Archive | Recipes RSS feed for this section

Battle Zucchini Bread!

7 Mar

It all began with a simple craving: Zucchini Bread.

Using all of my Google-fu, I searched the vast depths of the Internet looking for a whole wheat zucchini bread recipe. I found thousands, but the vast majority had this in common:

1 cup of sugar, raw honey, brown sugar, or other sweetener
1/2 cup of oil

Not okay. I just don’t think that a full cup of sweetener is necessary for one loaf of zucchini bread. At that point, aren’t you just masking the taste of the zucchini rather than accentuating it’s natural sweetness?

The 1/2 cup of oil seemed excessive too. Some recipes replaced part of that with applesauce, but I was out.

Still, I understood the need for a good deal of moisture, especially in a whole-grain bread. I had a small, sweet honeycrisp apple in the fridge and suddenly….it all just came together. Recipe out of nowhere.


Sweet, sweet victory. Moist, fluffy, sweet (but not cloying) and perfect with a dollop of plain yogurt on top. Even if you don’t like zucchini, try this recipe. It’s one of my favorites to date.

Whole Grain Zucchini-Apple Bread

Ingredients

1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup spelt flour
1/2 tbsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt

1 apple, grated
1 zucchini, grated
1/2 cup plain non fat greek yogurt
1/4 cup honey
1 egg

Method

-Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F and grease an 8×4 or 9×5 loaf pan.

-In a large bowl whisk together the flours, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.

-In a separate bowl whisk together the grated apple, grated zucchini, egg, yogurt, and honey.

-Add the wet ingredients to the dry and fold until just combined.

-Spread the batter in the prepared loaf pan and bake until golden brown, 40-45 minutes.

-Yield: 10 slices

Nutritional Information per slice:
112.7 calories
0.8 grams of fat
23 grams of carbohydrates
2.8 grams of fiber
3.7 grams of protein

Mangia!

Cheers,
Neen

A Delightful Trio of Bread

26 Jan

I am constantly amazed at the variety of ways people respond to stress. Joe goes for video games. I see the appeal in that—particularly because he likes the role-playing games where the story changes based on the decisions your character makes. There’s a certain amount of control, and yet a freedom in the whole escape aspect of it. I have other friends that smoke, and some that simply insist that there’s no better way to unwind than a glass of red wine or a cocktail. Still others would chime in that the best way to relieve stress is a good, hard run.

I don’t see any of these responses in the light of “good” or “bad.” More and more I think that we need to be lenient with ourselves. Technology has allowed communication (and thus, work life) to speed up so much that I think people take what they can get to find some relief from the constant barrage of work communication. No, smoking isn’t really a great habit. Nor is drinking to excess. And if you played video games or exercised 24-7 that would be a problem too. But I think that every person needs an outlet. To say that choosing to do yoga over watching a movie is “better” because of its benefits to the mind and body is oversimplifying, in my opinion. There are days when I need yoga.

But there are also days where I need…to knead. Like I said, some folks go dancing to unwind…

I bake bread.

What is it about bread in particular? I don’t know. I’ve always loved bread. As a kid, my family teased me about being the carbo-queen. At family dinners, I’d gladly opt out of dessert in favor of another slice of fresh, warm bread.

And so maybe it is those memories of childhood… the thought of dad’s Easter bread peeking out of the oven, golden-yellow and perfect from being baked at just the right temperature after receiving a careful egg-wash… the thick slices of soft Italian bread covered in butter I used to get at Primanti’s before I was old enough to enjoy the sandwiches… the perfect toast at Jo Jo’s that sopped up the rich yolks from fried eggs on Sundays after church…

When I’m stressed out, sad, or just wanting to feel better, there is nothing so soothing as making bread. The very idea of creating the food that is the very symbol of a “staple” and sharing it with others always makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside.

Focaccia (Roman Flatbread)


The first yeast bread I ever made was focaccia. It seemed logical to start out with something that wasn’t entirely dependent on rising or shaping…but I fell in love. A basic olive oil flatbread became heaven on a plate with a sprinkle of coarse salt or the addition of some chopped rosemary. This also makes a great pizza base. In fact, I was making a batch of this last week when Joe came home from work exhausted and prepared to order a pizza. The dough was already in the middle of rising. “No need,” I told him, “I’ll make you one.” He looked at me like I was a little bit crazy, but 25 minutes later he was eating homemade pizza.

