MasterChef must wait . . .

Saturday . . . the weekend. But not.

Neomom's on night shift through the "weekend." And that means it's just us boys, left to our own devices . . . hmmmm.

It's 6:30 a.m. It's currently -17C, with a windchill of -26C (that's -15F for my friends down south). The streets are pretty clogged with what I believe is the biggest snowfall we've seen this winter. Weird for this part of the world.

The driveway needs shovelling, I need to bake some bread, I need to get a little shopping done. And I think I need to come up with something different for supper. Something I haven't made before. Something drawing inspiration from The Food Network. And something in which I can use a crapload of basil. My hydroponics are going crazy!

Basil aside, for a moment, I'm thinking I want to try messing around with wonton wrappers. Why? Cause they looked cool when someone made them on Iron Chef. And I haven't ever made them before.

So . . . recipes. On to allrecipes.com. Buffalo Wontons. We have a winner.

So, if I can get the manly minivan out of the driveway, and not stuck in the street, I can get everything I need on my shopping trip and then spend the day in the kitchen. Cream cheese, chicken, hot sauce, vinegar and, of course, wonton wrappers. If they have them. If not, I saw a recipe for them, but I'd prefer to take small steps and buy them this time.

As for the basil, I guess a salad is in order.

Okay, 9:30 a.m., shopping done. Change of plans. Now plan on making beef stock and using it to make braised short ribs for supper, assuming stock is done by then. Also cooking up a couple of chickens and may use the Buffalo Wontons as an appetizer. Should be YUMMY!

And now, it's 6:20 p.m. I have been working in the kitchen, it seems, almost all day. Preparing, planning, chopping, shredding, simmering and baking. Neomom's getting ready for work, without supper, and the kids will be having Kraft Dinner. I'm guessing I will not be the next challenger on Iron Chef. And I'll be holding off on my application to Master Chef.

Let's see . . . the stock I was making is still not done. Really needs to simmer for about 8 hours. Then it has to be strained. And then, when it's ready, it's still gonna take at least three hours to braise the short ribs. Bad, bad planning.

The two chickens I got were roasted in time for lunch. So we had some nice chicken salads and chicken sandwiches. The silver lining on a rather cloudy day. The leftovers were to be used for the aforementioned Buffalo Wontons. And they were. Cut with hot sauce, butter, cream cheese, mixed well and folded into the wonton wrappers.

Should have watched the YouTube video on how to wrap wontons BEFORE wrapping the wontons. Bad, bad planning. I ended up with a cookie sheet full of butter, cream cheese, hot sauce and some pretty flat looking wontons full of dry, cheese-flavoured chicken. Live and learn.

As far as I know, the stock should be okay and I'll take a run at those short ribs tomorrow. All in all, not one of my more successful culinary outings. 

Oh, and I still need to shovel that driveway . . . tomorrow.

Have a great weekend!

I Need a Bench Rest (I think)

Sweet freakin' relief. 

I finally got iChat working between my computer and my mother's new computer. I can now chat with my mom on line and she can see her grandchildren through video chat. And, more importantly, I can take over her computer when I need to fix something, or show her how to do something, or do something for her.

Sorry, but this was driving me nuts. I didn't realize how difficult it might be for two people who speak the same language, to speak the same language. But I'm learning, more and more, that for every new hobby, task or adventure, there is another English language.

While I'm looking at a very similar computer screen as my mother, she is trying to describe what she sees. I'm trying to understand. I'm giving commands in a language she is not entirely familiar with, and she's trying to understand. Throw in a password typed incorrectly, or an error in the email account and we're both looking for a bottle.

The same applies to my new bread baking hobby. Got an email from a fellow bread enthusiast from that website I've previously mentioned, The Fresh Loaf. I had asked a question about what "proofing" means exactly. I know it has something to do with the bread rising, but I wasn't sure if it meant the first rise, the second rise, or another rise I didn't know about.

And excerpt from that email:

"Then there is autolyse, sponge, soaker, poolish, biga, retard/retarded/cold

retard, bench rest, preferment, levain/sourdough, chef/motherdough, old

dough/altus."

I'm not sure, but I think she's coming on to me.

But you see what I mean? I know that a sponge soaks up water and you wash the floor with it. I know a soaker is something I used to get on the way to school when I stepped in the creek. I'm sure that's not what my new friend is talking about. I have a new language to learn. No idea what poolish means, yet. 

But one step at a time. For now, I'm celebrating my major computer victory. I can now explain myself while showing my mom exactly what I'm talking about. And I can see exactly what she's looking at. This is awesome!

I just wish that there was a similar remote bread-baking system, where one of my more knowledgeable new friends could look over my shoulder, knead the bread a little more if necessary, toss in a little extra flour when needed and make sure my poolish has the appropriate sponge soaker for the bench rest. If not, I guess I'll just make it biga.

So much to learn.

Anyhoo, it's early in the a.m. and I've had another relatively sleepless night, thanks to something that has invaded Sonwun's ear. Spent three hours at the hospital last night and woke up every four hours since for medication. Maybe I'll tell you all about that one tomorrow.

