Great Grandma Hutchings' Steamed Carrot Pudding

Dad and I have been cleaning out our three file cabinets this week and I came across this recipe I thought would be fun to share.

Great Grandma Hutchings' Steamed Carrot Pudding

1 3/4 cup flour
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1 1/2 cup finely grated raw carrots
1 1/2 cup finely grated raw potatoes
1/4 cup melted butter
1 cup coarsely chopped nuts (I think she used walnuts)
1 cup diced mixed candied fruits

Sift flour with sugar, soda, salt and spices.  Add grated carrots, potatoes and melted butter.  Mix well until all of the flour is moistened.  Stir in nuts and candied fruits.  Bake in a well greased and lightly floured pan, cover with foil if mold does not have lids.  Set in a deep kettle with boiling water to half the depth of the mold.

Cover kettle and steam in constantly boiling water for two hours until toothpicks inserted in pudding come out clean, add water as needed (to kettle for boiling).  Remove from kettle and let stand 15 min.  Serve hot with sauce.  Makes 10 - 12 servings

Creamy Sauce

1 cup sugar
1 cup whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla

That is all the instructions.  I have never made this, but remember tasting it.

Grandma Workman made one like this once that I remember and served it with a lemon sauce, I think.   Let me know if you try it and how it turns out!

Coconut-Cashew Rice

I really love this rice recipe.  I first tasted it at an international night in Relief Society.  After figuring out who made it I requested the recipe.  She posted it on our neighborhood Facebook page because so many people wanted the recipe, but I procrastinated getting it off there and then couldn't find it.  Fast forward a few months and she brought a double batch to our Relief Society rice night.  I again requested the recipe and finally made it for myself.  I don't know what took me so long.  It is FANTASTIC.  I made this for my Dad and Justin and they loved it.  Even the kids loved it.  Then I made it for Michelle and her kids and they liked it to.  It is worth a try!  I went to Winco to buy the specialty items I didn't have on hand: jasmine rice, golden raisins and cashews.  I forgot the cardamom which is probably a huge mistake, but it worked well with cinnamon and nutmeg. Really well.

Coconut-Cashew Rice

• 1 3/4 cups water
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp turmeric [my friend uses curry powder instead]
• 1 cup basmati or jasmine rice
• 2 TB butter
• 1/4 cup diced onion
• 1/4 cup raisins [okay, I heap my 1/4 cup]
• 1/4 cashews [heap this too]
• 1 tsp cardamom [1/2 tsp cinnamon + 1/2 tsp nutmeg is a good replacement]
• 1/3 cup coconut milk

Combine water, salt and turmeric in medium saucepan and bring to rapid boil.  Add rice, reduce heat to low and simmer 15-20 minutes, until water is absorbed.  Meanwhile, melt butter in sauté pan and sauté onion 2-3 minutes until translucent.  Add raisins, cashews and cardamom and sauté 2 more minutes.  Stir in coconut milk and cook 2 more minutes.  When rice is ready, remove from heat and fluff with fork.  Stir in onion-raisin mixture.  Moisten with a few TB of coconut milk before serving, if desired.

Lamb Curry

This is one of the most delicious things I've ever eaten. We recently bought 1/2 a lamb, and it's not a ton of meat, but it's delicious meat, ripe for things like this curry. Lamb roasts are a little on the small side, and we only used one, but it would have been even better with double the meat. We served it over couscous and alongside Brussels sprouts. Did you know that Brussels sprouts with curry is a revelation? It is. This recipe is super easy, and deserve your attention some time soon as the weather cools to meat loving temperatures. I'm guessing it would be equally delicious with beef, but the lamb was special. Sometimes it's fun to feel special. 

Lamb Curry

Adapted from Simply Recipes

• 1 Lamb shoulder roast, although double would have been better
• 2 large onion, chopped
• 5 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 3 Tbsp curry powder
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp black pepper
• 1 Tbsp ground coriander
• 1 Tbsp cumin
• 1 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
• 1 Tbsp fresh thyme or 1 tsp thyme, dry
• 2 peeled and chopped apples (tart green granny smith if possible), about 2 cups
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 8-12 small potatoes, quartered, about 1 1/2 pounds

METHOD

1 Preheat oven to 300° F. On stovetop, add the butter and oil to a large covered pot or Dutch oven and turn the burner to medium-high. Brown the meat well and remove it from pan.

2 Add curry powder to the ghee or oil, turn the heat down to medium and cook gently for a minute or two. Add onions and garlic and cook 5 minutes. Return lamb to pan.

