Spring Sorrel

With the finally warming weather promising summer just around the corner (hah), the sorrel in our garden is exploding with an abundance of leaves. Having already discovered how delicious sorrel is with eggs, I tried another recipe using sorrel in a crustless quiche with red onion, chives, creme fraiche, cheddar and chopped walnuts. Lovely, would be even better with a stronger cheese like goat cheese or a mild blue cheese. I would also consider going half sorrel- half spinach as the lemony flavor of the sorrel almost overpowered the quiche :)

I used Joy the Baker's Crustless Quiche recipe as my starting point. Mushrooms would also be delicious with the sorrel. And her pictures are of course prettier than mine. I never manage to actually get a picture of the dish as a whole, before we've eaten any of it...


Sorrel Quiche
10-12 oz sorrel, stems removed, 1 1/2 " wide strips (or a mixture of spinach and sorrel or chard and sorrel)
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 large red onion, finely chopped
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese (goat or mild blue?)salt and pepper
1/4 - 1/3 c. chopped walnuts
3 large eggs
1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. creme fraiche (or alternately replace milk/creme fraiche with half & half)
herbs - 1 - 1 1/2 tsp dried herbs like thyme or oregano, or fresh chives, chopped
butter for greasing the pie plate

1. Butter the pie plate. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Heat olive oil over medium heat. Saute red onion ~10 minutes until tender and starting to caramelize. Add garlic and saute until golden. Scrape into pie plate and evenly distribute.
3. If using a mixture of spinach and sorrel, saute the spinach first until wilted. Place in a strainer and press with a wooden spoon to squeeze water out. Layer in pie plate.
4. Saute the sorrel briefly just until wilted. Layer in pie plate.
5. Add cheddar cheese and walnuts to pie plate.
6. Beat eggs with salt, pepper, milk and creme fraiche. Pour over ingredients in pie plate.
7. Bake for 35-40 min until golden brown on top and puffy.

Yeast Bread!

Success at last! I have conquered a yeast bread!!! I am proud to say I baked my first yeast bread, multi-grain no less, with minimal assistance; kneading is my downfall. While they don't look beautiful per se due to weird twisting instructions that I would not follow again, the loaves taste superb and freeze well. This bread recipe will undoubtedly become a household staple, though kefir bread is still the top contender as it requires no kneading and uses up whey.

Multi-Grain Bread ( from Best Ever Baking - Carole Clements)
1 Tbs active dried yeast,
2 fl oz (65 mL) lukewarm water
70 g rolled oats
450 mL milk
2 tsp salt
65 mL oil
55 g golden sugar
2 Tbs honey
2 eggs, lightly beaten
30 g wheat germ
170 g soy flour (or substitute rye, barley, buckwheat, cornmeal)
350 g whole wheat flour
420 - 490 g all purpose flour (I used about 470 ish)

1. Combine yeast and water with the honey and a pinch of flour, stir and leave for 15 minutes to dissolve.
2. Put oats in a large bowl. Scald milk and pour over the oats.
3. Stir in the salt, oil, and sugar into the oat mixture. Leave until lukewarm.
4. Stir the yeast mixture, eggs, what germ, soy and whole wheat flours into the oat mixture. Then stir in enough all purpose flour to obtain a rough dough (should not be too sticky).
5. Knead the dough, adding all purpose flour if needed, until smooth and elastic (~10 min). If you're lucky, your kitchen aid can do it for you, or your spouse.
6. Return dough to a clean bowl greased with a bit of oil, cover and leave to rise until doubled in volume, 2 1/2 hours. I actually put my in the fridge and let it rise for 8-9 hours at this stage.
7. Grease two 81/2 x 4 1/2" bread pans. Punch down the risen dough and knead briefly. Divide the dough in half and roll into a cylinder that just fits the lenght of the bread pan.
8. Cover and let rise until doubled in size (~ 1 hr from room temp, longer if from fridge).
9. Bake in a preheated oven at 375 degrees F until done, 40-50 min. Cool on a rack.

Granola Bars with Chickpea Flour

Chickpea flour lesson #1: NEVER EVER eat raw batter containing chickpea flour. Disgusting tasting! Sometimes even disgusting smelling! To the point where you consider that potentially your final product is already ruined but don't despair - baking somehow transforms this magical ingredient into something innocuous tasting that then lets the other flavors shine through while still providing a hearty protein boost!

