Before I share the story behind this very large loaf of bread, I want to announce the two winners of the Oikos Greek Yogurt contest. Using the online random number generator the winners are: #3 (Kristin from Going Country) and #2 (Allie from Screwed Up Texan). Congratulations! Send me an email with your address (phoo-dATphoo-d.com). I was blown away by all the kind comments. I knew that the best part about this blog is my interaction with you but reading your comments confirmed that I have wonderful readers. Thank you!

Now back to the bread. If you have been following along for a while, you may note that this is the first loaf of bread to appear on the site. My skills in the kitchen fall primarily into the cooking category with only brief forays into baked goods. Working with dough begins to make me nervous and when you elevate it to working with a live yeast starter I break into a sweat. One of my kitchen goals for 2009 was to learn how to make San Francisco style sourdough bread. Mr. B gave me a sourdough starter and ceramic canister for Christmas and I have somehow managed to keep it “alive” over the past six months. Yet my attempts at sourdough bread repeatedly created nothing more than inedible hockey pucks, which sat on my counter mocking me until I finally threw them into the garbage. I quickly came to the realization that I had no clue what I was doing and needed professional help.

Searching for help online, I found the The Bread Baker’s Apprentice by Peter Reinhart which was touted as the perfect resource for those wanting to become schooled in the art of making bread. It promised to break down the process in a technical but easy to understand manner- just what I needed. Only a week after my book arrived I saw a query from Nicole at Pinch My Salt asking if anyone wanted to join her in a bread baking challenge. She was going to bake one recipe a week from The Bread Baker’s Apprentice until she had baked her way through the entire book from start to finish. With a significant amount of trepidation I decided I would take on the challenge. Over 200 people from around the world also decided to join in and the flour started flying. The group is closed to new members to keep it from growing to an unmanageable size, but everyone is encouraged to “bake along” or read along by following this page.

Making the Artos Greek Celebration Bread

My first bread from the book was a failure. It didn’t rise enough and then deflated in the oven. (I’m still figuring out why.) At that point I seriously wondered what the heck I had gotten myself into. Luckily, the second loaf, a Greek Celebration Bread, turned out beautifully- rising until it was bigger than my head! Seasoned with grated orange peel, almond extract, cinnamon, and cloves this bread has an entrancing aroma. The texture is somewhat similar to an egg bread with a crackly outer crust and a densely rich interior crumb- delicious. It truly is a celebration of bread and is fitting for a holiday since the loaf is big enough to feed a large group of people.

I am not going to post recipes from the book, but will share any delicious successes or embarassing stories of utter failure as I march onward through the challenge. If you are interested in learning how to conquer bread baking I encourage you to pick up a copy of The Bread Baker’s Apprentice and follow along!

Greek yogurt has quickly become a staple in my fridge. Since I am always on the lookout for healthy foods that aren’t filled with weird un-pronounceable ingredients I was happy to discover Greek yogurt. We’ve been using it mixed with Penzey’s Green Goddess Seasoning in lieu of sour cream (to make a delicious veggie dip) and also in creamy soups for extra zip.

The people over at Stonyfield Farms noticed that I enjoy Greek yogurt and they were nice enough to send me a few coupons to try their organic brand, Oikos. My local grocery store carries a few Stonyfield products, but unfortunately does not have any of the Oikos so I had to wait for a trip to Wholefoods to use the coupons.

Once I had the yogurt in hand I wanted to come up with an interesting way to use it. We did try a few flavors straight out of the container and thought that it was decent for non-fat yogurt. The creamy texture helps offset the 0% fat in a nice way. As I pondered what to make with the rest, Heidi of 101 Cookbooks came to the rescue with a recipe for mouthwatering miniature yogurt tartlettes. I don’t own miniature tartlette pans (shocking, I know) so instead I substituted a large springform cake pan. My 10″ pan turned out to be a little too big for this recipe, but using the 9″ pan or increasing the recipe by 25% should easily solve that problem.

Using the Oikos honey flavored yogurt, and this easy recipe, I made a yogurt tart subtly flavored with ginger juice topped with fresh sliced mango and blackberries. The end result was a light and almost savory dessert, which would be the perfect way to end a summer meal. We thought that it tasted even better on the second and third days as the flavors of the crust had time to hang out and meld nicely while the ginger juice became more integrated with filling.

When I asked Mr. B if he liked the tart he said, “It tastes healthy.” I replied “That’s because it is healthy.” To which he replied, “Okay, well then I’ll have another piece.” If you are craving a rich, gooey, indulgent dessert you should probably keep looking. However if you want something to enjoy several nights in a row without invoking much guilt, then this is a great recipe.

SURPRISE GIVE AWAY!

Yogurt Tart with Mango and Blackberries (Printable Recipe)
Adapted from 101 Cookbooks
Serves 8-10

Ingredients:

Crust
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour (un-bleached white will work too)
1/3 cup rolled oats
scant 1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt (table salt works too)
1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons natural cane sugar
1/4 teaspoon toasted sesame oil (Trust Heidi, this really does work here!)

Filling
1 cup Oikos Honey Greek Yogurt* (add 2 Tablespoons of honey if using plain)
1/4 cup maple syrup
zest of one lemon
3 teaspoons fresh ginger juice**
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 mango (preferably Alphonso), peeled, pitted, and thinly sliced
1 cup fresh blackberries, rinsed and dried

Equipment
One 9″ tart pan or springform pan
(Or 6 miniature tartlette pans if you have them- you lucky dog!)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees with one rack in the center of the oven.

