0 HEART-SHAPED

Please bear with me! I can't blog much today, but, on Wednesday, I will post a gorgeous American recipe for a terribly scrumptious bar...Pardonnez mon absence et soyez patients avec moi! Aujourd'hui, je ne peux pas écrire trop, mais je vous promets que mercredi vous aurez droit à une recette divine (carrés) made in USA...

As a compensation, please accept those heart-shaped plum photographs (click on the pictures to enlarge). Comme dédommagement, je vous offre ces photos (clickez sur la photo pour agrandir) de prune en forme de coeur.

0 LAVASH CRACKERS - THE DARING BAKERS

A year has passed since I joined "The Daring Bakers" and I really have to pinch myself to believe that it's true and that it's not just merely a dream. It's incredible how fast time tends to pass when you enjoy something!

Once again, the recipe which was proposed this month had everything to please me. It was savory, bread/yeast-oriented and versatile. September's challenge left us with much freedom and was also very easy to accomplish. Awesomely pleasant and not stressful at all. What more could you ask for, heh?...

Peter Reinhart's crackly "Lavash Crackers" are the absolute starter food and can be served at any occasion. They are not tricky to prepare nor do they keep you in the kitchen for hours. Those little nibblies can be seasoned with a wide array of sprinkles or pastes (seeds, herbs, spices, spice mixes, etc...) and are the perfect accompaniment to any kind of dips, relishes, chutneys, salsas, sauces, terrines, pates, hors d'oeuvres or cheeses.

Those dry biscuits are wonderfully crispy, toasty, highly satisfying, delightfully bready- as well as nutty-tasting, colorful and flavorful. A great and healthy way to start an evening of feasting without busting the calorie count, but without losing the sense of pleasure!

I really want to thank Shellyfish at "Musings From The Fishbowl" (France) - make sure to ckeck her wonderful site - for having chosen that gorgeous recipe and for introducing us to the world of vegan food and alternative eating!

~ Lavash Crackers ~
Recipe by Peter Reinhart "The Bread Baker's Apprentice".

Makes 1 sheet pan of crackers.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 Cups (6.75 oz/202.5g) Unbleached bread flour
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/2 Tsp Instant/dried yeast
1 Tbs Sugar
1 Tbs Vegetable oil
1/3 to 1/2 Cup + 2 Tbs (90g/ml to 120g/ml) Water, at room temperature
The toppings of your choice (I used za'atar)

Method:
1. In a mixing bowl, stir together the flour, salt yeast, sugar, oil, and just enough water to bring everything together into a ball.
2. Sprinkle some flour on the counter and transfer the dough to the counter. Knead for about 10 minutes, or until the ingredients are evenly distributed.
3. Lightly oil a bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it around to coat it with oil.
4. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and ferment at room temperature for 90 minutes, or until the dough doubles in size.
5. Mist the counter lightly with spray oil and transfer the dough to the counter. Press the dough into a square with your hand and dust the top of the dough lightly with flour.
6. Roll it out with a rolling pin into a paper thin sheet about 38cm by 31cm (15 inches by 12 inches).
7. When it is the desired thinness, let the dough relax for 5 minutes.
8. Line a sheet pan with baking parchment.
9. Carefully lift the sheet of dough and lay it on the parchment. If it overlaps the edge of the pan, snip off the excess with scissors.

Remarks:
You may not need the full 1/2 cup + 2 Tb of water, but be prepared to use it all if needed.
The dough should pass the windowpane test (see this link for a discription of this) and register 25° to 27° C (77°to 81° F).
The dough should be firmer than French bread dough, but not quite as firm as bagel dough (what I call medium-firm dough), satiny to the touch, not tacky, and supple enough to stretch when pulled.
You can also retard the dough overnight in the refrigerator immediately after kneading or mixing.
While rolling the dough, you may have to stop from time to time so that the gluten can relax. At these times, lift the dough from the counter and wave it a little, and then lay it back down. Cover it with a towel or plastic wrap while it relaxes.

Serving suggestions:
Serve with the dip(s), cheese(s), pate(s), spread(s) or toppings of your choice (tomatoes, onions, fish, dried meat, etc...).

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~ Roasted Bell Pepper & Refried Bean Dip ~
Recipe by Rosa @ Rosa's Yummy Yums 2008.

Yields 1 bowl.

Ingredients:
2 Bell peppers, oven roasted (at the highest temperature) until well-roasted/burnt, then peeled
5 Tbs Refried beans (vegan/see my recipe)
2 Cloves garlic
1 Tbs Mushroom-flavored soy
1 Tbs Olive oil
1 Tsp Red Tabasco sauce
1 Tsp Ketchup
1/2 Tsp vinegar
1/2 Tsp Pimentòn or Hungarian smoked paprika)
1/2 Tsp Ground cumin
1/2 Tsp Onion powder
1/2 Tsp Dried oregano
1/2 Tsp Sea salt
Ground black pepper, to taste

Method:
1. Put all the ingredients in a mixer and blend until it ressembles a homogenous puree.

