WHOLE Wheat Bread from the bread machine

Most of the recipes in my favorite bread machine book use a combination of some white bread flour in their recipes.
Recently, my friend Laurie, raved about this ALL whole wheat bread recipe. I had to give it a try. I was pleasantly surprised by the first loaf I made. It is not a door stop and makes great toast, it is a hearty, chewy and delightful loaf.

Whole Wheat Bread
Adapted from the Guilty Kitchen recipe.

It make a two pound loaf.
Use the whole wheat setting on your bread machine.
I used the light crust setting too.


Ingredients
1 cup milk (or buttermilk, skim milk, almond milk, soy milk any kind of milk)*
2/3 cup water
2 tbsp  butter (or vegetable shortening, like Earth Balance)
2 tbsp honey, (or agave or brown sugar)
2 tsp salt
3 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 cup cereal or seeds: I used  half rolled oats and half whole millet.
(The original recipe says: "I used 7 grain cereal, a blend or flax, millet and sunflower seeds, just straight sunflower seeds and old fashioned oats all successfully. ")
2 1/4 tsp  active dry yeast

 * All I had on hand was vanilla soy milk so I used that and reduced the honey by one tablespoon.

1. Place all ingredients in the order they are listed into the baking pan of your bread machine.
2. Set your machine for whole wheat bread and light crust.
3. Check the mixture after 10 to 15 minutes to be sure the dough is not too sticky or too dry.
Adjust accordingly.
4. Remove from machine when done and allow to cool on a baking rack for at least one hour.
5. Slice and enjoy!

I look forward to trying other seed, nut and grain combinations !!

Smoked Salmon Mousse

In honor of our first visit to the Monterey Bay Sanctuary Exploration Center I am posting this very simple spread: smoked salmon mousse.

We have been getting beautiful local caught salmon directly from a fisherman at the harbor. Since we buy the whole fish there are lots of parts to the fish that we would normally not use except for fish stock. Having made enough fish stock to last for a year from our last couple of fish we decided to try smoking all those extra bits.

What a great idea that was !!

With all that great smoked salmon, how could I resist making the mousse for a birthday party we were attending ?

Smoked Salmon Mousse

Ingredients

8 ounce cream cheese at room temperature
1/2 smoked salmon pieces

1) To make this recipe very simple the cream cheese does need to be at room temperature. That way it is soft enough to blend in the food processor without adding extra liquid.

 There are two ways around this: used whipped cream cheese or add a tablespoon of milk.

2) Blend the cream cheese until soft and creamy.

3) If you are using your own smoked salmon be sure to remove all the bones and shred into small pieces to make 1/2 cup.

You can also use commercial smoked salmon or  lox (which is salmon that has been cold smoked).

4) Add the shredded salmon to the cream cheese and blend thoroughly.

5) Scrap the sides of the food processor and blend again. You want there to be no lumps,
just a smooth, creamy texture.

5) You can serve it immediately or allow to chill for an hour or more. Serve with crackers or sliced French bread.

For a fancy party appetizer used a icing bag and pipe onto cucumber rounds !!

To make a vegetarian version use 1 teaspoon of liquid smoke , 1 teaspoon paprika and 1 teaspoon salt.

Making Your Own Sodas and Party Drinks !!

Some years back I started making up fun and fancy drinks to bring to parties. Some of them are so simple yet are great alternatives to those boring commercial sodas or juices people often bring.

Here are a few recipes to try.

Raspberry Syrup

Ingredients
3 1/2 cup fresh raspberries (or boysenberries or blackberries or strawberries)
2 cups water
1 cup agave syrup *

1) Place the berries in a heavy bottom saucepan and mash they to release their juices.
2) Add the water and agave syrup.
3) Simmer over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes. Stir often to prevent sticking.

 4) Allow mixture to cool, strain and store in the fridge.

5) Use 1 to 2 tablespoons with 8-12 ounces of plain sparkling water for a delicious drink. You can also add some orange juice for a sunrise :-)
* You can use honey or sugar as well.

Lavender Honey Syrup

I was so surprised how many people wanted to try this and really liked it at the last party I took it to !!

Ingredients
1 1/2 tablespoon lavender flowers
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup honey

1) If possible use white or culinary lavender as they have a lighter, almost citrus flavor. If you only have the regular French lavender, cut the amount down to 1 teaspoon.

2) Place the lavender in a saucepan with the water and honey. Bring to a slow boil and simmer for 1 to 2 minutes.
3) Remove from heat, cover and allow to steep for 10 to 15 minutes.
4) Strain.

5) Use 2-3 teaspoons with 8 to 10 ounces of sparkling water.

Cucumber Water

This is so easy it is ridiculous, but amazingly refreshing.
Simply place two to three thin slices of cucumber in 1 to 2 quarts of water and refrigerate for a couple of hours. You can also add a sprig of mint if you have some growing in your yard.

Garnish any of these drinks with fresh herbs or fruit. Mix fresh juice in with the syrups. My lemonade and front yard tea are two other great party drinks !!

Laurie's Sinful Salty Snack Mix

I know, just what we all need another salty snack food...and this one is so addicting !!
I used to lust after the mix they sell at Costco until I figured out I could make my own even better one.

I make it about once every couple of months, I find that after eating it for a few weeks I don't want to see it again for a while ;-) That being said, it does make a great party mix, movie or car snack.

Here what's in it.

Ingredients
I get all my ingredients at Trader Joe's but you can use any comparable brands.
1 bag  lightly salted roasted peanuts (16 ounces)
1 bag  lightly salted roasted almonds (16 ounces)
1 bag wasabi peas

1 bag sesame sticks

1 bag honey mustard pretzel pieces

1 bag rice cracker mix

1) In a really big bowl, mix together all the ingredients. Store is zip lock bags or other well sealed containers.
2) Be sure to give a bag to a friend to get them addicted so there will be less for you to eat.