3 Add coriander, black pepper, cumin, rosemary, thyme, sliced lemon, apples, raisins, chicken broth, salt and pepper. Cover the pot and put it in the oven. Cook for 2 hours. Check at 2 hours to see if the meat is falling off the bone. It should be starting to do so. Add the potatoes and cook for another 45 minutes.

4 To serve, you can pull the meat off the bones or leave it on. Taste for salt and add some more curry powder or cayenne if you want things spicier. Serve over rice with chutney and yogurt.

Vegan sausage

So I have been having a great time experimenting with different vegan recipes.  I have learned to make all sorts of fun and exciting new things.  The kids love it too.  This recipe is becoming a weekly staple.  We grilled it last week and enjoy it crumbled on pizza.  I even used it to make my pica dio.  It tastes just like a sausage, but way healthier.  Give it a try!

Sausage
1/2 cup pinto beans
1 cup cold vegetable broth
1 Tb olive oil
2 Tb soy sauce
2 gloves garlic grated or smashed
1 1/4 cups wheat gluten
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 1/2 tsp fennel seed, crushed
1 tsp red pepper flakes (don't cut this down, it helps balance the flavor of the fennel)
1 tsp sweet paprika (I use regular because that is what I have)
1 tsp dried oregano

1. Get your steamer ready, and start bringing the water to a boil.
2. Have 6 sheets of tin foil ready.  (I think 6" ish wide)  In a large bowl, mash beans with a fork until no whole ones are left.  Throw all the other ingredients together in order listed and mix with a fork. (Often I just mix it at the end with my hands.)  Divide dough into 6 even parts, (I just pinch it off 1 at a time.  Also, if you want it for crumbled sausage, you can make them bigger.)  Place one part of the dough long way onto the tin foil and mold and stretch to desired length.  Don't stress about the shape, they snap into shape while steaming.  Wrap dough in foil like a tootsie roll, pinching off and twisting the ends.
3.  Place in a steamer and steam on mediumish heat for 45 minutes.  (I put my stove at 6)

I always double these and stretch it to make 14.  We love them!

Zucchini Pancakes

Justin spotted these pancakes on smitten kitchen and I couldn't get them out of my head.  We've served them several times as a wonderful way to use up zucchini and realized the trick is to use the small grate side of our cheese grater to shred the zucchini.  That way no strings protrude after each bite (which cause Jaime to complain and refuse to eat the meal).  I also learned to drain the majority of the liquid out of the shredded zucchini so that the pancakes don't stay gooey.  I prefer to spread out the pancake batter on the skillet so they are thinner and easier to cook all the way through, and Justin prefers to dump and cook in favor of thicker ones.  We are having them again tonight for dinner.  Enjoy!

Zucchini Pancakes

2 eggs

3 TB olive oil

2 TB brown sugar

1/4 cup buttermilk (or 2TB milk 2TB yogurt)

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups shredded zucchini

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 tsp table salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp nutmeg

Combine wet (with the addition of the brown sugar) and dry ingredients separately, then combine.  Fold in zucchini.  Cook on heated, buttered skillet.  Serve with your favorite pancake toppings.

Oven Roasted Tomato Sauce

It's time I give in and spill my guts about how amazing this Oven Roasted Tomato Sauce recipe is from Blendtec.  Oh wait, I already did that on the my blog...  The real news is that I've discovered it's a versatile crowd pleaser, even for kids!  And it's 100% healthy.  For kids!  Healthy!  Okay, so are mine the only ones that hate vegetables?

Yesterday I put it to the test.  In honor of our electricity bill, I left the oven off and cooked the ingredients in the crockpot.  All was smelling and tasting great.  Then I pushed the limits by adding half of a large zucchini (I would guess I added about 2 lbs) and two carrots.  When all of the vegetables got soft I blended it all and returned it to the crockpot.  Even more daring, I decided to cook the pasta in the sauce so that it soaked up flavorful vegetable juices.  I think I added a little over a pound of broken up whole wheat spaghetti, but it could have used more.  I stretched this recipe far.  Turns out it can cope.  Both of my children gobbled it up.  These, the children that don't eat vegetables.  Jaime ate two and a half bowls of the stuff and Vida couldn't get each tiny fist full of noodles shoved into her little mouth fast enough.  True story.  Justin and I loved it too.  It's not very often that we have this big of a success for our entire family on both fronts - health and satisfaction.  That's why I'm sharing this today.  It also happens to be a fantastic recipe for enjoying a plentiful garden.  Enjoy.