Etant donné la longueur du texte original, je n'ai malheureusement pas pu faire une traduction française de ce billet et je m'en excuse auprès de tous mes amis lecteurs et blogueurs francophones!

C'est pourquoi je vous suggère de vous rendre sur les blogs mentionnés ci-dessous. Vous y trouverez cette recette en version française.

Chez Anne de "A Foody Froggy In Paris" (France).
Chez Isa de "Les gourmandises d'Isa" (Canada).
Chez Vibi de "La Casserole Carrée" (Canada).

0 THE FIRST HINTS OF AUTUMN

Last week, when I went out for a walk, I found that nature had changed a lot since the crisp bise air had settled again...

The trees are no longer verdoyant green, but have that brownish-green color that is so particular here, in September. Yes, fall has arrived through the big door and there's no need to trick ourselves into believing that summer's not quite finished!

0 HAMBURGER BUNS - PAINS A HAMBURGERS

Two years ago, I posted one of my favorite bread recipes on this blog. At this time, I had a hilariously cheap camera, no particular photographic skills and blogged only in English... Il y a deux ans de cela, j'ai publié une de mes recettes de pain préférées sur ce blog. A cette époque, j'avais un appareil photo plus que bon marché, je n'était pas une photographe expérimentée ni talentueuse et je ne bloguais qu'en anglais.

Since then, many months have passed and things have changed. I have now switched on to a reflex camera on the level of my small budget (Nikon D40), I take better pictures (at least, I hope...) and I now translate all my recipes to French (a titanic job). Depuis, pas mal de mois ont passé et beaucoup de choses ont changé. Maintenant, j'ai un appareil reflex en phase avec mon budget limité (Nikon D40), je prends de meilleures photos (enfin, c'est ce que j'espère...) et je traduis toutes mes recettes en français (un travail de titan).

Today, my aim is to make you rediscover one of my baking classics: The King Arthur Flour's (KAF) "Hamburger Buns" . On this occasion, I have eliminated the old pictures from my old post, replaced them by new ones and added a French version. Aujourd'hui, mon but est de vous faire découvrir un de mes classiques en boulangerie: les "Pains A Hamburger" de The King Arthur Flour (KAF). A cette occasion, J'ai enlevé toutes les veilles et moches photos de mon ancien billet, je les ai remplacées par de nouvelles images et j'ai traduit ma recette dans la langue de Molière.

Those "Hamburger Buns" are some of the best I've come to eat. They look like real "Burger Buns", but taste a whole lot better than any bought plastic version and they are damn easy to make. It is impossible not to madly fall in love with those fantastic buns, so I hope you'll like this recipe as much as me! Ces "Pains A Hamburger" sont parmis les meilleurs qu'il m'ait été donné de goûter. Ils sont beaux, tels de vrais Burger Buns, mais leur saveur est supérieure à celle des pains plastiques du commerce et, de plus, ils sont si faciles à faire. C'est vraiment impossible de ne pas tomber amoureux de ces merveilleux "buns", alors j'espère que cette recette vous plaira!

Follow that link for the complete post: see here. Pour voir la recette, cliquez ici.

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"This is the second time I have made these hamburger rolls. F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S.... and so quick and easy. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.
Try these with Chicken or Shrimp Salad.. Wow."
~ Anonymous ~

"I made these buns this evening and they were great, way better than store bought. Thanks for sharing the recipe."
~ Amber at "Amber's Kitchen" ~

0 AWARDS & THANKS

Lately, I have felt a little overwhelmed by life. This has resulted in an overall feeling of tiredness and laziness that slightly affects my blogging (but not my love for this activity)...

It is for that reason, that, although I very much like receiving awards and enjoy doing memes, I have not really given any following to your friendly posts. All you people have been ever so kind to me and I can't thanks you enough for your sweet words regarding my blog. I am ever so grateful for each of your visits, comments and prizes. The interest you show to "Rosa's Yummy Yums" fills me up with endless joy and happiness! It means a lot to me!

Here are all the awards I got during the last weeks...

"I Love You this Much" award by Nazarine A at "Giddy Gastronome" (USA).

"Brilliante Weblog" award by Sandrine at "Miamm Maman Cuisine" (France) and Mouni at "RDV Aux Mignardises" (France).

"I Love your Blog" award by Bellini Valli at "More Than Burnt Toast" (Canada).

"Magic Lamp Of Luck" award by Swati at "Sawti's Sugarcraft" (India).

"Yummy Blog Award" by Hot Garlic at "Hot Garlic Press" (USA).

"Finest Foodis Friday" award (see post) by Jenn at "The Leftover Queen" (USA).

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Unfortunately, I will not pass along those awards to anybody in particular as there are too many blogs I enjoy and people I respect, but I want to salute all of those whom I visit regularly, my faithful readers and my worldwide blogger friends. You know who you are!