Chocolate Irish Soda Bread

Happy Saint Patrick's Day! I made this bread to celebrate the day (and mostly as an excuse to make something with chocolate). I really can't remember where I came across this recipe, but I tweaked it to make it higher in fiber and nutrition. What I really liked about the recipe was that it used plain yogurt instead of the usual buttermilk that is in most soda bread recipes. Not that buttermilk is bad, but I happened to have two cartons of yogurt and no buttermilk in the fridge!  I have been experimenting with baking by weight, so this one was part of the experiment. The recipe called for 500g of white flour. I weighed out 475g of whole wheat flour and 15g of ground flax seed. It worked just fine. When you weigh your flour instead of measuring it you can combine all types of flour and just use the same amount by weight. You can purchase a fairly inexpensive scale to do this with and you will end up with less dishes (just weigh everything into one bowl- no measuring cups needed). This bread is not very sweet, despite the chocolate. It is perfect for breakfast or as a snack. Enjoy!

Chocolate Irish Soda Bread

475g wheat flour
15g ground flax seed
100g chocolate chips
2 tsp powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp cocoa powder
pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg, beaten
1 1/3 cups plain yogurt

1. Pre-heat oven to 430 degrees.
2. Combine dry ingredients. Add egg, yogurt, and vanilla. Mix in a mixer until well combined.
3. Turn out mixture onto a floured work surface and knead for a few seconds to bring dough together. Form into a ball and flatten to about 1 inch thick. Cut the dough with a serrated knife in a criss cross shape. Place on a greased baking sheet or cast iron skillet and bake for 20 minutes. Turn oven down to 390 degrees and bake for another 20 minutes. Bread will sound hollow when knocked. Let cool slightly and then slice.

Super Easy Brown Bread

I love my cast iron skillet. We received one for a wedding present (thanks cousin Elizabeth!) and I am amazed at how much I use it. It was one of the gift that Aaron really wanted us to get because he had read about cast iron skillet cooking in GQ I think. I really didn't know much about them except that are good to use for cooking because some of the iron leaches into food, increasing iron content of the food. Now  I use it at least once a week, and today I have already used it twice!
A favorite Saturday breakfast item for us is "skillet pancake." Heat the oven to 450 degrees and place cast iron skillet in oven to heat. Once oven is heated, melt 1 tbsp butter in skillet. While oven is heating mix together- 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup milk, 2 eggs and a pinch of salt. Whip well and pour into hot skillet. Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes. Cut into slices and enjoy! We especially love it with Nuttela and fresh strawberries.
Recently I saw a recipe on Dave Lebovitz's blog about  brown bread. It sounded delicious and easy, so I gave it a try with a couple of little twist on Dave's recipe- one being I baked it in my cast iron skillet! Who knew you could bake bread in a pan, but you definitely can. It  turned out great and I think you will enjoy it too! It went great with minestrone soup. Enjoy!

Brown Bread
adapted from David Lebovitz
 *I recommend weighing the ingredients if you have a food scale at home


2 1/4 cups (250g) whole wheat flour
2 3/4 cups (120g) wheat bran or wheat germ, (I used 120g of ground flax seed instead)
4 cups (500g) all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt (I used kosher salt)
2 ounces (60g) butter, salted or unsalted
2 1/2 cups (600ml) buttermilk*
2 teaspoons molasses
1. Put the rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 350ºF. (180ºC.) Line a sturdy baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and put it on the oven rack.(or use a cast iron skillet like I did)
2. Mix the whole wheat flour, white flour, ground flax, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.