I found this recipe on this blog: http://www.fannetasticfood.com/2012/04/12/vegan-gluten-free-granola-bars/  and used it pretty much as is with a couple of extra dried fruit/nuts. Great to have a granola bar higher in protein for hiking trips!

Oatmeal Chickpea Flour Granola Bars:

• 2 Tbsp ground flax + 6 Tbsp warm water
• 1 3/4 c. rolled oats
• 1 c. chickpea flour
• 1/2 c. dried cranberries (or raisins/cherries)
• 1/4 c. chopped walnuts 
• 1/4 c. sunflower seeds
• 1/4 - 1/3 c. dried coconut (unsweetened)
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp sea salt (omit if you use salted nut butter)
• 1/2 c. almond butter (or peanut butter)
• 1/2 c. pure maple syrup 

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Whisk ground flax with water and set aside for 5 minutes
2) Mix oats, chickpea flour, cranberries, walnuts, sunflower seeds, coconut, cinnamon, and sea salt.
3) In a smaller bowl, mix almond butter, maple syrup, and flax/water mixture.
4) Mix wet ingredients into dry. Pour into a greased baking dish (11×7") and bake 15 to 18 minutes, until top is golden brown.
5) Allow to cool, then cut into bars.

Apricot Ginger Muffins

I baked these muffins to dispose of the last the dried apricots in the refrigerator (no one ever believes me that my primary catalyst for baking is "using things up"
 not "I want to make something yummy"... I swear it's true though) and I glanced upon this recipe in Deborah Madison's cookbook, Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. I liked the idea of the spiciness of the candied ginger balancing out the sweetness of the apricot. In theory, great, in reality - I got a bit more spiciness than I bargained for! So beware if you make this recipe, it is not for the ginger-faint of heart. I did happily discover that a liberal smear of creme fraiche provided a cooling and deliciously creamy counterfoil to the ginger. I can only imagine how decadent a cardamom creme fraiche would be with this muffin....

Ginger Apricot Buttermilk Muffins (makes 12 regular size muffins)

2 1/2 c. all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c. packed light brown sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/3 c. buttermilk
1/3 c. canola oil  (I substituted applesauce, which I believe resulted in a chewier muffin texture, but was healthier)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 c. diced dried apricots
1 tsp ground ginger (a little cinnamon or cardamom would also be nice)
1/3 c. diced candied ginger (original recipe calls for 1/2 c.)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and grease muffin tin.
2. Cover the diced apricots with boiling water and let stand for 10 minutes, until soft. Drain and add ground ginger (optionally cinnamon/cardamom) and candied ginger.
3. Mix the dry ingredients together in one large bowl and the wet ingredients in another bowl (beat the sugar into the eggs first, then add buttermilk, canola oil and extract).
4. Pour the wet into the dry and in a few quick stirs, combine the two, adding in the apricot/ginger mixture just at the end. *stir as little as possible as long as all flour is mixed in*
5. Scoop into tins, filling nearly to top. Bake about 25 minutes until nicely browned and puffy on top.

No pictures for you!

Okay, I promise I'm almost at the point of being ready to take on food photos again, but why deny my faithful readers, all 3 of them, the joy of hearing about some great springtime meals? Oh! And a new use for leftovers - as in the leftover liquid in those jars of marinated artichoke hearts? I saved up the liquid from 2 jars for about a month ... thinking maybe it could be used in salad dressing until in a stroke of genius, I realized it's perfect for cooking quinoa in! Gives it such an amazing flavor. I highly recommend this strategic use of marinade liquid.

Spring Tulips

(1) Favorite springtime breakfast: Bircher Muesli and Yogurt, topped with a bit of raspberry puree or maple syrup. This recipe is based on Deborah Madison's muesli recipe with some extra bits thrown in:

Muesli
2 c. rolled oats
1/3 c. wheat bran
1/4 c. ground flax
1/2 c.- 3/4 c. mixed seeds and nuts (at least 1/4- 1/3 c. sunflower seeds, can throw in sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, pecans, walnuts almonds)
1/4-1/3 c. shredded, unsweetened coconut
1/2- 1 c. dried fruit (currants, raisins, cranberries, or chopped dates/apricots)

1. Stir everything together except the dried fruit and spread on a baking tray. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes. Let cool and transfer to a container, stirring in dried fruit! Voila! I have now started to double the recipe so I can make it less frequently, but it's so easy I don't mind making up a batch in the morning before heading off to work.

