YEASTED PUMPKIN BREAD

Sara Forte · October 31, 2013

"Our first objective has been to peel off the fluff and commercial layers that complicate entertaining. Next we have tried to put the social reasons for inviting friends into our homes - the relationships, traditions, community and conversations- in the foreground and let the superficial details like fancy recipes and table decorations recede into the background...this book represents an effort to take the same communal neighborhood approach by welcoming you into the homes of our Kinfolk team, along with a diverse group of friends, family, contributing writers, artists and other makers." - Nathan Williams, Kinfolk

I think this book is special because it is not your modern day cookbook. The pages do not go between recipe and food photo with an expected rhythm. There are people and stories and a number of super simple or clearly personal recipes, but I like it because it is different. Hugh and I are flattered to be included. We contributed a pancake, as well as a scrambled leek & egg recipe to the book. While they are not mind-blowing by way of ingredients or preparation, they are foods that go through our kitchen routinely, not recipes written for the sake of writing recipes. The breakfast we make together often, and that is where the book hits the mark on its thesis. You'd have to read the entire introduction to put all the pieces together, but it was refreshing to see such a collection of personal, everyday food in a cookbook. Think 50/50 coffee table book to cookbook for a realistic expectation. Kinfolk catches a lot of flack for the curated niche they snuggle into, but the book is different and inspired and gorgeous. I'm not just saying that because there is a full page picture of my babe of a husband.

I made this recipe even though it wasn't paired with a photo, so that's big. Love me a visual. The only swap I made was a bit of spelt flour for some of the bread flour. The recipe in the book is printed with a maple pecan glaze option. I am going to include it here for more a monkey bread/sweet roll-esque deal, which totally has it's time and place. The bread has a decent amount of sugar in it, so I will scale that back to maybe 1/2 or 2/3 a cup if I do the glaze. I will make it for the next loaf, wouldn't mind the extra moisture here. We wanted a sweet bread, but the sort to lightly toast in the morning, so we forfeited the glaze this loaf.

YEASTED PUMPKIN BREAD

Recipe from The Kinfolk Table: Recipes for Small Gatherings

I used a natural cane sugar as called for, but next time I will swap in some dark muscavado to lend a little of that caramely goodness that pairs well with pumpkin. The one cup of sugar that gets layered in the bread makes it on the sweeter side, scale back if you prefer it less so. Note this is not a slicing bread, it breaks in chunks for a free form breakfast treat.

4 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1/2 cup milk
2 1/2 tsp. active dry yeast
1 1/4 cups natural cane sugar, divided
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
1 tsp. sea salt
1 1/3 cup unbleached bread flour or all purpose
1 cup spelt flour
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. fresh grated nutmeg

In a small saucepan over medium heat, cook 2 Tbsp. of the butter, without stirring, until brown bits form, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in the milk and get the mixture to 110' (too hot and it'll kill the yeast). Transfer the mixture to a large bowl, stir in the yeast and 1/4 cup sugar. Let it stand for 10 minutes.

Stir in the pumpkin puree, salt and 1 cup of the bread/all purpose flour. When combined, add the rest of the flour in several additions, kneading between additions. Knead the dough until it is elastic and slightly sticky, 6-8 minutes.

Brush a large bowl with olive oil, place the dough ball inside and turn it over several times until it is well greased. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise in a warm, draft free place until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.

Meanwhile, combine the remaining 1 cup sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and remaining 2 Tbsp. butter and stir well. After the dough has doubled in size, knead it for two minutes. Roll it out into a 12x9 inch rectangle. Sprinkle the sugar mixture on top, gently pressing it into the dough. Slice the dough lengthwise into six strips, and stack them on top of the other. Cut the strips into 6 squares and stack them into a 9x5 inch loaf pan. Cover with a clean dishtowel and allow it to rise for 30 minutes to an hour, until it doubles in size again.

Preheat the oven to 350'. Line a loaf pan with parchment for an easy exit. Bake the loaf on the middle rack for 30 minutes until edges are golden. Set the pan on a rack to cool.

Optional glaze:

3/4 cup confectioners sugar
2 1/2 Tbsp. real maple syrup
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
1-2 Tbsp. milk
3/4 cup roasted and salted pecans, chopped

In a medium bowl, whisk together the confectioners sugar, syrup, butter and 1 Tbsp. of the milk. Whisk in more milk for a thinner consistency if desired. Drizzle the glaze over the bread and sprinke with pecans. Serve warm.

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Entrée, Gluten Free, Fall, Winter

CHILI ROASTED TOFU WITH MINTED POMEGRANATE RELISH

Sara Forte · October 21, 2013

I was rebaptized into cooking after a four-week strike this past weekend. My strike included lots of waffles, scrambled eggs and frozen pizza with a liberal amount of greens on top so I don't feel *quite* as bad. We had a long-planned dinner party/photo shoot for the cookbook so I was actually left with no choice. It's a two man show over here, and one was occupied with stringing mini lights and photographing things, so table setting, shopping, prep, cooking, serving and cleaning for 10 is on me. That is not a complaint, it is really some sort of exhaustive rush. I truly do enjoy it. I just hope to have the funds and yard to do it more often in the future, it makes me so happy. My parents have a lovely space I can borrow for now. There is a chill in the air and the sun is setting quicker and earlier but it was still every bit as rewarding as always. Something about working your buns off and sharing the fruits of your labor with people you love is pretty special. I know I've said it before and it likely won't be the last time. Be warned. When I sign cookbooks, my line is "wishing you many great meals in good company." It got repetitive the more I wrote it, but never cheapened. The feeling I feel when I have a table speckled with food and friends, that is every sort of fullness for me and I wish that for other people. Sometimes the candles and flowers and twinkle lights, but sometimes just the gathering. The paper plates and chairs from around the house and overly simple foods - maybe even frozen pizzas with greens. It's the good stuff.

