Crisp Rosemary Flatbread

1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon chopped rosemary plus 2 6-inch sprigs

1 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup water

1/3 cup olive oil plus more for brushing

Flaky sea salt, such as Maldon

Heat oven to 450°F with a heavy baking sheet on rack in middle.

Stir together flour, chopped rosemary, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Make a well in center, then add water and oil and gradually stir into flour with a wooden spoon until a dough forms. Knead dough gently on a work surface 4 or 5 times.

Divide dough into 3 pieces and roll out 1 piece (keep remaining pieces covered with plastic wrap) on a sheet of parchment paper into a 10-inch round (shape can be rustic; dough should be thin). Lightly brush top with additional oil and scatter small clusters of rosemary leaves on top, pressing in slightly. Sprinkle with sea salt. 

Slide round, still on parchment, onto heated baking sheet and bake until pale golden and browned in spots, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer flatbread to a rack to cool, then make 2 more rounds, 1 at a time, on fresh parchment; do not oil or salt until just before baking. Break into pieces.

Flatbread can be made 2 days ahead and cooled completely, then kept in an airtight container at room temperature.

Serves 4.

From Epicurious

Mediterranean Farro Salad

1/2 cup vinegar

1/2 cup water

Small red onion, finely diced (about 2/3 cup)

3 cups vegetable stock

1 cup uncooked farro, rinsed and drained

1 large cucumber, seeded and finely diced

2/3 cup finely diced roasted red peppers

1/2 cup finely diced sun-dried tomatoes

1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

1/4 cup finely-chopped fresh parsley

For vinaigrette:

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon freshly-squeezed lemon juice

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

Pinch of garlic powder

Pinch of salt

Pinch of black pepper

Bring vinegar and water to simmer in a small saucepan.  Add onion, let cook in pan for 1 minute, then cover, remove from heat, and let stand for 15 minutes.

Stir together stock and farro in a medium saucepan.  Cover and bring to a low boil for 15 minutes, or until chewy.  Remove from heat, and drain off any extra stock once the farro is cooked.  Let farro cool for at least 10 minutes.

Transfer farro to a large mixing bowl, and add in remaining ingredients.  Drain pickled onions and add onions to bowl.  

Whisk together vinaigrette ingredients until combined.  Mix vinaigrette into salad.  Toss until combined.  Season to taste.

Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days.

Serves 6 to 8.

From Gimme Some Oven blog, with a few changes

Lemon-Roasted Potatoes

2 garlic cloves

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 1/2 to 2 pounds unpeeled baby red potatoes 

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill

1 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel

Heat oven to 375° F. 

Thinly slice garlic cloves.  Add to olive oil and allow to infuse, pressing garlic slices with a spoon for additional flavor.

Lightly oil rimmed baking sheet. Toss potatoes with 1 tablespoon garlic-flavored olive oil in a medium bowl. Sprinkle generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Spread potatoes in single layer on baking sheet.  Roast for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, lemon juice, dill, and lemon peel in bowl to blend. Remove baking sheet from oven and toss potatoes in lemon mixture; reverse baking sheet and continue to roast until potatoes are tender and brown around edges, about 15 minutes longer.

Serves 4.

From Epicurious, with many changes

Quinoa, Black Lentil, Mango, and Chicken (or Avocado) Salad with Korma Dressing

1 1/2 cups black lentils

1 1/2 cups cream-colored quinoa

1 just-ripe mango

1 cup watercress (or arugula) leaves, coarse stems removed

12 ounces roasted chicken, neatly sliced (or substitute 3 avocados, sliced)

1/4 cup torn mint leaves

2 tablespoons olive oil

Juice of 1/2 lime

For the dressing:

Juice of 1 lime

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon curry paste

1/4 cup peanut or canola oil

Salt and black pepper

3 tablespoons cream

Put the lentils in a saucepan and cover with water.  Bring to a boil and cook for 15-30 minutes or until the lentils are tender but not falling apart (the length of time it takes depends on the age of the lentils).  Meanwhile, toast the quinoa in a dry skillet for about 2 minutes, then put it into a separate saucepan, add boiling water, cover, and cook for 15 minutes.

Peel the mango and cut the side sections away from the central pit. Carefully cut the side sections into slices about the thickness of a nickel. (It is difficult to remove the flesh nearer the pit, so just use the side sections for this dish and use the remaining flesh for something else - or eat it!)

Make the dressing.  Whisk everything together except the cream, then whisk that in, too. Taste for seasoning.

