Vegetarian

Sour Dough Revised

ejw Leave a comment

I have been experimenting with sourdough and have developed a new recipe which takes about 25 hours to make but it is, in my opinion, so much better tasting and doesn’t need yeast to help it along. It is no more work, just more time. It is chewier and richer in flavor.

I now sterilize jars and utensils, and use boiled water which has been cooled, for replenishing the starter to prevent contamination. Another change is that I take the one cup of starter and add 1 cup water and enough unbleached white bread flour to it to be the consistency of the usual starter and let that set out for 6 hours (until bubbly) before mixing it into the rest of the ingredients. After rising this initial mixture for ~6 hours I mix in the rest of the ingredients and let it rise until double (usually another 10 hours). Rising times are very approximate. The type of flours used at each step have significant impact on the outcome so take care in substituting. I use all purpose for the starter maintenance, white bread flour for the first rising to grow the starter quickly, and then the whole grain last because the rising slows with this flour. So, I am going from higher starch flour to lower starch flours.

Here is the process….
1 Cup starter
1 Cup water
White unbleached bread flour – enough to bring it back to consistency of the usual starter.
Rise 6 hours or more and then add:
2 Tablespoons molasses
2 Teaspoons salt
I don’t measure the flour but slowly add about 1/2 Spelt flour and 1/2 rye flour to the right consistency to knead the dough.
Rise 10 hours, knead, divide into two loaves.
Place into greased bread loaf pans and rise another ~6 hours.
Bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Toasted Sunflower Seeds

ejw Leave a comment

2 cups raw sunflower seeds
1 Tablespoon water
3/4 Teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon olive oil

Add water and salt to bowl large enough to easily mix the sunflower seeds. Mix the salt and water. Add the seeds and mix to coat the seeds. Then add oil to coat all seeds.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Use baking parchment to cover a large cookie sheet. Spread the seeds out on the cookie sheet. They will toast more evening if they are spread in a thin layer. Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until just golden brown. They are very sensitive to time and can easily be undercooked or burned within one minute so watch carefully until you know what length of time works best in your oven. Let the seeds cool completely before storing.

I use the seeds on salad, sautéed vegetables, in cookie recipes, and on ice cream.

Peppers with Goat Cheese

ejw Leave a comment

12-15 small yellow, red, and orange peppers
8 oz plain goat cheese
2-3 Tablespoons olive oil
1/8 Teaspoon salt

Wash and slice off tops of peppers, remove seeds. Simmer on stove about 10 minutes until flexible but not mushy (you have to be able to stuff them without them falling apart). Remove from heat and cool.
Once cool stuff with goat cheese. They look better if you take care not to get the goat cheese on the outside of the peppers but the taste is the same either way.
Put into baking dish, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.

Preheat oven and bake stuffed peppers at 350 degrees for about 5-10 minutes. The goal is to warm the goat cheese without over cooking to prevent the cheese from loosing its smoothness.  Let cool 5-10 minutes before serving.

Brown Bread

ejw Leave a comment

1 1/2 Cups whole wheat flour (can add in a small portion of rye flour)
1 Cup corn meal
1 Teaspoon salt
1 3/4 Teaspoon baking soda
1/2 Cups Molasses (I prefer blackstrap molasses)
1 2/3 Cups milk (can use part yogurt or all buttermilk instead)
1/4 Cup raisins (optional)

Special equipment: a double boiler…I am not sure what size is best but maybe some where between a 2qt and 4qt. I’ll do some testing.  UPDATE: I found a slightly different recipe at NewEnlgand.com. I’m going to try it! https://newengland.com/today/food/breads/quick-breads/brown-bread-in-a-jar/

Mix together dry ingredients then add molasses and milk. Mix well. Pour batter into greased top part of double boiler. Add enough water to cover the bottom of the double boiler and place top part with batter on top. Use pan lid to cover. Bring to boil then immediately lower to low heat and steam for 3 hours on stove top. Check to assure the bottom pan does not run out of water and add if needed. Makes 1 loaf of slightly sweet, dense bread that is nice warmed up, with butter.

 

 

Polenta

ejw Leave a comment

3 Cups water
1/2 Teaspoon salt
1 Cup corn grits
1 Tablespoon butter

Bring water to boil, add salt and corn grits. simmer 30 minutes Mixing often. Stir in butter. Put into an oiled rectangular pan. I used a bread pan. Let cool. Once firm turn out on cutting board and cut into strips. I made mine about 3/4 inch thick. I added ample butter and olive oil to a fry pan and fried until crispy on both sides. The slices may be topped with grated cheese, pasta sauce or just salt. It is so much better than any polenta I have had anywhere!

Homemade Pita

ejw Leave a comment

This is one bread where I measure the flour exactly. A pizza stone is nice to have but not required to make these pita.

