they are absolutely delicious, but I want to work on them again when it comes to appearance. there’s a couple of things I didn’t think about prior to getting started with the kneading: I would have loved the chocolate part to be darker, which will be corrected by adding cocoa powder to the dough, instead of thinking that grated bittersweet chocolate will do the trick.

I’m already plotting the next bread, and let’s just say it will make good use of the chili I was wondering what to do with…

on another note, check out the menus I have in mind for the coming days.
I.
can’t.
wait!

the subtle flavor of nutmeg goes really well with the eventual nut butter you might slather upon these babies. I know my taste buds are still dancing for joy…

adapted from my gal Betty Crocker’s Bread Machine Cookbook, but no bread machine involved here.

for 4 rolls:

1/2 cup sweet potato purée [I used homemade but you can find it canned too; if it was in the fridge prior to use, bring it to room temp. if it is still hot, you want to let it cool down to being lukewarm, so as not to kill the yeast]
1/3 cup + 2 T pure water
1 T canola oil
2 T pure maple syrup
1 cup bread flour [spoon and level]
3/4 cup white whole wheat flour [s & l]
1/4 cup dark rye flour [s & l]
1 T soy milk powder [optional, but it helps with the texture and adds protein, albeit a trivial amount]
4 t vital wheat gluten
1 t sea salt
1/4 t ground nutmeg
3/4 t bread machine or instant-rise yeast

if your yeast isn’t too fresh, proof it by whisking it in lukewarm water along with the syrup for about 10 minutes. it should bubble up and foam. you’re good to go if that’s the case, if not? toss and grab a new pack of yeast and do it all over again.

I usually don’t bother because I buy so much yeast that it doesn’t have time to go bad.

whisk in oil and sweet potato. start adding the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon, until you need to start using your hands to knead the dough. place on a clean, lightly floured surface and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, for about 5-10 minutes. you might have to add a little more flour (a little at a time!) until it’s not too sticky anymore. shape into a ball.

lightly coat a large bowl with oil, swirl the dough around to coat it so that it doesn’t go dry while rising. cover with lid or plastic wrap, let rise in a warm area for 90 minutes.

20 minutes prior to dough being done rising, preheat oven to 400F.
lightly coat 4 mini Bundt pans with non-stick cooking spray, add flour and shake it around so that it covers the whole pan. if you don’t want to use Bundt pans, simply line a baking sheet with parchment paper or Silpat.

punch down dough, flatten it a bit and divide into 4 equal parts. shape into balls.

if using mini Bundt pans: make a hole in the center of each ball of dough, like you would with a bagel. place it in the pan and press it down with the flat of a spoon.

if not using Bundt pans: place on prepared baking sheet.

bake for 20 minutes, until the bottoms sound hollow when tapped, the rolls look golden brown, and that an instant-read thermometer reads the rolls to be 200F in their center.
(there’s no need for a second rise with the type of yeast used here, but if you use active dry yeast instead? definitely cover them up with plastic wrap and let them rise again before putting them in the oven.)

let cool on a rack.

Sweet Potato Bread baked in a mini Bundt pan

[Buffy fans might recognize the wannabe-copycat title here. if not, well, good for you not being a Buffy-geek?]

in the past few months, I’ve been making bread in function of what we need:
“Chaz needs sandwiches today, so I shouldn’t make sweet bread.”
“I wish I could use pecan nuts…but crap, Chaz hates them!” (mmm…see a pattern here?)
and so on…but now I’m bursting with crazy bread ideas and I can’t put them on the backburner anymore.
there will be more inventive bread creations in the coming days/weeks, as dough is my witness, and I hope they’ll turn out as nicely as I envision them to be.

a little tip if you want to avoid wasting plastic wrap for when you put your bread to rise: get yourself a set of Pyrex bowls with lids. when the dough is rising, simply whip out one of the lids and pop it onto your bowl. it’s so easy being green! one less plastic wrap cover to end up in the trash.

did you know that raw yeast is harmful to cats and dogs? it will keep on expanding once ingested, causing pain and even rupture of the stomach or intestines. just a note to keep the stuff away from your four-legged babies while baking bread, and to make sure to clean up any possible spills.

here’s a list of other foods that are possibly harmful to cats and dogs.

