LoveFeast Table

A couple of months ago, as I was visiting Honey and Jam’s blog, my eyes fell on a Cinnamon Swirl Bread recipe and it caused me to pause…to salivate…to dream and plan (’cause sometimes it take a bit of planning to make bread with my crazy schedule).  Yes, it took me a couple of months to slide it in, but boy am I (and my family!!) glad I did!  If you’ve never attempted to make a loaf of homemade cinnamon bread, I encourage you to try!  Making bread sounds daunting to many, but once you get the hang of it, it really is easy and well worth the time.

There are a couple of bread making tips I’ve learned along the way.  I’ll share them with you, but then you have to promise me, you will attempt to make bread, you will rise to the challenge and just do it!  Really, people have been making bread for thousands of years!  You can do it!  Your husbands will fall madly in love with you, your children will worship the ground you walk on and your neighbors will be bringing you fresh produce from their gardens in hope of just getting a slice of this bread!  So, dig down deep, find the inner domestic diva and get to baking!

1.  When proofing your dough, I recommend heating your oven to 225 degrees F but, then turn the oven off.  This will set up a “proofing oven”.  It makes it just warm enough to encourage the dough to rise.

2.  If kneading dough in a kitchen aid, keep kneading until the dough pulls away from the sides and begins to pool at the bottom.

3.  Dough is done kneading when it is slightly tacky to touch, but not sticking to your hands.

4.  Pull that dough out of the bowl, flour it and knead with your hands for a bit…just for the primal, organic feeling of making bread

5.  With this recipe, I had ooey, gooey goodness pouring out of the dough when cooking.  I didn’t seal in the cinnamon and sugar enough with rolling dough up.  Make sure you do!  But, just in case, put a sheet tray underneath the loaves to catch the juice!

6.  I did not add raisins.  (A little something about me, when I was 5, I went to a friend’s house and her dad made me sit there and eat a bowl of raisins.  I have hated raisins ever since.)

7.  Loaves should cool before eating, but good luck with this!  Once everyone catches a whiff of the baking bread, you will have a hard time warding them off!

I shared these loaves with family and neighbors.  One neighbor, hid a piece and got up early the next morning and turned it into french toast!  He said it was unbelievable!  It was definitely a LoveFeast moment!

Yum right?  This yummy picture says it all.  Pretend you’re sitting down to eat this right now.  We toasted the hearty bread, melted some fine cheese, sliced a fresh tomato from the farmers market and plucked a leafy green off our basil plant out on the deck.  Just for you our guest!  We are enjoying the pleasure of you enjoying it!  That’s sorta what’s happening with this blog right now.  While you linger over this picture, we are busy cooking up stuff in our kitchens and in our heads to serve you better at this place we call LoveFeast Table.  You are our guest here and we are so pleased you have stopped by to linger, enjoy the conversation, and partake of the pictures, and so on….in fact, we wish we could sit down with you over a cup of joe too!  So, please come back and spread the word and leave us a note (here, on Twitter or on Facebook).  Thanks for being our guests at the table!!

Chris Ann and Kristin

Chai in the summertime?  You betcha’! (That’s what we say about anything we agree with in Minnesota.)  It was the the most wonderful of afternoon pick-me-ups!  And, how fortunate for us it was made by someone who really knew what they were doing!  While we were visiting Kristin & Devon in Baltimore, another one of their friends, Vivek, who is from India, happened to be in the U.S. on business.  So, Devon drove into Washington, DC to pick him up and bring him back to Baltimore for a visit as well.  We usually start craving a shot of espresso mid afternoon, but with Vivek in the kitchen we were in for a special treat!  He was going to show us how to make Masala Chai, a hot spiced tea drink.

The first thing Vivek did to make the Chai was to pour in the water and the milk.   This should be a 50/50 amount of water and milk.  He also added just a splash of heavy cream.

Then, he added 2 1/2 scoops of sugar.  Um, I know we don’t have perfect numbers here, but this is something best made by feel, and to taste,  and perhaps by somebody who is from India.

Then, he added 2 or more cardamon seeds, 3 strips of cinnamon, 4 fresh mint leaves, and a pinch of ginger powder.  (You can also use fresh ginger if you have it on hand.)  No vanilla!!  That’s right Starbucks!

These ingredients should be boiled on high heat.  When the Chai starts to bubble on the edges of the pan lower the heat and add the tea.  Stir in the tea until camel in color.  Then, turn up the temperature for about 2 minutes.  Then, it is finished, strain, and drink!

You can see, while we’ve had other bowls of bliss , we loved these tiny bowls very much!!  We treasured the time Vivek spent in the kitchen with us, teaching us how to make real Chai.  Do you have a friend who has shared a traditional recipe or meal with you?  Please add on your comment and share it with us at the LoveFeast Table!!

Things are getting a bit ramped up around here!  I’ve been scrubbing floors, washing sheets, cleaning up the patio, cutting the grass, painting walls (I like having a reason to check off my list) and menu planning.  Why?  You might ask…well, the other half of LoveFeast is coming for a B’More visit!!  Tomorrow, Chris Ann, hubby and half of their clan are coming!

You have to understand, for the past five years (since living on opposite sides of the map) we have maintained strong friendships through visits.  These visits are precious, not long enough and not often enough!  So, we tend to try and pack in a years worth of visits in a short time.  It makes for an incredibly fun and exhausting time!  We eat like kings!  We drink like…well, let’s just say we’re always very thirsty!

This visit, my handy man hubby, took the libations into his own hands.  He came home a couple of days ago with this.

I said, “What is that for?”  His chest swelled with pride as he responded, “That’s for the sangria brew!”

