Oatmeal Sandwich Bread and Avocado Toast

Don't ya just love it when you find a good recipe on the side of a box or bag? This recipe for Oatmeal Sandwich Bread comes from the side of a bag of King Arthur Flour Bread Flour.  I am a firm believer in using good quality ingredients when baking, and I only use King Arthur Flour.  It is not much more expensive than Gold Medal or Pillsbury, but it is more consistent in results and recognizably higher quality.  It goes on sale a few times a year at our local grocery store for $2.50 a bag and I stock up on the bread flour and white whole wheat.  I buy the 10 pound bags of all purpose flour at BJ's, which is always a good price since you are purchasing in bulk. 

Anyways, back to the recipe.  This bread was easy to make, but it does have two rising periods, so plan accordingly.  The oats give it a nice whole grain touch, and the honey adds a bit of sweetness.

It was a yummy afternoon snack that day, and an amazing lunch the next day with smeared avocado on it.  Delicious.  Let's get started!

Oatmeal Sandwich Bread

recipe from King Arthur Flour

Ingredients:

3 cups King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour
1 cup rolled oats (old-fashioned oats)
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons instant yeast OR 1 packet active dry yeast
1 1/4 cups lukewarm milk

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl, or in the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the lukewarm milk and yeast.

Hello Mr. Honey Bear...

Add the honey to the mixture and let it sit and bubble for a couple minutes to make sure your yeast is active and good.

Next add your old-fashioned rolled oats...

 And the salt.

Next, add the butter.  If it is not at room temperature, you might want to slightly soften it in the microwave.

 Lastly, add the flour.

Mix the ingredients together to form a shaggy dough.  Knead by hand for 10 minutes OR by mixer for 5 minutes until it is fairly smooth.

Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl and cover loosely with plastic wrap.

Allow the dough to rise for 1 hour. It will become quite puffy, although it may not double in bulk.

 Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled surface and roll into a long rectangle.

Start from the end closest to you and roll up, jelly roll style.

Keep rolling, pinching the seams tightly together in between each roll.

 Pinch the final seam shut and roll on the counter until the seam disappears.

 Please the log in a lightly greased bread loaf pan.

Cover the pan lightly with greased plastic wrap, and allow the dough to rise for 60 to 90 minutes, until it is crested 1" over the rim of the pan.

Preheat over to 350 degrees and bake for 35 minutes.  If the bread appears to be browning too quickly, tent with aluminum foil for the last 10 minutes of baking.

Brush the top of the warm bread with butter and cool for about 10 minutes before removing from the pan.

Let the bread cool completely before slicing.

 Now this bread is pretty good with some butter or honey drizzled over it, or sliced thinly for sandwiches...

but it is DIVINE with some creamy peppery avocado spread.  I saw this post on literally, a spoonful and knew this bread was perfect.  It is pretty simple to make - drizzle some olive oil on a piece of your oatmeal sandwich bread and toast it.  Mash up an avocado with a little lemon juice, salt and pepper and spread on your toasted bread.  Sprinkle with a little crushed red pepper flakes and you have re-created a Cafe Gitane delight.

Enjoy!

Baked Teriyaki Salmon

Have we had the fish conversation before?  I think so.  I really love fish, but don't prepare it often at home, BUT I am getting over my fear of buying and making fish.  Remember, fish should NOT smell fishy. If it does, it isn't fresh.  I embarrass my husband when we go to the grocery store and I ask the fishmonger (you know, the guy who works behind the seafood counter) what is the freshest fish they have and if I can smell it.  They always smile and let me take a sniff.  If it smells strong or fishy, I don't buy it.  Really.  Usually it is fine, and I always buy it on the day I am making it so it is the freshest.  It is a nice change from chicken, beef and pasta so I am trying new fish recipes this year. 

This particular Baked Teriyaki Salmon from Tammy's Recipes was delicious.  So delicious that I made it twice in one week.  Everyone loved it and this will be my "go to" salmon recipe for the colder months when we don't grill (salmon on the grill is awesome, but not always feasible for us New Englanders, unless you are my father-in-law, but I digress).

Baked Teriyaki Salmon

recipe from Tammy's Recipes 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds fresh or frozen salmon fillets
1/2 cup teriyaki sauce (recipe to make your own here)
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 clove minced garlic (or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder)
2 tablespoons finely chopped onion (or 1/2 teaspoon onion powder)
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
Dash of crushed red pepper flakes, optional
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
2 teaspoons brown sugar, divided

Directions:

In a large measuring cup combine the teriyaki sauce, oil, garlic, onion, pepper, red pepper (if using), one teaspoon of brown sugar, and sesame seeds.  

I bought one big piece of salmon, so I needed to slice it into fillets.  You can buy it already sliced, or ask the fishmonger to slice it for you.  Place the salmon fillets in a gallon size ziplock bag, in a single layer.