NB: I know that in some cases, it’d take massive amounts of the foods listed to cause any harm, but I’m totally paranoid when it comes to Buff and Will [yes, another proof of Buffy-geekdom] and I prefer being safe than sorry.

these are fairly healthy (and delicious): not too rich in fat (especially if you use a milk alternative other than soy creamer), made with whole-grain flour, and containing no refined sugar.
they also look pretty dark because the carob powder I’m getting now from Bulk Foods is, well, darker than the ones I used to get before for some reason. it’s also tastier, so no one’s complaining.

for 6 muffins:

preheat oven to 325F. line a standard muffin tin with paper liners.

1/4 cup agave nectar
1/2 cup + 2 T pumpkin purée
1/4 cup soy creamer [can use milk alternatives instead]
2 T canola oil

whisk together in a medium bowl.

1/2 cup + 2 T whole wheat pastry flour (spoon and level for the cup, scoop and level for the T)
1/4 cup carob powder [or cocoa powder if you prefer]
1 t baking soda
pinch sea salt
1/2 t ground cinnamon
1/4 t ground ginger
1/4 t nutmeg

sift together in a medium bowl.

1/4 cup carob chips [or chocolate chips]

mix wet + dry + chips together until well combined. fill all 6 muffin cups. bake for 22 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.

let cool on a rack.

Is there anything a chocolate chip cookie can’t do? I didn’t think so.

But before I get started on these ones (the recipe is at the very bottom of this page), here’s a list of a few things I had fun with this weekend:

- Vegan Bacon from VegWeb: quite crispy when sliced thinly and left to cool down. wonderful to have in a freshly baked roll along with some sliced avocado! granted, Lightlife’s tempeh bacon is still number one in my book, but this recipe is pretty nifty to have around when you’re in a pinch.

- Breakfast today: the sweetest teeth out there might find this to be a bit lacking. I’ll add a touch of cinnamon and maybe even just a drop of maple syrup the next time I make it. I played it on the safe side and just prepared what I needed: about 1 T crunchy natural PB and the same quantity of pumpkin purée.

- Tamarind Wild Rice with Brown Sugar & Chile Tamarind Pieces: adapted from V-con’s recipe, but using an 8oz bag of uncooked wild rice for it, upping the liquid to 2 1/3 cups, throwing in a few chopped pieces of that Trader Joe’s tamarind stuff I like so much, and preparing it all in a rice cooker. I only cooked the medium shallot I used, as well as the other spices, in a small saucepan with 1 T coconut oil and threw it all in the cooker before actually getting started with the rice.
Verdict of the adaptation? I have trouble putting my fork down in between bites, it’s so good.

Back to the cookies, finally: I decided I needed to make these Vegetarian Times’ Chocolate Chip Spelt Cookies again, and thought I might as well post the downsized recipe here, for 2 big cookies (think store-bought size):

preheat oven to 375F. prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper or Silpat. I actually used the toaster oven again and didn’t even coat the sheet with anything, it worked out fine.

3 T crunchy natural peanut butter
3 T pure maple syrup
1/4 t pure vanilla extract

whisk all these ingredients in a medium bowl.

1/4 cup + 1/2 T light spelt flour (spoon and level for the cup, scoop and level for the T)
1/8 t baking soda
pinch sea salt
2 T semisweet chocolate chips

whisk together in a small bowl, add to wet ingredients and stir until well combined.

separate dough into two, flatten it to about 1/2-inch thickness: the cookies will flatten down just a little bit while baking.

bake for 12-15 minutes, you want them to be golden brown and set. let cool on cookie sheet for 10 minutes. finish to cool on rack.

That would be me.

These were baked in my faithful muffin top pan. NO bread machine required.
Of course you can make them sans muffin top pan, simply shaping them the way you want them to be. But where’s the fun in that?

The fun thing about muffin top buns is that they’re a bit more spread out which means they have more room to spread the stuff you like the most, such as Earth Balance, homemade jams, Pateline or Not-ella, nut butters, et cetera…

Anyway, I was planning on posting the recipe for the buns you saw the other day [you know, the ones with the apricot jam?], but then I decided to go nuts and make Teese buns instead. yes, TEESE buns. I froze the package of Teese and grated it like it’s never been grated before. Be sure to wear your mittens, because your hands are gonna feel it. It’s totally worth it!

You know what would have been ace? If I had had some leftover marinara I ate yesterday with lentil miso balls (and teese on top). I would have totally hidden some in the center of the unbaked dough, for a delightful tomato-ey surprise. Do it if you have some!

