Whole Wheat Rolls

I'm always on the lookout for bread/roll recipes. Making yeast products is one of my favorite foods to bake! (I do want to try making my own yeast, but that might be a summer project.) I found this recipe from Lynn's Kitchen Adventures site. I also can't wait to try her overnight whole wheat rolls as cinnamon buns. It has been far too long since I've baked something w/ cinnamon (besides baked oatmeal).

I made these to go along with our shrimp Easter dinner, and they are so easy and would be a great beginner roll. I would also like to try shaping as an Italian loaf and then using to make homemade garlic bread. Also on her site she talks of using this recipe for hamburger/hot dog buns, so I'm excited for that as well!

*Update- I have used them as hamburger rolls (I baked them until they were more brown than for dinner rolls), and they were very delicious, and much more filling that the usual store-bought roll. And with a hamburger made with local Highland cattle meat from M & M Farm, you can't go wrong! I misjudged the size for the hot dog rolls, however, so they became garlic bread a few days later. These are also very good warmed with raw honey :)

 40 Minute Whole Wheat Rolls (based on Lynn's recipe with a few modifications)

1 package Hodgson Mill Whole Wheat yeast
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm water (I used tap water as hot as I could make it)
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/8 cup Sun Crystals or 1/4 cup Sucanat (I would like to try with honey next time, maybe 1/4 c)
1 egg
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups organic whole wheat bread flour
1 1/2 – 2 cups organic all purpose flour

Dissolve yeast in water in large bowl. Add olive oil and sugar and let stand for 5 minutes. Beat egg and add to yeast mixture along with salt and flour, mix until it forms a soft dough. Knead until smooth and elastic on floured surface (about 5 minutes). Do not let it rise. Divide in 1/2 and then each 1/2 into 6 pieces (I used my handy dandy pretzel dough cutter from Auntie Anne's pretzel kit). Roll each into a ball (mine was more oval shaped) and place on greased baking sheet. Let rise in the oven (turned off) about 5 minutes, then remove from oven and preheat to 425. Once heated, return dough to oven and bake 8-12 minutes or until lightly brown.

I probably could have left mine in a little longer, but they were very light a fluffy, absolutely delish!

Way Behind

So, can't believe how long it has been since I've posted anything! Life has been very hectic. We just finished changing our screened in porch into a dining room. This involved taking out a concrete slab, digging footers (which means we now have a crawl space underneath w/ access from the basement, hoping to store veggies there over the winter!), framing and then cutting a hole from the kitchen to the new dining room. Oh, and we had to move around the kitchen in order to cut the hole! We are hoping to redo the kitchen next, and as you can guess I can't wait for that! Here are some pics of the (almost) finished product. We still have a few paint touch-ups and decorating to do. Since I am behind on posts, be prepared for a menagerie of posts coming your way!

Processed People Review

This post is long overdue. When my sister, April, was home in January, she brought along the movie Processed People for us to watch. Here is my compilation of the key points:

• We are undernourished and overfed
• We consume calorie dense foods, move less, and eat more
• We are food addicts of unhealthy foods- our bodies crave more food in order to get sufficient nutrients which causes us to overeat even more
• We eat (and our bodies look) like royalty of old
• Families feed their kids on an almost daily basis w/ eating out when we used to do it on rare occasions for a treat
•  We have a toxic hunger
• Junk food is cheaper due to gov’t subsidies
• We don’t even think about what we eat
• By 40 most Americans have some form of heart disease
• Health is not the opposite of disease- it is our normal state
• Health is the presence of well-being
• In 1900 2% of Americans died of heart disease now 51%
• In the last 15 years of life are we healthy? We are not meant to get worse and worse until we die
• How much do you suffer?
• Health= engaging in life fully until you die
• We currently have a sick care, not health care system
• True prevention is not a part of the health care system b/c our current system is based on profit and there is no profit if no one is getting sick
• Financial incentive is towards sickness, not in educating the public to take control of their health
• You have to earn good health
• "Health care" is selling disease
• Medicology- belief that our “savior” is our doctor or pharmacy, etc.
• Ned to give the knowledge needed to take care of themselves
• Get back to the basics of what makes a healthy life
• Stop popping pills
• You are what you eat
• Humans thrive on plant based diet
• We should live on a mostly plant based diet
• You can control your health destiny
• Do we need to eat animal products?
• Move baby move- Exercise crucial for health
• A healthy diet changes everything- brain chemistry, how we metabolize food, a sedentary lifestyle is not natural
• Sufficient rest/sleep needed
• Exercise: 30-60 min per day but 2 hrs best due to pple eating so much more and the need to offset it
• Sunshine needed
• Skin cancer also caused by low level of nutrients in diet
• Being physical is good for immune system, helps brain, heart
• It doesn’t have to be “exercise”
• What’s a processed person?
• We have bought into media hype- processing starts at birth w/ formula to baby food to fast food, processed through the whole system, taught to eat things that are not really food
• Eat food, don’t eat food-like things
• We are processed b/c we let them process us
• De-processed people
• Change of diet and no pills needed, rapid changes
• Stopped multiple sclerosis
• Makng the change always works
• What if we don’t change?
• Diabetes
• We don’t get paid for prevention
• Doctors should be teachers rather than heroes
• Our diet is related to a lot of things that cannot be changed very easily
• This planet cannot support a largely animal based diet
• Feds subsidize meat but not fruits and veggies
• Eating more isn’t better- we need to eat enough (kids know this, adults don’t)
• Nobody is healthier b/c of eating animal products
• Inspire and pay doctors to keep people healthy in order to fix health care system
• It is not inevitable to get fatter and sicker as you get older, it is b/c of diet

I hope you can understand my random notes, if you have any questions or comments, I'd love to hear them!

Strawberry Shortcake

Huckleberry pie...Oh, sorry, just got caught up in a childhood jump rope song :)
I was thoroughly excited when strawberries were less than $4 for a 2 pound box at Sonnewald the other week! I had been unable to find organic strawberries at all in a very long time, and even when they were around they didn't look worth the $4+ per pound at Giant. (And believe me, you do not want to eat strawberries unless they are organic!) They were fairly ripe, so it was time for shortcake! I cut them and did add a small amount of Sun Crystals to help draw their juices. This is my mom's recipe which makes the easiest shortcake. You can also make raspberry pudding with it by adding about a cup of berries. You can add blueberries as well.

One Egg Shortcake

2 c flour (I used Bob's Red Mill Whole Wheat Pastry Flour)
1 T baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/4 c shortening (I used coconut oil)
2/3 c sugar (I used sucanat)
1 egg
3/4 c milk (I used homemade almond milk)
1 t vanilla

Mix dry ingredients in large bowl. Combine wet ingredients in smaller bowl and add to dry. If the consistency is dry you may need to add some extra milk (mine was dry but I did not add milk and it was fine). Bake in an 8x8 glass dish for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Allow to cool before cutting (if you can!).

 

Sour Cream Cornbread

This is my mom's cornbread recipe, which I love!

1 c organic all purpose flour (you could also most likely use corn flour if you want to go gluten free)
3/4 c corn meal
1/8 c Sun Crystals
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 c sour cream or plain yogurt
1/4 c milk
1 egg, beaten
1 T ground flax (I didn't have any to use and it is fine without, but healthier with)

Preheat oven to 350 and grease one bread pan or muffin tins. Combine ingredients in order listed in large bowl until just combined. You may need to add a splash of milk if it is a little dry. Pour into pan and bake 25-30 minutes.

