Raisin Crackers!

A few days ago I got a Trader Joe's Fearless Flyer in the mail.  I always read these cover to cover out of personal interest and for work (gotta check out the competition!).  The rosemary raisin crackers caught my eye because at first they sounded disgusting, but the more I thought about them, the more I wanted to try them.  

But, lest I be a traitor to my beloved co-op, I figured I'd better give it a try making these at home first. 

(Note: I'm kind of kidding- I feel a bit like a traitor when I go there, but I think Trader Joe's is good at what they do and my co-op is good at what we do.  Our products overlap somewhat, but we're VERY different businesses with different strengths.  End note).

Now back to the crackers.  

I mixed up my usual flour blend for cracker dough (from Food in Jars) and added in the fun stuff.  For this first try, I ground up salted, roasted almonds and raisins (1/4 cup each) in a little food processor and added them to the flour before mixing in the oil and water.  For the seasonings, I used whole cumin seed, fennel seed and pink Himalayan salt.

Then I rolled these out like usual and baked.  Here's where the problems started.  I didn't grind up the almonds and raisins fine enough, so the dough wouldn't roll out thin enough.  So with thicker dough, I couldn't get the crackers crispy without cooking so long that the sugars in the raisins started to burn!

So I have some crispy, fairly browned crackers and some....  slightly soft flatbread things.  The flavor is out of this world, though.  I can't stop eating them despite their wonky texture!

Next time I'll grind the almonds VERY finely.  And I should probably taste the TJ's version, just to see what I'm up against!

Black Walnut Banana Bread

Okay, I know that logically I shouldn't turn on the oven in the middle of a heat/humidity wave.  But I can't help myself.  Heat makes my bananas get ripe faster and then I'm forced to bake banana bread!

I also had a big jar of black walnuts that were burning a hole in my pantry (That's the cooking equivalent of money burning a hole in your pocket).  I had never baked with black walnuts before, so I just had to see how they tasted in a banana bread.

Oh. my. gawd.  This banana bread knocked my socks off.  I used the recipe for banana muffins from The Joy of Vegan Baking and left our the chocolate chips and added 1 cup of chopped black walnuts.  The walnuts were fragrant and almost... don't think this is weird... floral.  I loved it.  The walnuts had none of the bitterness that regular walnuts have.  If you ever have a chance to get black walnuts, get 'em and bake some banana bread.

Rampy

Everyone should go find some ramps right now and make this bread.  Or make any bread.  Just add ramps.  

I love ramps.  Maybe you've noticed?  Ramps with pasta.    Ramps with peas.    Ramps with parsnips.   

They're garlic-y, onion-y, and definitely spring-y!

The bread was meant to be just a vehicle for the fava bean hummus with preserved lime, the yogurt/mint/coriander sauce and cucumber.  But it was so yummy hot off the griddle that I could have eaten it plain!

Toast Toppings

I love toast.  But, like many things, it's really what goes on top of the toast that makes it so wonderful.  This morning I had the most lovely darkly toasted whole grain bread with tahini and some of the first local hydroponic tomatoes of the season.  With a little salt and freshly ground black pepper, this was perfection.

Other mornings I want a sweeter toast, though.  So sometimes I prefer homemade jam.  There's always something delicious to serve on toast!

Anyone else read Nigel Slater's book entitled Toast?  A great book of food memories, including plenty about toast!

Here's a list of some of my favorites:
Mashed avocado with lemon, salt and pepper (plain guacamole)
Baked beans
Peanut butter and jelly
Tahini and kim chi
Earth Balance margarine and miso
Earth Balance, cinnamon and sugar

What's your favorite toast topping?

Ho-Hum

I need some inspiration in the kitchen.  I'm feeling a little ho-hum about my usual meals and I need something new.  This week I plan on making Jae Steele's Fettuccini No-Fredo and Sesame Kale Soba (from Get it Ripe) to switch it up a bit.

