Earl Grey Blueberry Muffins

Let me say up front that the addition of earl grey into this recipe is still within the experimental stage. Even without the flavor of tea that I tried to extract, this muffin recipe is certainly wonderful and is my favorite (and reliable) muffin recipe. Thank you to Smitten Kitchen for sharing it!

A word about tea

Besides the green tea tofu chocolate pudding that I made years ago, I have little experience incorporating tea into cooking. With pudding, a recipe that required liquid, it was easy to steep the tea and extract those flavors. But it's a bit more difficult with muffins. In this recipe the closest you get to liquid is yogurt, but of course you'll denature yogurt if you try to heat it up. Fortunately I recalled a conversation that I had with a friend who told me about what was involved in making cannabis brownies. While the properties of tea are much different, it did make sense to attempt to steep the tea in heated butter. Sure enough, a few minutes of loose leaf tea submerged in hot butter produced a very pleasing aroma. Unfortunately this flavor did not translate as well as I hoped into the final product. 

The second method I tried was to create an extract. However, again, the results were less than stunning. This is likely due to the short length of time I allowed the extract to form. I also did not have vodka on hand so I used rum which, of course was too fragrant in its own right. Despite these shortcomings, the extract I produced did carry the scent of my tea, but perhaps it was not potent enough. Another variable could also be the strength of tea. Something that I would also like to experiment with. 

Nevertheless, I really am intrigued by the idea of cooking with tea and I think it is worth further experimentation to produce a tea muffin. If any readers have any ideas about using tea I would love to hear about them. 

This recipe comes straight from Smitten Kitchen, unmodified by myself (nothing wrong with these guys), originally adapted from Cook's Illustrated.

Makes 9 to 10 standard muffins

5 tablespoons (2 1/2 ounces or 71 grams) unsalted butter , softened
1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces or 100 grams) sugar
1 large egg
3/4 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 1/2 cups (6 3/4 ounces or 191 grams) all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon (7 grams or 1/4 ounce) baking powder
1/4 teaspoon (1 gram) baking soda
1/4 teaspoon (2 grams) salt
3/4 cup (3 3/4 ounces or 105 grams) blueberries, fresh or frozen (if frozen, don’t bother defrosting)

To steep tea, measure 7-8 tablespoons of butter (you'll lose some when straining it) then heat over the stove until it becomes fully liquidized. Then add in about 3 tablespoons of your favorite loose leaf tea.
Let the mixture steep over low heat for 5 mins (you may want to try more). Pour mixture through fine strainer press, quite hard, the leaves, to extract as much butter as possible. Let butter solidify.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a muffin tin with 10 paper liners or spray each cup with a nonstick spray. Beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add egg and beat well, then yogurt and zest. Put flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a sifter and sift half of dry ingredients over batter. Mix until combined. Sift remaining dry ingredients into batter and mix just until the flour disappears. Gently fold in your blueberries. 

The dough will be quite thick (and even thicker, if you used a full-fat Greek-style yogurt), closer to a cookie dough, which is why an ice cream scoop is a great tool to fill your muffin cups. 

You’re looking for them to be about 3/4 full, nothing more, so you might only need 9 instead of 10 cups. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until tops are golden and a tester inserted into the center of muffins comes out clean (you know, except for blueberry goo). Let cool on rack (ha), or you know, serve with a generous pat of butter."

Hot Dog Buns

For whatever reason it is hard to find a good set of hot dog buns at the grocery stores nearby our apartment. Sometimes we have to settle for New England style buns (see photo here if you're not familiar) which, as intriguing as they may be, just don't do it for me. It was about time I tried making my own buns. So I came across this recipe from annies-eats.com. With the addition of our bagel bomb seasoning mix, this turned out to be a great batch of buns. 

Hot Dog Buns

Yield: 9 buns
Ingredients:
1 tbsp. sugar
2¼ tsp. instant yeast
¼ cup warm water (105-110˚ F)
1 cup warm milk
1 tbsp. vegetable or canola oil
1 tsp. salt
3 cups all-purpose flour (aproximately)
1 large egg beaten with 1 tbsp. water
Top with a mixture of: 

    Black Sesame Seeds, White Sesame Seeds, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, and Poppy Seeds. 

Directions: 

In a standmixer bowl combine, sugar, yeast and warm water. Then add milk, oil, salt and 2 cups of flour. Mix on medium low with a dough hook, slowly adding flour until you get a tacky consistency where the dough has pulled away from the sides of the bowl. Keep adding flour until you achieve this consistency. In total you should have mixed for about 8 to 10 minutes. The dough should be smooth and elastic. Tacky not sticky. 

Spray or spread a bit of oil in the same bowl and replace dough. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in bulk. About 1 hour. 

On a lightly oiled work surface, divide dough into 9 equal pieces. If you have a scale, each piece should be around 80 grams. Shape each piece into a ball first then roll into a cylinder 4 1/2 inches in length, flattening the tops a little. 

Please each bun on a cooking sheet prepared with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. I made the mistake of placing the buns too closely together, which created more of a New England style bun. Try placing buns about 1/2 inches away from each other side by side. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until almost doubled, about 45 minutes. Ideally the buns will bump up against each other a bit during this final rise.  

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F. After the buns have finished rising, brush the tops with the egg wash and then sprinkle the seasoning mix on top. 

Bake 18-20 minutes, or until golden brown. 

Garlic Tofu Sandwich

One of my fonder memories of the Northwest is eating at Paseos in Seattle. It is an amazing place to eat and definitely worth standing in the line that almost always pours out onto the sidewalk. I always enjoyed eating their tofu sandwich. It is a relatively simple sandwich consisting of tofu, caramelized onions, some romaine and a good slathering of their garlic mayonnaise but the flavor is immense.


This recipe is similar to Paseos but could use some work to get closer to their flavor. For starters, I chose not to go with the garlic mayonnaise spread, but a replica of this spread can be found here for those interested. Call me a hypocrite but while I may indulge in mayonnaise at Paseos, making it and seeing what goes in it is less than appetizing for me. However,  I would recommend trying this recipe with a product like, Vegenaise. Unfortunately I don't have access to such a substitution so I opted for a non-eggy condiment instead making more of an oil sauce:

Makes Two Sandwiches


The Bread:
A fresh baguette sliced in half
or a Pita Pocket
or your other favorite type of chewy bread


The Dressing:
1/4 Cup Olive Oil
1/2 block of tofu, cubed
5 cloves of garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons of lime juice
1/2 Tablespoon of relish (optional)
1 Teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste
2 pinches of salt, or to taste
2 Turns of Pepper, or to taste


The Innards: 
Caramelized onions (about 2 medium onions)
Romaine Lettuce, Fresh OR Kale, lightly steamed


Instructions for making the dressing:


In a medium size bowl, toss cubed tofu with oil, minced garlic, salt, pepper, lime juice, relish and crushed red pepper flakes.


Then pour concoction into a small oven safe bowl. Cover with lid, and roast at 425 for 40 mins.
Spoon tofu onto the bread, making sure to drizzle the excess dressing onto the bread.


Pile on a good dose of caramelized onions and top with the green of your choice.

Pita Bread

Every now and then we have the tendency to think that any recipe involving flour will be an ordeal and not worth making for the everyday occasion. Of course some recipes are impractical to whip up for lunch, many bread recipes require a minimum of two days of preparation. Even good pizza dough falls into this category. Fortunately there are breads that can be made quickly. This pita bread recipe only requires a 30 minute rise, making it the perfect recipe if you don't have a lot of time. It is an extraordinarily simple recipe and fun to make. It is perfectly well suited for those days when you just don't feel like taking a bike ride to the bakery or making a loaf of bread yourself. I like to celebrate pita bread's versatility and sometime use it outside of the hummus/falafel circuit. Why not wrap up a veggie dog in it? Or even make a pocket of peanut butter and jelly? Today I ate my pita with black beans, cheese and salsa, but tomorrow why not try stuffing it with a spicy garlic tofu mix (like Seattle's Paseo wonderful sandwich)? On thing is clear, this is a bit more versatile than your basic sandwich loaf.

The Recipe:

1 tablespoon Instant Yeast
1 ¼ cup warm water (about 100 degrees F)
1 teaspoon of salt
2 cups of Bread Flour (or all purpose flour, unbleached)

1 cup of Whole Wheat Flour (or white flour if desired)

Dissolve yeast in water for about 5 minutes in the bowl of an electric mixer. 

Add salt and 1 cup of the white flour and 1 cup of the wheat flour and mix with the dough hook. Then slowly add additional AP flour until a rough, shaggy mass is formed. Continue to knead with the dough hook or by hand for about 8 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic. Feel free to use enough flour as it takes to achieve a tacky, not sticky, dough.  

Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide into six pieces for large pitas or ten for smaller. Shape dough into balls, then flatten with a rolling pin into ¼ inch thick discs. Try to make the thickness as even as possible. 

Let rest on the floured surface 30-40 minutes, they will slightly puff. Meanwhile Preheat oven to 425F.

With a large spatula or dough knife/paddle, flip the rounds of dough upside down on to a baking sheet. Bake 10-15 minutes until light golden. 

These store for up to two days well wrapped or frozen for three weeks.

Adapted from under the highchair

Stuffed with black beans, salsa, and cheese, burrito style.