Oven Roasted Tomato Sauce

• 2lbs of tomatoes, quartered
• 1 medium onion, roughly chopped
• [2 lbs seeded and chopped zucchini]
• [2 large carrots, shredded]
• 8 cloves garlic [I used pre-minced]
• 3 TB olive oil
• 2 TB fresh oregano [I use 1 TB dried]
• 1 tsp salt
• [parmesan or feta cheese as at-table garnishes]

Toss all ingredients in a glass baking dish.  Roast for 1 hour at 375 degrees and remove from oven.  Let cool slightly, transfer to a blender and blend until smooth.

[Alternative: Place all ingredients in large crockpot and cook on high for 6 hours, stirring occasionally.  Transfer to blender and blend until smooth.]

CHEESE!

I made it. I'd give you the recipe, but it's really more of a "come to my house and I'll show you how to do it" sort of thing.  That's right, that's how I do things around here. Here's what I did with it.

BEFORE BAKING:

AFTER BAKING:

This was some velvety soft, exactly perfect, so luscious with sweet roasted tomatoes kind of mozzarella. Oh yeah.

Red, White, and Blue

You're feeling patriotic now, aren'tcha? Well, don't get too comfortable, because this actually hails from another country who celebrates with our noble colors: France. The other week I picked up this perfect bag of potatoes from Sam's—they are baby red, yukon gold, and blue potatoes. In case you've never used them, fair warning—blue potatoes are "Dyed in the wool, true blue, through and through." Sometimes I like to quote Joseph F. Smith just for funsies.

It's just boiled potatoes with a dressing, but it's good. And it's more fun with multicolored potatoes. That is all.

Provençal Potato Salad

2 lbs small/baby/fingerling potatoes

Dressing:

2 Tbsp white wine vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
ground black pepper
1 tsp herbes de provence
2 anchovie filets, diced to smithereens, or ground to a paste
1 clove garlic, fine diced
2 tsp dijon mustard
2 Tbsp olive oil

Put the potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water. Add 2 tsp salt, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer, and cook until potatoes can be pierced with a fork. Don't overcook them, or they'll go mushy on you, and mushy potato salad is weird.

While they're cooking, make the dressing by combining vinegar, salt, pepper, hermes de provence, anchovies (yes, ANCHOVIES—don't be a baby about it), garlic, and mustard. Whisk together, then, while you continue whisking, slowly drizzle in the olive oil to make an emulsified dressing.

When the potatoes are done, drain them, let them cool a minute, so you don't burn yourself, then cut them into halves or quarters. If you use big potatoes, just cut them up more. Drizzle dressing on, and carefully toss to combine. It's great day 2 as well.

100!

Wow, it's taken us years to get to recipe #100 on here. We should do better.

Anyway, I have a recipe, and it's a good one, nay, a GREAT one. It involves all the things you have on hand: barley and garden vegetables. Don't have barley on hand? YOU SHOULD. That is all. It is wonderful and nutty and delicious and nutritious and perfect.

You're going to look at this and think, "barley and veggies—meh," but not a person who has eaten it has a single negative thing to say about it. One of the missionaries the other night was snitching it out of the bowl after dessert. Yup, true story.

The great thing about this is that you can use any of your fresh vegetables in any amount you want. For example, our eggplants are coming on, and we fully intend to make a ratatouille-inspired version in a few short weeks with eggplant, tomato, onion, zucchini, and probably some rosemary or herbes de provence. Right now we have cherry tomatoes, zucchini, and onions, so that's what we're using. Here's the way we've been making it:

Barley Vegetable Salad

1 cup barley
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth [you can use water, but I would go broth on this one, for flavour.]

30-40 cherry tomatoes, cut in half
2-3 small to medium zucchini, diced
1/2 red onion, diced
1-2 cups spinach
2-3 oz. feta cheese
juice of 1 lemon

Bring broth to a boil and add barley. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 25-30 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat, and let sit for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, chop your vegetables and give your zucchini and onions a quick sauté to bring out the sweet goodness in them. Combine all the vegetables and cheese in a large bowl, then dump the barley over them. Let it sit for a minute or two to wilt the spinach a bit, then stir together and season with lemon juice, salt and pepper.

