Cooking With Hanzipan

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

I’m glad I only did a small handful! Any more and they would have turned into the Hulk and busted their way out of the jar.

Bob’s Red Mill. Check it out if you don’t know about this company. I love their 5 and 10 grain blends so when I spotted their Baking Book on sale at Powell’s this weekend I snapped it up. It’s two whole pounds of healthy, grain-based recipes. I don’t have many of their fancy flours (chickpea, soy, amaranth flour, etc.) but I do have whole wheat, unbleached all purpose and some almond meal I dug up from the depths of the pantry.

It was moderately difficult to find a recipe that just called for these goodies and didn’t throw in a fancy curve ball at the end like malted barley flour. One of these days I’ll get my hands on all of these, one at a time and experiment, but not today.

Finally I found a cracker recipe that seemed fairly simple in both the baking process and the ingredients list. These turned out to be something along the lines of really really flat biscuits (which is also exactly what they look like). I have a feeling that homemade crackers will tend to be more on the chewy side than I like, and this was one of them. Even though about 1/3 the dry ingredients was almond meal they don’t taste like it, just whole wheaty. So, if you’re looking for a chewy cracker with a whole wheaty taste… this is it! They taste great with some cream cheese, jam or hummus on top and they’re really good warm from the oven.

Almond Flatbread Crackers

from Bob’s Red Mill

1/3 c. almond meal
1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. unbleached white flour
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. baking soda
2 T. softened, unsalted butter
1/3 c. plain yogurt or sour cream

Preheat to 400. Mix together dry ingredients in a medium/large bowl. Mix together butter and yogurt/sour cream and then combine with dry ingredients. Knead dough for about 30 seconds and then seperate into 2 pieces. Roll each piece until very thin. Cut into squares or any shape you want (about 2 inches in size). Bake crackers on an ungreased baking sheet for 6 minutes, or until just beginning to brown. Cool on wire rack.

I’m an impulsive baker. The only time I’ve ever planned to bake something before I started mixing things together was Thanksgiving when I had to plan around a huge hank of meat that would be taking over the oven for hours. Anyway, my point is that for baking they always tell you to use softened butter. Most people soften it either by sticking it on the counter for an hour (boooorrriinngggg) or nuking it for 20 seconds (which never works well, it always gets melty in places). I found this quick way to soften butter via Craftzine.

Images and instructions courtesy of elise.com.

Jessie was going back to school today and she’s been wanting a pan of brownies so I decided to make some this morning to send with her. I wanted to do something that wasn’t the usual brownie because there’s something about them that I’m pretty ambivalent about until, that is, I found this vegan recipe on Bread & Honey. I was intrigued by this idea of heating flour and water in a pan until it turned into a paste. How is that not intriguing in a mad scientist sort of way? These turned out amazingly gooey and tasty right out of the oven. I think they’ve made me a convert to the brownie cause. Next it’ll be fudge. I really don’t like fudge which is sad because, like brownies, they are chocolaty and chewy and tasty.

The Best Vegan Brownies Ever
Recipe courtesy of Bread & Honey:
Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup water
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 11 x 17″ or 9 x 13″ pan.
Boil water and 1/2 cup of the flour in a saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly, until it reaches the consistency of a gluey paste. Remove from heat and let cool.
Mix sugars, salt, vanilla, cocoa and oil. Then add the rest of the flour-water mixture and mix well. Add the remaining 1 1/2 cups of flour and baking powder, mix well, and then stir in the chocolate chips and nuts (if you’re using them). The end mixture will be rather thick.
Spread the mixture into your baking pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes. These are much better when completely cooled.

Starzipan visited me on Wednesday and we started some delicious cinnamon rolls that night and baked them the next morning. I’d done this recipe before but I didn’t have any cream cheese so I’d done a different frosting. The frosting that comes with the recipe is DEFINITELY worth using. I’m going to make some comments in (italicized parentheses)…

Cinnamon Rolls

Recipe courtesy of Inside a Black Apple:

Makes four reasonably sized rolls.

- First off, set a stick of butter out on the counter to soften…hopefully a few hours ahead of time.

