Look what I made!

[taste_is_sweet]

Harvest Bread from that really neat SGA fandom cookbook that I was telling you about.

And oh, man, did it turn out perfectly. I didn't use whole wheat flour (the darling husband doesn't like it) or crushed walnuts (the darling husband was disappointed, but I was concerned that Javier might choke on them), and possibly twice as much sugar (I kind of forgot to measure it before I softened it in the microwave. And by 'kind of', I mean, yes, yes I did). And fish_echo did not actually say what size of pan to bake the bread in, so I had to estimate by her photograph of the finished product that something wider and flatter was the right idea.

BUT, it was still fantastic! Truly. It wasn't easy to assemble the multitude of ingredients (and I had to actually grate the carrots myself because Kroger didn't have any conveniently pre-grated in plastic bags the way I was counting on, the bastards), but I swear, I have never made any kind of dessert bread that was this good. And considering my banana bread is a favourite around here, that's saying a lot.

Here, have a picture:



fish_echo, you are a deity among genderlessly-anonymous LJ users for coming up with this stuff. Thank you so much for this. I'm so excited to try the other recipes!

Comments

[springwoof.livejournal.com]

mmmm....looks yummy!

I made bran-with-cranberry muffins tonite, and they turned out okay, but not as yummy-looking as this....

SGA cookbook, what a cool idea!

[fish-echo.livejournal.com]

SGA cookbook, what a cool idea!

Not only are there the recipes but all of the recipes have pictures with SGA action figures in them aaaand there's stories (http://codenamebacon.wetpaint.com/page/Story+Index) associated with many of the recipes. It also slices and dices and makes julienne fries!

/ends massive pimping

deleted and reposted due to leaving out crucial words fail

[springwoof.livejournal.com]

hee! consider me pimped. it's a very clever multi-media idea...

[fish-echo.livejournal.com]

It was winkingstar's idea. All she had to do was say 'secret project' and 'cooking' in the same sentence and I was in, even before I knew what was going on. *shakes head at self* I am perhaps a bit easy in some things. :)

PS. Sorry for cut tag fail on my previous reply.

[fish-echo.livejournal.com]

PPS. In the above comment I meant "close of Italics tag". Clearly I fail at English and coding this week.

[taste-is-sweet.livejournal.com]

Hee. But man, can you make a great harvest bread!

And a decent apple quiche, though I'm excited to try to meld it into a 'cheesy apple pie' instead. Next week. It's on the meal agenda. ;->

[fish-echo.livejournal.com]

Ooooh, excellent! I look forward to hearing about it :)

[taste-is-sweet.livejournal.com]

It's really fun. I'm sorry that the muffins didn't work as well as you wanted. Muffins are temperamental like that, aren't they?

[innana88.livejournal.com]

I just ate a load of pizza and this still looks scrumptious.

The BASTARDS!

[lalalaleigha.livejournal.com]

:D

I've decided I'm going to follow your comments around livejournal for the rest of the night as my source of amusement.

[innana88.livejournal.com]

Oh, have fun with THAT! I'm a hoot when tipsy! :)

[lalalaleigha.livejournal.com]

This hootiness is the impression I am getting from you, yes. :D

[taste-is-sweet.livejournal.com]

It was tragic, I tell you. Though the stock clerk resupplying the organic, pre-packaged herbs and the store-cut carrots and celery was sympathetic, which lessened the sting somewhat.

The bread was scrumptious. I seriously can't believe it turned out that well. :)

[fish-echo.livejournal.com]

It's so great to watch someone not on the project work through the recipes ... it makes my heart all glowy!

Here's the stats for the pan: well-greased 23 cm x 13 cm/900 g/2 lb/9'' x 5'' loaf tin, but it looks and sounds like what you did came out great.

I'm so glad to hear that you like it (OMGSQUEEE at I have never made any kind of dessert bread that was this good. And considering my banana bread is a favourite around here, that's saying a lot. Now I'm all blushing! Thanks!) :) :)

I know I'm getting into trouble when I stand in the kitchen with an apron on, a wooden spoon in one hand, a determined look in my eye and think, "Do you know what would taste awesome?" My flatmates tend to run when that happens, because a crazed cook is a scary thing, but at least I feed them when they come back from hiding.

By the by, the 'recipe' for the berry pot pie (http://codenamebacon.wetpaint.com/page/The+Deadly+Berry+Pot+Pie+of+MP3-497) is rather... umm, informal? If you make it at some point, I'd love feedback on if I ought to rewrite portions of it -- and, as always, feel free to ask questions before-hand.

