Summer's Fresh Bounty Enjoyed - Smoked Chicken & Tomato with Basil Openface Sandwich

 My first full summer here in beautiful Wallowa Valley and the garden gods have been pretty good to me.

Our tomatoes are doing better than I had hoped, as the weather here can be rather unpredictable, but in spite of that I've been able to put up a batch of delicious pickled beets and roasted tomato salsa. I have a nice crop of Basil of different varieties, so pesto will be in the near future here. We are lucky to have a local grocery store that does smoked meats which is nice for those days when you want something simple and easy. The other day I had a craving for Italian something, anything, but I'm in the middle of a sculpting and painting frenzy in order to get ready for Hallowbaloo in Seattle. So I rummaged around my kitchen and fridge and this is the result. Nice nutty, whole grain bread topped with a smear of mayo and thin slices of fresh picked tomato, topped with shredded smoked chicken, topped with minced fresh Basil and a sprinkle of course ground pepper. Mmmm! Heaven!

Smoked Chicken & Tomato with Basil Openface Sandwich

Sliced whole grain bread of your choice
fresh, thinly sliced tomato
mayonnaise
smoked chicken
fresh minced Basil
course ground pepper.

spread mayo on bread, top with a single layer of sliced tomato, top with shredded smoked chicken, sprinkle with fresh minced basil and pepper. Enjoy!

Whole Wheat Bread Recipe

Warm fragrant bread, fresh from the oven, it's comfort food for the gods. I have a dear friend that shared her way of making whole wheat bread just a bit lighter on the fat without losing flavor and consistency. She uses all applesauce for her bread, which is great the first day or two, but if you don't eat it quickly it can dry out. So I use half applesauce and half oil. We now have the best of both worlds, bread that stays soft and yummy a bit longer, and if you use olive oil or canola oil, you get the benefits associated with them. We also save the potato water from boiling potatoes as it helps with the soft nature of the bread.
I'm participating in a weight loss challenge, to jump start my previous attempts. Right now I'm hanging out at 167, which is much better than I was, but I still have a ways to go. I thought I would share this recipe as it is a family and friends favorite.

WHOLE WHEAT BREAD
2 1/2 c. very warm potato or regular water
1 cup rolled oats
2-4 T. flaxseed powder
2 scant T. yeast
1/3 c. honey
2 T. molasses
1 1/2 t. salt
3 T. applesauce
3 T. olive or canola oil
3-4 c. whole wheat flour, 3 c. white flour
Pour warm water into a mixing bowl and add yeast, oats, honey and molasses. Let sit for 5 minutes for yeast to start to work.  Add applesauce, salt and oil, plus all the whole wheat flour. Mix for 10 minutes to help get the gluten working in the flour. Start adding the white flour a half a cup at a time until you get a nice smooth dough. If you have a heavy duty mixer such as a Kitchenaide let it do the kneading for you, which takes about 5 minutes by mixer. If not, then as soon as the dough starts to pull away from the bowl, through a handful of flour on a counter top or table and start kneading your dough. Keep adding white flour until it no longer sticks to the counter and you have a nice smooth ball, about 10 minutes. Place the dough ball back in the bowl, and no, you don't have to oil it. Cover and let rise for about 30-45 minutes. It rises pretty fast. punch down and knead all the bubbles out. Divide in half, form loaves and place in oiled pans. Brush with a little oil and let rise until double or more in bulk. You don't need to cover the dough this time. Set your oven rack to one from the bottom and turn on to 375 degrees. When ready bake your bread for 35 minutes. Take out and immediately turn out onto cooling rack. This makes two nice large loaves.