Herb and Onion Bread

When was the last time you baked bread?   What's that?  Can't quite remember?  Oh wait, you've never even tried to make bread?  I haven't baked bread in quite a while either.  It's not for the lack of desire, it's more like I just don't have the time.  Bread baking requires a day spent at home.  When I was a little girl snow days were bread baking days.  I have fond memories of walking into the house after a day of playing in the snow, to a warm kitchen filled with the aroma of freshly baked bread.

As a matter of fact, my mother only baked bread on snow days.  Maybe a snowstorm meant we wouldn't be getting our bread delivery that day.  Back then, we used to have bread delivered to the house. The Dugan's Bakery truck, a.k.a. the Dugan man would deliver baked goods to our neighborhood once a week.  I loved the Dugan man.  What's not to love?  A good looking man in a uniform would ring the doorbell bearing crumb cake, chocolate cupcakes and bread.  I think I had a crush on him.   I remember inviting him into our house after Christmas to show off my new toys.  Either he was truly a nice man and liked kids, or he feigned interest, a shrewd business move.  Be nice to the kids, and mom buys more.

The Dugan man is long gone, and most of the bread we eat today comes from the grocery store or an occasional bakery purchase.  But nothing can quite compare to a loaf of homemade bread.  I recently resurrected an old bread recipe I used to make.  The recipe comes from an almost 40 year old cookbook, The Vegetarian Epicure, that I've had since my Santa Cruz days.  It's not your typical bread recipe.  From start to finish it takes less than 2 1/2 hours to make, and most of it is rising and baking time.  It goes perfectly with a piping hot bowl of soup.  A turkey sandwich made on this bread tastes just like Thanksgiving.  Give it a try.  It's quick. It's easy. It's delicious.  Start it late in the day while you are making dinner and serve it warm.  If you're a newbie to bread making, its a great place to start.  I used my Kitchen Aid Mixer, but you can easily mix this by hand.

Hurricanes, Earthquakes and Avocado Shrimp Salad

It's been a crazy week here in NY.  Last week started out with an earthquake and ended with a hurricane.  By the grace of God, my immediate neighborhood escaped the hurricane unscathed.  When I ventured out after the storm, I was shocked to see the damage just a few blocks away; fallen trees and branches that crushed roofs of houses and cars, sidewalks damaged by uprooted trees and downed wires leaving homes and businesses without electricity.  Closer to the water, people were pumping out their basements, and in some cases,  main floors of their homes.  But in the grand scheme of things, it could have been a lot worse, a whole lot worse, and I am thankful for having escaped the wrath of Mother Nature.

The earthquake was a real shocker.  It had been many years since I'd felt the earth move like that.  When I lived in Santa Cruz I experienced my share of quakes, so I immediately recognized that familiar "wave-like" motion of my office chair.  I felt that quick rush of adrenaline that only an earthquake brings.  The earthquake was the topic of conversation for the next few days (until we learned that a hurricane was headed our way) and made me think a lot about Santa Cruz.  I was long gone from Santa Cruz when the Loma Prieta earthquake hit in 1989.  That earthquake destroyed several buildings downtown in the Pacific Garden Mall, one of which was The Cooper House.  It broke my heart to learn that the beautiful old building that was once a courthouse and withstood the 1901 earthquake was damaged beyond repair.  The Cooper House was the heart of downtown.  In the 1960's it was converted to house shops and eateries, my favorite was the Cooper House Cafe.  I spent many days basking in the sun at this outdoor cafe, sipping wine, listening the sounds of  Warmth, the jazz band that played there for years, and watching the pajama people.  Pajama people is the name we affectionately gave to the regulars who danced on the sidewalk, swaying to the jazzy sounds of Warmth, oblivious to the world around them.  They were one with the music.  They would occasionally ensnare an unsuspecting tourist into their web of dance.  Some people got into it, others would squirm away in disgust.  It was my favorite place to people watch.  And yes, they looked like they were wearing their pajamas.  They dressed like colorfully mismatched Hare Krishnas.

So you are probably wondering what this has to do with avocado shrimp salad.  When I had some extra money, (I was young and poor back then, except on payday) and I wanted to be extra nice to myself,  I would splurge and get an avocado stuffed with shrimp to go along with my wine.  I think that was the only thing I ever ordered at Cooper House, but it was all I needed.  Shrimp and avocado are such a natural combination.  Now my favorite way to make shrimp salad is with diced avocado.  I add citrus and a relatively small amount of mayo.   A ripe Haas avocado seems to melt when combined with the citrus and makes a creamy dressing that is so much better than the run of the mill mayo shrimp salad.