Simple 1lb wholewheat sandwich bread

I love to make sourdough bread in my Zojiurushi Mini Breadmaker, but due to negligence my sourdough bit the dust in the spring. This is a simple yeast wholewheat bread without a lot of fuss. Great for sandwiches and paninis!

• 3/4 cup +2 TB  lukewarm water
• 2 1/4 cups  wholewheat flour
• 1 TB organic cane sugar
• 1/2 ts salt
• 1 TB active yeast
• 1 TB Baker’s dry milk powder (helps to make sure the bread rises)
• Optional: 1 TB olive oil

Place water in bottom of breadmaker, then add the flour, mix in the salt, add the sugar, yeast and milk powder, and slightly mix the dry ingredients. Turn on the breadmaker; regular bread with light crust. It takes about 3 1/2 h.

  

Blueberry Cheesecake (with Greek yogurt)

Here is a new way to indulge in fabulous Greek yogurt: making cheesecake!  I could have made a graham cracker crust, but I did not have any crackers on hand, so it is a crustless cheesecake with fresh blueberries. It is easy to whip up with just a few ingredients, mainly featuring non-fat Greek yogurt.

• 1 cup non-flavored Greek yogurt
• 1 eggwhite
• a few drops of liquid stevia
• 1/4 ts vanilla extract
• 1 TB all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup fresh Maine blueberries (the small ones)
• almond slivers

In a small bowl, whisk the yogurt with the eggwhite until smooth, and add the liquid sweetener and vanilla. Sift in the flour and whisk until smooth. Gently fold in the blueberries and distribute into 2 small ramekins. Arrange a few blueberries and almond slivers on top.

Bake (in toaster oven) at 400F for 25min. Let cool, and serve.

Tomato Basil Feta Muffins

I love savory muffins, and these take advantage of the summer harvest: tomatoes and fresh basil! (there is a fall version with butternut squash feta and spinach). They are a great snack with a glass of white wine on those longer summer evenings, or a side to a salad for lunch, or go well to the picnic on the beach.

• 1 TB butter for 12-hole muffin pan
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup quinoa flour
• 4 ts baking powder
• 1/2 ts seasalt
• 3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 ts grainy mustard
• fresh ground black pepper
• 100 g feta, cut into small dice
• 1/2 pint cherry tomatoes
• handful basil leaves, chiffonade
• about 12 springs of thyme, chopped
• 4-6 kale leaves, chopped

Preheat oven to 405F / 200C, with rack in the top third. Use the butter to grease a 12-hole muffin pan and set aside.

Quarter the cherry tomatoes, and arrange on a foil covered baking sheet. Sprinkle with olive oil and some salt and pepper, and bake for 15 minutes until slightly wilted and caramelized, but not completely cooked. Set aside to cool.

Transfer the baked cherry tomatoes to a large mixing bowl along with the sliced basil, chopped thyme, chopped kale, toasted pine nuts, and the feta. Gently fold together. In a separate bowl beat the eggs, milk and mustard together and add to the tomato mix. Mix the flour, baking powder and salt, and sift onto the tomato mix, top with a generous dose of freshly ground black pepper and fold together just until the batter comes together, be careful not to over mix. Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan, filling each hole 3/4 full. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the tops and sides of the muffins are golden, and the muffins have set up completely. Let cool for a couple minutes then turn out onto a cooling rack.

Vegan chocolate cupcakes

Today, the trip to the farmer market brought sweet treats. I am not really big on sweets, but decided I want to support the newly opened vegan and gluten-free bakery stand with the adorable name Irish Daisy on the farmers market, which popped up this spring. First of all the cupcakes look just adorable, second they are VEGAN and third, the samples say “incredible baking”. Currently, I am a bit at a loss as of what to buy at the farmers market, because eggs, fish and chicken as well as goat cheese are kind of out of the question, and there is not much green stuff beside seedlings and radishes yet. So, I arrived to the FM with the purpose of finally buying a vegan cupcake. Of course, I had to sample the vegan whoopie pies. So good!
 

