Brown Basmati Rice Custard Pudding, pg. 298

"Rice is NOT a dessert food!"  He we go again, Ben at his finest.  He told me to not make this dessert unless I enter the worst dessert contest...jokingly - 1.2/5 grains.  Yikes, I even put fresh mango slices on top to complement the rice.

I LOVED this dessert, looks like I will have the entire pan to myself!  If you're a fan of creme brulee, this recipe is for you. If you hate pudding like Ben, stay away from this rich, custardy treat. Who knew milk, eggs, sugar, and a bit of honey could produce such a lovely dessert! 

Since Ben can get a bit worked up about SUPER healthy desserts, I caved in and made him dirt cake!  He even ground all the Oreos.  Yup I know, I really mixed pudding, cream cheese, butter, and Cool Whip together and layered it between crushed Oreos.  Ben ate soo much dessert at the party, he woke up with a stomach ache in the middle of the night.  He should've stuck to the rice pudding!  -amy w. 

   

Whole Wheat and Cranberry Scones

Wow, it's been a crazy busy couple of weeks! I started a new job (yes, a cooking job!!!) and have finished my 3rd week of summer classes. I'm exhausted, but feeling happy and satisfied. I am cooking for a wonderful family of four, 2 to 3 nights/week to take the load off the busy, working parents.  So far I love it! I'm reading countless blogs, magazines and cookbooks, now with a focused goal: 3 healthy, varied meals per week that adults and kids alike will love. It's been a blast so far, and I'll be keeping you updated.

I'm trying to work in the grains here and there so I baked these scones for them this past week with whole wheat pastry flour as directed in the recipe. The pastry flour has a lower protein content than say cake or all purpose flour and will absorb less moisture (right?!).  Having never baked a scone before, or worked to much with a kneaded dough, these types of recipes always intimidate me. For no good reason either, because it's was super simple and you get better every time. Working with doughs, you'll learn how they should feel and how to do it better the next time.

I think my end product was a little dry, but scones are supposed to be a little dry? yes/no? Not sure? I always here the States or at least Seattle, is not a great place for good scones, so I'm not sure I've ever had what the French would call a good one.   Anyway, it was tasty and I did the real milk and butter recipe, no substitutions this time. The family doesn't have a wheat or dairy issue, so I plan to do some gluten free and dairy free stuff, but not all. I'd give this recipe a 4 1/2 out of 5. I think the dryish texture was my fault, but other than that they were great and according to what I've read, this recipe is perfect ;)

Fun and random...I was volunteering at a cooking class called Fast Food for Busy Families at PCC the the other night and the instructor told everyone to save time, you should get a pressure cooker, then recommended a book by none other than, Lorna Sass, "Cooking Under Pressure". In a small class of 15, she got a great review from the instructor and 2 students who have and love the book. Yeah, go Lorna, you've got Sass! Cheers ya'll...now go bake some scones ;)  -Vicki

My Latest Obsession......CrAcKeRs

This recipe is one you can whip up fast without making a trip to the grocery store.  I was inspired to make these crackers after buying a goat cheese spread with apricots and honey from the farmer's market.  Since Saturday, I've made this recipe twice.  The first time following the recipe as listed below and a second time, making adjustments to the bake time and pan type.

The 1st time I didn't roll the dough thin enough and I cooked them for 10 minutes then rotated the pan and cooked another 10 minutes, as stated by Peter.  The cooking time was too long.  On the 2nd try I rolled the dough much thinner and baked the crackers on  an air crisp pizza pan, removing them from the oven after 12 minutes.  The crackers did not burn or turn the rich brown. 

Only cook 1/2 the dough on your first try so you don't ruin the entire batch.  You can make adjustments as needed depending on your oven temperature and pan you are using.    

Thin Wheat Crackers
Taken from Whole Grain Breads - Peter Reinhart

1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons milk, buttermilk, yogurt, soy or rice milk
2 tablespoons honey
4 tablespoons vegetable oil or light olive oil
extra whole wheat flour for adjustments
1 tablespoon kosher salt or sea salt dissolved in 1/2 cup wather for salt water wash

1. Combine the 1 cup of flour and the salt, milk, honey, and oil in a bowl and mix to form a ball of dough.  Add extra flour or milk as needed to make a firm but tacky dough. 

2. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead for 3 minutes, adjusting the flour or liquid as needed; the dough should feel like molding clay and have a satiny surface.  It should not be soft and sticky or crumbly.

3.  If baking the crakers immediately, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Cover the dough with a cloth or towel or plastic wrap and let rest for 20 minutes, then move on to the next step.  If holding the dough overnight, form it into a ball, place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and leave at room temperature overnight.

