Out with the Old and In with the New...

We are now more than a week into 2013, and to me it doesn't feel any different than 2012. 2012 was great, so that is not necessarily a bad thing, but it does make it a bit challenging to get gung-ho about changes. Which is the point of resolutions, right? I stopped making New Year's resolutions regarding eating, exercise and weight because I wouldn't stick to them past January. Instead I seem to go through phases through the year. This past year I was really healthy through the spring and summer- the healthiest I have ever been. My skin was clear, weight loss was effortless and I ate nearly all vegan, and about 90% raw. It was so easy while it was warm. But once fall hit, it got colder, and the holidays rolled around, it didn't come as naturally. I have to work harder to stick to a routine and find my motivation.

So this year, I am going to try resolutions again, but I am fully prepared to go through phases as well. I know now that the warmer months will be easier than the colder months to eat well and exercise. But I do want to get closer to raw veganism. I also want to run more- so far my running is very sporadic.

And as for goals not having to do with my physical health, I want to start preliminary homeschooling. I mean, I already sing, play games, and read to the kids. But I want to work on specific things they might learn in preschool and see how far I can get them when it comes to standards. I know they are still very young (10 months and over 2 years), so I won't be pushing too hard. But it wouldn't hurt to teach them new things, right?

Do you believe in New Years resolutions? What are yours?

Gift Guide 2012

Here are some of my favorite things- all food and kitchen related, natch. Everyone needs to eat, so why not hook your friends and family up this year? There are items at various price points- from under $10 to over $100.

A really nice cutting board:

A good set of knives to go with the cutting board:

A slate cheese board- you can label the cheeses in chalk right on the board. Simple and classy. Package some raw vegan cheese (or brie, for those eating dairy) and fig jam with it, if you really want to make their day!

Olive wood spoons. We have these and use them every day, several times a day. The wood is strong, doesn't dry out like typical wood spoons, and wooden spoons are better for your pans than metal utensils. This is a good mid price point item. You could also get individual spoons for smaller gifts or stocking stuffers:

A blender. I use my blender every single day and cannot imagine how I would get by without it. If you know someone without one, be their Santa!

A food processor- another item I use at least several times a week.

A healthy eating guide- the Kindle version of this one is a steal for a very limited time! So many people will be coming up with diet related resolutions for the New Year, help set them up for success.

A juicer. Fresh-made fruit and vegetable juice makes your cells dance. This would make a great gift for a family- include a basket of produce for them to start off with if you are being really generous!

Have you done any holiday shopping yet? What will you be giving this year?

Stuffed Turban Squash

I had bought this big turban squash originally as an autumn decoration- I just thought it was pretty, and had no idea whether it is normally eaten. Then the time for pumpkins, gourds and bales of hay passed, and the squash was still looking fabulous. I thought it would be a shame to throw it out if it hadn't gone past it's prime. So I googled "stuffed turban squash recipes"... and only came up with one. Aaaand it was a no-go, being primarily stuffed with sausage. So, I came up with my own, and as large as the dish came out, we demolished it and my husband was asking for more. I would say that is a success!

I used adzuki beans as that's what I had on hand. They are often used in Japanese cooking, both in savory dishes and desserts. They work well with the sweetness of the brown sugar, cranberries, carrots, and the flesh from the squash. This made a lot of extra stuffing, about double what I needed. Fine by me- it just means one less meal to cook later if you freeze or refrigerate it.

Also, I didn't have any chestnuts or hazelnuts, but I think roasting some, roughly chopping them, and throwing them into the mix would be awesome.

Stuffed Turban Squash 

1 large turban squash- I think mine was about 4 pounds
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 onion, diced
2 carrots, diced
2 cups wild rice
1 cup adzuki beans
1/2 cup dried cranberries
4 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 cup breadcrumbs (I used my own, ground up from stale sourdough bread)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Cut off top of squash (like you would a pumpkin) and scoop out the stringy flesh and seeds. (I just threw the seeds out this time, but you could roast them the way you would butternut squash or pumpkin seeds.) Place the squash cut side down on an oiled baking pan. Roast for an hour or until flesh is tender. Scoop out the flesh and set aside.

