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Archive for the category “bread”

31 Mar 2013

Don’t Have To Choose Salad

donthavetochoosesalad

My food hankering today was conflicting. Do I want egg salad, tuna salad or guacamole? To take full advantage of my indecisiveness I decided to combine them all. I have never combined the three dishes before, so why not now? I wanted the flavor of all three to be present and also work together. I think I did a pretty good job, and it was a great way to use up the last avocado sitting on the counter – not enough for guacamole, or for topping a batch of chicken, but such a delicious thing shouldn’t go to waste. Tuna is a great way to add protein to a dish, even if there is already protein eking out of the avocado and egg. This salad was delicious sitting atop toasted Julian’s paleo bread. Reminded me of egg salad sandwiches on Lenten Fridays when I was a kid. We would have macaroni and cheese, salmon patties, tuna or egg salad. I understand the symbolism of no meat on Fridays, but feeling less lust or anger in the absence of meat on my part was not actually achieved. Feeling an excess of either was not an issue when I was a child, but one day a week is not what I consider an actual test. To get away from the nostalgic and dogmatic reasons for making the salad, it met my hankering and indecisive needs.

Don’t Have To Choose Salad

1 large ripe avocado
8 – 10 hard boiled eggs
1 5-ounce can tuna packed in water, drained
½ cup Greek yogurt or sour cream
2 Tbsp lime juice
1 tsp stone ground mustard
½ tsp sea salt
½ tsp ground cumin
¼ tsp chili powder
Sprinkle of ground black pepper

In a large bowl mix yogurt, juice, mustard, salt, cumin, chili powder and pepper. Roughly chop eggs and avocado into pieces about the same size. Gently mix the tuna, avocado and eggs with the dressing, trying not to smash much of it. Chill for about an hour before serving.

 

Posted in avocado, bread, eggs, fish, onion, salad, sandwich, Silver Spring Kitchen, wheat free | Leave a Comment
24 Jan 2013
2 Comments

Cornbread Without Corn

coconut corn bread_edited-1How do you get cornless cornbread? Don’t put corn in it! And aren’t they cute? Big D made some awesome chili the other day and of course cornbread goes great with chili. Alas, the wheat and corn in traditional cornbread aren’t the greatest foods in the world to consume. Over the holidays we tried some low carb, corn free versions of ‘corn’ bread to make stuffing. It was okay, but the flavor and texture was not as close as these tasty little muffins. We previously tried to copy cornbread texture with flaxseed meal which did a pretty good job, but I look forward to trying this version next time we make dressing. I cooked these up in a mini muffin pan and easily got 20 muffins out of one batch of batter and cooked them for only 20 minutes – one minute per muffin – go figure. They were a bit on the dry side, compared to actual cornbread I have made in the past, but we easily resolved that issue with a slather of butter on top. Poor us. I may also try to do some kind of ‘corn dog’ version for Little B with some sausages and a larger muffin pan. I will let you know how they turn out!

Cornbread Without Corn

2/3 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup butter
8 large eggs
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp baking powder

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Whisk together the coconut flour, salt, and baking powder. In another bowl, beat the eggs. Whisk in the melted butter. Add the coconut flour mixture to the egg/butter mixture and stir to combine until it forms a wet dough mixture. Divide the batter among 12 greased muffin tins or 20 mini muffin tins. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool before removing from pan, or burn your fingers by removing them immediately from the pan to split and melt butter on the halves before eating them too soon and burning your tongue.

Adapted from the recipe here.