Vegan Rhurbarb Strawberry Crisp

When rhurbarb is in season there is only one thing to pair it with: sweet fresh strawberry and a crispy crumble on top, warm out of the oven. To keep portion size under control, I made individual servings in small, but tall ramekins. Each one was filled to the brim with the fruit mix and topped with a bit of the rolled oats and almond meal mixture. After baking, the fruit mix shrunk to have the ramekin, but the kitchen smelled fabulous and of course, I had to eat one, hot out of the oven. Heaven!
Fruit mix:

• 1 cup fresh strawberries, cut into small chunks
• 1 cup fresh rhubarb, cleaned and cut into small chunks
• 1/2 tart apple, small dice
• 1 TB organic sugar

Crisp Topping:

• 1/4 cup rolled oats
• 2 TB almond meal (basically ground non-blanched almonds)
• 2 TB flour (any kind)
• 2 TB brown sugar
• 1 TB earth balance, at room temperature
• 1/2 ts vanilla extract

In a bowl, mix the fruits with the sugar. Fill into 4 small ramekin. Set aside. In the same bowl, mix the dry ingredients, and with a fork knead in the butter. Distribute on top of the 4 ramekin. Since there is little butter and no baking powder the crisp will not rise, but it will still be a sweet crunch on top of the fruit mixture. Bake at 400F for 35min. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream or… straight up!

Feta Pumpkin Spinach Muffins revisited

It was a warm sunny day, the regular farmers market had started up again with its wonderful mix of produce, artisan cheeses, free range organic eggs and chicken, fresh pressed wheatgrass, fish and shellfish from the coast, and bakery items, most stands with plenty of samples. Last fall I had tried the Appleton Creamery feta cheese for the first time, and it is undoubtedly the best feta I ever ate outside of Greece. Strong, creamy, tart, salt, strong rich flavors. Last fall I made feta spinach pumpkin muffins with the feta, and I waited all winter for the feta to be available again to make these muffins. They are delicious, and freeze well.
 
Pictures from the farmers market.
 
Appleton Creamery Halloumi and Feta.

Feta Pumpkin Spinach Muffins:

• cooking spray (for the muffin pan)
• 1 TB olive oil
• 255g cubed butternut squash, cut 1/2-inch cubes (I buy peeled butternut squash)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 large handful of fresh baby spinach, chopped
• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds kernels, roasted, unsalted
• 100g cubed feta (full-fat)
• 2 teaspoons whole-grain mustard
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 180 ml non-flavored almond milk
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup quinoa flour
• 4 teaspoons aluminum free baking powder
• 1 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt

Preheat oven to 405F / 200C, with rack in the top third. Grease a 12-hole muffin pan and set aside.

Sprinkle the olive oil, salt and pepper over the cubed squash. Arrange in a single layer on a baking pan and bake for 15-20  minutes so that the squash is mostly cooked, but not mushy or dry. Set aside to cool.

In a bowl beat the eggs and almond milk together. Sift the flours and baking powder onto the mix, add in some salt and a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper, and mix until smooth. Fold in gently the spinach, sunflower seeds, feta, and all of the mustard. At last, fold in the baked squash.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan, filling each hole 3/4 full. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the tops and sides of the muffins are golden, and the muffins have set up completely. Let cool for a couple minutes then turn out onto a cooling rack. 

 

Rich Chocolate Cake (Vegan)

Angela’s fabulous looking chocolate cupcakes made me rummage in my recipe collection and unearth a recipe of a birthday chocolate cake that I loved, long before I was vegan. Its rich dark chocolate taste and wonderful light texture is the secret. No sugar, eggs or butter – just baking soda and apple cider vinegar to make the cake rise, and maple syrup for the deep sweetness. 

Ingredients for a cake baked in a small spring form:

1/3 cp whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup all-purpose unbleached flour
1 ts baking powder
1/2 ts baking soda
1/3 cp cocoa powder
1/4 ts salt
1/2 cp almond milk
1/4 cp canola oil
3/4 cp pure organic maple syrup
1/2 ts apple cider vinegar
1 ts vanilla extract

Raspberry Sauce (for a small cake):
1 cp frozen raspberries, thawed
1/2 ts maple syrup
1/2 ts vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a 9 inch spring form pan with non stick cooking spray. Sift together flours and baking powder and baking soda. In a saucepan, heat the almond milk on low-medium heat. When it is slightly bubbling, add the cocoa powder and whisk well until it is dissolved. Remove from heat. Combine the other liquid ingredients in a bowl and whisk well. Add the cocoa mixture and combine. Add the wet ingredients to the dry. Pour batter into prepared pan, bake at 350 F for 25 minutes until a toothpick or butter knife comes out clean. Let cool completely and frost with your favorite frosting.