Almond-Herb Crackers with Spicy Lentil Dip

Must. Try. Crackers.

Almond-Herb Crackers
Something about using ground almonds instead of flour makes these melt in your mouth. Holy cow. Amazing. Adapted from Elana's Kitchen.

Ingredients*:
2 c almonds
3/4 t salt
2 T dried herbs (I used thyme)
1 T oil
2 T water

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F
Grind almonds in food processor (or blender) until it reaches the consistency of flour.
Add salt and herbs and pulse until combined.
Whisk together oil and water and mix into almond mixture.
Form dough into a ball and roll out between 2 pieces of parchment paper, until about 1/8" thick.
Remove top piece of parchment paper and transfer onto a baking sheet.
Cut into rolled out dough into squares (or whatever shape you want your crackers to be).
Bake for 10-15 minutes, until golden brown.
Devour. Or enjoy with a dip (like the one below), but I found this to be unnecessary. Yeah, they're that good.

Spicy Lentil Dip

Ingredients*:
1 c cooked lentils

4 cloves of garlic, minced

2 t ground coriander

1 t ground cumin

1/2 t ground turmeric

1/2 t chili powder

1/2 t ground ginger

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan.

Cook gently over low heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Allow to cool before serving.

*All of these items can be bought in bulk. Except the garlic cloves, I bought those from Tantre Farm when they still came to the farmer's market (which they stopped doing after November, tear tear)

I'm back!

I have been on a bit of a blogging hiatus. But I'm back and it feels oh so good.

Some updates on my food life:

It's January. And you know what's in season in January according to Sustainable Table? Nothing. That's right, us Michiganders are supposedly not able to find anything growing out of the earth until late March.

Well luckily ST does not have it's facts straight. This week I got sunflower sprouts, daikon, carrots, beets (and their greens), and sweet potatoes. It was a bountiful harvest in my book! I also picked up my January share from Locavorious which included corn, blueberries, whole tomatoes, cauliflower, green beans, and peaches. Add that to all the goodies that I've already froze from earlier in the season and by golly I have quite the spread!

And word on the street is that there is one woman that sells a small supply of leafy greens (oh how I miss you!) but they run out quick, for obvious reasons. That means I plan on being at the farmer's market next week VERY early. I will be one of the special few that gets local Michigan greens in late January.

I'm sprouting like a mad woman. After a few months sprout-free, I am back on the bandwagon. This is mainly because I was unable to attend the farmer's market the other week and I was yearning for something with life. If you have not sprouted before then now is the time to try. All you need is some beans or whole grains, water, and a cup. Nothing more. Learn how to sprout here.

Wild Fermentation is my new Bible. I posted a goony video of the author, Sandor Katz, last month when I made sauerkraut, but over break I got his book (Wild Fermentation). It is amazing and it Sandor Katz (AKA Sandorkraut). I can tell that he has a beautiful, loving spirit.

I am growing so many Lactobacilli bacteria cultures (that's the bacteria that is in your gut, you know the one that all the overpriced yogurt advertise about?) that my kitchen has turned into a bit of a chemistry lab. I love it. I call them my pets (specifically my sourdough starter since I have to feed it everyday...).

Bulk food is playing a major role in my diet. Whole grains, beans, seeds, nuts, dried fruits, spices, oils, vinegar, sweeteners, sea vegetables, etc. and lots of them. I can honestly say that I have never made more crackers before in my life.

What I am learning... AKA what I need to do to prepare for next winter.

I love vegetables, excessively so. I think that they are beautiful, they are delicious, they make me feel good, and that the process of growing from a tiny seed to such magnificent living organisms is magical. I miss them, not gonna lie. I am trying to suppress the little voice in the back of my head that is telling that I should be eating more vegetables (yes I am a little afraid of scurvy!) but that's what I get for not preparing better.

That's the beauty of living, you never stop learning. There are many things that I am regretting not having done in the fall but I know that it is just a lesson for next fall. To prepare for next winter, I want to make vats of fermented vegetables to preserve them, figure out how to keep a porch garden throughout the winter, and see if leafy greens will grow in a pot inside!

Well anyways, get ready for an onslaught of blog posts to make up for my unnecessary absence...

Hummus and Crackers

Hummus

Everybody loves hummus. Everybody.

