Brussels Sprouts and Apple Salad (2 Star)

Brussels sprouts constitute one of my childhood horrors. I'm talking about gag reflex, can't think about without shuddering, horrors. (No offense, mom, if you read this.) So I didn't think I would ever willingly invite brussels sprouts into my space as an adult. But then I found this recipe on 101 Cookbooks and it looked so incredibly delicious. And this year I am all about incorporating more vegetables into my diet and trying new things so after reading this recipe and considering for several weeks I decided to face my foe. I'm glad I did.

I am sad that I was not able to photograph this in the daylight because it was very pretty. I made this in the evening and the recipe said: "This isn't a dish you want sitting around, the flavors change dramatically after ten minutes or so, and I think that is part of the reason brussels sprouts get a bad rap." So we had to eat it right away. I tried using the flash on my camera but it just lit up the middle of the picture. So check out the picture on 101 Cookbooks and imagine that mine looks that good.

Not only did this look pretty but it tasted fantastic! Brandon and I loved it and two of the boys even enjoyed it (shocker!) although they didn't like the apples. I used small cubes of chicken instead of tofu and I also didn't have pine nuts so I used walnuts. This was nutty, lightly sweet and salty (I was generous with the salt on the chicken) and had lots of crunch and texture. It was also fairly quick and easy to put together.

So, even if you have horrible nightmares about brussels sprouts and consider them one of nature's mistakes, give this recipe a try. It might change your mind.

Beautiful Black Bean Soup (3 Star)

I changed the name of this soup to "beautiful" because it had beautiful flavor (and because I like alliteration). I LOVED this soup! Although the appearance was not beautiful at first. In fact in Brandon's words it was "scary". I have never made black bean soup before and so we are not used to such a dark soup. (Really, this might be a great thing to serve at a Halloween party! It could be called "Tar".)

I got this recipe from Smitten Kitchen and she raves about the Toasted Cumin Seed Crema which I thought was good. However, I don't know if mine was as good as hers because, as usual, I forgot to get something at the store and it was the cumin seed. I had cumin powder, though, and I thought that maybe I could just toast the powder which is what I did. It appeared to work but flavor-wise I imagine the seeds would be superior.

This soup was so good, especially after it had been in the fridge for a couple of days. It was incredibly easy, too. The recipe says to put the beans in the crock pot and cook--no soaking. I have never cooked beans without soaking and even though I have seen other recipes instruct this, I have never believed it. But this time I decided to let go of my limiting beliefs and it worked! Within four hours of cooking on high in the crock pot, the beans were soft.

One part of the recipe says to do this: "Transfer two cups bean mixture to blender; puree until smooth. Return puree to remaining soup in slow cooker." Being averse to this kind of hassle, I used an immersion blender and blended until there was a creamy base but still plenty of whole beans.

Isn't it beautiful?





The boys were a bit wary of this soup (I think we all were!), but three of them ate small portions and were okay with it. I think next time I make this they may warm up to it a bit more.

Amazing Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies (3 Star)

I found the recipe for these cookies on 101 Cookbooks and they are named something else but I am naming them "amazing" because they are. Let me tell you why:

a. They have no sugar (except in the chocolate chips).
b. They have no eggs.
c. They have no flour.
d. They have a small amount of oil.
e. They taste great!

I really like them. I have made them a lot. They do taste healthy compared with a typical sugar, butter, flour cookie, so don't expect them to taste like that. But they have a nice, soft, chewy texture (most cookies I've tried with such a low amount of oil added have a rubbery, dry texture) and a nutty, lightly sweet flavor punctuated with the chocolate. So if you are trying to reduce sugar intake or just want a healthy snack, these are great. They are not low calorie but the calories are nutritious. I have previously made them completely sugar free by using raisins and dried cranberries instead of the chocolate chips and I thought that was really good, too.

None of my boys hated these cookies but none of them were really excited about them, either. Only one boy asked for more. So I'm rating this 3 Star even though no one was repulsed. The banana flavor was complained about a little so next time I might try replacing the banana with applesauce. As for Brandon and myself, we enjoy them.

