Posts Tagged ‘bread’

Good morning! I feel like its been forever since I actually got to cook something for dinner! Last night I made I made Popeye Pasta from Eat Drink and Be Vegan. This recipe is extremely simple, full of flavor, and slightly different from your usual spaghetti recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 lbs rotini pasta
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 4 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• black pepper to taste
• 1/3 cup white wine
• 1 28oz can crushed tomatoes
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp dried marjoram
• 1 tsp dried bail
• 1 tsp agave nectar (I used honey since I had no agave on hand)
• 6 cups fresh spinach

Cook pasta according to package directions. In large sauce pot, cook onion, garlic, salt, and pepper in olive oil covered for 5 minutes. Reduce heat and stir in wine; cook uncovered for 1 minute. Add tomatoes, oregano, marjoram, basil, and agave nectar. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove sauce from heat and add spinach. Stir until spinach is wilted.

Spoon sauce over pasta and serve with garlic bread. I improvised with some left over pitas I had and made cheesy garlic pita bread using Earth Balance spread, garlic powder, grated sharp white cheddar cheese, oregano, and basil.

I am going on a Chicago Health and Wellness tour this afternoon; more pictures and info on this later! The weather is perfect today I can’t wait!

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Unfortunately the weather here in Chicago has been rainy and gloomy all weekend! But that didn’t stop me from going to the Green City Market farmer’s market for the first time this summer yesterday morning! Located at the south end of Lincoln park between Clark and Stockton Drive, Green City Market is open on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 7am-1pm. Green City Market has over 55 vendors and proudly supports local, fresh, and sustainably raised farm products.

I had heard nothing but great things about Green City Market so I rode my bike to Lincoln Park to check it out yesterday morning! The weather held up on my way out there and I came home with a few goodies!

I bought organic strawberries, a loaf of Honey Oat bread from Bennison’s Bakery, a family run bakery in Evaston, IL and Brun-uusto Baked  Cheese with Garlic from Brunkow’s Cheese in Darlington, Wisconsin. Brun-Uusto cheese is extremely unique. It is a version of Juustalepia, a variety of cheese from Sweden and Finland whose name translates to “bread cheese”. The cheese is baked to form a tasty crust similar to toasted bread and is best enjoyed cut up into cubes and grilled on a skillet or outdoor grill to bring out it’s rich buttery flavor. At Green City Market, vendors grill multiple Brunn-uusto cheese flavors including Jalepeno, Garlic, and Original; all of which are tough to resist!

Towards the end of my visit to the farmers market the clouds rolled in and rain began to pour down, leaving me without and umbrella and completely drenched. I was not about to ride home in the rain so I walked around in search of a place to have some breakfast and came across Perennial, a local brunch stop on Lincoln Avenue. Located right across the street from Green City Market, Perennial is dedicated to using local and sustainable produce whenever possible.

After drying off and warming up with a hot cup of coffee ordered French Toast; an almond baguette topped with apples, lemon ginger, and creme fraishe.

My boyfriend Will went with the Strawberry Pancakes; pancakes with Cap’n Crunch strudel with vanilla milk custard. Both dishes were delicious, but I much preferred the French toast over the pancakes! Perennial was such a fun place to stop on a Saturday morning; the contemporary atmosphere was bustling and the food was incredible! I may have to make this a permanent stop whenever I go to Green City Market!

Luckily the ran let up just long enough for me to bike home! However I don’t think the weather is going to be much better today.

Have you been to any farmer’s markets yet this summer? Check out our Top 5 Farmer’s Market Tips to help you on your next trip!

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Check out this new cookbook! Did you know Bob’s Red Mill had a Baking Book?!

A great friend of mine gave me Bob’s Red Mill Baking Book yesterday as an early birthday gift! She knows how much I love Bob’s Red Mill products and thought of me when she came across this book!