Notes:

• If you use vegetables that need to be cooked longer, like eggplant, make sure you do that.
• Roasted vegetables would also be TO DIE FOR in this one. I can't even imagine how amazing this would be if I roasted those cherry tomatoes until they were fragrant and concentrated. I haven't tried it because I don't want to turn on the oven. True story.
• Add chopped herbs if your want.
• If you have a hankering, nuts, seeds, or dried fruit would also be appropriate and delicious.
• If you want it to be more like a salad, use more vegetables, if you want it to be more like a rice side dish, double the barley. We generally use just the one cup for our family, although we doubled it when we added the elders the other night.
• It's great as leftovers, like most flavour-infused things, and even good cold. Yum.

Orange Agave Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yes, it is amazing and well worth trying.  They were good the night I made them, but were amazing the next day.  After they cool, put them in a container and let sit over night.  WOW!  Yes Marquie, you can make these without the chocolate or split the batter and put chocolate in yours.  Yummy both ways.

I found this in my Vegan Cookies book by Isa Chandra Moskowitz.

2/3 cup agave nectar
2/3 cup canola oil
2 Tb milk (I used rice milk)
1 Tb ground flax seeds
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 Tb grated orange zest (about 1 orange)
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour (can use regular)
3/4 tsp baking soda
generous 1/4 tsp salt
1 cup chocolate chips (I used bittersweet)

Preheat oven to 325.  In a large bowl (I used my mixer), whisk together agave nectar, oil, milk, flax, vanilla, and orange zest until smooth, about 2 minutes.  Sift in the flours, baking soda and salt.  Mix to form a soft dough.  (It is pretty soft.)  Fold in chocolate chips.  (I just threw them in the mixer)  Drop generous Tbs of dough 2 inches apart on baking sheets.  Bake for 12-14 minutes, until the edges are golden. (I preferred 12)  Let cool for 5 minutes, then transfer to racks to cool completely.  Store in a tight covered container.  Enjoy!

Cream of Rice

I happened upon this super yummy breakfast completely by accident while making rice milk.  It is really good and super easy.  This recipe makes plenty and then a bit for my family, so adjust to your liking.

Cream of Rice

7 1/2 cups water
1 cup rice flour ( I ground this in my wheat grinder)
2 Tb vanilla or other flavor of choice
1/2 to 3/4 cup sugar (how sweet do you like it?)
Blended fruit (optional)

Boil 6 cups of water.  Mix 1.5 cups water, rice, vanilla, and sugar.  Add to boiling water.  (Turn heat down before adding rice, it likes to pop all over and burn you).  Stir until thickened to desired consistency.  Remove from heat and add fruit.  Enjoy. 

On a hunt

Tomorrow marks the last day of school and summer officially begins.  I am on the hunt for new snack ideas to curb the summer day hunger attacks.  I figure this is the best place to start.  So post all those yummy, fun, simple or crazy snack ideas you've been hiding from me.

Strawberry Spinach Palooza! (salad)

Somebodies just made their first legit recipe in their new home! Yeah!

Spinach Salad, from the Worldwide Ward Cookbook:

8 oz Spinach
1/2 c nuts
3 T sugar
1 lb strawrberries (yum)

Caramel the nuts by cooking them in the sugar, then mix all the other stuffs in a bowl. And add some awesome poppy seed dressing on top:

Poppy Seed dressing:
1 1/2 c sugar
2/3 c white vinegar
2 c olive oil
2 t dry mustard
2 t salt
3 T poppy seeds

So...we had our first little crisis when we realized that we had no vinegar,c but never fear! We borrowed some from our neighbors, the Walton grandparents...except it was apple vinegar, but it worked out deliciously.

Oh, and Marquie wasn't sure if those almonds we used were ever gonna caramelize, but they did.

We halved the dressing, because they called for way too much. But don' forget to add the poppy seeds until after the rest of the dressing is completely blended. But guess how we blended it! In our new Magic Bullet[tm] (*awesome infomercial jingle*).

Thanks for sharing our glee,
Love,
The Waltons

Rosemary Olive Bread

I couldn't buy Costco's Rosemary/Olive Oil Bread for our reception in Virginia, so I found this recipe and used it.  It was delicious.  I would have posted it on the recipe blog, but I couldn't figure out how.  I doubled the recipe and it made 4 pretty nice size loaves. I baked two on a cookie sheet or 1 on my pizza stone.

 

Almost-Famous Rosemary Bread

Recipe courtesy Food Network Magazine

Serves:

4 small loaves

Ingredients

• 1 1/4-ounce packet active dry yeast  (doubled this is 4 1/2 teaspoons.)
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing and serving
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 2 tablespoons dried rosemary
• 1 teaspoon fine salt
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt Freshly ground pepper

Directions

Stir the yeast, sugar and 1/4 cup warm water in a large bowl (or in the bowl of a stand mixer). Let sit until foamy, about 5 minutes.

