Category Archives: other goodies

September 26, 2010

Speltalicious spelt biscuits

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Spelt biscuits – look at all that texture!
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Wheat/white version – they taste better than they look!

I wasn’t going to post about the biscuits I made the other day but they’ve proven to be such tasty snacks and stew accompaniments that I’m proud to post about them.
Last week I dug this cookbook, The Country Kitchen by Jocasta Innes out of my book box in the basement. I was looking for jam and preserve recipes but I found a lot of other tasty looking things that I’d never thought about making before. The recipes and kitchen wisdom in this book are pretty old fashioned and very British. It is definitely oriented towards homemade staples and living off the earth’s bounty.
A biscuit recipe caught my eye as something that might go well with the stew I was making for dinner. I decided to make two variations: a half white, half wheat flour version and a spelt flour version. I love spelt flour. I love the hearty, nutty flavor and unique texture. The market where I used to shop in Denver, Sunflower Farmers Market, made delicious 100% spelt bread that made heavenly PB and J sandwiches. I really miss that bread.
The spelt biscuits (and by biscuit, I mean crunchy cracker-like English biscuits) were much better than the white/wheat version. The spelt flour’s flaky, crumbly texture combined with just the right amount of butter made for a great consistency. The white/wheat biscuits were good too. They just didn’t look as cool because I forgot to poke fork holes in them (yes, the fork holes are important for the biscuit look). I got to practice my metric conversions for this recipe!

Water Biscuits
From The Country Kitchen by Jocasta Innes

22g (8 oz) flour (I made one batch of half white, half wheat and a second batch using all spelt flour)
1 teaspoon baking powder
a pinch of salt
50g (2 oz) butter
150 ml (1/4) pint water
ground rock or sea salt

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
Rub in the butter (I used a pastry blender).
Add just enough water to make a firm dough.
Roll dough out thinly on a lightly floured surface.
Stamp out rounds with a cookie or biscuit cutter (I used the rim of a small cup).
Prick rounds all over with a fork and sprinkle them with sea salt.
*Bake on a lightly greased baking sheet in a 325 degree oven for 20 minutes or until golden and crisp.

*My biscuits took more like 45 minutes to an hour to get really crisp. I may not have rolled my dough out thin enough. I increased the temperature to 400 deg. F for the spelt version and baked them for about 45 minutes. They seemed to crisp up faster than the white/wheat biscuits.

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September 10, 2010

Oatmeal goji berry carob cookies

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On my last visit to the nearby natural food store I was on the lookout for a special treat: something indulgent in a yummy and good for you kind of way. I wanted to make an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie variation. Way back when I asked my fiance what his favorite kind of cookie was so I could bake some for our third date (a hike up a Colorado 13er) he admitted his love of oatmeal chocolate chip. I mustered my best cookie skills and impressed him with delicious hiking fuel cookies.
Ever since then I’ve baked oatmeal chocolate chip cookies as special treats. This time I picked out goji berries and grain sweetened carob chips to throw in. Those fit the bill of yummy, healthy, and expensive indulgence. I adapted a regular oatmeal cookie recipe and baked up 20 nice sized cookies for everyone to enjoy after dinner last night. My future father in law declared that I should open a cookie factory. I’m a bit more modest about the results. One of the cookie sheets was dark colored and it burned the carob chips on the bottoms of the cookies. The cookies on the sheet with the Silpat did not burn. I’ll have to remember that for the next time I try to bake on two very different surfaces. I don’t typically have this problem since my usual oven only has one rack.

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Oatmeal Goji Berry Carob Cookies

3/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup applesauce
1 egg
1 1/2 cup flour (I used half whole wheat, half white)
1 1/2 cup oats (I used half thick cut and half quick cooking. They balance each other out)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup goji berries
1/2 cup carob chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
In a large bowl combine sugar, butter, applesauce, vanilla, and egg; beat until thoroughly mixed
In a seperate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, oats, and salt
Add dry mixture to wet mixture; stir till it’s all blended together
Add carob chips and goji berries

Spoon onto cookies sheets and bake for 12-15 minutes
(makes about 20 medium sized cookies)

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September 8, 2010

Frittatas, frittatas, frittatas

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That’s a bit of a tongue twister.
        There’s nothing like coming home from a long day driving to and fro in the car to dinner someone else has planned and shopped for. That happens frequently around here. I often return from some exploit to find that my fiance’s mom (out hostess for the summer) has already picked out something to make for dinner, and maybe even obtained the ingredients.
        Yesterday it was two frittatas from two different cookbooks in her kitchen. She had gathered all the vegetable components from Beth’s Farm Market. Kale, zucchini, basil, and tomatoes lay piled on the counter. At that point we took on the cooking together: one frittata each. I took the zucchini frittata with a fresh tomato and basil sauce and my cohort tackled the kale and mushroom frittata. We decided where to follow the recipes and where to improvise. Then we washed, chopped, chopped some more, cracked, beat, sauteed, poured, sprinkled, and finally, baked.
        The results were delicious! I have always been a big fan of frittatas. They are such an excellent way to incorporate fresh veggies and rich flavors into a protein-packed meal. These were no exception. They were vegetarian, healthful, filling, and mouth-watering. I usually improvise with the leftovers in the fridge when I make frittatas but it is nice to follow a recipe once in a while and maybe pick up a new component. In this case, the tomato-basil-balsamic vinegar concoction served as a topping for the zucchini frittata was something I never would have thought of adding. It complemented the eggy zucchini-ness nicely and was bright and colorful.

