Whole Wheat English Muffins

Whole Wheat English Muffins  Rating: 8

These were pretty good and filling. Neal made them and we'd do it again. Still, we continue to search for a recipe that will provide that sine qua non characteristic of nooks and crannies.


 

 

Fried Egg, Roasted Red Pepper, and Spinach Breakfast Sandwich  Rating: 8

 



This sandwich was a nice start for the day and and easy way to get veggies in before you even leave the house.  Initially, Keri sauteed the spinach with some minced garlic and that was really nice too. 

Fresh Cranberry Orange Scones

Fresh Cranberry Orange Scones  Rating:7

What's an English Tea without freshly baked scones?  Well, I wouldn't have a clue, honestly.  But these made a nice meal with spinach scrambled eggs on the side.  They were fine plain and best out of the oven.  Not amazing but okay to good.  I think I'll keep looking for a similar recipe.  They were sweet but needed a bolder cranberry orange pop in my opinion.

Gingered Carrot Millet Muffins

Gingered Carrot Millet Muffins  Rating: 8

These were good and also did good in the freezer.  I really enjoy the crunch the millet offers.  The batter is really thick but the muffins come out fine.  Enjoy!

Avocado Mango Salad with Blue Cheese, Bacon, and Toasted Pumpkin Seeds and Whole Wheat Jalapeno Focaccia

Avocado Mango Salad with Blue Cheese, Bacon, and Toasted Pumpkin Seeds  Rating: 10

This recipe was one we got from Rick Bayless' Mexican Everyday when we checked it out from our local library.  His recipes are unique and he often gives variations. 

We would just like to start by saying, God bless Rick Bayless.  We loved this recipe!  There was A LOT happening in our mouths--sweet, salty, creamy, crunchy, crispy.  Just delicious.  Those roasted pepitas rocked! 

We went with blue cheese because we like that punch but it can be made with a Mexican cheese.  We added the jalapeno in the dressing, but only half and with seeds and membranes removed.  Also, it calls for Bibb lettuce and that would truly be best as it is tender and would meld well with all the taste bud love going on.  We used our sturdy romaine because that is what we had on hand and we were still very happy.

Whole Wheat Jalapeno Focaccia  Rating: 8

We served it up with this bread.  It was just the right amount of spiciness and with the warmth and the whole wheat, it felt very comforting. 

We've used this focaccia recipe before but with some changes for Orange Rosemary Focaccia.

Cherry Almond Meal Muffins

Cherry Almond Meal Muffins  Rating: 7

We decided to welcome summer with these muffins since the cherries are of perfect ripeness right now. 

This was my first time with almond meal and I heard I could make my own so I did.  It was not too hard and done with a blender.  I did have a few little nuggets of almond here and there and decided that I was fine with that.  It would a nice little crunch. 

This recipe is so simple and the flavors of the muffin are too.  Although I used the lowest recommended time, my muffins came out slightly overbaked.  Surprisingly, they were not dry but still moist and tender.  It made 7 nice standard muffins.


This recipe made a nice, simple muffin.  I'm glad I had the new experience with almond meal and will likely use it again in baking some day.

Brown Butter Zucchini Cornbread

Brown Butter Zucchini Cornbread  Rating: 8

This was a scrumptious way to use up some zucchini.  It wasn't complicated at all.  I usually grumble about the heel of the bread with this recipe warm from the oven, I'd shove aside my dear grandmother to get to it first.

We ate this with Carrot and Roasted Red Pepper Soup for lunch.

Savory Pumpkin and Feta Muffins

Savory Pumpkin and Feta Muffins  Rating: 6

I made Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal for breakfast earlier in the week and had left over pumpkin puree that needed to be used up.  I was inspired by Heidi Swanson's Pumpkin and Feta Muffins at 101 Cookbooks but used a puree friendly recipe I found at The Little Foodie.

I substituted yogurt for the sour cream, omitted the honey, and used whole wheat flour.  I added a slight 1/2 cup of feta for the cheese and a large, overflowing handful of fresh spinach that I then chopped fine.  I did use some black pepper.

The muffins were a bit dry and I feel that they were a touch too salty when I came upon the bits of feta. I won't make these again but they are okay.  Maybe I'll get gutsy come autumn and try Heidi's recipe.

