The Trouble- Wheat Bread

The trouble of thirty posts in thirty days is the feeling of dread when you realize you might not make it. I have 20 minutes left in today though. Traveling and staying at someone else's house makes blogging a little tough. Before I left though I made sure to write down the recipe I wanted to share though. And by tomorrow night I will be back home.

Honey Wheat Bread (makes 2 loaves)

4 c whole wheat flour
2 c white flour ( I mix flours so it isn't SO dense)
4 t instant yeast
2 c whole milk, 70-80 degrees
¼ c honey
2 eggs
2 t salt
6 T butter, softened
wheat germ for dusting

1. Mix yeast, honey and milk. If you use instant dry increase it by 2 tsp and heat the milk.
2. Add eggs, salt and butter and mix
3. In kitchenaid or by hand knead in flour until it reaches a slightly stiff, not too sticky consistency.
4. Grease bowl, put in dough and cover. Let rise for 2 hours, until doubled in size. Shape into two greased loaf pans, sprinkle with wheat germ(to make it look pretty and rustic) cover and let rise for another hour.
5. Bake at 375 degrees for about 35 minutes until the crust is a medium brown and the bread sounds hollow when you know on it.

20 minutes after it comes out of the oven cut off the end slice and eat it with honey and you will know heaven.

Quinoa

Yesterday I mentioned Quinoa. You might be someone who has eats this often or you might be saying, what quinoa?

Quinoa is a "pseudo-cereal" apparently as it does not come from a grass like plant. The Incas actually considered it to be a sacred crop and when you look at its nutritional content you can see why. It has a very high protein content (12-18%) as well as nutrients similar to whole grains. Especially important to someone like me, or perhaps you, who eats meat sparingly is that it has a very complete amino acid combination making it a complete protein source which is so rare for non meat foods.

It is also delicious. Think of a cross between couscous and brown rice. They are little spheres that have a slightly firm outer shell and soft inner and a nice nutty flavor.

To cook quinoa:

1 c quinoa
1 1/2 c water or other liquid
salt and pepper
other flavorings, like you would add to rice
2 T olive oil

Rinse quinoa three times. Mix everything in a pot and bring to a boil. Cover and let cook on low heat for 20-30 minutes, than turn off heat and let sit for 5 minutes. Fluff and serve.

enJOY

Bran Muffins

I have a confession- I don't love vegetables.

It's true. But I am getting better and I do love some vegetables.
But for the most part it is definitely a task to get my daily intake.

What isn't a task for me?
Fiber.

I love whole grains. Wheat, oats, bran- you name it, I love it.

note: sorry that most of the muffin isn't in focus.

One of my favorite snacks is Bran Muffins. They are delicious and nutritious (but still with plenty of sugary stuff so it doesn't feel nutritious). This is actually my mom's recipe and is absolutely delicious. It makes 2 dozen, but I freeze mine in bags and then eat one a day. So if you are a veggie lover, fiber hater, maybe you could try this one out to fulfill your fiber needs.

Chocolate Chip Bran Muffins

4 c whole wheat flour
3 c bran (the recipe doesn't say whether to use wheat or oat bran, I used oat though)
3/4 c brown sugar
1 t salt
2 t baking soda
1 c chocolate chips (the original recipe calls for raisins, which would be excellent in them)
4 eggs
3/4 c oil
1 1/2 c molasses
2 1/4 c buttermilk

1. Combine dry ingredients
2. Add in wet ingredients
3. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes

note: to fancy these guys up a dash of turbinado sugar (the coarse sugar) over the tops before you bake them adds a pretty sparkle.

enJOY

Masa Cakes with Warm Corn Salad

So, you've heard of cornmeal, corn starch and you know... corn.

But have you heard of Masa Harina?

Masa Harina is basically corn flour and is a lot finer than cornmeal. It is sweet and delicious. It is used to make tortillas, tamales etc. Fresh masa is available at mexican markets but masa harina is readily available, and I think is better because you can then flavor it more easily. We have been using it a lot more lately as I've been teaching myself to make tamales and tortillas. Tamales and tortillas are a big process and I don't bother making them unless I am planning on making a lot. I came up with a good alternative for a lunch by myself or a good snack for when you have people over that is super easy and very similar to a tamale.