Posted in baked, bread, coconut flour, eggs, muffins, Silver Spring Kitchen, wheat free
07 Jan 2013

Acorn Squash Bread

squash bread

I bought a big, beautiful acorn squash a week or two ago. We have leftovers from the holidays filling the refrigerator and freezer, so in the process of figuring out what to do with the squash, I realized we were running low on goodies for Little B. Additionally, she was to begin a new preschool soon and we needed to stock up on portable wheat free snacks for her. And on top of THAT, I got an awesome new mini loaf plan as a gift and was itching to break it in. To make a bread that has some sweet and savory I included nuts and spices. Of course, relying on coconut flour and eggs to beef up the protein was a must. Little B likes this stuff a lot, and this particular squash was sweet, so the squash/snack/loaf pan goals were met with one recipe. Three birds, one stone. Big D bit into it and groaned – in a good way – it reminded him of his grandmother’s banana bread, and it had no bananas. Now THAT is a compliment!

Acorn Squash Bread

1 cup cooked, mashed acorn squash
½ cup walnuts
6 eggs
½ cup olive oil
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
½ cup coconut flour
¼ cup golden flaxseed meal
1 cup granular erythritol
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In blender combine squash, walnuts, eggs, oil and vanilla. Blend until smooth and nuts are broken up to around the size of little peas. In mixing bowl combine flour, meal, erythritol, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add blended ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until well mixed. Pour batter into greased bread pan or mini loaf pan(s). Bake for 40 – 50 minutes if making one large loaf, or 25 – 30 minutes for mini loaves. The bread is done when the loaves look set (no longer liquid) and the edges begin to brown. Let cool in the pan before removing. Breads made with coconut flour need to cool before they are set enough to remove from pans, but making sure the pans are greased well make the removal process easier.

Posted in baked, bread, cinnamon, coconut flour, eggs, flaxseed, nuts, Silver Spring Kitchen, snack, squash, wheat free | Leave a Comment
13 Aug 2012

Hero Sandwich

Hero, hoagie, sub…whatever you call it, it is a sandwich with sub-stance of hero-ic size. Heh. I love hero sandwiches, which come and all shapes and sizes, depending on where you are in the country. Personally like my bread/filling ratio about 1:1, but often I find bready versions with a sad amount of filling, so I would feel inclined to pass on such a sad sandwich. For this one I wanted to make sure it was hearty. My friend hurt herself and was laid up for a while. With three hungry sons I felt the need to take over a pile of food. One thing I thought her men (and she) might like was a sandwich piled with meat and cheese. Here is what I came up with, inspired a bit by the muffaletta sandwiches I adore in New Orleans. Yes. They make more than Po’ boys down there. These are quick to make and great for parties and picnics. Have fun at the end of summer and make one for your clan!

Hero Sandwich

1 loaf French bread (white or whole wheat)
1 ½ cups black olives
1 ½ cups green olives with pimentos
3 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
8 ounces thin sliced salami
8 ounces thin sliced ham, honey or smoked
8 ounces thin sliced roast beef
8 ounces thin sliced turkey, smoked or roasted
6 ounces thin sliced Provolone cheese
6 ounces thin sliced cheddar cheese
6 ounces thin sliced Swiss cheese
6 – 8 long toothpicks

In food processor or blender add olives, garlic and olive oil. Pulse until it is a rough paste, adding a bit more oil if needed. Cut loaf in half lengthwise, leaving one long edge uncut, like a hinge. On the bottom and top halves of the loaf spread half the olive paste, making sure it gets spread all the way to the edges. Begin layering meats and cheeses, starting with meat – beef, cheddar, ham, Swiss, turkey, provolone, salami. Don’t be afraid to pile it on – you can smoosh it down later. If you are ready to serve, add any optional ingredients you like*. Close the sandwich and press down. Add toothpicks so they will be in the middle of each slice (about eight pieces). With a sharp knife or bread knife cut slices 1 – 2 inches thick. If you are not going to serve immediately, wrap the sandwich tightly in cling wrap and refrigerate, then when ready to serve, unwrap, add the toothpicks and slice.

*Optional ingredients (added right before cutting and serving) can include tomato slices, onion slices pickle slices and lettuce. Do not add these ingredients until right before serving, or offer them separately. They can make the sandwich soggy of they sit around in the sandwich for too long, and nobody likes a soggy hero.