Ingredients:

2 c cooked garbanzo beans (2)

1/2 c water

3-5 T apple cider vinegar (traditionally lemon juice) (2)

2 T tahini (3)

2 cloves garlic, minced (4)

1/2 t salt (2)

2 T olive oil (2)

1/4 t cumin (2)

1/4 t paprika (2)

Directions:

Blend all ingredients in a food processor until smooth.

Add more water to achieve desired consistency.

Garnish with a drizzle of olive oil, paprika, and olives.

Basic Whole Wheat Cracker
These where not the best. I ended up just reverting to my tried and true pickles-dipped-in-hummus habit. So good. (Plus McClure's Pickles are made in Michigan and delicious!)
Ingredients:
1 1/2 c whole wheat flour (1)
1/4 t sea salt (2)
2 T oil (2)
6 T of water
sesame seeds (2)
garlic powder (2)
dried thyme (2)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325F

Mix together first 4 ingredients.

Knead for about 5 minutes.
Roll out onto oiled cookie sheet.

Sprinkle on herbs of your choice (sesame seeds, garlic powder, and thyme for me)

Score crackers the size you want for easy breakage post baking.
Bake for about 20 minutes, until golden brown.

1. Earnst Farm

2. Bulk section of the People's Food Co-op

3. Pre-challenge stash

4. Tantre Farm

California Christmas: Chopped

I am not sure if anyone else watches Chopped but it's a show on the Food Network where people have to make an appetizer, main course, and dessert using specific ingredients. The challenge is that the ingredients are not always "normal". I have to use candy canes in my appetizer? Or bacon in my dessert?

Needless to say, watching it is a guilty pleasure of mine. And my aunt and uncle are fans of the show as well. As entertainment on a blustery evening in Northern California, we created a chopped challenge of our own!

The Rules:

My aunt and I had to make appetizers using cucumbers, my foraged chanterelles, and persimmons; a entree using salmon, asparagus, and (I can't remember what else); a dessert using pomegranates, quinoa, and chocolate.

Appetizer: Cucumber Disks with a Roasted Red Pepper-Walnut Spread, Wild Chanterelle Crostinis, Spicy Lime Tortilla Chips with Persimmon Chips and an Orange-Persimmon

Roasted Red Pepper-Walnut Spread

Also known as muhammara (I LOVE this word). Recipe from the NY Times.

Ingredients:
3/4 c walnuts, toasted and chopped

3 red bell peppers, roasted
3/4 c fresh bread crumbs*

1 jalapeño or other small hot chili pepper, stemmed and seeded
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 T pomegranate molasses
1 T lemon juice
1 t ground cumin
salt and pepper
2 T olive oil.

Directions:

Put all ingredients (except oil) in food processor and pulse until smooth.

Slowly pour in olive oil into running food processor.

Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.

Eat with anything and everything: cucumbers, pita bread, your hands...

Entree: Asparagus and Red Onion Salad, Miso-glazed Wild Alaskan Salmon, Sweet Potato Latkes with Cranberry Relish, garnished with mixed salad greens.

Sweet Potato Latkes

Ingredients:

2 sweet potatoes, peeled

1 green onion, finely chopped

1/4 c whole wheat flour

1 T ground flax seeds, whisked into 3 T water

salt, pepper, smoked paprika

oil

Directions:

Grate the sweet potatoes (my aunt had a fancy grater feature on her food processor which made this process VERY easy)

Mix together all the ingredients, except the oil.

Heat oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat.

Take a handful of sweet potato mixture and form a patty.

Fry in oil until dark brown, about 5 minutes.

Flip to fry the other side.

Allow to cool on a rag (to wick away excess oil)

Serve with cranberry chutney!

Dessert: Spicy Chocolate-Dipped Date-Walnut Truffles, Pomegranate Quinoa Patties

My first pomegranate! Too pretty.

Purging (1)

I have been the worst blogger recently. It's not that I don't have the time or that I don't have the material (I probably have about 10 'draft' posts that I have been procrastinating posting because it seems just too hard to put in the last 2 minutes that it takes to read it over or attach the picture...)

On a similar but completely different note, I am a bit of an insomniac. I go through the day doing things that I have to do (go to class, do homework, go to meetings for work...) and then once I get home I get into some sort of euphoric state of actually being able to do what I want, i.e. cook, read blogs that I follow, doodle, or in the case of tonight (this morning...) purge.