Reinhart Cinnamon-Raisin Bagels in Montreal

      New York or Montreal? While the debate over which city has the best bagels persists, I suggest that you just make your own. Whatever happens it will taste great and if it doesn't live up to your expectations then try again after tweaking your recipe a bit. 
      A few weeks ago while showing a guest around Montreal we stepped into Fairmount Bagels. It wasn't my first time there, but this was the first time we picked up a bag of freshly baked bagels. Biting into a cinnamon-raisin bagel hot out of a wood fired oven while walking around in 10˚F weather did just the trick to rekindle my interest in bagels. Of course to indulge in a fresh bagel is not always a possibility or convenient, so why not try making them at home?
      Like a lot of other types of bread recipes this one involves a two day process or could possibly be condensed into one long day. Peter Reinhart, the author of this recipe, stresses the importance of the delayed fermentation to allow the bread to develop more complex flavors and cannot be recommended enough. 

Portland Poutine

       Before we came to the poutine capital of the world we first experienced poutine at a Portland food cart. Over the past couple years, we have tasted some fine poutine in Montreal, specifically La Banquise, yet Hollin will argue that the Portland food cart Potato Champion beats all. Potato Champion does Portlandize Quebec's traditional dish. Their gravy is vegetarian and there is even a vegan option (made with faux cheese curds). Vegetarian poutine is the furthest I have seen Canadians venture. Naturally we were excited to find Potato Champion's gravy recipe. 

I hesitate to recommend eating poutine - Fries, gravy and cheese curds does not exactly fit with the Eating for the Rest of Us motto of healthy living. So eat in moderation! The upside to making your own poutine is that you can moderate what goes into your gravy. 


See Hollin whip up some poutine on a Saturday night in the video below: 

Mango Quinoa Pudding

      It may not be the most highly regarded dessert joint, but I came to really enjoy Pudding on the Rice when we lived n Portland. Novelty perhaps but there was something very satisfying about the colorful and wonderfully sticky globs of rice that your average cup of topped frozen yogurt couldn't compete with. I have to believe this has something to do with rice pudding's certain affinity to comfort food, but a dessert comfort food. 
      As with most comfort food, rice pudding does not rate highly on the nutritional scale. But what if that white rice was switched out with a very healthy grain instead and milk was exchanged for say almond or coconut milk? In keeping with our dietary restrictions this month Hollin prepared a sugar free, gluten free, vegan dessert that really hit the spot for me - my rice pudding spot. Mango is always a great pair with coconut milk but I have to wonder what other fruits might be equally delicious to try in this recipe. 

Mjadra

     Mjadra, Mujadarra,  مجدرة‎, and other variants in spelling are some of the several words used to describe variations of rice and lentil dishes found in Near to Middle East cuisine. I would like to draw your attention to the Lebanese rendition, Mjadra. I first had Mjadra at Nicholas Restaurant in Portland, Oregon. I've had it since at other mediocre Lebanese / Mediterranean restaurants since but none has risen to the perfection of Nicholas'. After some research and experimentation I think I can safely say that my version comes close to what I remember Nicholas' version tasting like. Give it a try! This dish exemplifies what this blog is about: cheap and healthy eating. Lentils, Rice, Onions, Simple but a perfect way to get your lentil/brown rice protein in. Here we go: 

Ingredients

1/2 c. uncooked lentils
2 c. water
3 lg. white onions, julienned
4 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon coriander
1/8th teaspoon dried garlic (or use some minced fresh garlic, I don't see why not)
Salt to taste
1/2 lemon, juiced

2 cups cooked brown rice (or basmati for more of an authentic feel), (from about 1 cup dry)

1. Wash/rinse rice and cook (I like to throw in some salt and some oil (a tsp of each) for this dish). 

2. Place onions in a large frying pan with enough olive oil to fully coat the bottom of the pan. The goal here is to caramelize the onions. This can be achieved by slowly cooking them away on a medium low heat. This typically works well for me but I have seen more elaborate ways to caramelize onions these techniques will usually ask for you to add sugar, something that isn't necessary as the onions will release their own sugar. For this recipe you do not need to really add any salt in here as most caramelized recipes will call for. You'll know your onions are ready when they are brown and rather slimy.  

3. While the onions and rice are doing their thing, bring water and lentils to a boil, continue to boil for about 20 minutes or until the lentils have fully absorbed the water.

4. If everything is timed out right, you should be able to season the cooked lentils with cumin, coriander, garlic, salt and lemon juice right before throwing in the caramelized onions. If not just let things sit covered off the heat. 

5. Mix all ingredients well before topping the rice. Serve. Enjoy. 

Chickpea Salad Stuffed Bell Pepper

      After an adventurous three month vacation in California tasting culinary delights from Bouchon to Tartine, the wife and I have arrived back home to Montreal fattened and hungry still. We may have had too good of a time eating in California (not to mention the feast that was the Northwest) this summer. So the wife started speaking of a cleanse, something a friend told us he did for twenty-one days. When hearing the suggestion of a cleanse my initial thoughts were "Oh great, here comes the honeyed lemonade." But fortunately it is not one of those types of cleanses. It's actually outlines foods that are not that different than what we normally consume--well, that's not exactly true. . .

Here's what's excluded:

Dairy / Animal products of any kind (honey, gelatin, etc. )
Meat
Alcohol
Caffeine
Sugar
Gluten

I would also argue that most of these things should be excluded at all times, so why not go along with the wife and try this cleanse. The weak spot for me is gluten, I love bread and cannot be fully convinced of the damage a whole wheat loaf might inflict. Yet like undergoing any such diet it is important not to think about the can't haves and more about what the regiment will force you to explore. With this type of thinking I do not simply bump wheat off the list but instead add something like quinoa, a grain I typically do not get enough of.

I want to share a dish that Hollin found and adapted a bit from the ever delicious Smitten Kitchen. I loved this stuff. Light, refreshing and somewhat creamy, and reminiscent of potato salad.  And it is not only because it's vegan and gluten free that it is something to get excited about, it's tremendously flavorful.

The Ingredients:


1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons pitted, halved and very thinly sliced black olives
1 tablespoon finely chopped red onion
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley or basil
zest and juice from half a lemon
couple good pinches of salt
a few grinds of black pepper
3-4 tablespoons of Olive Oil
2-3 red bell peppers, halved (for serving).


1. Simply mix all ingredients mashing up the chickpeas slightly with a fork or potato masher, just enough to form a texture similar to that of potato salad.

2. Dish into the bell pepper boats. Enjoy.

Spring Chili

      As I had mentioned in a previous post, I have been trying to find a good chili recipe. My search subsided after I found the chili recipe that I had posted previously even though I was not completely satisfied by it. Perhaps it was because the weather started to change as spring approached (it's still approaching here in Montreal) but I forgot about my quest for a good veggie chili recipe. But as with the best recipes, they usually just fall into your lap, through experimentation or from something as simple as talking to your mom on the phone. Recently I was on the phone with my mom and she told me about some chili recipe that she had heard about and tried. It sounded amazing so I soon found myself at the store gathering some simple ingredients including an orange. Yes, an orange for chili. This, my friends, is a sweeter chili than we are usually accustomed to. It's perfect for the spring time when you are still looking for something to warm you up during a cool evening.


      As you can see, I chose to serve the chili on french fries. I hesitated to show this one on a blog that prides itself for healthy eating choices, but the wife and I often eat chili this way especially when we are a little burnt out on having rice (typically we eat brown rice 5 or so times a week). Perhaps the desire to eat it on french fries also has something to do with nostalgia I have for the cafeteria that we ate at together in college. They would often have a "fry bar." This would consists of fries, beans, tomatoes/salsa, sour cream etc. Basically your average taco condiments but served on a nest of fries. It may sound a little repulsive, but I have to admit I looked forward to "fry bar" day at the cafeteria. This exceeds the bland bean blend at the cafeteria and even my beloved Trader Joe's canned chili on fries. The sweet potatoes and the orange zest in this dish affords this chili a very flavorful (and healthy) melange despite the simplicity of the recipe. 

The Ingredients:

2  T. vegetable oil
1 large onion chopped
1  T. chili powder
1/2 t. ground cumin
2 Cups chicken or vegetable broth
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled & cut into 3/4-inch cubes
2 (14 1/2 oz.) cans diced tomatoes in juice
1 (15 1/2 oz.) can black beans, drained & rinsed
2 t.orange zest
salt & pepper

1. Heat the oil in a 4-6 qt.dutch oven or saucepan over medium heat.

2. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 5 minutes.

3. Stir in the chili powder and cumin, then add the broth and sweet potatoes and stir well to combine. Bring the mixture to a gentle boil, the cover the pan, reduce the heat to low and simmer until the potatoes are almost tender, about 15 minutes.

4. Add the tomatoes and beans and to simmer, uncovered, until the mixture is heated through and slightly thickened, about 15 minutes more.

5. Stir in the orange zest and season to taste with salt and pepper. 

Serve the chili atop brown rice or french fries. Optionally top with green onions, cilantro and/or sour cream.

Vegan Brown Rice Waffles

I was a little hesitant about whipping these waffles up. I've never made batter from brown rice but the method seemed interesting so I became curious to see if the waffles would actually turn out. Not only did they turn out, they are quite tasty. 

This recipe requires that you start the batter the night before by soaking the brown rice. You'll be happy about this when you are rushing to make breakfast before work. As a note, you can easily make this recipe gluten-free by substituting conventional vanilla extract with a gluten-free extract such as McCormick's Vanilla Extract. Better yet, use vanilla bakery emulsion instead of extract altogether to ensure a gluten-free recipe. (recipe after the jump)

Cherry Tomato Trofie Liguri

       Recently a friend of mine gave me a box of Trofie Liguri pasta. He purchased this pasta rarity (at least I've never seen this type before) from an Italian specialty shop in NYC. The shape is interesting- it's essentially a rolled up pasta. I have been looking forward to making a dish with it ever since I laid my eyes on it. We decided to go with an old family standard. Perhaps our favorite pasta dish. The unique shape of the Trofie Liguri pasta provided the perfect pasta-to-sauce ratio. This recipe was shared with us by sister Keiko. Her talents extend far beyond providing us this great recipe, you should check out her blog A Small Adventure to see what she's been up to. 

