Amelia Earhart

The Air Museum at which I give tours has on display a replica of the Lockheed Electra in which Amelia Earhart made her final voyage. In hopes of having better material to present at that point in my tours, I scoured the library for books on Ms. Earhart. Finding "The Sound of Wings", I assumed it would be as sufficient a biography as any - what I found instead was a tour de force of the life and times that created an aviation legend.

Despite the famous names, daring exploits and record breaking endeavors that fill its pages, the most remarkable thing about this work is the author's mastery of her trade. Intensive research and perhaps the most skillful use of primary sources that I've ever encountered are balanced by Ms. Lovell's tact and graceful handling of her subject. She neither shies away from nor sensationalizes the intrigues, betrayals, heartbreaks and triumphs of Amelia and her husband George Palmer Putnam. Her judicious tone carries throughout the book, bringing these and other historic celebrities to life in honest and very human terms.

I was continuously astonished by how little I actually knew about this aviatrix who has been a household name since decades before I was born. I was just as appalled by the number of commonly accepted "facts" that were nothing more speculation, rumor, bitter lies spread by opponents or the result of carefully crafted publicity campaigns.

Perhaps one of most impressive aspects of this work was the author's ability to keep people and events grounded in the greater framework of the national and international events unfolding around them. Readers follow Amelia and her contemporaries not only through both world wars and the Depression, but through the technological and avian advances occurring in leaps and bounds around them, actively shaping and reshaping their lives and adventures.

I have never been one to follow an author, but Ms. Lovell may start in me that habit! I highly recommend this work, even if you have little specific interest in aviation. With the mentions that Amelia Earhart continues to receive even now, you will find plenty to rivet your attention here.

A Word of Caution

Several years ago, in the wake of a string of pet deaths nationwide due to contaminated kibble and massive pet food recalls, the market saw an influx of books on homemade doggie treats.

At the time, I snagged several of the new volumes from the local library and copied out a few simple treat recipes that I've relied on ever since.

Recently, I decided to add a few new treats to my repertoire and was reminded of the conflicting value of these well intentioned works.

Each book seems to offer several excellent recipes - healthy, simple, inexpensive and loved by every dog I've given them to.

Unfortunately, those shining stars usually comprise only a fraction of the book. Many of the recipes contain ingredients of impractical expense or questionable safety. I'm sure that every dog would love liver and salmon pates, but I doubt that I'm the only reader who finds such ingredients out of the budget for puppy treats.

As for safety, a surprising number of the given recipes contain cheese and other dairy ingredients which dogs are not intended to digest. Some also contain garlic and dried cranberries which, being closely related to onions and raisins respectively, also rank high on the list of foods to be kept away from dogs. Although they probably won't do any harm in small amounts, they should not be a regular part of your pet's diet.

So while I highly recommend making your own doggie treats (both for your furry companion's safety and your budget), please make sure that you do your research or run the ingredient list past your vet's office. As the saying goes, if something is worth doing than it's worth doing right - especially when it comes to the health and safety of our furry companions.

Pretzel Rolls & Pierogies

I tried two new recipes today, both from Food.com (formerly recipezaar).

The first was Pretzel Rolls. Wegmans makes the most delectable pretzel rolls ever. Of all time. Not being near a Weggies any more, of course, I determined that I must learn to make my own. If you want to try, you can find an easy to print version of the recipe here.




Surprisingly for a yeasted bread, the recipe starts by cutting butter into your flour. After that, you mix in the remaining ingredients and knead until you get a beautiful, smooth dough.





The dough rises for an hour, then gets patted out flat, cut into sections and rolled into balls. The recipe said eight sections, but that made pretty generously sized rolls. Next time I'll probably make ten instead. The balls of dough go into the fridge for at least two hours and up to twenty-four.



Carefully adding baking soda to boiling water, you are then ready to boil the rolls briefly in batches. Based on my finished product, I should have boiled mine a little longer because they didn't quite get that shiny, crisp top that the best pretzels have. So don't skimp on boiling time!



Then, your rolls go onto a greased or parchment lined baking sheet and into the oven for half an hour. These are not really burned, it's just a bad picture. Lol. They're actually a perfectly golden brown color.