No I am not talking about bulimia, people, but instead a sort of manic state of disgust for the amount of material possessions that I own. I am a bit of a pack rat but that is nothing to compare to the source of the problem: materialism and consumerism. These are topics that are a main part of a deep internal struggle that I dance around with, but ones that I am not particularly up for discussing further in this post. However my lovely friend Darshan speaks of materialism a bit on this specific blog post.

All in all, I just spent the last few hours going through my room doing a preliminary sweep of things to give away, directly relating to my new years resolution to reduce the amount of waste that I produce. For me, one huge step is thinking about why I feel that I NEED this stuff. What do I gain by having x amount of clothing? Why am I drawn to accumulating more, more, more junk? An obvious answer is that is what culture tells me to do, these things are what advertising tells me to buy. But I have a feeling that it is more than just that. That it may be an attempt to substitute aspects of life that people may actually need; a connection to nature, meaningful relationships with other people, a genuine interest in what we do in our day-to-day life...

Well anyways, here's a picture of my preliminary sweep (I will document it further post-sleep)...

I have to say that the (unnecessary) amount of t-shirts that I have accumulated just by taking part in activities is pretty ridiculous. Do I need a t-shirt that says that I went to prom in 2007? Absolutely not. How about over 10 items of clothing that have to do with my high school dance team? Nope. I am not sure if this habit of branding yourself as a part of an activity is a lust for new things or a need to feel inclusions but either way I am strangely put off by it as I sift through this carnage of consumption.

If you have made it this far then I have to apologize for my scattered thoughts and ranting nature.

Please remember that REDUCE is the first (and most important) action in reduce-reuse-recycle. There is no plan(et) B

California Farmer's Market

This trip was very full of my uncle making fun of my obsession with taking pictures of fruits and vegetables. But you know what? I think it's crazy that people don't! Also, cooking locally during a Michigan winter = me very very excited to eat a locally grown avocado.

Buddha's Fingers

Pomegranates

 Persimmons

 I drooled over a booth that was selling about 10 different kinds of greens...

Toxic Plastic Bags

It's not that hard to remember your own reusable bag when you go grocery shopping!

But just so you remember...

How to live a packaging-free life.

As 2010 is coming to a close, most of us are reflecting on our actions in the past year and thinking about what we will do in the future

Everyone has the potential and capabilities to change. It is a conscious decision.

Personally, if the change that I desire to make aligns with my ethics, it is not hard. Realize what you put value into; your health? family? grades? the earth? your community? Think about how this resolution (or change) will effect your values.

Do your current actions and practices align with your values? I know that some of mine don't. Especially when it comes to waste production. I have read about the Pacific Trash Vortex, realized the disconnect from the earth when we think linearly instead of cyclically, hear about all of the pollution attributed to landfills (and consumption in general).

Sam's Commitment to Change (my new year's resolution...):
Reduce the waste (trash, packaging, consumerism...) that I produce.

This was a part of my original Low Carbon Diet challenge (and eating the way that I do is inherently less packaging intensive), but I have not been being as conscious as I could be concerning the waste I produce.

I would like to find a way to measure my successes/failures along the way (I know that if I do not set clear rules for myself I will cheat...) although I am not sure how I will do that yet.

Some things that I want to do:

• Give away 50 things
• Buy nothing for a week
• Carry around all of the trash that I produce in a week
• Choose a day each week to carry around all of the trash I produce
• Think about the 100 things that I need (I'm definitely not to the point mentally to get rid of all of my possessions except for 100 things but I think that this is a good exercise in realizing what possessions I actually value)
• Follow the tips below!

Similar to the tips from Darshan's wonderful blog, Minimizing Entropy, I stumbled upon some wonderful advice on how to live packaging free from re-nest. Here they are:

• Buy less. Curbing the impulse to shop and learning to live with less will help put you on the path to a packaging-free life.

• Buy used. When you do shop, rather than buying new, check thrift stores and salvage shops. Or borrow items through services like NeighborGoods.

• Bring bags. Don't forget your reusable shopping bags when shopping at the farmers' market (or grocery store) or any other store!

• Get crafty. Take up urban homesteading practices like growing your own food, home canning, and baking bread. Develop a network of friends and neighbors to share your individual efforts.