Posted in bread, cheese, sandwich, Silver Spring Kitchen | Leave a Comment
14 Jun 2012

Biscuits and Gravy

Our foster son, Tall P, is a good old southern boy. He loves his sweet tea, meat, mac n cheese and of course biscuits and gravy. We went to a diner for breakfast last week and he really wanted some. The plate came out and he dove in, but was sorely disappointed. The gravy was tasteless and the biscuits were mediocre. For anyone it would be a let down, but for someone who really likes good biscuits and gravy it was even worse. He looked so sad. I am not exactly sure where to find good biscuits and gravy in Maryland, so I decided to just make him some. Now, I know how to make biscuits and I know how to make gravy, but I had to grill him about what exactly he likes about a good plate of biscuits and gravy to make sure I did them right for him. Growing up I was never very interested in the dish, because my dad always made SOS (um, stuff on a shingle), which reminded him of Army mess halls. I never cared for the stuff, and frankly, biscuits with white sausage gravy always reminded me of the SOS. No thank you. I must say, my combination of biscuits and gravy came out pretty darned good, and was nothing like the SOS my dad made. Sorry dad, you lose this one.

Biscuits and Gravy

For the Biscuits
2 cups all purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
Pepper to taste
1 tsp sugar
1/3 cup oil
2/3 cup milk

For the Gravy
¼ pound ground sausage, with drippings
1 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour
1 cup milk

In medium pan cook sausage over medium high heat until browned, about five minutes. Set aside. Preheat oven to 375. In mixing bowl stir together flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and pepper. Add oil and milk. Using a fork stir together ingredients until well combined and dough forms. On a floured surface roll out dough to about an inch thick. Cut out biscuits with a round glass or dough cutters – makes about nine 2” round biscuits. Place biscuits in buttered baking dish or cookie sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes until slightly brown on top.

When biscuits are about half done turn the heat back on under the sausage with drippings. When it starts to sizzle add butter to melt. Add flour and whisk together thoroughly with butter, sausage and drippings to make a smooth roux. Let flour darken a bit. Add milk and continue whisking until gravy thickens. When biscuits are ready spoon gravy over them and serve, eating them immediately.

Posted in baked, bread, breakfast, sauces, sausage, Silver Spring Kitchen | Leave a Comment
12 Jun 2012

Peanut Butter Banana Muffins

You may have noticed an influx of vegetables and meat in my entries lately. It is because we are watching our carbohydrate intake and there is no subtlety in the absence of starches. Alas, Brigit is still a lover of such things and is at an age where if she shows interest in food I definitely want to make it available. She has a constant interest in peanut butter and a dynamic interest in bananas, so I combined the two into a muffin, based on the still limited stocking of our pantry. She inhaled a muffin after dinner and there is already one packed for her to munch on during tomorrow’s commute, so I think they are a success. Some vitamins and protein are no so bad, in spite of the processed flour and sugar. I will take what I can get with my almost three-year old. Oh yeah, the 17 year old foster son Paul (who thinks it is weird to do a food blog, but finds it totally reasonable to text and IM all day) promises to eat some, but not right after dinner. Teenagers. Ugh. I was not altogether creative on this one – I just wanted to use up the old bananas and have something to make that involved Little B in breaking eggs and smooshing stuff. They came out really great, so go forth and make some muffins! Here is the source.

Peanut Butter Banana Muffins

2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk
2 ripe bananas, mashed

Preheat the oven to 375°F. In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl beat together the peanut butter, oil, eggs, milk and bananas. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients just until moistened. Spoon the batter into 12 well greased muffin cups. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Makes 12 muffins.

