Banana Coconut Muffins - Vegan and Sugar-Free

I was never the biggest muffin fan, until I tried these. I like banana bread so why not make it a muffin?

4 medium bananas (mashed)
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/3 cup nuts, your choice
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp fresh grated nutmeg
1 tsp blackstrap molasses

2 tsp maple syrup

1 tbsp honey

1/2 cup yogurt
1/3 cup oatmeal
1/8 cup olive oil

1/8 cup coconut oil

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mash the bananas first (either by hand or with a mixer), then add the olive oil, molasses, honey, maple syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, oatmeal, yogurt and nuts.
3. Mix the baking soda with the flour in a separate bowl and make a well in the center.
4. Pour the banana mixture into the well with the oatmeal and stir with a spatula, cutting the dough into the mix carefully without mixing too much. 

5. Rub muffin pan with oil and fill each cup full or a little under. Add the flaked coconut to the top.
6. Bake for 20-25 minutes until you smell the muffins sweet aroma wafting through the air. Allow to cool before removing from pan.

Feel free to use agave in place of the honey or maple syrup. Also you can use all olive or coconut oil if that's all you have. The second time I made these I felt that they could use a little more sweetness so I added a tsp or so of sugar to the mix. 

Random Deliciousness

Here's some photos I snapped real quick of some things I've made over the last couple of weeks. I didn't have time to blog about them but if you have any questions please let me know!

This is a take on Spanikopita where I sprinkled sauteed spinach, garlic and crumbled feta on sheets of buttered fillo dough, crunched them up and layered them in a bundt cake pan (I know that damn pan again!) I do realize that the presentation is a bit... well... worm-like, so next time I won't be using the bundt pan.

Here's some banana muffins I made with raspberry sauce baked on top and whipped cream

Potatoes Au Gratin (To Die for)
This was amazing. I don't have the recipe because I didn't follow one, but it's sliced potatoes, milk, butter, 3 cheeses, crushed beat chips on top, roasted red peppers and sour cream, baked for a long long time.

Who doesn't love brownies? Nrommmmmm. Cakey AND densely moist. A dichotomy on a plate.

Thai Green Curry

I'm a sucker for Panang Chicken, which is the Thai Red Curry you can order at just about any Thai restaurant. But this time I wanted to give the green a stab. It certainly does seem to be popular with the girls, strangely enough since it's usually spicy enough to melt your face off (at least traditionally). I made mine pretty mild this time because I live with people who can't handle heat :) You know who you are!

For this dish I started out by picking some fresh lemongrass off my friend's plant, chopping it up and simmering it on very low heat in coconut milk, covered. While that's gently cooking, grate some ginger, crush some fresh garlic, jalapeno or Thai peppers and throw it all in the coconut milk. I have fresh herbs out back so I picked some lemon thyme and Thai basil, chopped it along with a little parsley, cilantro and spinach (for extra green color mostly) and threw them in too. If you can find kaffir lime leaves, get them and add them at this point.

I then julienned some veggies: green and yellow peppers, yellow onions, carrots and celery (or whatever cut and veggies you like... I like julienne for this because it cooks fast). Throw some of the celery in the coconut milk. Set the rest aside. Make sure the sauce is not too hot and blend it in a blender until as smooth as it will get. Strain and add a tiny pinch of xanthan gum (TINY!!!), a regular pinch of rice flour and a pinch of corn starch, then blend again. Put the sauce in a large simmer skillet or pot and bring to a low simmer.

Measure out your white long grain rice and start it cooking now. My best advice for rice is use a flat-bottomed pot, almost double the amount of water to rice, bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cover for about 15 minutes, or until the rice is just barely crunchy in the middle of the grains. Then turn off the heat and leave covered until ready to serve. That last part is important as the water and heat will distribute evenly, creating a nicely textured rice.

Slice and add chicken breast strips a few at a time, stirring so that the chicken doesn't stick together. Then add the veggies, coriander, salt, a tiny touch of tamari, honey and if you have it tamarind sauce and continue simmering on low for about 15 minutes. Top with some fresh Thai basil leaves and serve it up! If this doesn't give you a mouthgasm I don't know what will.

Although this took about 2 hours to prepare it was worth it. I made 4 servings for just under $13. Eat that!

Donuts! Sweet and Savory

I have to send my deepest and most heartfelt thank you to Alton Brown for supplying the recipe for these mouth-watering, face-meltingly good donuts. I've never made donuts before and it's not all that hard. It takes time like any yeast based dough, but it's worth it. These turned out perfect with just the right rise and just the right oil temperature, these babies become deliciosity.