Add 1 tablespoon olive oil, the flour, 1 1/2 tablespoons rosemary, the fine salt and 3/4 cup warm water; stir with a wooden spoon (or with the dough hook if using a mixer) until a dough forms.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead, dusting lightly with flour if necessary, until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. (Or knead with the dough hook on medium-high speed, adding a little flour if the dough sticks to the bowl, about 8 minutes.)

Brush a large bowl with olive oil. Add the dough, cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature until more than doubled, about 2 hours.

Brush 2 baking sheets with olive oil. Generously flour a work surface; turn the dough out onto the flour and divide into 4 pieces. Working with one piece at a time, sprinkle some flour on the dough, then fold the top and bottom portions into the middle. Fold in the sides to make a free-form square. Use a spatula to turn the dough over, then tuck the corners under to form a ball. Place seam-side down on a prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough, putting 2 balls on each baking sheet. Let stand, uncovered, until more than doubled, about 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Bake the loaves 10 minutes; brush with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and sprinkle with the kosher salt and the remaining 1/2 tablespoon rosemary. Continue baking until golden brown, about 10 more minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool. Serve with olive oil seasoned with pepper.

Photograph by Lisa Shin

My Favourite Summer Salad

Diced Watermelon.
Crumbled Feta Cheese.
Mint Chiffonade.

That's all. It's the simplest, most delicious, most refreshing salad in the whole world. Mine almost didn't make it to the table because I kept snitching. Using a serving spoon.

Mom, I thought of you tonight when I made this, and I smiled thinking about your mint patch.

Peach Rhubarb Tart

So many good things:

Cornmeal.
Rhubarb.
Sweet Summer Peaches.
Vanilla. (You may pronounce it "Wahnilla" if you'd like. I do.)

I've never, ever cooked with rhubarb before, but I will again. I love the sweet, tangy, hint of sour taste that feels like that strange place between spring and summer. It's perfect. This recipe, in its original form, is for several single-serving free form tarts, but I had a hankering to use my rectangular tart pan to make one full size one, so I did. I'm daring like that.

Peach Rhubarb Tart
adapted from Good to the Grain

For the filling:

1 pound peaches (about 4 medium)
8-12 oz. fresh rhubarb
1 cup brown sugar
1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped, or 1 tsp vanilla

For the crust:

1 1/2 cups finely ground corn meal
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp kosher salt
1 stick cold, unsalted butter, cut into 16 pieces
1/4 cup +2 Tbsp heavy cream
2 egg yolks

Skin, pit, and chop the peaches. Slice the rhubarb stalks lengthwise, then chop into 1/2" chunks. Combine peaches, rhubarb, brown sugar, and vanilla bean and seeds, if using, in a medium pot with a lid. Cook over medium low to medium heat, covered, for 15 minutes. Remove lid and cook until the fruit has broken down and mixture resembles jam.  [I didn't do this because I forgot. It did not ruin it, it just took longer to firm up in the oven.] Remove from heat. If you're using vanilla extract, stir it in now.

In a food processor, combine corn meal, flour, sugar, and salt, and pulse to combine. Add cold butter, all at once, and pulse until the mixture resembles chunky, coarse cornmeal. Add egg yolks and cream, and pulse until combined. It stays looking quite crumbly, so you'll have to turn it out and knead it together to make it look like dough, and even then it's a stretch to call it dough. Butter a large tart pan and press crust along the bottom and up the sides. [I had more dough than I needed, so I have some waiting in the refrigerator for a little treat sometime later this week.]

Fill tart shell with filling and toss the whole thing in the freezer for an hour. Preheat the oven to 375˚F and cook the tart on the center rack for 30-35 minutes, or until the filling is bubbly and the crust is browning at the edges.  Cool to room temperature and serve with something creamy. Vanilla frozen yogurt had a nice tang to complement the fruit flavours.

What did I change from the original? Well, I made a big tart instead of small ones. I used one grind of corn instead of separating into corn flour and corn meal. Yes, the original recipe makes the distinction. I didn't mind the grainy bite from the cornmeal. I also altered the fruit mixture by adding peaches and allowing the vanilla to shine rather than adding hibiscus. Maybe I'll try the hibiscus filling some time, but not today. I really like the combination of sweet peaches and tart rhubarb. I probably could have decreased the sugar because of the change, but I didn't, and you don't have to, either.