Adapted from the good ol’ Betty Crocker Bread Machine Cookbook.

for 4 buns:

2/3 cup pure water, at room temperature
1 cup white whole wheat flour [spooned and leveled; plain whole wheat will work out fine too]
1 cup bread flour [spooned and leveled too]
1/2 cup shredded Teese
4 t vital wheat gluten
1 T agave nectar
2 t soy milk powder
1 1/2 t dried minced onion
1/2 T canola oil
3/4 t sea salt
3/4 t rapid rise yeast or bread machine yeast

place all ingredients in a large bowl, in the order mentioned above. stir with a wooden spoon, then start using your hand to start the kneading process in the bowl. pour the dough onto a clean, lightly floured [if need be] surface and knead away for 5-10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic. shape dough into a ball.

lightly oil your large bowl, swirl dough to coat with oil. cover with plastic wrap, let rise in a warm, draft-free area for 90 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.

preheat oven to 375F, about 20 minutes prior to the dough being done rising.
spray 4 of the muffin top pan cavities with non-stick cooking spray. sprinkle cornmeal in pan, tapping it gently to make sure cornmeal covers the whole cavity surface, removing excess.

place now-risen dough on a clean surface, punch it down. flatten it a bit and divide into 4 equal parts. shape into balls. place in muffin top pan cavities and press down with knuckles to cover the whole area.

bake for 20 minutes, or until your instant-read thermometer finds the buns to be at 200F in their center. if you don’t have a thermometer, just be sure the buns are golden brown and that their bottoms sound hollow when tapped.

let cool on a rack a little, enjoy while still warm.

alas, gotta be a grown-up sometimes and not only go for the sweeter stuff. I suppose.

fooled you with what you see up there, namely apricot jam with fresh-out-of-the-oven buns [recipe coming up later, by the way], but here’s the recipe for something I made some days ago and that definitely keeps me going from the early hours on.
oh, and it’s quite tasty too, which never hurts.
(I don’t have a picture of it yet because I eat breakfast when it’s still way dark outside, but I’ll try and snap a shot sooner or later…don’t hate me because I’m a morning person, yo!)

Whole Wheat Couscous Bowl Of Doom, makes 6 portions
adapted from Great Vegetarian Cooking Under Pressure, by Lorna Sass

1 1/2 cups whole wheat couscous
3 cups unsweetened milk alternative [I used soy milk, but whatever you have is fine. even sweetened, or vanilla-flavored]
1 1/2 t pure vanilla extract [optional if using vanilla-flavored milk]
1 cup chopped walnuts [feel free to sub other nuts for this]
1 cup chopped dates [use other dried fruits if you prefer]

once couscous is couscous-ked, I mean, cooked:
3 t rosewater [optional]
maple syrup, agave nectar, more milk alternative, fresh fruit [all optional, to taste]

place all ingredients in a medium saucepan. cover with a tight-fitting lid, bring to a boil, lower heat and let simmer for 5-10 minutes, until liquid is absorbed. add optional 3 t of rosewater, fluff with a fork.
divide into 6 portions: you can let them cool down and…

a. freeze them for later use at this point: simply thaw out portion the night before, add a little milk alternative, pop into the microwave for a minute or so, and throw in your favorite sweetener and other add-ins,

or

b. serve immediately when still hot (but not hot enough to peel off your palate), with a little more milk alternative if you want, fresh fruit, and sweeten with agave nectar or maple syrup, to taste.

yes, it’s that time of the year when I decide to kick grocery shopping to the curb and make do with what’s at home, so that means: no baking or cooking allowed until we’ve gotten rid of most items we already have. such a sad, boring time: Buffy’s expression says it all.

I’ve recently nixed refined sugar from my breakfast*, and attempted to add a bit more (healthy) fats to it so that it lasts me for a longer period than my good old Luna Bar did. and it works! this morning I had a sweet corn muffin top to which I added some cashew & macadamia nut butter from Trader Joe’s. what a treat!

so of course I am now looking all over the place for inspiration and recipes that would fit the bill of such breakfasts, and let me tell you: I can’t wait for the pantry to get more acceptably empty so that I can whip out the apron and whisk all over again!

in the meantime, I’ll just try to benefit from the culinary (as well as photography) break and grab some energy for what’s to come.

*I’m considering getting rid of it for every meal, in the long run, but considering I just successfully lowered my caffeine intake, let’s take things a bit slow, shall we?
but anyway, I’m doing it because my blood sugar has been a bit wonky for a little while. besides, I work out so much in the morning that I need something more nourishing than a Luna Bar, no matter how tasty these can be.

this blog was rated E for e-nnoying by Lindy Loo. ps? she doesn’t like my boobies.

my turn to spread the love to two blogs of merit, and in their case? E definitely stands for Excellent. although if I really wanted to give my vote to everyone whose blog I can’t get enough of, let’s just say this post would obviously never end.

my vote goes to Anni and Heikki of tofu for two, and to Anna of twelve22.