Quick and Easy Pizza Crust

This is our Go-To Pizza Crust.  We don't have to wait long to use it, it's easy to double so the second one can be thrown in the freezer for a future meal, and we like the taste and texture we get when we use our whole wheat flour.

Quick and Easy Pizza Crust  Rating: 9

We use demerara sugar in place of white and whole wheat flour in place of bread flour.

Also, if you are making your own pizza dough, this is a great time to shake things up a little.  Try mixing in herbs and spices that will complement the pizza you are creating.  Ideas may include Italian herbs, garlic, onion powder, cilantro. curry powder, cumin, or chili powder.  For a dessert pizza, consider adding cinnamon or nutmeg.  Have fun with it!

Apple and Kale Spice Muffins

Apple and Kale Spice Muffins  Rating: 8

These muffins run approximately 200 calories each and they are not overly heavy but they are filling.

I have made these a few different times.  Sometimes with apple, sometimes with carrot, sometimes with apple and carrot, but always with kale.  They are tasty.  There is a ton of veggie goodness in there but they are sweet because of the carrots or apple (keep those peels on!) and the honey and dried fruit (I just use raisins).  Yep, no refined sugars.  Whole grain goodness too.  I go heavy on the cinnamon and nutmeg. 

This is a good on catch-all, mix-things-up recipe.  Yogurt instead of milk, all a pinch of cloves if you want, spinach instead of kale, zucchini if you want, cranberries instead of raisins, add ground flax, add nuts or not.  Whatever!  Get funky!

Just look at the obscene amount of kale that got shoved into 12 muffins!  I added the apple in this photo for scale.  I just finely chop that kale in my food processor so there's no "chunkage" or leafy issues in the finished product.  Can you believe you and your child is going to get that many greens in them.  Believe it!

Now add a packed cup and a half of grated carrot on top of that!  You are a super star!

Some finely chopped nuts for protein and omega 3s.  Raisins for sweetness, not to mention fiber.

Tah-dah! With some fruit and some cheese, you have a lunch or breakfast that is quick, yummy, and nutritious.  I love getting veggies before I even leave the house.  The muffins are a nice snack as well.

Check out 365 Days of Kale.  She is a kale maniac!  I love what she ends up doing with it and we have plenty of it growing in our garden to try.

Whole Wheat Irish Soda Bread

As part of our family fun in celebrating St. Patrick's Day all week long we made this bread.  I've never made or had Irish soda bread before but my kids and I liked it and felt like it was quite a treat with all the sweet raisins.

Whole Wheat Irish Soda Bread  Rating: 8

This was an easy bread to put together and it is a quick bread so not much waiting.  I made this with my kids and some others that we had welcomed into our home for the the morning.  Everyone enjoyed helping out in some little way, whether turning on the oven, grinding wheat, or kneading the dough.  We went with the molasses option because it is a good source of iron.  It made two loaves so we were able to send the second loaf home with our friends.  Might become one of our St. Patrick Day traditions, who knows?

Asparagus Salad with Egg and Orange Rosemary Focaccia

Asparagus Salad with Egg  Rating: 8

Asparagus is super cheap right now and I love it.  The recipe that I used was originally for string beans but it worked great with the asparagus.  I just blanched it in boiling water for a couple minutes, drained it and ran cold water over it before tossing in the rest of the ingredients and dressing.  It was a simple, fresh salad with good flavor and paired well with the focaccia.

Orange Rosemary Focaccia  Rating: 8

This was so much easier to make than I thought it would be.  I used this whole wheat focaccia recipe as the bread base and mixed 2 Tbsp. of chopped fresh rosemary into the dough instead of jalapenos and cilantro.  After letting it rise for an hour, I slathered 1-1 1/2 Tbsp.olive oil and the toppings from this recipe on the dough before popping it in the oven.  I decided to look into focaccia done with oranges when we received an incredible amount of citrus with our co-op produce order this week. 

By the way zest your well washed, fungal free lemons and oranges before peeling to eat.  The zest stores well in your freezer and can be thrown directly into recipes from the freezer.  Use it in stir fries, pancakes, muffins, muesli, dressings, or whatever else sounds good to you.