[fish-echo.livejournal.com]

PS. Are you willing to share your banana bread recipe? (I am always looking for new delicious things to make. And I just realised that I have some bananas on the counter...)

[taste-is-sweet.livejournal.com]

Yes, certainly! Though it's not actually mine. I've adapted it a little from Vegetarian Cuisine - Caribbean Style by Dr. Betty 'K'

If you sign in at Amazon.com, then find the book and search inside for banana bread, you'll actually get the whole recipe. My changes were less sugar (one quarter to one half, depending on my mood), cinnamon instead of nutmeg (I don't like nutmeg), using frozen bananas (we had the same idea! Cool! Though it means you need less milk), and I frequently add one cup of chocolate chips, since that makes the two males in my life very, very happy. White chocolate chips work well, too. You can also easily use applesauce instead of the butter, though of course it comes out much more dry and chewy. But what I love most about the recipe is that it's idiot-proof. Even if you just bung everything into a bowl and mix it all together it turns out really well. :)

[lavvyan.livejournal.com]

It's so great to watch someone not on the project work through the recipes ... it makes my heart all glowy!

Hee, yeah! :D

[fish-echo.livejournal.com]

Which reminds me, I should really start actually posting about the recipes I've already cooked and the one? two? errata recipes I've made... I wonder where I put my camera? (Yes, I misplace it very frequently...)

[taste-is-sweet.livejournal.com]

:) I'm happy to oblige, especially considering the results have been so neat.

Thank you for the info on the loaf pan, but yeah, I think the Corning Wear rocks the house.

I'd love to try the pot pie, but it seemed a little intimidating, what with the imprecision and having to mold a pie crust to a bowl. But it was definitely on my list of things to try. And unless it's a disaster I'm fairly confident I'll post the results. ;->

[fish-echo.livejournal.com]

Hmm, all this talk of the berry pie has made me hungry for it! Clearly the only thing to do is make it again! (Note to self: buy berries.)

This time I'll take notes and I'll even try to make it following my 'recipe' rather than my memory (we'll see how well that goes. I'm pants at actually measuring things properly for pies.). And if I actually post it in a timely manner then mayhap it will be useful/reassuring.

The thing about the berry pot pie is that it is inspired by the fact that I love berries and I dislike the strange really thick texture of classic fruit pies. So I just put in a bit of flour (so the sauce wouldn't be insanely thin) and some sugar (because who doesn't like a bit of sugar) and said, 'Hot, syrupy, berry goodness under a crust! Excellent'

So I'm not sure it should actually be intimidating so much as 'just throw things in the bowl and it'll be fine'.

And as far as getting the crust into the bowl, I just used a store-bought standard pie crust and put it in the bowl, pressing a bit or creasing a bit as needed, and folded over what remained to make the top crust. I'm sure one could do a proper pie crust thing, but this is not meant to be that complicated of a thing. Perhaps this is one of those food things that seems more complicated in writing because of all of the approximations than it seems in person, when you can say, 'see, look at what I'm doing now'? I shall try to photo-document better the next time I make it, so I can bring a bit of the 'being in the kitchen with the cook' explanation to the text.

PS. Thanks for the banana bread recipe link. Tasty and idiot-proof are both excellent traits in recipes, I feel :)

[taste-is-sweet.livejournal.com]

You are most welcome.

Thank you for the pie pep-talk, too! I might 'cheat' and use two pie crusts, one for the bowl part and one for the top, just 'cause a single pie crust folded over seems very small. Hrm.

I'm sure I'll add much more sugar than you do, but it really sounds delicious. Maybe the week after next, after I try the apple pie again. ;D

[fish-echo.livejournal.com]

More sugar certainly won't hurt anything :)

[khellekson.livejournal.com]

Mmm, yum! You are a domestic goddess!

I bow to your grating skills. I always grate my fingers.

[taste-is-sweet.livejournal.com]

LOL. Thank you. If only that were true. I aspire to be a domestic demi-goddess. Maybe a saint.

The trick just seems to be to watch the thing being grated like a hawk, to make sure you move your fingers in time. I grated those carrots with bated breath, let me tell you.

[anna-bird.livejournal.com]

That looks great! I completely missed your post about that cookbook - that's fantastic. *goes to ogle*

[taste-is-sweet.livejournal.com]

Hee. Enjoy. It really is fun. And good, too!