Eduardo the Elephant Trainer

Originally uploaded by Bent Objects

if you do one thing and one thing only today, it should be to check out the Bent Objects flickr photostream and site.

thank you to Monika for pointing it out in the first place!

if you haven’t made these yet, you’re missing out. it doesn’t matter if you have to eat gluten-free foods or not, the fact is that they are deliciously chewy, almost fudgy, and most importantly? they hit the spot.
proud owners of My Sweet Vegan, the recipe’s in the book under a different name: Peanut-Plus Cookies.

remaining faithful to my habit of making a normal-sized recipe into a far smaller one, I decided to make only 6 of these cookies, basically quartering the recipe.

a few tips for other fans of small-batches-of-stuff-for-the-win:

- I used Turbinado sugar. not so important, but I’ve already seen it make a difference in some recipes.
- grind the lentils in your coffee grinder. it only takes a minute or so for them to be reduced to a very fine powder.
- considering the tiny amount of potato flakes/milk prep, you don’t want to go for the full minute of nuking, but for 20 seconds tops.
all microwaves are created unequal, so be safe and check after 10 seconds.
fyi, I used unsweetened almond milk, and it worked really well. the potato flakes I use are Barbara’s Instant Mashed Potato flakes.
- I stayed true to my affair and used the TO again. 10 minutes is what I set the timer for.

go make cookies! because you’re worth it.

Still trying to come up with a way of using these babies…
Funny thing is while I was busying myself taking a shot of them, I was freaking out that one of the cats would steal one and end up spitting fireballs at me as a direct result of this larceny.

Anyway, I was tagged by Kristina of the drool-inducing chocolate peanut butter gallery blog, so:

6 words to describe me. me me me me me.

foodie.
impatient.
shy.
stubborn.
athletic.
potty-mouthed.

I’m tagging:

Sophie of flour arrangements
Leigh of raspberry swirl
Jessie of cakespy
Bazu of where’s the revolution?
Jess of let’s get sconed!
Kittee of cake maker to the stars

sidenote: if I keep on adding fascinating food blogs to my Google reader, I will either:

a. get a “foodies anonymous” badge from the Google powers-that-be
b. observe while said reader implodes
c. have no time left for personal hygiene, family, friends, or food.

sidenote numéro deux: can anyone tell me the name of this mutant-looking flower?

Chaz [the husband] is eating out several nights a week, and often finds himself to be snacky when he finally gets to let his hair down.
What? He does have long hair, really.

Anyway, I don’t always have enough time to make bread which is, let’s face it, one of the yummiest and easiest thing to slather with whatever when the stomach is making itself heard.

I decided to try something new with the sweet potatoes that were slowly meeting their end in the fridge. I baked them in the oven for a deeper, richer flavor, but if you’re in a hurry, just pop them in the microwave [after brushing them clean and piercing them with a fork, of course] and no one will be the wiser. Once they’re baked/cooked, just use a potato masher to turn them into a delicious orange purée.
[To bake a sweet potato in your oven: preheat oven to 400F. pierce potato with a fork. line a baking sheet with foil, place potatoes on top. bake until tender, about 45 minutes.]

Same goes for the smoked paprika: if you have a hard time finding it where you live, just use the same amount of plain paprika and you’ll be good to go too.

NB: if you don’t eat them the day you bake them, be sure to reheat them in your oven for a few minutes so that they get crispy again.

for 36 crackers:

1 cup light spelt flour, spooned and leveled [feel free to sub any sort of flour for spelt, but remove 2 T from the cup to make up for the difference in flour quality]
1 1/2 t smoked [or not] paprika
1 t coarse sea salt
1 T light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup sweet potato purée, lightly packed
2 T extra virgin olive oil

preheat your oven to 375F.
in your stand mixer, combine flour, paprika, salt, sugar. [if you don't have a stand mixer, fear not! just use the muscles your mama gave you.]
add sweet potato, mix well. add olive oil and mix until dough forms.
remove from bowl, roll out on clean surface to about 1/4-inch thickness. use whatever cookie cutter shape you like [I used a 1 1/2-inch cutter, the smallest one of these], until you run out of dough. as usual, the thinner you rule the dough out, the crispier the crackers: just be sure to keep an eye on them as they might need to bake for a shorter amount of time. and of course, the total number of crackers will increase from the 36 I mention above.
bake for 12 minutes or until set and lightly brown. let cool on a rack.

this peanut butter bread is the one thing I could dine upon for the rest of my life without ever growing tired of it. no matter the amount of whole wheat flour I throw into it, it rises and rises until it looks like the biggest mushroom known to man. or to woman, more appropriately in my case.
no matter how many times I make it, I’m always shocked at how buttery and brioche-like it turns out. it’s gotta be the tastiest way to make French toast or other grilled sandwiches delights!

very easy to make, I’ve never had any bad experience with it, be it made by hand or using the bread machine. remember to look here for tips on how to make bread if you don’t have a machine, although I have included all tips in this very entry.