4. When you are ready to bake the crackers, prepare a sheet pan by lining it with parchment paper or a silicon mat.  Mist the work surface lightly with pan spray or wipe it with a touch of oil on a paper towel.  This makes it easier to lift the dough later.  Transfer the dough to the work surface and working from the center of the dough out to the four corners, roll it out into a rectangle, dusting the top of the dough with flour only if needed to prevent sticking.  Roll the dough out as thinly as it will allow, about 1/4 inch.  If the dough begins to spring back, let it rest for a few minutes, then continue rolling until the rectangle is about 1/8 inch thick.  Brush the top of the dough with the salt water wash.

5. Use a pizza roller or pastry scraper to cut the dough into whatever shapes (small rectangles are suggested).  Transfer the crackers to the prepared sheet pan.  The crackers should not touch.  Bake for 10 minutes, then rotate the pan 180 degrees and continue baking about 10 minutes longer, until the crackers begin to turn a rich brown on both the top and the underside.  (Waiting unil they turned a rich brown made them too burnt for my liking)

6. Let the crackers cool on the pan before serving.  They will crisp up as they cool.

Bulgur and Chickpea Salad w/ Parsley Dressing, pg. 133

WoW.....I really need to start making my own salad dressings!  I continuously pay $4 a bottle at Whole Foods and Lorna's parsley lemon dressing cost less than $1 to make.  The only thing I had to buy was a lemon.  The parsley on my deck is growing out of control so this was perfect recipe to make this week.

In less than 5 minutes, I blended the dressing: olive oil + lemon juice + parsley + yogurt + cayenne + salt.  I'm not a lemon fan so the flavor was a bit strong for me, however, by no means was I dissappointed. When the dressing was mixed with the bulgur, chickpeas, cucumber, onions and tomatoes, the result was a tangy tasty blend. Ben gave this recipe a 3.3/5 Grains.  When asked what he would change, Ben said he didn't care!  That means he liked it!      

Since this was the first dressing I've made, I've since been researching other recipes.  Check out Cheap, Healthy, Good's Blog. They posted 102 light dressing recipes.  A pretty cool resource!   -amy

Wheat Berry Salad with Apples and Mint...

Amy reviewed this recipe back in April which you can check out here.  She loved the recipe and Ben did too, so I'm sad to report I didn't feel the same way.  I am willing to try it again and here's why. My dressing was the whole problem. It didn't emulsify well, and stayed too runny. I used the mint I recently starting growing in my garden, but have only cooked with this one time. And, I didn't use fresh squeezed orange juice. So, I'm hoping the "medicinal" flavor I experienced was more a result of these errors than the actual recipe, because I really want to love it!  Here's hoping 2nd time around will be better, and I will surely let you know :)

Tonight I cooked up some Sweet Onion Risotto (using my first ever batch of homemade chicken stock!!!) and enjoyed it al fresco on our front porch with some Crispy Kale "chips"... my favorite way to chew on the curly, leafy greens.  I have yet to figure out the perfect cooking time and temp for the chips to come out crispy and yet not burned, but this will get you pretty close and it's so simple.  Preheat oven to 400 F, tear the leaves of your Kale into pieces, toss in olive oil & bake them on a sheet pan for about 6-8 minutes, then toss with a little salt or seasoning salt.  Enjoy! -Vicki

Urban Pantry: Tips & Recipes for a Thrifty, Sustainable & Seasoned Kitchen

A must read for the month of July! 

Urban Pantry holds sustainability at its center: Take advantage of local ingredients, eliminate wasteful kitchen practices, and make the most out of the food you buy or grow.

"Urban Pantry is a smart, concise guide to creating a full and delicious larder in your own home. It covers kitchen essentials, like what basics to keep on hand for quick, tasty meals without a trip to the store, and features recipes that adapt old-fashioned pantry cooking for a modern audience. Avid chef and gardener Amy Pennington demystifies canning and pickling for the urban kitchen and provides tips for growing a practical food garden in even the smallest of spaces. Her more than sixty creative recipes blend both gourmet and classic flavors while keeping economy in mind." -The Mountaineers Book  

amy w.

Farro & Kale Soup with Cannellini Beans

I love how I can spend a couple hours in the kitchen making a pot of soup and yield enough of it to last about 8 meals!  And, this type of soup is so versatile and customizable, I would never get bored of it.