3. Rinse beans and rice and put it all in a large pot. (Check beans for stones.) Cover with enough water to boil (about 6 cups.) Boil until both rice and beans are cooked. Drain off any excess water.

4. In a skillet, saute the onion and carrots in the coconut oil on high until onion is translucent and carrot is tender. Add 2 tablespoons of the brown sugar and stir to coat, allowing the mixture to caramelize slightly.

5. Toss the rice, beans, scooped squash flesh, carrot/onion mixture, cranberries, salt, pepper and the remainder of the brown sugar until just combined. Scoop the mixture back into the empty squash. Top with breadcrumbs, and place the top of the turban back on. Put the whole monster back in the oven for a half hour, again at 350 degrees.

Any excess stuffing can be placed alongside the squash if there is room, or in a separate oven-safe pan. I froze whatever didn't fit for later. Good thing, even both kids ate this without me pleading- that's hard to come by!

Cranberry Walnut Bread

Bread may not be the healthiest thing to eat in large quantities, but at least it is easily made vegan, right? With the weather cooling way way way down, I feel like I am missing out if two days go by without baking something. Yea, I get something tasty in the process, but it also heats up the house a bit and makes it smell amazing.

This bread came about because I love cranberries and walnuts. I love them together and separately. I am a huge fan of cranberry sauce (only homemade.) I love both cranberries and walnuts in desserts. But I didn't want a dessert bread- I wanted a mostly savory (with a touch of sweetness) yeast based bread with a soft inside and crusty outside. I wanted a bread I could use for breakfast, lunch or dinner, that could be used in sandwiches, and I wanted it to contain cranberries and walnuts. I didn't want the inside to be very dense, glutinous or chewy- I thought the cranberries and walnuts would add some heft, so I wanted to keep it airy. My Google searches did not turn up anything that fit all my specific criteria in recipe form, so here is what I came up with! And bonus- there is NO KNEADING. (For those who hate kneading.)

Cranberry Walnut Bread (yeast-based, mostly savory, no knead)

3 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
2 teaspoons salt
1 2/3 cups warm water (110 degrees)
2 teaspoons-2 tablespoons honey (to desired sweetness)
2 tablespoons oil (I used olive oil, but sunflower oil would work as well)
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup walnuts, chopped

1. Combine everything in a large bowl and mix well to combine. The dough will be more of a batter than a bread dough (a little wet and sticky). It will be shaggy and hard to work with. This is ok, there is no kneading. Just make sure it is mixed as well as possible.

2. Cover the bowl with a wet kitchen towel and set it in a draft-free warm area. (TIP: the oven turned off with the light on is PERFECT for rising dough. It is just warm enough.) Let rise for four hours, or until doubled in size and quite bubbly.

3. Transfer the dough/batter to an ungreased loaf pan, it will probably deflate a bit as you do this. Cover with the wet kitchen towel and let it rise again, until the dough reaches slightly above the sides of the pan; this took about three hours for me.

4. Preheat the (now empty) oven to 450 degrees. Put the pan on the middle rack and bake for 30 minutes, or until the top is brown.

5. When the loaf looks done, pull it out of the oven and immediately pop it out of the pan. The loaf needs to release moisture. Tap the bottom, it should feel cooked, not moist, and it should sound a bit hollow. Let it cool before slicing.

A Different Take on Potato Salad

Normally I hate mayonnaise-based recipes. You know, tuna salad, potato salad, macaroni salad. (That last one is the worst- it is almost always elbow macaroni and looks like worms swimming in cream. *shudder*) I don't like mayo on sandwiches- if it is there, it has to be so thinly spread I would miss it. 

Potatoes though, in other applications, are a different story. I love baked potatoes, au gratin, mashed potatoes, etc. So I want to like potato salad, the mayo just gets in the way. 

Well I had a nearly full bag of them and nothing planned for dinner. I checked the fridge and saw a creamy artichoke dip waiting to be loved, too. Light bulb moment!