I decided to do it half and half this morning, meaning that for time-pressing issues, I did the first part in the bread machine, and finished it up in the oven. I think the amount/quality of the fat makes it brown up more easily than other breads, so I would consider switching the temperature to 350F, for a possible longer baking time. or you could do what I did and cover it with aluminum foil sometime during baking time or even right from the start.

by the way, I strongly recommend investing in an instant-read thermometer to make sure the temperature at the center of the bread reaches between 190F-200F. it will save you from the possible heartache of slicing into your bread only to find it remained completely doughy in the middle.

you could also choose to go the sweet tooth way and make it into buns/bread rolls, throwing a little piece of dark chocolate in its center à la matcha spelt rolls.
another variation? knead in 1/2 cup of chocolate chunks or chips when starting the process of making the bread…

or if you’re in a New York state of mind, why not go for bagels instead?

using your basic cinnamon roll like guideline, you could turn these babies into sinful little treats for breakfast. or lunch. or supper, whatever.

finally, there’s always the possibility of skipping one step in your breakfast routine and mixing the jelly directly into the bread.

if you have anything against using peanut butter, feel free to sub it in any of these recipes for tahini, almond butter, or any other nut butter you like the most.
I’m probably siding with Nick here by stating that no other nut butter will do for me: peanuts are where it’s at, no matter what kind of baked good we’re talking about.

what I did and how I did it for this one bread, and how to do it with or without the machine, to obtain a 1 1/2-pound bread, which makes about 12 slices:

1 cup + 1 T pure water
1/2 cup chunky natural peanut butter, I used unsalted but it works either way
2 cups white whole wheat flour, spooned and leveled [but plain whole wheat flour works perfectly too!]
1 cup bread flour, spooned and leveled
4 t vital wheat gluten
3 T light brown sugar, packed
1 t sea salt
2 t instant yeast or bread machine yeast
[optional: 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips or chunks, use smooth natural peanut butter instead]

with the machine:

place all ingredients in bread pan, following manufacturer’s instructions. set on DOUGH. let the machine do its work.

without the machine:

in a large bowl, whisk together water, peanut butter, sugar, salt. add flour and yeast, and optional chocolate chips. stir with a wooden spoon, start using your hands once it gets too tough to make do with the spoon.
place dough on a clean, lightly floured surface and start kneading until the dough is smooth and elastic. don’t worry if it’s a little wet, it’ll work out. of course you don’t want it super sticky, but a little wet is fine. shape dough into a ball.

lightly coat your bowl with oil, swirl dough around to coat it with oil. cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm, draft-free area for 90 minutes, or until doubled in size.

prepare an 8-inch bread loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray.

remove dough from either the bread machine pan or the bowl. punch it down. roll it out to about 11 x 16 inches. roll it up like you would a Swiss roll, tightly and firmly. pat it down on the sides and tops. place it in the prepared bread pan and press it down with your knuckles so that it covers the bottom surface. cover with a plastic wrap and let rise for another hour in same warm, draft-free area. it will rise about 2 inches above the pan, like a mushroom, you’ll see!

20 minutes before the dough is done rising, preheat your oven to 375F. remove plastic wrap from dough, and bake for 30 minutes or until instant-read thermometer tells you your bread has reached at least 195F in the its center. you might want to loosely cover your bread with aluminum foil to avoid having it get too tanned.
check for the bottom of the bread to sound hollow when tapped after 30 minutes in the oven, if you don’t have an instant-read thermometer, to be sure it’s ready to be eaten.

let cool on a rack. let cool completely before slicing.

tassenkino

Originally uploaded by Pylonautin

kinda-sorta off-topic of food, but I chose one of the pieces with a character that drinks something, so…but seriously? I think some people should leave some talent for the others. this artist is just amazing. and she also has a site she shares with a handful of friends. how about sharing links to some of your favorite art stuff too?