Cardamon Bread

Photo credit: Larsen's Danish Bakery

 

I love this recipe for Cardamon Bread that I got from Sarah Perkins. It is easy to make and always satisfies! Unfortunately, I’ve become lazy. I live less than a mile away from a Scandinavian bakery that always has cardamon braids and rolls available. This is the same bakery that supplies our church with the breads on Julfest. I like the  braids sliced and slathered with butter and topped with a good cheddar cheese. Though some folks I know think mixing the savory and the sweet is a sin.

This year for Christmas I decided I would buy my cardamon bread. There were plenty of other things that I needed to make from scratch, I could cut corners and not make this. So, at mid-day on Christmas Eve I headed to Larsen’s Bakery "http://www.larsensbakery.com/index.php". The small store front was  packed A line of 30 or 40 people was snaking in front of the display case. Finally, 45 minutes after entering the store I walked out, two loaves of cardamon bread and one loaf of cinnamon bread in hand. 

The next day, as I began to prep the appetizers for the big Christmas dinner, I could not find the cardamon bread. Then I saw an empty bag under the china hutch and another under the table. I had forgotten to move the bread out of the reach of the dogs when we left for the house on Christmas Eve to watch a play at the Seattle Public Theater and consume our traditional Chinese dinner in Seattle’s International District. I had wondered why the dogs were a bit lethargic on Christmas Eve. Interestingly, they left the loaf of cinnamon bread untouched. I guess dogs can have discerning palates!
 
Swedish Cardamon Bread

1 cup milk
½ cup sugar
½ cup butter
½ tsp salt
6-8 cardamom pods, crushed
4 eggs
1 pkg yeast + 1 tsp sugar
5 cups flour
(set yeast in ½ cup hot water)

Scald milk, add butter. Cool to room temperature.

In mixer, beat eggs, add sugar, salt, cardamom, yeast, and milk mixture. Blend in flour and beat well.

Set aside to rise until doubled.

Shape into rolls or braids. Rise again until doubled.

Bake braids at 350F for 15-20 minutes. Bake rolls at 375F for 10-15 minutes.

FROSTING: (double it!)

2 cups powdered sugar
¼ cup butter, softened
2 Tbsp milk or cream
½ tsp almond extract

Lucy's Chicken Salad

We are a dog family.

Except for the first few years of marriage I can’t remember a time when I was without a dog.

Currently there are three four-footed critters in our house.  Doug is a 10 year old exceeding tricky and smart Portuguese Water Dog. Jack seven, also a Portuguese Water Dog, is not-so-smart and rather goofy. Then there is Lucy.  Udon's adopted Bichon Frise.  We think she is almost four. 
 
Lucy was a birthday present for my youngest daughter on her 12th birthday.  She’s the one that named her Lucy which has since morphed into Lucifer (or Lucy-fur).  Lately she has been sick.

The Vet said she has a bladder stone, common for her breed.  The bad news is that it is a BIG one.  The good news, it’s the kind that often can be treated with diet and LOTS of fluids, and antibiotics. Even then, she still might have to have surgery to remove the stone.  It’s that big.
 
We opted to try treating her with diet.  Sounds pretty easy…feed the special diet canned food designed to dissolve the stone, give her pills and make her drink lots of fluids.  It’s the drinking lots of fluids that is the problem.  So I’ve resorted to trickery.  I boiled up a package of chicken tenders and diluted the resulting broth with water.  She loves it. 

I’m left with a bunch of cooked chicken tenders.  I’m sure that Doug and Jack would love them but since I'm playing nursemaid to Lucy-fur, I decided that I would create something for me.    

Lucy’s Chicken Salad
1 package cooked chicken tenders- cut into small cubes
1 cup red grapes – cut about the size of the chicken cubes
1 small crispy, slightly tart, apple cut into cubes the size of the chicken and grapes
1 tablespoon fresh tarragon (or to taste)
1 tsp black pepper (or to taste)
1/3 cup Mayonnaise – enough to hold everything together  but not goopy with the stuff.
Mix it all together and serve on a leaf of big lettuce or as a sandwich filling.
I think it tastes better if the flavor of the tarragon has the opportunity to permeate the salad, about 30 minutes. 

cheryl