Bread Bowls

Last night, I decided to try and make some bread bowls for my mom's family dinner (tonight). I had some irrational confidence that I would be able to just pull it off first try. Not so! The recipes instructed me to separate the dough into x number of pieces and form balls from each. I don't know if the dough just didn't rise high enough or if I have a grossly exaggerated idea of what a bread bowl should look like thanks to our country's portion size problem, but I have no idea how a main course soup is going to fit into one of these bad boys.

Either way, I tasted two of the three recipes I attempted and they are GOOD!


#1

Dark Rye Bread adapted from knowell, who submitted at Allrecipes
(pictured above - the darker ones)

Ingredients:
1 1/8 cups water
2 tablespoons molasses
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups rye flour
3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 (heaping) teaspoon caraway seed
2 teaspoons bread machine yeast

I put it into my breadmaker in this order and set it for the dough cycle.
When it beeped, I took the dough out and separated it into five sections and created the dough balls from there. I covered them and let them rise for an hour, then baked them at 375 for about 20 minutes (just kept an eye on them). This rye bread recipe is perfect. I've been looking for one just like this for a while!



#2

Bread Bowls adapted from King Arthur Flour (I used my new kitchenaid for this one!)

Ingredients:
3 cups All-Purpose Flour
1 cup corn meal
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
2 teaspoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cups water

Combine all of the dough ingredients and mix and knead them together -- by hand, mixer or bread machine -- till you've made a soft, smooth dough. Allow the dough to rise, covered, for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
Divide the dough into five pieces, and form them into round (not flattened) balls. Place them on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet, cover lightly, and set them aside to rise in a warm place for 1 1/2 hours, or until they've almost doubled in size.
Uncover the balls and let them sit for 10 to 15 minutes, to develop a tough skin. Just before placing the bread bowls in the oven, mist them heavily with water. Bake the bread bowls in a pre-heated 425°F oven for 18 to 22 minutes, until they're a deep, golden brown. Turn off the oven, prop the door open a little, and leave the bread bowls inside for 15 minutes; this will keep the crust crisp.
Remove the bread bowls from the oven and cool them completely before cutting the tops off and removing the insides; (reserve the insides to make bread crumbs). Yield: 5 large bread bowls.

That last part is a lie. :(


I'll post the third once I taste it later today!

Isa's Pumpkin Muffins

Found this one on theppk.com, a site I'm having a ton of fun browsing through. I made these muffins early this morning before I left for work to bring in for my friend who is pregnant.. she ate 3 in a row! Not because she eats like a cow right now at all... :) but because they were so good! I changed the recipe from the original and have listed what I did below:



Pumpkin Muffins




Ingredients

1 3/4 cups flour (1 1/4 cups whole wheat, 1/2 cup AP)
1 cup agave syrup
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup pureed pumpkin (fresh)
1/2 cup almond milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons molasses



Directions
Preheat oven to 400 F. Grease muffin tins with vegetable shortening or spray on oil. Sift together dry ingredients (flour through cloves). In a seperate bowl, whisk together wet ingredients (pumpkin through molasses). Pour wet into dry and combine. Fill muffin tins 2/3 of the way. Bake for 27-30 minutes, till a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Life change

I am on my 5th day of being vegan.
I had been thinking about it for a while, had stopped eating meat and eggs and drinking milk/cream for a while but couldn't give up on fish and cheese. Then I came across some information that penicillin is often used with animals. I don't know if this makes any sense at all, but it was huge for me. I have had hives all over my body for about 5 years now, and no doctor was ever able to figure out where they came from. I was just diagnosed with "chronic hives" and told to take Zyrtec every day. Then that stopped working, so they made me take it twice a day (double the recommended amount on the package!) which I wasn't really comfortable with, but would rather do that than have hives. Anyways I realized that the pattern of hives I get without medicine is the same pattern as when I react to penicillin. I wanted to do an experiment to see if it was possibly related to what I was eating.
So far, it has worked. I have gone down to just one pill a day (at night because they make me drowsy - yes, I've been drowsy 24/7 for 5 years!!!) and I haven't had a single hive. Not one. This is so huge!
It looks like I may have found the fix? Don't want to jinx it.
So from here on out I will be posting only vegan recipes, some that I have found and others that I have invented myself. Wish me luck!

Valentine's Day

I'm really late on this post as you can probably tell from the title!

Back in January, my mom and I went to a culinary school at a spa in Utah for about a week. We learned how to do so many healthy dishes and it was such a good time! For Valentine's Day I made two of these dishes for my boyfriend and I. We stayed in and ate in front of the TV. It wasn't probably romantic enough for the rest of the world but we had a great time :)

These first two recipes are courtesy of Red Mountain Spa in Ivins, UT. The third photo is my attempt at the chocolate crepes from Gina over at Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes. My boyfriend absolutely loved these.. so much that he tried making a few more himself. The thing is, he has no patience and has extremely big clumsy hands. So Ryan and crepes didn't really hit it off in the kitchen. But he definitely enjoyed eating them!