This soup starts with a basic mirepoix (2 part onion to 1 part each carrot and celery) then add in garlic, beans, water, farro, tomatoes, and kale.  You could easily make a new version with wild rice, swiss chard and black beans or even barley, broccoli rabe and cranberry beans. The combinations are endless, just keep the basic components present and you'll have a seriously nutrient dense meal with a pretty simple process!  Basic recipes like this give you the technique to formulate your own creations or adjust to seasonal availabilities.

I seasoned the cooking liquid when I added the beans & included a bay leaf, some onion powder, chili powder & ground ginger. I think some fresh thyme sprigs would be great as well.  Without the spices I think the broth would probably a bit bland for my taste because you use water not stock (very cost affective!).  Amy's right on with the sweet potato, I think that would have been a great modification to copy.

Tonight was one of those food filled evenings in the kitchen for me...oh Friday night! I made my very first batch of homemade chicken stock, froze some chocolate mint ice cream base whipping it by hand and cooked and froze some wheat berries with tomatoes and fresh basil...dinner when the school quarter gets crazy! Tomorrow I'm hoping keep up the adventurous streak and make a wheat berry salad, bulgar salad & chickpea salad and my favorite quinoa salad...all in one night!  I did some prep work today, so hopefully I'll breeze through them all pretty quick!
Cheers & Happy Grains!! -Vicki

Honey Whole Wheat/Spelt Pizza Dough

Kitchen gadgets...... people seem to have a love/hate relationship with them.  I LOVE my Kitchen Aid Mixer, Magic Bullet, Fagor Pressure Cooker, Stir Crazy Popcorn Maker, Presto Griddle, and Toastmaster Bread Machine. 

The "dough cycle" is what keeps me plugging in my bread maker time after time.  Since I'm continuously grinding wheat and spelt, homemade pizza dough is a must.  I double the recipe and freeze the dough into Ziploc bags.  Towards the end of a work week, I will thaw a pack of dough in my fridge and toss veggies, various cheeses, and leftover chicken/lunch meat onto the pizza that will not be used over the weekend.     

Honey Whole Wheat/Spelt Pizza Crust Dough -recipe has been modified Toastmaster Care Book
This recipe has been doubled.....prepare once eat twice!

2 cups warm water
4 TBL Oil
2 TBL Sugar
2 tsp. Salt
2 cups Whole Wheat Flour
3 cups Spelt Flour
3 tsp. Quick Rise Yeast
1 Scoop of Dough Enhancer and Vital Wheat Gluten
Drizzle honey over ingredients

1. Place ingredients into bread maker in the order listed.  Select the dough cycle and relax!  Since I'm not big into measuring ingredients, I usually keep a close eye on it at first to make sure the consistency looks correct. 

2. Divide the dough and freeze one or both servings.  If making a pizza, roll 1 section of the dough on a lightly floured surface.  Sprinkle the pizza stone with cornmeal and place dough on stone.  Prick dough with a fork.

3. Bake at 400 for 10-12 minutes until edges of the crust are golden brown.  Remove, add toppings and return to the oven for an additional 15-20 minutes.

Fav Tips:
1. No need to buy pizza sauce....I drain 1 can of diced tomatoes and blend in my Magic Bullet. 
2. Leftover cranberry goat cheese tastes AMAZING on pizza!
3. Garnish a thin crust pizza with radicchio lettuce coated in a light vinaigrette dressing
4. Season with fresh basil and parsley
5. Add barley, kamut, farro, or wheat berries...JK haven't tried this one yet!      

Farrosotto

I have finished 3rd Quarter!!! It was a tough one for me and really kept me from wanting to write, blog or log into any kind of computer.  But, it's over and I'm on a nearly 10 day, much needed break.  I want to share an amazingly delicious recipe I learned this quarter from my Instructor, Chef Atkinson.  Farrosotto is a sort of "Northwest" version of the classic Italian dish, Risotto.  It's traditionally made by cooking Arborio rice and slowing adding stock and stirring while the rice releases it starch, creating a creamy sauce along with it. We can't grow rice here, so instead this version was created using Farro (aka Emmer) which is grown just over the Cascades here in Washington State.  You can keep this really local and buy your cream and onion from the farmer's market when you pick up the Farro from Bluebird Grain Farms. Give this one a try and serve it with a nice piece of Salmon and some Asparagus spears, both grilled with just Olive Oil, Salt and Pepper, for a great combination (we sold 18 of those dishes when we ran it as a lunch special!). Enjoy :)

