CONGRATULATIONS TO
JULIE STRONG!!!
I actually know Julie, she's a friend of my SIL, a South Carolina gal who now lives in Arizona...I think!? Julie, I'll email you to get your address and the book will be in the mail! You're going to love it!
I wish I could give you all a copy of Karon's book, but since I can't, go to her website and order one for yourself, you'll be SO glad you did!
Speaking of herbs...Tomato Bread, my new favorite food, is loaded with them. It's also red...from the tomatoes, and it's very similar to the recipe I posted last January, Italian Tomato Rolls, which were heavenly, but that recipe relied on Pizza Sauce for the flavor, not that there's anything wrong with Pizza Sauce but this Tomato Bread, well, it gets it's flavor from FIVE different herbs - herbs which I would might have grown myself IF I'd had Karon's book last spring!
This recipe makes two loaves of bread - two fragrant, aromatic loaves that you won't be able to leave alone! But IF there are any leftovers slices, they would make excellent croutons - just toss with a bit of olive oil and Parmesan cheese and toast! Oh who are we kidding, you'll make as many croutons as I did...ZERO...because there won't be ONE crumb of this bread left!
Tomato Bread - Adapted from Heartland, The Best of The Old And The New From Midwest Kitchens Cookbook by Marcia Adams (An excellent cookbook!)
2 cups tomato juice
1/2 cup canned tomato sauce
1 tablespoons olive oil
6 to 6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 packages active dry yeast
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon rosemary
1/4 teaspoon ground fennel
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 small garlic cloves, crushed
Lightly grease a large bowl and two 9x5-inch loaf pans with olive oil. Set aside. In a small saucepan, heat the tomato juice, sauce, and olive oil to 120 degrees. In large mixer bowl, combine 3 cups of the flour with the yeast and the remaining ingredients. Pour in the tomato mixture and beat thoroughly for 3 minutes. Gradually add the remaining 3 to 3 1/2 cups flour, mixing by hand, if necessary, until it holds together enough to turn out onto a floured surface. The dough is quite sticky and you may need to add a tad more flour, but don't add an excessive amount or you will have a dry bread.
Knead for about 5 minutes until the dough smooths out. Place the dough in the greased bowl, cover, and let it rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Punch the dough down, let it rest for 15 minutes, then shape into 2 loaves and place in prepared pans. Cover the pans and let the dough rise an additional 45 minutes or until doubled in size. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Bake the loaves for 10 minutes, reduce heat to 350 degrees, and bake 30 to 40 minutes more. The bread is done when the loaves sound hollow when thumped with your knuckle. Tip the loaves out immediately onto wire racks to cool. Makes two loaves...one to keep and one to give away...but if you MUST give one away, make sure whoever you give it to is worthy...or else when you've eaten your last slice you'll regret giving the other loaf away! And there is nothing worse than Tomato Bread Regrets!
"At the end of every diet, the path curves back toward the trough." ~ Mason Cooley