Summer Tomato and Fresh Corn Salad

I love it when fresh corn and tomatoes are bountiful at my farmer's market. Wanting to take advantage of both, I came up with this simple but very refreshing summer salad.

Summer Tomato and Fresh Corn Salad

Ingredients

Salad
2-3 baby gem lettuces or one head romaine
1-2 fresh tomatoes
1 cucumber
2 ears of fresh corn

Dressing
2 tablespoons red onions
1 tablespoon red bell pepper
1 tablespoon fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon fresh parsley
1/4 cup lime juice ( lemon can be used instead)
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika (or more chili powder)

1) Rinse and tear the lettuce.

I used the little gems but any kind of crunchy lettuce will do.

 

 

2) Remove the corn from the cob, be careful !! I probably should have done it into a bowl because the corn flew around a bit.

3) Peel and quarter a cucumber and cut into half inch chunks. Slice several tomatoes into wedges and assemble the salad.

4) Time to make the dressing: into the mini food processor I put the red bell pepper, red onion, fresh parsley and cilantro.

5) Whiz together with the lime juice, salt and spices.

6) Add the olive oil and whiz some more. Voila, yummy dressing !!

7) Dress each portion of salad separately unless you plan to use the whole bowl at once.

Note: I thought avocado would be a nice addition but my sous-chef claims he liked the whole texture of the salad the way it is !!

Molten Chocolate Cakes or Lava Cakes

Several weeks ago some friends came to stay with us for the weekend. Rex is a true chocoholic so I knew this would be the perfect time to try this dessert. Bob and I shared one our last night in Melbourne and I have been wanting an excuse ever since. I know molten chocolate cakes have been around for a while, I found this recipe on the New York Times website...they do make an impressive dessert to serve for guests.

Molten Chocolate Cakes

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup  butter, plus more to butter the molds
• 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, preferably Valrhona or some other high quality dark chocolate
• 2 eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons flour, plus more for dusting

They carry Valrhona at Trader Joe's !!

1) If you are going to bake them right away, preheat the oven to 450 F. They can prepared in advanced but should be baked right before serving.
2) Prepare four ramekins or custard cups, buttering them and then dusting them with flour.

3) In the top of a double boiler set over simmering water, heat the butter and chocolate together until the chocolate is almost completely melted.

4) While that's heating, beat together the eggs, yolks, and sugar with a whisk or electric beater until light and thick.

Here's Rex beating the eggs and sugar. That is one happy guy !!

 5) Beat together the melted chocolate and butter; it should be quite warm.

 6) Pour the egg mixture into the melted chocolate and butter.

 7) Then quickly beat in the flour, just until combined.

8) Divide the batter among the molds. (At this point you can refrigerate the desserts until you are ready to eat, for up to several hours; bring them back to room temperature before baking.) Place the ramekins on a baking sheet.

9) Bake the molds for 5 to 6 minutes; the center will still be quite soft, but the sides will be set. And trust me they only need to bake for that long !!

10)  Invert each mold onto a plate and let sit for about 10 seconds. Unmold by lifting up one corner of the mold; the cake will fall out onto the plate. Serve immediately.

11) We served ours with a decadent array of ice cream choices, whipped cream would be good as well.

Rex picked out four flavors: chocolate, vanilla, salted caramel gelato and coconut bliss.

I found that I would have preferred splitting one of these very rich little gems.
A whole one was too much for me, I ate it anyway ;-)
And we were surprised to find that they are great the next day cold, they turn into a fudgy brownie-like cake !!

Wheat Berry Spinach Salad

I was looking through a cookbook "Super Natural Cooking" by Heidi Swanson, the other day and came across this recipe for a salad using wheat berries. Back in my hippy days I remember fondly one of my college roommates cooking up wheat berries and combinding
them with peanuts and maple syrup for breakfast, it was a weird dish but for some reason I loved it.

I have not used wheat berries since then except in their processed form of flour. I decided to give this recipe a try. The first thing I discovered is that Heidi uses "soft" wheat berries and even our extensive natural grocery store did not carry them. I was undaunted and bought "hard" wheat berries instead. As you will discover the results were good :-)

As usual I messed with the original recipe.

Ingredients

Salad
2 cups wheat berries, soft or hard
6 cups water
2 teaspoons sea salt
6 ounces of fresh baby spinach ( 6 cups loosely packed)
1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes, chopped 
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

Dressing
zest and juice from one orange
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 olive oil

1) Combine the wheat berries, water and salt in a large pot and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Lower the heat, simmer covered for over an hour, mine took about 80 minutes. Keep checking for tenderness and water. They will still be "al dente" but chewable.

2) While the wheat berries are cooking you can prepare the rest of the salad.
    Wash the baby spinach. It turns out 6 ounces is about 6 cups of spinach loosely packed.

3) Cut the dried tomatoes into small pieces. I love to use scissor for jobs like this. I have three or four pairs in my kitchen.

4) Make the dressing: Combine orange juice and zest with the lemon juice.

5) Whisk in the half cup of olive oil, add a dash of salt and pepper.

6) Once the wheat berries are done, drain them and while still hot toss in the spinach, dried tomatoes and the dressing. Add the feta cheese last or for a vegan salad leave it out.

This salad really is better once it had cooled down, it is even better the next day.
I served it with curried potatoes and summer squash, pita bread and chutney. Great dinner !!

As you can imagine this salad lends itself to lots of variations, try adding olives or garbanzo beans, toasted walnuts or dried cranberries, fresh corn or fresh peas. Change the dressing as well !!