Dill Bread

Snowy days in my house meant hot chocolate, snow ice cream, and homemade dill bread.  We haven't had much in the way of snow around here this winter, but I still found myself craving our wonderful dill bread.  Moist and flavorful, it is the perfect bread to snack on all day long, sliced right off the loaf totally plain.  I've also found recently that it is exceptionally wonderful having a thick piece toasted and slathered with Earth Balance coconut spread and peach jam.  Needing only one short rise and no kneading, this is really the perfect bread.  

Thanks to Creative Commons; original image here.

Dill Bread

3 C white whole wheat flour

1 - 1 1/2 C white flour

3 T sugar

1 1/2 t salt

2 pkg active dry yeast (or 4 t)

1 T dill weed

1 C non-dairy milk

1 C water

1/4 C margarine

Mix 1 1/2 C whole wheat flour with rest of dry ingredients.

Add warmed liquids and margarine.  Beat on medium speed 2 minutes.

Add 1 C whole wheat flour and beat on high speed 2 minutes.  

Add enough flour to make real stiff batter, using up the whole wheat flour and then adding the white. (I ended up using a total of 4 1/4 C).

Let rise in a warm place until double in size, approximately 45-60 minutes.

Beat down for 1/2 minute.

Place in greased bread pan.  Bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes, until browned and sounds hollow when tapped.  Remove from pan immediately to cool on a drying rack.  

Stone Soup Noodles

Do you know the old story of stone soup?  It's a folktale in which travelers arrive in a village with nothing but an empty cooking pot, and the villagers do not want to share any bits of their food stores with which to make dinner.  So the travelers fill the pot with water, add a large stone, and place it over a fire to cook.  The villagers are curious what they're doing, and the travelers answer that they are making stone soup, but it could be even better with a few extra vegetables.  So the one villager gives them a few carrots, another villager thinks he could part with a few seasonings, another villager thinks "I don't need this one onion," and eventually, an amazing soup is born.

This is how I felt the other night making this noodle dish.  I didn't have the element of cooperation that the stone soup story entails, but I did have the idea of adding anything available and coming out with something amazing, so I am calling these my stone soup noodles.  I love what you can create by mixing and matching and seeing what comes together!

Stone Soup Noodles

1 T olive oil
2 T minced garlic
2 C snap peas
1/2 C black beans
1 pound tofu


3 T hoisin sauce
1/2 C onion dip (Tofutti sour cream plus package of onion soup mix - Yum!)
1 t chili oil
juice of 1/2 lemon
2 T rice vinegar
1/2 C nutritional yeast
1/2 C water

1/3 pound rice noodles, cooked

2 C spinach

1/2 C chopped olives

1. Heat olive oil in large saute pan.  When hot, add garlic and brown for 1 minute.  Add snap peas, and saute for a few minutes to allow to begin to soften.

2. Add beans and tofu and stir.  Then add all other sauce ingredients, from hoisin sauce through water, and mix well.  

3. Add rice noodles and mix well again.

4. Heat dish through and allow sauce ingredients to meld. 2-3 minutes before you are ready to serve, add spinach and olives and allow spinach to wilt.  

Serve and enjoy!

Serves 3-4.