Farrosotto
1 Cup Farro
3 Cups Water
1 Tbl Olive Oil or butter
1 Onion, diced

5-6 Peppercorns

2 Bay Leaves (divided)

1 tsp Dried Thyme

1 Cup Cream
Piece of cheesecloth and kitchen twine
Salt and Pepper to taste

1) Put the Farro into a pot and add the water. Bring up to a boil and turn it down to a simmer. Add a pinch of salt and 1 bay leaf to the pot.  Put the lid on to cook for 35 minutes to an hour, depending on how chewy you like it.
2) Sweat the onion in the oil or butter, just until it begins to soften.
3) Meanwhile, prepare your sachet of herbs. Tie up the peppercorns, the other bay leaf and the Thyme. If you don't have cheesecloth, you can add the herbs directly to the onion, but keep in mind you'll have to strain or pick them out.
4) Add the cream, a pinch of salt and the sachet to the pot with the onions and and bring to a simmer. Let the cream simmer until it reduces by half and becomes syrupy and flavored of herbs and onion. Remove the sachet.
5) When the Farro has finished cooking, stir in the reduced cream sauce and let it sit for a few minutes while the flavors develop.  Enjoy! It's soo tasty ;) -Vicki

Kale Tales Continued........

"Kale smoothies everyday, kale salad with beets, carrots, avocado, kale currie, kale sauteed with garlic and olive oil, kale in place of spinach in any recipe that has spinach. I tried kale blended with apple juice and that didn't work well, it was really chunky and kind of gross. I think that's it!!"  That's it...haha. My friend Diana has soooo much kale growing in her backyard it's unreal.  She just told me that the "curly leaf" kale is now ready to be harvested.   

When I saw this recipe, I called her immediately to order a fresh bag :)  Farro soup with kale and cannelli beans starts with mirepoix which is comprised of 25% carrots, 25% celery, and 50% onions all roughly chopped.  I learned the exact name of this mixture while reading "Notes on Cooking A Short Guide to an Essential Craft", by Lauren Costello and Russell Reich. 

I made several additions and substitutions to this recipe since I'm pretty bad at following directions.  Instead of farro, I used oat groats.  After the mirepoix softened and the garlic was mixed in, water was added to create the broth.  I mixed in chicken bouillon to flavor the water.  I did not have time to soak the canelli beans overnight so instead I purchased a can of white northern beans.  I added a diced sweet potato for fun which gave the broth a really sweet flavor.  I then followed the rest of the recipe straight from the book adding the can of diced tomatoes, Parmesan cheese, kale, fresh basil and parsley from my garden.

Ben and I really liked the soup!  Diana and Chris though it was delicious stating it was filling with the grains and similar to an Italian minestrone.  Diana said they would have put 20X more kale in the recipe. I was nervous about overdoing it with a vegetable Ben had never heard of.  A repeat recipe for sure!    - amy w.

Kale Tales....Farro Soup with Kale and Cannelli, pg. 124

Over the weekend Ben and I purchased iPhones.  Now dinnertime consists of snapping a picture of the grain meal and sending it to his mom and brother.  The "Kraft/M&M" family CAN'T believe what's happening!  This means more Oreos, fruit snacks, microwave brownie sundaes, and Pez will be sent to our condo!   

Actual Text Message with Brother A
Andy: "Uhh, Amy I don't know what that is, but no one loves that....LOL"
Amy: "Graingirls.com at its finest, kale grain soup....Oreo cookies are scarce in this household!"
Andy: "That's tragic, You may be reported to the authorities (AKA Mamma Whipple) for that one."
Amy: "She already responded with a yuck!"
Andy: "Smother it in M&M's and cheese and send another pic to her, you'll get a better response!"

Stay tuned......did Ben like kale soup??

Quinoa Cake, pg. 271

When I told my husband we were having "cake" for dessert, his eyes lit up.  Notice in the picture, I melted chocolate over his piece and put a bit of carmel on top.  Instantly he knew this was not your Betty Crocker box cake but enjoyed the dessert. 

This recipe was quite simple, quiona, spelt flour, sugar, nuts, eggs, rasins, orange juice, butter, etc.  It called for crystallized ginger but I left this out since I find the flavor too strong.  Next time, I want to make this recipe using couscous.  The quinoa tasted very grassy and I did not get the "light texture"  that Lorna states in the recipe intro.  Marvelous idea! 

Farro, Asparagus and Prosciutto Salad

My fellow culinary students had a birthday gathering last night to enjoy delicious food and have quality "down time" we desperately needed.  These gatherings are one of the best ways to get me excited about cooking something creative and experimental. I turned to the grain book to present the curious foodies with something new and decided on the Farro Salad that uses Asparagus and Prosciutto, with a mustard and lemon vinaigrette dressing.  The recipe had a number of delicious ingredients I thought would go well together, so I was feeling confident.  Strangely enough, another girl brought an asparagus and prosciutto dish (hers was asparagus bundles, wrapped with a piece of prosciutto and grilled)!

