With the pandemic, we have spent more time at home and some residents have had more time to indulge in various hobbies or passions. One such activity for a group of Heights residents has been baking, particularly bread, and particularly sourdough bread.
A few months ago, a local bread baker, Jan Ford Young, had the idea of giving away sourdough starter to get others into bread making. She posted on Next Door and the requests literally poured in. To date, Jan has given away 107 jars of sourdough starter from her back porch.
As it turns out, not everyone who took the starter knew how to use it. Jan created a Facebook page which allows her to post bread pictures, links to bread tutorials, recipes, and a forum for other bakers to share their successes, failures, and get advice. Jan has basically become a Mother Hen to Heights bakers and we thank her for that service.
If you are interested in baking, join the group. As it turns out there is a lot to learn about bread culture and it is fun. Looking at a fresh baked loaf that you baked yourself makes you feel slightly euphoric.
To check out the Facebook Group, go to Facebook and search for Houston Heights Bread Club. You can contact Jan directly via email: Jan.young@icloud.com. She is happy to share a starter with you, but she may need a jar in return. Happy baking. You can do this.
- Debbie Hall
Recipe
Recipe: Moroccan Spice Sweet Potato Stew /
Jay Francis, WHCA Board Member for Membership offers the following delicious Fall recipe. And, it’s vegetarian to boot. Four servings, 360 calories each, 14g protein, 70g carbohydrate, 13g fiber
Moroccan Spice Sweet Potato Stew
7 tsp olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped or crushed
1 1/2 tsp curry powder
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes
1 can (14.5 ounces) reduced sodium vegetable broth
1 cup no salt added chickpeas ( I make my own by simmering chickpeas in water until tender, after soaking overnight)
Several sweet potatoes equalling one pound, peeled and cut into 3/4 inch pieces
2 small zucchini, peeled and cut into 3/4 inch pieces (what I do is make my stew but simmer the zucchini separately, in water. I then top the stew with the zucchini. So that the zucchini doesn’t disintegrate by simmering with the stew itself)
1 cup couscous reconstituted with hot water per package instructions, and fluffed with 1 tablespoon of butter
In a pan, heat the oil over medium heat, add the onion and cook until tender but no more than lightly browned, about 8 minutes. Turn off heat. Stir in garlic, curry powder, cumin, and allspice and stir until combined.
Add the tomatoes, broth, beans, and sweet potato. Return to medium heat, and cook, covered for 10 minutes or until all is tender. Separately, cook the zucchini. If time is an issue, add the zucchini to the stew to cook with it.
Serve with the couscous
Jay’s Sugar Cookies /
Jay Francis, on the Board, representing Membership offers the following easy and delicious Sugar Cookie recipe this month:
Yield: 3 dozen cookies
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 6-8 minutes
Total Time: 38 minutes
Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter (make sure that the butter has softened at room temperature)
1 cup granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 egg
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups all purpose flour
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350° F.
In the bowl of your mixer cream butter and sugar until smooth, at least 3 minutes.
Beat in the extracts and egg.
In a separate bowl combine baking powder and salt with flour and add a little at a time to the wet ingredients. The dough will be very stiff. If it becomes too stiff for your mixer turn out the dough onto a countertop surface. Wet your hands and finish off kneading the dough by hand.
There isn’t a need to chill the dough. Divide into workable batches, roll out onto a floured surface and cut. You want these cookies to be on the thicker side (closer to 1/4 inch rather than 1/8).
Bake at 350 for 6-8 minutes. Let them cool on the cookie sheet until firm enough to transfer to a cooling rack.
Fried Chicken Recipe /
The fabulous Gus’s Fried Chicken has opened on Washington Avenue. Here is my “take” on their recipe. It takes advantage of a long marinade to tenderize the chicken and a higher of amount of corn starch for extra crispness. I hope you like it.
24 hour marinade. Begin the day before you plan to fry the chicken
(Increase these quantities, depending on how much chicken you plan to make)
1 lb (one) boneless skinless chicken breast or thigh meat, cut into three pieces, or, double recipe ingredients for the weight of your chicken, for example, if you are using a 3-5 lb chicken cut into pieces
- 1 cup corn starch
- ¼ cup (4 tablespoons) all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
- 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 cup water (note: 1 ½ cups is too much. I actually ended up with 1 ¼ cup water and poured off a little water in the morning that had gathered on top of the marinade)
Marinate for 24 hours.
Fry at 325-350 F. Use a neutral vegetable or corn oil. I do not recommend canola oil as it smells like frying fish and adds an unpleasant fish taste to fried foods.
Note, when the exterior crust looks perfect, the interior may still be uncooked. It is the curse of the larger chickens that they sell now in the grocery stores (which is why my original instructions are for a boneless skinless chicken breast). Try your best to buy a 2.5-3 lb chicken.
If it isn't spicy enough, "salt" with Tony Chachere creole seasoning. Next time you make it, increase the amount of cayenne, and/or, add chopped whole serrano chiles or habanero chiles to the marinade.
I still finish the chicken in the oven to assure that it is cooked throughout.
Temptation may be to make a thicker batter. But I think that for the crispiest crust, a thinner batter is the way to go. Just enough so that it clings.
I used to remove my chicken pieces from the marinade batter with tongs. But I found that this scraped away some of the batter. Now, I just spear the pieces with a fork and drop them into the hot oil.
You can test the quality of your batter by pouring some into the hot oil and frying it up crisp. Taste it and adjust seasonings. If it is too spongy tasting instead of crisp tasting, it may have been too thick and will need to be thinned slightly.
- Jay Francis, VP Membership