Ingredients

18 oz. flour (I use half white and half whole wheat)
12 oz. warm water
1 tbsp. active dry yeast
1 tbsp. sugar
1.5 tsp. salt
1 tsp. olive oil

Method

Combine water, sugar and yeast and let stand until foamy (about 5 minutes). Add the flour, oil, and salt and mix well. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth.

Let the dough rise in an oiled, covered bowl until it has doubled. Punch it down, and then stretch and press it out onto an oiled sheet pan. I generally make two round loaves (about the size of a medium pizza) with this recipe. Let rise again for 15 minutes.

Brush with olive oil and a bit of coarse salt or herbs and bake at 400 degrees F for 20 minutes.

Yield 16 slices.

Perfect Bread Knots


I can take no credit for this recipe. In fact, after years of stealing leftover bread knots after holidays at my parents’ house, I only recently (think: December) got around to asking my dad for the recipe. It makes 24-2.2 oz. knots, but as you can see in the picture, it works for larger shapes as well. I made three small loaves this last time around. It makes a perfect sandwich bread, but I think it’s best when it’s warm or toasted.

Ingredients

1 tbsp. active dry yeast
1.5 cup warm water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup sugar
6-7 cups flour
1 egg
2 tsp. salt

Method

Combine water, sugar and yeast and let stand until foamy (about 5-10 minutes). Add the oil, egg, and salt and mix well. Then add the flour, one cup at a time until a cohesive dough forms. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth. Roll into a ball and place in an oiled bowl. Cover the bowl with a tea towel or plastic wrap.

Let the dough rise at room temperature for an hour, then punch down and let rise again for a half hour. Alternatively, you can just let it rise in the fridge overnight. I think that works best, honestly.

Shape the dough into loaves or knots and then let them rise for another 15-30 minutes. Brush lightly with an egg wash (1 egg mixed with 1 tbsp. water). Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes for small knots or about 30 minutes for larger loaves. The bread is done when it is golden brown or sounds hollow when the bottom of the loaf is tapped with a finger.

Yield: 24 dinner-sized rolls

No Knead Artisan Bread


This is the easiest bread I’ve ever baked, and frankly tastes like it’s straight from a bakery. The minute I pulled the first crusty loaf out of the oven I knew that this would become my “go-to” bread recipe. The ingredients and method can be found here.

Note: I don’t have a stone or a pizza peel and this still comes out fantastic. After shaping the loaf, I simply put it on a piece of parchment paper and put a baking sheet in the oven while it is pre-heating. When the bread is ready to go in the oven, I just take it on the parchment and set it on the pre-heated baking sheet. It’s not exactly the same, but it does produce a slightly crispier crust.

If you’re someone who has always wanted to bake bread, but feels intimidated, it’s a great recipe to try. I find that the loaves are more flavorful after the dough has been sitting in the fridge for a few days, so don’t worry about using it all at once. For a few minutes of your time before or after work, you can have fresh-baked bread that is worlds better than anything you can find at the grocery store. Trust me.

When I finished baking these various breads, I felt good. But let me tell you the best part of it all:

I got to feel good again when Joe smiled as he sunk his teeth into a 3rd slice of the focaccia pizza…
And again when Amanda’s eyes lit up upon seeing the bread-knot loaf I made for her…
And again when I passed one of my artisan loaves along to Roger during a week where he had little time or energy to cook…

Bread-baking is the gift that keeps on giving. So bake some bread, and pass it on. You’ll be glad you did.

Cheers,
Neen

65 Dozen

30 Dec

What I baked for Santa:


Cherry-Walnut Thumbprints, Peanut Butter Blossoms, Gingersnaps.


Gingersnaps and marshmallows dipped in tempered chocolate and chopped, roasted peanuts.

Chocolate-peanut covered marshmallows, “mini-s’more” marshmallows, and vanilla marshmallows.


Cherry-walnut thumbprints, peanut butter blossoms, walnut-cashew torrone, gingersnaps, caramels, spicy-sweet nuts, homemade oreos, and gingerbread.

And a merry little tree!

Happy holidays…hope you got everything you wanted:

Cheers,
Neen

Cooking from the Heart…

9 Sep

I strive to be a really positive influence on others, but we all experience times of doubt and insecurity. Sometimes, I don’t think I am as honest with my readers as I could be about the struggle that is a part of healthy eating and living. The truth is that for as often as I am happy about the progress I have made, there are days where I beat myself up. It could be that I finally broke down at the deli and bought a candy bar after months of clean eating, or simply that I woke up that morning I didn’t like what I saw in the mirror. There’s a part of me during those moments that knows it’s time for a reality check, but sometimes that voice can get stifled.

Food and I have a tenuous relationship. As humans, we need sustenance to live. At a young age we come to acknowledge those who provide us with that sustenance as our caregivers. From very early on, we learn that to feed another person is to love them. When I met Joe and discovered that I liked him, one of the very first things I did for him was to make sauteed balsamic-thyme sirloin tips with mozzarella cheese. And it was not a dish I made to be particularly impressive, but because I had those ingredients in the fridge. It won him over, and the feeling of providing that kind of comfort to another person won me over. True, I’d spent the latter half of my freshman year of college cooking weekly meals with a friend for our group of friends, but that was the first time it was me alone just whipping something up on the fly for someone else. In any case, I kept cooking. I read culinary textbooks, southern cookbooks, cookbooks for every ethnic food imaginable…anything to stimulate my imagination to create new things. But at the same time, I found it difficult to avoid overeating when I was always trying out new recipes. I walk the line. I am constantly trying to balance between being passionate about the creation and sharing of food while avoiding gluttony and irresponsibly grown/created food products. It becomes overwhelming, it becomes burdensome, and worst of all…cooking becomes guilt-ridden.

And then I know it’s time to step back, take a breath, and just go home again. Time to take a day and remember why the act of sharing a meal is an act of love. Remove everything else from the equation and just create out of the desire to love another person.

And on Sunday, I did just that. Taking flour from Morris farms, eggs from Polyface farms, cheese from Blue Ridge Dairy Co., tomatoes, garlic, and basil from Bull Run Mountain Farm, and cayenne peppers from my own backyard, I brought together those who provide me with products I know are grown and raised with love and a sense of pride.

First, I made these:
I made the pasta dough from a combination of whole wheat and whole grain durum (semolina) flours, two eggs, a few tablespoons of olive oil, and a few tablespoons of water. It made a fine, elastic dough that was surprisingly light. I think that one of the keys to whole wheat pasta is to make sure that the dough gets a proper rest before it’s rolled out. The filling is comprised of part-skim ricotta, parmesan, and pecorino romano cheeses. I bound it with an egg and added a few herbs and spices to bring out the flavors of the individual cheeses.


What good are ravioli without a nice sauce? Since Leigh said that it was likely the last week for big, ripe tomatoes (damn blight) I took the bunch of gorgeous orange and yellow ones he gave me and sauteed them in a few teaspoons of bacon fat with garlic, some bell pepper, thyme, basil, and spices. I finished it with a diced cayenne pepper. I’m not really a huge spicy food fan, so I removed the seeds first. After tasting the sauce, I instantly mourned that it would be gone so quickly. Even Joe, who normally asks me to go light on the marinara sauce when I serve him pasta, asked for more of it on his plate.

And what better to serve a lovingly prepared meal on than a dish designed with the earth in mind?[FYI, that’s a seven-inch triangle plate in grass green from Riverside Design Group’s Sea Glass collection. How awesome is that color? If I didn’t already have an “Empire Red” theme going on with my kitchen appliances, I think I’d go with that green. It’s refreshing!]

After it was all said and done, I felt accomplished. Even satisfied.

But it wasn’t until Joe brought me his empty plate in search of a few more ravioli that I felt “the happiness.” There was that same look that made me feel all warm and fuzzy five years ago, and I thought “Yes. I may not always do right. I may not always make the best choices. But if I can always give this kind of comfort and love to the people around me, then I think I’ll be okay.”

-Neen

Hot Dates (with chocolate, football and mystery food)!

25 Aug

Wow–I have way too many things to update, so long post ahoy:

Numero uno, friends, is Mystery Food Week 11. It was a delicious mix of sweet corn, tomatoes (Mr. Stripey!!!), Thai basil, Italian basil, eggplant, purple potatoes, garlic, hot peppers, nectarines, peaches, and apples. So much food! And I only buy a half-share.Of course the first thing I did when I got home from picking this up was to make a big batch of tomato sauce for pasta. I love a long-cooked tomato sauce, but there’s something so sweet, simple, and wonderful about a quick summer sauce. The squash, potatoes and peppers ended up in a pot roast I made from a chuck blade roast from Polyface farms. I seasoned and seared the meat, caramelized some onions, and then threw everything into the crockpot with a splash of red wine to cook all day. When I came home, Dioji was very anxious to discover where the delicious smell that he couldn’t find was coming from (he’s not allowed in the kitchen while we’re not home–safety first!) and then whined at me when he realized it wasn’t for him. Oh sheltie.

Numero dos is that our fantasy draft for the “I Cannot Wait For Football” league was this past weekend. It went pretty well for me, although I made one really bad decision because of outdated information. Here’s the lineup for team Plaxico’s Cellmate:

QBs: Drew Brees, Jay Cutler, Chad Pennington

RBs: Clinton Portis, Steve Slaton, Joseph Addai

WRs: Chad Ochocinco, T.J. Houshmanzadeh, Steve Breaston, Michael Crabtree

TEs: Dallas Clark, Owen Daniels

K: Ryan Longwell

DEF: Pittsburgh, Philadelphia

A pretty solid draft if I don’t say so myself. The Michael Crabtree thing was a lapse in judgment, I swear. We have another one this weekend, but I’ll be autodrafting because it is the same day as my brother’s wedding. I’m not sure he’d be too pleased with me if I disappeared from the reception to draft a fantasy team.

And Numero Tres is that I’ve been craving filled pastry/cookies. I used to really like fig newtons heated up in the toaster oven when I was a kid. A week or so ago, I was in the market and saw some nice, soft Medjool dates. I remembered from when I was first diagnosed with anemia that dates were a good source of iron, but I’ve never cooked with them before last week. Recalling that the texture of my favorite kashi bar (the dark chocolate/coconut one) is made by creating a date paste, I decided to try a similar route. After several tries using the food processor to create said paste, I got frustrated because it never seemed to get sticky enough to hold everything together. The raw date bar recipes I searched all suggested that the approach would work, but it wasn’t the consistency I wanted. Finally, I found a good old southern recipe for date squares and modified it using a base recipe similar to my Banapple-Nut Bars.

I’m not saying I’m a genius, but this is kind of amazing…

Chocolate-Date Cookie Bars

Ingredients

For the cookie base:
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup mixed nuts, ground to a coarse meal by pulsing in a food processor. (I used a mix of macadamia, cashew, almond, and brazil nuts.)
1/4 cup 10-grain hot cereal or other high-protein hot cereal, dry.
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. baking soda
Pinch salt
2 tbsp. raw honey (I really like buckwheat honey in this, but anything will work.)
1 medium egg
2 tbsp. natural peanut butter
For the filling:
1/2 cup Medjool dates, pitted and chopped
1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. almond extract
1 heaping tbsp. dutch process cocoa powder
10 grams 70% dark chocolate, chopped.
For the topping:
1 tbsp. shredded, unsweetened coconut
1/2 oz. mixed nuts, roughly chopped. (If you would like the recipe to be lower-fat, you can skip this and use some lightly toasted seeds, rolled oats, or cereal.)

Method

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F.

In a small saucepan, combine the dates, extracts, and water over medium heat. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally until thickened. Use a potato masher or immersion blender to create a more even consistency. Stir in the cocoa and dark chocolate and set the mixture aside to cool.

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the oats, ground nuts, cereal, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Slowly drizzle in the honey while pulsing occasionally to disperse evenly.

In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and peanut butter, then add them to the food processor while pulsing occasionally until a sticky dough is formed.

Grease a 9×5 loaf pan and press the cookie dough into the bottom to create an even crust. Next, layer on the chocolate-date paste, and then top with the chopped nuts and shredded unsweetened coconut.

Bake for 20 minutes and cool completely before cutting into bars.

So good. Not a drop of refined sugar or flour and yet somehow full of sweet, chocolatey, nutty goodness.

Nutrition facts: Yields ten servings. Each cookie bar is approximately 138 calories, 7 grams of fat, 4.5 grams of protein, and 16 grams of carbohydrates. They are also a good source of vitamin A, vitamin B-6, folate, and iron.

I think that this recipe could be easily modified into a good energy bar recipe by adding another egg white, replacing some of the oats with some wheat bran, and maybe adding some greek yogurt into the filling or base. If you were so inclined, you could replace the 10 grain cereal with a scoop of vanilla or unflavored protein powder. I’m really trying to keep things more natural these days.

Oh, and if you want to blow your mind…mix a spoonful of the chocolate-date paste and some berries into 5 or 6 oz. of nonfat greek yogurt for a creamy treat. That’s a post-run snack I can totally get behind.

Well, I’m off to Pittsburgh tomorrow for my brother’s wedding, so I’ll be M.I.A for a little while. In advance, have a great weekend and good luck to all my fellow fantasy team owners who have upcoming drafts.

Stay local, folks!

-Neen

Where did Neen and her notes go? (And Mystery Food Week 6!)

16 Jul

Yes, it’s true, I disappeared there for a week. But life happens, right? In short, I had a very important presentation for school, compounded by a Perl assignment I couldn’t seem to get a handle on and then wound up with the stomach flu. It was a rough week. I picked up my CSA share (a delicious basket of potatoes, squash, basil, cabbage, purslane, kohlrabi, and a few other items), but froze most of it because I wasn’t up for eating much or taking a picture. But this week’s is beautiful and is further down in this post…yum!

Fortunately, as of Saturday afternoon things started getting a lot better.

My birthday was Saturday, and it started off with a trip to the farmer’s market and then a group presentation on Elluminate. It was the first time I’d done an online presentation and it went really well. I must attribute some of the success to having a wonderful group to work with and a class that seemed genuinely interested in the topic (biographical reference sources). Want to see our presentation? Go to: http://stuckinthestacks.blogspot.com to view it in its entirety.

After that was done, it was off for a quick run, which was VERY refreshing after being sick all week. (I tried to run on Friday and barely made it down the block).

And then…the culmination of four months of waiting: Billy Joel and Elton John Face to Face!

Pre-concert:

At Nationals Park:

Yes, it was amazing (as always), but even more special that it was the first concert at Nationals Park AND on my birthday. Sometimes the stars really do align. The sustain pedal on Elton’s piano got stuck during the opening set, but it didn’t cause a major problem. Billy’s band came on and he did his set while they took Elton’s piano off for fixing. (It didn’t seem to phase him much—Elton opened his set with Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding and it brought down the house).

Billy Joel was walking on top of pianos, running around throwing microphones, and even dived under Elton’s piano during the technical problem to try and fix it. Very spry and excitable for a man that just turned 60 and is going through divorce #3.

I was really impressed that they went on for 3 and a half hours in the 90 degree heat and very sticky humidity, considering both men were wearing full, dark colored suits. Their bands sounded incredible too. Mark Rivera was dynamite on sax and Crystal Talifiero was her usual “jack-of-all-trades” self, playing everything from bongos to horns.

So, THANK YOU JOE for a wonderful birthday concert experience.

This week has been kinder so far. I finished the impossible Perl assignment and feel like I’m finally starting to get the hang of the language and its syntax. Looking at the CGI book really helped considering I’m a lot more familiar with programming for the web than I am with command-line programming. Oh, but you didn’t come here to listen to me go on about Perl, you came for Mystery Food!

That is a delicious bunch of goodies including zucchini, cucumber, tomatillos, potatoes, garlic, basil, Lodi apples, and (my favorite) peaches. The peaches are like candy. (For breakfast this morning, I had something really delicious: Dice one peach and mix it with 5 oz. of plain greek yogurt, a teaspoon of raw honey, sprinkle of cinnamon, and a 1/2 oz. of chopped mixed nuts. Happy in a bowl. It’s also perfect post-workout recovery food. Vanilla or almond extract might be a nice touch, too.)

Tonight for dinner, we’re having lots of local treats…

Last night, I seasoned, herb rubbed, and seared a bison chuck roast and sautéed onions, garlic, tomatillos, and some heirloom tomatoes. I put everything in the crock pot in the fridge overnight. This morning I added some chopped potatoes, kohlrabi, a cheese rind, and about a 1/2 cup total of broth/red wine to the pot. The crock pot is now making me dinner while I’m at work. Total time/effort? About 10 minutes of chopping and sautéing. (You could do everything the night before, but potatoes can get kind of gray and mealy on you if you cut them too far ahead of cooking.)

I hope that everyone out there is having a great week. I’m really looking forward to getting this summer semester finished so that I can focus on other things (like blogging, my brother’s wedding, Slow Food stuff…etc.) for a little while. It’ll be nice to have a month where I have no required reading. I’ll be getting very friendly with the Kindle!

Oh, and no, I did not indulge in a birthday cake this year, but there was a birthday frittata instead!

Weird, yes. Delicious, definitely.

Ciao for now—stay local, folks!
-Neen

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →