delicious. I wish I had this sitting in front of me in real life right now but I don’t. I’ve found it easier to photograph food when I make it and not try to rush and post it the same day. It was such a quick and easy lunch… well it was quick and easy once I got started, but I had to plan ahead to make it happen. Once I got the dough ready, cooked up a few flatbreads and topped with mozzarella, a few roasted tomatoes and fresh basil and voila! lunch. I haven’t posted about food in a while – partly because I didn’t want to over post and make you think I was turning this into a food blog – but everyone seems to like to read these so I’m going to make them a regular series on the blog. Every Friday perhaps? That way if you have time on the weekend and want to try them out you can do so.

I’ve written about lots of different breads and doughs, or at least they are a common theme in my food posts, and today I have another to add. I think it might be because homemade bread is soo good I just want to tell everyone I know. I haven’t picked up the bread making with Tartine yet, but I’ve stuck to a few simpler recipes this summer. This one goes hand in hand with the pita bread I made, and is similar but different and equally delicious. This flatbread is a recipe from Food + Wine’s October 2010 issue and goes a little something like this:

1. combine in electric mixer with dough hook and let stand until foamy (appx 5 min):

• 1 envelope active dry yeast
• 1/3 c lukewarm water
• pinch of sugar

2. add in an beat until a smooth dough forms (appx 5min)

• 1 lg egg slightly beaten
• 1/2 t kosher salt
• 1/4 c extra virgin olive oil
• 1 3/4 c all purpose flour

3. knead the dough by hand for a minute, then put in an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap to sit for 30 min

4. once doubled in size, punch down dough and divide into 4 pieces, pinching each piece into a ball. dust with flour and let rest for 20 min + preheat over to 400

5. roll out each ball of dough to appx 8 in and brush with olive oil – place in oven and cook appx 2 min, take out and cool on rack

Okay so I have made this recipe a few times, and here are a few of my observations:

- don’t add too much flour to the dough when kneading for 1 min the first time. it’s okay for the dough to be a bit oily – if it’s stick you could add flour but otherwise I would use sparingly

- I always cook these on a stone, and they worked great on the grill. When using the oven I think you can go hotter than 400 and I would try a few different temps depending on how yours acts

- you can store the dough in the fridge (just overnight) and have fresh flatbread 2 days in a row.

Like I said, there is nothing like fresh bread – or flatbread – this is one of the easiest ways I have found to make it. Toasted with butter and honey it works for breakfast, or dipped in humus it’s the perfect snack. I’m making myself hungry.

Besides the fact that I thought the recipe would work with the current ingredients in my kitchen, it also was relatively fast and easy which is always a bonus in the summer. Gnudi as I’ve discovered are similar to gnocchi but instead of using potato we use ricotta. Here is the round up of ingredients I used in my recipe:

gnudi:

• 1 lb whole milk ricotta
• 1 large egg
• 1 T melted butter
• 1c all purpose flour + more
• 1/4c freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano
• dash of freshly grated nutmeg
• lemon zest

sauce:

• 1 bunch asparagus
• 1 lb mushrooms (14oz or so)
• extra virgin olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic thinly sliced
• 3 T butter
• thyme

to make the gnudi:

in a large bowl combine the ricotta, egg, butter, nutmeg, lemon zest  + parmigiano. Sprinkle 1 c of flour over mixture and fold it in. Dust the dough lightly with flour and shape into a ball, then move to a floured work surface and roll into a rope.

I found that more flour was definitely needed to keep from sticking and I made a few smaller balls which i then rolled out to a rope size so that they were more manageable. At this point bring a pot of salted water to a boil, and work on the rest of the ingredients

asparagus + mushrooms:

In a large skillet, heat olive oil over med/high and add the mushrooms. Cook until mushrooms are lightly browned and liquid is evaporated, 10 to 12 min. About halfway through cooking the mushrooms, add asparagus and continue to cook. Add garlic and leaves from sprig of fresh thyme (i didn’t have that so I used dried…) and stir over low heat for a minute. Add 1/2 cup water and butter to pan and raise heat and stir until melted. Season with salt

bring it all together:

when salted water is boiling, add gnudi and cook for 4-6 minutes until tender and cooked through. Drain and add to skillet (with all veg still in there) and stir gently to coat with sauce. Cook for 1-2 min in skillet and then serve with some fresh grated Parmigiano on top!

not that difficult, right? It was a bit harder to bring my camera in to the kitchen and document the process, but I took a few pictures which I’m sure you’ll appreciate. Enjoy this quick recipe and don’t be afraid to make it your own!

Usually when I go away – for a long weekend or extended period of time – my husband cooks me something amazing when I get home. Whether it’s a tried and true favorite or a new recipe I now look forward to my delicious return to homemade food. Yesterday I was welcomed with an amazing surprise. Homemade bread. I know a lot of people make bread (and a lot don’t) but I can honestly say this is the best bread I’ve ever eaten. In my life. Serious.

When I first arrived Matt had the bread in the final stages of rising and it was going to head to the oven soon. He lamented about the time it had taken, how in the Food + Wine article where he found the recipe it called it “Shortcut Bread” (because of the pre-ferment used instead of starter) but that he started it the day before and had spent over 24 hours working on it. 15 cups of flour later (serious) two loaves had risen and were ready to be baked. We made some potato leek soup and waited for the bread to be done to eat with it. It cooked in our enamel cast iron pot (another reason I added that pot to the top 3 things I think newlyweds should register for) and when we pulled it out of the oven it was better than we could have ever imagined. The two huge crusty loaves that resulted were the most delicious bread I had eaten. Perfect crust perfect inside and it would last us the whole week if not more.

This morning we made french toast with the bread. I’m certain we’ll be using it in many other ways this week but the best taste was when we took it out of the oven last night. While it’s not always easy trying a new recipe, this one works so if you like to cook I absolutely recommend it and let me know how it goes.

It’s interesting how I came across the work of Cara Barer. I was actually reading an article in food and wine about a kitchen designer. It talked about the designer’s sense of balance in details such as placement of photographs, and the photographs were the work of Cara Barer. I was drawn to them and immediately looked up her site to learn more about her. As a photographer and sculptor, she has transformed a book and given it new life as well as meaning as she asks us to ponder the role of books in our lives. I love how she works with something so simple. I appreciate how she’s taken a concept and continued to explore it in new ways.

I know this is an out of the blue post – and not something I typically do – but I’m hoping to change that. Seeing a new perspective from other artists is refreshing and challenges me to create as well. I haven’t been doing too much personal work as of late and it has been intimidating to start doing so. I’m not sure why it’s so easy to put off starting something, but I’m going to get over that and set aside time to explore new ideas in art and photography. I know that it will help me grow as a wedding and portrait photographer as well, so stay tuned for updates and more inspiration.