Pizzette Neapolitan: where in which I ditch my pizza stone for a skillet

      Since my last pizza post, I have periodically been experimenting with dough recipes and perfecting my technique. If you search around online you'll notice that there's a lot to learn and to keep up on- as there are currently theories being tested regarding best methods and fermentation processes etc. for home pizza making. This should not be new territory if you have been involved with other types of bread making. The objective I have taken lately is to perfect the simple, to meet the bar in pizza making: the margherita pizza, the essence of Neapolitan pizza making.

Red Bean Tofu Vegan Chili

A couple years ago I developed a habit of eating Trader Joe's vegetarian Chili. It was a simple but delicious meal. I would just cook up some brown rice and overturn the can upon the heap. At that time I wasn't even that crazy about spicy food. However, it was an inexpensive meal and the beans and brown rice formed that holy grail of vegetarian protein. Ever since I began eating chili, I felt like this would be something I could easily make from scratch but I never got around to it. That is until I moved to Montreal and situated myself miles and miles away from Trader Joe's. So the search began for a great vegetarian recipe. Fortunately I didn't have to search too far. Smitten Kitchen, a blog that I periodically peruse, featured a ground beef recipe that looked great. Hollin and I thought we would give it a try. We ended up with a chili that was unbearably spicy- it was really something we couldn't eat. Now, I'll admit that neither of us are really that keen on spicy food, but I'm not sure how anyone could eat it. The upside to the adventure was that we thought this recipe nailed the flavor that we were accustomed to and striving to recreate. So we tried it once again. This time we completely cut out the chili flakes and significantly reduced the amount of chili powder. 


I also want to stress that this recipe is quite easy and doesn't take too long to make. The best part is that it yields so much chili. You can easily freeze it so you always have some on hand. Also, what is fantastic about making your own chili is the fact that you control what goes in it. You'll most likely use far less salt than canned chili. Lastly, you'll save quite a bit of money if you are used to buying cans of it. Even the inexpensive Trader Joe's Chili is more expensive than this recipe. 

Recipe

Serves 6
2 large onions, chopped (about 3 cups)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 carrots, chopped in a small dice
1-2 pounds of crumbled firm tofu (extra firm and medium would work too). It works best to run the      tofu through a food processor to achieve a ground beef consistency.
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon crumbled dry oregano
*Dried red pepper flakes to taste, if you feel it necessary, I chose not to.
2 8-ounce cans tomato sauce or 2 cups fresh tomato sauce or tomato puree
1 1/4 cups of vegetable broth
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 3/4 cups or 1 19-ounce can red beans, rinsed and drained
2 green bell peppers, chopped

This recipe is adapted from Smitten Kitchen 

Directions:

1. Begin by heating up the olive oil in a large pot over medium low heat. Use a pot that is 5 quarts or larger if you plan on making the full recipe.

2. Sauté chopped onions until they begin to become translucent (5-10 mins). Meanwhile mince garlic and chop carrots.

3. Add garlic and carrots and cook for about 1 min.

4. Increase heat to medium and add the tofu, chili powder, cumin, paprika and oregano.  Cook for another minute. 

5. Add the tomato sauce, broth and vinegar and simmer the chili, covered, for 20 minutes.

6. Add the red beans, bell peppers, salt and pepper to taste and simmer for an additional 10 minutes, or until the bell peppers are tender.


Serve over brown rice and with a dollop of vegan sour cream (tofutti).

Potato Rosemary Bread

Over the past year or so, I've tried a few recipes from Peter Reinhart's book, The Bread Apprentice. It's a very useful book for learning how to bake bread. Until now, I have not made too many breads that go beyond essential ingredients. Early on it wasn't that interesting for me as I was just trying to get a handle on bringing out the rich flavors of wheat. But as my bread-making has improved, I thought it would be nice to venture a bit. Now as the aroma of roasted garlic and rosemary consume my home, it's hard to imagine not recommending this recipe to a beginner. This will make you fall in love with bread-making.

With that said, it's not the easiest or quickest way to make bread. Take a look at this no-knead recipe I posted back in September if you need a easy recipe for bread.

This recipe will require a few special preparation steps, one of which will need to be completed at least a night before you plan to bake.

One special prep that can be cut out is the preparation of Mash Potatoes if you have leftover mashed potatoes. Post-Thanksgiving is a perfect time to try this recipe as you will no doubt have leftover mash potatoes from Thanksgiving! But then again, you're family will definitely not mind if you make these pre-Thanksgiving and you bring a stack of these delicious dinner rolls to the dinner table.