(2) I have had some great success with a couple of easy vegetarian dinner mains which I shall herein relate: asparagus and chickpea studded bulgur with tahini dressing, and steamed carrot/broccoli/kale/tofu quinoa with peanut sauce. Both incredibly good as cold leftovers for lunch the next day!

Asparagus and Chickpea Bulgur (Adapted from CityPalate magazine)

1- 19 oz can chickpeas, drained well (or 1 1/2 - 2 c. cooked chickpeas which is what I used)
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 onion chopped
1/2 - 1 bunch asparagus (thin is better), cut into 1 inch pieces
2 - 3 c. cooked bulgur (I cooked mine with 1 veggie boullion cube)
1/2 c. slived or slivered almonds, toasted
optional: 1 large or 2 medium carrots, finely chopped, parsley

Tahini Dressing (this part is not as accurate... make it to taste!)
1/4 c. tahini
juice of 1 lemon or 1 orange
zest of 1 lemon or 1 orange
2-3 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil (lemon or orange infused even better)
1/4- 1/3 c. hot water
1 garlic clove, finely crushed
2-3 Tbs. apple cider vinegar

1. Saute the chickpeas in a bit of oil until they start turning golden. Add the garlic and a pinch of salt and cook until the chickpeas start to get a bit crispy around the edges. Transfer to a bowl.
2. Saute the onions until soft. Add the asparagus and carrots to the pan and cook 1-2 min, until the asparagus has brightened and softened just a bit. Dump the asparagus into the chickpea bowl.
3. With a bit of oil, warm the bulgur, and toss the asparagus, chickpeas, carrots, and almonds together until just warmed through.
4. Serve with tahini dressing and sprinkle with parsley if desired.

Veggie Quinoa Dragon Bowls
1 crown broccoli, chopped into 1" pieces (smaller for stems)
2-3 carrots, peeled, chopped into 1" pieces
1 bunch of kale, de-stemmed
1 block of tofu, cubed
2 c. cooked quinoa (or more)  (cooked in some veggie broth, or leftover chickpea cooking broth, or leftover liquid from marinated artichoke hearts)
Ground flax seed

1. Steam the carrots just until tender and set aside. Ditto for the broccoli.
2. Saute the kale until tender and set aside. In the same skillet heat a bit of oil (sesame or canola) and saute the tofu until golden brown on all sides.
3. Top quinoa with veggies, tofu, and a sprinkling of ground flax seed. Add peanut sauce.

Peanut Sauce
Peanut butter (or almond butter)
Sweet chili sauce
Minced ginger
Lime juice
Hot water
Optional: a bit of soy sauce or tamari, or flax seed oil.

I don't have proportions here. but the nut butter should be the largest component, the hot water lets you whip it into a sauce consistency, lime juice for acid, sweet chili sauce for sweetness/spice, and minced ginger for yummy flavor. You can also add a bit of hot garlic chili sauce if you want more spice without sweetness.

The soon to be gone snow...

Poor blog, your owner doesn't love you enough.

I'm still getting over cold so I haven't had the energy to really blog about what I've made, but I will in quick summary include a list of noteworthy recipes made in the past week or so. I

#1) Sweet potato hummus. I'm a complete convert to this version of hummus made primarily with sweet potatoes, a bit of chickpeas, tahini, garlic, lemon and spiced with paprika, cumin, cinnamon, cayenne and nutmeg. Note if you have a cold, do not season this hummus alone- you will make it far too spicy for those whose taste buds are not deadened by a stuffy nose...
#2) A vegetarian southern soup of chipotle veggie sausage, kale and collard greens, topped with cornmeal/green onion dumplings OMG from Bon Appetit. Completely worth repeating again and again. Probably even with real meat :)
#3) April's wot bread. This recipe appears in ExtraVeganza. It's a really interesting way to use up leftover brown rice. I quite like the texture of the loaf but it's very dense and doesn't rise at all.
#4) David Lebovitz' brown bread. Must have been trying to use up some buttermilk. Once again, I ended up with bread undercooked in the middle, though I am sure this is no shortcoming of the recipe and rather due to my own oven/timing skills. It would be great though if the cake batter tester would work for once and come out clean because the baked good is actually COOKED THROUGH as opposed to simply coming out clean because the top inch of baked dough manages to scrape off all the uncooked dough on the way out?
#5) Oatmeal applesauce bread. Super pleased with this recipe as it is not very sweet and uses up quite a lot of applesauce and oats. I left out the raisins. Again, issue of uncooked center (my fault not the recipe).
#6) Kale stem pesto - finally a way to use up all those tough chewy stems!