English Muffin Bread and Secret Recipe Club

For April’s Secret Recipe Club, where food bloggers are paired and reveal their partner (and what they prepared) on a designated day, I was assigned Lynne’s 365 Days of Baking and More. She started her blog with the sole purpose of baking for 365 consecutive days. Wow. Craig would love that. (Sorry, babe, it ain’t happenin’.) Lynn continued blogging beyond a year and although she does have an extensive list of all kinds of baked goods, she also has a variety of savory foodstuff as well.

Her English muffin bread, something on my culinary to-do list, caught my eye. Craig eats a Trader Joe’s British muffin every day, and as of late, even though we don’t eat a lot of bread, any thing with yeast is of interest because of the challenge it presents. So baking this was an easy decision. Because I have limited bread baking experience, I cut Lynne’s recipe in half to make one loaf, and I substituted white whole wheat flour for half of the all purpose, and I had to add a quarter cup more water to get the dough smooth. One of her comments suggested increasing the baking soda to get the nooks and crannies typically found in commercial English muffins, which I also did. The recipe below reflects the changes I made.

The result? Success. I even surprised myself how tasty it turned out, and it’s very simple to make. I’m pretty excited to find something else on Lynne’s blog to continue boosting my baking confidence.

English Muffin Bread

Butter and cornmeal
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour, divided

1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour, divided
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/2 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cups milk
1/4  - 1/2 cup water

Prepare an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan by greasing it with butter and cover with cornmeal; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together half the flours, yeast, sugar, salt and baking soda.

In a small saucepan over low, heat the milk and water to very warm, between 120 - 130 degrees F. Add to the flour mixture and thoroughly combine. Gradually add the remaining flour. Place the dough in the prepared loaf pan.

Cover the pan with a towel and place in a draft-free, warm spot to rise for 1 1/2 hours. (I heated the oven to 170 degrees F. and then turned it off and placed the pan in the oven to rise.)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Place pan in the oven and bake for 25 minutes. Immediately remove loaf from the pan and place on a wire rack to cool.

It turns out English muffin bread is tasty more than just for breakfast. Craig used it for garlic cheese bread, and it was perfect.

Secret Recipe Club & One of the Best Things I’ve Ever Made

For this month’s Secret Recipe Club, where bloggers are assigned a foodie blog, select and prepare a recipe, and on “reveal” day (today) post about the recipe and share whose blog we were secretly assigned. It’s a great way to meet other bloggers and find new recipes.

This month I was assigned Amy's Cooking Adventures. Amy is a stay at home mom with two little boys. She enjoys baking quite a bit and like me, cooking healthy as much as possible. I really had a hard time deciding what to make from her blog. I debated about preparing the Heart Healthy Vegetable Alfredo with Pan Seared Chicken , which is still on my to-make pile, likely later this week, but from the day the assignment came to my in-box, I knew what I was making.

Homemade soft pretzels have been on my culinary bucket list for as long as I can remember. I love the combination of salty and starch, and pretzels warm out of the oven are pretty much perfect food. Fluffy in the inside, beautifully browned, and freshly puffed. But why hadn’t I made them if I liked eating them so much? Simple. I thought homemade pretzels either had to be prepared with (food safe!) lye, whatever that ominously is in food, and they had to be boiled (can you say big mess all over the cook top?). Much to my delight neither is true. Doing a bit of quick research, I now understood how Amy’s Soft Pretzels are made without lye. Lye is an alkali. Baking soda (mixed with water) is an alkali. Viola! Dip the unbaked pretzel in the solution and the “lye” reacts to the surface of the dough, resulting in the pretzel’s deep, glossy brown when baked and gives the pretzel its crisp yet slightly chewy texture.

Be forewarned. This pretzels are not good. They are to die for. Connor had two and a half of them and only stopped there because he was in the middle of preparing dinner for us. I was supposed to share one with Craig but ended up eating almost the whole thing myself. Amy’s original recipe shares a riff for making stuffed pretzels, and the topping possibilities are limited only by your imagination. But I am a pretzel purist and a brush of warmed butter and kosher salt are all I need. Next time I may experiment with making them into pretzel sticks rather then eight rather large pretzels. Portion control. Maybe.