Results? The inside was yummy and a good texture, but a little additional boiling was needed to get the correct chewiness on top. So I'll be keeping the recipe and trying again!


In the breaks while my pretzel dough was rising and chilling, respectively, I decided to tackle Pierogies. This motivation came primarily from two factors. First, I already know how to make ravioli and theoretically pierogies should be little more than mashed potato filled ravioli and therefore an easy extension of an existing skill. Second, not having a microwave makes reheating leftover mashed potatoes a fairly messy and not particularly impressive endeavor. It makes much more sense to throw those leftovers inside pasta and stash it in the freezer for those nights when a quick, simple meal is most welcome.

The recipe I used can be found here, you're interested. Please note that the recipe as given does not include garlic salt and cheese, both of which I believe to be essential components of pierogie filling. So if you make your own, be sure to add generous amounts of each!

The dough involved 2 oz of cream cheese, which I thought was slightly odd, but it seemed to work out well in the end. Make sure you go a little dry when initially adding water to your dough, or you'll have to add plenty of extra flour later when you roll it out.




After your dough has rested, roll it out. You can absolutely do this by hand if you want. Or, if you have an amazing pasta machine that you like to play with as I do, you can use that instead. Either way, have extra flour on hand - you will probably need it.




Ideally, you want 5 inch circles of dough. The biggest of my beloved biscuit cutters was only about 3, so mine were on the small side. It worked out fine, so use whatever you've got and don't worry about it.





Feel free to add anything you want to your potatoes before wrapping them up in dough. I added Parmesan cheese and garlic, but the options are pretty much endless. If you're trying to sneak veggies into your kids, throw a little spinach in there - they'll never know!

Put a little of your potato mixture in the center of the circle, fold it over and seal the edges.

If they don't want to stick, dab a little water along the insides and after you've pressed them shut crimp the outside with the tines of a fork. Never fails.

At this point you can refrigerate or freeze the pierogies until you want them. To cook, drop them in boiling water, spiked with a little olive oil. The recipe says three minutes, but if you used whole wheat flour like I did give them an extra two.

And, since everyone knows that the whole point of eating pierogies is the butter, sauté some onions in an indecent amount of butter and throw a generous portion atop your hot pierogies. Add a pinch of salt (it is one of the primary food groups, after all) and you've got a fast, fantastic dinner!

I will definitely be keeping this recipe and endeavor to regularly keep a bag of these goodies in the freezer.

Enjoy!

Whole Wheat Cinnamon Raisin Bread

When Christmas rolls around, it seems as if every menu is stuffed with fatty, sugary foods. If you're craving something that says "holiday" but won't ruin your healthy eating habits, you must try this recipe! It takes some time, but it's easy, healthy and delectable. Don't let the fancy terms scare you away - this came from a high end bread book, but its very user friendly!

First, make sure you have someone else around to help you eat the final result - this bread is too good to keep to yourself! I'm lucky enough to have a furry companion on hand for important jobs like this.
Next, start your soaker. If at all possible, use freshly ground flour. Both the texture and nutritional value will be vastly better than the ancient, rancid stuff you buy at the store. Soaking flour not only provides the soft, luscious texture of the bread but improves its nutrition.

Combine:1 1/3 cups whole wheat flour
3/8 tsp salt
3/4 cup buttermilk

Add 1 cup of raisins or dried cranberries to the dough and knead until incorporated. Cover and let sit for 12 - 24 hours.


Now, put together your biga.
Mix together:
1 1/3 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp instant yeast
6 tbsp buttermilk (room temperature)
1/4 cup melted butter or oil
1 egg, slightly beaten

Knead for about 2 minutes with wet hands (to prevent excess sticking). Let the dough rest for 5 minutes, then knead again for 1 minute.

Transfer to a clean, oiled bowl, cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight. Remove from the fridge at least 2 hours before using.

In the morning, or whenever the soaking process is complete and you're ready to start your dough, collect your ingredients:
Soaker
Biga
7 tbsp whole wheat flour
5/8 tsp salt
2 1/4 tsp instant yeast
1 1/2 tbsp honey1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
1/4 cup cinnamon sugar

Combine soaker and biga with flour, salt, yeast, honey and cinnamon. Knead 2 minutes with wet hands.