- Then, gather your ingredients:
(for the dough)

1/2 cup warmed milk

1 egg
2 tablespoons melted butter
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
2 1/4 c flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 c white sugar
1 1/4 teaspoon yeast

(for slathering on the dough)
1/4 c brown sugar
2 tablespoons soft butter (I’d do 3.. maybe 4 because our rolls were a bit dry)
hearty amounts of cinnamon (adjust to your tastes)

(for the icing)
2 tablespoons soft butter
3-4 tablespoons cream cheese
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
pinch salt

1/2 c confectioner’s sugar

Now, you just fling all of your dough ingredients into a bowl, mixing thoroughly. Pretty quickly, it should become smooth enough to knead with floured hands. This dough is so smooth…it’s just beautiful to work with. When you can pat it into a ball, put it back into the floured mixing bowl and let it rest for a little while (maybe 15 minutes). If you’re going to bake them immediately, pre-heat the oven to 400.

After it has rested, come back to your dough and roll it out into a rectangle on a floured surface. Take your allotted softened butter, and spread it across the surface with a spoon or spatula. Then sprinkle liberally with cinnamon and brown sugar. Roll up into a roll, and then slice. This is where you must decide whether or not to be insane. You can form this batch into two enormous rolls, or 4 smaller, more sane ones. I recommend the sane route. The huge ones are lovely and impressive to look at, but they have trouble cooking to the center thoroughly, and quite frankly, might send you into a coma.

Now, when you have your buns, you can either pop them into your preheated oven (using a greased pan) or, and this achieves slightly better results, put them in the refrigerator overnight and bake them the next morning (we decided to refrigerate over night and next time I would make sure to take them out of the fridge for at least 30 minutes before putting them in the oven to bake the next morning). Either way, you want to bake them for around 15 minutes (or slightly more if you made the huge ones).
Then, whip together the few frosting ingredients, and spread over the warm rolls when they emerge from the oven.

A few days ago I attempted a modified Moroccan chicken pie type dish. I was craving Moroccan food and Oly doesn’t seem to have a restaurant to cater to this craving, so I found this recipe on allrecipes.com and the ingredient list was short and I was set to go.

Ingredients:

• 2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 2 tablespoons chicken bouillon granules
• 2 cups hot water
• 3 eggs
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons white sugar
• 1 (17.5 ounce) package frozen puff pastry, thawed
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• Powdered sugar

Directions:

One of my favorites foods is baked squash so it only makes sense that one of my favorite recipes is one I found on 101 cookbooks. I love the warm squash and the fluffy millet all mixed together with some tart cranberries topped with more than a little butter. Mom and Dad are gone for the weekend so I baked myself a batch and I’m planning on living on it over the next couple of days. For now I’m going to go sit in my stretch pants and watch a few episodes of All Creatures Great and Small with a bowl of this glorious squash extravaganza.

Beginning.

Middle.

And END!

Right before it finds a new home in my tummy.

Mark Bittman’s Autumn Millet Bake Recipe

Recipe borrowed from 101 cookbooks

I screwed up a bit and used dried cranberries. If you are referencing the photo, you’ll notice the shrivel factor. Still good. You can make this vegan, vegetarian, I used a bit of cream* - but you can use just stock or water. The real trick is getting the millet to cook all the way though, so don’t over toast it, and keep adding liquids if you need to.

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus oil for the dish
3/4 cup millet
1 medium butternut or other winter squash or 1 small pumpkin, peeled seeded and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 cup fresh cranberries
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon minced sage leaves or 1 teaspoon dried
2 tablespoons maple syrup or honey
1 cup vegetable stock or water, warmed*
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds or coarsely chopped hazelnuts
Preheat the oven to 375F and grease a 2-quart casserole, a large gratin dish, or a 9×13-inch baking dish with olive oil.

Put 2 tablespoons of the oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add the millet and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant and golden, about 3 minutes (hs note: don’t overdo it). Spread in the bottom of the prepared baking dish.

Scatter the squash or pumpkin cubes and the cranberries on top of the millet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and the sage and drizzle with syrup. Carefully pour the warmed stock over all (hs note: I did about 1/2 cup stock & 1/2 cup cream based on one of his variations). Cover tightly with foil and bake without disturbing, for 45 minutes.

Carefully uncover and turn the oven to 400F. As discreetly as possible, sneak a taste and adjust the seasoning. If it looks too dry, add a spoonful or two of water or stock. (hs note: This is key! The millet should be close to being cooked through at this point, if not you need to add liquid and keep it moist and cooking - I used another 1/4 cup+ of stock here). Sprinkle the pumpkin seeds on top, and return the dish to the oven. Bake until the mixture bubbles and the top is browned (hs note: and the millet is cooked through), another 10 minutes or so. Serve piping hot or at room temperature (hs note: drizzled with the remaining olive oil if you like).