The Recipe:

1 1/4 Cups (7 ounces) Biga (see below)
3 cups plus 2 tablespoons (14 ounces) Unbleached bread flour
1 1/2 teaspoons (.38 ounce) Salt
1/4 teaspoons (.03 ounce) Black Pepper 
1 1/4 teaspoons (.14 ounce) Instant Yeast
1 cup (6 ounce) Mashed Potatoes, at room temperature
1 tablespoon (.5 ounce) Olive Oil
2 tablespoons (.25 ounce) Coarsely chopped fresh rosemary
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons to 1 cup (7 to 8 ounce.) water, at room temperature
4 tablespoons (1 oz.) coarsely chopped roasted garlic (see below)


Semolina flour or cornmeal for dusting
Olive oil for brushing on top

(Recipe originally printed in Peter Reinhart's book, The Breadmaker's Apprentice)

So as you see from the recipe above you'll need to prepare a Biga, this is a pre-ferment. Do this the night before baking or up to three days before, as it will keep in the fridge.
------
To prepare the Biga:

Makes about 9 ounces
1 1/4 cups unbleached bread flour
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
1/4 cup to 1/2 cup water, at room temperature

1) Stir Together Flour and Yeast
2) Add Water Slowly. Mix with a metal spoon or use a paddle on a stand mixer. Dough should form in a course ball. Adjust water and flour so that the dough is neither too stiff or sticky. It should be tacky.
3) Sprinkle flour on the counter and knead for 4 to 6 mins or use a stand mixer with a dough hook for about 4 minutes. Dough should be very soft and tacky. Add more flour if it is too sticky to work with, but try to only use enough to prevent dough from sticking terribly to your surface.  The internal temperature of the dough should be 77 to 81 degrees F.
4) Lightly oil a bowl with spray oil (vegetable or olive oil is fine; spray or non spray).  Role dough into a bowl and coat with oil in the bowl.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit at room temperature for 2 to 4 hours or until it nearly doubles inside.
5) Remove the dough, pressing on it gently to degass the dough. Knead it lightly to do this. Then return it to the bowl. Place bowl in the fridge, let sit at least overnight.
-------
In the morning,
Remove biga from the fridge and cut into about 10 small pieces with a serrated knife or a pastry knife.  Let the pieces sit out covered in plastic for at least 1 hour to allow them to de-chill.

MEANWHILE . . .

Get roasting some garlic.

You can do this by taking a head of garlic and removing the skin to expose the cloves, keep the skin covering the individual cloves.  Then cut about 1/4 to 1/2 inch of the ends of the cloves off, opposite of the end that holds the cloves attached. You will need about to heads of garlic for this recipe.
Put the head, cut end up, into a small oven proof container, I use a crème brûleé ramekin. Then drizzle with olive oil making sure to coat cloves entirely. Then put a cover or tin foil over the top.
Bake in oven at 400 degrees F for 30 to 40 minutes.

Garlic, Roasted.

Set the garlic aside to let cool. When it has cooled, you can squeeze or carefully pull out the garlic from the skin.

Now it's time to make mashed potatoes unless you are using leftovers. If you are using leftovers, measure out 1 cup and let it come to room temperature.

------
The Bread Dough
------
1) Stir together flour, salt, black pepper, and yeast into a 4 -quart mixing bowl (or in the bowl of a stand mixer) After you have combined these dry ingredients add the biga pieces, mashed potatoes, oil, rosemary, and 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons of water. Continue to stir together or if using a stand mixer, put the dough hook on and begin mixing. Add flour if dough seems too sticky.

2) Sprinkle flour on counter to knead the dough by hand or continue mixing with the electric mixer on medium speed with the dough hook. Knead for approximately 10 mins or about 6 mins by machine. Again dough should not be terribly sticky but rather tacky and very supple.

3) Flatten dough out and sprinkle the garlic into the dough, folding it in. Continue to knead by hand a couple times so that the garlic is well-distributed. You may need to add more flour as the garlic will likely add more moisture to the bread.

4) Roll dough in a oiled bowl to coat it with oil.  Cover with plastic wrap and let it ferment at room temperature for about 2 hours. If your room temperature is on the warmer side expect the dough to double in size closer to the 1 hour mark.

5) Once dough has doubled in size remove it carefully from the bowl, divide it into 2 pieces. With these two pieces I made both rolls and a round loaf, but feel free to make all rolls or 2 loaves.  Either is great.

6) Shape Dough: if you are new to bread making I suggest looking into shaping techniques online. I recommend making this loaf into a Boule, the round loaf. Once shaped, place the boule seem side down onto a baking sheet either using parchment paper, or by first heavily coating the pan with cornmeal or semolina flour. If possible use a proofing basket (a basket lined with a floured dish towel) This will help the bread maintain its shape during this proofing stage.  Cover the dough with a towel or plastic wrap.

Shaping rolls are a little easier. You can place them on a parchment paper or directly on a baking sheet using cornmeal on the bottom. Cover with plastic wrap and let the rolls proof.

