One of my daily blog reads is Down to Earth. Rhonda is a very wise woman. She talks about living a simple life. Something I aspire to in many ways. Not only do I find it an incredibly rewarding and fulfilling way to live on many levels but I think it’s just plain smart. The way we live will change dramatically over our lifetime. Oil is Damocles sword and it’s not going anywhere good. Yes I’ve twisted that moral a little I know but the visual works for me so you’re going to have to live with it. So I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately and today in particular. How do we best make changes now that will integrate well into an unknown future? How do we raise children who will be capable in whatever world it is they inherit? I have a sneaking suspicion you’ll be hearing more along these lines from me in the not too distant future as my life is a constant restructure into simpler ways. It absorbs, fascinates and fulfils me. I always wanted to be Laura Ingalls when I was a little girl, maybe I just never stopped wanting that.
Anyways as the Canadians say, all that aside, let’s get back to the kitchen shall we?
Bread. Potatoes. Sausages. Yoghurt. That’s been my culinary world today. I love that we don’t eat that sort of thing very often. That way, when we do, we really enjoy it.
The yoghurt is sitting in the oven yoghurting itself so I can’t show you that. Take my word for it. I am in the process of making a couple of litres of yoghurt.
The bread is my standard spelt/wheat combination that I make most days. I plaited it today and put some seeds on it. Because I can. Approx. cost per loaf last time I checked was about $2, maybe a fraction less (see below for recipe).
The potato and sausages I made into little patties. Just for something completely different, I adapted the recipe from one I found in super food ideas. This made about 6 servings, 2 of which are in the freezer for kinder lunches. Everyone went back for seconds and thirds too, amazing how something so simple can be so satisfying.
Sausage and Potato Patties
1 kg potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
6 organic sausages (I used beef and sundried tomato)
8 or so mushrooms, sliced
handful baby spinach, rough chopped
handful rocket, rough chopped
1 corn cob, kernels sliced off
small bunch parsley, roughly chopped
1 small red onion, finely chopped
1 cup grated cheese
1 cup breadcrumbs
4 eggs, lightly beaten
oil and butter for pan frying
extra rocket to serve
Cook the sausages and slice thinly. Boil the potatoes until form tender. Bung the whole lot in a large bowl and combine it well. Heat a frypan and add oil and butter. Then spoon patty sized portions in and fry ’em up on either side.
Approx. cost per serving $1.80
Bread Recipe
from the basic thermomix cook book, possibly slightly altered, I make this daily so this is how the recipe has imprinted on my brain
100g whole grain of your choice
300ml warm water
1 teaspoon sea salt
7g dry yeast
400g strong bakers flour
20g olive oil
Preheat oven to 200 degrees.
Place whole grain in thermomix and mill for 2 minutes on speed 9. If you have no thermomix, you will need to use a whole grain flour that is already milled.
Add warm water, salt and yeast, followed by bakers flour and oil to whole grain. In thermomix, combine for 7 seconds on speed 5. Or combine in a food processor or by hand.
Knead in thermomix for 2 minutes. Or by hand until you have a smooth and elastic dough.
Set aside in a warm place to prove for half an hour or until doubled in size. You can for into a loaf or place in bread tin and bake at this point. I almost never use a bread tin. Too lazy to wash it I guess. You will get even better results though if you punch the dough down and set aside to prove again until redoubled in size before forming into a loaf (or rolls or whatever) and baking for approximately 20 minutes. The smell of perfectly fresh baked bread is the best indication it’s ready. Set aside to cool. Devour.
Variations: you can sprinkle any seeds or combination of seeds on top. Brushing with cold water immediately before baking or placing a tray of boiling water in the bottom of the oven will give you a crustier crust. If you want to plait, cut into three strips and plait exactly as you would hair. If you don’t know how to plait hair, google it! I couldn’t possibly explain in words without demonstrating. It’s been a big day. Oh and if you cut a few slashes across the top of your loaf/rolls it will rise to it’s fullest potential in the oven.
Dani, please PLEASE share with us how to make that wonderful bread. Is it entirely whole grain? I don’t use any white flour and find it hit and miss whether I get edible bread or a rock. Your plaited bread is a masterpiece, a culinary wonder!
Galadia that bread is the basic TM bread recipe using 100g spelt and 400g untreated white bread flour. The best compromise I have found for a sandwich bread that my family really enjoys is to blend a whole grain with the white flour. Sometimes you’ve just got to make a trade off! I sometimes use rye or whole wheat in place of the spelt but spelt is my favourite. I love the taste and love the extra protein. I’ll edit the post and include the recipe.