Hobbit Bread

At last Gandalf pushed away his plate and jug - he had eaten two whole loaves (with masses of butter and honey and clotted cream) and drunk at least a quart of mead - and he took out his pipe.

I imagine the bread that Gandalf ate, and all of the other loaves in Middle Earth, were like the one I made last weekend. Full of flax seeds and currants and best eaten with butter and honey.

I will probably post nothing but Advent and Christmas-realted things from now until the 25th! Get ready!

Love, T. 

Sparkling Sunday

I love gingerbread around this time of year.

I love how it smells when it's baking and I love how warming it is to eat.

I especially love it when it sparkles.

Which is why I love this recipe.

I made this with one cup of whole wheat flour and one cup of all-purpose flour.

And only because I didn't have any oranges on hand, I didn't include the orange peel.

It was delicious, but I bet the orange peel would have really knocked it out of the park.

Highly recommended.

Enjoy the rest of your weekends!

Love, T.

#4. Make Croissants from Scratch

...or, One of Few Reasons I Will Wake Up at 4:30AM

These were such a treat. Not easy, but so worth it in the end.

Recipe

Love, T.

No Sugar Added Banana Blueberry Muffins

I love to bake, but baking in the summer is nearly impossible. It's just not worth heating the entire apartment for some muffins or a cake.

But there are mornings that are actually crisp, reminiscent of autumn mornings, where the sun is shining in through the windows and there's a cool breeze floating around. These are the mornings where I throw open the windows, slip on a cardigan, and bake.

On one such morning I made these:

No sugar added banana blueberry muffins. Recipe here.

I modified things slightly to accommodate what was in my cupboards (because who has time to run to the store at moments like these?) including substituting all-purpose flour for the gluten free flour and leaving out the xantham gum. My batter was thicker than the recipe said it should be, but it all worked out just fine.

They were wonderful...more bread-y than cake-y. I like that. And you really don't miss the sugar (thank you, bananas).

Love, T.

Happy Anniversary to Us!

One wonderful year down, 500 million wonderful years to go!

Or at least 74 more. I think 75 years of marriage is a decent goal.

We celebrated everything we had to celebrate with a picnic in the park.

It was still just a little cool outside, but really perfect for sitting in the grass with a sweater on, reading, knitting, and sleeping. We stayed out there for a few hours, breathing in the fresh air and relaxing.

All I could think about is how seriously blessed we are.

I can't imagine life without him.

Then, when we were fed and rested, we packed up and went back home for some birthday cake.

Recipe here.

It was scrumptious and it became more and more scrumptious as the week went on!

Highly recommended.

Love, T.

No Sugar Added

I'm back to being more relaxed with sugar. I've drastically cut down on the amount of sugar I eat, but won't refuse a small piece of sweetness anymore if it comes my way.

And I'm still committed to finding other ways to satisfy my sweet tooth that have less to do with added sugars and more to do with natural sugars. Like these from CCK. (They are amazing and taste like brownie batter. Seriously.)

A huge gap in my efforts has been baking. I mean, how do you bake a cake without sugar? I plan on finding out...and when I have developed a recipe, I'll share it.

In the meantime, I did manage to adapt a banana bread recipe to make it a bit healthier than it would have been otherwise.

-:- Healthier Banana Bread -:-
adapted from here

2 c. whole wheat flour
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
3 very ripe bananas, mashed
1/4 c. Greek yogurt
2 eggs, beaten lightly
3/4 c. butter, melted and cooled
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 tsp. liquid stevia
1/4 c. applesauce

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan; dust with flour, tapping out the excess.
Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl; set aside.
Mix the mashed bananas, yogurt, eggs, butter, stevia, applesauce, and vanilla with a wooden spoon in a medium bowl. Lightly fold the banana mixture into the dry ingredients with a rubber spatula until just combined and the batter looks thick and chunky. Scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pan.
Bake until the loaf is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 55 minutes. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.

Next time I might try adding a fourth banana instead of the stevia. I have a feeling that'll work just fine. But this turned out wonderfully too and it has given me a bit of courage to try a No Sugar Added Chocolate Cake.