The Best Whole Wheat Bread Ever (4 Star)

Is there anything better than hot, buttered bread, fresh out of the oven? I don't think so.









This bread is a staple around here. I make it almost once a day.

Since we have a wheat grinder, courtesy of my grandma, I am able to grind my own wheat. I like to use a 50/50 blend of hard white wheat and hard red wheat. I used to use just white wheat because I liked the fluffy, light quality of bread that it made but now I prefer a little more chewy denseness and a more "wheaty" flavor.

I use my bread maker on the dough setting to mix and rise it--all I have to do is dump the ingredients in and push the button--no proofing or even warm water to mess with. When it's finished I bake it in the oven because I think the bread maker over-does it. From the oven it comes out tender and chewy inside with a crisp (but not overdone) crust.

My recipe is adapted from Brandon's Aunt Mona's recipe.

Whole Wheat Bread

1 2/3 cups water (temp doesn't matter in the bread maker)
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
1/4 cup sugar or honey
2 Tablespoons olive oil
3 1/3 cups whole wheat flour
1/4+ cup vital wheat gluten flour
2 teaspoons yeast

Put everything into the pan in this order and turn on the bread maker to the dough setting. When the cycle is finished, shape into one large loaf or cut in half to make two mini loaves and place in greased pan(s). Turn on the oven to 350 degrees to let it preheat while the bread rises. Allow to rise for 15-20 minutes or until just peeking over the edge of the pan. Bake for 33 minutes for one large loaf or 27 minutes for two minis.

Of course, this recipe could be made without a bread maker, too--just make it as you would a typical loaf of bread, proofing, kneading, rising, etc. and then rise and bake as instructed above.

Enjoy!

Double Broccoli Quinoa (0 Star)

Here is another really good quinoa recipe. This is from 101 Cookbooks and again, my picture does not look much like hers. It may partially be because I didn't have all of the toppings on hand but it was probably also because I get so involved in just getting the food made and forget to make it look pretty. I guess the incentive to make things look nice in a family of four picky boys is not so great. But I'm working on it! I didn't have cream but I had cream cheese and it made a great substitute, I thought. I also added canned Costco chicken to make it a meal. It was too bad that none of the boys would touch this because it tasted fantastic and was very healthy. Little buggers--they're missing out!

Carne Asada Pizza with the Best Pizza Crust, Ever (2 Star)

I made this pizza yesterday and I must brag because it is incredibly good! I am so excited to have found this crust recipe because it is awesome--soft and chewy inside and crisp on the outside. I did alter it to make it whole wheat so I am including the recipe below with my changes.

The Carne Asada recipe is from Picky Palate and is cheesy and beefy, freshened with cilantro and a slight kick. I highly reccommend it.








Due to the picky nature of certain boys in this household, I also made a plain cheese pizza (just cheese and crust, no sauce for my second born) and pepperoni. (The rating for this post refers to the Carne Asada pizza.)



Basic Pizza Dough
Original recipe taken from “The Bread Baker’s Apprentice” by Peter Reinhart. (With some ingredients altered by me to make whole wheat.)

Makes 6 pizza crusts (about 9-12 inches/23-30 cm in diameter).

Ingredients:
4 1/8 cups whole wheat flour, chilled
1/3 cup vital wheat gluten flour
1 3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon yeast
1/4 cup olive oil
2 1/3 cups water, ice cold (40° F/4.5° C)
1 Tablespoon sugar
cornmeal for dusting

DAY ONE

Method:
1. Mix together the flour, salt and yeast in a big bowl (or in the bowl of your stand mixer).

2. Add the oil, sugar and cold water and mix well (with the help of a large wooden spoon or with the paddle attachment, on low speed) in order to form a sticky ball of dough. On a clean surface, knead for about 5-7 minutes, until the dough is smooth and the ingredients are homogeneously distributed. If it is too wet, add a little flour (not too much, though) and if it is too dry add 1 or 2 teaspoons extra water.

