Traditional Recipes

Kaiser Rolls Recipe for Burgers and Sandwiches

July 24, 2020 by Sylvia Rose 1 Comment

Soft and crusty bakery-style kaiser rolls are everything you could ask for when making a deli sandwich or fixing hamburger.

MAKING KAISER ROLLS FROM SCRATCH

We don’t need very much when making kaiser rolls from scratch because the ingredients are simple and the tools are minimal.

For one, we will need a kitchen scale to weigh the ingredients.

As convenient as cup measurements are, they aren’t precise, and precision is key for bakery-style kaiser rolls.

The other tool you might want, apart from a couple of baking sheets, is a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment.

While you could work this dough by hand, it is quite sticky, so a stand mixer is ideal if you want to keep everything as neat and tidy as possible.

If you plan on baking these rolls a lot, you might want to consider investing in a kaiser roll stamp, or you can do as I do and knot the buns.

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Cucumber Salad: a Victory Garden Recipe

June 26, 2020 by Sylvia Rose 1 Comment

Looking for a cucumber salad recipe? When cucumbers and herbs are plentiful in the victory garden, it’s time to make this refreshing cucumber salad. Tossed in a light and creamy herbed yogurt dressing, it will leave everyone wanting more!

VICTORY GARDEN-GROWN IS BEST!

I’ll be honest.

I make this cucumber salad year-round, but only when cucumbers are less than $1 apiece.

I wish I was joking about this, but I’ve seen cucumbers selling for $3 each on more than one occasion.

Crazy!

By the way, there are many reasons why I call gardens victory gardens, which you can read about in my victory garden post.

Whichever way you cut it, victory garden-grown herbs and cucumbers are best.

Let me tell you why.

Did you know that most produce loses 30% of their nutrients within three days of being harvested?

Unless you’re buying the herbs and cucumbers from a farmer’s market, it’s pretty hard to pinpoint when they were picked and how long they’ve been sitting on the shelf for.

Fortunately, cucumbers aren’t on the EWG’s Dirty Dozen list for 2021, but they have been on that list in the past.

Unless you’re buying organic produce, it’s more than likely that storebought cucumbers have been treated with something.

Therefore, not only are garden-grown cucumbers fresher and more vibrant, but they’re safer and more nutrient-dense, too!

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Making and Maintaining a Sourdough Starter (it’s easy!)

June 19, 2020 by Sylvia Rose Leave a Comment

Why bother with store-bought yeast when you have your own sourdough starter in the fridge? Learn how to make and maintain this old-fashioned leavener with only three ingredients: flour, water and time.

SOURDOUGH: A NOURISHING TRADITION

Sourdough first came on my radar when I read through Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House series as a child.

I would have given almost anything to take a bite out of one of Ma Ingalls’s good sourdough biscuits!

Indeed, sourdough has been around for a long time, much longer than most people would guess.

Did you know that sourdough bread dates back to at least 3700 BC?

While sourdough was shelved away for a while (like a number of other old-fashioned skills and traditions) it is experiencing a resurgence.

When yeast was hard to come by in some areas, sourdough was back in popular demand, and it’s no small wonder why!

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German Potato Pancakes Recipe (Kartoffelpfannkuchen)

May 29, 2020 by Sylvia Rose Leave a Comment

Kartoffelpfannkuchen, or, German potato pancakes, is a simple traditional dish that makes for an easy meal. All you need are a handful of ingredients, a food processor and hot skillet!

plate of german potato pancakes Kartoffelpfannkuchen

WHAT ARE GERMAN POTATO PANCAKES?

Growing up, German potato pancakes were a special treat on our table. Of course, we just called them potato pancakes, but when I asked my mom for her recipe, she looked at me blankly.

“Do you mean latkes?” she asked.

“When have you ever called them latkes, Mom? You’ve always called them potato pancakes.”

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Classic Cauliflower Gratin (Cauliflower Cheese)

February 7, 2020 by Sylvia Rose Leave a Comment

This classic cauliflower gratin (also known as cauliflower cheese) is the perfect devise to sneak veggies to picky eaters! Coated in a creamy white sauce and smothered in cheese, this cauliflower bake is a smash hit as a side!

A TRADITIONAL SIDE DISH

Prior to writing this post, I had always thought cauliflower gratin was a classic French dish. I mean, gratin, right? It turns out I was wrong!

Traditionally, this classic cauliflower gratin goes by another name: cauliflower cheese. And you know what? It’s an English dish!

Can you blame me for thinking it was French though? I mean, look at their classic ham and cheese melt: it’s blanketed in béchamel and covered in cheese.

Whatever the case may be, this is a traditional side dish and a popular one around the table, too!

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Sesame Naan Bread: A Cast Iron Skillet Recipe

January 10, 2020 by Sylvia Rose 2 Comments

It’s time to pull out the cast iron skillet and learn how to whip up a batch of this sesame naan bread. It’s the perfect accompaniment for those winter soups and curries!

CAST IRON SKILLET SESAME NAAN BREAD

If you’ve never had naan before, it’s kind of like pita bread that’s found in many Eastern cuisines.

When I think of naan, Indian is the first cuisine that comes to mind, but it’s one of many.

Traditionally, naan is baked in a tandoor oven, but since I don’t have one of those in my kitchen, I always turn to my trusty cast-iron skillet whenever I’m making a batch. This is also the case when I make flour tortillas and breakfast biscuits, so naan bread is a natural fit.

If you’re new to the world of cast iron cooking, you might want to read up on how to use cast-iron cookware, but if you know your way around cast iron, please, continue. Of course.

It’s also possible to use whatever pan you wish, but I hope you give cast iron a shot!

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