Things have been kinda stressful lately and food has been more of an obligation and necessity than a "hobbery".  I don't do too well with making big decisions because I think about things from too many angles and over-analyze my instincts.  And even after making a decision I dwell on whether it was the right one or not.  I'm transitioning to a new position at my co-op at the end of the month and I'm pretty excited about the change.  Instead of Education and Special Projects Manager, I'll be the Education and Consumer Affairs Manager (or something like similar).  

I know, I know.  You still have no freakin' clue what that means, right?  Basically I'll get to do more big picture work- Making sure the consumers have a good experience in our stores and learn something about food and/or the co-op's values while they're there.  And I'll have fewer random projects.  And I'll get to be in charge of the previously separate Education/Marketing/Demo departments, so I think it'll be pretty awesome to coordinate this work to have a bigger impact.  A big impetus for this switcheroo is that my buddy Darci is leaving the co-op to go to school in San Fran and we'll have to get someone new to take her position (sad for us, happy for her!).  I love change, but it still stresses me out a bit!

Anyways, I taught a couple classes this week: Homebrew sodas and Gluten Free Baking. Got a big surprise with the GF Baking class: My registration was 8 people two days before the class, but the class got listed in the paper and jumped up to 16 the day of the class!  Surprise!  Luckily, we still had enough food and the brownies were a seriously big hit!  I'll post the recipe soon!  

I'll leave you with a photo of some biscuit pinwheels that I made last week.  I just prepared the Baking Powder Biscuits from Vegan with a Vengeance, spread one side with fun toppings and then cut into thin strips and rolled them up.  I tried sun-dried tomato pesto, salt & pepper, and cinnamon-walnut (not together).  These were pretty fun, but I think I still like plain biscuits better.

The Gluten-Free Pizza Vibe

Mike and I don't exactly think alike, but sometimes we're on the exact same wavelength.  Thursday night was a great example.  I read Gluten Free Girl's blog post about her gluten free boule and immediately started mixing up the dough.  As it was rising in the oven, Mike called from work to ask if there was any way I could start a gluten free pizza crust so that he could make pizza when he got home.  I got to say, "It's already in the oven, honey!"

It turns out that the dough is tasty as a crusty boule OR a pizza crust.  Here's the play-by-play:

I used a bit of waxed paper to flatten the dough out on a parchment covered baking sheet.  This dough was much easier to work with than my usual pizza dough.  It's dotted with sun-dried tomatoes and dried rosemary from my garden.

Then I added Muir Glen pizza sauce (my favorite pre-made variety) and big handfuls of spinach.

Next came thinly sliced portobello mushroom, thinly sliced sweet onion and peppadew peppers

Last, a bit of Vegan Gourmet cheese.  Cheddar, because that's what was in the fridge.

The finished pizza!  The cheese definitely didn't melt this time, probably because it just didn't need to cook very long.  I probably could have broiled it, but I didn't want to delay the pizza-eating.  The crust and the peppadew peppers really made this something special.  Mike recommended more herbs next time and I agree- I couldn't taste all that rosemary in the dough!

Here's the other half of the dough, made into a little free-form loaf.  I topped it with my favorite hibiscus salt because purple salt is always pretty.  Mike was so excited to have GF bread to eat the next day!

Best Biscuit Ever

Good biscuits are one of the really important things in life.  This morning I was reading in bed when I was overcome with the immediate need for a flaky, hot biscuit and hot coffee.  I don't usually drink coffee and when I do, it's decaf.  So I think this craving has something to do with the mystery series I've been reading lately, rather than a need for caffeine.

The series is by Joanne Fluke and it's about a fictional Minnesotan woman named Hannah Swenson who owns a bakery and solves murder mysteries in her spare time.  And she loves her cat Moishe more than anything.  I love these books!  They're like the Nancy Drew series- a bit repetitive and very tame- but you can't stop reading them.