Cheddar Crackers and Brunch for Supper

Finally got a chance to try Heavenly Homemaker's Cristy Cheddar Crackers. I ran out of parchment paper and in my opinion, it is necessary for rolling out these crackers. The one item I forgot when making them is to leave them in the oven after you turn it off so they can crisp. This does not work well if you are in the midst of a baking frenzy and want to keep putting more items in while the oven is warm to save electricity. So, note to self, make the crackers last next time :)  Due to not having the proper crisping time, they are a little chewy, but quite honestly it still tastes fine, and reminds me of the communion bread from the church I grew up in. I really thought I took a picture of them but can't put my finger on it at the moment. One other change is that I did sprinkle sea salt on top before baking to help them taste more like store bought cheese crackers.

Ham and Egg Cups

As a result of having leftover eggs from Dr. Seuss' birthday last week, and some organic ham that was about to expire, this recipe was born! Based on a recipe from the free Giant magazine. I also made some banana muffins to help use up an old banana. Since I only had one, I also used 1/2 cup applesauce along with it which turned out great, and lessened the banana flavor.

8 eggs
10 slices ham
2 slices of bread, cubed
garlic powder
onion powder
shredded cheese
black pepper to taste as garnish

Line 10 muffin tins with cupcake wrappers and coat lightly with nonstick spray.
Beat eggs. Add onion and garlic powder (about 1/2 T each, to taste).
Place ham slices in muffin tins, forming a cup shape with them.
Distribute bread evenly among cups, and add egg mixture.
Garnish with cheese and bake about 15 minutes at 400 degrees.

The eggs were so light and fluffy when they first came out of the oven. Unfortunately I was so busy eating I forgot about taking pictures until they had flattened out some :(  Oh well, still yummy!

Almond Delights

So, after more reading and research, I really feel as if I need to cut out more dairy (or at least cow dairy). No, I'm not going to totally give up my Perrydell ice cream or Organic Valley raw cheese, but try my best to lessen my intake. I have been drinking less and less milk anyway, mostly just on cereal or baked oatmeal in the morning and then only water, hot tea or Cafix the rest of the time. I was still left wondering if I would be able to cut it out completely, and if it would make any difference in how I feel. When I found this recipe from the Gorgeously Green site, I knew I had to try almond milk. I had some this summer at the beach, and also tried coconut milk but all of the commercial ones (even organic) had additives that could be problematic. How else should I go but with homemade? This recipe is based on the Gorgeously Green one, but I made changes to make a little more milk and without using dates as a sweetener (since I don't have any on-hand right now!). Also see below to find out what I made with the leftover ground almonds (hint- includes chocolate!).

Almond Milk
1 c raw organic almonds (really important to use raw, as roasted nuts are not as nutritious and non-organic almonds are riddled with pesticides)
water
4 c water
1/2 T vanilla
1 tsp Sun Crystals

Place almonds in glass bowl and cover with cold water. Cover and store in refrigerator overnight (or for a few days, it won't hurt if it has to wait :). Drain almonds. Place 1/2 c almonds and 2 c water in blender or magic bullet and blend about 1 minute. You will still have some almond pulp. Pour into a cheesecloth (unbleached if possible) covered sieve or strainer that is in a large bowl. Blend the rest of the almonds and water and strain. Gather up the cheesecloth and squeeze to get out as much milk as possible. Save almond puree in refrigerator. Rinse blender. Pour half of the milk back into the blender and add half of the vanilla and half of the sugar. Blend a few seconds and pour into glass container for storage. Repeat with second half (you can do the whole batch at once depending on the size of your blender.). You may want to taste test for sweetness and vanilla amount and add more if necessary. The milk does get frothy in the blender.

I have used the milk in my baked oatmeal recipe as well as to pour over it. I have also eaten it over Kashi Go Lean cereal.

I used about 1/2 c of the puree in my baked oatmeal instead of whole or chopped almonds.

I used the other cup of puree in this Chocolate Almond Torte recipe. I will not repost it as I followed it (almost) exactly. It turned out well, although I cut the baking time by 5 minutes and it was still too long if you want it gooey in the center. It was still good, but I think I will actually like it better cold (I'm strange like that).