Food Porn

I know..I know... A lot of people are gonna get the wrong idea. But this is what my daughter calls photos of food. So sue her! I was instructed tonight to take a picture of the sammy I made. My husband's co-worker is really into bread baking. It's a hobby he picked up after returning from a stay in Europe when he so enjoyed "real bread" and then came here to Wonder Bread. I don't blame him a bit for making his own. I am a bread junkie too! I have been able to find several bakeries that make wonderful artisan type breads, so it is possible without going to a lot of fuss to get good bread in the US. One place that is terrific is Zingerman's in Ann Arbor. http://www.zingermans.com/ They do mail order and have gift baskets too. Costco also has some wonderful breads. I get some every few weeks for dipping in olive oil and herbs-along with some cheese. I don't like white bread so the darker the better. But I would still eat crunchy French bread if it's homemade.

So the other night this person-this Mark-this enabler-sends home with Ron a whole round loaf of bread. I had to hang my head because I knew I wanted to eat it all by myself. I am a bread junkie. I would open the bag and smell it several times and then resist and close it. Yesterday hubby sends me an email with the recipe. Well, at least it's healthy if I don't eat it all at once. It is a very heavy and dense multigrain bread with different seeds and grains. I decided to make some egg salad using Cajun mustard and low fat mayo and some diced garlic and peppers with smokey curry powder. This was a better idea than what my hubby had-one giant burger!! I sliced the bread horizontally in half and filled it with the egg salad and topped it with organic field greens. Then I cut it into serving wedges. For decoration, I topped with cubed Colby Jack cheese and Cajun gherkins.

I decided to serve the sammy with lentil eggplant soup because I knew the salad would be a bit spicy, so the blandness of the soup would even it out. I topped the soup with Creme Fraiche and a bit of fresh ground cinnamon. Served with some organic chips and fresh grapes for crunch and sweetness, it was a very filling supper on a cold night in Michigan .
Mark recommended the following book if anyone is interested in reading up on bread making. "Bread Alone". http://www.amazon.com/Bread-Alone-Fresh-Loaves-Hands/dp/0688092616 This book of recipes and bread lore is written by the owner of a Woodstock, New York bakery http://www.breadalone.com/. You can even tour the bakery if you are in the area-no reservations required.
If Mark wants to experiment and send me a loaf a week-or more-I will be willing to be his guinea pig. An addict will look at any excuse to have their drug of choice.

Mine just happens to be made from grain and nuts