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Summer Garden Frittata (adapted from The Complete Cooking Light Cookbook)

2 large tomatoes, chopped
1/4 cup (or more!) chopped fresh basil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
3 egg whites, lightly beaten*
3 eggs, lightly beaten*
1/2 cup diced red potato (or whatever leftover starch you have on hand)
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup chopped leek
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups diced zucchini (really, you can cram in as much zucchini as you want)
Feta cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
Combine the tomatoes, basil, and vinegar; set aside (I put it in the fridge to chill)
Combine the eggs and egg whites. Add salt and pepper to taste.
In a large, oven-safe skillet, saute onion and garlic in olive oil until starting to brown
Add zucchini and cook until tender
Add the egg mixture, spreading it evenly around the vegetables
Cook for 5 minutes on medium-low heat, or until the center is almost set
Sprinkle top with feta cheese
Bake in a 400 degree oven for 10 minutes, or until the center is set and the cheese begins to brown.
Serve topped with fresh tomato basil sauce

Kale and Mushroom Frittata (adapted from Better Homes and Gardens Healthy Family Cookbook)

1/4 cup vegetable broth or water
2 cups shredded kale
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1/4 cup chopped onion
3 egg whites, lightly beaten*
3 eggs, lightly beaten*
1/4 cup fresh basil
1/4 cup fresh thyme
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
Bring broth or water to a boil in a medium sized saucepan
Add Kale, mushrooms, and onion; cook until tender then drain
Beat eggs and egg whites with thyme, basil and a dash of salt and pepper.
Preheat an oven-safe skillet over medium heat
Add the kale mixture to the skillet; add eggs
Cook for 5 minutes on medium-low heat, or until the center is almost set
Sprinkle with cheese
Bake in 400 degree oven for 10 minutes, or until the center is set and the cheese begins to brown

* I combined 6 eggs and 6 egg whites in one big bowl for both recipes. After beating them all together I poured them into two identical plastic containers to make sure each frittata got it’s fair share of eggs.

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        After dinner we ventured outside in search of the cats. We found Monster on my fiance’s motorcycle, looking perfectly at home and ready to speed off down the road. Oh Monster.

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September 4, 2010

Cinnamon Rolls, or Hurricane Rolls in honor of Earl

        Is it wrong for the first recipe I post to be something other than a muffin or an egg sandwich? Cinnamon rolls are sister pastries to the muffin so I think they count. I just couldn’t resist making these since I realized I had some leftover mashed potatoes around. That’s not something I usually have in the fridge. These particular cinnamon rolls also sounded relatively healthy to me. They don’t have extravagant amounts of butter in the dough or copious filling. In fact, I think I would give them a little more in the way of filling next time I make them. I might try brown sugar instead of honey for that application. I’ll admit, I may have been a little stingy with the honey and walnuts since I wasn’t really measuring them. Other than that (and substituting soy milk for regular milk because it was al I had) I stuck to the recipe.
        The recipe came from Horn of the Moon Cookbook, a collection of recipes from the Horn of the Moon vegetarian restaurant in Vermont I’ve never been to the restaurant but, based on this cookbook, it sounds like someplace I would enjoy. I got the cookbook from a thrift store in California. There are some intriguing muffin recipes that I’d like to try in it too (like maple almond muffins).

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        I have always been intimidated by yeast breads. My attempts at pizza dough never turn out quite right and I’ve never been brave enough to make a full-fledged loaf. After successfully baking yeast-risen muffins from Laurels Kitchen, cinnamon rolls seemed like a good next step. I’m really proud of how the dough turned out. It was easy to work with when forming the rolls and perfectly fluffy when baked. I’m not sure what the potatoes bring to the dough (calls for a little research). I doubled the recipe, which was very easy and made exactly 16 rolls, and froze half for another saturday morning. Like I said before, the only thing I would change is the filling ingredients to either more honey or brown sugar instead of honey. Raisins would be nice as well. The original recipe suggests them in the instructions without including them in the ingredients.
        The verdict from my roll testing committee: Three, including me, said “tasty but could use more sweetness”. One said “just right”. We all got a slow start this morning. Anticipation of Hurricane Earl’s arrival here in Maine kept us up last night. Now it is a bright, sunny day and I’ve already accomplished what I set out to do: bake these!

Cinnamon Rolls
From Horn of the Moon Cookbook by Ginny Callan

Dough

        1/4 cup milk (I used plain soy milk)
        1/4 cup mashed peeled potatoes (make sure there are no lumps)
        2 tablespoons butter
        2 tablespoons honey
        1 1/2 teaspoons dry baker’s yeast
        2 tablespoons warm water
        1 egg
        1/2 teaspoon salt
        1 cup unbleached white flour
        3/4 cup whole wheat flour

Filling

        2 tablespoons melted butter
        2 tablespoons honey
        1 teaspoon cinnamon
        1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Bring milk to a boil in a small saucepan. When it reaches a boil, turn off heat and add potato, butter, and honey.
Next, combine yeast and warm water in your mixing bowl of choice. Stir to dissolve.
Add the potato mixture to the yeast and water.
Beat in egg and salt.
Add 1/2 cup unbleached white flour, mixing well. Then add the remaining white and wheat flour.
Knead until smooth and elastic.
Cover and leave someplace warm to rise until doubled in size (this takes about 1 hour).

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Punch down dough and knead on lightly floured surface. Then let it sit for another 10 minutes.
Roll out to 1/4 inch thickness in an approximately 9×15 in. rectangle-ish shape.
Brush 1 tablespoon melted butter over the dough.
Drizzle with 2 tablespoons honey.
Sprinkle with cinnamon and walnuts.
Roll dough up from the shorter side so you have a short but thick roll.
Cut into 1 inch thick slices (or whatever size gives you 8 rolls) and set 1 inch apart on a baking sheet covered with cooking spray or, as I did, a silicon mat.

Bake 15 minutes or until lightly browned.
Brush with remaining tablespoon melted butter and devour.

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