Posted in baked, bread, breakfast, fruit, muffins, Silver Spring Kitchen | Leave a Comment
20 May 2012

Whole Wheat Pizza Rolls

I am a bit depressed. We have been in our new place for two days and our lovely gas stove is still without gas. Imagine my dismay when I realized all my plans for a cooking frenzy came to a screeching halt and the fridge/microwave marathon continues. But I have a kitchen! An actual kitchen and I can’t really use it. My own private hell, I say. I am very much tempted to go get a camping stove and carry on. Hopefully this is the last post from old stuff I stashed from the past. It begins in a way that is no surprise to most, with my daughter. I have a particular little daughter when it comes to sandwiches. The only sandwiches she will eat are peanut butter. Not peanut butter and jelly or peanut butter and banana, just peanut butter. Occasionally she will eat a sandwich with meat and cheese, but I do not rely on her to do so because it happens so rarely. She likes a lot of foods, just not always at a convenient time, like when it is put in front of her. On top of her sandwich issues there was a little boy at her two day a week pre-school that was allergic to peanut butter. This means that making a quick school lunch for her by slapping together a sandwich is pretty much out of the question. My solution was pizza rolls. It is similar to the method I use for doing wheaty peanut butter apple rolls, just with a comPLETEly different taste. She likes them, they gives her some protein in the middle of the day and don’t cause problems for her schoolmates. When I asked Little B to tell me which type of roll she liked best she paused a moment and said both, but when I asked her which one she wanted for ever and ever (her latest phrase) she pointed to the pizza rolls. Score!

Whole Wheat Pizza Rolls

½ can Grands® Golden Wheat Reduced Fat Biscuits
16-24 Turkey Pepperoni slices
½ cup shredded reduced fat colby jack cheese
2 Tbsp Oregano
½ cup tomato or seasoned pizza sauce

Preheat oven to 375F. Lightly grease large cookie sheet. Cut each uncooked biscuit in half. Roll out each half until each is about 4” in diameter. Place 2-3 slices of pepperoni on each round, keeping them about a centimeter from the edges. Spread each biscuit with about 1 tsp of sauce, sprinkle about 1 tsp of cheese on each and sprinkle with oregano. Carefully roll each biscuit until the opposite ends overlap*. Pinch open ends together in an attempt to contain the sauce. Place each roll seam side up on the cookie sheet, about an inch apart. Bake for 12-14 minutes until biscuits begin to brown.

*Next time I make these I plan on folding the biscuits in half and using a fork to pinch together the edges. Rolling them I think makes for easier toddler finger food, but if I am serving them to a mixed, slightly older crowd I can add more filling with the fold-in-half method.

 

Posted in baked, bread, pizza, Seals' Kitchen, tomato | Leave a Comment
14 May 2012
1 Comment

Wheaty Peanut Butter Apple Rolls

I don’t usually rely on highly processed foods for much of anything when I cook. I try really hard to do the majority of my shopping on the outer edges of the grocery store, focusing on unprocessed foods. I am not perfect, but I hope this blog represents my desire to use ingredients in their most basic form. Now, on with a recipe that contradicts most of my efforts. I came across some canned whole wheat biscuits at the store the other day. Technically, they were along the outer edge of the store, so it was not like I sought them out. They reminded me of camping when I was younger and baking biscuits in a frying pan on a little propane camping stove. They don’t brown and cook thoroughly unless they get flipped halfway through baking. They always tasted so good after sleeping hard all night. Anyway, I was trying to figure out a way to give Little B some quick finger food fun while using ingredients I know she likes. Below is a snack with two of her favorite foods – apples and peanut butter.

Wheaty Peanut Butter Apple Rolls

1 package (8 count) Grands® Golden Wheat Reduced Fat Biscuits
½ cup peanut butter
¼ cup honey
1 tsp cinnamon
½ apple, finely diced, leaving the skin on

Preheat oven to 375F. Lightly grease large cookie sheet. Combine peanut butter, honey and cinnamon together. Cut each uncooked biscuit in half. Roll out each half into 4” in diameter rounds. Spread the peanut butter mixture on each round. Sprinkle apple on top of the peanut butter and press into the round. Carefully roll each biscuit into sticks, making sure the edges overlap. Pinch ends closed to seal roll. Place each roll seam side up on the cookie sheet, leaving an inch on each side. Bake for 12-14 minutes until biscuits begin to brown.

