Rosematic

Rosemary Focaccia

OK, the word ‘Rosematic’ is currently not in the dictionary. Of course not, I made it up. My neighbor friend has a rosemary plant and I sent my husband to collect some for focaccia. You see the dramatic aroma and flavor enhancing power that rosemary plants add?  I don’t want to brag but I am hardly able to do multitasking yet I desired to have bread for last week’s watermelon soup at the same time. I saw hundreds of focaccia recipes on other food blogger sites, but simultaneously taking the process pictures of two dishes creates chaos. Easing the confusion by making in the bread maker is way to go..

Focaccia

Equipment: bread maker, rimmed cooking sheet 12-1/4 in by 8-3/4 in, or two 9 inch round cake pans, parchment paper to fit bottom of pan(s), pastry brush

• Bread flour or all-purpose flour 4 and 1/4 cup
• Yeast 1 Tablespoon
• Sugar 2 Tablespoons
• Salt 2 teaspoons
• Olive oil 1/4 cup plus more for brushing later, 2-3Tablespoons 
• Cold water 350ml (approx. 1-1/2 cup)
• Fresh rosemary 2-3 stems, snip, roughly chopped leaf parts only
• Coarse sea salt (sea salt flakes if you have it) about 1 teaspoon

1. Put flour in the bread maker pan. Make well in the center of flour and bury the yeast there.
2. Add rest of ingredients except coarse sea salt. Select ‘dough’(raise once) menu then start
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3. Place dough on the prepared cooking sheet. Punch down the dough then cover with plastic paper and let the dough rest for 10 minutes.
4. Stretch the dough to fit in the pan. Make depressions with your finger. Brush all over the top with olive oil. Sprinkle with sea salt. Scatter some rosemary leaves on top if desired.
   
5. Cover with plastic paper or moist towel. Raise for 40 minutes.
6. Heat oven to 380F. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes.Serve with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Buon Appetito!

I took some focaccia to neighbor as a way to say “thank you”. She liked it but told me that she prefers more robust Rosematic, I mean rosemary flavor.

Around the neighborhood… Our neighborhood gets high ‘walkability’ scores. A stroll through the neighborhood on a pleasant evening is a blessing.Here birdy, here birdy!. Here kitty, here kitty…This cat is not overly friendly but stayed put until we took the picture – this is the cat’s good side.In our old house we had this mysterious plant. It grew taller than this. Aren’t the leaves huge?Molly, Molly? She was pre-occupied with other dog.Simply gorgeous dahlia in bloom!

Fellow food bloggers are often inspiring and far- reaching too because of their greatness. I tried this recipe from uTry it, her photos are way better…so awestruck.Watermelon Raspberry Lemonade from Gourmand in the Kitchen.

It was so nice of my friend to stop by with the berry- jello-mousse she made. I dressed it up for a photo shoot. Abundance of fruits in season, one of many reasons I like Summer.

We helped with our 16 year-old neighbor’s Eagle Scout project –making three picnic tables - last Saturday. Nice looking finished projects if only I hadn’t forgot to take pictures.

My husband is still playing with new camera feature- minatureing (this is not a word either. I’m so not good with the game of Scrabble). Hey those cars look like toys!