Potato Salad with Artichoke Spinach Dip and Caramelized Onions

• 8 potatoes (I used Russet, but I think any potato that holds up to boiling and won't fall apart easily would work. Red and blue potatoes would make good choices.)
• 2 onions
• 2 teaspoons sunflower or coconut oil
• 3/4 cup raw cashews (unsoaked) OR 2 avocados. (Avocados may give you a smoother texture, depending on your blender.)
• 3/4 cup plain unsweetened almond milk 
• 3 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1-2 medium-large cloves garlic
• 3/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp dry (ground) mustard
• freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 2 cups frozen artichoke hearts, partially thawed (helps for pulsing in blender)
• 2 cups (loosely packed) spinach leaves

Clean and chop potatoes to bite size pieces. (I left skin on, but you can peel them if it bothers you.) Throw them all in a big pot and cover with water. Boil until fork tender. Drain and set aside. 

Roughly chop the onions. Heat a skillet over medium high heat with the oil and add the chopped onions. Stir to coat. Let them cook down and brown, but be careful not to burn or dry them out. Turn down the heat to medium if necessary. This may take a half hour to an hour, stirring occasionally. When they are brown, pull them off the burner. 

In a blender, first add cashews (or avocados), milk, lemon juice, garlic, salt, dry mustard, and pepper.  Blend until very smooth. Add artichokes and spinach and just pulse to combine- keep some texture. Optional: Transfer to a baking dish and bake 15 minutes, just to warm through. Or use it cold. 

Transfer everything to a large bowl- the potatoes, onions and the dip. You may not want all the dip, depending on the ratio of potato to creaminess that you prefer. Toss everything to coat. Traditional potato salad is served cold. This is good warm or cold, in my opinion. We ate it alongside a green salad. 

Sourdough Sandwich Bread

In my last post, I gave instructions for creating a sourdough starter. It should be fed and grown on the counter (not the fridge) for a week before the first time using it. I find the best success in rising my dough when I feed the dough the night before I want to use it, so that it gets really active during the night. Then I mix up my dough in the morning. 

Here is a recipe I use most often- It makes a uniform, easy to slice bread which is great for sandwiches. It has a thin top crust (not super crunchy like Italian bread, but not soft like store bought sandwich bread.) I have also made dinner rolls, and Chris has made bagels, all with the same starter. The dough gets nice and sour, which I like- but you can experiment with rising time and amount of starter used to get yours less or more sour.

Sourdough Sandwich Bread

-2 cups active, 100% hydration starter {as mentioned above, feed it and let it get bubbly (active) before using it. For me, this is best done overnight.}

-3 cups bread flour (I try to use whole wheat if possible. Sometimes I just can't find it, so I use white flour. But I always use bread flour for recipes with yeast- or in this case, starter. It has more gluten and will lend better to a stretchy dough, and then will provide for a better bread consistency.)

-2 teaspoons-2 tablespoons sugar (the sugar is not really needed to feed the yeast in this recipe- the flour will do that just fine. The sugar is only for taste, and can be left out if preferred.)

-1 teaspoon salt

-2 tablespoons oil, plus more for oiling bowl- you can use olive oil for the flavor. If I don't want that flavor I use sunflower oil instead. Both work fine.

-warm water- I don't measure the water, I only add until I get the right consistency.

1. Mix everything but the water in a large bowl. I start out with a spoon but eventually it is just easier to use your (clean) hands. The dough will probably be a little scraggly. It might seem impossible to get all the flour incorporated. This is where you add some warm water. I add just a few tablespoons at a time- I don't want it getting TOO wet, I just want it to all come together and be one mass and not scraggly bits.

2. Once the dough comes together, dump the ball onto a clean, lightly floured surface. Knead with the heels of your hands for 15-20 minutes. The longer it is kneaded, the more gluten is formed. The more gluten is formed, the chewier the inside of the finished baked bread. One way to know if it is kneaded enough is to look for a "baker's windowpane."

3. Put the dough into a lightly oiled bowl (I just oil the bowl I mixed it all in, in step 1, and then move the kneaded dough ball back to it.) Cover the dough with a clean, damp kitchen cloth or plastic wrap, close to the dough to prevent a skin from forming and to allow it to maximize rising. Put the bowl in a warm, draft free place- I like to put it in the oven (turned off, of course.) I let it rise 3-5 hours, or until the dough is doubled in size, sometimes more. It all depends on how sour I want it to get- the longer it is allowed to rise, the more pronounced the sourness will be.