Anyway I'll get to it.

Caesar Salad with Cheese Crisps

Hearts of romaine

Parmesan cheese (block)

3/4 oz anchovy fillets

1/2 tsp dijon mustard

2 segments garlic

1 tsp worcestershire sauce

1/4 tsp black pepper

2 oz red wine vinegar

1/2 oz lemon juice

4 oz soft tofu

1/4 tsp tabasco sauce

5 oz olive oil

1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese (for crisps)

Croutons (optional)

Cut romaine into bite-sized pieces. In a blender or food processor, combine all ingredients from anchovy fillets through tabasco sauce. Drizzle in the 5 oz olive oil.

On a silpat, create small piles of freshly shredded cheese. Bake at 350 for a few minutes (maybe 5), keeping an eye on the piles as they melt. When they appear to have melted, take the silpat out and let the crisps set till cool enough to touch.

To assemble the salad, toss the romaine with croutons and as much dressing as desired. Garnish each salad with a cheese crisp.

Salmon with Tofu Dill Sauce

Salmon fillets (4 oz per serving)

Sauce:

1 cup soft tofu

2 oz lemon juice

2 tsp dried dill weed

4 garlic segments

1 oz white wine

pinch salt

Combine sauce ingredients in blender or food processor. Put in refrigerator to keep cool while cooking salmon.

Salmon can be cooked on a grill or a grill pan (if you are in New England!)

And here's a picture of one of our crepes..

Grandma's Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

My last living grandma passed away this month. :(

It had been coming for a long time, but it doesn't make it too much easier to see her go. She was the sweetest grandma you could have ever asked for. Not even saying this because she was my own grandma, but she really was just one of those special little ladies that warms your heart everytime you see her. Sadly I didn't get to see her that much because Michigan is not very close to New Hampshire.

I dug through her recipe collection and found an old oatmeal carton top, the kind that had the oatmeal raisin cookie recipe right on it. My mom told me a story about how someone asked my grandma for her oatmeal cookie recipe (I don't remember who it was.. could have been her?) and my grandma responded something like.. "Oh sure. Go out to the store and pick up some oats. Follow the recipe that comes on the carton." Totally serious. I love that.

So these are NOT healthy.. which is not usually what I like to make. (You might not be able to tell from what I blog about, but I am kind of a health nut. I'm giving veganism some serious thought as well). But these cookies are so delicious, and they remind me of my grandma, so here you go. :)



"Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies" (Quaker)

2 sticks butter, softened (the updated version on the Quaker website says 1 stick plus 6 T, which shows how old this carton top must be!!)
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I actually used about three quarters whole wheat, and it was great)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt (optional.. I opted out)
3 cups Quaker old-fashioned oats
1 cup raisins (I soaked these in warm water to plump them up a bit first)

Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, beat butter and sugars on medium speed of electric mixer until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well. Add oats and raisins; mix well.
Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown.
Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Store tightly covered.


I also want to show off two of my new toys from my Christmas/birthday season!!



(I used both of these toys for the first time with this recipe!)

Amish Oatmeal Date Bread

I baked this Amish Oatmeal Date Bread I found over on another blog and was so shocked with the results. I had never tried dates before but recently bought a bag on an impulse to make myself try them. I don't know if it was the dates that made this bread, but it was fantastic. I really mean this too - I ate almost the entire thing within 24 hours. I had to give some of it away to my mom so I would stop! I modified it a bit from the recipe I came across originally based on what I had at home.



Try it!!



Ingredients:

1 ½ cups skim milk
1 cup Quaker old-fashioned oats
1 cup chopped pitted dates
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 ½ teaspoons salt
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 egg


Bring milk almost to simmer. Place oats and dates in large mixing bowl and add milk. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. When oat mixture is cool, beat in egg. Stir in dry ingredients, mixing well.
Pour batter into a buttered 9 x 5-inch loaf pan. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until top is crusty and golden. Cool before slicing.

Shrimp Scampi

Recently, I made Ellie Krieger's Shrimp Scampi with Artichokes and was so impressed with the taste. It also came together very quickly which is something I always really value in a recipe. I don't ever really mind spending all day or all night in the kitchen, but sometimes it's nice to get in and get out. Anyways, this is one of those dinners that is easy, quick, and really, really good.


Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 large cloves garlic, minced
2 medium shallots, thinly sliced
1 1/4 pounds large shrimp (about 20), peeled and deveined
1 (11-ounce) package frozen artichoke hearts, thawed, or 1 (14-ounce) can artichoke hearts, rinsed, drained, and quartered
1/3 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus more for garnish
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper


Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and shallots and cook, stirring until softened but not browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Add shrimp, artichoke hearts, wine, and lemon juice and cook until the shrimp are cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the parsley, salt and pepper. Divide among 4 plates, garnish with additional parsley, and serve.