Turn onto floured surface and knead 3-4 minutes. Add nuts at this point if desired. Let rest 5 minutes.

Knead 1 minute, then place in oiled bowl to proof until doubled.




Roll out to 1/2" thick 8" square. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar generously over dough and roll into a tight loaf.


Place in greased loaf pan and let rise.

Preheat oven to 400*. Once loaf is in oven, reduce oven temp to 325* and bake 20 minutes.

Rotate 180* and bake another 25 to 40 minutes, until the inside registers 195* on a thermometer. (If you don't have the thermometer, 25 minutes is almost always enough.)

When the loaf comes out of the oven, brush the top with butter and sprinkle lightly with cinnamon sugar. Cool and serve!



Here's the whole recipe in easy to cut-and-paste format if you want to print it. Enjoy!

Whole Wheat Cinnamon Raisin Bread

Soaker1 1/3 cups whole wheat flour3/8 tsp salt3/4 cup buttermilk
1 cup raisins

Biga
1 1/3 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp instant yeast6 tbsp buttermilk (room temperature)
1/4 cup melted butter or oil
1 egg, slightly beaten

Final Dough
Soaker
Biga
7 tbsp whole wheat flour
5/8 tsp salt
2 1/4 tsp instant yeast
1 1/2 tbsp honey
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
1/4 cup cinnamon sugar

Instructions
Combine soaker and biga with flour, salt, yeast, honey and cinnamon. Knead 2 minutes with wet hands.

Turn onto floured surface and knead 3-4 minutes. Add nuts at this point if desired. Let rest 5 minutes.

Knead 1 minute, then place in oiled bowl to proof until doubled.

Roll out to 1/2" thick 8" square. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar generously over dough and roll into a tight loaf.

Place in greased loaf pan and let rise.

Preheat oven to 400*. Once loaf is in oven, reduce oven temp to 325* and bake 20 minutes. Rotate 180* and bake another 25 to 40 minutes, until the inside registers 195* on a thermometer. (If you don't have the thermometer, 25 minutes is almost always enough.)

When the loaf comes out of the oven, brush the top with butter and sprinkle lightly with cinnamon sugar. Cool and serve!

Nausea

I found this monstrosity on This Is Why You're Fat. It's a pop tart ice cream sandwich, and it makes me never want to eat again. Just thought you might be entertained to see it too. (For the record, this is probably all of your calories for the day, and more than enough sugar to put you into a diabetic coma.)


This one on the other hand, I wish I'd known about when I was working at Keuka - the students would have loved me forever if this made it on the menu! (From the same site - Chicken fingers, mozzarella sticks, french fries, marinara sauce, lettuce, and tomatoes on a hoagie roll.) We won't even discuss the calories and heart attack waiting to happen in this creation...

Swine Flu PSA

I clicked on the "latest headlines" tab of my web browser today and was thoroughly annoyed to see this link warning all pregnant women to promptly get themselves a swine flu vaccine if they haven't already.

Therefore, I would like to offer a brief public service announcement reminding everyone that the swine flu vaccine (now included in ALL flu vaccines - along with mercury and formaldehyde) is a dangerous abortifacient. It is NOT safe for anyone, and is exceptionally dangerous for pregnant women whose immune systems are already compromised.

Please do not believe everything you read in the news. Thank you.

New Recipes

I wish this picture had turned out as pleasing as the recipe tasted! This is the gnocchi with a Gorgonzola cream sauce that I tried yesterday. It was the first time I've successfully made gnocchi, and I was very happy. Add that one to the "keep" pile.

This picture won't win any prizes either, but the recipe was also a keeper - butter poached scallops with sautéed spinach. The spinach makes this recipe amazing, and I think next time I'll use salted butter just for the little extra kick. I'm very thankful that the nice gentleman at Hannaford's cheerfully picked out six individual scallops for me so that I could try this recipe without investing in an entire pound size bag!

This is a far cry from my usual isolation diet, and I look forward to my Prince's return so that he can reap the benefits of this experimentation.