Afternoon around OKC

 Urban Agrarian http://www.uaoklahoma.com/

Located in the old farmers market off of Exchange Avenue, this is the best place to find fresh and local meats, produce and everything in between.  They go all over the metro area pedaling their goods and it proves to be the best every time.  They will even deliver to a farmers market or your home!

 

Enjoying the Boing!

All is good with sun
and fresh produce!

The shop is not without one friend just next door that also has great seasonal produce.  It a a great fruit and veggie market that has limited selection but makes up for it with low cost and Boing! a papaya drink that was very refreshing on this unseasonably warm day.  I gathered some great local products that I will whip up into a dish sometime tomorrow and will post more about each ingredient and of course the finished product.  While not known for a great neighborhood to cruise around in, this is a hidden gem that not many people know about.  Also for the rowers currently training on the Exchange stretch, the fruit stand is open most mornings... just an FYI.

The Mule http://themuleokc.com/

This restaurant and bar opened this last summer and has seen unprecedented success.  Only once have I gone in there having trouble finding a place to sit, I maybe because I finally got there before 7pm.  They pride themselves on local beers and melty, savory, gooey, delectable sandwiches.  They call them grilled cheeses, but these are the older sophisticated kinds that have you coming back for more!

So they have this app that is near and dear to my heart, as a Wisco boy, the fried cheese curds.  They are the perfect way to kick things off (and might kick off a heart attack, but that is why we workout right?!)  They come with ranch and marinara to dip in, but eating them straight up lets you enjoy the melted, stringy cheese in the light crunchy batter.  They really do remind me of home and are made to perfection.

Next up is the "grilled cheese" which they have many great combinations and a weekly special, but it can also be fun to make up your own from time to time.  My two favorites are the Fancy Pants and H.A.M. and always go with the House Tomato Soup as a side.  This soup showcases what can be done to tomatoes when shown a little care and love, its not your Campbells that you grew up with but oh so much better.  Not creamy, a little chunky and full of that sweet tomato, slightly acidic flavor that is good for dipping your sandwich in.  That being said the sandwich was a little dry so a sauce or spread would have been good, I used the soup but if they had ones specific to each sandwich that would heighten the experience.

All in all this is a fun place to hang out with friends, have a brew and sandwich.  This place will be a staple in OKC for a long time.

Partially eaten soup and sandwich
(yeah that's Mac and Cheese!)

Half eaten cheese curds
(couldn't waste time for full photo)

Beers of Oklahoma

After going to one of my favorite liquor stores last night, Broadway Wine Merchant, I felt like I should shed some light on the Oklahoma beer scene.  Below is a list of beers brewed in Oklahoma that I think more people should know about.  Look them up and try to find them in your area (might be hard for out of state friends).  If you know of more that I missed please leave comments at the bottom.

Coop Ale Works http://www.coopaleworks.com/

This the first craft local brewery that I knew about and have come to know the most about.  The people behind the beer are great and all involved in the community.  They recently had an aniverary party where the showcased all of their amazing capabilities and beers over the last couple years, as well as what the future may hold.  The photo is of one of their limited releases, a barrel aged stout, tasty out of the keg and I am going to try and age some bottle to let the flavors develop even more (If I can wait).  They have many other beers as well, F5 IPA which has been flying out of taps all over the city, DNR always popular strong belgian and many others.

Prairie Artisan Ales http://www.prairieales.com/

New (at least to me) and exciting brewery out of Krebs, OK.  I first had their Prairie Ale late this last summer and found it to be incredibly refreshing while delivering subtle hoppy/citrusy flavors that kept me coming back for more.  Over the last couple months they have released more varieties including an IPA and barrel aged Imperial Stout called Prairie Noir (including bad ass label).  It is an incredibly bold and dark beer that finishes with that nice bourbon barrel sweetness.  I will definitely be making a trip down to the brewery (and to Pete's Place which I have heard so much about!) when I can to explore more of what they do.

Black Mesa Brewing Company http://blackmesabrewing.com/

This is another recent start up here in OKC and have delivered on what people are looking for in the craft beer scene here.  I personally fall back on their Black Mesa Blonde when I can't make a decision on what beer to have when out and about.  They have also come out with an ESB that has been gaining some traction as well.  Right now they only have two beers, but both are done well and I can imagine that they will have more to come over the next couple years.

Battered Boar Brewing Company http://www.batteredboar.com/

A small batch brewing company from OKC, their motto is "Changing the world one pint at a time."  Doing small batching allows them to create craft beers for the local community and brew what they like to drink.  I haven't tried all of their beers, but I do enjoy the Pumpkin Ale in fall and the Hefe for a nice change up during the summer.  It is also fun to go on the website for interesting pairing combinations and serving temps with all their brews.

Sourdough Bread

Yesterday I made my first attempt at making sourdough bread.  I made my own starter from a recipe that can be found here: Starter Recipe http://whatscookingamerica.net/Bread/SourdoughStarter.htm, I split it 50-50 with bread flour and whole wheat AP flour.
It was easy to make and feed over the last week and based off the smell and look I figured it was time to take a crack at the bread.

My starter

For the bread I used a slightly modified recipe that I found online, very basic and as simple as I could make it.  How I made it is listed below with comments after the recipe.

4 3/4 cups bread flour

3 tablespoons white sugar

2 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast

1 cup warm milk

2 tablespoons melted in milk

1 1/2 cups sourdough starter

Dry ingredients

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine 1 cup flour, sugar, salt, and dry yeast. Add milk and softened butter or margarine. Stir in starter. Mix in up to 3 3/4 cups flour gradually, you may need more depending on your climate.
2. Turn dough out onto a floured surface, and knead for 8 to 10 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turn once to oil surface, and cover. Allow to rise for 1 hour, or until doubled in volume.
3. Punch down, and let rest 15 minutes. Shape into loaves. Place on a greased baking pan. Allow to rise for 1 hour, or until doubled.
4. Pre-heat oven to 425 and bake 25-30 minutes until nice and golden brown.  Let rest on pan for 5 minutes before removing to wire rack to finish cooling.



Before baking

5. While still warm slice and dip in soup or slather with favorite butter or spread

]

Before rising

So this bread turned out crusty both in the boule and the loaf, which is something that I really wanted.  This was helped by the high heat that it cooked at.  The inside pretty dense and probably could have cook a bit longer or next time I will substitute half of the bread flour for all purpose flour.  It was also very hearty because I was feeding the starter whole grain flour, again I am slowly switching that to more AP flour as well.

All in all a really tasty and hearty bread that was worth the time for all the rising. I do wish it was more sour but that comes down to the starter, more on that in a later post.

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