Yeast-raised Spinach Bread

Just in time for St. Patrrick's day, a bread I made last year for my grandson's birthday dinner. He had asked for his favorite take out, from Pho Thai, a Vietnamese restaurant here in town that has wonderful pho and lots of other dishes we all love.

That was the main part of the meal, along with one of his mother's typically spectacular cakes, and I would be bringing someting to honor the Irish part of the holiday.

I have never been a fan of soda bread, and I thought of green cole slaw (my favorite cole slaw found here, https://frugalfastfun.blogspot.com/2012/08/non-creamy-cole-slaw.html
with spinach chopped in to turn it much more emerald green). But then, knowing that my grandsons all are great fans of homemade yeast bread, I decided to try out making a spinach bread, and it was readily consumed--real fusion cooking I guess.

Now, a year later, who knew what changes we'd be seeing with that restaurant and so many more closed and Sorren's birthday party postponed for who know how long. So if you are confined to the kitchen and want to try out something different and, yes, a day late, something for this "luck o' the Irish" day seemed appropriate. Maybe it's something you could make for April Fool's Day too if you like to do some fun menus on that day too. Who knows, by then we may well have advanced cases of cabin fever and will long or some fun.

Oh, and the nice thing about this is that it really tastes good!


Note that the amount of spinach is given in ounces. As with almost any yeast bread, there is a lot of "forgiveness" in what you include, if you are trying to be precise in measurements, trying to get an exact number of cups of fresh spinach is almost impossible. How much do you pack it down? Do you measure it before or after chopping? Are you using baby spinach or a bunch of "garden spinach?"

Spinach Bread

10 oz. fresh spinach (i(See NOTE for substituting frozen chopped spinach)
2 cups water
1/3 cup oil
1/3 cup sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 to1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
1 tablespoon dry yeast (one packet)
1 finely chopped jalapeno pepper (optional)
1/2 cup diced orange bell pepper (optional)
1 cup oatmeal
approximately 5 to 6 cups all purpose or bread flour

1.  Heat the water until almost boiling--about 2 to 3 minutes in the microwave. Put the spinach in the bowl of a processor with the chopping blade along with the oil, sugar, garlic powder, and black pepper.

2.  Pour the hot water over the spinach mixture and process until the spinach is finely and evenly chopped.

3.  Unless you have a very large processor, you will need to pour the spinach mixture into a large mixing bowl. Add the oatmeal, the chopped peppers, and about 1 cup of flour. Stir well. When the mixture has cooled to lukewarm, stir in the yeast and then another cup or so of flour; Beat well and set aside tp raise for about an hour, until bubbly and almost doubled.

4.  Stir in more flour a cup at a time, until the dough is firm enough to knead. Then turn out on to a floured board or counter and knead for a few minutes until satiny.

Place back in the bowl and oil lightly and cover with a floured towel. Put in a warm place for an hour or so until doubled in bulk.*

5.  Divide the dough into two or three evenly sized portions, and shape into loaf shapes. Place the loaves on oiled baking sheets and slash the tops lightly. Set aside to raise another 40 minutes or so, until again doubled.

6.  Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 20 to 25 minutes, until the tops is a deep golden brown. You can also lift a loaf off the sheet and check to be sure that the bottom is also well-browned. Remove the loaves from the oven and place on cooling racks. While still very hot, brush with butter.
* If desired, you can "punch down" the dough one or two times and allow to raise until doubled again each time. In this way, the bread can meet your schedule rather than its own!

Million Dollar Cookies

When I was a child, this was a fairly common cookie at our house. As we stirred up this dough and rolled it into long snakes, I always asked my mother why they were called "Million Dollar" cookies, and she always told me she didn't know, they just were. Maybe because of their coin shape? Maybe because the recipe was so large that it seemed to make millions? Whatever the real reason, Mom would say, well, maybe it's because they taste like a million dollars.

As an adult, I still have wondered about the name. Searching the internet for "Million Dollar Cookies" was not helpful either. There were links to many recipes, but every one of them was different, both from Grandma Stirmel's cookies and from each other. About the only similarity was the round shape starting with a generally basic sugar cookie. Some had oatmeal, some had nuts or raisins or chocolate chips. None were "icebox cookies," instead either rolled in small balls (sometimes flattened before baking, sometimes not) or made as a drop cookie.

So I didn't find an origin story, but our family's history with the cookie comes from my father's mother, and it is preserved on this page of this very old (1936) Brick Church Cookbook.

As can be seen by the spots and stains, this page was apparently used often. My mother said, you can always tell which recipes are most used in a cookbook by just looking at where it is most soiled.

Now, as I prepare to make my slightly updated version, let me first include Grandma's original, as seen in the photo.

Million Dollar Cookies

1/2 cup buttter
1/2 cup other shortening
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 small eggs
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon soda dissolved in a litte [sic] hot water
3 cups flour
1 cup chopped nuts

Line a bread tin with waxed paper.l Press mixture into pan, chill thoroughly. Let stand over night. Slice and bake.

21st Century Million Dollar Cookies

I have made few changes to that old recipe, but the following does provide more detailed instructions. I have also added chocolate chips because, well, because chocolate I guess! Still, you can omit them if you like.

In these photos, I show the one inch diameter cookies, made at Christmas time in the smaller suggested size because that works better when putting these along side the many other kinds of cookies and homemade candies on those tempting trays of goodies. This smaller size could also work if you are trying to limit sweet snacks, for yourself or for small children.

1/2 cup buttter
1/2 cup margarine (OR all butter)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 large egg
1/2 to 1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking soda 
3 cups flour
1 t cinnamon
1 cup chopped nuts
1 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips, or regular sized chips, chopped

1.  Cream together the butter, margarine, and sugars. Stir in the egg and vanilla and beat until well mixed and a little fluffly.

2.  Sift together the flour, cinnamon, and baking soda (or stir together well in a secondd mixing bowl) and add to the butter mixture. When the flour is completely incorporated into the butter, stir in the nuts and chocolate chips.

3.  Shape into rolls about 1 to 2 inches in diameter. The smaller size works well for Christmas cookies, while tthe larger rolls will be good for "everyday." I usually make two or three rolls, as they are easier to handle than one very long roll.

4.  Wrap each roll in waxed paper and chill for several hours or more. The dough may also be wrapped tightly (plastic wrap, not just waxed paper) and frozen.




5.  When ready to bake, slice the dough about 1/4 inch thick and place the cookies on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 400 for about 8 to 10 minutes--perhaps a little longer if frozen.