The Inaugural Post

After enjoying the blogs of others for a long time, I've decided to start one of my own.   I hope to meet new people, share ideas, recipes, and various other thoughts, and I hope you will share with me too.  I think one of the reasons that it occurred to me to start this was because of a book I read recently -- I would highly recommend it.  It is called "Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen", and it is about a woman who is trying to find her place in life.  In the process, she challenges herself to cook all of the recipes in Julia Child's cookbook, and blogs about it the whole time -- while she is going through a lot in her personal life, she makes friends across the country through her blog.  It is a true story.  (Julie Powell has her blog available at http://juliepowell.blogspot.com/ )

I guess I'm hoping this blog can be sort of like that.  So, welcome to my blog.

To tell you a little about myself, I just turned 27, and I live and work in a city full of art.  I love to cook, having learned a lot from my grandmother, and enjoy experimenting with new techniques and ingredients.  I have not yet figured out my purpose in life.  In the past month I have considered opening a bed and breakfast, going back to school to learn about web design, or simply running off to some foreign country to live for a while.  I have also had some more practical ideas, but those never seem to hold my interest.

For my first recipe to share, here is a really good basic white bread.  It makes great toast, and I think I will try it next time with some combination of whole wheat and white flour.  It is very easy to make, and is also vegan and fat free, but that was just a coincidence.  I am always looking for recipes like this for family gatherings because many of my family members are vegetarian, allergic to dairy, and/or do not eat eggs.  It can be a little tricky to feed everybody sometimes, but this one works!  Hope you enjoy hot fresh bread!

Fat-Free Vegan Bread

1 tbsp. active dry yeast

2 1/4 cups warm water

1 tbsp. salt, scant

1 tbsp. sugar

6 to 7 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

Cornmeal

White distilled vinegar

Directions

• In a standing mixer fitted with a dough hook combine the yeast and water, mixing slowly until yeast is dissolved. Stir in salt and sugar. Mix well. Set aside for 5 minutes.
  
• Beat for 5 minutes, gradually adding flour until the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl.
  
• Turn out on a lightly floured surface. Knead for 8 to 10 minutes, until dough is smooth and elastic, adding flour as necessary to prevent stickiness.
  
• Lightly oil a large bowl. Place dough in bowl and turn to coat on all sides. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours. Alternatively, cover with plastic wrap and let rise slowly in the refrigerator for 10 to 12 hours or overnight.
  
• Line a baking sheet with kitchen parchment or sprinkle with cornmeal.
  
• Punch down the dough. Divide in half, shape into 2 round loaves, and place on the baking sheet. Carve an X in the top of the loaf and spray with vinegar. If you don't have a spritzer, you can just brush a little vinegar on with a pastry brush.  Place in a cold oven and turn the oven on to 400 degrees F for 45 minutes. Transfer to wire rack to cool.
  

*I found this recipe online, but made a few changes.  I find that the loaves do not get very brown in the oven, but you can tell it is done when the outside feels crisp.   It is particularly good straight out of the oven with lots of butter.