Make the Crust
Using a medium bowl, mix together flour, oats, and salt until combined. Place butter a medium saucepan over medium-high heat and melt. Once butter is melted, add in the maple syrup and sugar, stirring to combine. Next add the flour and oat mixture into the saucepan. Stir to combine and cook until you begin to smell the aroma of toasted oats (about 3 minutes). Stir in the sesame oil, turn off the burner, and remove the saucepan from the heat. Let mixture cool slightly, and then press it into your tart or springform pan. Press the crust evenly across the bottom and slightly up the sides using your fingers to ensure the crust is well packed and evenly distributed. Place the tart pan into the freezer while you make the filling, so the crust can cool completely.

Make the Filling
In a medium bowl, combine yogurt, (honey, if needed), maple syrup, lemon zest, and half of the ginger juice. Taste the filling and if you want add in the rest of the ginger juice. Add the beaten eggs into the mix, and stir well to combine.

Assemble the Tart
Remove the tart pan from the freezer, and pour the filling into the crust. Place the pan in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes. The tart will be done when you can gently shake the pan and the center of the filling remains set without wobbling. When the filling is set, remove the pan from the oven and let it cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Place the tart in the fridge for several hours to cool and set. Then remove from fridge and arrange the mango and blackberries on top. Cut into individual slices and serve.

*Any brand Greek yogurt can be used to make this dessert. If you can’t find Greek Yogurt at all, then line a fine mesh sieve with cheesecloth or four paper towels, place it over a bowl, and spoon in regular yogurt. Let this sit in the fridge for several hours. This will drain off the liquid, leaving the you with a yogurt that can be easily substituted for Greek Yogurt.

**Fresh ginger juice: Grate a section of peeled ginger with a micro-plane (fine hole) grater. Press and squeeze the grated ginger against a fine strainer held above a small bowl, extracting as much juice as possible.

Bonito Flakes and Konbu

Making the Niban-Dashi

Wavy Wakame

Making the Muffins

The week we returned from San Francisco, I put off going to the grocery store for a few days. I wanted to let the happy afterglow of our trip hang around for a little longer before reality set in for good. When I finally did walk into the store it was difficult not to feel a bit depressed. After glorious piles of freshly picked produce, mouthwatering stacks of cheese and dizzying racks of wine, my grocery store seemed like it was part of a bad 1950′s movie set. The dingy florescent light reflected in the worn linoleum seemed even dingier and out of season wilting produce appeared even more droopy.

I sighed and pushed my cart into the produce aisle- half-heartedly glancing at the hard pieces of pineapple sitting in Styrofoam and the tomatoes that could pass as potatoes save for their color. As I reached in to grab a shrink wrapped cabbage to make Oma’s Roasted Vegetable Soup, an unusual green shape caught my eye. Hidden behind the bowling balls of cabbage, was what appeared to be a lone bundle of baby bok choy. I blinked and looked again, wondering if my mind was playing tricks on me. No, it was still there. Incredulous, I gingerly picked it up and looked at the vegetable up close. Sure enough, I was holding a baby bok choy.

My mood immediately changed for the better, and I couldn’t believe my luck. In three plus years of living here I had never seen a baby bok choy at the grocery store. The odd thing was that there were no other bok choy in the case. Just this one. I had no idea where it came from or why it was all alone hiding behind the cabbage.

When I reached the cashier (a very young teenager who slightly resembled Paris Hilton) she looked at the bok choy and said, “Um, what is this?” Grinning I told her “It’s a baby bok choy!” I was met with a blank stare- she obviously didn’t understand my excitement. “A what?” she asked. “A bok choy” I replied. She turned to the teenage checker in the lane next to her and said, “Sue, do you know how much this is?” Sue looked over blankly and said, “What is it?” The Paris look-alike replied hesitantly and sounding slightly like a chicken, “Bawk Choy”. Then she giggled. Sue had no idea. The produce manager was then called and he had no idea what it was or where it came from saying, “It’s not in the system”. They finally decided to charge me $2.00 and I left feeling like I had experienced a minor miracle. (Okay, very minor compared to what most would call a miracle.) It provided a much needed reminder that when you’re feeling really sorry for yourself life can provide a happy surprise if you just look behind the shrink wrapped cabbage.

After finding a miraculous bok choy I wanted to do it justice by cooking it in a simple way that celebrated the vegetable. Our weather had finally cheered up so after browsing the Internet a bit this recipe for grilled bok choy seemed to be the perfect fit. The flavors came together nicely and complimented a quickly grilled chicken. We savoured the baby bok choy with a glass of white wine and decided that there’s no place quite like home after all.

Grilled Baby Bok Choy (Printable Recipe)
Recipe Adapted from: Jorj.com
Serves 4 as a side dish

Ingredients:

4 heads of baby bok choy, cut in half lengthwise, washed and dried
1/3 cup orange juice (fresh or bottled)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
¼ teaspoon dried red pepper flakes

Directions:

Place a grill sheet or aluminum foil on your BBQ and heat it to medium heat (about 350 degrees).

In a small bowl, whisk together the orange juice, soy sauce, sesame oil, and dried red pepper flakes.

Brush the mixture onto the baby bok choy, and place them cut side down on the grill sheet or foil. Loosely cover the bok choy with foil, and grill for 8-10 minutes until they are tender. While the bok choy are grilling, baste occasionally with the sauce. Serve immediately.