Monday, May 7, 2007

Eight a.m. phonecall - Yes!

I bought some cheddar the other day and, not having any pickle in this country, I've decided to try apple butter as a replacement. You may have guessed, if you are wonderful and righteous and an anglophile and I love you forever if you did, that I am in the mood for the perfect late spring meal: the ploughman's sandwich (or just the ploughman's to those in the know).

Mmmmmm, I am reminded of a large pub on a hot day in York, my cheddar to Dan's Cornish yarg, and I've been regretting not ordering the chef's daily choice cheese ever since. Pickled onion there was, and an apple. If only...

But, I was left with my cheese and apple butter (as well as some Spartan apples) without any bread and way too much flour. Thus, I decided to remedy the situation. This afternoon, I made some baps, or are they butties? No, wait, they're cobs. Dang nabbit, they're rolls. What? Not rolls? Sarny, stotty, what are those words you're speaking? The blasted thing is a roll. A ROLL! Do you hear me? Do you understand me? It is a roll, you English tomfoolers with the language of my ancestors. A roll.

Yes, I made rolls, using the last of my whole wheat flour, and they smell delicious, soon to be adorned with thick slices of cheddar cheese, slathered with apple butter, and devoured by one hungry and somewhat anglophilic American.

By the way, I rolled some cumin seeds into one of the rolls (hence why a roll is called a roll, Mr. Braithwaite). I don't know what it'll taste like, since I didn't use any ground cumin and all the seeds seemed to clump together, but it was an idea. Really, it was an ideal, because I'm trying to recapture a fleeting taste of a cumin gouda I had in Notts last spring that made me want to die from ecstasy. I don't think a roll will ever be as amazingly death-inducing and awe-inspiring as a slice of cheese, but it can at least be delicious. I'll let you know how my experiments with flavored breads go, just as soon as la Maquina Roja win the Club World Cup.*

Muhalo.

*You don't think I'd actually let an entire post go by during soccer season without mentioning the game I'm currently madly obsessed with?




******BREAKING NEWS FLASH UPDATE******

Although the Fire have yet to win the world, I ate one of the rolls and my, oh, my is it good! Not as sweet as my previous breads, I reduced the sugar because I didn't think it would go well with the cheese and apple butter (and I didn't want the sweetness of the bread overpowering the flavor of the filling). However, I increased the salt and it has made an exciting flavor. I guess you don't need to have sugar in bread for it to be delicious (which I already knew, else explain the French baguette). And with the nice little crust I put on these bad boys, they're practically pub quality (although even the heavy-food-eating English would be find the wholly whole wheat a bit daunting, i.m.h.h.h.h.h.h.o.).

No comments: