Baked Oatmeal, Sourdough & non-Sourdough versions

Baked Oatmeal is a great meal to add to your breakfast line up.  It's almost like cake for breakfast!  In fact, the other day my 12 year old came home from school, saw a bit of leftover baked oatmeal and sliced herself a piece for a snack.  She commented to me, "Mom this is really good!"  To which I replied, "Yea, it's baked oatmeal."  This froze her in her steps, because she refuses to eat oatmeal in any form, so the joke was on her!  (And, no she still refuses to eat baked oatmeal even though she knows now that she likes it- kids!)

Baked Oatmeal can be enjoyed as is, or covered with milk or yogurt.  I actually like it better once it's been refrigerated.  Lately I've modified my recipe to add sourdough starter to the soaking stage of the oatmeal.  It doesn't make it sour at all, and although I'm not sure how much the sourdough starter benefits us by being in the oats- I'm sure it doesn't hurt & probably helps to make it more digestible.  Try some baked oatmeal- besides it's great taste, the spices in here will make your kitchen smell wonderful!  Perfect for fall mornings...

Baked Oatmeal
2 cups oats (for non-sourdough version use 2 1/2 cups oats)
1/2 cup sourdough starter
1 1/4 cup buttermilk (for non-sourdough version use 1 3/4 cup buttermilk)

The night before:  combine oats, sourdough starter (if using), and buttermilk in a stainless steel or glass mixing bowl (or do what I do- save dishes by mixing it in a glass 9x13 dish & covering with plastic wrap til morning).  Allow to soak on the counter (not in the refrigerator) overnight.

1/2 cup coconut oil or butter (softened)
4 eggs
1/2 cup sugar or maple syrup (I use 1/4 cup honey, 1/4 cup unrefined sugar)

In the morning: preheat oven to 350.  Beat the oil or butter, eggs, and sweetener in a separate bowl until glossy (or if you're really lazy, like I am sometimes, just throw them on top of the soaked oats without beating first...).  Then add:

1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon dried ginger
dash nutmeg
2 teaspoons vanilla
optional add ins: 2 cups raisins, 2 cups chopped apples or bananas, 2 cups chopped nuts (I like nuts for the extra protein & crunchy texture, but my son doesn't like it that way.)

Combine with oats (if you haven't already just thrown it all together) and pour into a 9x13 baking dish (if it's not already in one).  Bake for 30 minutes.

Enjoy!
Lisa

This recipe is linked to Monday Mania,
Traditional Tuesdays
Real Food Wednesdays
Simple Thursdays

"Soaked" Snickerdoodle Cake

The other day I was having a serious craving for snickerdoodle cookies.  Some of you may not know about these sugar cookies with a cinnamon crust on the outside, but if you like cinnamon then "snickerdoodles" should be on your radar!  I searched & searched the web for a recipe that involved soaking the flour (see the tab above for "why soak").  What I did finally find was a recipe for a snickerdoodle cupcake that included buttermilk in the ingredients (perfect medium for soaking flour).  I modified the recipe to soak the flour and reduced the sugar as well.  This produces a tender cake that will hopfully hit that "snickerdoodle craving" when you may have it!

"Soaked" Snickerdoodle Cake
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup butter or coconut oil, softened
1/2 cup buttermilk (or milk + 1 1/2 tsp. apple cider vinegar, could also substitute yogurt or other soaking medium)

In a small bowl combine these ingredients thoroughly, cover, and allow to rest at room temperature for 12 to 24 hours.  When ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350, and add to the flour mixture:

2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix well, then add in the remaining ingredients:

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup unrefined sugar

When well combined, pour into a greased pan (I used a 10x10, you could use 9x9 for a thicker cake, or 9x13 for a thinner cake). 

For the topping, stir together in a seperate bowl:
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Sprinkle on top of cake.  Bake in oven for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Allow to cool.

Enjoy!
Lisa

This recipe is linked up to Kitchen Stewardship's Soaking Grains Gallery and Monday Mania at the Healthy Home Economist.

Chocolate Roasted Almonds

I love this recipe for several reasons.  The almonds are soaked & then roasted or dehydrated, which reduces the phytic acid (see my tab "why soak").  There is no refined sugar in it, only maple syrup or honey.  And the best reason to like it is that I can reach for them when I'm having a chocolate craving, but it gives me protein also.  These would also be a unique & yummy "no clutter" gift to give to someone.

Chocolate Roasted (or Dehydrated) Almonds
2 cups almonds
1 1/2 tsp. salt

Place almonds in a bowl or container and cover with water.  Add salt & swirl around to mix.  Cover and allow to soak for at least 8 hours or overnight.  After soaking, drain and allow to air dry for 2 hours.

1 Tbsp. oil (olive or coconut oil)
2 Tbsp. maple syrup or honey (I used honey)
1 Tbsp. cocoa powder

Combine the rest of the ingredients in a medium bowl and add almonds.  Stir to coat completely.  Place on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.  To roast, bake at 250 for one hour or until nuts are crunchy, not soft.  Or alternately, you can dehydrate these at lower temperatures for longer periods of time.  Allow to cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

I dehydrated these using the lowest temperature setting on my oven for several hours during the day, then I turned off the oven and allowed the nuts to stay in the warm oven for several more hours.

Enjoy!
Lisa

this post is a part of Tuesday Twister

Flourless Blender Pancakes

In my last post I shared about my adventure with sprouting wheat & making it into bread.  With the sprouted wheat berries I had left, I decided to make blender pancakes for the next morning.  Normally I make this with wheat berries (unsprouted) and oatmeal.  This recipe is easy & I love it.  Using sprouted wheat made it a little different, but I still want to share it with you.

This recipe comes from Sue Gregg's Breakfasts Cookbook.

Flourless Blender Pancakes (or Waffles)
1 cup cultured milk (buttermilk, or yogurt diluted with milk) 
*use 1 1/4 cup milk if making waffles
1 Tablespoon melted butter, coconut oil, or olive oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup raw brown rice, corn, buckwheat, or wheat berries
1/2 cup uncooked rolled oats

Place these ingredients in a blender & blend at highest speed for 3 to 5 minutes.  Let stand (in mixer) in warm place for 12 - 24 hours.

1 egg
1 Tablespoon ground flax seeds (optional)
1 teaspoon baking soda 
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat waffle iron or griddle.  Add egg to the batter in the blender and blend on highest speed for 1-3 minutes.  Add in flax seeds, baking soda, and salt and blend to combine (scrape down sides if needed). Grease waffle iron or griddle & pour pancakes (so easy from the blender).  Cook until bubbles on surface pop & then flip.

The batter I got using (over) sprouted wheat berries was very thin (the berries had already absorbed water during the sprouting stage).  At first I had a very rough time cooking them as they were more crepe like.  You can see they were making a mess there.  But then I learned that cooking them at a lower temp & longer would work.

Mmmm- yummy!  Tried & true even with my crazy wheat berries this recipe came through.  However, when I decided to throw some blueberries into the last part of the batch I discovered these are way too fragile to support that!

You may not be able to tell in this picture, but this is after the flip & they were sticking & making a horrible mess, all tore up inside.  I'm thinking to myself, "Things I do for my daughter!"  (My daughter loves blueberry pancakes.) 

Try out this recipe with raw wheat berries.  I've tried it with brown rice, but definitely prefer it with wheat.

Enjoy!
Lisa

This post is a part of Tuesday Twister.

(Flourless) Sprouted Wheat Bread... oh my!

That "Oh my!" in the title there is not as in, "wow, this was so tasty!"  It was more as in, "Lions and tigers and sprouted wheat, oh my!"

I have had some wheat berries sitting in my pantry for weeks & weeks waiting for me to try this recipe for flourless sprouted wheat bread.  It sounded so amazing, making bread by sprouting the wheat berries and then making dough by running them through the food processor (and *not* having to grind them into flour).  This week I finally got up the nerve to try it... with mixed results.

It's a fairly simple process.  Day one:  take 3 cups of wheat berries, cover with generous amount of water & allow to soak for 24 hours.  I started mine in the evening & had to add more water in the morning (did you see my post yesterday about all the stuff I had soaking?)

Day two: drain in sieve, rinse thoroughly, leave in sieve & cover with damp towel.  Rinse at least every 8 hours and allow to sit for up to 24 hours.  Since I started in the evening, I rinsed them again when I woke up, and again the afternoon.  But in a warm summer kitchen this is what I found after 24 hours of sitting...

I don't know if you can tell in this picture- but these wheat berries are way over- sprouted.  The sprouts should not be longer than the wheat berry, and quite a few were already too long, some even with multiple sprouts...  ::sigh::  But despite her warnings about them being no good for bread baking, I was not to be deterred that easily.

The next step is to seal & refrigerate over night, which worked out perfectly since this was the evening/end of the second day.  The next afternoon I got them out & prepared to make the bread recipe:

Sprouted Wheat Bread
6 cups sprouted wheat berries (my 3 cups turned into more than this)
1 teaspoon yeast
2 Tablespoons warm water
2 teaspoons salt
3 Tablespoons honey
loaf pan, greased
clean kitchen towel
gallon zip lock bag

Dissolve the yeast in the water in a small cup.  Put half of the wheat, salt, honey, and yeast mixture in the food processor (that means 3 cups wheat, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 1/2 Tablespoons honey, + yeast mixture).  Process 30 seconds & then scrape down sides.

This is what mine looked like.  Now the next step is to continue processing until a ball of dough forms.   Do you know what happens when wheat over-sprouts?  It turns very starchy.

After several minutes of processing I still did not see what looked like dough, and it smelled like my food processor motor was starting to overheat.  Maybe it had something to do with what I saw when I lifted up the bowl...

Eww!  Look what it did!  The "stuff" went up inside the blade & down under & eww....  At this point you are supposed to repeat the process with the remaining ingredients.  I do (after cleaning up the first mess) but I don't process it for as long this time & the mess is much less, but I don't think this is what your dough is supposed to look like.

Again, I am not deterred that easily!  I decided to add 2 cups of spelt flour to the glob and knead it for several minutes.  Now, put your dough in a greased bowl & let it rise for several hours.  I figured it has yeast & flour, it should rise...  (I had to help mine out by putting it in a warm oven with a pot of boiling water.)  Eventually my dough did rise, my hopes are going up now!

Next form it into a loaf & place in a greased pan for the second rise.  I put mine in a warm oven again & after a few hours, it looked like this (I was also making sourdough bread at the time so I put them next to each other).

And look at me: I even remembered to slash my loaves!

Now, bake at 350 for 30 to 40 minutes.  The sad news is the sprouted wheat bread did not do it's third rise in the oven.  The good news is my sourdough loaf did & this was the first time for that!  My best sourdough loaf ever!  Wrap your sprouted loaf in the towel & place inside the zip lock bag for 45 minutes.

The taste of the sprouted wheat loaf was very starchy & chewy- no big surprise there.  I still had sprouted wheat left, so my next post will be about the pancakes I tried to make from it.  How about you?  Have you tried making sprouted wheat bread before?  Give it a go & let me know how it works for you!

Enjoy!

Lisa

This post is a part of Real Food Wednesday
Fight Back Fridays
Family Food Fridays
and Monday Mania

Soaking....

How's this for a busy night?  What all is going on here?  In the oven I had soaking: wheat berries (for sprouting- those are up front), the granola I love (back left), cashews (bottom shelf- for cashew cream), and under the towel is a bowl of pancake batter in one bowl and blueberry muffin batter in another.  On top of the stove I have oats soaking for "Soaked & Ready Oats".  And if you see back in the upper left corner of the picture is my jar of sourdough starter.  When you have a small kitchen the oven can come in handy for nights like this!

I made the Soaked & Ready Oats because I am planning on making more No Bake Granola Bars, and I also want to make the Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Ice Cream recipe from the Just Making Noise blog.

To make the oats all you need to do is soak 4 cups oats with 4 cups lukewarm water and 5-8 Tbsp. of whey (I used 6).  Allow to soak for 12 to 24 hours, then drain in a sieve for 10 minutes.

Mine actually drained for a lot longer than 10 minutes because I walked away & got busy elsewhere!

Spread the oats out thin on a parchment paper covered cookie sheet (she suggests oiling the paper, but I didn't & it was fine).  I put them in the oven at 250 and dehydrated them for about 4 or 5 hours (doing this at the same time as I dehydrated my granola on another rack, meant I was getting the most out of having my oven on that day).

This is the second time I have made them & this time they were still a little soft in the middle- I probably could have dehydrated them for longer, but I went ahead & processed them into oat sized pieces, put them in a container & now they are in the fridge waiting to be used.

Do you soak your grains?  Do you want to know why I do?  You can read more about it on the new page I've added on the top of my blog "Why Soak?"  (Maybe I should have called it "Whey Soak?"  That's a soaking joke!  Sorry- couldn't help myself- tee hee!)

Enjoy,
Lisa

P.S. I'll post more about the other recipes I had soaking later this week!
This post is a part of Tuesday Twister.

Carrot Cake

My all time favorite cake is carrot cake (or cheesecake- if that counts as cake then it's a tie)!  Since it was my birthday I decided I would make myself a healthy birthday cake- that way we can really enjoy it.  I wanted my cake to also have the benefits of "soaking" to make it even healthier.  I searched & searched real food blogs, but no soaked carrot cake was to be found.  The closest I could find was this recipe for Election Cake (which I had never heard of- and I had also never heard of using yeast in a cake).  Later I googled it & found this information about it's history.

Even though there was no picture of the cake, it had molasses, spices, and dried fruit.  I figured I could sub out the dried fruit for carrots and give it a try.  Pretty brave of me I think!  I ended up adding quite a few things, and I wasn't sure how it would turn out, but we've decided it's pretty good.  Here's what I ended up with:

Carrot Cake
4 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/4 cups buttermilk

12 to 24 hours ahead of time combine flour & buttermilk, cover, and allow to sit at room temperature.  Mixture will be a little dry.

8 oz. can crushed pineapple, undrained
2 packets yeast
1/2 lb. butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sucanat or turbinado sugar
1/4 cup molasses
2 eggs
1 T. cinnamon
pinch of cloves
pinch of nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 c. shredded carrots (about 3)
1 c. shredded coconut
1 c. chopped pecans
1 c. raisins

The morning after you've soaked the flour: drain pineapple juice into (glass) measuring cup & add enough water to equal 2/3 cup.  Warm gently to about 110 degrees (do not boil- you can place the measuring cup in a pot of water on the stove to warm it).  Remove from heat, stir in yeast & allow to sit for several minutes.

Meanwhile, cream the butter and sugar together at high speed until creamy.  Add molasses and eggs and continue to beat.

Mix the flour mixture into the egg & butter mixture one cup at a time.  Then add the yeast mixture, spices, and salt and mix thoroughly until a thick-cake like batter forms.  Stir in drained pineapple, carrots, coconut, pecans and raisins.

Pour batter into pans (one 9x13 or 2 round cake pans) that have been oiled & floured or lined with parchment paper (that's what I did).  Make sure you account for the fact that this cake is going to rise!  Leave in a warm place for several hours or until doubled in bulk (it sure did)!  Wow- that's a lot of cake!

Pre-heat oven to 375 & bake for approximately 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean (mine baked for closer to an hour & it was over cooked).  Check half way through bake time- if top is browning too fast then cover with foil.  Allow to cool for 5 to 10 minues in pan, then transfer to cooling rack. 

This may be more dense than your cake usually is (more like the density of a fruitcake), but it is still tasty.  I found it paired perfectly with Wardeh's vanilla coconut cream frosting.  Right now Tropical Traditions has their coconut cream on sale: buy one, get one free!  If you're thinking about buying some (use some for frosting and some for fudge) and it's your first time, you can use my referral number 5997607 to get a free book about coconut oil.  I've been reading it & it's full of amazing testimonials. 

Enjoy!
Lisa

This post is a part of Real Food Wednesdays.

The Granola of My Dreams

Ok, maybe I'm exaggerating a little- but maybe not!  This granola is so good, I really do think about it during the day. "I didn't have granola this morning, when can I have it?  Dinner?  Late night snack?"  Seriously!  I love some good granola, mixed with plain whole milk yogurt and raw honey= bliss!

Do you remember the last time I posted about granola?  My failure then is typical of my experience making granola- but this time I had success!  The recipe comes from Passionate Homemaking.  I only changed it a little when I made it, based on what I had on hand.  The ingredients here are half of what the original recipe calls for.  I'm the only one who eats granola in my house so this was the perfect amount for me. 

"Soaked" Granola
4 cups rolled oats
1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp. coconut oil (melted)
1/4 cup melted butter
3/4 cup buttermilk or kefir
1/2 to 1 cup water (as needed for moisture- I used kefir instead)

**combine above ingredients in a bowl, cover & allow to soak for 24 hours**

1/4 cup honey
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/2 tsp. sea salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. vanilla (I was out of vanilla so I used maple extract)

**Pre-heat oven to 200.  Combine honey, syrup, salt, cinnamon and vanilla (I just put this in a small pot, original directions say to place in glass measuring cup inside pot of water). Warm gently until thin & then add to oat mixture.

Spread on parchment paper covered cookie sheets.  This batch filled one and a half of my cookie sheets.  I tried to spread it as thin as possible, without leaving any holes.

Bake for 2 to 4 hours.  Cool in oven.  I baked mine for 6 hours, which was a little too long.  I thought the granola needed to be dry before I removed it from the oven, but it really does crisp more as it cools.  

Add ins:
1/2 cup shredded coconut (I used closer to a whole cup)
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 cup sunflower or pumpkin seeds (I had neither)
1/2 cup nuts (I used pecan pieces)
1/2 cup dried fruit (I just added more raisins)

Mix it all together & store.

When you are baking this your house will be filled with amazing smells.  I went outside & could even smell it outside the house.  It was torture!  It's like when people burn candles that smell like food (apple pie, sugar cookie, etc.).  Why would you do that?  It just makes me hungry!  But, if you can wait 'til it cools (don't burn your mouth!) this granola is worth it.

Do you like my photo background- the yellow with red & pink ladybugs?  That is my mom's sleeved apron from the 1970's.  I used to wear it as a kid, and now my kids get to wear it too.  I just thought the picture needed a little "something" so I threw that in there for fun.  And a little nostalgia.  

Enjoy!
Lisa

This post is a part of Pennywise Platter Thursday.

When Life Gives You Bad Apples...

My kids have absolutely no interest in apples that are soft, puckered skin, or with blemishes- oh, how we are spoiled now aren't we?  We are so used to the "perfect" food presented in the grocery store that we really will tolerate nothing less. But I digress!  When life gives you bad apples... make applesauce!  It really was so easy- you should try it!

Applesauce
makes about 4 cups of applesauce, you can adjust to recipe to make more or less!
about 6 apples
1/4 c. water
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 - 1 Tbsp. maple syrup (depending on how sweet your apples are, or how sweet you like it)
sprinkle of cinnamon

Put water, lemon juice, maple syrup and cinnamon in your cooking pot, stir.  Chop the apples into about 1" pieces (I did not peel them, you may, but you might be surprised how easily those peels blend into the finished sauce- so try it without).  As you chop each apple, toss it into the cooking pot & stir to coat the pieces (the lemon juice will keep them from turning brown as you chop more).
Heat to boiling, them reduce to simmer for a few hours, or until very, very soft.  (Yummy smells in your kitchen!)  Remove from heat & allow to cool slightly.  Toss it all into your food processor (or blender) and blend to desired texture.

Can you see any apple peel in there?  Nope! 

I found a few more apples that were less-than-perfect and I decided to make Apple Oven Pancakes.  I am not sure where I printed this recipe from, but I have adjusted it to include soaking of the flour.  If you want to shorten your morning prep time (like I did) and don't mind heating your oven twice, you can cook the apples the day before.  I also combined the remaining batter ingredients in a jar, shook it up to mix, and put it in the fridge to make my morning even quicker!

Apple Oven Pancakes

about 6 servings

1 c. buttermilk (or plain yogurt thinned with milk)

2/3 c. whole wheat flour

*12-24 hours before baking, combine buttermilk & flour in blender (gently).  Let soak til ready to cook.

4 Tbsp. butter

2 apples, sliced very thin (peeling optional)

Preheat oven to 425.  While oven is heating place butter in 9x13 pan & put in oven to melt.  Once melted, place apple slices evenly across bottom of pan.  Bake in oven for about 10 minutes.

4 large eggs

2 Tbsp. honey

2 Tbsp. raw sugar (if using tart apples)

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Add these ingredients to the flour/buttermilk mixture in the blender and blend to combine.  Pour over apples in dish.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Pancake will be very tall & puffed up when you first remove it from the oven, but will collapse back down after cooling slightly.  Slice & serve with applesauce or maple syrup.

Hmm, not the most flattering picture, but we were headed on a train trip that day & I didn't have time to make a pretty picture!  If you plan ahead you only need to spend 5 minutes in the morning on this (plus oven preheat time & bake time- but you can be getting ready then) plus you get more protein than a regular pancake too.

And just for fun, here's a picture from our trip to Seattle that day.  My son trying to get a good view from the top of the Space Needle- using the telescope backwards of course. ;)

Enjoy!

Lisa

This post is a part of The Nourishing Gourmet's Pennywise Platter Thursday.

Tortillas 6 Lisa 0

I have tried to make tortillas about 5 or 6 times, I'm guessing.  A few times just "soaked" whole wheat, and a few times with sourdough starter.  I have never been really successful at it.  Sometimes, like the last batch I had, the dough is so sticky or fragile that if I try to roll it thin enough it ends up falling apart on the way to the pan.  Sometimes the dough was great, but the end product was not pliable at all.  And every time, whether I've fried them in oil or used a dry pan, the oil that ends up in the air while I'm cooking them gives me a headache.

This picture really does not do justice to the disaster that was my latest attempt at making tortillas.  The batch on the left was thin enough, however, they were falling apart in the pan & had holes.  I was getting so frustrated with them that I decided I had to leave them thicker & that is the batch on the right.  They actually ended up reminding me of the flat bread eaten in Rwanda, called chapati.

What do you do when you end up with strange fat tortillas?  You go ahead & make easy chicken enchiladas from the Musings of a Housewife blog anyway!  We actually make enchiladas in Rwanda using chapati & it's one of our favorite meals.

They don't look pretty but they taste just fine!  This is a great recipe to use some of the chicken meat after you've roasted a chicken & pulled the meat off before (or after) making your bone broth.  (By the way, the nice thing about making the crock pot roast chicken I told you about last week is that the meat is already falling off the bones, so I got most of the meat off the bird before I boiled it.)  I didn't have any cream for this recipe, so I used some creme fraiche instead.

All's you have to do is just mix the meat with some salsa (and I like to add sour cream or creme fraiche and this time I threw in some black beans too), dip your tortilla in the cream, roll it up around some of the meat mixture, throw a bunch of shredded cheese on top & bake.  Super easy & good (even with crazy tortillas)!

What else can you do with crazy too thick tortillas?  Make them into individual pizzas & warm in a 425 oven til cheese melts.  It's a soft "pizza" but it works & is especially great in a pinch for another quick dinner.

So, at least for a while now, I am done with my attempts at making homemade tortillas.  I bought some sprouted tortillas from the Ezekiel bread company & we'll have to see how those are.  My husband also really likes the sprouted bread I bought from Nature Bake bakery (their bakery store is only about 30 minutes away & you can buy frozen bread in bulk for about $2.50 a loaf).  I still have my sourdough starter going though, so I have not completely thrown the towel in...  stay tuned!

Here's hoping all your kitchen adventures today are successful!
Enjoy-
Lisa

This post is a part of Tuesday Twister at GNOWFGLINS.

Butternut Squash

I know this is May, and it is spring (although here in the NW it is not being very spring-like!)  But I have had a butternut squash sitting on top of my fridge for at least a month now, waiting for me to use it.  Butternut squash is something new to me- I don't think we ever ate it growing up.

I was trying out some recipes from the Traditional Foods Menu Mailer and one of them is Veggie-Heavy Chili, which includes half of a butternut squash.  I was actually surprised when my family liked this recipe!  (We are not ones to be fans of "different" ways of using food- like sweet potatoes in burritos for example.)  So, then the question is, what to do with the other half of the squash?  The menu mailer suggests squash oven fries, but I tried it & that falls under the not fans of "different" ways of using food category.  Instead, I felt like having some squash pancakes for breakfast.

And now here is some exciting news for me- I tried & successfully adapted a recipe to "soaking" for the first time!  I have preferred to let others test & try converting recipes before this, but I got brave & it worked!  (I think pancakes are probably a pretty safe bet for converting to soaking.)  I found this pumpkin pancake recipe and modified a few things.  The pancakes were great & even my 6 year old liked them!

First I took my peeled & cut up butternut squash, put it in a covered pan on the stove with a little bit of water & about a tablespoon of coconut oil. I boiled the water to steam the squash for several minutes (until very soft), then drained the remaining water & pureed the squash in the blender.  This makes 2 c. of puree, set aside 1 c. for another recipe (like muffins).

Squash (or Pumpkin) Pancakes
2 c. flour
1 1/2 c. buttermilk
*12-24 hours beforehand, combine these two ingredients & cover

1 c. squash or pumpkin puree
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. ginger
1/8 t. nutmeg
2 T. raw sugar, honey, or maple syrup
2 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1 egg
2 T. melted coconut oil

When you're ready to make the pancakes stir in all remaining ingredients to the soaked flour/buttermilk mixture.  Our family likes thin pancakes (not fluffy) so I added about 1/2 c. water and 1/2 c. milk to greatly thin out this batter.  Heat additional coconut oil in a skillet over medium low heat (you want these to cook all the way through) flipping when bubbles pop.

Serve with maple syrup or Pear Sauce.  This makes a lot, so freeze the extras for quick breakfasts on other days (just pop them in the toaster).

With the other 1 c. of squash puree I decided to try Kitchen Stewardship's Pumpkin Muffin recipe.  I modifed the amount of sugar & the spices a little bit.  First, 24 hours beforehand I combined:
1 2/3 cup white whole wheat flour
1 c. pureed squash
3/4 c. water + 2 Tbs plain yogurt
1/2 c. melted butter

The next day I added:
1/2 c. sugar (original recipe called for 1 c. but that is more than I like for muffins)
2 eggs
1/4 t. baking powder
1 1/2 t. baking soda
3/4 t. salt
1/8 t. ground cloves (original recipe calls for 1/2 t.)
1 t. cinnamon (original recipe calls for 1/2 t.)
1/4 t. nutmeg (original recipe calls for 1/2 t.)
I also sprinkled additional cinnamon sugar on top of the muffins.

I baked them at 325 for 45 minutes.  Makes about 16 muffins (filling cups very full).  They taste great, but they did fall in the middle.  I think it might have something to do with reducing the sugar in the recipe. 

Still worth a try though- these are getting gobbled up in my house!

Enjoy!
Lisa

This post is a part of Real Food Wednesday
and Pennywise Platter Thursday.

Success with Muffins!

One of the first things I attempted to bake by "soaking" my flour was the muffin recipe from Nourishing Traditions.  I don't know if it was user error, or what exactly happened, but what I ended up with were flat, dry, tasteless muffins.  Yuck.  I am not a picky eater at all, but I couldn't even eat them.  Of course the silver lining in this little story is that in my desire to use those muffins for something (rather than throw them out) I discovered my bread pudding recipe.  That recipe has become a staple in my kitchen (partly because it's so good & easy, and partly because I have had so many failed bread attempts!).

Not being one to give up so easy, I decided to try muffins again when I saw Wardeh's recipe for Basic Soaked Muffins.  I saw the pictures and the comments, and this made me feel confident that these might work out- and they did!  You start by combining 1 1/2 c. flour (it says pastry flour, but all I had was regular whole wheat), 1/2 c. rolled oats, 1 c. milk, and 2 Tbsp. vinegar (I actually used whey, because I have so much after making yogurt cream cheese.)

I let it soak for about 20 hours.  To melt the 1/2 c. coconut oil I needed, I placed it in a glass jar inside a pot of water on the stove.  In a bowl separate from the flour mixture I whisked together 2 eggs, 1/2 c. turbinado sugar, and 1 t. vanilla.  Then I slowly poured in the melted coconut oil, whisking continuously.  I added in 1 teaspoon salt and 2 teaspoons baking powder.  I also added in Wardeh's suggested spices of 2 t. cinnamon, 1 t. ginger, and 1/4 t. nutmeg.  At this point I also began preheating the oven to 375.

Now it's time to add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture.  Here is what my flour mixture looked like:

Can you see the discoloration that is on the surface?  This darkening seems to happen when I soak using cultured dairy (kefir, whey, yogurt, buttermilk) but it doesn't affect the finished product.  When I was adding in the egg mixture to the flour, I had a "lightbulb" moment.  I decided to finely chop some organic crystallized ginger & add it to the dough.  I took two squares (example below) and mixed it in.

And here is what the dough looks like when it is all mixed together (I added 1/2 c. raisins in later to part of the batter).

I didn't have enough muffin liners, so part of the pan I just rubbed generous amounts of coconut oil inside (one of the great things about using coconut oil when you bake is if you get it on your hands you just rub it in!  Great moisturizer!)  The ones that have no liner are without raisins.  I used my cookie scoop to drop a few scoops of batter into each cup.

After baking for 20 minutes I stuck a toothpick in one of them & they were still very wet inside.  About another 8 minutes & they were perfect.  Everyone in the family liked these.  They have a nice risen shape, good flavor (I really liked the ginger), and moist.

This post is a part of Real Food Wednesday at Kelly the Kitchen Kop.

Enjoy!
Lisa

Cookies... for breakfast?

If you're of my generation that line may bring back memories of Saturday morning commercials for a certain sugar filled cereal...  but what we've got going here is a whole different animal!  Last week I had some soured milk that I needed to use up and I felt like making something different for breakfast.  I decided to try out the recipe for Breakfast Cookies at Heavenly Homemakers.

Since I started cooking with soaked grains I have been missing cookies something terrible!  The only cookie recipes I have found either require sprouted flour or are macaroons (nothing against macaroons, but it's not quite the cookie experience I was craving).  The first time I made this recipe I soaked it for 12 hours, the second time was closer to 24 (which is much better for you).

"Soaked" Oatmeal Cookies
Makes about 50 cookies (unless you make giant ones)

The recipe calls for 1 c. melted butter, but I melted 1/2 c. butter with 1/2 c. coconut oil.  Stir that together with 2 c. flour and 2 c. oats, then add in about 1/2 to 3/4 c. of  buttermilk (I added a tablespoon of kefir to my soured milk to make sure it was cultured).  You want to mix well so that everything is moistened & you will have something that is a very thick oatmeal consistency.

Cover and let sit for 12 to 24 hours.  For the next step you better get ready, because you are going to get a good arm workout!  What was oatmeal consistency has now become much more cement-like!  Use a sturdy spoon to start breaking it up.  I added the 2 eggs & 1 t. vanilla at this point, as well as 1/2 c. honey (the recipe calls for 3/4 c., but because these were for breakfast I didn't want them too sweet) & I began to work that moisture into the dough.

Eventually it will begin to get smooth and you can add a teaspoon each of salt, cinnamon, and baking soda.  Once that is thoroughly mixed in add 1 c. raisins (my raisins were low so I only had 1/2 c.).  Preheat your oven to 350 and get out your cookie sheets & parchment paper (optional).  I was using a cookie scoop, so my cookies were not "giant" like the original recipe.  I filled two very large cookie sheets and baked them one sheet at a time for 15 minutes each.

Oh, my cookie scoop, how I missed you!  You have no idea how delighted I was to make cookies again!

If you use the full 3/4 c. honey your cookies will not be as firmly rolled as these are (and when I made almond butter ones they were much looser & spread much more).  When they are done you get a light & fluffy cookie.  But the real fun was when my daughter (who did not know what was for breakfast) got a whiff of them baking and said, "What is that smell?"  When I got to tell her, "Breakfast Cookies," her whole face lit up!  Priceless.

These are healthy so if you want to serve them for breakfast, go ahead, but I would use them as a side with some other protein item (bacon & egg, whole milk yogurt, etc.) to really start your day right.

Now we get to have cookies again- hurray!  I even made almond butter cookies (with the full 3/4 c. honey) for my husband's birthday celebration & they were well liked.  Even with 3/4 c. honey they are still not overly sweet, which is great for us.  These are handy for dessert, after school, or as a quick on-the-go snack.

Almond Butter or Peanut Butter Variation: substitute 1 c. almond or peanut butter for the 1 c. butter/coconut oil, omit cinnamon, optional: add 1/2 c. chopped almonds or peanuts
 In case you're wondering, I did include the almond butter with the oats & flour that "soaked" for 24 hours.  I did not try almond extract instead of vanilla, but you might want to if you're using almond butter.  This batter will spread more, so make sure to space them 2" apart on your cookie sheet.

(Suggested) Apple Spice Variation: subsitute 1 c. finely chopped apples for the raisins, add 1/8 to 1/4 t. ground nutmeg (I have not tried this yet but I think it would work great!  I'll let you know soon!)

Chocolate or Carob Chip Cookies: this is the one my son can't wait for- use chocolate or carob chips instead of raisins, omit cinnamon (or leave in depending on preference)

Do you have any other ideas for variations on this cookie?  How about a tropical version- use 1/2 c. shredded coconut & 1/2 c. tropical dried fruit, instead of raisins, and a different extract instead of vanilla?  Have some fun!

Tomorrow will be my post on making homemade pear sauce (or syrup) in the crockpot.
This post is a part of Real Food Wednesday.

Enjoy,
Lisa

P.S.  Have you seen Food, Inc?  Did you know it is premiering on TV tonight on PBS?  Check your local listings, in my area it is on at 9pm.  Then watch it, record it, DVR it, or Tivo it.  Tweet about it, update your facebook status, email your friends, talk about it and get people watching & learning!  If you want to talk about it after you watch it you can visit my Food, Inc. post to comment & discuss there.  I am sure that change can happen if people learn & begin to care about what they feed themselves!

Homemade "Soaked" Bagels & Yogurt Cheese

This post is linked up with Cutting Back on Sugar on Naturally Knocked up
and Pennywise Platter Thursday at The Nourishing Gourmet.

I stopped buying bagels in the store a long time before I ever stopped buying bread.  The reason is that my daughter loves them & will eat them all day.  It seemed like a lot of empty calories & sugars for her so I just stopped buying them.  But as we struggle to find things for my daughter to take in her lunches (she's picky) I decided to make some bagels for us all.  I had made homemade bagels once before, a long time ago, and it really is not too hard.  This time I used the recipe from Passionate Homemaking  soaked grains & no added sugar equals bagels I can feel good about.

First you mix 1 cup warm water, 2 Tbsp. acid medium (I used kefir), 1/4 cup honey & 4 1/4 cups whole wheat flour.  I had to use a fork because this is a lot of flour relative to not much liquid.  After a while of mixing I pressed the dough down (trying to get all the flour in contact with the moisture) covered it and let it "soak" for 12 hours.

When I was ready to make the bagels I combined 2 Tbsp. of yeast, 1/2 cup warm (100-120 degrees) water, and a dab of honey & let it "puff" for about 5 minutes.  DO NOT use a 1 cup measuring cup to do this in!  I turned around to do some dishes & when I turned back around I saw this!

OK, well we know that yeast is active!  I tossed the soaked flour mixture into the bowl of my Kitchenaid mixture.  You can see, it is very dry, but I think that's how it has to be...

Because once I added the yeast mixture (and 1 Tbsp. salt) I got a dough that was really very...

STICKY!  I added about a 1/2 c. of spelt flour to it & kneaded it for several minutes.  It did eventually become more of a dough, though still very sticky.  I wanted this dough to rise quickly, so I put it in the oven with the light on & a pot of just boiled water.  After two hours my dough had risen well.

Time to punch down the dough & since I wanted cinnamon raisin bagels I added about a teaspoon of cinnamon & 1/4 cup of raisins at this point.  The dough is still very sticky, but I did not want to add more flour.  If your dough is sticky I would suggest oiling your hands very well (I used olive oil).  After kneading in the cinnamon & raisin I picked up the dough & split it into half, then each of those into half, then each of those into thirds (making 12 balls).  I laid them out on the same oiled plastic wrap I had used to cover my dough while it was rising (oh yes, I reuse around here- a lot!)

While those are resting I've already got out my big skillet & started the water boiling.  I purposefully used this one, with the most surface area, because I wanted to be able to cook several at once.  Lindsay says to cook 2 or 3 at a time, but I just don't listen.  I am either lazy or I love being super efficient- or both!  After 5 minutes you then poke a hole in the middle of the balls & let them rest for another 10 minutes.  You can see mine are kind of wonky- but that doesn't bother me!

While they're resting you can also start pre-heating your oven to 350.  Hopefully by now your water is at a good boil.  Cooking them first in the boiling water is what gives bagels their characteristic "chewy" texture.  I cooked them for about 45 seconds to 1 minute on each side, and drained them on a wire rack.  A lot of the raisins fell out of the dough in the water, but when I had boiled all the bagels I just used the spatula to strain the raisins out of the water & poked them back into the bagels.

They were still very soft so I carefully transferred them onto a piece of parchment paper on a cookie sheet.*  I did not do the egg white glaze. I'd rather not mess with an egg white, and they are fine without it, just not shiny.  After baking for 35 minutes they are done (and your kitchen smells wonderful).  The instructions are to flip them half way through, but my cookie sheet is insulated so I don't need to.  They aren't the prettiest things ever but they are very tasty!

*I always use parchment paper on my cookie sheets because I'm sure they are aluminum & I don't want aluminum touching my food.  And did you know you can reuse parchment paper?  Oh yes you can!  Since most things just slide right off you can keep reusing that parchment paper until it turns a dark brown.  I do this with my bread pans too- parchment paper makes getting the bread out so easy.


Have you made yogurt "cheese" before?  You just line a strainer with coffee filters, put it inside a larger bowl, and pour the yogurt in.  After a few hours the whey is strained out (save this in your refrigerator & use for soaking grains) and you are left with something very close to cream cheese.  I had put a large container of yogurt in my freezer (it was about to go bad & I didn't have time to use it up).  A few days ago I pulled it out so it could thaw in the refrigerator before I used it to make a wonderful creamy yogurt "cheese".  I like to put a couple spoonfuls of yogurt cheese in a small cup & then dip bits of bagel in there.  For my daughter I mixed the yogurt cheese up with some fruit syrup (frozen fruit cooked with maple syrup, leftover from breakfast).  And then I had a craving for ginger- so I took some candied ginger (ok, I confess there's some organic sugar in there), minced it & mixed it in with the yogurt cheese- that tasted awesome with a cinnamon raisin bagel!

Good stuff!
Enjoy!
Lisa