Monthly Archives: December 2015

Banana Oat Bars

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2 large, very ripe bananas
1 teaspoon vanilla (optional)
2 cups rolled oats
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
1/4 cup pitted, chopped dried dates
1/4 cup chopped nuts — such as walnuts, hazelnuts, or pecans
Grated nutmeg or cinnamon (optional)

Heat the oven to 350°F and lightly grease a 9-x9-inch square baking dish with olive oil or butter.

Peel the bananas and mash their flesh in a medium mixing bowl. Mash very thoroughly until no large chunks remain; the bananas should be essentially liquid. (You will have between 1 cup and 1 1/4 cup.) Stir in the vanilla, if using. Add the oats and stir them in. Stir in the salt, dates, and nuts.

Pat the thick mixture evenly into the baking pan. If desired, sprinkle the top lightly with nutmeg or cinnamon. Bake for 30 minutes or until the edges just begin to crisp up.

Place the baking pan on a rack to cool. When the pan is mostly cool, cut into bars and enjoy with a glass of milk or tea.

Store leftover bars at room temperature. They will keep for about 5 days.

Lemon Thyme Chicken Thighs

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2 pounds chicken thighs, bone-in and skin-on (about 4 to 6 thighs)
Olive oil
Kosher salt
Black pepper
1 lemon, sliced thin
5 to 6 fresh thyme sprigs

Preheat your oven to 400° F. Drizzle the chicken thighs with olive oil and season them well with pinches of salt and pepper.

Place the thighs in a large, cold cast iron skillet, skin-side down. Place the skillet on a burner over medium heat. Let them cook, undisturbed, for 14 to 15 minutes.

When a lot of the fat has rendered out and the skin is crispy and brown, flip the thighs so the crispy skin is up. Dot the cast iron skillet with lemon slices and thyme sprigs and stick it in the hot oven. Let the thighs finish cooking in the oven for 13 to 15 minutes, until they reach an internal temperature of 165° F. If you’re in doubt, leave them in for another few minutes.

Kung Pao Chickpeas

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  • 1 onion
  • 1 carrot
  • 1 red pepper
  • coconut oil
  • 1 can chickpeas
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 tsp. minced ginger
  • 1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
  • 2 tsp. rice vinegar
  • chili sauce
  • 2 tbsp. honey
  • soy sauce
  • 1 tsp. sesame oil
  • hot sauce
  • peanuts
  • cilantro
  • red onion
  • green onion

Cook chopped onion, carrot and red pepper in coconut oil.  When browned, add chickpeas, garlic and ginger and cook until the chickpeas have some colour.  Add sauce.  Reduce sauce to a glaze.

Serve on rice with peanuts, cilantro, red onion and green onion as topping.

Debra’s Easy White Bread

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Easy White Bread by Debra Collins

Makes 1 loaf of bread.  Can be baked in 1 pan (8 x 4 or 9 x 5 or 13″ Pullman) or 2 Free Form loaves.  It makes 2 free form loaves, by dividing the dough into 2 pieces. You can form logs or rounds.  Also can be used for dinner rolls by dividing into 15 pieces and baked in a 9 x 13 pan.  Additional recipe suggestions for using this dough are included following the recipe.

To double this recipe, the yeast = 7 teaspoons. To triple = 11 teaspoons.

Ingredients:

5 teaspoons active dry yeast (I use instant) (18 grams) (3.1%)
3 tablespoons sugar (39 grams) (6%)
1 1/2 teaspoon salt ( I now use 1 tsp. works fine) (7 grams) (2.2%)
1/4 cup oil or melted butter (oil 53 grams) (12%)
1 1/4 cup warm water 105 degrees (307 grams) (72%)
3 – 3 1/2 cup all purpose unbleached flour (474 grams) (100%)

Directions:
Put water, yeast, and sugar in bowl and mix. When yeast blooms/bubbles add salt and oil/butter, stir until salt is dissolved. Now you start adding flour slowly and stir with
spoon until you can’t stir any more. Flour your hands and turn out dough on
a lightly floured surface and keep adding flour as you knead. This is going
to take several minutes, adding just a bit of flour at a time. After adding flour
just form a ball and cover with your bowl. Follow directions as per recipe.

Pullman Instructions: (13 x 4 x 4): Form into a long log and press into the bottom of the pan. I let it rise until it was about 1″ from the top.  Put the lid on (greased).  Preheat oven to 375 and cut a slit in the top of the bread. Brush with a little egg glaze or milk.

Baked for about 20 minutes and removed the lid. Let it continue to bake,
about 20 more minutes, and tested with an instant read thermometer. You
want it to reach the 190 degrees.

 

Baking in a pan: knead gently for a few minutes to bring the dough
together. Roll out or gently press with your knuckles, until it becomes a
rectangle 10 x 14. Roll up and place the dough pinched seam down into a
greased 9 x 4 loaf pan. Cover with a towel and let rise 20 minutes or until
double in size in a warm place.

