It's been a while....

Turns out doctoral degrees are bad for your extracurricular life (read: this blog). Last semester was horribly busy, in part thanks to a part time job I worked on the weekends, and the great number of family events that had us running back and forth to my parents' house and my inlaws' house. Neither of those trips is a hop skip and a jump either!

But I'm beating around the bush here. A lot of things changed since the last post. We had a break in employment, which meant government assistance and a shift in the way we ate. Thankfully things are getting back to normal now, and I'm back to experimenting with healthy and frugal things to eat. Here's the latest!

....because although we can't live by bread alone, life would certainly be sad without it. :-)

Homemade French Bread

1 1/4C warm water (drinkable but hot temp) $0
1 T sugar $.01
1 tsp salt
3 1/2C flour (I used all white since I was bringing this to a party, but a mix of 1:3 whole wheat to white would be tasty!) $.35
1 1/2 tsp yeast $.16
1 T cornmeal

Total Cost: $.52
Servings: 2 baguettes, 18" each.
Cost per Serving: $.26

Note: I made these as an appetizer, to go with a fantastic date & olive spread, and it served 6 people comfortably.

To Make:

1. Make the water warm from the tap. Microwaving water always makes it too hot or too cold, and you NEVER want to microwave water once the yeast is in it! It will kill the yeast! Add the yeast and the sugar to the water. Cover with a towel and leave it in a warm place for a few minutes. The yeast should form some bubbles/foam. Note: if you have rapid acting yeast, you can skip this step and just add it with the dry ingredients)
   
2. Add the flour and salt in a large bowl, then pour the water/yeast into the flour. Use a firm spatula/wooden spoon to combine roughly. Once it is a sticky dough, flour your hands and work the dough like the woman does in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeOYvPchd_E. If you flour your hands well, you can knead the dough right in the bowl! It may take several minutes of kneading to look elastic like the dough in the video....if it is too sticky, add a tablespoon or two more flour. Too flaky? Add a tablespoon warm water.
   
3. When the dough looks good, form a ball and dust the top with flour. Then cover with a clean dish towel and allow it to rise in a draft-free location. I often turn my oven on to "warm" for about 1 minute, then put the bread in, close the door, and turn the oven off. Of course, I have a gas oven, so it heats up quickly...Allow the dough to rest for about 45min.
   
4. After 45 min have passed, the dough should be doubled in size. Take the dough out and divide it roughly in half with a sharp knife dipped in olive oil. Then shape the dough as shown in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxnHFWavt4I Transfer the baguette to a cookie sheet sprinkled with cornmeal (or simply greased with olive oil). Repeat with the other half of the dough.
5. Allow the baguettes to rise, covered by the towel, in a draft-free location for another half hour. While you are preheating the oven to 375 degrees, you can take your sharp, oiled knife and make little diagonal cuts along the top of the baguettes for a traditional look.
   
6. Bake at 375 F for 25 min or until they are golden tan on the top.
   

Serve with.....

Date and Olive Tapenade

2/3C chopped kalmata olives $1.50 (bought the "packed in oil" kind from the deli
1C chopped dates $1.50
1/2 C water
2T balsamic vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced (optional)
fresh ground pepper to taste
8oz bar of cream cheese $1

Total Cost: $4
Servings: 6
Cost per serving: $.67

To Make:

1. Prep the olives and dates by chopping them up. Add the dates, vinegar, and garlic to the water in a small pot on the stove. Cook 5min over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
   
2. When the mixture comes to a boil, turn it down, and continue to cook a few more minutes until it changes to a "paste" like texture.
   
3. Remove from heat and combine with the chopped olives. Season to taste with pepper. To serve: remove cream cheese from its wrapper and place on serving plate. Spoon Date/olive mix over the cream cheese and provide a cheese knife. It goes perfectly on the french bread!

Frugal Tips

• The above recipes were made for a special occasion - a party. Therefore, the dip is a bit less frugal than I would be if I were making it just for us....however, if you compare the cost to enough shrimp for 6 people, or even a pre-prepared fruit/veggie platter, it's still pretty cost effective!
• Because I did have some wine that was open, I used half water and half white wine in the dip recipe. It was delicious, but I'm sure it would be fine with 100% water!
• Because I didn't have any eggs left when I made the french bread, I left mine "dry" and didn't do an egg wash. If you want your bread to look shiny, you can brush the tops with a mixture of egg and water when there are about 10min of baking time left.