Thursday, July 12, 2012

Rosemary Soft-Pretzels (Whole Wheat) (Vegan)

We weren't feeling well today so I decided that some old-fashioned chicken noodle soup was in order but we needed something else to lighten up the day and make things more exciting. So, I decided that the perfect accompaniment would be big, chewy, salty soft pretzels. I looked at two recipes for inspiration, two peas & their pods and Will Cook for Smiles. Both had the same great ideas, but I needed to make some slight variations, as I wouldn't be using eggs nor would I be using sugar.

Rosemary Soft Pretzels

For dough:
1 1/4 cup warm water
2 1/2 tsp yeast
3 cups white whole wheat flour
1 tsp Kosher salt
2 tsp maple syrup
2 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs. fresh Rosemary, chopped finely

For topping:
Olive oil
Kosher salt
Fresh rosemary, chopped finely

Additional:
1 large pot of boiling water with 3 Tbs of baking soda in it

Throw the ingredients for the dough into kitchen mixer and mix on low for two minutes. Continue to beat on med-high for an additional 5 minutes. Place the dough in a large oiled bowl and cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap. Let rise 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces. Roll out and form into pretzel shapes on parchment covered baking sheets. Allow to rise for an additional 20-30 minutes. (Note: the pretzel will rise a good amount still, so when forming them you may want to keep this in mind or you could get pretzel rolls).

Boil each pretzel for 1-2 minutes on each side in the pot of water with baking soda in it. Remove from water, brush with olive oil and sprinkle kosher salt and additional rosemary on top. Bake at 450 degrees for approximately 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Thursday, July 5, 2012

The Perfect Tomato Sandwich (Vegan Optional)

Aahhhh... In a perfect world, I would eat a tomato sandwich every day. The chewyness of homemade bread, the fresh tomato bursting with awesome old-fashioned tangy fruity flavor, the creaminess of the mayo and a little heat from the fried hot peppers that top it. I am salivating just thinking about it. So, everyone has ideas on what makes the perfect tomato sandwich, I'm not knocking yours, I'm just telling you mine. You can do these vegan or not. You can use any tomatoes, but they really should be homegrown and/or heirloom to get the best flavors. Today I used Constolato Genovese and Paul Robensons. I really like these two varieties because they both have a deep, striking tomato flavor that I can not get enough of.

Since my tomatoes have been ripening in my garden, this is what I've been eating everyday.

The Perfect Tomato Sandwich (vegan optional)

1-2 Heirloom Tomatoes
2 slices of crusty homemade bread, whole grain or whole wheat
1-2 Tbs Vegenaise or homemade mayonnaise (recipe to follow)
2-4 slices of fried peppers (recipe to follow)



Slather both sides of bread with mayo, stack the tomatoes high and place the peppers on top. Repeat several times. Slice sandwiches in half, sit down and enjoy!



Homemade Mayonnaise


  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
  • Kosher salt
  • 1 1/2 cups oil (olive oil, canola, peanut)
 Whip the egg yolks, vinegar, mustard and salt in a small bowl, slowly add the oil while continuously whipping until the desired texture is formed. Alternatively, add the first 4 ingredients into a food processor, turn it on and slowly drizzle the oil in until the desired texture is formed.

Italian Fried Mangoes (Peppers)

1-2 pounds banana peppers (we use Hungarian Wax), sliced in half with seeds and stems removed
1/4 cup good olive oil
2 garlic cloves
Kosher salt

Over low-med heat, toss the peppers with oil and fry until they begin to soften. Do not turn the heat up too much or they will cook unevenly. After they begin to soften, add the two cloves of garlic and the Kosher salt liberally. Cook for a few more minutes until tender. Remove and eat copious amounts with every meal.


Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Tropical smoothies

It's going to be 97 degrees today and so Ellie and I wanted to start the day off with something like and refreshing. We have a plethora of fruit that is on the verge of being overripe sitting around (pineapple, mango, coconut, avocados, apples), so I'm thinking smoothies for the next week! I am also coming off my month long vegan adventure and missing my plain organic yogurt pretty bad, so it's a perfect match. No, plain soy yogurt did not cut it. The shakes I made today were incredible! I can't wait for the rest of the week.