For free form loaves: turn out on a lightly floured silicon mat or counter and
divide into two pieces . Knead by hand just a few time to bring the dough
together and shape into the logs, or the ball. Place on a large piece of
parchment paper or silicon baking sheet. Cover with a towel and let rise 20
minutes or until double in size in a warm place.

Pullman Instructions: (9 x 4 x 4): Divide your dough approx. 2/3 and 1/3. Use the 2/3 for the pan and and follow the directions for the 13″ Make 5 rolls from the 1/3. You can make any kind of roll you like – cinnamon, filled, or plain.

Flour Variations:

– Replace 1 cup of all purpose with 1 cup whole wheat. Add 2 teaspoons of
vital wheat gluten to the dough as well. Allow loaf to sit for 10-15 minutes
for the first resting period. Continue as per recipe.

– Add 1 cup Hot Grain Cereal Mix to dough. Do not replace any flour–this is
an add-in.

– Replace 1 cup of all purpose with rye. Add 2 tablespoons of potato flakes,
2 teaspoons vital wheat gluten and 1 teaspoon caraway seed. (toast seeds
for add flavor)

– Preserves and Cream Cheese filled loaves:
1/3 cup preserves your favorite flavor– blackberry, strawberry, etc.
3 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon strawberry or vanilla flavor
8 ounces cream cheese softened
1 egg yok well beaten
1 tablespoon flour

Combine until very smooth and spread on that rolled dough.
When I add this filling, I divide the dough into 2 pieces, roll out to a 14 x 10
rectangle, and divide the filling between the two loaves. Roll up into a log,
pinch the seam together and put it down. Let it rise until double, slash the
to in several places on the diagonal, and bake approx. 20-25 minutes. You
can also top these with a glaze like your cinnamon rolls.

– Cinnamon Swirl:
After rolling into the rectangle, brush melted butter, sprinkle cinnamon for a
good covering, and a bit of brown sugar. I just drop the brown sugar over
the dough and blend evenly by rubbing my hand over the surface. Roll into
a log, let it rise and slash the top in several places. If you want it to look
like my picture, cut with scissors or serrated knife about 2/3 the way
through. Pull each section the opposite way and let rise until double. Bake
about 20-25 minutes. Let cool just a bit if you want to drizzle with the
topping.

Or, roll out into one rectangle, spread per above directions and roll starting
at the short end. Put in loaf pan. Let rise until double and bake at 350
degrees for about 30-40 minutes. Use an instant read thermometer and
look for 190 degrees.

– Cinnamon Rolls:
Sub 1/4 cup of milk for some of the water.
Prepare as for loaf but roll up on the long side so the roll is longer. Cut
dough in the middle for 2 pieces and continue to cut each section in half.
This helps to keep the rolls uniform in size. Place cut side up in a 2 – 9 x 9
square pans or 1 – 9 x 13 rectangle pan. Let rise until doubled and bake at
375 degrees until golden brown. Top with your favorite sugar topping. I
like to use cream cheese, orange extract, milk, and confectionary sugar.
Cream the cheese, add 1 tsp. orange extract (or vanilla), 2 tbsp. milk and
enough sugar to make a smooth, thick spread. Top the warm rolls with this
so it has a chance to melt just a bit.

Fish Curry

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  • 2.5 tsp. mustard powder dissolved into 300mL water
  • 1 tsp. ground coriander
  • 1 tsp. ground cumin
  • chopped onion
  • chopped cooked potato
  • fish fillets
  • 1/2 tsp. turmeric
  • 1/2 tsp. garam masala

Pesto

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5 to 6 ounces (2 healthy bunches or about 6 cups gently packed) basil leaves
1/2 cup pine nuts, or any other nut
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 to 2 garlic cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 to 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

  1. Blend half the basil with the nuts, cheese, and garlic: Combine half of the basil with the nuts, cheese, cloves, and salt in a blender or food processor. Blend continuously until the ingredients are finely chopped.
  2. Blend in the rest of the basil: Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the rest of the basil. Blend until a uniform paste has formed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
  3. Stream in the olive oil: With the blender running, stream in the olive oil. Less olive oil will make a paste good for spreading on sandwiches and pizzas; more will make a sauce better for pastas and stirring into soup. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and continue blending as needed until the olive oil is emulsified into the basil and the pesto looks uniform.
  4. Taste and adjust: Taste the pesto and add more salt, garlic, nuts, or cheese as needed to taste.
  5. Store your pesto: Pesto will darken and brown very quickly, but will still be tasty and fresh for several days. For best appearance, use it right away. If storing, store it in the smallest container possible and thoroughly press the pesto to eliminate air pockets. Pour a little olive oil over the surface, cover, and refrigerate for up to a week. Pesto can also be frozen for several months.

Cashew Cheese

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  • 1 cup raw cashews (soaked)
  • ¼ cup filtered water
  • ¼ cup nutritional yeast
  • 2 Tbs. lemon juice
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 2 Tbs. white wine (wine you’d drink) or use 1 Tbs. raw apple cider vinegar
  • 1 Tbs. dijon mustard
  • sea salt and pepper to taste

 

  • Blend all ingredients until thick and creamy.