As a note, Amy makes the dough in a mixer. The recipe below reflects the changes I made, notably using the food processor to prepare the dough like I do with pizza dough.

Soft Pretzels

Makes 8 pretzels       

Soda Wash 
½ C warm water

2 T baking soda

Dough 
1 t sugar

2 t yeast

1 C warm water (110-115 degrees F)

½ t salt

2 ½ C all purpose flour

Toppings 
3 T unsalted butter, melted

Kosher salt

In a small saucepan, combine the ½ cup water and 2 tablespoons of baking soda. Turn the heat to medium-high and bring the pot to a simmer. Stir the water until the baking soda is completely dissolved. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Place the 1 cup of water, yeast, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor. Mix until it froths slightly. Add the salt and flour and knead for 5 minutes or so until the dough forms a ball. If the dough is too sticky, add more flour as needed. Place the dough into a lightly greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Put the bowl in a warm place and let the dough rise for at least 30 minutes, longer is fine.

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F and spray a baking sheet with non stick spray.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 8 equal parts. Let the dough rest, lightly covered for 3 minutes.

Using your hands, roll each section of the dough into a long, thin rope and shape into a pretzel. Dip each pretzel into the soda wash and place on the prepared baking sheets, reshaping as necessary. Let the pretzels rest for 10 minutes.

Bake the pretzels for 8-10 minutes (6-7 minutes in a convection oven) or until deeply browned. Brush the pretzels generously with melted butter and sprinkle with salt.

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Pumpkin Gingerbread Blueberry Muffins!

My blogger friend Tina from Mom's Crazy Cooking started a new recipe exchange called Crazy Cooking Challenge where a featured food item is selected each month and bloggers are free to use any (non-professional) blog recipe that looks tasty, prepare and blog about it, and we all post about it on the same day. It’s a low stress exchange that’s a great way to meet new food bloggers, and if you’d like to join us, the details are here.

April was blueberry muffin month, and I started out by simply Googling “blueberry muffin recipe blog.” I knew I’d get a lot of hits, but no idea how many – 2,520,000 results as a matter of fact. Have you ever noticed the amount of BUTTER in many blueberry muffin recipes? Like whole sticks. I decided to revise my criteria to find healthier recipes and added “oatmeal” to my search criteria. Still nothing was jumping out saying you-gotta-make-me. I then remembered the conversation we recently had about using the pumpkin I roasted and froze in the fall and added “pumpkin” to my search.

Voila, and I found Em Loves. Emily’s a prolific baker but healthy is important to her being a big-time runner. Her Pumpkin Gingerbread Blueberry Muffins were amazing and with no butter or oil!! Still super moist thanks to the pumpkin, without being overly sweet (I did cut back the sugar called for in her recipe), and full of great blueberry flavor. These turned out to be local Missouri muffins, too. Besides using local pumpkin and blueberries we picked last summer and froze, I substituted local sorghum for the molasses and threw in some local pecans, which added crunchy texture that paired nicely with the softness of the berries. The recipe below reflects the changes I made.

Pumpkin Gingerbread Blueberry Muffins

Makes 14 muffins

1 C canned pumpkin

Between 1/2 and 3/4 C white sugar

3 T sorghum

1 egg

1 t vanilla extract

1 C all-purpose flour

1 C whole wheat pastry flour

1 t ground cinnamon

1/2 t ground nutmeg

1/2 t ground ginger

1 t baking soda

1/2 t salt

1 C buttermilk

2 HEAPING cups fresh or frozen blueberries (if using frozen, mix with enough flour to lightly coat the berries. This prevents the batter from turning blue)

1/3 C chopped pecans

2 T sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line a muffin tin with muffin liners (I ended up making 14 muffins).

In a large bowl, mix pumpkin, sugar, and sorghum together until creamy. Mix in egg and vanilla extract.

In a small bowl, sift together flours, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, baking soda, and salt.

Gradually add flour mixture into pumpkin mixture, alternating with the buttermilk, until both the flour mixture and buttermilk are incorporated into the batter. Fold in the blueberries. Add the pecans. 

Batter will be thin.

Pour batter into 12 muffin cups (cups will be VERY full!). Sprinkle remaining 2 Tbsp sugar over the top of the batter.

Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out fairly clean.

Let muffins cool in baking pan for 5 minutes before placing on a cooling rack.

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Boozy Banana Bread that's OHHHH So Good

Last week I was in the mood to bake, a feeling that doesn’t come to me often. When this happens, I typically turn to a quick bread recipe because that’s just what it is – a snap to pull together and pretty much guaranteed to be a hit. We had bananas that needed to be used, but I wanted something new, and no chocolate, just not in the mood. In perusing old Cooking Light annuals, I came upon a new-to-us banana bread that was a bit edgy for something as staid as banana bread. How so? Because it had booze in it. Drum roll, please, as I present Bananas Foster Banana Bread.

This is absolutely delicious. Some online Cooking Light reviewers complained it was too boozy, but we didn’t find the flavor overpowering in the least. I used banana liqueur since that’s what I use in bananas Foster. The bread was moist and the glaze gave it a dessert feel rather than a humble breakfast bread. You begin by caramelizing the bananas in brown sugar, butter, and the liqueur, similar to preparing real bananas Foster but with no risk of burning yourself while flambéing. With that combo, it does not taste light. I successfully substituted half white whole wheat pastry flour for half of the all-purpose flour, and you feel good about all the omega-3s you get when eating this thanks to flaxseed. This may become our new fav banana bread.

Banana Foster Bread

Originally recipe from Cooking Light

About 12 servings for real people

1 1/2 C mashed ripe banana

3/4 C packed brown sugar, divided

6 T butter, melted and divided

1/4 C banana liquor (or cognac or dark rum), divided

1/3 C plain fat-free yogurt, preferably Greek yogurt.

2 large eggs, room temperature

3 3/4 ounces white whole wheat pastry flour (about 3/4 cups)

3 ounces all-purpose flour (about 3/4 cups)

1/4 C ground flaxseed

3/4 t baking soda

1/2 t salt

1/2 t ground cinnamon

1/8 t ground allspice

Cooking spray

1/3 C powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350°.

(Yes, this really is mashed bananas, not sure why it came out so yellow.)

Combine banana, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 5 tablespoons butter, and 3 tablespoons liqueur in a nonstick skillet. Cook over medium heat until mixture begins to bubble. Remove from heat; cool. Place banana mixture in a large bowl. Add yogurt, remaining brown sugar, and eggs. Beat with a mixer at medium speed.

Weigh or lightly spoon flours into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flours and next 5 ingredients (through allspice) in a small bowl. Add flour mixture to banana mixture; beat just until blended. Pour batter into a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven; cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack. Remove bread from pan; place on wire rack.

Combine remaining 1 tablespoon melted butter, remaining 1 tablespoon liqueur, and powdered sugar; stir until well blended. Drizzle over the warm bread.

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Farewell to Fresh Figs

Despite our failure to grow a fig tree in the back yard this summer, we still enjoyed these nougats fresh a number of times in late summer and early autumn, thanks to the abundance of them at Whole Foods. I had never eaten figs other than in Newtons, but over the last few years I’ve fallen for them. Fallen hard, especially fresh. What’ not to love with their luscious, juicy texture, their earthy sweetness, and the ever so slight crunch from their seeds? They've starred in salads, stuffed with blue cheese and wrapped in prosciutto, in baked goods, and even just eaten fresh for breakfast. The last ones we had found their way into muffins, which were light and fluffy with a tender crumb. The figs provide noticeable moistness and distinctly a figy flavor. The crunchy, rich brown sugar and oatmeal topping finishes these quite nicely.

And now, we say bonjour, until next season, fresh figs.

Fresh Fig Muffins

Makes 18

1/3 C firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 C quick-cooking oats, uncooked
3 T finely chopped walnuts
2 T butter, melted
1 t vanilla extract
1 1/2 C white whole wheat pastry flour

1 C all-purpose flour
1/2 C sugar
1 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 1/2 C chopped fresh figs (3/4 pound) – or – 1 C chopped fresh figs and 1/2 C dried cranberries (NOT Craisins)
1 C nonfat buttermilk
3 T vegetable oil
2 t vanilla extract
2 eggs, lightly beaten

Combine first 5 ingredients in a bowl; stir well, and set aside.