Posted in baked, bread, fruit, Seals' Kitchen, snack
02 Apr 2012

Cinnamon Roll Cake

Have you ever seen a 9 x 13 cinnamon roll? Yes you have! It is right there ↑! I like sweet stuff for breakfast, but only when it is going to be a lazy day. The crash from the sugar rush is best experienced while hanging out on the couch reading a book or building a block tower with Little B. An occasional breakfast with pancakes or waffles is good (although not necessarily good for you), but I tend to be the producer of such delights, and it is much more onerous to make them compared to a plate magically appearing piled high and presented by someone else for eating.

With a gaggle of girls using my house for slumber party last weekend I could not imagine making enough fresh baked pancakes, waffles or cinnamon rolls to appease them and also have breakfast ready at a decent hour. There were bodies curled up in blankets over the majority of the living room floor. It would be hard to quietly measure and mix and roll breakfast in the kitchen, a mere four feet away from the slumbering sweethearts. This cake was quick, made the day before and did not have to go in the fridge, which was already full of other party foods. As it cooked, the sugary topping formed crevasses where cinnamon gathered, making lovely sweet nips in almost every bite. All the girls could have a little piece or a big one without committing to a whole roll. Of course I also provided healthy, savory eggy muffins for breakfast as well, but the cake is what disappeared the fastest.

I have seen cinnamon roll cakes all over the internet, but this recipe made the most sense to me, so I relied on it. I changed the order of preparation a bit, but it worked out great.

Cinnamon Roll Cake

Cake
3 cups Flour
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1 cup Sugar
4 teaspoons Baking Powder
1 1/2 cups Milk
2 Eggs
2 teaspoons Vanilla
1/2 cup ( 1 stick) Butter, melted

Topping
1 cup ( 2 sticks) Butter, softened
1 cup Brown Sugar
2 Tablespoons Flour
1 Tablespoon Cinnamon

Glaze
2 cups Powdered Sugar
5 Tablespoons Milk
1 teaspoon Vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9×13 glass baking pan with cooking spray. Set aside. To make the topping mix in a medium bowl the 2 sticks of butter, brown sugar, flour and cinnamon together until well combined and creamy. Set aside. In an electric or stand mixer add the flour, salt, sugar, baking powder, milk, eggs, and vanilla. Once combined well, slowly stir in the melted butter. Pour into the prepared 9×13 baking pan.

Drop the topping mixture evenly over the cake batter by the tablespoonfuls and use a knife to marble/swirl through the cake. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes or when a toothpick inserted near the center comes out nearly clean.

In a medium bowl, mix the powdered sugar, milk and vanilla together with a whisk. Drizzle evenly over the warm cake. Serve warm or at room temperature.

 

Posted in baked, bread, breakfast, cinnamon, Seals' Kitchen | Leave a Comment
29 Mar 2012
1 Comment

Cheesy Garlic Pull Apart Bread

I have seen this method of preparing cheesy bread all over the place online, but had not tried it myself. We had a dinner party the other night and I thought it a perfect time to make some. It is an ooey gooey alternative to plain sliced bread. Besides making the whole house smell heavenly it was a hit with our guests. I cannot tell you anything about how leftovers keep because there were none.

Cheesy Garlic Pull Apart Bread

1 unsliced loaf whole grain bread
1 cup muenster cheese, grated
4 Tbsp butter, room temperature
3 cloves garlic, chopped

Slice the bread loaf lengthwise then crosswise, but leave the bottom crust intact, creating 1 inch squares. Using your hands (a messy method, but the best way I have found to keep the bread from tearing off of the bottom crust) spread butter between bread squares. Drop garlic between squares. Sprinkle cheese over top of bread, encouraging some to drop down in between some of the squares. Bake for approximately 15 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly. Serve immediately.

Posted in baked, bread, Seals' Kitchen

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