I'll let you know how it turns out.

Love, T.

Sick Days

Last weekend was all about fighting sickness. Casy is fighting against an upper respiratory infection and I am fighting against getting it. We have both been successful.

We drank fresh ginger lemon honey tea. We gargled with salt water.
We drank orange juice and tons of water.
We ate immuno-booster gummi vitamins.

We broke out the neti pot, hot water bottle, and humidifier.
We put Mentholatum on before bed.

And we ate a simple, homemade chicken soup with brown soda bread for dipping.

There's really nothing like a chicken soup at any time, but especially when you're sick. Even in its simplicity, it gives you everything you need to feel better. It's almost magic that way. And could it be any easier to make?

-:- Simple Chicken Soup -:-

olive oil

1 onion

3 cloves of garlic

3 celery stalks

6 carrots

water

chicken bouillon

some bone-in, skin-on chicken (we used drumsticks since we had them in the freezer)

Chop the onion and garlic and cook in olive oil in your soup pot until translucent. Chop the carrots and celery and add them to your onions for a couple of minutes. Add enough water to fill your pot (leave a few of inches at the top), add the chicken and bouillon, and bring to a boil. Cook until the chicken falls off the bone. Remove the bones and skin from the soup, taking any remaining chicken from the bone and placing it back in the soup.

The bread recipe comes from here, except I used 4 cups of whole wheat flour for mine and prepped my baking sheet with olive oil and wheat bran.

Perfectly paired.

Love, T.

#11. Bake a Ton of Christmas Cookies

This weekend, I baked. And by the end of last night, I was ready never to bake again.

I was sticky from sugar, powdered with flour, and my fingertips were burned. But I baked on.

Our bedroom floor was covered under Things That Needed To Be Picked Up, we had significant piles of laundry forming next to the washer, and Christmas presents needed to be finished. But I baked on.

The cats meowed at me constantly, desperate for some love and attention, wanting only to sit on my lap for a few minutes...but I baked on.

Okay, fine. This didn't really happen. They were sleeping, completely ignorant to the fact that I wasn't there with them. But I imagined that my preoccupation with cookies was noticed by them all the same.

Anyway, I baked my heart out...and slowly but surely I started seeing the fruits of my labor. Dozens and dozens of cookies. Cranberry pecan noels, sugar cookies, molasses cookies, Russian tea cakes, oatmeal raisin cookies, and lime meltaways.

This morning, we put them on plates for distribution. Neighbors, coworkers, and friends got a plateful of sugary, buttery love. And what better kind of love is there to give?

And remember how I said I never wanted to bake again? It was nothing a little bit of sleep couldn't cure. This morning, after almost fainting when I rediscovered the huge number of cookie-related dishes in the sink, I looked at a pile of overripe bananas on our table and thought how much better they would be baked in a bread.

This, to me, indicates that I'm cured. And that we have a tradition in the making.

Love, T.

Lately, from our Kitchen

We have been so busy with life lately, enjoying our favorite season, getting out and about in the crisp air and colorful leaves, and spending a whole lot of time in that lovely kitchen of ours, cooking and baking up a storm.

We have a never-ending sink full of dirty dishes, vegetable peels are constantly on the floor, and our noses are regularly dusted with flour…but oh, the food that comes out of that kitchen.

Bread by Casy...gorgeous and delicious!

We’ve been experimenting with some new ingredients and filling our bellies with flavorful, hearty, good for us meals…and at the end of the day, it’s so worth the mess.

Pumpkin Kamut Pancakes from here.

Our new favorite fall grain happens to be barley and I’m honestly surprised that we haven’t already discovered it. Here’s the recipe that clenched our love of barley for us, adapted from Heaven’s Banquet, a wonderful vegetarian cookbook recommended by a wonderful coworker of mine.

2.5 cups veggie broth

¾ c. pearled barley

Various root veggies for roasting. We used carrots and parsnips because that’s what we had, but you can also roast beets, turnips, and potatoes.

3 cloves of garlic

A shallot or two

Onion powder

Ground sage

Olive oil

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.