Serves 4 to 6.

*In the end, I used 3/4 cup stock + 1/2 cup cream

Dad and Mummy are headed up to Whistler for the weekend and I wanted to send them off on their 7 hour drive with something tasty to snack on. I’d found an amazing scone recipe over at The Black Apple a few weeks ago and that sounded just right. I didn’t glaze them because they’re still warm and they need to make their trip in a  ziplock baggie. Sweaty scones are definitely NOT attractive.

Glazed Orange Scones For Your Weekend Breakfasts

Recipe borrowed from Inside a Black Apple

(Makes about 8 medium sized scones)

Ingredients:
1 3/4 C flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 C white sugar
pinch salt
5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2″ chunks
1/2 C orange juice
1/4 c sour cream
1 egg
1 teaspoon milk
Zest of 1 orange

1.   Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F/200 degrees C

2. Sift the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt into a large bowl. Add the butter using a pastry tool or your hands, until the mixture is crumbly and there are still pea-sized lumps of butter visible. Stir in the orange zest. Mix together 1/2 cup orange juice and sour cream in a measuring cup. Pour all at once into the dry ingredients, and stir gently just until blended. Do not over-do the blending.

3. With floured hands, pat scone dough into balls 2 to 3 inches across, depending on what size you want. Place onto a greased baking sheet, and flatten lightly.  Whisk together the egg and 1 tablespoon of milk. Brush the tops of the scones with the egg wash. Let them rest for about 10 minutes.

4. Bake for around 12 minutes in the preheated oven, until the tops are just golden brown. Transfer to rack to cool.

5. Once cool, you can leave them be or glaze them as I did. To make the glaze, I combined about 1/2 orange juice, the zest of 1 orange, and about 1/2 an orange cut into small chunks. I simmered the mixture lightly for about 10 minutes, and then took it off the heat and allowed to cool. Once cool, add confectioner’s sugar until it reaches a good glazing consistency, and stir til’ smooth.

6. Squirrel away any that remain in a tightly sealed container at room temperature.

Today I made an apple pie. This is a place-holder, as I have not yet taken pictures of the pie and don’t feel like typing up the recipe :-P. Both the crust and the filling were prepared from the Joy, which is the way my dad does it(mostly, he does a bit more eyeballing than me). It is a beautiful pie and I’m sure it will be delicious.

Oh Bread & Honey, you are the source of all things delicious. Today I made a half batch of their Country Crust bread. I’ve made it before and it was wonderful THEN. Now it’s downright amazing because I’ve gotten it turn out golden and puffy TWICE. It’s a record. I like that you can (in theory) stick the dough in the fridge for up to four days… so I could do all the work one day and reap all of the benefits several days later. That’s my kind of style!

A few glamour shots. This load deserves it.

Can a loaf of bread pose for a camera? I think so.

Now, for the good part!

Country Crust Bread
From Bread & Honey

Ingredients:
2 packages active dry yeast
2 cups warm water (105 to 115 degrees)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon salt
2 eggs
1/4 cup oil
6 to 6 1/2 cups bread flour
soft butter or margarine

Directions:
Dissolve yeast in warm water. Stir in sugar, salt, eggs, oil, and 3 cups of the flour. Beat until smooth. Mix in enough remaining flour to make dough easy to handle. Turn dough onto lightly floured board; knead until smooth and elastic, 8 to 10 minutes. Place in a greased bowl; turn greased side up. (At this point, dough can be refrigerated for 3 to 4 days.) Cover; let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour (Dough is ready if impression remains.)

Punch down dough; divide in half. Roll each half into a rectangle, 18×9 inches. Roll up, beginning at short side. With side of hand, press each end to seal. Fold ends under loaf. Place seam side down in greased loaf pan. Brush loaves with a little oil. Let rise until doubled, about another hour.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Place loaves on lower oven rack so that the tops of the pans are in the center of the oven. Pans should not touch each other or sides of oven. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until deep golden brown and loaves sound hollow when tapped. Remove from pans. Brush loaves with butter; cool on wire rack.

Makes two loaves.