Tropical Smoothies

1/2 c fresh pineapple
1/2 mango
3/4 c fresh coconut water
3/4 c yogurt
1 cardamom pod

Crack the cardamom pod with a mortar and pestle. Remove green shell. Grind spice very finely. Add all ingredients in blender and purée.

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Veganism and the end of the world

So, after watching the much acclaimed Forks Over Knives, my husband and I made a pack to go vegan for a month. We started a couple weeks ago and we love it! I honestly thought it would be ridiculously difficult, (my first thought was, "what can I eat???"). In fact, that is the single most asked question, "Sooooo.... what do you eat?"

Its kind of bizarre that our society's diet is comprised so completely of meat products. In fact, when I first started this I thought I would be living on rice and salad for a month. It seemed everything I thought to make had eggs or cheese or meat in it. But the truth is, save a big slab of meat, you can cook pretty much any dish you love vegan. I've made sushi, some awesome curries, potato salad and sandwhiches, indian dahl, pasta dishes to die for, vegan enchiladas (recipe to come), thai spring rolls and some awesome stir-fries. It has been an adventure finding new dishes to "veganize".

The hardest part for me was to give up eggs. I get beautiful farm fresh eggs delivered every Friday and eat them usually every other day for breakfast. But, I've made do with some bomb oatmeal (yes, oatmeal can be bomb) and other tasties like fried polenta and tofu scrambles for breakfast that don't leave me wishing for eggs at all.

Not only are we interested in going vegan but we've cut out highly processed food.  I make my own whole wheat bread so we still have that, but have cut out most other processed foods, like sugar. We're using maple syrup for any sweetener we want. Also, we cut out coffee.... aaaahhhhh! No, don't stop reading, we aren't crazy! We still treat ourselves to soymilk lattes here and there, but are not making it every day. We've replaced it with green tea. The caffeine swap was more difficult than the food swap.

We've noticed that since we're eating a mainly whole foods diet that we are not as hungry as we were before (booyah!). We've also noticed we have more energy and our moods are better regulated. Now, that may not be from our food choices, but I believe it has a major part in it.

So, I strongly suggest you throw some vegan dishes into your regular diet. Considering we just got our order of free-ranged chickens from a local farm here, I don't think we'll stay completely vegan, but you never know. I am really really digging this diet and how I feel and look!

Monday, May 14, 2012

Leeky Ramp Soup

We collected wild leeks this weekend and made a delectable ramp soup. The sun was shining but the wind had a chill to the air--this soup and a baked potato with some plain yogurt and sliced leeks made a great dinner.


Easy Ramp Soup

2 large bunches wild leeks (this should produce about 1 1/2 cups chopped bulbs and 2 cups chopped leafy greens)
4 cups homemade stock
2 slices organic free ranged smoked bacon (optional)
1 onion
Salt and pepper to taste

Chop the leafy tops off of the ramps and set aside. Chop and sauté the bacon with the chopped onion and chopped leek bulbs (the white fleshy parts). When the plants are translucent and the bacon crisped, add the stock. Allow to cook for some time, about 20 minutes, then chop and add the leafy green tops. Cook until tender. Salt and pepper to taste. That's it!

Sunday, April 29, 2012

whole wheat power pancakes

I made these for my daughter this morning and she loved them! I like mine topped with plain yogurt, my husband likes
maple syrup and Ellie takes both.

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup thick cut oats
1 1/2-2 cups water
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cardamom
1 tsp nutmeg
1 mashed banana
1 egg
2 Tbs. flaxseeds

The batter is pretty thick, so you don't need a lot. Makes about 8 nice sized pancakes.


Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Citrus Coconut Layer Cake

I went on a run the other day. I ran 7.5 miles in the rain and almost collapsed from exhaustion. However, not before I devoured a piece of this completely decedent cake that my husband and I baked. There is nothing healthy about this cake, I didn't use whole wheat flour or cut out the processed sugar as I usually do. However, the taste and texture of this little piece of heaven was well worth it.