Feel free to experiment with shaping. For my rolls, I placed the rolls close together so that when they rose they would join at the edges and create a pull-apart set.

This is now a good time to pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees.

7) After dough has nearly doubled in size at room temperature, this should take 1 to 2 hours. Uncover the dough and place in the oven.

If your baking rolls: these will take about 20 mins. Rotate the rolls half-way through so they brown evenly.

If you are baking a loaf: this will take about 40 mins. Rotate after 20 mins.

Bread will be done when they reach a rich golden brown and register at least 195 degrees F internal temperature.

They should feel light and make a hollow sound if you thump them on the bottom.

8) After baking allow bread to cool on a rack for at least 1 hour before cutting or trying. You should allow the rolls to cool for about 20 minutes.

Southwestern Quinoa

I often find myself stuck in a rut with quinoa. Most of the dishes I have prepared with it are too similar to my standard and most simplest quinoa dish.  And while this southwestern variation still does not break out of the my typical usage of bell peppers and onions, the difference lies in the base of this dish: black beans and some spice. Lately I have been interested in trying to incorporate all food groups in one dish, and I think this one about does it.


Remember, the beans and quinoa are the base for just about anything you have lying around in your fridge and pantry. Here's my mix:

Ingredients:

2 Cups of Vegtable Broth or Plain Water
1 Cup of Quinoa

1 large tomatoe, quartered
1 Carrot
1/2 Red Onion
1-2 Red or Yellow Bell Peppers (an assortment of colors is nice)
1 bay leaf
Juice of 1/2 a lime.
1 Can of Black Beans, liquid drained
1 Cup or so of finely chopped spinach. (I used frozen chopped spinach)
Garlic (as little or as much as you would like)
1 Sprinkle of Red Pepper Flakes
1/2 Tablespoon of Cayenne Powder
1/2 cup (or so) of Olive Oil
1 Cup of Water
1 Dash of Salt

To Make Quinoa:

In a medium pot, bring broth to boil. Add quinoa, return to boil - then reduce to simmer. Simmer for about 10 minutes or until liquid is fully absorbed.

Meanwhile Prepare the Veggies

First get 1 cup of water heated in a medium saucepan add: Bay Leaf, Cayenne, Red Pepper Flakes, Tomatoes, Bell Peppers and Carrots until they are tender.

Put pan on medium to high heat.

By this time the water should be soon evaporated - remove bay leaf at this time and then add olive oil. Once olive oil heats up, add onions garlic, spinach, and salt. Sauté vegetables until onions become tender.

Stir in Black Beans. Add lime juice. Let beans heat and mingle with other flavors.

Serve vegetables upon a bed of quinoa. 

You may also consider adding cheese on top (cheddar or mozzarella) or stir in yogurt if dish is too spicy.


Also optional and recommended is a few squeezes of mustard, preferably a whole grain mustard.

Ruby Rice

  
     Today I was watching Chef at Home with Michael Smith, he's a Canadian Chef that encourages experimentation without a recipe in the kitchen. The quick editing and constantly moving camera can be at times dizzying to watch but the principles of simple cooking are presented well. As a vegetarian, lentils are an important food; something that I always bring up when people ask about protein in a vegetarian diet. One way to enhance the healthfulness of a legume is to add in a complex carbohydrate such as brown rice into the mix. Of course this is simply a base for a variety of flavors- the rice and lentils by themselves aren't particularly outstanding. Eating for the Rest of Us is dedicated to providing simple recipes, recipes that have flavor but attempt to provide flavor by nutritious ingredients. However, often my first inclination when approaching ingredients like rice and lentils, is to add a lot of other ingredients to enhance flavor. But this often will compromise the benefits native to these ingredients. The simplicity of Michael's recipe is key. By using dried cranberries, Michael significantly frills up the dish to completion.


1/2 cup of brown (or any type of) lentils
1/2 cup of brown rice
About 1 cup of dried cranberries
2 cups of water
A sprinkle or two of Salt & Pepper
1 Bay Leaf

(rince/drain rice and lentils)

1. Combine all ingredients in small to medium size pot. Bring to boil then turn down the heat to medium low and let simmer for about 30 mins with the pot covered or until lentils are tender and all the water is absorbed.

2.  Serve

Pear Sorbet

      If you need to take a break from the heat this summer you should set aside an afternoon to make this pear sorbet with your friends. Hollin and I, along with our friend Courtney, stepped into a café on Rue Saint Denis the other day after noticing its patrons spooning some wonderful looking sorbet and gelato.  We were excited to see that they offered a pear sorbet. Before I knew it, Hollin sat down next to me with a cup of the sorbet poire. I couldn't help but steal about half of it. On our walk back home, we stopped into our neighborhood fruiterie and bought a few pears. Having made a mango sorbet the previous weekend, I was eager to essentially use the same recipe to mimic what we tasted at the café.
    If you search for pear sorbet recipes you will likely find a variety of takes on it. Most of the differences that appear are a result of the type of extra liquid used in the recipe. Martha Stewart, for example, recommends using red wine or cranberry juice. We came across a bottle of pear nector at the grocery store so we went ahead and used  that for added liquid. With the mango sorbet we tried, adding water or any other liquid beside lime juice wasn't really necessary, however it seems that most pear recipes will suggest using water and/or another liquid.