4. Punch the dough down a few times, and roll it onto a clean surface. Knead it a few times and transfer it to an un-greased loaf pan. Cover it again with the kitchen cloth or plastic wrap. Let it rise another few hours, or until the dough reaches the top of the pan.

5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Remove the kitchen cloth and transfer the loaf pan to the oven. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until lightly browned on top. To check if baked through, tap on the loaf- it should sound kind of hollow.

6. Remove the loaf from the pan, and allow to cool before slicing. Although, we never really let it cool enough before "testing" it.

Will you try making your own bread? I find kneading therapeutic, and the smell of baking bread is a-ma-zing when the temperature dips. Who needs candles? ;)

Sourdough 101

As the weather gets cooler, there are several things I can't help but crave. Tall boots with skinny jeans or leggings tucked into them. Thick, chunky, soft, cozy sweaters. Shades of navy blue, grey, black, brown and army green. And gluten. I just can't help it- as the weather cools down, I eat more pasta and bread. Through the summer it is easy to eschew it in favor of raw fruits and vegetables. I am still eating lots of produce, and keeping a majority of it raw, but I have been making lots of bread, too. I make it instead of buying it because  I feel that by making it, we savor it more and we eat less than if I just bought it. I can control the ingredients, it is fresher than what is found in the store, and making it is cheaper. From start to finish, baking a loaf can take hours, depending on rising time. But it is not all that labor intensive, other than maybe 20 minutes of kneading. And it makes the house smell great. 

For a while I was on an Italian bread kick, in search of a perfect crunchy crust with a fluffy/stretchy inside. Lately, though, I have been making sourdough bread. I made my own starter first, and after a week I was good to go. It is super easy, but the steps seem long, so I will make this post about the starter alone, and follow up with another post about the actual bread. 

Sourdough Starter

2 cups all-purpose flour*
2 teaspoons granulated sugar (optional)**
1 packet (2 1/4 teaspoons) of active-dry yeast
2 cups warm water (105 to 115 degrees F.)***

* I use bread flour- it has a high gluten content. I use bread flour exclusively when yeast is the leavening agent, and pastry flour when baking soda or baking powder is the leavening agent. Bread flour is higher in gluten, which makes the bread have a chewy texture, instead of a crumbly  texture like cake or cookies. I try to stick with whole wheat for both types, if possible. 

** Adding a little sugar will help jump start the yeast process, as yeast feeds on sugar for its energy. Yeast rises by feeding on the sugars in flour, and expelling carbon dioxide in the process. That's why using just a little sugar can help boost this process. Don't overdo the sugar.

*** Our water runs through a filtration system which removes chlorine. Chlorine can inhibit yeast activity, so you may need to use bottled or distilled if your water is not filtered. Experiment!

Mix the flour, sugar, and yeast together in a clean and sterile container (use only glass, glazed ceramic or crockery to hold your starter. No metal or plastic) that can hold two quarts. Gradually stir in the water and mix until it forms a thick paste (don't worry about any lumps, as they will disappear).

Cover the container with a dish cloth and let it sit in a warm (70 to 80 degrees F.), draft-free place. NOTE: Temperatures hotter than 100 degrees F. or so will kill the yeast. The dish cloth will let wild yeasts pass through into the batter. The mixture should bubble as it ferments (this will foam up quite a bit). Sometimes I place the container in my sink (if sourdough spills out onto your counter, it is hard to clean off once it has dried).

Let it sit out (at room temperature) for 2 to 5 days, stirring it once a day. The starter is ready when it develops a pleasant sour smell and looks bubbly.

Once your starter starts bubbling, then start feeding it daily with flour and water according to the directions below. Then stir it, cover loosely with the cloth- I used an elastic to hold it in place (allow a little breathing space), and store it on your counter top or in the refrigerator (your choice).

Your starter should be fed daily if left sitting on the counter. Every other week, if refrigerated. I keep mine in the fridge as I am not making bread every day, but only once or twice a week. When it is time to feed it, scoop a cup of it out (after stirring) and stir in one cup flour, one cup warm water. When scooping a cup out, you can either use it in baking or you can throw it out. I typically use it to bake since I am baking once or twice a week. I will go into more detail about the process I use when preparing to bake and the actual baking in my next post. 

Do you like sourdough bread? Do you have a weakness for gluten like I do? I guess there are worse things, right? ;)