NOTE: If you are using an electric mixer, switch to the dough hook and mix on medium speed for the same amount of time. The dough should clear the sides of the bowl but stick to the bottom of the bowl. If the dough is too wet, sprinkle in a little more flour, so that it clears the sides. If, on the contrary, it clears the bottom of the bowl, dribble in a teaspoon or two of cold water. The finished dough should be springy, elastic, and sticky, not just tacky, and register 50°-55° F/10°-13° C.

3. Flour a work surface or counter. Line a jelly pan with baking paper/parchment. Lightly oil the paper.

4. With the help of a metal or plastic dough scraper, cut the dough into 6 equal pieces (or larger if you want to make larger pizzas).
NOTE: To avoid the dough from sticking to the scraper, dip the scraper into water between cuts.
5. Sprinkle some flour over the dough. Make sure your hands are dry and then flour them. Gently round each piece into a ball.

NOTE: If the dough sticks to your hands, then dip your hands into the flour again.

6. Transfer the dough balls to the lined jelly pan and mist them generously with spray oil. Slip the pan into plastic bag or enclose in plastic food wrap.

7. Put the pan into the refrigerator and let the dough rest overnight or for up to thee days.

NOTE: You can store the dough balls in a zippered freezer bag if you want to save some of the dough for any future baking. In that case, pour some oil (a few tablespooons only) in a medium bowl and dip each dough ball into the oil, so that it is completely covered in oil. Then put each ball into a separate bag. Store the bags in the freezer for no longer than 3 months. The day before you plan to make pizza, remember to transfer the dough balls from the freezer to the refrigerator.

DAY TWO

8. On the day you plan to eat pizza, exactly 2 hours before you make it, remove the desired number of dough balls from the refrigerator. Dust the counter with flour and spray lightly with oil. Place the dough balls on a floured surface and sprinkle them with flour. Dust your hands with flour and delicately press the dough into disks about 1/2 inch/1.3 cm thick and 5 inches/12.7 cm in diameter. Sprinkle with flour and mist with oil. Loosely cover the dough rounds with plastic wrap and then allow to rest for 2 hours.

9. At least 45 minutes before making the pizza, place a baking stone on the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven as hot as possible (500° F/260° C).

NOTE: If you do not have a baking stone, then use the back of a jelly pan. Do not preheat the pan.

10. Generously sprinkle the back of a jelly pan with cornmeal. Flour your hands (palms, backs and knuckles). Take 1 piece of dough by lifting it with a pastry scraper. Lay the dough across your fists in a very delicate way and carefully stretch it by bouncing it in a circular motion on your hands, and by giving it a little stretch with each bounce. Once the dough has expanded outward, move to a full toss.

NOTE: Make only one pizza at a time.

During the tossing process, if the dough tends to stick to your hands, lay it down on the floured counter and reflour your hands, then continue the tossing and shaping.
In case you would be having trouble tossing the dough or if the dough never wants to expand and always springs back, let it rest for approximately 5-20 minutes in order for the gluten to relax fully,then try again. You can also resort to using a rolling pin, although it isn’t as effective as the toss method.

11. When the dough has the shape you want (about 9-12 inches/23-30 cm in diameter - for a 6 ounces/180g piece of dough), place it on the back of the jelly pan, making sure there is enough semolina/durum flour or cornmeal to allow it to slide and not stick to the pan.

12. Lightly top it with sweet or savory toppings of your choice.

NOTE: Remember that the best pizzas are topped not too generously. No more than 3 or 4 toppings (including sauce and cheese) are sufficient.

13. Slide the garnished pizza onto the stone in the oven or bake directly on the jelly pan. Close the door and bake for abour 5-8 minutes.

NOTE: After 2 minutes baking, take a peek. For an even baking, rotate 180°. If the top gets done before the bottom, you will need to move the stone or jelly pane to a lower shelf before the next round. On the contrary, if the bottom crisps before the cheese caramelizes, then you will need to raise the stone or jelly.

14. Take the pizza out of the oven and transfer it to a cutting board or your plate. In order to allow the cheese to set a little, wait 3-5 minutes before slicing or serving.