Combine flours and next 4 ingredients in a large bowl; make a well in center of mixture. Combine figs and next 4 ingredients; stir well. Add to flour mixture, stirring just until moistened.

Divide batter evenly among 18 muffin cups coated with cooking spray, and sprinkle oat mixture evenly over muffins.

Bake at 400*F for 15 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove muffins from pans immediately, and let cool on a wire rack.

For muffin tops, bake at 375 and check at 11 minutes.

The Secret Recipe Club - Yummy Spicy Corn Muffins

For this month’s The Secret Recipe Club, I was assigned Erin’s My Big Fat Baker blog. At first I was intimidated what I’d prepare since baking is not my forte (look to the right, and you’ll notice few baking recipes). When I looked at her “About” section, I saw Erin’s a Purdue Boilermaker, just like Craig, so I knew I’d find something good. By the time this is posted, we’ll know who won the Penn State-Purdue game. Nittany Lions roar! I appreciate how philanthropic Erin is in her support of various online bake-offs, such as Frosting for the Cause and championing the use of local and organic.

A number of things did catch my eye (Tomato Jam, Peanut Butter, and Banana Cookies with Chocolate Frosting), but I settled on the Spicy Corn Muffins since we were having black bean butternut squash chili, and we had the last of our CSA fresh corn to use. We learned late season corn is weird. Some ears are so crazy-spare that you get 20 kernels per ear, and the worms love this stuff. Nonetheless, I really liked the idea of individual cornbreads since we're only cooking for two these days, and I’m assuming these will freeze well for future soup/chili nights. I made minimal changes, not surprising really since I was baking, one of the few times I cannot embellish a recipe. I subbed some white whole wheat flour for the AP, amazing cumin cheese from The Cheese People we got at the last Ellisville Farmers’ Market for the cheddar, and used red jalapenos I roasted and froze this summer. The only issue I had was that my muffins browned much quicker than the recipe indicates, which was actually quite to my liking. I really appreciated Erin’s hints and tips below in italics. These are really good.

Spicy Corn Muffins

Makes 15

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup white whole wheat flour

1 cup yellow cornmeal

4 T sugar

2-1/2 t baking powder

1/4 t baking soda

1/2 t salt

1 cup buttermilk

3 T butter, melted and cooled – may be a tablespoon less next time

3 T olive oil

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

1-1/3 - 1 1-1/2 cups fresh, frozen, or canned corn kernels – I had a

1 medium jalapeño, seeded and very finely chopped (leave the seeds in for spicier muffins)

1/2 cup shredded cheddar, jalapeño Jack, or any other hard Mexican cheese

Pre-heat the oven to 400 F and grease/line two muffin pan (I got 15 muffins out of a batch).

Chop the jalapeño.

In a medium bowl whisk together the flours, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Set aside.

In a separate bowl mix together the buttermilk, butter, olive oil, egg, and egg yolk. I did this in my 2 cup pyrex measuring cup. 

Slowly pour the liquid into the flour mixture and carefully whisk it all together. Mix only until the liquid and flour are just barely incorporated. Over mixed muffins are a sin.

Gently fold in the corn kernels, jalapeños, and cheese. Scoop into the muffins tins. Be sure to only fill 2/3 of the way full! 

Bake 15-18 minutes, or until golden brown and an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Mine bakes much faster; check at 11-12 minutes.

Allow to cool before consuming! That is actually important with this recipe because the muffins fall apart if you try and eat them hot out of the oven.

 

Two Delicious Quick Breads - Strawberry-Blackberry and Bacon Cheddar

As I mentioned last week, I baked for the St. Louis Food Bloggers' Share Our Strength Bake Sales put together by Kimberly at Rhubarb and Honey, Stefani of Cupcake Project, Andrew of Andrew Mark Veety. I deliberated what to bake. Cookies are not my gig, and I’m not comfortable enough with my pie crust making skills, so both of those were out of the question. I typically have success with quick breads, maybe because they are pretty forgiving, and if I tweak the recipe, the end product is not in jeopardy of complete ruin. And I like that they’re easy to put together – quick. I tested two new recipes, and both were deemed bake sale worthy. I never thought I liked strawberries baked, a texture thing, but I’ve changed my mind. Based on an old Weight Watchers recipe, the strawberry fruit bread is pretty healthy, but next time I may reduce the sugar a bit. It’s extremely moist with a soft crumb and bursts with strawberry fruit flavor. It started out as strawberry bread but morphed into“fruit” bread because when I baked the loaves for the sale, I realized I only had one cup of frozen strawberries left that we picked last summer, so I defrosted a cup of blackberries we also picked/froze. These breads look gorgeous, too, important when trying to get someone to buy a loaf.

