Author Archives: vanessa

Sesame Ginger Salmon

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1 1/2 pounds raw salmon
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoon soy sauce
2 garlic cloves, grated
1 tablespoons freshly grated ginger
1-2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
4 green onions, sliced

sesame ginger honey glaze
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
1/2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and place a wire rack over top. Spray the rack with nonstick spray.

In a large bowl or baking dish, combine olive oil, sesame oil, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, vinegar, brown sugar and whisk well until combined. Add salmon to the dish or place everything in a ziplock bag, then refrigerate and marinate for 30 minutes.

Preheat the broiler in your oven. (Or preheat your grill, etc if you prefer to use something else.)

Remove salmon with kitchen tongs and place directly on the wire rack. Sprinkle with a little bit of salt and pepper, then place directly under the broiler. Cook for 10-12 minutes, depending on the salmon’s thickness (our’s was just about an inch thick), until opaque and easily flakable with a fork. You can flip the salmon halfway through cooking if desired.

Remove and serve immediately, with a sprinkling of toasted sesame seeds, green onions and the glaze below.

sesame ginger honey glaze
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk until smooth. Pour over salmon.

Crackers

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  • Preheat oven to 350.
  • In a food processor , combine the quinoa and rice into a mushy consistency.
  • Add in all the seeds and salt with a bit of water and pulse until you have a mushy ball.
  • Get out a sheet of parchment paper about the size of a baking sheet and lay it on the counter.
  • Take half of the mixture and place it on the parchment.
  • Using a rolling pin and some plastic wrap, roll out the mixture, putting the plastic wrap between the rolling pin and the mixture. That way, you can roll it out without it getting stuck.
  • Roll as thin as possible and then transfer the parchment and rolled mixture onto a baking sheet.
  • Repeat the same steps with the second half.
  • Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes.
  • Pull them out and carefully flip them and bake for another 12 minutes.
  • When they are done, carefully break them into bite sized pieces and bake for an additional 10 minutes or until the pieces are crispy.

 

 

 

Burger Buns

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  • 3/4 to 1 cup lukewarm water*
  • 2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
  • 1 large egg
  • 3 1/2 cups King Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
  • 1 tablespoon instant yeast
  1. Mix and knead all of the dough ingredients — by hand, mixer, or bread machine — to make a soft, smooth dough.
  2. Cover the dough, and let it rise for 1 to 2 hours, or until it’s nearly doubled in bulk.
  3. Gently deflate the dough, and divide it into 8 pieces. Shape each piece into a round ball; flatten to about 3″ across. Place the buns on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet, cover, and let rise for about an hour, until noticeably puffy.
  4. Brush the buns with about half of the melted butter.
  5. Bake the buns in a preheated 375°F oven for 15 to 18 minutes, until golden. Remove them from the oven, and brush with the remaining melted butter. This will give the buns a satiny, buttery crust.
  6. Cool the buns on a rack.
  7. Yield: 8 large buns.

Seed Crackers

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  • 1½ cup old fashioned oatmeal
  • 1 cup roasted unsalted sunflower seeds
  • ½ cup flax seeds
  • ½ cup pumpkin seeds
  • ¼ cup hemp seeds
  • ¼ cup sesame seeds
  • ¼ cup ground flax seeds
  • ¼ cup hemp powder
  • ¼ cup chia seeds
  • 1½ teaspoons fine grain sea salt
  • 1½ cups water
  • 3 Tablespoons liquid coconut oil
  • 1 Tablespoon maple syrup or honey
  1. In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients (oatmeal through chia seeds). In a measuring cup stir together the water, coconut oil and maple syrup. Stir the ingredients from the measuring cup into the bowl of the dry ingredients. Stir well. If the mixture is too dry, add a few tablespoons of water. If it seems too wet, let it sit for several minutes. The oatmeal and chia seeds will really soak up any excess moisture. Divide the dough in half and shape each half into a ball.
  2. Cover the bottom of two 12 x 17″ baking sheets with parchment paper. Place one ball of dough on each baking sheet. Cover with another sheet of parchment paper and roll the dough into a sheet to completely cover the baking sheet. Score the dough with the tip of a knife into about 1 – 2″ squares. Let the dough sit on the counter for at least 2 hours.
  3. Preheat the oven to 350. Remove the top sheet of parchment paper from the dough and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the cookie sheet from the oven, flip the cracker sheet over and remove the parchment paper. Return to the oven and bake for an additional 10 minutes or until the cracker is crisp.
  4. Let cool and break the sheet into crackers along the scored lines. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.