Anyways, the books include recipes for baked goods and the characters are always swilling piping hot coffee- Hence, my craving.  I'm highly suggestible.

I always use the Baking Powder Biscuit recipe from Vegan with a Vengeance because they rise better than any other recipe I've used (rising and layer-formation are key indicators of biscuit quality, in my opinion).  Maybe the stars were aligned right or maybe it's the new canister of baking power I cracked open...But I think I baked the perfect biscuit today.

I should have measured, but I'm estimating that this one rose about 3 inches!

There was already a fair amount of Earth Balance in this biscuit, but I smeared some more in the center and then globbed on some of Morgen's Zestar Apple Jelly she canned last year.  I was saving it for a special occasion and this biscuit seemed pretty darn special.

Breakfasts and My Favorite Gift

Wow- This week flew by, filled with relaxation and goofing off...and good food!

Mike and I spent Christmas morning together before the kids came over.  We ate a rockin' breakfast and then I worked a jigsaw puzzle while he played banjo- fun!

Breakfast was spicy roasted potatoes, scrambled tofu topped with avocado and home-canned garlicky tomatoes, and roasted portabello mushrooms.  And I had an organic mimosa- a super rare treat.

I think my favorite Christmas present might be the stainless steel drinking straws that Mike got me.  I prefer drinking nearly every cold beverage from a straw, with the only exception being carbonated drinks (then it's glass bottles, all the way).  But plastic is nasty and I end up washing and reusing them so many times that I worry about the plastic degrading and leaching more nasty endocrine-disruptors into my food.  Perfect solution- Stainless steel straws!

Here's Billie Cat enjoying the sunshine while I mix up a breakfast milkshake.

A couple days ago my friend told me about a savory bread pudding she whipped up for dinner and I couldn't stop thinking about how good it sounded.  Usually bread pudding sounds totally disgusting to me- soggy bread, raisins, eggs and too much sugar.  But savory bread pudding opens up new doors.  Delicious doors.

Spinach, morel and sundried tomato bread pudding

Spinach, Morel and Sundried Tomato Bread Pudding

1/2 cup dried tomatoes (I used home-dried cherry tomatoes)

1/2 cup dried morel mushrooms

Boiling water

12 oz. firm tofu

1 1/2 cup almond milk

1 Tbsp. mustard

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. black salt (if available)

1 tsp. dried thyme

2 cloves garlic, crushed or minced

4 cups stale crusty French bread, cubed

2 large handfuls baby spinach

Preheat the oven to 400F.  Lightly grease a 9x9 inch glass baking pan.  Pour boiling water over the dried tomatoes and mushrooms in a heat-safe bowl.  Let soak for about 10 minutes or until rehydrated.

In a bowl, puree together the tofu, milk, mustard, salt, black salt, thyme and garlic.  Take a little taste- it should be garlicky, a little mustardy and plenty flavorful.  If not, adjust as needed.

Drain the tomatoes and mushrooms. Chop them into bite-sized pieces if needed.  Add to the tofu mixture and stir to combine.  Add bread crumbs and spinach and stir until they are completely coated.  Dump everything into the baking dish and smooth out the top.

Put in the oven and bake uncovered for about 30-35 minutes.  Serve hot!  This will keep in the refrigerator and is super easy to cut a slice and pop in the toaster over for a quick and rich breakfast.

Baking Day

Yesterday was definitely a day for baking.  What else can you do when it feels like a blustery fall day in JUNE?  

The second I saw Tracy's gorgeously pillowy High Calcium Bread, I knew I had to try it.  I'm a sucker for a soft, high-rising bread and the recipe is really simple, calling for items I always have in my pantry.    

Mine didn't rise quite as beautifully, but they look, smell and taste awesome!  I'm eating an end-piece right now, smeared with Earth Balance.  This bread has a very soft, moist crumb and it's got to be high in calcium with all that molasses in there.  The only thing I might change is to increase the salt just a touch.  Maybe by 1/2 tsp.  