Overall the dish was well received.  Everyone knows how much I love to try new grains and are always curious to see what I'm working with this week.  The farro received some compliments, chewy and hearty, holding up well to the asparagus.  One person mentioned it's visual similarity to rice, doesn't translate texturally, which is a bit strange to discover in the first bite. I had a personal issue with the gooey texture of the prosciutto once it's mixed in with the vinaigrette, so I will probably try crisping it up first if I make it again.

Overall I would give it a 3 out of 5 grains. I think in general I need to start salting my grains more & this came out with this dish in particular. According to my nutrition teacher, grains don't taste very well without sodium. As I try to adjust my normally "bland" preparation of variety grains into something other people will enjoy eating, salting is something I need to work on.  Cold salads with grains though...I love these kinds of dishes ;)

Rhubarb & Barley...in a pudding?!

Aahhhh. Glad that's over!
April got a bit stressful for me between school and extra work and Amy with her travel and visitors also had a crazy month.  After a much needed day off yesterday for studying and sunshine, I am feeling well prepared to end this quarter of school strongly. With that, Amy and I are aiming to do 1 recipe each week instead of the original 2.  It's weird that a culinary student barley has time to cook for herself at home, right? Haha.

I started back up with a Pudding made of Rhubarb and Barley because, well...it's springtime and Rhubarb isn't going to be local for much longer!  The rhubarb is cooked down in orange juice and the barley is used to thicken the whole tart mix of juicy fruitness.  The texture combination (Karen, you might want to skip this part) of squishy/creamy/liquid was too weird, so I pureed the whole bit to get more of a consistent smoothness.  It is an extremely tart "pudding", too strong to eat on it's own.  The flavor is good, but I'm having trouble deciding just how I will eat it?  I'm thinking it would be delicious folded into some yogurt, so I may pick up some plain soy at the store and try that out.

I'm not sure I'll make this exact recipe again, but the principle I picked up here is great! Grain flakes (find em' in the bulk section...only $1.99/lb!) are a great way to thicken a sweet dish. I can imagine a cobbler version of something like this with a sugary crumb topping and extra grains hidden right inside with the sweet stuff. Gotta love that!
Cheers to a beautiful Spring, Seattle is certainly having one. -Vicki

Photos of the blended and unblended versions of tonight's dessert.

Yikes..this was super tart!  Ben and I could only eat one spoonfull and that was it.  He dared me to take another bite but I was not a fan of this dish.  amy w.

We're Back!!!!

Wow, what a busy past few weeks!  Traveling to Florida, Seattle, and having my parents in town for a visit. Now it's back to business!! 

Over the past few weeks,  I've really taken the time to explore cooking with grains and other healthy foods at my own pace without a constant recipe.  I finished reading The Art of Eating In, which fueled my next mission of starting a supper club and continuing the journey of freshly prepared meals at home.  A big thanks to my mom for introducing me to a new magazine called Clean Eating. "The soul of clean eating is consuming food in its most natural state, or as close to it as possible.  It is not a diet; it's a lifestyle approach to food and its preparation, leading to an improved life - one meal at a time." 

Homemade orange stir fry with buckweat-rich soba noodles, whole wheat/spelt mushroom and radicchio goat cheese pizza, and black bean fudge cake dessert were a few of my favorites. Each week,Vicki and I continue to build on our passion of cooking wholesome foods while eliminating the tempting refined processed food.  Thanks to Lorna Sass and ALL of our 14 followers for reading about our journey and staying patient as we break!

Be sure to try the recipe I posted below.  Ben had NO idea black beans made up 75% of this recipe until  he finished the last bite.  I love playing cooking tricks on him.   

Black Bean Fudge Cakes - taken from Clean Eating Magazine (Karen.....this one's for you)
Olive oil cooking spray
1 oz dark organic chocolate (70% cocoa or greater)
1 1/2 cups of soft cooked black beans (I used one jar)
2 eggs
1 egg white
2 TBSP olive oil
1/4 heaped cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup of raw organic honey
1/4 to 1/2 cup unsalted walnuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 and mist an 8 inch square baking dish with cooking spray.  Melt dark chocolate in a small saucepan over low heat with 1tbsp water mixed in. Combine melted chocolate, beans, eggs, egg whites, oil, cooca powder, baking powder, vanilla, applesauce, and honey in a food processor, process until smooth.  Stir in walnuts and pour mixter into baking dish.    Bake for 30 minutes or until the edges start to pull away from the sides.  Garnish with Greek-style yogurt. 

amy w.