• Buy from bulk. For other foods, shop at farmers' markets, produce stands, butchers, and bulk bins. Bring reusable containers like produce bags and empty jars.

• Pack lunch. Take your lunch to class or work in a reusable container with eco-friendly sandwich bags.

• Carry provisions. Pack a reusable water bottle and snacks in reusable bags so you don't find yourself running to the vending machine or corner store.

• Do it yourself – house cleaning. Making your own cleaning products might not eliminate packaging completely (you still need to procure the ingredients), but it can help you cut down considerably. If possible, buy ingredients like baking soda in or from bulk, and if you're really ambitious, you can make your own white vinegar!

This is where the People's Food Co-op comes in for me- bulk cleaning supplies, you da you da best!

• Take a break. Re-think your grooming habits. We're not suggesting you let yourself go, but take a break from hair product, foundation, or anti-aging cream for a week or two and see whether you really "need" it. Chances are, you'll look and feel perfectly fine with less.

• Do it yourself – personal health. For the personal care products you do need, explore DIY options. For example, you can use baking soda for toothpaste, deodorant, and shampoo. Buying the raw ingredients might involve some packaging, but it's a step in the right direction.

• Go the extra mile. It's not for everyone, but you can also eliminate packaging by going toilet-paper free, switching to reusable feminine products, and using cloth tissues.

• Shop smart. Inevitably, you will buy some packaged goods, but consider packaging that's reusable and recyclable. Avoid excessive packaging like individually-wrapped produce and look for products in bulk, concentrate form, or refillable containers. If you regularly shop online, you might also consider buying more things locally to reduce packing material waste.

I challenge you to reduce the amount of waste that you produce, or at least become aware of the amount of waste that you produce. Or Atkins be damned, you could adopt a low carbon diet ;)

California Christmas: Boiled Artichokes

Finger food, seafood themed dinner? Not exactly vegetarian friendly... But a ton of fun and who doesn't like artichokes?

Carnage

Clean up crew

Look at em go!

Boiled Artichokes with Lemon

Ingredients:
artichokes
lemon

Directions:
Remove small, discolored leaves from the artichokes.
Slice a lemon or two.
Place artichokes and lemon slices in a pot of water.
Bring water to a boil then reduce to a simmer.
Simmer until chokes are tender, about an hour.
Serve with fresh lemon juice.

A few other dip ideas:
Dijon Dipping Sauce
Spicy Garlic Dipping Sauce
Creamy, Tangy Dipping Sauce
Quite a few more here...

Don't know how to eat an artichoke? Here's how!

California Christmas: Fruit Salad

Planning the christmas brunch menu with my aunt and uncle was legitimately a bizarre experience for me the other day. Fruit salad is a classic choice for such an occasion but fruit in the winter? Want to know what fruit is in season in Michigan right now? There isn't any... Unless you count apples that are in cold storage or the decent variety that I have been collecting in my freezer.

California Fruit Salad
Obviously not a very practical recipe for a Michigan winter but I do get to step out of my comfort zone (root veggies and greens) this christmas.

Ingredients:
3 c seedless grapes, cut in half
3 tangerines, peeled, sectioned, and cut in half
1 melon, balled
about 10 raspberries
juice of 2 lemons
a hefty T of local honey
1/2 c of fresh mint, chopped

Directions:
Mix grapes, tangerines, and melon in a large bowl.
Whisk together lemon and honey.
Mix in mint.
Pour liquid mixture over fruit.
Sprinkle raspberries over top.
Garnish with a few mint leaves.

Merry Christmas!

From Hooter, the feral cat that adopted my aunt and uncle. Oh, and from me as well!

Foraging for chanterelles

Lucky me, a foraging enthusiast lives next door to my aunt and uncle in Los Altos Hills, CA!

I got to go on a walk with him to a few places that he knew they typically grow. Literally on the side of the road. I don't think that people realize how many mushrooms are growing around us unless they look for them!

One statement that stuck was in reference to the thought process that he has on foraging for mushrooms. If you think about it as a walk in the woods, then you won't be disappointed if the search is not fruitful (or fungi-ful). But we found some beauties!