I also decided to use up some rhubarb by making the Rhubarb Cake from Meagan's blog, except in cupcake form.  It's always great to see a recipe that uses barley flour.  It's so underappreciated!  Sadly, because of my choice of pans they just barely got cooked all the way through before the sugar in the batter started to burn.  I should have stuck with Meagan's method of using the cake pan!  Rest assured, they will be eaten, no matter how ugly.  

I'll definitely be trying this recipe again, because I LOVE the idea of a cake-y rhubarb muffin.

And because it'll use up more rhubarb.

I also made some granola yesterday.  Just the usual PB and maple granola.  It looked especially pretty in the afternoon light, I thought.

PB Sliders?

I didn't have time to bake any bread on Sunday and don't want to break my "no buying any bread that I could bake at home" streak.  So tonight I whipped up my favorite Sunflower Seed Rolls from the Moosewood New Classics cookbook.  I love these because they only have to rise once and only for aboout 40 minutes.  If you have this book, look for the "Three Seed Rolls" recipe.  I just left out the other 2 seeds.   They bake up in about 12 minutes- Super quick!

So the boys will have little sunflower seed rolls with peanut butter and homemade jam in their lunches tomorrow.  I think I'll call them PB sliders because they look like mini burger buns!

Chocolate Almond Bread

Oh, yum.  You have to try this bread.  Celine's 2 for 2 on her most recent bread recipes.  They're both winners, but this is a bread that you can eat without toasting, adding Earth Balance, or anything.  Just the same, you could make a kick ass peanut butter sandwich on it and make your children the most popular kids at the lunchtable.  

Her recipe is for Chocolate Raspberry Bread, but mine is a Chocolate Almond variation.  Here's the recipe again, but with my minor changes.  I take no credit for this recipe- It's all Celine (or at least her adaptations from the Betty Crocker's Bread Machine Cookbook).

Chocolate Almond Bread

makes a 1 1/2-pound loaf = 12 slices

1 cup + 2 T almond milk
2 T margarine
1/2 t pure vanilla extract
1/2 t almond extract
1 1/2 cup bread flour [lightly spooned & leveled]
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour [same]
1 T vital wheat gluten
1 T soy milk powder
3 T Sucanat
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips [they won't melt completely during the baking process, which makes for scrumptious discoveries while biting into the bread.]
3/4 t fine sea salt
1 1/2 t instant-rise yeast
1/3 cup chopped almonds

place all ingredients in your bread machine pan, following the manufacturer’s instructions. select “light crust” & “basic” settings. don’t forget to also select the appropriate loaf size setting. Remove from pan once bread is done baking, let cool completely before slicing and storing.

adapted from Betty Crocker’s Bread Machine Cookbook

Now I don't have a bread machine, but I just followed the adaptations that Celine provided.

What's a few inches?

I've been loving Celine's Foolproof Yeast Bread for the past 2 days.  First I made it with regular whole wheat flour, soymilk, and sugar for the sweetener.  But last night I mixed it up and used a hefty amount of curry powder and garam masala in the dough.  YUM!  Imagine the smell of baking bread wafting through your house PLUS the smell of a curry simmering on the stove. Next time I might use coconut milk for the liquid in the recipe to add more curry-ness.  And apples would be good in there, too.

I made a discovery last night that will forever change how my baking turns out. I haven't been able to figure out why the heck my breads haven't been holding their rise in the oven and why they have rock hard crusts lately.

Well, I've been using an oven thermometer since my oven is not very accurate with its temperature...but over time the thermometer has inched closer to the door.  Turns out the difference between close to the door and a few inches back is about 50 degrees!  I've been blasting my bread at about 450-500 F for a few weeks now!

Needless to say, the loaf last night was the best bread I've made in weeks and I am savoring every curry-infused piece.   