Bob’s Red Mill Baking Book includes recipes for yeast breads, quick breads, rolls, muffins, biscuits, scones, flatbreads, focaccias, pizza dough, pies, cobblers, tarts; the list goes on. What I love is that many of the recipes in the book involve less common flours like spelt, teff, quinoa, barley, buckwheat, and almond meal. There are even a fair number of gluten-free recipes. I love baking my own bread and experimenting with new ingredients, but always struggle finding good recipes, so this book is the perfect match for me!

All of the recipes in this book sound easy and totally delicious; I cannot wait to start baking! Thanks Becca!

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I have been craving cinnamon raisin bread all week but I was dissatisfied with the ingredient lists on all the brands available at my grocery store. So I decided to make my own! I got this recipe from imafoodblog.com who actually got the recipe from the book The Bread Baker’s Apprentice.

This bread was an all-afternoon affair. But the end product was the best cinnamon raisin bread I have ever tasted, and worth every moment of hard labor that I put into it!

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cup unbleached bread flour
• 2 tsp sugar
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp instant yeast
• 1 1/8 tsp cinnamon
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 Tbsp butter, melted (I used Earth Balance)
• 1/4 cup buttermilk (I used fat-free)
• 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp water
• 3/4 cup raisins, rinsed and drained
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• For the cinnamon swirl you will need an additional 1/4 cup sugar and 1 Tbsp cinnamon

In a large bowl mix together flour, sugar, salt, yeast, and cinnamon. Add egg, butter, buttermilk, and water. Stir together until a ball of dough forms. You don’t want the dough to be too sticky or dry, so add more water or flour accordingly to get the right texture.

Knead the dough on a well floured countertop for 10 minutes. You want the dough to be soft and pliable, not sticky. Knead in the raisins evenly. Lightly coat a large bowl with olive oil and roll the ball of dough in it to coat. Leave the ball of dough in the bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to sit at room temperature for 2 hours, until the dough doubles in size.

Pat the dough down into a rectangle measuring about 5 x 8 inches. Sprinkle the cinnamon swirl mixture (1/4 cup sugar and 1 Tbsp cinnamon) over the dough. Working from the short side, roll the dough up and pinch the crease to seal. Press in the ends to form a loaf. Place dough in lightly oiled loaf pan and cover with plastic wrap. Let sit at room temperature for 60 minutes until dough nearly doubles in size.

Preheat the oven to 350*F. Bake for 20 minutes, turn loaf 180 degrees and bake for another 20 minutes until golden brown. Remove from pan and cool on a cooling rack.

I brushed the top of my loaf with butter and sprinkled the remaining cinnamon/sugar mixture on top. Slice and enjoy!

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Dinner tonight was a quick and easy soup. As winter comes to an end, it’s almost too warm in the house to make soup! But with homemade garlic breadsticks, I couldn’t resist.

Italian Tortellini Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 15 oz low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 cups water
• 1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 package (9 oz) refrigerated cheese tortellini
• 6 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

Cook onion in 1 Tbsp olive oil until soft. Add garlic and sauté another 2 minutes. Add broth, water, and tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Stir in tortellini and return to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for about 8 minutes until tortellini are tender. Add spinach, basil, pepper, and pepper flakes. Cook 2-3 minutes longer. Serve with garlic breadsticks (recipe below) and enjoy!

Whole Wheat Garlic Breadsticks

I revised this recipe from one I found on For the Love of Cooking; thanks for the great recipe Pam!

• 1 1/2 cup warm water
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 1 Tbsp fast acting yeast
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 Tbsp butter (I used Earth Balance)
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder

In a large bowl combine water, sugar, and yeast. Let sit for 10 minutes until yeast starts to bubble. Mix in salt and gradually add flour until a ball of dough is formed. Spray bowl with cooking spray, place dough ball in bowl, cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise for 45 minutes until it doubles in size.

Preheat oven to 425*F. Roll dough out on lightly floured countertop. Using a pizza cutter, cut dough into 20 strips. Roll each strip in hands to form a long breadstick, twist ends together and place on a baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Melt butter in microwave and mix with garlic powder. Brush tops of breadsticks with mixture and bake for another minute. Serve immediately of freeze for later meals.

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