3. Cut the butter into little bits and rub them into small pieces with the flour mixture using your fingers (or a pastry cutter), until as small as possible.
5. Stir in the buttermilk and molasses until the dough is uniformly damp. Turn out onto a lightly floured countertop and knead not-too-vigorously, until the dough forms a smooth ball. (If making two, divide the dough into two equal-sized pieces and roll each separately.)
6. Use a sharp serrated knife to slice a cross deeply into the top of the bread, about 1-inch (3cm) deep. Place the brown bread loaf on the hot baking sheet, being mindful that the baking pan is hot.
7. Bake for 45 minutes (mine took closer to 60 minutes), or until the loaf is firm on top and when you tap the bottom, feels hollow.
8. Remove from oven and cool on wire rack for one hour.
*If you do not have buttermilk, like me, I added 1 tbsp lemon juice to the milk and let it sit for about 5 minutes or you can mix equal parts plain yogurt and milk according to Dave.

Banana Oat Muffins

I love a warm bowl of hearty oatmeal for breakfast. I am not a microwaved oatmeal girl. I only like it cooked on the stove and I prefer oatmeal with some bite and chewiness. I am not a fan of oatmeal mush in the morning. I add almond butter, flax seed, dried blueberries, walnuts, and milk to my oatmeal- there is no other breakfast like it and it keeps me full all morning long. Lately I have been buying organic oats from the bulk bins at the grocery store. I am trying to buy more organic items when possible- if the price is is reasonable and it is an item we regularly consume like coffee, oats, etc. Well, several weeks ago I was in Target and I knew we were out of oats. I decided to just buy the store brand instead of having to go to another store for organic. Big mistake. The next day I made oatmeal like usual, but instead of the chewy bite I am used to, it was a pile of mush. You really couldn't see the individual oats, just a paste. I don't think these are old fashioned oats like the package claims.  So, I have been trying to make oat recipes to use these up so I can go buy more of the good oats! 

I made Aaron's favorite cookies which use 3 cups of oats- hurray! I like to make a batch of cookie dough, cook off a dozen or so and then freeze the rest in 2 cup servings. That way I can pull out some dough anytime and the 2 cup portion usually produces about 12 cookies. We don't need too many cookies at one time at this house or we will eat them! 

I also decided to try more muffins. Muffins have been a quick breakfast around here, so I just keep experimenting with more recipes.  These banana-oat muffins turned out to be super moist and flavorful. They would also be great with walnuts or chocolate chips. Perfect for breakfast, after school snack, or bedtime I think you will enjoy them too! I adapted them from another blog which used oat bran flour. If you have oat bran flour, then try that recipe. I don't have that type of flour at home and I prefer recipes that don't send me running to the store, so I adapted the recipe for what I had on hand. Enjoy!

Banana Oat Muffins
Yield: 12 muffins plus one mini loaf pan
Bake: in 375ºF oven for 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean

  2 cups  rolled oats
1/2 cup yogurt, plain low fat
1/2 cup milk, low fat
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup Canola or vegetable oil
2 bananas, large, ripe, mashed
1 egg, large, lightly beaten
1  cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup ground flax seed
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup chopped walnuts or mini-chocolate chips (optional)


Instructions
1. In a bowl mix together rolled oats, yogurt and milk. Let soak for several minutes.
2. Mix  flour, flax, salt, spices, baking powder and baking soda in a bowl.
3. Add brown sugar, mashed banana, egg and oil to rolled oats mixture. Mix well.
4. Add dry ingredients to the rolled oats mixture. Mix well.Add nuts or chocolate if using. 
5. Fill greased or paper lined muffin cups 2/3 full.  Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Zucchini Bread

As mentioned in my previous blog, I am going zucchini in my garden and it is growing very well. Almost every day for the past week I have been able to pick a ripe, medium sized zucchini. That starts to add up fast! I like zucchini because it is so versatile and has a very mild flavor. My goal this week is to prepare it in a way that my husband 1. eats it and 2. likes it!

Because he has told me that he doesn't really like "squash," I ate it  almost every day when he was out of town last week. When I still ended up with four ripe zucchini I decided it  was time to make bread. Zucchini bread is a great way to use up several zucchini at one time. I came across a Paula Dean recipe from The Food Network that had a lot of positive comments. Normally I steer away from Paula Dean recipes because she tends to use a lot of fat and cooks more comfort, southern foods that are not usually part of my repertoire. However, this recipe used oil instead of butter and had so many good reviews I thought it was worth a try. The first time I made this recipe last week, I made it in a bundt pan and it turned out amazingly good! I added whole wheat flour, changed up the sugars, and added in some ground flax. It was so moist, but also seemed a little greasy due to the amount of oil. I brought it into work one day and it was gone by that afternoon.