Dinner Rolls

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  • 1/4 cup lukewarm water
  • 1 cup warm milk (100 to 110°F)
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and divided
  • 2 whole eggs, lightly beaten
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons fine salt
  • 2 1/4 teaspoons (1 packet) instant yeast
  • 4 1/2 cups (572 grams) bread flour
  • Flake sea salt, for sprinkling

Combine the water, milk, 1 tablespoon of the melted butter, eggs, sugar, salt and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add 2 cups of the flour and stir with a wooden spoon until the dough forms a rough, shaggy mass. Attach the dough hook to the mixer, turn to medium-low speed, and gradually add the remaining flour, kneading until a mass of dough begins to forms. Continue kneading on medium-high speed for 4 to 5 minutes until a soft, smooth ball of dough is formed. The dough should feel elastic and slightly tacky to the touch.

Lightly spray a large clean bowl with cooking spray and place the dough in the bowl. Cover the bowl lightly with plastic wrap. Let rise for about 45 minutes to 1 hour at room temperature or until the dough is big, puffy, and about doubled in size.

Spray a 13×9-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Gently deflate the dough. Use a bench scraper, knife, or pizza wheel to divide the dough into 15 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a ball and place in the prepared pan. Brush with the remaining 1 tablespoon of melted butter and sprinkle with flake sea salt. Lightly cover the dough with plastic wrap and let the rolls rise for 30 minutes, or until about doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Bake the rolls for 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Brush with remaining 1 tablespoon melted butter.

Skillet Pita Bread

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  • 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided, plus more for dusting work surface
  • 1 tsp. active dry yeast
  • 1 tsp. sugar
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 3 Tbs. olive oil
  1. Mix 1 cup flour, yeast, sugar, and 1 cup lukewarm water in large bowl with fork. Cover with clean kitchen towel, and let stand in warm place 30 minutes, or until mixture is thick and bubbly. This is the “sponge.”
  2. 2. Stir 2 cups flour, salt, and 1/2 cup water into yeast mixture. Knead 2 to 3 minutes with hands or dough hook of electric mixer until dough is smooth. Add remaining 1/2 cup flour and olive oil; knead 2 to 3 minutes more, or until dough comes together. Transfer to floured work surface, and knead 5 to 7 minutes more, or until dough is no longer sticky. Shape into ball, place in floured bowl, and cover with kitchen towel. Let rise 1 hour, or until dough has doubled in size. Punch down dough, cover, and let rise 30 minutes more.
  3. 3. Shape dough into 10 2-inch balls on floured work surface. Cover with kitchen towel, and let rise 30 minutes. Roll balls into 1/4-inch-thick circles. Cover, and let stand 30 minutes more.
  4. 4. Brush cast iron skillet with canola oil, and heat over high heat. Place 1 dough circle on skillet. Cook 1 to 1 1/2 minutes per side, or until pita is puffed, pushing on puffed pita with spatula to cook edges. Repeat with remaining dough circles, oiling skillet as necessary.