Masa Cakes topped with Warm Corn Salad
(Small lunch for 2 or snacks for 4)

Tamale Cakes

3/4 c masa harina
1/4 c cornmeal
1 t salt
1/2 t baking soda
1 t pepper
1 t chile powder
1 T oil
water

1. Mix dry ingredients, turn on oven to 375 degrees
2. Add oil and mix with your hand, add water slowly until the batter becomes thickness of thick muffin batter
3. Scoop on a sprayed sheetpan, makes 3 larger servings or 6 smaller (i use an ice cream scoop to make them), flatten and then bake for 10-15 minutes, until golden brown

Warm Corn Salad Topping

1/2 onion chopped
1/2 c frozen spinach
1/2 c corn
1/4 c pepper jack cheese
1 garlic clove, chopped
1/2 chipotle, chopped
salt, pepper and cumin
1/2 c vegetable stock

1. Cook onions and add garlic, chipotle, spinach and corn
2. Add stock and let simmer until the liquid has dried up
3. Add seasoning and cheese

Spoon over cakes and put back in oven until cheese is melted.

Enjoy!

(Sorry no pictures, for some reason I didn't think about it when I was eating yesterday)

to learn more about masa

Couscous is Easy

In the last year I have discovered a love of couscous.

I love Couscous.

If you don't know what it is, it is a teeny tiny ball of semolina dough. Akin to pasta, but is found in places like Morocco. It is super simple to make and makes a great alternative side dish to the ordinary- potatoes, rice or pasta.

Couscous for 2-4 people

2 cups couscous
2.5 cups vegetable stock
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper
diced sundried tomatoes, lemon zest, olives, etc
cucumbers, fresh herbs, etc
1-2 T yogurt (plain greek)

1. Bring the stock to a boil with the garlic, seasonings and sun-dried tomato(etc) list. Any of the flavorings that you want cooked should go in now.
2. Once it comes to a boil, turn off the heat. Add the couscous and cover.
3. Let sit for 5-10 minutes then uncover and fluff with a fork, like you would rice.
4. Add chilled ingredients like cucumber to make it more like a salad, or leave them out and keep it as a warmer side dish.
5. I really like to add the yogurt at the last minute because it makes the couscous all stick together slightly which makes it easier to eat and gives it a slight tang.

This goes great with kebabs, bbq and fish dishes.

All About WHEAT GERM

Wheat Germ is the smallest part of the wheat kernel and is the reproductive part of the kernal. That is why it is called a germ- short for germination. It has more nutrients/ounce than any other grain or vegetable.

In one cup of wheat germ you can get:

144% of your thiamin
34% of your riboflavin
39% of your niacin
75% of your B6
81 % of your folate
26% of your Pantothenic Acid
61% of your fiber
75% of your maganese
130 % of your selenium
29% of your potassium
40% of your iron and more!

It is very unlikely you would eat a cup of it a day, but definitly makes you think more about incoperating it into your diet.

Some good ways to get it into your diet:

1. some cereals
2. my homemade granola bars
3. whole grain breads

For more information:
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-wheat-germ.htm
http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts/cereal-grains-and-pasta/5743/2

Granola Bars

I have a confession. I am slightly obsessed with granola bars. I am constantly searching for the best ones I can. Some are too small, or too expensive, too nutty or fruity, not even kind of healthy, etc. There are so many options out there! I had found a favorite brand a couple months ago, but sadly it was made by Fresh and Easy, which is a grocery store only in a couple of cities, of which Tucson is not one. So, this time instead of starting the search all over again I decided to make my own. Can I even do that?

They are chock full of lots of good for you stuff that is super yummy. And they are very easy to make, and way cheaper!

Homemade Granola Bars

1 c steel cut oats
1 c puffed millet (puffed rice or wheat would work too, I just liked the millet because it was the smallest)
1/2 c bran
1/2 c wheat germ
2 T flax seeds
1 T brown sugar
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t vanilla
3 T honey
1 banana
3 T oil
handful of nuts (i used sliced almonds)
1/2 c chocolate chips

1. Mix together dry ingredients and preheat oven to 325 degrees
2. Mash banana well and add other wet ingredients
3. Mix all ingredients together, it should make all the dry ingredients well coated.
4. Grease 9x9 pan and push ingredients into pan, press down as hard as you can so it is well compacted
5. Bake for 20 minutes, it should get slightly brown
6. Let cool, then freeze. Once frozen cut into bars and store in refrigerator, I made 12 bars

note: I know it might sounds like a lot of odd ingredients but they aren't too hard to find. The puffed millet, oats and wheat germ were in the cereal aisle. Altogether I spent under 10 dollars and have enough ingredients left over to make at least 3 more batches, probably more.

So I want to know, what snack can you not live without?