No Knead Rosemary Garlic Peasant Bread

This bread is incredibly easy to make and has the ability to be very versatile depending on what herbs you have.  I could easily see using wild onion, perilla, ground ivy or horseweed as an herb.

No Knead Rosemary Garlic Peasant Bread

Ingredients:

3 1/4 cups flour
2 t sugar
1 1/2 t salt
1 t dried rosemary
1 t minced garlic (from jar)
1/2 t dried oregano
1 t yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water

Directions:

Mix dry ingredients together in large bowl.  Add garlic and water and mix.  Dough should be sticky. Cover and let sit over night. Time is flexible.

The next day, add a lot of flour to your surface.  Coat your hands with flour.  Pour your dough onto the floured surface.  Mold into a ball.  Cover with plastic wrap and let sit.

Turn your oven on to 450 degrees.  Add your covered pot.  I use a cast iron dutch oven.  Any sturdy baking pot with a lid will do.  Let heat up for 30 minutes.

Carefully remove pot and put dough in the center.  Return lid to pot and put into oven.  Bake 30 minutes.  Remove lid and continue baking 7 - 10 minutes until golden.

Garlic Rosemary Crab Apple Jelly

If you are fortunate to have access to a crab apple tree, here is a great recipe to use.  It is wonderful as a glaze for meat or with cream cheese on crackers.  I've doubled this recipe with out any issues.  The pectin in crab apples, particularly if they are not quite ripe, makes it easy to set up.

Garlic Rosemary Crab Apple Jelly

Ingredients:

4 quarts crab apples (16 cups)
3 large onions
3/4 cup white vinegar

Handful of fresh rosemary, chopped

1 tablespoon chopped garlic

Sugar equal to liquid

Water

Directions:

Remove stem, flower from end and any blemishes from crab apples.  Chop in half and add to stock pot.  Chop onions into large chunks and mix into crab apples.  Add water to level of fruit.

Bring to boil and simmer until apples are soft (30-45 minutes).  Mash gently just to break open apples but not so much to make mush. 

Strain in a jelly bag or use a fine mesh strainer several times.  Measure and add liquid to clean pot.  Add 3/4 cup vinegar. For every cup of liquid, add a cup of sugar. Bring mixture to a boil.  Add chopped rosemary and garlic.  Boil until jelly begins to sheet/set (about 30 minutes for me).

Ladle into prepared jelly jars.  Water bath 15 minutes. 

Makes 6 - 8 half pints.

Note: To use as a meat glaze just warm in the microwave to make pourable.

What's Growing in December in Tennessee!

It has been a dreary December.  I can count the number of sunny days on one hand.  My back yard is one giant puddle from all the rain.  So on this beautiful, sunny winter day (December 30th) I took a stroll around suburbia (basically my yard) to see what is still growing!

 

Clover

 

Creeping Charlie

 

Chickweed, a favorite wild edible!

 

Dandelion Greens

 

Garlic that is growing from Elephant Garlic that I got at Kroger in the ugly vegetable sale section.  I am so excited that it is taking off!

 

Lavendar

 

Lemon Balm

 

Wild mint that I transplanted from the Canadian border.  This stuff survives when nothing else does!

 

Oregano

 

Parsley

 

Rosemary

 

Sorrel, one of my favorite greens!

 

Strawberry Leaves

 

Thyme

 

Wild Garlic with several other wild edibles surrounding it.  Can you guess what they are?

 

Wild Garlic

There is an abundance of green still growing if you look closely!