A little about chanterelles:

• Bright orange, bald cap, usually concave or wavy when mature.
• Well spaced gills, shallow, blunt-edged, and fairly thick, often with connecting veins in between.
• Gills are the same color as the cap or paler, running down the stalk.
• Stalk colored like cap or a little paler, solid (as in not hollow)
• White flesh, or tinge of yellow

The tricky part was that they were growing beneath a layer of leaves on the ground, not exactly the easiest thing to see. However, they bloom in the same place every year so once you find a patch, you know that in a years time, there will be more.

Can't wait to cook these buggers up! I'm thinking sauteed and served crostini style?

post cleaning

The flax egg.

I obviously do not use eggs in the things that I cook which is sometimes a problem since it has levening and binding qualities when used for baking. Luckily there are some simple and easy ways around using eggs.

But first, let's look at eggs from a health stand point:

• A Harvard study of over 21,000 male physicians found that men who ate up to 6 eggs a week had no increase in their rate of death. But once they ate a seventh egg, their risk of death went up 23%. The men were studied over a 20-year period and routinely surveyed about their health status and eating habits. During that period, 1,550 had heart attacks, 1,342 had strokes and 5,000 died.
• The cholesterol in eggs is the most obvious culprit. This cholesterol can clog arteries and contribute to heart attacks and strokes.
• Also, let's not forget about the saturated fat they contain.
• Interestingly enough, free-range chickens produce eggs with notably less cholesterol and saturated fat and much higher levels of (healthy) omega-3 fats! (but beware of green marketing, only trust humane conditions of someone you can actually talk to. i.e. local farmers.)

Next, it is necessary to realize what the PURPOSE is for having eggs in a recipe (binding or levening):
1. Thickening and Binding: this means keeping everything together (think falafels).
Good replacements*:

• The flax egg (below)
• Ener G Egg replacer (but this has so much unnecessary packaging...)
• 3 T pureed tofu + 2 t cornstarch (good for quiches and custard pies)
• 1/4 c applesauce
• 1/4 c mashed banana
• 1/4 c pureed pumpkin or squash

2. Thickening

• 1 T chick pea or soy flour + 1 T water 
• 1 T arrowroot + 1 T soya flour + 2 T water 

2. Leavening: this means making it rise (think cookies and cakes).
Good replacements*:

• 1/4 c soymilk + 1 T lemon juice
• 1/4 c vegan sour cream + 1 t baking soda
• 2 heaped t baking powder
• instead of baking powder, use 3/4 t bicarbonate of soda + 1 T cider vinegar

For cakes and quickbreads, add 2 T of cornstarch (for each egg replaced) in addition to the egg replacer, in order to bind and give it a good texture.

*This is for replacing one egg. Increase magnitude if recipe asks for more than one egg!


The flax egg
This is my replacer of choice, no matter what the egg's purpose is. Just because it is healthy and mindless. I'm lazy. I grind my flax seeds in my food processor (only because I don't have a coffee grinder) and keep it in my freezer.

Ingredients (replaces one egg):
1 T ground flax seeds (1)
3 T cold water

Directions:
Whisk together before adding it to whatever you're cooking/baking!

(1) Ernst Farm

Steamed Baby Bok Choy with Orange and Ginger

Pre-Finals Post 2:

Nom.

How is a vegetable adorable? I don't know but baby bok choy definitely is. The giddiness that I had when I found it at the farmer's market is a little (a lot) embarrassing.

Also, there is a new addition to my cooking repertoire. Steaming! I stole my brother's steamer (because he doesn't cook, shame shame) and I have been using it like a mad woman. You can make your own steamer by setting a colander in a pot that has an inch of boiling water in it and covering it with some sort of cover.

I know that this may sound odd but DRINK THE WATER leftover from steaming. They will contain vitamins and minerals that left the plant in the steaming process. Plus it will be slightly colored green (or whatever color the plant you steam is) which I think is neat-o.

Steamed Bok Choy with Orange and Ginger

Ingredients:

2 baby bok choys (1)

1 t toasted sesame oil

1" ginger, grated

zest from 1/2 orange (2)

juice from 1/2 orange (2)

Directions:

Remove discolored outer leaves of the bok choy and chop off a bit of the bottom.

Cut bok choy in half and rinse well, there will be dirt lodged in between the leaves.

Bring 1" of water to a boil in a medium saucepan.

Place bok choy, ginger, and orange zest in steaming vessel.