Ribollita (0 Star)

I have never cooked anything using kale before and I don't think I have ever eaten it before, either. So this was an adventurous recipe for me but I decided to give it a try because I want to incorporate more vegetables into our diet. I'm glad I did because this soup had amazing flavor. The recipe is from 101 Cookbooks and I followed it as closely as I was capable. However, my kale doesn't look the same so there must be some difference between the kale that I bought and the "cavolo nero (lacinato kale, Tuscan kale)" that her recipe calls for. Unfortunately, I must say that I am not quite a fan of the kale. The flavor was good in the soup but the texture seemed a little tough to me. Brandon said he liked it, though. So, being ignorant about kale, I don't know if it was poor quality or if that's just how kale is. And, my soup did not look the same as her soup even though I did my best to follow the recipe precisely. (I won't mention what my boys said this soup looked like.) Also, there are no olives in my soup because I thought there were some in my pantry but there weren't.

But don't get me wrong--this soup was really good and I plan to make it again but next time I will be sure to have olives and I will look harder for the kind of kale that is specified.






The Rosemary bread that I made to go with this soup is from Bird Food (my sister in law, Heidi's, blog) and this is the second time in a week that I've made it so that shows how much I like it. This time, instead of white flour, I made it with 2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour and 1/4 cup vital wheat gluten flour and I had to increase the water by about 1/4-1/3 cup. It turned out very good.

Truffles (4 Star)

I have to admit that I am really proud of these truffles that I made for Christmas gifts this year. I have never made anything so pretty or fancy so this was quite exciting to me. They even tasted as good as they looked. What's more, the recipe, from Pioneer Woman, was quite simple.















I tried a lot of different chocolate flavors. There happened to be an awesome sale on Guittard chocolate chips so that is what I used for the coatings and the centers (except as noted). For the center flavors I used milk chocolate, extra dark chocolate, white chocolate, butterscotch, Hershey's mint chocolate chips, and Hershey's cinnamon chips. For the coatings I used milk chocolate, extra dark chocolate, and white chocolate. The combinations I tried were as follows:

center/coating

white chocolate/milk or extra dark chocolate
mint chocolate/extra dark chocolate or white chocolate
butterscotch/extra dark chocolate
cinnamon/extra dark chocolate
milk chocolate/white chocolate or extra dark chocolate
extra dark chocolate/milk chocolate or white chocolate

PW said she used Merckens melting wafers for her coatings and I wonder if they don't need to be tempered because she never mentioned tempering. I did need to temper my chocolate chip coatings so that they would harden properly and once I figured out how to do it and got a feel for it, it wasn't too difficult.

Tempering:

Microwave 1 cup chocolate chips on high for 30 seconds. Stir. Repeat 1-2 more times or until the chips are completely melted but still somewhat thick. Add 1/2 cup unmelted chips and stir until melted. (The necessary ratio is 2/3 melted to 1/3 unmelted.) Test by dipping the tip of a cool spoon into the chocolate and allow it to cool. If the chocolate is tempered properly it will harden within a few minutes. If the chocolate is not tempered then the chips were heated too hot. To remedy, add another 1/2 cup of unmelted chips and stir until all melted and smooth. With the next batch, heat for less time. White chocolate melts much more quickly so microwave in 15 second increments.

Or you can microwave 1-2 cups of chocolate chips on high for 20-30 second increments stirring in between until the chips are 2/3 of the way melted, then stir the chips until they are all melted and smooth. This can take a little practice until you get a feel for how much to melt so that there is still enough unmelted chocolate to distribute the "seed" crystals throughout and yet warm enough to be able to melt everything.

While I originally planned to try the sea salt sprinkling that PW was so excited about, I never did because I got so involved with all the other things I experimented with as sprinkles that I forgot. But I definitely will next time.