Bring the broth to a boil, add any salt that you'd like, and stir in your barley. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for about 45 minutes. I added a bit more broth than the original recipe called for because we tend to enjoy stews and soups and wanted to have that feel with this dish. If you prefer a less soupy dish, reduce your broth by 1/4-1/2 cup.

Meanwhile, peel and prep your veggies (including your garlic and shallots), coat with olive oil and season as you desire. We used onion powder and ground sage, but do whatever strikes your fancy. Roast in oven for around 35 minutes or until veggies are tender.

Remove from the oven, slice the veggies, and add to the barley and broth once the barley is tender.

Love, T.

#16. Go Apple Picking

Last week was pure rain. Seriously. Then we had a weekend full of gorgeous sun and we used it well.

So now I feel like Bubba Blue. Apples are the best. You can slice them, peel them, bake them, grill them, sautee them, roast them. There's pork with apples, apple pie, apple butternut squash soup, sliced apples with cheese, caramel apples, applesauce, apple crisp, apple muffins, apple salad, apple betty, apple strudel, apple-stuffed chicken breast. That's...that's about it.

Picture by J

Here's to eating an apple a day...for the next 5 years!

Love, T.

Say Goodbye to Summer

Fall is my favorite time of year.

I love pumpkins and wool,

falling leaves and crisp air.

I feel more energized,

like my year is just starting instead of coming to an end.

It makes me want to do things.

Like bake.

So this morning, in some of the first crisp air of the season,

I made some Say Goodbye to Summer Strawberry Muffins

in remembrance of the season I always feel I take for granted.

Because summer, after all, has a few good points despite the heat.

Like the shore, fireworks, Farmer's Markets, and strawberries.

Like fireflies and thunderstorms.

And I guess a small part of me is sorry to see it go.

A very small part of me.

-:- Say Goodbye to Summer Strawberry Muffins -:-

from Whole Living

Ingredients

1 1/2 c. sliced strawberries

1/3 c. sugar, plus 1 tbsp.

1 1/4 c. all purpose flour

1/2 c. wheat flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 c. buttermilk

1/4 c. light olive oil or veggie oil

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix 1/3 c. sugar with strawberries and mash lightly. Set aside.

In a large bowl, mix all dry ingredients.

In a separate bowl, mix all wet ingredients.

Make a well in the flour mixture and add the wet mixture and the strawberries (with juice) to the flour well. Fold until just combined. Scoop the batter into a muffin tin. Sprinkle with sugar and bake for 17 minutes. Cool 5 minutes in pan before removing.

I doubled this recipe easily and used bigger sugar crystals than the granulated sugar for sprinkling on top...they had a bit more crunch to them and were hot pink. What's not to love?

Love, T.

Gluten-Free Chocolate Scones

My wedding dress and I are at odds. I say there's no way I expanded an inch since August of last year. She says with all that baking, how could I not have expanded a bit? She, however, still can't explain how she didn't shrink at all, especially since she hasn't eaten anything since August!

We've agreed to disagree. And compromise. She is at the tailor. I am on a diet.

This diet is all about cutting out white flour and added sugar (although, I have to tell you that I've still been putting sugar in my coffee) and lowering my overall carb intake. I'm eating low glycemic fruits, tons of veggies, and tons of protein. Casy is participating via dinner (he still has sandwiches and such for lunch) and says he feels better just having more fiber in his diet!

It's definitely not easy. I eat a ton of toast (with butter and jam), sandwiches, pasta, pretzels and other snacks...let alone the sweets! Oh, the sweets.

Since this is the weekend, it's my time for a little splurge. And what I mean by splurge is that I'm letting myself eat half a sweet potato. And...a chocolate scone??

-:- Gluten Free Chocolate Scones -:-
From Celiac Chicks

Ingredients
2 1/2 c. almond flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/3 c. coconut oil
1/4 c. agave nectar
2 eggs
3/4 c. cocoa powder
1/4 c. chopped dark chocolate

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix dry ingredients except the cocoa. Mix wet ingredients. Add cocoa to wet ingredients and mix well. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and add the dark chocolate.

