wunderkind

Right now I am loving beets. They are sweet and very healthy and possible one of the most colorful vegetables of winter. I love how they go from being an ugly ordinary root vegetable

to making it look like you committed kitchen murder

to creating the most brilliantly colored and tasty lunch

Beet Curry Soup. A perfect rainy spring day soup. Not too heavy but still warm and filling. Topped with some good creamline yogurt. Also good chopped raw in a salad with some goat cheese.
I would like to learn to use beets as a dye both for fiber and some tinted lipbalm. I am completely enamored by the color of them.

Challot

i went to a Shabbat 101 class several weeks ago. We made challah (which is an egg bread, related to brioche but with no butter). I have successfully (more or less) been making challah every week since. Homemade bread just tastes so much better. And this one is very simple.

Naomi's Challah

1pkg rapid rise yeast
1/4 cup water
1tsp sugar
Combine and set aside

4 1/2 cups flour
2tsp salt
2Tbl oil
1/3 cup honey
3 egg yolks
1 cup water

1 egg yolk and 1 tsp water for egg wash

Combine flour and salt and mix together. Add oil, honey (use a clear glass measuring cup. put in the oil and then the honey. the oil will float to the top of the honey and the honey will release from the cup easier) and the egg yolks. Mix. Add yeast mixture and 1 cup of water. mix all together until combined and then knead for several minutes until smooth and elastic. You can add some flour or water if either is necessary.
Let rise for 1-1 1/2 hours covered with a clean towel (This recipe does not double in size). Split dough into 6 balls and roll out into ropes. Braid to make 2 challahs. Let rise on a cookie sheet for another 30 minutes. Brush with egg wash and bake at 350 F for 25-30 minutes.

You can save the egg whites and make your self an omelette. If I am not using them right away i cover with plastic wrap and keep them in the fridge.

In the photo above i just used egg white for the egg wash instead of the yolk. Using the yolk will give you the classic dark brown shiny crust. I didn't have a lot of eggs so i decided not to crack another one just for eggwash since i had the whites anyway.

I have also successfully doubled this recipe if you want to give some to friends or just freeze some for later.

A superior brunch...

"Welcome to the French Chef. I'm Julia Child..."

des oeufs en cocotte

I watched Julia make these last night. Molded eggs in a muffin tin.

Set a pan that your muffin tin will fit in on the stove with some water to simmer. Turn your oven on to 375. Thoroughly butter the muffin tins that you will be using. When water is at a simmer place buttered muffin tin in the pan of water. Crack one egg into each muffin cup. Salt and pepper the eggs being careful to only salt the whites as salt will discolor the yolk. Julia added some cream to hers but I didn't have any. I grated some cheddar cheese over the top, Julia uses swiss. I think the swiss would be better as it is less intense. I also didn't have any parsley so I used a bit of dried chives. Place in the oven, pan of water and all, and bake 6-7 minutes. I forgot to turn the oven on so mine took more like 10 minutes because it wasn't as hot. You want the eggs to be cooked but if you shake the pan they should jiggle a bit. Let rest a minute or two while you butter and/or jam your toast and pour your tea. Run a knife around the edge of each muffin cup and gently lift out the egg to unmold.

Note: French eggs would be considered undone by American standards, I think. If you want your eggs more "done" cook a little longer. My eggs were French. The yolk was just cooked and the whites still wet.
You can also cook these plain with just some salt and pepper, with cheese, or with just a blend of herbs. Click on the post title for more ideas.

Et Voila!

"This has been the French Chef. i'm Julia Child. Bon Appetit!"