It looked lovely, had good texture and flavor, and smelled great.

I will certainly be using the whole wheat focaccia recipe as our Go-To Foccacia (Rating: 8) and continue to play with mix-ins and toppings.

Red Lentil Dal with Roasted Onions and Gobhi Paratha

Neal likes Indian food and so I am trying to lean in that direction more.  One of our friends, Jess, gave us a simple recipe for red lentil dal that Neal really likes.  I like it too, especially because it's a breeze to whip up.  We served it with Gobhi Paratha, a cauliflower stuffed bread.

Red Lentil Dal with Roasted Onions  Rating: 9
3 Servings

Ingredients
2 1/2 - 3 cups vegetables broth
1 Tbsp. curry powder
1 cup red lentils
2 medium onions, sliced in to rings
olive oil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Scatter onions on a baking sheet, drizzle with a bit of olive oil and toss.  Roast them in the oven for 30-40 min., checking and stirring occassionally, unitl soft and browned. 

In the meantime, in a medium pot, bring vegetable broth and curry powder to a boil, add red lentils, simmer for 15 minutes (or until lentils are to your desired tenderness), stir occasionally.

Spoon some into a bowl and top with roasted onions.

Gobhi Parantha (Cauliflower Stuffed Bread) Rating: 5

These are definitely best served warm with yogurt.  We like bread.  We like cauliflower.  We did not like or dislike these.  The ajwain seeds are pungent and I would probably leave them out next time and double the cumin instead.  But I got them cheap at an Indian food store so I have lots of them now.  Oh well. 

My kids, on the other hand love bread and ate them up.  Love veggies in disguise. 

I really like the lady, Manjula, and that she provides a video to her recipes.  I actually felt calm and had fun while making her stuffed cauliflower bread because I knew what to look for due to her video.  This, despite, having the heat too high and burning my oil a bit, setting off the smoke alarms repeatedly, which might I add, did not happen in her video.  Hmmm.  Luckily, Neal had just gotten home and was available to air out the house while I finished up.  I am going to try more of her recipes and see how it goes.

 

Spinach and Mushroom Green Enchiladas with Cumin-Scented Quinoa and Black Rice

Tonight's meal is bringing together lots a flavor from a variety of sources.  I hope we catch them all.

First up is the enchiladas, we began by making the corn tortillas.  We recently bought a tortilla press and have been waiting for a chance to use it.  It was simple thanks to Rick Bayless' Corn Tortillas (Rating: 9).  And, far better than any store bought tortilla we've ever had.

The Spinach and Mushroom Green Enchilada Casserole (Rating: 9) were a combination of sauteed sliced white button mushrooms and spinach.  We did a layered enchilada with tortillas on the bottom, followed by green sauce, then  queso fresco cheese, followed by another layer of tortillas, sauce, and cheese.  Below is Neal's recipe for Green Chile Sauce;

Green Chile Sauce

Ingredients
2 Tomatillos
4 Green Whole Green Chilies (with canned or fresh, fire-roasted and pealed)
1/4 Small Onion
2 Cloves Garlic
1/4 c. Water
Salt and Pepper to taste

Method
Mix all ingredients well in a food processor until you reach desired consistency (I prefer a medium chop on this as opposed to a puree),

On the side we enjoyed the Cumin-Scented Quinoa and Black Rice (Rating: 6).  Although good, this recipe did not deliver on the expected flavors when it all came together.

Black-Eyed Pea Cornbread Cakes with Jalapeno Sour Cream and Sauteed Collard Greens with Raisins

Having fun with some of the New Year superstitions that are popular in the southern states, we had a black-eyed pea and greens dish tonight.  Black-eyed peas are good luck and greens symbolize good fortune (looks like folded money).

Black-eyed Pea Cornbread Cakes With Jalapeño Sour Cream  Rating: 7

I used the Albers Cornbread (Rating: 9) recipe and subbed in whole wheat for their all purpose flour. olive oil for vegetable oil, demerara sugar for white sugar.  In the recipe for the cakes I subbed full fat Greek yogurt for the mayo and used grapeseed oil for frying them in.  I just used plain sour cream but Neal went with the spicier version.

Served the cakes up with Sauteed Collard Greens with Raisins Rating: 7