Wheat Bread

A couple of you have been asking for my recipe for whole grain bread.  This is my mom's recipe that she started using after I moved away from home (sadly) but it's delicious.  I've found success with mixing in different kinds of grains (oat flour, brown rice flour, barley flour, millet flour, rolled oats, ground flax seeds, flax seeds) in various ratios.  I'm still experimenting.  Here's the basic recipe!

Mix together (in mixer):

• 7 cups whole wheat flour
• 2/3 cup gluten
• 2 TB dough enhancer
• 2 1/2 TB instant yeast

All at once, add:

• 5 cups steaming tap water

Mix for 1 minute.  Let rest 10 minutes.

Add:

• 2 TB salt
• 2/3 cup oil
• 2/3 cup honey
• 2 1/2 TB lemon juice

Mix 1 minute.  Add 5-7 cups more whole wheat flour, one cup at a time until dough pulls away from sides of bowl.  Knead 6-10 minutes.  Preheat oven to lukewarm (I let it preheat to 350 for 1 minute), turn off.  Turn dough onto oiled countertop, divide into four loaves and place in pans.  Place in oven and let rise 20 minutes.  Without removing, turn to 350 degrees and cook 35 minutes.  Cool on racks.

If anything is confusing, please ask!

Blender Banana Bread

This recipe is a hybrid between the one in my BlendTec cookbook and what was in my kitchen.  It turned out fantastic.  And it's pretty healthy for a sweet bread!  Enjoy.

Easy Blender Banana Bread

• 3 ripe bananas
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup milk
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups freshly ground whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Add first 6 ingredients to blender and blend until smooth.  Add remaining ingredients and pulse 3-5 times.  Pour batter into 9"x5" loaf pan and bake 50-60min.

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

OK, I am a firm believer in using good old white flour when I'm making the sweet things. You see, the sweet things are meant to be made using the white flour, and it's not like it's health food, so why mess with it? You're just fooling yourself if you think using some wheat flour will make your cookies healthy.

These are not healthy cookies.

But they're good. really good. They don't try to fool you into eating grain or being sneakily healthy, they just show off good whole grains in a delicious way. Also, they're neither heavy nor dry. They're nutty and sweet and have a wholesome, although not at all healthy feeling. Wholesome and healthy are different. They taste like real food made in a real kitchen. That's my story.

____________________

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies
adapted from Kim Boyce, Good to the Grain

3 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt (or 1 tsp. table salt)
1/2 pound (1 cup/2 sticks) butter, cold [yes, cold]
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
8 oz. (1 cup) bittersweet chocolate chips or chopped chocolate [I used both]

Preheat oven to 350˚F and put racks in upper and lower thirds of the oven. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment or silicone liners.

Combine flour, powder, soda, and salt in a bowl. If you're a sifter, like I like to pretend to be, you'll have to dump the rest of the whole grain into the bowl after you sift. It's cool.

Chop butter into 1/2 inch pieces, about 8 pieces per stick and put them in your stand mixer with the sugars. Mix on medium until well combined, 2 minutes or so. It will take a bit for the butter to break down, but it surely will. Add eggs, one at a time, and mix until each one is well combined. Add vanilla and combine.

Add dry ingredients all at once and mix on low speed for 30 seconds. No more! It'll be almost combined. Add chocolate or chocolate chips and mix 30 more seconds. Stop there. Overworking the whole wheat will make them chewy and caky instead of flaky and wonderful.

Scoop out a scant 1/4 cup of dough (3 Tbsp or so) and round it out and place it on the cookie sheet. Only 6 will fit on the sheet. These are big ones, folks. I don't know if they'd turn out as good if they were smaller. If I ever try it, I'll let you know.

Cook for 14-18 minutes, rotating pans 1/2 way through. Pull them when the center is just barely lighter than the brown rest of the cookie. Mine were uniformly browned and I think I overcooked mine by maybe 1 minute and they're just a little on the crisp side. I would've like them just a bit better if they were a bit less crunchy. I could've avoided it. Don't be like me.

EDIT: I made a single pan and cooked them in the middle of the oven for 14 minutes and they were absolutely perfect. It looks like you'll just have to do your best with your oven and be very, very careful. :)

____________________

Eat them and have a good glass of milk. They're wonderful, different, not healthy, but taste wholesome and real and wonderful. I'll make them again, to be sure. Strangely, these are almost exactly the same recipe I use with my standard cookies, but with half the chocolate chips and using wheat flour. Seriously, the ingredient ratios are identical except with a 50% increase in baking powder for some extra oomph. I have a theory that using the cold butter uses a pastry technique to create little pockets of butter that keep these flaky and light. Treat the dough like you would a piecrust—work it only as much as necessary and you'll be well rewarded. Enjoy!