Drain the lentils, quickly rinse them in hot water, then toss in a serving bowl with the drained quinoa, mango, watercress or arugula, chicken or avocado, mint, olive oil, lime juice, and seasoning (taste and adjust if you need to).  Drizzle on the creamy korma dressing just before serving.

Serves 4.

From A Change of Appetite by Diana Henry

Spice and Caramel Trifle

White Spice Pound Cake

Vanilla Spice Pudding

1 cup heavy cream, whipped to firm peaks

Caramel Sauce (from Joy of Cooking)

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 teaspoons vanilla

Pinch of salt

Place the sugar in a small, heavy saucepan. Add water evenly. Set pan over medium-high heat and swirl gently until the sugar is dissolved and the syrup is clear. Avoid letting the syrup boil until the sugar is completely dissolved.

Increase the heat to high, cover the pan tightly, and boil the syrup for 2 minutes. Uncover the pan and continue to boil the syrup until it begins to darken around the edges. Swirl the pan until the syrup turns deep amber.

Remove from the heat and add butter. Beat gently until incorporated. Stir in the heavy cream, vanilla, and salt.

To assemble trifle...

Cut cake into 1-inch cubes. Put half the cake pieces in bottom of glass bowl, then drizzle with half caramel sauce. Top with half of the pudding, and then repeat with remaining cake, sauce, and pudding. Spoon whipped cream onto the top.

Serves about 8.

Vanilla Spice Pudding

2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups milk
4 large egg yolks
2 to 3 tablespoons Chai Masala or similar mixed whole spices

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Place a fine-mesh sieve over a medium bowl; set aside.

In a medium saucepan, whisk together sugar, cornstarch, and salt.  Very gradually (a few tablespoons at a time), whisk in milk, taking care to dissolve cornstarch.  Whisk in egg yolks, then add chai masala.

Whisking constantly, cook over medium heat until it thickens and the first large bubble forms and sputters.  Reduce heat to low; still whisking, cook for 1 minute.  Remove from heat.  Immediately pour through sieve into bowl.  Stir butter and vanilla into hot pudding.

Place plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pudding to prevent skin from forming, or omit this step if you, like a sensible person, love pudding skin!  Chill for at least 3 hours and up to 3 days.  Before serving, whisk pudding until smooth.

Serves 4.

From Martha Stewart with changes

Sourdough Baguettes

1 1/4 cups (283 grams) lukewarm water

2 cups (482 grams) sourdough starter (fed, or unfed), about the consistency of thick pancake batter

4 1/2 to 5 cups (539 grams to 602 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour

2 1/2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons sugar

1 tablespoon instant yeast (Note: If cutting recipe in half, do not halve the yeast quantity.)

4 teaspoons vital wheat gluten

1 egg yolk lightly beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for glaze (optional)

In a large bowl, combine the water, starter, and 3 cups of the flour, mixing until smooth.

Stir in the salt, sugar, yeast, and gluten, then an additional 1 1/2 to 2 cups of flour.  Stir until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, adding only enough additional flour as necessary; a slack (sticky) dough makes a light loaf.

Knead the dough for about 7 minutes in a stand mixer, or 8 to 10 minutes by hand on a lightly greased work surface. You may also knead this dough using the dough cycle on your bread machine; once it has finished kneading, transfer it to a bowl to rise, as directed below.

Turn the dough into an oiled bowl, cover the bowl, and let the dough rise until doubled in bulk, about 90 minutes.

Gently deflate the dough, and divide it into six pieces (for thin baguettes) or two or three pieces (for thicker Italian loaves).

Shape each piece into a 16" long loaf, and place the loaves, at least 4" apart, on parchment-lined baking sheets, or in lightly greased baguette pans.  If you're using baguette pans, make the loaves 15" long.

Cover the loaves with lightly greased plastic wrap, and let them rise for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until they're nice and puffy.  Towards the end of the rising time, heat your oven to 450°F.

If desired, gently brush the loaves with egg yolk glaze or, alternatively, spray them with olive oil spray; this will help them brown.

For a classic look, make three diagonal slashes in each loaf, cutting about 1/4" deep.  For taller, rounder baguettes, don't slash.

Bake the baguettes for about 25 minutes, or until they're a rich golden brown.  Remove the loaves from the oven.  Turn off the oven, crack it open a few inches, and return the loaves to the cooling oven without their pans.  Letting the loaves cool in the turned-off oven helps preserve their crunchy crust.

Makes 6 baguettes or 2 or 3 Italian-style loaves.

From King Arthur Flour

Note: If you feed your sourdough before using, the loaves will rise better; but if you're in a hurry, unfed sourdough will simply lend its flavor, while the yeast in the recipe takes care of the rise.