white bean chili. or, "When I Was Waiting For A Baby and Bridian was in Europe"

When I was about 38 weeks pregnant, I decided I wanted to make a bunch of freezer meals. I didn't want us to even think about dinner for as long as possible after our baby was born and relatives left and friends stopped bringing food. So I started making a list of meals and ingredients I needed. As a "thank you" from my internship team, I'd received, among other things, a grocery store gift certificate, but I learned at this grocery store that you have to use the entire balance of the gift certificate in one shot- anything you didn't spend was just lost. So I made a long list. The day Berlin was due (because if nothing else, I am absolutely a procrastinator), we went shopping. We spent an hour or so finding everything we needed and then things we wanted and then things we thought maybe we should get just because we did NOT want to waste this gift certificate. Funny, because we made it to the balance, only overshooting by 20 cents. We were incredibly proud. And then when the cashier found out I was due that day, she laughed and said, "Better take another lap around the store!"

Yeah right. Like a Mortensen/Lindstrom was going to come on his due date. Ha.

So Thursday (we went shopping on Monday), when there was still no sign of a baby, I decided I should probably start cooking, since the baby was not going stay indefinitely snuggled inside of me, and I cooked up a storm all day (more on those recipes later). Closer to dinner time, I realized I hadn't really planned for dinner for that night. And I was not about to sacrifice a meal for a time when I didn't want to cook for a time when making one more meal after 10 was not really a big deal.

But I had zero ideas. Zero. Apparently cooking and creativity are inversely related.

Bridian was on her 6-week sabbatical somewhere in Denmark (or London. Who knows), but she'd been texting me when she periodically found internet. Most of our conversations were about life plans, of a little more epic proportion than what to eat for dinner that night, but. I braved the break in conversation topic. She laughed at me, especially at my problem of not being able to think of anything after cooking all day, and suggested this soup that she'd made for me one time and she thought I liked it. So she proceeded to text me the recipe. One. Ingredient. At. A. Time. Instructions weren't really included. I had to clarify a million things a million times. I finally scribbled everything on to a tiny scratch of paper to make sense of it and repeat it back to Bridian. I have lost this little scrap of paper half a million times and I really don't have any idea how I've managed to find it again (which is a huge reason in why I'm blogging this one). When I reminded her of this a couple of days ago, she laughed again. "Yeah, that sounds like something I would do."

Anyway, what resulted was one of my favorite soups of all soups. Which is saying something, because I've had are a lot of really great soups. This one is just... top 3. Super simple, super delicious. I use this one a lot for cold days and for bringing soup to friends who are sick/have just had a baby/both. I also love eating/serving this soup with homemade bread, if you care to know. But really, what soup isn't great with homemade bread?

1. Boil 1-2 chicken breasts (depending on how much chicken you want in your soup. When I double this, I use two and it's plenty). After they're cooked(10-15 minutes), let them cool until you can shred them. Save the broth!
2. Saute half an onion, diced, with a tablespoon of butter (in your soup pot).
3. Then add:

• 2 drained cans of great northern white beans
• 1 small can diced green chilies
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp oregano
• salt and garlic powder to taste

Simmer for 10-15 minutes. When it's done, add 1/2 cup of sour cream and 1 cup of heavy cream.

I don't even have anything else to say. I've already ranted and raved about it, so- enjoy!

homemade bread

In case you didn't notice, this loaf is half eaten. I'm telling you, I'm an addict.

I absolutely love homemade bread. Love, love, love. I will eat entire loaves by myself. Sometimes in the same sitting. My grandma loves to make it, especially for me, and that's probably where I learned to love it so much. I lived with my grandparents for a month or so before Jeremy and I got married, and my grandma made sure there was always homemade bread for me. 

Man, it made me love her so much more than I already did. 

 
So as a wedding present, my grandma gave me bread pans and a bag of flour. I don't know what she was thinking. She needs to just always live close enough to me to give me fresh bread! (Which she did. Especially when Berlin was born.) But finally, I decided to pull the plastic off of the pans and learn to make bread. Turns out, not as difficult as I thought. Though it took some experimenting. My first try resulted in burned outsides and uncooked insides. I called my grandma. She gave me some suggestions, and I tried again. It looked perfect, but I was incredibly wary of the insides. I sliced it open, and it seemed just fine inside too.  So I got brave and made a loaf for a friend, and warned her, "I'm still figuring out how to do this. As you cut closer to the middle, watch out. You may get a mouthful of dough." She laughed at me. And told me the next day that the whole loaf was amazing. 
 
Thank you, Grandma, for helping me get it right!

• 3/4 cup warm water 
• 1 package active dry yeast (or 2 1/4 tsp) 
• 1 tsp salt 
• 1-1/2 tbsp sugar 
• 1 tbsp vegetable shortening
• 1/2 cup milk 
• 3 cups all-purpose flour, roughly

1. Put the yeast and sugar in a bowl. Add the water, and let it set for about 10 minutes.
 
I've found that the key to working with yeast and getting it to rise properly is letting it react first. The yeast needs to eat something as it reacts, which is why you add sugar. So you mix the yeast and the sugar together, then add the water. Scorching water will kill the yeast, so if you turn on your hot water and fill your measuring cup right as the water starts to turn hot, it’s perfect.
 
2. Add salt, shortening, and milk. Then add the first two cups of flour.

3. Add more flour a tablespoon or so at a time until the dough chases the spoon around the bowl. Then put the dough on a floured surface and knead, adding more flour as needed until the dough is soft and smooth (not sticky. If it’s still sticky, add more flour).

The amount of flour you need to make bread can vary, even if you’ve made it before in the same place during the same season of the year. So many factors affect bread, like the weather, room temperature, etc., so don’t get set on the same amount of flour. Don’t be afraid to add more or use less- go by the texture of the dough. If it’s smooth, you’re done. You don’t need any more flour. If it’s still sticky, keep adding, even if you’ve already used the 3 cups. That’s why it says, “Roughly.”

4. Put dough ball in a clean, greased bowl. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour (or until dough has doubled in size).

Sometimes a warm place is hard to find. If it won’t double your gas/electricity bill, let your oven start preheating to 350 and let your bread sit near it (not on top of the oven. It will start to cook parts of your dough. No good.), and then you can always guarantee good warmth. And, if it’s a cold day, your kitchen will be the place to be!

5. Punch dough down, and then move dough to a greased bread pan. Cover and let rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes (until bread fills up the pan).

If you let your bread rise a little longer than these times, it won’t hurt your bread. I’ve left it for an hour and a half instead of 30 min (I didn’t leave my oven on) and it was fine. Some people like to make the dough the night before and leave it overnight (it does get huge though, so make sure you don’t cover it with a plate or your plate will end up on the ground. In my case, broken.) so they can have fresh bread in the morning. Whatever works for you. Experiment, see what works best.
I also have only used DARK bread pans. Sometimes, you need to vary your cooking time if you use glass pans, and as far as I know, it takes longer with a glass pan, roughly 45 minutes total. Make sure you watch the bread during the last 15 minutes.

6. Score the top of the bread- make 3 slashes across the top.

7. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Let it cool in a clean dish towel (this also keeps it warm for longer). Try not to eat the whole loaf by yourself.