Place 1/4 c. batter on a parchment lined baking sheet, about 1 inch apart. Bake 12-17 minutes and check for doneness with a toothpick.

-:- My Notes -:-
Okay. These are good, though not what I was expecting! I thought they could have been a tad sweeter, though for a sugar addict, I think that's a normal first reaction. I also used 85% dark chocolate, so maybe the intent of the recipe is to use something not so bold. I ate mine with a little extra agave nectar and that was perfect.

I also might add another egg next time around. These were a little crumbly and I think an extra egg would make their texture better.

All in all, though, they were a great treat with a strong dark chocolate flavor and a ton of protein! And totally delicious right out of the oven when the chocolate pieces are still melty!

Love, T.

Red Velvet Recipe

This morning I'm baking vegan chocolate cupcakes for one of the sweetest people I know at work. As I'm doing this, I'm thinking about how good it is to be baking again after a little break, and about the blog post that will come out of it all.
And then I remembered. I haven't given you the red velvet recipe!
This recipe comes from, as many of my baking recipes do, Joy the Baker.


-:- Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting -:-
Makes 1 dozen


4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 c. sugar
1 egg
2 1/2 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
3 Tbsp. red food coloring (yes, 3 tbsp.)
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 c. buttermilk
1 c. plus 2 tbsp. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. white vinegar


In the bowl of a stand mixer fit with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about three minutes.  Turn mixer to high and add  the egg.  Scrape down the bowl and beat until well incorporated.

In a separate bowl mix together cocoa, vanilla and red food coloring to make a thick paste.  Add to the batter, mixing thoroughly until completely combined.  You may need to stop the mixer to scrape the bottom of the bowl, making sure that all the batter gets color.

Turn mixer to low and slowly add half of the buttermilk.  Add half of the flour and mix until combined.  Scrape the bowl and repeat the process with the remaining milk and flour.  Beat on high until smooth.

Turn mixer to low and add baking soda and white vinegar.  Turn to high and beat a few more minutes.

Spoon batter into a paper lined cupcake baking pan and bake at 325 F for 20-25 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center cupcake comes out clean.

Let rest in the pan for 10 minutes, then place them of a cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.

-:- Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting -:-

2 1/3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
3 Tablespoons butter, room temperature
4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
scant 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Beat the powdered sugar, cinnamon, and butter together in the bowl of a stand mixer fit with a paddle attachment.  Mix on medium-slow speed until it comes together and is well mixed.

Add the cream cheese all at once and beat on medium to medium-high until incorporated.

Turn the mixer to medium-high and beat for 5 minutes, or until the frosting becomes light and fluffy.


Do not over-beat as the frosting can quickly become runny.

-:- My Notes -:-

I was put off by two things in this recipe: the amount of red food coloring and the vinegar. But let me tell you...trust the ingredients and trust the recipe. This is one of the best baking recipes I've come across in a while and it will make the best red velvet cupcakes you've ever had in your life. I swear.

Love, T.

Cornmeal-Cherry Muffins

So the last time I talked about a mook, Casy made fun of me. And didn't believe that it was really a word that people use. For Casy's information (and potentially yours, dear reader) a mook is a magazine-book hybrid. It has a bit more substance than a magazine, but you can't quite call it a book. I tell you this because I'm about to talk about that mook again and want to make sure we're all on the same page.

This morning, Casy had to get up early to catch the train because he's having dinner (as I type this) with a group of his friends from DreamYard in NYC. Because he's partially insane, he took the 4:50AM train, which meant I was (barely) awake at 4:40 to drive him to the station.

I got home, debated crawling back into bed, and ultimately decided that I would stay awake and be productive instead sleeping through my alarm and starting the day in chaos. Go me.

So instead of going back to bed, I baked muffins for breakfast. From scratch. And the recipe I used came from the mook that Jill gave me for Christmas. We've now come full circle.