Coconut Curry Red Lentil Soup

Did you know that legumes (beans, peas and lentils) are the hardest hitters when it comes to fiber?  Not to mention you can pair them with whole grains or nuts to get complete protein.  I've been focussing on legumes lately to see how to work more of them into our diet.  Here is a recipe we tried tonight that I couldn't stop eating!  We served it over brown rice and it was fantastic.   I made quite a few substitutions, as noted.  In the end I wanted the flavor to be a bit stronger, so I sprinkled it with salt.  But you may consider adding a little more of the flavorings.

Coconut Curry Red Lentil Soup

• 1 TB peanut oil [we used sesame oil]
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 TB minced fresh ginger root
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 pinch fenugreek seeds [we used fresh minced celery leaves]
• 1 cup dry red lentils
• 1 cup butternut squash - peeled, seeded and cubed [we used zucchini]
• 1/3 cup finely chopped cilantro
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 can coconut milk
• 2 TB tomato paste [I did 3 TB tomato sauce]
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper
• 1 pinch ground nutmeg
• salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in large pot over medium heat and sauté onion, ginger, garlic and fenugreek until onion is tender.  Mix in the lentils, squash and cilantro.  Stir in the water, coconut milk and tomato paste.  Season with curry powder, cayenne pepper, nutmeg, salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer 30 minutes, or until lentils and squash are tender.

Black Bean Couscous Salad

We LOVED this recipe.  Justin liked it so much he had thirds.  I served it with garlic lemon tilapia and green beans.  It's a great way to eat beans, and you don't have to follow it exactly - I went with what I had

Black Bean and Couscous Salad

• 1 cup uncooked couscous
• 1 1/4 cups chicken broth
• 3 TB olive oil
• 2 TB lime juice [we used the juice of one lime]
• 1 tsp red wine vinegar [we used balsamic]
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 8 green onions, chopped [only had 4, but wouldn't be bad with 8!]
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped [omitted, and I actually think it'd be better to leave it out]
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed [omitted]
• 2 cans black beans, drained [we heated them up before adding them, I liked that]
• salt and pepper to taste

Bring chicken broth to a boil, stir in couscous, remove from heat and cover.  Let stand for 5 minutes.  In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lime juice, vinegar and cumin.  Add green onions, red pepper, cilantro, corn and beans and toss to coat.  Fluff the couscous well, breaking up any chunks.  Add to the bowl with the vegetables and mix.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Vegetarian Chili

This chili is a hit!  Bryce and Michelle tried it, Mom tried it and of course I made it for Justin.  Everyone seemed to like it.  I seemed to like it with a good helping of sour cream and cheese, but that's how I roll.  This chili is healthy and tasty.  The only thing about it, is that the original recipe is VERY spicy.  I omitted a few of the spiciest things and made some notes about the others.  I also found a recipe for chili powder that allowed me to add all of the flavor of chili powder without the kick (notice it calls for a full quarter cup of chili powder).  Do not skimp on the other spices.  It will seem like a lot, but don't fear!  It's great that way.  I also used whatever beans I had on hand, without following the recipe exactly.  Want to eat more beans?  This is a great way.

Vegetarian Chili

• 1 TB olive oil
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp cumin
• 2 TB oregano
• 1 TB salt
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 green peppers, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped [I did more]
• 1 (4 oz) cans chopped green chile peppers, drained [I didn't drain them]
• 3 (28 oz) cans diced/crushed tomatoes [or until the amount of tomatoes looks right to you - I've also done fresh diced tomatoes]
• 1/4 cup chili powder [I would do less, or alter the cayenne using the recipe I linked to above]
• 1 TB black pepper [maybe less for kids]
• 1 can kidney beans, drained
• 1 can garbanzo beans, drained
• 1 can black beans
• 1 can whole kernel corn

Saute onion in olive oil, season with bay leaves, cumin, oregano and salt.  Cooke and stir until onion is tender, then add the celery, green bell peppers, jalapeño peppers, garlic and green chili peppers.  Heat through, cover pot and simmer 5 minutes.  Mix the tomatoes into the pot.  Season with chili powder and pepper.  Stir in the beans.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer 45 minutes.  Stir in the corn, and continue cooking 5 minutes before serving.

[I also tried this by dumping everything into a slow cooker in the morning and it was done and delicious by dinnertime.  It's very low-hassle that way.]