Skillet Olive Bread

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  • 2 cups lukewarm water (105-degrees Fahrenheit)
  • 1 package active dry yeast (2-1/4 teaspoons)
  • 1/2 tablespoon salt
  • 4-1/3 cups all-purpose flour , divided
  • 1 cup olives, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil , divided
  • coarse salt
  • dried parsley
  1. In a large mixing bowl, combine water and yeast.
  2. Add 1 cup of flour and salt; stir with a wooden spoon until combined.
  3. Stir in olives, herbs, garlic and garlic powder.
  4. Add remaining flour, one cup at a time, stirring until thoroughly combined.
  5. Cover with plastic wrap and set in a warm spot to rise for 1 hour.
  6. Add a tablespoon of olive oil in an 8-inch cast iron skillet; using a napkin or your fingers, coat bottom and sides of skillet with the olive oil.
  7. Flour your hands; remove plastic wrap and using your hands, transfer dough to prepared skillet and shape into a disk.**
  8. Cover with a kitchen towel and let stand for 30 minutes.
  9. Preheat oven to 400 Fahrenheit.
  10. Drizzle remaining olive oil over the top and sprinkle with salt and parsley.
  11. Score the top of the loaf with a knife.
  12. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until top is nicely browned.
  13. Remove from oven and turn the bread out onto a wire cooling rack.***
  14. Leave to cool.

Parmesan Rosemary Skillet Bread

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  • 2 1/4 teaspoons (1 package) instant yeast
  • 2 cups lukewarm water
  • 4 1/2 cups (574 grams) all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary, plus more for sprinkling
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons fine salt
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

In a large mixing bowl, combine the yeast and water. Add half the flour in and stir with a wooden spoon. Add the rosemary, salt and remaining flour and stir until combined. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Or, you can let the dough rise in the skillet (next step).

Brush 2 tablespoons olive oil over the bottom of a 10 or 12-inch cast iron skillet. Sprinkle the dough and your hands with flour before shaping it into a disk. Dough will be sticky, it doesn’t have to shape perfectly. Place in the skillet, cover loosely, let rise until puffy, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400°F.

Drizzle additional olive oil over the top of the bread. Slash the dough with a sharp knife to create an X shape. Sprinkle with rosemary leaves. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle all over with the Parmesan cheese. Return to oven and bake for an additional 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

Nutella Sweet Rolls

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  • 2 cups milk 500 ml
  • 1 tsp active dry yeast
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 stick butter (8 tbsp)
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 5 1/2 to 6 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup nutella or jam of your choice
  • 1 egg beaten for brushing over the rolls
  1. Add 1/4 cup of the milk to a cup and warm it up in the microwave until it’s lukewarm. Add the yeast to the milk, a tsp of sugar and mix well. Let the yeast mixture sit for about 10 min until it froths up and bubbles.
  2. Melt the butter in a sauce pan or in the microwave. In a mixer add the melted butter and sugar and mix until the sugar and butter are well incorporated. Add the eggs and continue mixing until the mixture is light. Add the yeast mixture, remaining milk, salt and continue mixing until everything is well incorporated.
  3. Start adding the flour half a cup at a time and mix well. The dough is ready when it no longer sticks to your hands. Add additional flour if you need it.
  4. Let the dough rise until it doubles in size, make sure you cover it with a clean damp towel or plastic wrap, about an hour to an hour and a half.
  5. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
  6. Once the dough has doubled in size, on a floured surface cut the dough into 6 equal pieces and shape each piece into a ball. Set aside and cover with wrap, we’ll work with one ball at a time. Roll out a ball into a circle that’s about 12 to 14 inches in diameter. Using a pizza cutter, cut the dough into either 6 equal pizza slices or 8, depends how big you want your rolls. Drop a teaspoon of Nutella at the top of each slice, you can spread it around or just leave it as one big dollop. Starting at the top roll out each piece and shape into a crescent.
  7. Repeat with the remaining balls. Put the sweet rolls onto an ungreased baking sheet. Before you put them in the oven, brush them with egg wash so they will turn out nice and shiny. You may also dust them with some powdered sugar over the top, if you wish.