Brown Butter Spiced Winter Squash Bread

Oh boy. This was a good one. I think I easily polished off the whole loaf by day two.
The spices! The texture! Oh my I do adore this cakey bread.

The recipe comes from none other than my current favourite Ms. Heidi Swanson of 101 Cookbooks. I followed the recipe pretty much completely as is, except I used walnut oil instead of hazelnut, and I made my own garam masala-esque blend of spices (coriander, cumin, ginger, black pepper, bay leaf, cardamom, and clove).
One bizarre thing I did do though was NOT measure my squash. Yup, that's right, I chopped, roasted, and pureed it but somewhere in my zombie mom brain I didn't think about measuring the damn stuff. Oh well, turns out lady luck was on my side and this turned out great. Now the only thing is I wonder how it'll turn out the next time...

No Knead Bread

I fell out of my constant bread baking routine sometime last year. I was on a roll there for a good 6 months or so, making all our own fresh bread every few days. But then I'd miss a day of bread baking, my husband would buy a loaf from the store and before I knew it I'd completely fallen off the bread baking wagon.

From my experience the best way to get yourself back into a routine like that is to find a way to make it feel new and fresh, like with the help of a new recipe. 

I have literally been meaning to try this recipe for years. Apparently all I really needed to get my butt in gear was to have a friend make it first and show me just how easy and delicious it really is. 

And now it's your turn. Don't wait any longer to make this bread. It really is the easiest and most delicious bread and before you know it, you'll be baking a few loaves each week because you just can't get enough. 

Whole Wheat Rye Rolls

I think I have found roll heaven.
The first time I whipped these up I was drifting in and out of cold-induced naps. I had made a hot and spicy vegetable soup for dinner to try to cure my cold and couldn't imagine eating it without some sort of delicious bread like substance.
These rolls were fairly quick to throw together, made me feel like I was make a slightly healthier choice than my usual rolls, and were darn tasty too.
I made these rolls for the second time yesterday and they were even more delicious than I remembered. I think it'll be hard to find a reason to make a white flour roll again after discovering these little gems.

No-Knead Dinner Rolls

My kitchen still smells like turkey and there's some lonely leftover whipped cream in the fridge. The pie plates have been licked clean, and the napkins have been folded and returned to storage.
Thanksgiving has come and gone again. This year's dinner was just lovely, spent with a mix of friends and family, plenty of food, and plenty of rambunctious children squealing and running about. Polished off by plenty of wine and card games it was all that I could have asked for.

Panzanella salad

This salad has become my new summer staple, especially now that we're fully into tomato season.
It's so easy and quick and uses up things in my kitchen that I've perhaps been ignoring for too long.
Stale bread, overripe tomatoes, olive oil, vinegar, salt and basil are all you need for this satisfying summer snack.


My friend Renee (aka Feisty Chef) made this in a cooking class a few weeks ago. I was so excited to taste her take on panzanella which, like most of her cooking is just simple enough to let the food speak for itself.

Buttermilk Soda Bread

With only a few days left with my library lent copy of "Super Natural Everyday" I figured I ought to try and squeeze in a few more of Swanson's recipes.
As soon as I had read about her Rye Soda bread I knew it was time to get back into the habit of bread baking.

Sesame Seed Buns

I've made these buns to serve burgers on and to accompany a big ol' turkey dinner. Today I made them with the intention of pulled pork sandwiches, but instead they'll be slathered with garlic butter and eaten alongside pasta.
No matter why you make them, I promise you'll love em.

Pretzel Rolls

I made these the other night to accompany turkey soup, looking for a fun alternative to boring bread or rolls. Boy, did these little guys not disappoint! They were so good I made them again two nights later to round out another hot pot meal.

Chapati

What could be a better accompaniment to a home cooked Indian feast than homemade chapati?

Cranberry Walnut Bread

Nope.
I'm not sick of cranberries yet.
In fact this might just be my favourite use of them yet.
Sweet enough to soften the blow of the tart berries, but not so sweet that it feels indulgent.

Cinnamon Raisin Bread

Don't ask me why, but I just needed to make this bread this morning.

Rosemary Flatbread

This bread/cracker is so easy, so quick to make, and so yummy, I'm not going to say anything else about it, and you're going to go make it right now.

Tomato Focaccia

Do you ever have one of those mornings when you say to yourself "Better start making some bread", and as you start making your boring everyday bread that you've been making for the last two months, something makes you say "Hey! Stop being boring! Make that ciabatta bread recipe you've been eyeing forever! The one from the Martha Stewart cookbook!"

As you search for the recipe you realize the it's actually in the first volume of this cookbook series, the volume you don't own, the one you borrowed from the library, the one you're brain keeps confusing with the volume you do own. 

But alas, hope is not yet lost! What about this tomato focaccia bread? That's not boring! It might almost be considered exciting!....

No? You don't really have those mornings?

Yea me neither...

Bread

I think making bread is something everyone should learn how to do. Nothing compares to freshly baked bread, and you'd be amazed at what tasty loaves can result without much practice.