When I told my guys that I was making bacon cheddar breads for my other loaves, they both gave me the “Really?” look. Why not? Who said quick breads need to be sweet? Savory breads are wonderful with soups, chili, salads, and at breakfast. Bacon continues to be THE ingredient and with good reason. It just makes everything taste better. If the aroma of this bread coming out of the oven isn’t reason enough to bake it, taking one bite challenges you not to eat the whole loaf. While it has a tighter crumb than the fruit bread, the contrasting tang from the cheddar balances the salty bacon crumbles. It really works. When you read the list of ingredients, it is not for someone watching calories or fat, but once in a while, a scrumptious splurge is worth it. And I got to use some of the leaf lard that came with our new half hog purchase last month. I also discovered these attractive disposable pans, much better presentation than foil, at The Kitchen Conservatory. No need to grease them and there’s a tab you pull to “unwrap” the bread. Pretty exciting all around.

Strawberry Bread
1 1/2 C flour
1/2 C sugar
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t salt
1 C thawed frozen strawberries or a mix of frozen berries
1/4 C canola oil

1 t vanilla
1 egg white, lightly beaten
1 ounce coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans

Preheat oven to 350. Spray either a 9 x 5 loaf pans or three small loaf pans with cooking spray. In large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Make a well in the center and add strawberries, oil, egg white and walnuts to well. Mix just until well combined. Spoon batter into pan/s. Bake 45 minutes for large pan and 30 minutes for small or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes and then remove and cool completely on a rack.

Bacon Cheddar Cheese Bread

1/2 pound bacon

1/2 large onion, diced

2 C all-purpose flour

1/2 C whole wheat
1 1/2 t baking powder
1 t kosher salt

Few dashes nutmeg

Couple grinds black peppercorns
2 T brown sugar
1/4 C lard
1 C coarse grated extra-sharp cheddar cheese
2 large eggs, beaten
1 1/4 C milk buttermilk
1 t Worcestershire sauce

Heat the oven to 350 F and spray a 10″ loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray.

Cook the bacon in a skillet until crisp. Drain on paper towels then chop into small pieces. Set aside. Remove all but a tablespoon of the rendered fat, and cook the onion until golden.

In a large bowl combine the flours, salt, baking powder, brown sugar, and spices. Add the lard and, with your hands, mix it into the four until it looks like coarse sand. Add the cheese and toss to combine.

In another bowl mix the eggs, buttermilk, and Worcestershire sauce. 

Pour the wet over the dry and mix until the dry ingredients are almost incorporated.  Add the bacon and onions and fold in, making sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl.  Do not over mix. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the top of the bread is lightly brown and a thin knife inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean.

Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, and then turn out on a wire rack to cool.

Photo Courtesy - J. Pollack Photography



Join the Fight to End Childhood Hunger and Enjoy Awesome Baked Goods by STL Food Bloggers - Satuday, May 14th

Childhood hunger should not exist any where in our world, and certainly not in this country, the richest nation on the planet. Consider the FACTS:

• In the US, 1 in 4 kids - 17 MILLION KIDS! - don't know when or where their next meal will come from
• Only 1 in 6 eligible kids in the US get free summer meals.
• Less than half of the eligible kids get free or reduce-priced school breakfasts.
• Hunger has serious, long-term effects on kid's health. They're sick more often, recover slower, and at statistically far greater risk for obesity and diabetes.
• Hunger significantly impedes kid's ability to learn and predisposes them to consequential emotional and behavioral issues.

Food Blogger Bake Sale at the Sappington Farmers' Market from 10AM to 2PM. Sappington Farmers' Markets is also donating a portion of their day's proceeds to Share Our Strength. 

