Drying Fresh Herbs

Your tip for March 21, 2006 - DRYING FRESH HERBS

When you buy a bunch of fresh, sturdy herbs like rosemary, thyme,oregano or sage and need only a bit, here's how to save the rest: Wrap kitchen twine around the stems, creating a loop.

Hang the bunch, upside down, in a cool, dry place. Most herbs will take from four to10 days to dry. Once they're crisp, pick leaves from stems and place in a tightly sealed jar. Label and date the jar. Store in a cool, dark place; dried herbs will keep for about six months.

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National French Bread Day - March 21st

did you know???
March 21st is National French Bread Day
here's a recipe to help you celebrate... ENJOY!!!

Classic French Bread

Choose this crusty, chewy bread to serve with soup, stew, or pasta. To give it an Italian flair, add 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese and ½ teaspoon garlic powder with the flour. Of course, this is optional. Enjoy!

1 pound loaf
Ingredients

3/4 cup water
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 cups bread flour1
1/2 teaspoons bread machine yeast
Cornmeal
Vegetable oil
1 white from large egg
1 tablespoon water

1 1/2 pound loaf
Ingredients

1 1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 1/2 cups bread flour
2 teaspoons bread machine yeast
Cornmeal
Vegetable oil
1 white from large egg
1 tablespoon water

Add ¾ cup [1¼ cups] water, salt, bread flour, and yeast to bread machine pan in the order suggested by manufacturer. Select dough/manual cycle.

When cycle is complete, remove dough from machine to a lightly floured surface. If necessary, knead in enough flur to make dough easy to handle.

Roll dough into a 15x10 inch rectangle. [For 1½ pound recipe, devide dough in half and roll each half into a 10x8 inch rectangle.]

Beginning at long end, roll up tightly as you do for a jelly roll. Pinch the seams and ends to seal. Taper ends by gently rolling back and forth.

Place each loaf, seam side down, on a greased baking or cookie sheet sprinkled with cornmeal. Lightly brush each loaf with the vegetable oil.

Cover and let rise in warm, draft-free place until almost doubled in size, about 10 to 15 minutes.
With a sharp knife, make 3 or 4 diagonal cuts about ¼ inch deep accross the top of each loaf.

Lightly beat egg white and 1 tablespoon water; brush some of the egg-white mixture over top of each loaf. This will give it the traditional 'shine' on the Classic French Bread(s).

Bake at 375°F for 20 minutes. Brush again with remaining egg white mixture. Bake 5 tp 10 minutes more or until done--bread should sound hollow when tapped. (For even browning when baking two loaves, switch positions of sheets halfway through baking). Remove the bread(s) from the sheet(s); cool on wire rack.


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National Ravioli Day - March 20th

did you know???
March 20th is National Ravioli Day

here's a recipe to help you celebrate... ENJOY!!

Turkey Ravioli

Ingredients:

1 (16 ounce) package Seasoned Lean Turkey Sausage, Sweet or Hot Italian Style, cut into ½-inch rounds
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 cups chunky-style jarred spaghetti sauce
1/3 cup water
1 (9 ounce) package fresh or frozen cheese ravioli
1 egg, beaten
1 (15 ounce) carton ricotta cheese
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained and squeezed dry

Directions:

In a 12-inch skillet, cook sausage in oil over medium-high heat until cooked through.

Place on paper towels. Wipe any excess oil out of skillet and place pan back on heat.
Add spaghetti sauce and water and bring to boil. Stir in ravioli.
Cover and cook over medium heat for 3 minutes. Put sausage back in pan.

In medium bowl, combine egg, ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese and spinach. Add dollop of ricotta mixture to ravioli. Cover and cook over medium-low for 10 minutes until ricotta layer is set and pasta is tender.

Serves 4-6

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