Cabbage Soup

My friends, I have been holding out on you.  I admit this.  I have discovered a fantastic use for cabbage.  I did not know this, but cabbage is apparently really good for you (see this blog, under "In Praise of Cabbage").  Before locating this soup recipe, my only way to prepare cabbage has been to stir-fry it in fat or oil until it collapses and sprinkle it with salt and pepper.  I like cabbage that way, but Justin was getting tired of it and requesting new ways of eating it or no longer buying it.  Fair enough.  Cabbage was 6lbs for $1 a couple of weeks ago and I couldn't resist the price.  I snagged one and then schemed.  I located this recipe.  Love. It.  I'm a creamy soup person and I especially love soups that are pureed or partially pureed that don't require heavy cream to make them creamy and delicious.  This soup is great - creamy yet made up of only vegetables and spices.  I doubled some of the spices and added bay leaves (LOVE bay leaves), pureed 2/3 instead of the whole thing, and cooked it for longer than the original recipe.  I've included all of my changes below.

Cabbage Soup

• 4 large carrots, thinly sliced
• 2 large potatoes, thinly sliced
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 1/4 medium head green cabbage, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed
• 6 cups chicken stock
• 1 TB olive oil
• 1/4 tsp thyme [I did 1/2 tsp]
• 1/4 tsp basil [I did 1/2 tsp]
• 1 tsp parsley
• 1 tsp salt
• [I added 2 bay leaves]
• ground black pepper to taste

[I used the slicing mechanism on my food processor for all of the vegetables, since all of them call for "thinly sliced"]

Combine vegetables and spices and sauté in oil until cabbage collapses.  Add chicken stock, bring to a boil and simmer until vegetables are tender and puree-able, 20-30 minutes.  Puree about 2/3 of the soup using a blender or food processor [I found out the hard way, do NOT use a hand blender, it won't puree anything and will just make the soup look like it's straight out of the garbage disposal]. Serve.

Not a recipe, just SALT

So, every time we make something by hand that normal people buy in cans, like canned tomatoes, or dry beans, I feel so unhealthy adding what seems like loads of salt to it to make it taste just the way I like. I like flavour—beautiful, intense, wonderful flavour, and salt is method numero uno for getting it in my world. Sometimes I even throw a bit of fleur de sel on fruit if I'm feeling sassy. Call me Grandpa Workman, but I am unashamed.

Tonight, we had meal that Liz brought home from a group "freezer meal-athon." Everyone walked away with 8 different meals. Yippee. Tonight's treat was, for lack of better explanation, a tortilla torte. It was like flat burritos all stacked up on each other, layered-cake style.. Whole wheat tortillas, ground turkey, canned tomatoes, refried beans, cheese. Nothing weird, just good solid, burrito stuff. We served it in wedged slices with sour cream. It was just fine, and I'd recommend it for a fun meal that looks like a cake but tastes like a burrito. You could even frost it with the sour cream if you wanted. I digress . . .

Six hours later, however, I am still trying to get more water into my system because I'm so dried out and thirsty from the salt in those canned goods. We use only our own canned tomatoes and we cook all our beans from dry, then flavour them ourselves, so it's been a good spell since we've used canned beans or veggies for almost anything. I haven't felt this salted up for a long, long time.

I think I'll not worry about adding salt to my food from now on. I'm not trying to make it last forever on a shelf, I'm just trying to coax a little extra deliciousness out of its hiding place.

Yeah, it's a weird post for a recipe blog. Whatever. Go boil some beans (and add a quartered onion, a few cloves of garlic, and a couple of  tablespoons of salt. You'll thank me later.)

Waffle Brownies

Prepare yourselves.  This is amazing.  If you like the crunchy edges of brownies, this is for you.

First, prepare our Hutchings recipe for brownie batter (this is a half batch).

Then pour the brownie batter into your greased waffle iron (ours takes exactly 1/2 cup to fill it up).

Remove the waffle brownie when it's done, as indicated by your waffle iron, and admire (no really, if you let it sit for a bit it'll get crunchier than when you first pull it out).

Then top with your favorite ice cream (ours is German Chocolate Crunch from the BYU Creamery).

Warnings

• Adding chocolate chips to the batter will cause it to fall apart the moment you try and remove it from the waffle iron.
• These delicious treats give you the illusion that you should eat the entire waffle-sized brownie.  Break them up and eat piece by piece and stop before you're sick.  We each ate one waffle brownie and were sick to our stomachs.