Share Our Strength is an organization whose goal is to end childhood hunger in America by 2015. While a bold undertaking, Craig and I have faith it is achievable. Cooking Matters, the program I volunteer as a chef, is a vital component in winning this fight. We teach participants - kids, teen moms, adults, seniors - how to plan and prepare nutritious, delicious, and affordable foods at home. As food bloggers, this is something we do effortlessly. Not so for the 50 MILLION Americans who are food insecure.

As warriors, next weekend Kimberly at Rhubarb and Honey and a few other St. Louis food bloggers have organized the St. Louis


If you are interested in joining the fight to end childhood hungers, join us! 

• Bake with us! Any from-scratch baked goods (cakes, cookies, brownies, pies, breads, cupcakes, candy) are welcome at the sale. If you want to bake, please drop Kimberly an email at rhubarbandhoney@yahoo.com.
• Not a baker but love to EAT? Then come and BUY the goodies for sale. They're guaranteed to be delicious, and you'll supporting a tremendous cause.
• This is a nationwide effort, so check out the Food Blogger Bake Sales by state to get involved in a bake sale near you.

I'm test-driving my recipe this weekend and will post it - bacon cheddar quick bread. I'm volunteering in the morning. Come see me!

Heavenly Homemade Whole Wheat Pitas

I am delinquent in posting about these super easy whole wheat pitas that I made from Everybunny Loves Food in the Taste & Create exchange last month. Now living in the Middle East but having spent her teen years in India, Sana has so many fascinating recipes, especially for someone who loves Indian food (me!). I am clueless to some of the ingredients used but worth figuring out in order to try a few of her authentic recipes. Lots of desserts too as she is one of the Daring Bakers. All the recipes I perused on her blog were detailed with instructions and explanations and many photos.

We were having soup one night, and when I saw her recipe for whole wheat pitas, I knew I found my recipe. They turned out simply beautiful. I used quick rise yeast and kneaded them by hand instead of using the food processor as I normally do when making anything with yeast. The only thing is that I need to learn to roll dough in a circle better. Mine came out in rather interesting, odd shapes and not round. I have the same issue with pizza dough. But they tasted delicious. Puffy, also pillowy, and perfectly browned and slightly crunchy. Craig suggested adding minced garlic and/or other spices and herbs, depending on what we’re serving them with. Absolutely terrific with hummus and chicken salad.

This is the original recipe with my changes noted, and the method reflects the steps that I followed.

Whole Wheat Pitas

Makes 8

3 C flour *I used half all purpose flour, half pastry whole wheat flour
1 1/2 t salt
1 T sugar or honey *I used sugar
1 packet yeast (or, If from bulk, 2 t yeast) *I used 21/4 t rapid rise yeast
1 1/4 to 1 1/2 C water, roughly at room temperature *I always measure temp to 120 – 130 degree F
2 T olive oil, vegetable oil, butter, or shortening *I used olive oil

Place the flours, salt, sugar, and yeast in a large mixing bowl and combine. Mix the water and olive oil and add to the flour mixture. Using your hands, knead the dough until it forms a ball, adding more water or flour depending on the stickiness of the dough. Knead the dough for 10 minutes to get a smooth round ball.

(Sana suggests this method for kneading:  “A simple hand kneading technique is to firmly press down on the dough with the palm of your hand, fold the dough in half toward you like you are closing an envelope, rotate the dough 90 degrees and then repeat these steps.”)

Spray a bowl with cooking spray, place the dough into the bowl, cover with a clean dish towel, and set aside until it has doubled in size. Punch the dough down to release any trapped gases and divide it into eight pieces. Roll each piece into a ball, cover the balls with a damp dish towel, and let them rest for 20 minutes.

(She indicates: “This step allows the dough to relax so that it'll be easier to shape.”)

While the dough is resting, preheat the oven to 400 degree F. If you have a baking stone, put it in the oven to preheat.

(Sana offers this trick if you don’t have a pizza stone: “If you do not have a baking stone, turn a cookie sheet upside down and place it on the middle rack of the oven while you are preheating the oven. This will be the surface on which you bake your pitas. I used my cookie sheet and they came out just fine.”)