1 tablespoon active dry yeast – fast acting
1/2 Cup lukewarm water (100-110 degrees F)
1 Teaspoon sugar

3 1/2 Cups wheat flour – you can use white bread flour, whole wheat flour or a mix of the two. My favorite is a mix of the two so the pita are not too heavy.
1 1/4 Teaspoon salt
1 Cup lukewarm water
~ 1/3 Cup flour for kneading and rolling out pita

Mix the yeast and sugar into the 1/2 Cup of lukewarm water and set aside for 5 minutes to activate. In a large bowl, mix flour salt together then add yeast/water mixture and the 1 cup of lukewarm water. Mix until smooth. It will be sticky. Let rise until doubled – about 1 hour in a warm part of the kitchen or in the oven if you can set your oven to 100 degrees F or you have “bread proof” setting.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Place pizza stone or baking sheet in the oven. Sprinkle risen dough with a just enough flour to be able to punch in down and knead one to two minutes. Pinch dough into about 8 balls of equal size, let sit for 5-10 minutes on floured surface. With a rolling pin roll out each ball  to 1/4 thick and ~5″ diameter round. Lift and turn as you work so they don’t stick to the surface. You can make them thicker or thinner, larger or smaller depending how you prefer them. Let them set and rise about 10 minutes. To bake I place, by hand, a few ( 2-4 depending on your space) pitas into the oven onto the heated baking sheet or stone, one at a time and let them bake for about 4 minutes each. You will know they are done if they have puffed up like balloons, steam escaping has subsided and they are very lightly browned in some spots (check the underside). Lift them out of the oven one at a time with a spatula when they are done. Add more pita’s to the oven to bake as the baked ones are removed.

They freeze very nicely. Serve with hummus!

Hummus

ejw Leave a comment

2 cups cooked garbanzo beans (chickpeas) – I preferred buying dried garbanzo and cooking them.  It takes at least few hours to cook them until they are soft. I think they taste better than the canned and you don’t have to worry about BPA or other things that could come from being canned.

2 tablespoons tahini
Juice of one lemon
2-3 garlic cloves crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt or 1 teaspoon tamari
Water as needed to allow blending

Mix all ingredients in blender until smooth. Chill.

This recipe is based on Carol’s recipe – thanks Carol!

Roasted Eggplant & Red Pepper

ejw Leave a comment

1 large eggplant cut up into pieces no thicker than 3/4 inch
2-3 red bell peppers cut up in medium sized chunks
1/2 yellow onion chopped and caramelized in a little olive oil
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black or mixed peppercorns
1-3 cloves of crushed garlic
1/4 cup olive oil
Brussel sprouts are also a good addition to this dish – a few or a lot.
Mix all ingredients together and place in baking dish that is big enough so the vegetables can easily cook (not too deep). I use a 9″x13″ glass baking dish. Bake at 350 to 375 degrees for about an hour. Mix as necessary to assure all vegetables bake evenly.

 

Hearty Salad

ejw Leave a comment

Base:
1 cup finely cut green cabbage
1 cup finely cut red cabbage

1 cup chopped arugula
1 cup chopped kale
Mustard greens, parsley, beet greens, and others can be added when available.

Options to change it up: beans of any type, grapes, apples, dried cherries, cucumber, tomatoes, peppers, olives, capers, hardboiled egg.

Toppings: Feta cheese, toasted sunflower seeds, Olive oil and vinegar dressing.

Cabbage and kale can be cut up in advance because they hold up very well in the refrigerator for a week. Cabbage is nicest if cut on a mandolin so it is fine like sauerkraut.

Arugula and other greens don’t hold up as long so I keep them in a container separate container from cabbage that I plan to store for a while. I cut up enough cabbage and kale for the week and then add more perishable items when the salad will be eaten in a day or two. I don’t usually use lettuce because it doesn’t hold up as well as arugula.

Creamy Greens and Coconut Linguini

sportypony Leave a comment

Serves: 6

Ingredients

1 lb linguine
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1 jalapeno (ribs and seeds removed if less heat is preferred)

11⁄2 tbsp finely grated ginger

1 can coconut milk
1 bunch kale, stems removed, chopped

1 bunch spinach, chopped
1⁄4 cup (loosely packed) fresh mint leaves

salt

Instructions

  1. Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling, salted water until al dente, 8-10 minutes.
  2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic, jalapeno and ginger; cook until garlic is soft, about a minute. Add coconut milk, cover and turn up heat to bring to a simmer.
  3. Add kale and spinach; cover and cook until just wilted and bright green (depending on the size of your pot, you may need to add it in bunches, letting a handful wilt then tossing in another handful).
  4. Add mint and remove from heat. Puree sauce using an immersion blender (or a regular stand blender – just puree in batches or the steam created can blow the lid off). Add salt in big pinches, tasting as you go, until the flavours pop – then it is properly seasoned.
  5. When the pasta is cooked, scoop out a cup of the pasta water before draining it. Toss the pasta with the sauce,adding splashes of pasta water if needed to thin out to desired consistency.
  6. Recipe by Foodess.com at http://foodess.com/2014/01/creamy-greens-coconut-linguine/