Steam until bok choy is easily pierced with a fork, about 5 minutes.

Remove from steamer and toss with oil and orange juice.

(1) From AA Farmer's Market, but didn't catch the name of the stand. Shame on me...

(2) Pre-challenge stash

Purple Kale Salad with Roasted Delicata Squash

Now that finals are over, I can catch up on some past meals. Introducing: Pre-final Posts Series.

Pre-final Post 1:

So one major negative that I have come to find in squash is dealing with removing the skin. Easy thing if you are roasting it whole and scooping out the innards but if you want to roast cubes of the meat, you have to peel the thing first. BIG hassle.

Enter Delicata squash. These little beauties have a thin enough skin that peeling is not necessary! This unfortunately means that they will most likely not grow in Michigan late into the winter. But I do appreciate their deliciousness now!

Purple Kale Salad with Roasted Delicata Squash

The way this salad is constructed cooks the kale without actually cooking it! Therefore perfect for raw kale haters. Plus the sweet squash is the absolute best texture/taste/whole package of goodness.

Ingredients:
1 Delicata squash, halved and seeded (1)
2 t oil (2)
1 T balsamic vinegar (2)
1 T maple syrup (3)
a few leaves of purple (or regular) kale, de-stemmed and cut into bit sized pieces (4)
1 small onion, finely chopped (1)
1 garlic clove, minced (4)
1 T red wine vinegar (2)
salt and pepper (2)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400F
Cut squashes into 1/2" semicircles.
Toss with 1 T oil and place on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
Bake until tender, about 15 minutes.
Whisk together balsamic vinegar and maple syrup.
Brush mixture onto squash slices, reserving extra liquid.
Bake squash for 5 more minutes.
Turn on the broiler and broil for a few minutes to add color.

Place kale in a large bowl.
Heat remaining 1 t oil in a small saucepan over medium heat.
Add onion and garlic and cook until softened, about 4 minutes.
Add red wine vinegar and the reserved balsamic-maple syrup mixture and bring to a boil.
Immediately pour the hot dressing over the kale.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.
Cover bowl of kale with something that will keep in the steam (I used a large plate).
Leave be for 5 minutes.
Toss kale to cover leaves with dressing.
Serve with squash slices.

(1) Some farm stand at the AA Farmers Market, my fail for not noting the name...
(2) Bulk section at the People's Food Co-op
(3) Curry's Maple Syrup
(4) Tantre Farm

California Christmas

I am currently staying with my aunt and uncle in California! Talk about an IDEAL time to be eating local.

Let me give you an example of why this is so overwhelmingly exciting for me:

This is what is in season in Northern California in LATE DECEMBER
Apples, Avocados, Beets, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, Carrots, Cauliflower, Celery, Christmas Trees, Cucumbers,Fennel, Grapefruit, Grapes, Lettuce, Mushrooms, Okra, Onions, Oranges, Pears, Pistachios, Potatoes, Radishes, Rutabaga,Scallions, Spinach, Squash, Sweet Potatoes, Tomatoes, Turnips, Wreathes
And this is what is in season back home in Michigan right now:
Christmas Trees, Wreathes

Ay ay ay... Let's keep on with the hoop house builds and extend our season please!


Resource: http://www.sustainabletable.org/shop/seasonal/

More eco-friendly gift wrapping...

... and procrastinating studying for physics.

thank you Green Eyed Monster

... and one more.

thank you Simple organic.

Herb Bouquet

Apartment Therapy implanted an awesome idea in my head. Herb bouquets.

They recommend it as a hostess gift so hey, I will host any sort of get-together if I get fresh (Michigan, organic) herbs in return!

...gosh I really need to work on starting up an herb garden again.

Spelt Baguette for Winter Bruschetta

So my first attempt at sourdough starter was a major fail. In order to console my bread-baking ego I decided to bake bread with commercially-bought yeast (ergghh). But hey you can buy it in bulk at the People's Food Co-op! That makes me feel a little better...

I based this off of a recipe that was in all grams in millileters and apparently in my conversions I screwed something up big time. Therefore, I added in 2 c wheat flour to make the dough drier. This definitely was the bread baking attempt of an ultimate novice. There's only growth from here!