Miso, PB Rolls, and Tamarind Trees

Before I started this blog I chronicled my adventures in cooking on my MySpace page. In January 2007 I had just finished reading Wild Fermentation by Sandor Ellix Katz and was fermenting everything (Part One and Part Two). I've been fermenting a big crock of soy miso in my basement since then. It was supposed to be an 18 month ferment, but the miso smell in the basement is getting to be a bit much. So when we were cleaning the basement today, I decided to pack it away into jars to refrigerate.

Now I've got 4 pints of miso. That should last a while. (Don't worry, Sarah, I'm saving some for you!)

Today I tried out Bryanna Clark Grogan's version of "No Knead Bread". Except I used all whole wheat flour. And I experimented a little.

This is a free form crusty whole wheat loaf with thyme, basil, and coarse ground sea salt on top. It went perfectly with some chili marinated olives!

I wanted to make rolls with the rest of the dough, but then got an idea. Since I'd probably give the kids peanut butter on the rolls anyways, why not put peanut butter inside the rolls?
I greased the muffin tin really well and put a blob of dough in the bottom. Then I added about a teaspoon of peanut butter and topped it with a flattened disk of dough. I pressed it down all around the edges to make sure it sealed. Then I baked them for about 10 minutes at 450 degrees F. I also filled some with Tofutti cream cheeze and apricot jam.

These are just screaming to be served at a tea party. Or in my lunch box tomorrow. Or both.

This next picture is of one of my favorite things that I rarely make, even though it's insanely easy.

This is a Chocolate Soda. If you've never had this old-fashioned soda shop treat, you just have to try it. My mom used to take us to the Old Orchard Pharmacy in Garland, TX to get ice cream treats and I loved getting chocolate sodas. You just mix up a few tablespoons of chocolate syrup and soda water in the bottom of a glass. Then you add 2-3 scoops of chocolate ice cream. Top it off with more soda water to fill the glass and then stir. It gets really foamy and fizzy and chocolatey. It's like a fizzy milkshake. Except that sounds kinda gross, and this most definitely is not.

Here's a great photo of Mike and I at the Como Park Conservatory. The whole family went for my birthday. It was so great to be in the balmy tropical greenhouses while it was snowy outside! The conservatory has a whole greenhouse devoted to food-related plants. There are tamarind trees, orange trees, cinnamon trees, black pepper plants, mango trees, cacao trees, and basically every tropical food plant you can think of. Needless to say, this is my favorite room and always a treat to visit. If only I had a greenhouse like that in my backyard...

Bread and Jam

If I told you that today I ate some bread and jelly (and you know me pretty well), you might picture this:
Me, settled on the couch eating slices of freshly baked baguette with vegan cream cheese and a locally made artisan jalapeño jelly, and sipping a white tea with lemongrass.


Or- if you know me really well, you might picture this:
Me slouched in the driver's seat of my car, waiting in line for the car wash that I got free for paying almost $200 in car repairs last week, ripping off hunks of white bread to dip into some jelly I happened to have in my purse that day because I'm totally famished.


Both of these are true. You know me too well.

Like Cinnamon Rolls...only savory. And no cinnamon

I wanted to try the cinnamon rolls on Hannah's blog, but I already had dessert for my New Year's Day party. So, I decided to make a savory version filled with lemon zest, parsley, and garlic. The top is brushed with Earth Balance and a little extra lemon zest. Yum!

I reduced the sugar in the dough recipe by 1/2, but I think it could be reduced by 1/4.

Here's the dough rolled out with Earth Balance slathered all over and a puree of 1 cup parsley, 6 cloves of garlic, the zest of 3 lemons, and 1 tsp salt.

My dough was a bit too soft (I halved the recipe and think I needed >1/2 the amount of flour), so the swirly shape didn't hold so well. But the flavor is rockin' and they were a big hit!
Mmmm! Lemony buttery pillows!
Here's a bonus shot of zested lemons and parsley bathing in the sun on a beautiful (below zero) New Year's Day.