After the dough has rested, spread a light coating of flour on a work surface and sprinkle a little flour on top of the dough. Use a rolling pin or your hands to stretch and flatten the dough to between 1/8 and 1/4 inch thick. If the dough does not stretch sufficiently, cover it with a damp towel and let it rest 5 to 10 minutes before trying again.

(“I found that the pitas that I rolled out lightly using the rolling pin puffed up evenly. So it is important to use the rolling pin gently and roll it out as evenly in a circle as possible.” And I agree. I used a rolling pin and they puffed nicely.)

Place as many pitas as possible on the pizza stone and bake for three to five minutes, depending on your preference for softer or crunchier pitas. Repeat and bake any remaining dough.

These can be individually frozen and reheated in a warm oven for a few minutes.

Another Great Recipe I’ve Made for Years – Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Craig reminded me last week that I had not made one of his and Connor’s favorite muffins in eons:  lemon poppy seed. And he was right. It had been way too long. Part of the problem is that I've been challenged to source lemon yogurt. And when I can find it, it’s in six-ounce cartons, not the 8-ounces the recipe specifies. I know, I could buy two or use plain or vanilla yogurt, but the lemon adds a bit more zest. This is another reminder of how food packaging continues to shrink but food prices are not (or are increasing). It’s everywhere. From milk no longer being a gallon,  to ice cream, orange juice, cereals, Frito Lay chips (although this is not a bad thing), and even Wrigley's chewing gum. As well, this results in additional "physical" packaging to clog landfills. It means the cost per ounce has gone up, so it’s more important than ever to shop unit costs and not just look at the price of an item. Just sayin’. Shop smart.

Back to the muffins. Actually muffin tops, my guys preference because you get so much more crispy edge. Connor is notoriously running late on school mornings, and it’s a daily challenge to get food into him. These – no problem. Perfect texture, they are light, fluffy, with a nice crunch thanks to the poppy seeds. The lemon flavor has the perfect amount of pucker, and they’re really moist. A few seconds in the microwave, and they revive their fresh, out-of-the-oven goodness. Perfect for eating on the run while on your way to school.

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Serves 12

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1/3 cup sugar

2 T poppy seeds

1 t baking powder

1 t baking soda

1/4 t salt

3 T vegetable oil

1 t grated lemon rind

2 T fresh lemon juice

1 8-ounce carton lemon low-fat yogurt

1 large egg, lightly beaten

Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 400°.

Combine flours, sugar, poppy seeds, baking powder, soda and salt in a medium bowl; make a well in center of mixture. Combine oil, rind, juice, yogurt, and egg; stir well. Add to dry ingredients, stirring just until moist.

Spoon batter into each of 12 muffin cups coated with cooking spray.

Bake at 400° for 14 minutes or until golden. Remove muffins from pan immediately; place on a wire rack.

Ooey Gooey Sticky Cinnamon Rolls and Warmed Poached Winter Fruit

I’ve made these cinnamon rolls for nearly twenty years, first for Easter, and in more recent times, as part of our Christmas brunch. These are sinful. They are so simple and rival any you’d find in a bakery – or from your grandmother’s oven. They melt in your mouth. Sweet, with a distinct cinnamon flavor, soft, but not doughy. Gooey and sticky. And your house smells so homey. Just the way cinnamon rolls should be. And they can be prepared a day ahead and baked just before serving.

I also made poached fruit for brunch that reminded me of childhood. My grandparents had a quince tree, and I loved the jelly my grandmother made.  If you have never tasted quince, it’s flavor is between an apple – but more spicy and robust than an apple –  a pear, cherries, with a hint of cloves. As far as I know, quinces are not eaten raw because they are very hard and quite sour, but mellow nicely when cooked and pair well with apples and pears. The original recipe from Cooking Light had this as a dessert, but it works perfectly for breakfast.

Sticky Cinnamon Rolls

Makes about 15

1 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 envelope rapid-rise yeast

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3/4 cup warm water (125°F. to 130°F.)