That said, there are some things I would change: I would not make the butter-cream icing again. It was much too rich for my tastes.


Citrus Coconut Layer Cake

The Layers:
1 cup flour
1/8 tsp salt
6 eggs
3/4 c granulated sugar
1 Tbs orange rind
1 tsp. lemon rind
1 Tbs lemon juice
1/2 c shredded coconut

The Citrus Curd: 
2 Tbs. tapioca flour (or cornstarch)
cold water
2 eggs
rind of one lemon
fresh orange juice
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
6 Tbs. butter (softened)

For the Frosting:
1/2 c unsalted butter (softened)
1 cup confectioner's sugar
rind of 1 lemon
6-8 Tbs of fresh orange juice
1/2-1 c shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour three cake pans. Sift flour and salt together and set aside.

Place 6 eggs in a large heatproof bowl over a saucepan of boiling water. Beat with an electric mixer until frothy, then add 3/4 cup granulated sugar and beat until mixture doubles in volume (about 10 minutes).

Remove from sauce pan, fold in orange rind, lemon rind, lemon juice and coconut. Fold in the sifted flour until mixture is smooth. Divide among the three cake pans and bake until it pulls away from the sides, about 20 minutes. Let stand and then transfer to a cooling rack.

In a medium mixing bowl, blend the tapioca flour and a little cold water to dissolve. Whisk in 2 eggs and set aside.

Combine lemon rind, orange juice, water, sugar and butter. Bring mixture to a boil and whisk in the egg/tapioca flour mixture. Whisk until thick, five minutes. Remove from heat and cover.

In a mixing bowl, combine the butter and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Stir in the lemon rind and orange juice until you obtain a thick, spreadable icing.

Arrange the layers, spreading the citrus curd in between each layer. Cover the cake with the frosting and lightly press the shredded coconut onto the tops and sides.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Yummy Naan bread

2 cups white whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
4 Tbs melted butter or oil
1 1/2 kefir, yogurt or buttermilk
2 Tbs water

Mix by hand or in mixer for 10 minutes. Allow to rise until doubled more than 1 1/2 hrs. Punch down and divide into 16 pieces, roll out into pancake shapes, brush with melted butter and bake at 475 for 6-8 minutes.

Friday, January 13, 2012

Whole wheat French Bread

It worked! Got a French bread loaf that was healthy and full of whole wheat, but light and crusty like French bread. Here it is:

1 c whole wheat flour
1 c white whole wheat flour
1 c Unbleached flour
4 tsp vital wheat gluten
1 3/4 c warm water
1 Tbs yeast
1 tsp salt
3 Tbs oil


Dissolve yeast in warm water. Mix in half of flour, salt and oil until well blended. Gradually add remaining flour. Knead by hand or in mixer for ten minutes. Allow to rise in an oiled dish covered, until doubled. Punch down and allow to rise again. Punch down and form two small loaves or one large loaf. Leave to rise on parchment paper sprinkled well with cornmeal. Preheat oven and baking stone to 500 degrees. Place a pan underneath stone. Once risen and preheated, carefully slide bread to stone, throw a cup of water in the pan and close the oven door. Turn heat down to 425 and bake for 30 or until golden brown on top and hollow when tapped on bottom.

Friday, January 6, 2012

Healthier Banana Muffins

I had a bunch of bananas past their prime and so i set out to make a healthy alternative to banana bread. I took King Arthur Flour's Heavenly Healthy Banana Bread and cut out the -gasp!- stick of butter, then added some other tasty treats and baked muffins instead of bread. I was pretty happy how these muffins turned out and Ellie ate four of them in a few hours, so I think I scored! Here's the recipe:

Ellie's Banana Muffins

2 Tbs butter
2 Tbs veg oil
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 medium very ripe bananas, mashed
1/4 cup honey
2 large eggs
2 cups King Arthur Whole Wheat Flour
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup dried fruit (I used raisins and cranberries)
1/4 cup wheat germ

Baked in muffin pan at 350 degrees for approximately 30 minutes or until baked through and browned at the top.