The recipe below is adapted from Martha Stewart's version titled "Red-Wine and Pear Sorbet"

Ingredients:

2 cups of peeled and diced pear (about 4 small pears)
1 cup pear nector
1 1/4 cups water
2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
1/4 cup of sugar
1 pinch of salt


Begin by preparing a medium cooking pot by adding water and sugar and allowing mixture come to a boil.

Meanwhile prepare pears - cube the pears but because this mixture will be later puréed there is no need to spend a lot of time here getting it to look good.

Add pears to boiling sugar water and then reduce heat to a simmer. Allow pears to cook until they are tender... around 5-10 minutes.

When pears are tender stir in lemon juice and add a pinch of salt. Remove from heat and let mixture come to room temperature. (I cooled my down by putting into the fridge)

Use a blender (or perhaps a food processor might work) to purée the mixture.

If you have an icecream machine use it by simply pouring in purée.

If you do not have an ice-cream maker you can let the mixture completely freeze in a shallow container then roughly break it up into chunks before making it into a purée in a blender.

Cranberry Carrot Applesauce

The wife and myself have been settling into our new home in Montréal. It's been no small task. The kitchen was by large the most difficult to unpack and organize. Needless to say, it's been a while since I've had a hand in the kitchen. In the spirit of quick and easy foods, I thought I would share some applesauce that I made today. I fell well short of target in my efforts to mimic the housemade applesauce at Portland's Deli restaurant Kenny & Zuke's. Their applesauce is amazing hearty and delicious. Once when I was younger, I declared applesauce as my favorite food. Curiously today was the first time I had attempted to make it. Friends, this is the easiest thing I think there is to make. And it's cheap! By the way, the price of groceries in Montréal will challenge me further to find easy and inexpensive recipes of which I will continue to post. Even the most basic of ingredients such as flour are rather expensive here. So we'll see if I continue to bake as much as I hope.

Applesauce!

4 Apples (I hear it's best to use Granny Smith or another cooking type of apple)

1 cup (or so) of water

1 handful of baby carrots (Steamed)

2 handfuls of craisins.  (this is completely an option, but it was an afterthought of mine that proved to be pretty tasty. My sauce needed some tart)

2 tablespoons of sugar (evaporated cane suger was good)

2 tablespoons of cinnamon.

1. Cut up apples into chunks, discarding the core.

2. Place in Medium to Large Skillet. Pour water so the apple chunks are nearly covered. 

3. Cook on medium until apples are tender.

4. Add cinnamon. Feel free to add more or less. I like to get a good coverage of cinnamon. 

5. In a Blender, add carrots, craisins and some water.

6. When apples are tender, pour water/apples into the blender and pulse to desired consistency.

7. Refrigerize and eat.

Tahini Quinoa Salad

      I'm always on the look out for recipes that involve quinoa. This small grain is rather neutral and is packed full of protein. Good for the vegetarian. I came across this recipe in Sophie Dahl's new book, Miss Dahl's Voluptuous  Delights: recipes for every season, mood, and appetite. At first glance it may look like a repeat of my previously posted quinoa recipe, Les quinoa avec les legumes. And while it does contain some of the same ingredients, the flavor is very different thanks to the tahini dressing. This recipe is relatively inexpensive also. Tahini will be the most expensive ingredient and could be hard to find. I found mine next to the peanut butter in the nutrition area of the grocery market.


Serves 2


For the Dressing:
1/4 Cup Olive Oil
Juice of One Lemon
2 Tablespoons of Soy Sauce
2 Tablespoons of Tahini (sesame paste)
1/2 clove garlic, peeled & chopped (or crushed garlic from the jar)
Honey (to taste and optional)


Salad: 
2 Cups vegetable broth
1 Cup Quinoa
1/2 Peeled Cucumber, chopped
2 Scallions, finely chopped
1 Plum Tomato, finely chopped
1 Red Bell Pepper, de-seeded & chopped
Fresh mint leaves to garnish (optional)


Instructions:::


1. Bring Vegetable broth to a boil, add quinoa and cover and let simmer 10-15 mins. Or until broth is absorbed.
2. Meanwhile blend dressing ingredients until smooth.
3. Prepare salad ingredients.
4. When quinoa is finished, mix in salad ingredients. 
5. Top with dressing upon serving.


It may be preferred to let the quinoa come fully to at least room temperature before serving. Feel free to serve it right from the refrigerator as well.