Today I made it again as muffins. This time I made a few more adjustments- less oil, less eggs, and less sugar. Normally I do not mess around with taking out eggs in recipes, but because of the fat content of flax that I added, I knew I could eliminate a couple of eggs as long as I added some water. The end result was just as moist with less grease. Success! Now I am waiting for my husband to try them. . . then we will know the true result. I think he will like them and I think you will too! Enjoy!

Zucchini Bread (adapted from Paula Dean)

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups unbleached white flour
1/4 cup ground flax.
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs beaten with 2 tbsp of water
1/3 cup water
2 cups grated zucchini
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray two standard loaf pans, one bundt pan, or two muffin tin pans with non-stick spray (if not using paper liners in muffin tins).
2. Combine the flours, flax, sugars, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg in a large bowl.
3. In a separate bowl combine zucchini, eggs, oil, water, lemon juice and vanilla
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix together. Fold in walnuts if using. Pour batter into prepared pan.
Bake until browned and toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. For loaf pans- approximately 60 minutes, bundt pan- approximately 45 minutes, and muffins- approximately 30 minutes.

Laura's Gone Crackers!

 

Crackers. They go well with cheese, they are great in dips, and I love them instead of bread for tuna at lunch time. They are great for a quick snack and always seem to satisfy a salt craving. Usually I choose a whole grain cracker if possible. My favorite are probably the multigrain chips by Food Should Taste Good. These are technically a chip and not a cracker, but they are thicker and have such a great nutty flavor I use them how I would use a cracker. Anyway, the thought of making my own crackers had never occurred to me until I read this post in Elena's Pantry. She has these beautiful looking rosemary crackers and they just looked so good that I had to try some! Plus I have lots of fresh rosemary growing in my garden and am always looking for ways I can use it. Elena uses almond flour in her recipes, which I am sure is excellent. Unfortunately, almond flour is not a product I can easily find or afford here, so I decided to try a product with wheat flour. Plus I added ground flax for even more nutrition and fiber. 

 

My crackers (or my picture) did not turn out looking quite as good as Elena's, but they were pretty delicious and got crispier the more they aged. I just ate up the last one today and plan on making more! They were great with my hummus dip and excellent with my favorite Laughing Cow Cheese. Give it a try and experiment with your own spices- cayenne, smoked paprika, herbs de provence, cracked black pepper, parmesean cheese, etc. Enjoy!

Rosemary Crackers
1 cup unbleached white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 tbsp ground flax seed
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup warm water
1/3 cup olive oil
Kosher or sea salt
2 tbsp chopped fresh rosemarry
1 tsp garlic powder
1 egg white and 2 tbsp water combined for egg wash
sesame seeds

1.Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Spray large baking sheet with non-stick spray

3. Combine flours, flax, baking powder, rosemary, garlic, and salt.
4. Add in water and oil and mix/knead until smooth dough forms
5.  Using a small rolling pin spread dough onto baking sheet (I used a drinking glass coated with flour since I do not have a small rolling pin). Using a pizza cutter, cut dough into squares.
6. Paint dough with egg wash and sprinkle with Kosher or sea salt and sesame seeds.
7. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden and crisp.



Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
1 can garbanzo beans
1 large roasted red pepper
2 large cloves of garlic
handful of fresh flat leaf parsley
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Drain and rinse beans. Place beans, pepper, garlic, parsley, lemon juice and cayenne pepper in food processor. Process until chopped into small pieces. Drizzle in olive oil and process until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with fresh veggies, chips or crackers, or as a spread in wraps or sandwiches.

Makes ~2 cups
Nutrition information per tbsp: 53 calories, 1.2g fat, 8g carbohydrate, 2.4g dietary fiber, 2.6g protein