Pomegranates easily fall into my dozen favorite foods. Little plump jewels of tart-sweet juice and crunch. Just as tasty as they are gorgeous. I fell into the recent Thanksgiving issue of Bon Appetit, saw this minted pom relish and went through the contents of a meagerly stocked fridge to see how I could use it. I have a pomegranate and mint! I'm so close to something that resembles a meal. The recipe originally suggests this for your holiday turkey, so I suppose a number of proteins could do here. I'm just grateful to have something quick, easy and colorful for an easy fall dinner.

CHILI ROASTED TOFU WITH MINTED POMEGRANATE RELISH // Serves 2

Pomegranate Relish adapted from Bon Appetit November 2013

Below will yield enough millet and tofu for two but the relish enough for four. You could halve it, or keep the extras on hand. I made a rogue quesadilla with a brown rice tortilla, lentils, goat cheese and some relish that I thought was pretty tasty. Or I'm thinking it could be a lovely cocktail mix-in or garnish as well.

1 14 oz. pack extra firm tofu, drained and pressed in a dishcloth
1/2 cup millet or quinoa
1 cup low sodium vegetable stock
2 tsp. chili powder
pinch of smoked paprika
2 tsp. grade B maple syrup
1 Tbsp. orange juice
1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp. sea salt

1 pomegranate, seeded
1 shallot, finely minced
1 Tbsp. orange or tangerine zest
1/2 Tbsp. fresh orange or tangerine juice
2 Tbsp. finely chopped mint leaves
salt and pepper

1 avocado, diced

Wrap the tofu in a paper towel or dish cloth, and leave a heavy item on top for at least 15 minutes to press out excess moisture.

To make the tofu marinade, mix the chili powder, paprika, maple, orange juice, olive oil and salt together. Cut the tofu into 1/2'' slices and put them in the marinade, turning over a few times to coat. Let it sit for at least 10 minutes, up to overnight.

Rinse the millet in a fine mesh strainer and add it to a pot over medium heat. Add the broth, bring it to a boil, turn it down to a simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes until liquid is absorbed. Give it a fluff with a fork, turn off the heat, cover and let it sit.

To make the relish, mix the pom arils, shallot, citrus zest and juice and a pinch of salt and pepper together. Add the mint and stir to mix. You could add a dash of olive oil if it looks dry.

Preheat the oven or toaster oven to 425 and line a baking sheet with parchment. Arrange the tofu slices on the tray and bake for 20-25 minutes until edges are browned.

Stir in a pinch of salt, pepper and drizzle of olive oil into the millet. Serve each dish with the millet, a few slices of tofu, a scoop of the relish and diced avocado on top.

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Snack, Breakfast, Beverage, Gluten Free

SMOOTHIES: HIS AND HERS

Sara Forte · October 10, 2013

We're keeping things simple today. I have been testing for the book and had a few quick-turnaround freelance jobs. There has been so much food I'm passing out tupperwares to anyone who stops by. There were a few food-heavy weeks, followed by drought. I was burnt out and uninterested in cooking unless it could be easily stuffed in a brown rice tortilla or blended up and considered a meal. I left Hugh in charge where I typically have a plan, so we had a solid handful of breakfast burritos and taco meals. No complaints from either side. When thinking food, and writing food, and making food becomes your work, part of its charm is sometimes lost. But only part and only sometimes. I love what I do, but I am not much for excess. I keep a fairly minimal home and prefer to have around the items we actually use as opposed to cling to clutter. So when it's all food all the time, I have to step back for a few days to avoid going completely nuts.

When needing hardly a meal, more of an in-between, tide-you-over, on the run mini-meal in a cup sort of deal, we make smoothies. Hugh makes his off a memory from his childhood. They'd shop at a health food store and the kids would get a shake at the juice bar on the way out. To his memory, it was a creamy combination of milk, peanut butter, banana, date and a little chocolate. It's delicious, but on the shake side of smoothie. Actually no, it's just a straight up shake. I am ever the fan of frozen mangos because they're creamy themselves and then stuck with the tropical theme. Hugh assured me everyone would like his better. My love, I even like yours better, but someone had to go the slightly lighter route here.

Sometimes I find smoothie recipes insulting - isn't it all just thrown in a blender? Yes, yes it is. But this is what we're eating 'round here so take your combination however you wish. This looks tasty if you're on the pumpkin train right now, and this looks Fall-ish as well, or something completely unique with sesame milk, and while the fresh are gone, this blueberry basil one could be made with frozen blueberries. Browse through Sarah's tips on smoothie boosters too!

MONKEY FLIP // Makes 1

As told by Hugh Forte

1/2 banana
2 Tbsp. natural peanut butter
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 date, pitted
1 scoop chocolate ice cream or frozen yogurt
1 cup milk

Add all ingredients to a blender. Blend until completely smooth, adding more milk or ice for desired consistency.

TROPICAL COOLER // Makes 1

handful of crushed ice
1/2 cup frozen mango chunks
1/2 cup coconut yogurt or plain yogurt (or coconut sorbet)
flesh of half a seeded and peeled papaya
1 cup coconut water
squeeze of honey
squeeze of fresh lime juice

Add all ingredients to a blender. Blend until completely smooth, adding more milk or ice for desired consistency.

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