Monday, October 25, 2010

White Bread

Since I wanted to start things slow with Darth, I opted to start with a super-easy bread recipe.  Unfortunately, it's so good that I don't have any incentive to try anything more challenging. It makes two loaves and I froze one.  We finished the other one off in a few days.  Mr. Barefoot wants to try making it in the crockpot during the day so we come home to fresh baked bread.  Any tips? Anyone know where I can get a rack for my crockpot?
I did also use Darth to mix up some of my famous foccacia bread - I've been making this recipe for years and it's a real crowd pleaser.  It's so nice to not have to knead the bread myself - it means that I can make bread on a whim without getting all flour-y. 
When I made the foccacia bread, instead of using the Italian seasonings, I used Old Bay, garlic powder, and minced onion (I need to get powdered, but I don't have it yet).  I topped it with cheddar cheese.  Next time, more Old Bay, but otherwise it was pretty good. 

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Mrs. Barefoot is back!

Okay, so I'm like, the lamest cooking blogger ever.  The truth is, I've been pretty short on time to cook lately.  What with the bar, the campaign, and getting married, cooking has fallen by the wayside.  So I'm excited to be back and to finally get to use all of the fabulous new toys that have been filling our apartment.  (Registries are fun.  It's like having the most practical birthday ever, which, when you are super-interesting like me, is AWESOME.)
We got a lot of interesting products that I'm excited to use and will be reviewing a bit here, like a cusinart food processor, Le Cruset French Oven, and Ultimate Mandoline.
One of the things I have to say nice things about so far is this pan which is pretty easy to clean and a good size for general use.  I love calphalon generally, and I really like using stainless steel - we only registered for a few pots and pans, because we have found that we don't really use that many pots and pans, and having space is nice.  I think we'll end up with 2 3-qt pans, a 10-inch fry pan, a 12-inch deep skillet, and a big pot and frying pan.  We're not really sure what the best combination is, so any guidance is appreciated.
I also got gifted several cookbooks at my shower, which are all awesome looking - many of them are vegetarian, green, local, or otherwise delicious - so I'll be reviewing and relaying recipes from those as well.  So far, Cooking from the Garden has some really interesting recipes which are delicious.
Cilantro Lime New Potatoes from Cooking from the Garden (in the Le Creuset French Oven)
We also got this slightly controversial gift.  If you know me, you know how I feel about these guys.  I'll admit...I was pretty excited when this showed up, since we didn't register for it (I felt too guilty...)
Meet Darth:


I'm going to get him a lightsaber.  He makes delicious bread that is super easy.  I think that will be the next recipe that comes up here.  Also, Cheesy Onion Souffle Mac & Cheese, which is more delicious than it looks.  (And I think it looks pretty good.)