-:- Cornmeal-Cherry Muffins -:-

Fine Cooking Sweet Cakes (Holiday Baking Issue)

3 large eggs

3 tbs. finely grated lemon zest

1/4 c. fresh lemon juice

12 tbs. unsalted butter, melted

1/4 c. plus 2 tbs. veggie oil

3 c. buttermilk

3 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

3 cups medium cornmeal

4 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

3/4 c. sugar

1 tsp. salt

2 cups dried cherries, chopped

Preheat oven to 350. Mix eggs, zest, lemon juice, butter, oil, and buttermilk. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, soda, sugar, and salt. Slowly pour dry ingredients into wet ingredients. Stir until just mixed. Gently fold in cherries. Scoop 1/2 cup of batter into each muffin tin. Bake for 30-35 minutes.

-:- my notes -:-

Another great recipe...I would only recommend using two very large bowls...when I added my dry ingredients to my wet ingredients, it was a bit of a struggle to stir without spilling flour everywhere. But that was probably the zombie in me.

I took these to work (saving a few for me and Casy...the recipe yielded 24) and everyone loved them. I ate mine this morning with my (second) cup of coffee, happy that I didn't go back to bed.

Love, T.

Good Old Banana Bread

You're a bad banana

With a greasy black peel.

This week’s baking project went to work with me this morning. I promised to make something for the return of my second boss from maternity leave and we had these gross bananas sitting around, so I put them to good use.

This week’s recipe came from this awesome culinary website.

Classic Banana Bread
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the pan
1 1/4 cups walnuts, chopped coarse
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 very ripe, soft, darkly speckled large bananas, mashed well (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/4 cup plain yogurt
2 large eggs, beaten lightly
3/4 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 350°F (175°C) degrees. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan; dust with flour, tapping out the excess.
Spread the walnuts on a baking sheet and toast until fragrant, 5 to 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.
Whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and walnuts together in a large bowl; set aside.
Mix the mashed bananas, yogurt, eggs, butter, and vanilla with a wooden spoon in a medium bowl. Lightly fold the banana mixture into the dry ingredients with a rubber spatula until just combined and the batter looks thick and chunky. Scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pan.
Bake until the loaf is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 55 minutes. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature. (The bread can be wrapped with plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to 3 days.)

::my notes::
I didn't put any nuts in my bread in case anyone at work doesn't like/is allergic to them. Otherwise, this was as straightforward as can be! I think I'm getting better at this food photography thing too...

Love, T.

Gingerbread Pound Cake

This week’s baking recipe came from my new (and already loved) Gingerbread book, by Jennifer Lindner McGlinn. There are so many fun recipes to try from this book…I had a hard time picking one to make!

Gingerbread Pound Cake
2 c. cake flour
1 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
2 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 c. unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 c. granulated sugar
1/2 c. packed dark brown sugar
1/2 c. molasses
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
5 eggs, room temperature

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Butter and flour a 9x5x3 loaf pan.
Whisk together the cake flour, baking powder, salt, and spices in a medium bowl.
Beat the butter in a large bowl until smooth. Add the granulated and brown sugars and beat until light and fluffy. Pour in molasses and beat until smooth. Add the vanilla extract and drop in the eggs, one at a time, beating for about 2 minutes and stopping at least once to scrape the sides of the bowl. Gradually add the flour mixture, beating until just incorporated.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. The top should be dark chestnut brown in color and cracked, and a wooden skewer inserted in the middle of the cake should come out clean.
Cool for 15 minutes in the pan before turning out to cool completely.

::my notes::
I continually have trouble pouring molasses without dripping it everywhere. Really. Everywhere. The jar is sitting in a measuring cup right now (to prevent further contamination), where I think it’ll stay until it’s gone. I used regular flour, not cake flour like the recipe calls for. I also need to be better about reading recipes carefully…my oven was 25 degrees hotter than it should have been, but besides some crispy edges, the cake was fine. The recipe says this cake is good with a glass of milk or with a cup of coffee and I totally agree.

(We're not starting a compost pile under our Christmas tree...those orange peels are supposed to keep the  cats away, although at this point, they're more toys than repellents. It was worth a shot.)

Love, T.