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted

1 egg

1 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar

1 stick + 1/3 cup butter, melted

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup raisins

Using electric mixer fitted with dough hook or paddle, mix first 6 ingredients in large bowl. Add water, butter and egg and mix until smooth dough forms, about 4 minutes. Transfer dough to greased bowl. Cover with plastic and clean towel. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 30 minutes.

Butter 9x13-inch baking dish. Bring 1 cup brown sugar and 1/2 cup butter to boil in heavy small saucepan. Boil 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 cup walnuts. Pour into prepared dish. Punch dough down. Roll out on lightly floured surface to 15x9-inch rectangle. Spread dough evenly with remaining 1/3 cup butter. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1 tablespoon cinnamon.

Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup walnuts and raisins. Roll up jelly roll style, starting at one long side. Slice dough into 1-inch-thick rounds.

Arrange dough slices cut side down in prepared dish, spacing evenly. Cover with plastic. Let rise in warm draft-free area until doubled, about 45 minutes. Yesterday I forgot I had them in the oven (turned off!) and they rose for likely two hours!

At this point, these can be refrigerated and baked the next morning. Bring to room temperature before baking. Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake rolls until golden brown, about 45 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes. Turn out onto platter. Cool slightly. Serve warm.

Spiced Winter Fruit

Serves 8

2/3 cup packed light brown sugar – I used white sugar today because I was out of brown

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 tablespoons butter

2 quinces, each cut into bite-size wedges (about 3/4 pound)

3 cups sliced peeled Bartlett or Anjou pear (about 1 1/2 pounds)

2 1/2 cups sliced peeled Granny Smith apple (about 1 1/2 pounds)

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Cinnamon sticks (optional)

Combine first 4 ingredients in a small bowl; set aside.

Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add quinces; cover and cook 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add sugar mixture, pear, and apple; cover and cook 12 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in pepper; garnish with cinnamon sticks, if desired

This dish will hold up for up to 3 days if refrigerated in an airtight container. To serve, reheat over low heat.

A Very Healthy Treat - Spiced Carrot Bars

Yesterday was a rough day at the office. I was so tired after work, and I still had to hit the grocery store in order to make dinner. Not a fun proposition at 6:30PM. After assuaging my self-induced guilt that not making dinner would result in my family starving, and Chinese takeout would certainly delight Craig and Connor, I made myself an icey Diet Coke and Jamison and decided to take a night off in the kitchen.

But - the guilt quickly came back. In order to ease my failings of not preparing at least “something” culinary for my family, I decided to bake. Baking is not a core skill, so a quick-bread or bars was in order. Preferably something healthy. Voila! Spiced Carrot Bars. These are simply scrumptious, somewhere between carrot cake and spice cake. The bars are moist, not too sweet, and I love the fragrant, musky aroma of the infrequently-used spice, cardamom. These do count as a serving of veggies – right?

Spiced Carrot Bars

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup old-fashioned oats

1 t baking powder

1 t baking soda

2 t cinnamon

1/2 t cloves

1/4 t nutmeg
1/4 t ground cardamom
1/4 t salt
3 T brown sugar
2 eggs
6 T non-fat or low-fat plain yogurt
2 T orange juice
2 T ginger marmalade heaping
2 cups grated carrots, heaping (about 3 large)
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine dry ingredients, set aside. In separate bowl, whisk together yogurt, eggs, juice and marmalade. Stir in carrots, then dry ingredients, then cranberries and nuts.

Pour into greased 9" square pan. Bake until done, about 20 minutes or until tester comes out clean.

Guilt be gone!

You Gotta Have Bread!

Still shivering from the frigid temperatures, we opted for soup last night. Craig whipped up a warming turkey and lentils stew from December’s Food & Wine, one of their best issues in a long time. It was excellent. The smoked turkey adds just the right about of salt and smoke without overpowering the flavor of the lentils. Check it out.
Crusty, chewy bread always goes with tasty soup, but our pantry was empty, it was too cold to venture out to buy “good” bread, plus I didn’t have time to wait for dough to rise. Instead, I decided to use up some beer that was taking up space in the frig that would likely never get consumed before its expiration date and made a modified version of Cooking Light's Beer Cheese bread. While it was moist, it had a nice density, almost like yeast bread, but no kneading or rising required. Easy! And leftovers are delicious toasted for breakfast.