This morning, he made a pit stop in between jobs, to begin the marinating process.

The fruit went in.

The alchohol went in.

The wine went in.

The firepit is ready.

Even the little ones made a contribution.

24 hours to go!  Not to worry, we will keep you posted on all our antics!

The night after all the good eats with the boys and girls, the entire wedding party descended on our home for a “Rehearsal Dinner” (there really was no rehearsal, but it sounded like an appropriate name) cooked up by Devon.

I made oven roasted cherry tomatoes earlier in the week as preparation for the special evening.  Devon had it in his mind to prepare an oven roasted tomato, artichoke and exotic mushroom risotto served on a bed of baby arugula.  Oh my goodness!  Really, I don’t know if words can begin to describe what happened in my mouth when I took a bite of this dish!  And, I’m sorry to say, my non recipe using, non measuring and forget about writing it down husband…well, I don’t know that it could be entirely recreated and shared.  It was one of those food moments, where the stars are aligned and the flavors combined to make a symphony of deliciousness!

We had a number of Italians at the table who had never had creamy risotto touch their lips.  I’m pretty sure it won’t be the last time!  We heard stories of Marc’s first impression of his soon to be in laws, and their impression of him!  We shared yummy bread from Bonaparte’s Bakery in Fells Point, Baltimore.  We kept the wine glasses full…and wrapped up the evening with fresh strawberries, pineapple, and homemade whipped cream.

Thayna’ showed us her photography portfolio (all photos used in this post were taken by Thanya Alves)…Ryan and Corey strummed a few tunes…Corban entertained the masses with his cute antics…beautiful pregnant Becca cracked us up with her witty comments…Nicole piped in and shared her culinary passions…Ryan proudly showed us Brittany’s t-shirt design…Marc and Brielle were beaming with fresh love and Terrill and Mike savored every moment.

What’s in your fire?  Hopefully, hot melted Banana Boats!  You can see ours above, wrapped in tinfoil,  baking in the warmth of the coals.  Here is a treat you can make today.  This is what you need:

Bananas, chocolate chips, marshmallows, and a professional hand model.  (We chose one from across the street, but you’ll have to get what where you can.)  Only a professional hand model can remove hot bananas from hot burning coals.  If you don’t have one.  Don’t make this dessert.  And, stop reading this post now, because you’ll just be jealous.  If you have access to a professional hand model, gather your ingredients, make your fire, and continue reading.

This is our professional hand model’s daughter’s hands below.  She is in training.   She is not yet allowed to place her hand into the fire to retrieve her hot Banana Boat.  But, one day, just like her mother she will grow into this skill and be very useful.   Here you can see her filling the chocolate chips and mini marshmallows within the carefully opened banana.  Just one slit down the middle.  Observe.

Then, after that the bananas are wrapped up in tinfoil and placed  in the coals of the fire and cooked  until the ingredients are melted and little caramelized.  In other words; hot, rich, and gooey.  It is very normal at this point for anyone waiting around for their bananas, to feel like stuffing their face with the extra marshmallow ingredients.

Again, make sure you have a roaring fire.

Then, have your sequestered hand model remove the fiercely hot molten bananas from the fire like so.

Our professional hand model was also a girl scout leader.  It doesn’t hurt to get a model with a fire badge of some sort.  Check your hand model’s credentials.

This is the outcome.  A fireside feast of sweetness.

We think peanut butter would also be good thing to add.  What else?  Let your imagination run wild!  Report back to us.

Ice Cream!

Soft Serve Ice Cream!

That’s what our ice cream man serves!  It was warm, sunny and beautiful!  A taste of things to come!  Come on summer!!

Every year, on March 17th, my mom would get the corn beef and potatoes boiling, the cabbage steaming and the Irish soda bread baking.  She would add a bit of green food coloring to the kids milk.  Not knowing a good Irish dessert, she faithfully made creme de menthe brownies.  As simple as the meal was, we always looked forward to it!  I wanted to share my favorite part of the meal with you guys today!  Irish Soda Bread!  For those of you who shy away from ever making bread, this is considered a quick bread.  This bread does not contain yeast, so it does not have to rise.  It’s simple and yields results that will not disappoint even the fiercest of critics!  So, for a very lucky St. Patrick’s Day, pour a guiness and add this recipe to your menu!!!

Whole Wheat Irish Soda Bread

Heat oven to 350 F.                                                                                                                          Combine following dry ingredients in a bowl:

2 C. whole wheat flour

1 1/2 C. white flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 C. sugar

Cut 1 Tbls. of cold butter into small pieces then cut into the flour mixture.

Add 1 3/4 C. buttermilk and stir to combine

Lightly flour a surface and gently knead to form a round loaf.  Place on a baking sheet.  Cut a large cross in the top of the dough and put in oven for 1 hour.

Let cool for a few minutes before serving.  But, this is best eaten fresh!!

Well, since it is President’s day I thought I share a bit about the 2009 Bytes & Books Inaugural Ball, that my husband Todd attended (see picture seven under George Lucas).  You see, right after New York, while we were in Baltimore with Kristin & Devon, Todd had to go out to “the ball”.  We all stayed home, and wondered how his parking would go down.  Turns out, he easily drove in, and actually parked right in front of the Folger Shakespeare Library, right behind the Capital, next to the Library of Congress.  He didn’t even have to use valet.

This is what they eat at balls in case you are wondering.  While all that “balling” went down, Kristin and I worked on our blog and Urban Spoon posts.  We wrote until we were pressing the keypad with our noses, we were so tired.  Todd came home, and took in a few games of Wii with Devon, ’cause that what you do in your tux after you go to an Innaguration Ball…..in case you are wondering.