Pour the marinade into the bag, over the salmon. Remove excess air from bag, seal, and make sure fillets are covered on both sides in the marinade. Put salmon in the fridge to marinate for a few hours.

When you're ready to cook the salmon, remove the fillets from the bag and place them in a shallow baking dish (I used a 9x13 pyrex glass dish) in a single layer (skin side down if the salmon has skin). Pour 1/4 cup of the marinade over the fillets, and sprinkle the other teaspoon of brown sugar over the tops.

Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, or until salmon flakes with a fork (145 degrees internal temperature). Don't bake too long, or salmon will be dry!  I turned on the broiler for the last minute to get the brown sugar caramelized and the excess liquid absorbed.

Serve with rice and steamed vegetables.  We love edamame in our house.

Doesn't that look tasty?  It was full of flavor and cooked perfectly.

The salmon should flake easily with a fork, and be pale pink in color.  My 6 year old loved this salmon and told me the brown sugar sprinkled on the top make it delicious. 
Enjoy!

Make Your Own Fort Kit!

I am so excited to share this Fort Kit post with you.  Seriously.  I think this is one of the best things I have ever made.  It is an awesome gift for any kid - boy or girl and it was a blast to put together.  I made this particular Fort Kit for a birthday gift for one of Jack's little buddies.  I think I was just as excited to make this for him as he was to get it!!  The idea, instructions and inspiration for this "make your own fort kit"come from two different sites - Saltwater Kids and Armommy.  I put my own twist on this fort kit, and made my own tags (I'm sharing - here is the link to print your own tags!).

I made the tags in Microsoft Word using shapes and clip art.  Print the tags on card stock paper on a good quality printer (you may want to pay to print this file at an office supply store if you don't have access to a good quality laser printer). It was fun to make these tags and really gives a professional look to your finished kit.

This fort kit includes:  two flat sheets (with loop ties), rope, mini claps, clothespins, flashlight and a reusable drawstring bag to store it all.

The flashlight and clothespins came from the dollar store (I put my own batteries in the flashlight so it was ready to use).  The mini clamps and rope came from Home Depot.

These mini claps are awesome for little hands, and a bit sturdier for keeping your fort in place.

I cut the rope into 18 inch pieces so it would be a good size for tying down the corners.  Make sure you burn the edges of the rope to keep it from fraying.

Wooden clothespins make great reinforcements too.

Every little kid need a flashlight to use when hanging out in a fort.

These flat sheets have loops sewn on each corner and in the middle of the long edges, and the very center of the sheet to help make a peak.

I bought two inexpensive twin size flat sheets at Walmart for this kit.  Since they were for a gift, I wanted to use new sheets.  But I am working on another fort kit for my boys using old sheets we already had at home.

For the loops I used this heavy ribbon that I bought at Joanns. You need 7 ties for each sheet (14 total for both sheets).  I cut my ribbon into 10 inch strips for the loops.

You should use fray check on both ends of each ribbon to prevent fraying.

Loop a ribbon like shown above and pin on the very edge of a corner on the back side of the sheet.

Sew the ribbon straight across and back about 3 or 4 times.  Then sew an X under the line you just sewed to secure each side.  I went back and forth over my stitches on each line at least 3 or 4 times to really secure it.

 Can you see the line and the X right under?

Flip it over and you can see the sewn lines a little better.  Hopefully this shows you what I mean. Continue with each corner of the sheet, and in the middle of of the long sides of the sheet.  Now you should have 6 loops total sewn on.

Flip the sheet over to the front side and find the center. Make another loop and pin and sew in the very center of the sheet.  This will give the kids a spot to make a "peak" for the fort when they are building it.  This is the only loop that is sewn on the top of the sheet (the rest are sewn on the back side).

Here is a view of the entire sheet, with the six loops around the edges and the one loop in the very center.  Complete the second flat sheet the same way as the first.

Fold your sheets so all the loops are on the corners.

 Stack your fort building supplies on top of the folded sheets.

 Place the sheets and supplies inside your bag to complete your kit.

I made a lined drawstring bag to store my kit.  I used this tutorial here to make the bag, but had to adjust the size so it would fit everything.  It took a little math to get it right but I am pretty happy with how it came out. I used the same rope from the kit for the drawstring on the bag to tie it all together.

I loved making and giving this Fort Kit.  My boys were excited about each thing in this kit, begging me to make one for them, so I knew Jack's little buddy would like it too.  Homemade gifts really are the best.  It is fun to personalize a homemade gift using colors, fabrics or patterns that you know the receiver will like. I didn't get too detailed in the instructions, so please email me if you have any questions and need help!

Happy Fort Making (and building)!
Here is the link again for the tags - For personal use only.  Thanks!