

Stove Top baked Beans

White beans are so creamy and rich you will never notice that there is not pork in the dish. My Texan agrees and that there is proof if you still had doubts that beans and bacon must be side by side.

French Onion Soup

An dish that has complex flavors with ingredients that you most likely have on hand.

Sweet Roasted Garlic Soup

One last appearance of the root vegetables while we patently wait for the bounty of Summer to roll on in.

Stove Top Baked Beans

I have to admit something....

You probably already know and J will be the first to bring this to my attention:

I have a hard time with moderation.

I have a tendency to overdo everything (besides cleaning my closet and our house). When I get something I like, there are no forces strong enough to stop me. Huge runs, epic bike rides, two yoga classes a day for weeks, a bottle of wine everyday of the week that ends in Y. My closet bursts when daylight hits it. I can eat 5 pounds of grapes in one sitting.

I am getting better. I take rest days, I get out single serving portions and try like hell to stick to that amount. I am even tackling the idea of one glass of wine rather than one bottle. Trying. Moderation. Even moderation in moderation. I have gained 10 pounds and I am okay with it. There I said it. I am a work in progress.

I am working on it..... truly.

We all have our battles, they come in all shapes and sizes, some are more public than others.

Keep up the good fight and sleep well at night.

I have grown up a little here and there. I know I face a struggle for the rest of my life, I can deal with it. I am a bit more open about it these days and can talk about eating disorders, food and the many roles it plays in our lives, healthy or not. I am very blessed to have a loving partner that has helped me out of the woods and keeps me in check. He keeps it as real as humanly possible. I graciously learned that I am a very powerful and the power that we all poses can be used to fight the good fight just as easy as it can be incredibly self destructing.

Fight the good fight my friends or else you are spinning your wheels and wasting precious time.

I use the energy I once used to run 2 hours on a treadmill and obsess over counting meaningless calories to find food that I love, food that makes me feel good and I truly enjoy the process of discovery and reinventing myself and then sharing it with the lovely people around me.

Here is a much happier and healthier Michelle. It feels good, I feel good.

With all that once misguided energy I now find healthy outlets and pour myself and passion into it. A while back I came across the "Meatless Monday" campaign. Brilliant I thought, helping people stay healthy through moderation of meat consumption. A simple strategy that is easily attainable. I know first hand that habits are hell to break and cold turkey is not very pleasant. Taking one day a week to eat plant based diet is simple with the right tools, summer months make finding great fruits and vegetables enjoyable and a few good recipes, even my meat and potatoes dad will never notice that there isn't meat. I have learned that being easy on my body is the greatest gift I can give myself.

Stove-top Baked Beans Recipe

Adapted from Simply Recipes  

Baked beans are a sweet comfort food for me. I never thought that I would enjoy the rich dish without the savory kiss of bacon. This simple dish will warm the belly and you will not miss the meat, my Texan agreed.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 lb dry small white beans, such as cannellini or navy beans (or 3 15-ounce cans of white beans)
• 2 whole cloves
• 1 onion, peeled and halved lengthwise
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1½ teaspoons dry mustard powder
• ¼ teaspoon Tabasco sauce (or cayenne pepper if you don't have Tabasco)
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• ¼  onion, finely chopped

1 If you are using canned beans, put beans in a large pot and skip to step 4. Put dry beans in a large pot. Cover with water by 2 inches and refrigerate overnight. Alternatively, bring beans to a boil, remove from heat and let cool for an hour.

2 Drain the beans and rinse them. Add them to a large pot. Cover with 1 inch of water. Insert cloves into onion halves (so they can be easily found and discarded later), add to pot. Add garlic and bay leaf. Heat to a simmer and let cook for 1 to 2 hours, until beans are just tender. (Older beans will take longer to cook). Add boiling water to beans if they begin to look dry while cooking.

3 Remove onion, cloves, and bay leaf. Add 1 teaspoon of salt.

4 In a separate bowl, mix together the ketchup, molasses, vinegar, mustard powder, Tabasco sauce, and pepper. Add mixture to beans and stir to combine.  Bring the beans to a simmer. Simmer over low heat for 30-40 minutes until thick. Add more salt to taste.

Serve hot, topped with chopped onions.