Sprinkles:

finely chopped toasted almonds
toasted unsweetened coconut flakes (from the bulk bins at Good Earth)
crushed candy canes (used on the mint centered truffles)
cinnamon (used on the cinnamon centered truffles)

Granola (1 Star)

This is my favorite granola recipe (though it is not enjoyed by our boys, Brandon and I like it so much that I almost always have some on hand) because it is so healthy and tasty. Most granola I have tried is so sweet it seems like dessert but this is lightly sweetened allowing the wholesome flavor of the other ingredients to come through. I like that it is sweetened with very little sugar/honey but mostly bananas and dates and a bit of grape juice concentrate. I also like that there is no added oil. I adapted this from a recipe found here on Allrecipes. The cool thing about this recipe is that you can easily adjust it according to your taste, trying different flavors and ingredients. Just be sure to keep the ratio of wet to dry ingredients the same. The bulk food section of our health food store is where I can easily stock up on many of these ingredients.

Ingredients

3 bananas, peeled and diced
1 1/2 cups dates, pitted and chopped
1/4 cup honey or packed brown sugar
1/4 cup hot water or 1/4 cup hot 100% white grape juice concentrate
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
5 cups rolled six grain mix
1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1/3 cup oat bran
1/3 cup wheat bran
1/3 cup wheat germ
1 cup roughly chopped raw almonds
1 cup roughly chopped raw walnuts
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup dried raisins

Directions

1.Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C).
2.Puree the bananas and dates in a food processor. Add the honey or brown sugar, hot water or juice concentrate, vanilla and cinnamon; mix well.
3.In a separate large bowl combine the rest of the ingredients except the dried fruit.
4.Pour wet mixture into dry mixture and mix well.
5.Spread onto 2 large baking sheets and bake at 250 degrees F (120 degrees C) for 1 to 1 1/2 hours stirring frequently. Cook longer for crunchier if desired. Once cooled add the dried fruits, as little or as much as you want, and mix.
6.Store in an airtight container up to 3 weeks or in the freezer for several months. Storing in the freezer will also keep it crunchy if you live in a humid climate.

Sesame Mandarin Quinoa Salad (0 Star)

None of the boys cared for this salad--only two would even try it, but I didn't expect them to. I made this for Brandon and me and we enjoyed it. This is the second time I've made something with quinoa and I liked it both times. It has a mild nutty-grainy flavor, is very quick and easy to cook, and is nutritionally superior.

I got the recipe from Picky Palate--click here. I also added more stuff:

1/2 c. finely chopped broccoli
1/2 c. finely chopped spinach
1 can drained turkey breast, shredded (to make it a main dish)
more salt to taste (probably another 1/2-3/4 tsp--the recipe only called for a pinch)

I skipped the feta because I forgot to buy some and it was still good, but probably would have been better with.

I also forgot to buy parsley so I used 1 Tbsp dried but maybe that was subliminal because I've never used fresh and I'm a little scared of it, not being especially fond of parsley. Maybe sometime I will get up the guts.

I thought this salad was even better the second day.

My Current Favorite Chili (3 Star)

This is a hearty, thick, rich chili with some kick but not enough kick to make Brandon and I even close to uncomfortable. It was a tad too spicy for our little guy (even though I had already toned it down from the recipe), but he still ate it with lots of chips and water and exclamations of "Hot! Hot!" Three out of the four boys liked this. The recipe I used is here, from Allrecipes, called Boilermaker Tailgate Chili.

As usual, I made some alterations (for personal taste and also because of what we had on hand) and here they are:

Instead of the recommended meat I used:
1 pound of homemade sausage and
1 13 oz can of beef, undrained (the beef broth taking the place of the beer)

Omitted the beer.

Instead of the chili beans:
2 cans drained pinto beans
1 can drained black beans
1 can drained white beans

Instead of the canned tomatoes:
28 oz pureed frozen tomatoes (from our garden)

Decreased cayenne pepper to 1/4 tsp.

Increased sugar to 1-2 Tbsp and used brown sugar.

Added 1 Tbsp cocoa powder.

Added 1+ cup of homemade salsa that I happened to have in the fridge.

The first time I made this I cooked it in the crock pot on low for about six hours and it was great. The second time I cooked it on the stove because I didn't plan so well, and it turned out great, too, but it was better in the crock pot.