I Heart Bread!

I am still in love with the book "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day." Last night I tried to buy it at Williams Sonoma, but they don't carry it. It isn't due back to the library until June 20th, so I have time. Tonight I'm making Olive Bread with Tuscan White Bean Dip for dinner. I modified the Bean Dip recipe based on what I had in the house, so here is my version.





Tuscan White Bean Dip

• 1 Cup dried White Northern or cannelloni beans or 1 16 oz can, drained



• 5 small plum tomatoes or two larger tomatoes



• 2 small heads of garlic



• 2 TBSP olive oil



• 1 tsp salt



• freshly ground black pepper to taste



• 10 fresh basil leaves

1. Soak and cook the beans according to directions



2. Preheat the oven to 400. Cut tomatoes in half and place cut side down in a oven safe dish. Wrap each garlic head in aluminum foil. Roast tomatoes and garlic for 30 minutes. Allow everything to cool to room temperature. If using canned beans, drain and rinse them.



3. Squeeze the roasted garlic out of the head and add everything but the basil to a blender or food processor. Puree until smooth--you should have something that sort of looks like hummus. Taste the mixture and add more salt or pepper if needed. Add the basil and puree until well incorporated. Serve immediately at room temperature or refrigerate and serve cold.

I think that this is going to be a great summer dip--very healthy with only the two tablespoons of olive oil in about 2 cups of dip. I think that this would also be a good mayo substitute on a sandwich or a pita with tuna or grilled chicken. Maybe I'll make pita bread next...

I'm very excited that we are having company next week because it gives me a good reason to do lots of lovely things with Brioche dough. I fill kind of silly making individual breakfast Brioches* for just us, but when you have company you can make things like Sunny Side Up Apricot Pastry or Blueberry Lemon Curd Ring. I also may go "old school" with some sticky buns.





I did some personal sewing today and made myself a tunic top in the style of some of the dresses that I've been making. I'm really happy with the way that it turned out. The flower detail came from a blog that I discovered yesterday via Tip Nut. The flower was originally used on a lunchbox made out of a pillowcase, which I totally want to try. I think that this might also be the pattern that I use as my model when making the basket liner for E's bike. http://www.ohfransson.com/oh_fransson/2008/03/vintage-pillowc.html

I'm also in the process of turning some of my pants into Bermuda shorts. Either I'm getting taller or my pants are shrinking. I have several pairs that I can only wear with my flattest flat shoes, and even then I'm in danger of my sock showing when I'm standing.** I found a good tutorial for making pants into shorts. I have my first pair pinned now and it looks like the end result will be a lot better than just hemming a pair of cut-offs.



Tomorrow it should be back to the farm and then Nick and I are embarking on an exciting adventure called CLEANING THE SCARY BASEMENT.
Wish us luck. There may be pictures...







*I'm guessing that isn't the correct plural. I speak German, not French.



**One of my biggest pet peeves. My all time biggest pet peeve are little girls with too short shirts so their little bellies hang out. Oh, I also hate scraggly hair. I have lots of issues.