Spelt Baguette
Yeast-y bread Take 1

1T + 2t yeast*
5 T warm water
2 T spelt flour*
2 c water
3 c spelt flour*
2 c whole wheat flour*

In large bowl, mix yeast and warm water until smooth.
Mix in 2 T flour, cover in a rag and allow to do what it do for 20 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400F
Stir in water, and then stir in the flours.
Cover in a rag and allow to rise for an 1.5 hours (I got distracted and let it go for 3.5 hours...)
Separate into 3 baguette-ish shapes and slice notches into the top.
Cook for 20-30 minutes.

*You can buy this in bulk! Do itttt. It's cheaper AND saves packaging waste ;)

What else you can do...

Winter Bruschetta
Death by amazing salty, savory, sweet, stay-inside-and-stuff-your-face-until-you-add-a-healthy-layer-of-fat-and-are-able-to-withstand-the-0-degree-Michigan-winter goodness.

I didn't measure but here are my attempts to quantify my experimentation:

Ingredients:

1 T oil

2 cloves garlic, minced)

1/2 large onion, chopped

pumpkin puree (about 1.5 c)

frozen cranberries (about 1 c)

ginger (1 T perhaps)

nutmeg (1/4 t -ish)

pesto

spelt baguette, but into 1-2" pieces

Directions:

Heat oil in saute pan over medium-low heat.

Add onions and saute until softened.

Add garlic, pumpkin and bring to a simmer.

Add in cranberries.

Cook until cranberries burst and start oozing into pumpkin mixture.

Spice up yo life!

Remove from heat.

Smear pesto and pumpkin-cranberry goo onto baguette slices.

Devour.

Spiced Pumpkin Butter

Like the ornamental touches? It's all for you baby, alllll for you.

Spiced Pumpkin Butter
This spread will make anything sweet and winter-y! Enjoy on a sweet breakfast bread or, like me, in a spiced black tea (Winter Magic from TeaHaus).

Ingredients:
2 c pumpkin puree
1 c sweetener (I used 1/2 c MI maple syrup and 1/2 c MI beet sugar)
2 t ground ginger
2 t cinnamon
1/4 t nutmeg
1/2 t ground cloves

Directions:
Bring pumpkin and sweetener to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring constantly.*
Add spices and simmer for another 5 minutes.
Remove from heat and allow to cool.

*Stirring constantly is important because you don't want the mixture to burn!

Kale, pear, and hazelnut salad with a lemon, ginger, and vanilla dressing

Vanilla in a salad dressing?? What?? YOU NEED TO TRY THIS! It. Is. The. Best.

Red kale! Swanky, I know.

Ingredients

Dressing

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

juice of 1 lemon 1 t dried lemon

1 T apple cider vinegar

+1 T white vinegar

2 teaspoons agave syrup maple syrup

1 teaspoon fresh ginger juice 1 small know of ginger, grated

a quarter of a teaspoon powdered ginger

a quarter of a teaspoon powdered vanilla 1/2 t vanilla extract

whole sea salt, just enough to taste

white pepper, just enough to taste freshly ground pepper, to taste

Salad

1 large bunch of kale, cleaned, stems and tough ribs removed

1/2 large and very firm pear, cleaned, quartered lengthwise, cored and finely sliced (you can use a potato peeler to make really thin slices)

2 handfuls of shelled walnuts roasted hazelnuts, coarsely chopped

Directions:

Whisk together salad dressing.

Put salad ingredients in a bowl.

Pour dressing on salad and toss.

Eat.

Self-explanatory? Probably...

Real Time Farms Interview

Last week I had an interview with Lindsay Partridge from Real Time Farms and this is what came out of it:

CLICK ME!

While you're there, check out the Real Time Farms website. It's a GREAT resource for those of us who are trying to eat local (but still want to eat out...)!

They started in Ann Arbor last year and are already going national. Good job team!

Cookie Craft!

I love crafts. I love cookies. I love necklaces. I love this idea.

Does anyone want to join me??

Sugar Cookie Necklace

From The Kitchn

Spreading the Chai Wafer Love

Well it's finals week. Therefore I feel guilty blogging very little time for me to blog.

But don't fret! In T-minus 8 hours I will be done for the week and make up for lost time (don't worry I still took pictures of what I cooked despite lack of time, what a habit I have created...)

Anyways, my x-mas cookie guest post is up on my new blog buddy Brandi's page! Check it ouuuutttt