As for today, Neomom's headed for Thompson and I don't see Sonwun heading for school. Gonna be a long one.

Have a great Tuesday. And remember, the yeasts are most active during the bulk rise. Keep your mouse on the pad.

Playing with the new toy . . .

And so, first full day with the KitchenAid Pro 5 Plus. Loving it.

First recipe: Banana bread. Had a couple of over-ripe bananas kicking around, so what else can you do?

As has become my practice when cooking and baking, the first stop was allrecipes.com. Borrowed "Cathy's Banana Bread" recipe, as it had a 4.5-star rating. I never make anything with fewer than 4.5 stars. And I've never been disappointed with this site.

Now then, I did alter the recipe, just a touch, as is my custom. First off, I didn't measure the bananas. I just guessed and went with two. Should have been about right.

Second, I baked in a standard 9X5 loaf pan, rather than the two 7X3 pans in the recipe. I also used butter instead of margarine (everything's better with butter) and I cut the sugar down to one cup. I think I could have cut it even more, but we'll wait for next time.

Oh yeah, and as a result of the larger pan, the cook time went from 50 minutes to an hour and 15 minutes. No problems.

But most importantly, I used a Sous Chef: Sonwun. This increased prep time just a little, but it was well worth it. I made him say "YES CHEF!" in response to every order given. I felt like Ramsay!

Anyhoo, long story short, banana bread was a success. The KitchenAid Pro 5 Plus was awesome, and I can't wait to make regular ol' bread. Sonwun, fetch my hat.

"YES CHEF!"

I made Bread - FROM SCRATCH!!

All righty then. After yesterday's entry, both boys awoke with a flourish of phlegm. Nasty coughing put a quick end to preschool plans, so we set ourselves up for another day in the house.

But, I kept my word and I shaved and showered before Neomom headed off to work. And I will admit it felt good. I even got to test out the nose hair trimmer on my new beard and moustache trimmer. Wooohooo! Nothing like a well-shorn nose.

By 9 a.m., I had the boys fed, the kitchen cleaned and a load in the laundry. Own the job, own the job.

So . . . what now? I've always wanted to try out a bread recipe I got from another stay-at-home dad I met on the dadstayshome.com web site. Other dads on the site have tried out the recipe and many swear by it. Last week I bought all the ingredients and yesterday, I figured, what the heck! We're stuck inside all day, might as well make the house smell nice.

(You can find the original recipe on my buddy's blog site right here.)

With Sonwun and Sontoo deeply engrossed in Blue's Clues, I knew the time was right. I pulled out the recipe and started my new career as a baker.

Following instructions, I grabbed a big honkin' bowl (that's actually exactly what the recipe said) and I added three cups whole wheat flour, three cups all purpose flour, quarter cup of oil, two tablespoons brown sugar, two-thirds tablespoon salt and one and a quarter tablespoons of yeast. And then I mixed it all up.

I then added two cups of warm (not hot) water and began kneading. I tried mixing it with a wooden spoon at first. Dumb idea. So I set the spoon aside and dug in with both hands.

And it was about at this time, with my hands covered in a sticky not-yet-dough concoction, that Sonwun called from the upstairs bathroom, "Daddy, I'm done pooping."

This is my cue to go and assist with the "paperwork," portion of the event.

**SIGH**

And so I washed my hands, headed upstairs, took care of business, washed my hands, washed my hands, washed my hands and returned to kneading. The recipe called for 5 minutes of merciless kneading. (I also had to add about a quarter cup more warm water - the amount of water is to be determined by the consistency of the dough. I am a rookie, so I just guessed.) I did my best to show no mercy and then, as instructed, I plopped the dough on the counter, cleaned the big honkin' bowl, dried it, sprayed it down with cooking spray and then replopped the dough into said bowl. I covered it with a dish towel with the understanding that, in three hours, it would double in size.

Must resist the urge to peak. Must resist the urge to peak.

Did not peak. Dough did the rising thing. As instructed, I punched it down and divided it between my two smaller bread pans. Is it pans? Well, the loaf-shaped metal things, whatever they are. Oh, and don't forget to spray down the pans, or grease them, whatever works for you, before plopping the bread in.

Then I left it alone again for an hour before firing it in the preheated, 375-degree oven for half an hour.

And oh . . . the smell. Even if it didn't work, the smell made all the effort thus far worthwhile. YUM!

But it did work. It was proudly served with my meatloaf (will post that recipe another time), potatoes, corn and peas. Great supper. I can't wait to try the bread toasted this morning at breakfast. It is delicious, if I do say so myself.

Anyway, Day 2 of beating the blahs begins. A challenge, once again, as Sontoo had me up at 2 a.m. with a nose full of snot and an attitude a mile wide. But at least he went back to sleep, as did I.

Happy Wednesday!

And, as promised, the picture below is of my latest achievement. Home-made bread! Okay, the pic is nothing to get excited about. I was in a hurry and it was all about content, less about composition.