Here's the recipe. Just follow that to the T (with the obvious exception that I cut and shaped mine differently) and you'll have these kind of results:

Just tossed in cinnamon and sugar

Both savory and sweet

Savory with feta and pear balsamic

I sliced this one with a bread knife and stuffed it with feta

Apple-Cinnamon French Toast

French toast is oddly enough an American breakfast and brunch staple that is probably as old as the invention of bread itself. It was originally created as a way to thwart throwing away stale bread. Pieces would be soaked in milk and fried. The addition of eggs was probably soon after, somewhere around the 15th century when it was known as "Armeritter".

I personally have been making french toast since around the time I could say it correctly. It's the fastest and one of the cheapest breakfasts around. You'll need at least of couple of eggs, some sliced bread, butter and/or vegetable oil (canola is what I use), milk, cinnamon, a diced apple, salt, sugar, nutmeg, honey and /or maple syrup.

First saute the apples in a little butter and add a little cinnamon, nutmeg, honey and a TINY splash of water. They should take about 5 minutes max on medium-low heat.

Next crack those eggs into a wide mixing bowl (big enough for the bread to lay in). Sprinkle in a pinch of salt and a pinch of sugar. Whip until smooth. Oil your non-stick skillet, lay a piece of bread in the wet mix on each side and lay in the pan. Cook about 2 minutes each side on medium heat or if you like less brown try 3-4 minutes on medium low (the pan should sizzle a little). I like to put each piece on a plate in the microwave until I'm ready to eat it. No I don't nuke the french toast. As a matter of fact I loathe the microwave and will go out of my way to not use it.

When done toss the apples on top with some maple syrup and curse your local breakfast place for not being able to pull it off like this! (Unless you go to Snooze which is awesome, but expensive)

Plaintain Pancakes

I LOVE TOSTONES! You know, double fried and smashed plaintain coins. They are so delicious with a little balsamic reduction, maple syrup and tamarind sauce. Well this time I didn't boil the pieces enough and when I smashed them they broke apart. So I decided to not waste them and try something new: Plaintain pancakes!

I tried this once before and it was an utter failure but this time I got the technique down. Here's how I did it:

Peel and chop a plaintain into about 5-6 equal pieces, boil them until fairly soft (about 10 minutes, but don't let them fall apart or get too soft). Strain them and put in a blender with a cup of milk, a teaspoon of salt, a teaspoon of honey or agave syrup and a tablespoon of melted  butter. Blend until smooth. Mix together 1 cup of flour with 2 1/4 teaspoons of baking powder and 1/4 cup of masa harina. Add to the wet mix you just made and fold it in until just incorporated. Don't stir too much. Heat a flat-bottomed non-stick skillet on medium and add a little canola, sesame or coconut oil (or butter). When you can flick a single drop of water in the pan and it sizzles away within a second or two you are ready to do you first test pancake. Drop a tablespoon of the mix into the oil and cook for about 2 minutes (or until the sides are golden brown and a few bubble form on top of the pancake. Flip it over and cook approximately another 2 minutes. Let the pancake cool for a few minutes before tasting it. The pancakes even out in texture that way, kind of like resting a good steak before eating it. If the texture is too mushy add a little more flour or masa harina to thicken the batter. These are fluffy yet smooth southwest pancakes at their very best!

This recipe made enough coin-sized pancakes to feed about 5-6 people and cost under $3! Think about that next time you drive through a McDonald's for breakfast.

VEGANS: replace the milk with almond milk and butter with sesame or coconut oil

Double Chocolate Banana Oatmeal Cookies

OK, I can't help but to go over the top with my recipes. I know I am wreckless and ambitious, a dangerous combination, but I make it work for me. This cupboard raid turned up something that will remain in my recipe book forever. Here's where I started:  http://allrecipes.com/recipe/chocolate-oatmeal-cookies/

The only thing I did differently was substitute a blended banana for the egg, added a teaspoon of honey, a handful of crushed cashews and a hint of fresh ground nutmeg. Everything else was exactly to this recipe. In less than a half hour and for under $6 I made 2 dozen delectable treats that had the house hovering and waiting the last few minutes of baking. I love how food is so communal! Try keeping these around at your house. I dare you!

Feel free to get creative with the extra dry ingredients like almonds or raisins. You can substitute coconut oil for butter if you want to go vegan. For gluten-free you might try mostly rice flour, a little tapioca starch and baking soda only in place of baking powder. And as always, test one cookie before baking off the rest. This will tell you if you need to adjust the dough at all. Sometimes it's too wet and I add a tiny bit of flour to stiffen it up. Also feel free to use pastry flour, whole wheat and/or all purpose flour in any blend you want. If you want soft, chewy cookies bake for 10-11 minutes, for crunchier bake for 13-14 minutes.

Cottage Pie

Nothing says home cooking like cottage pie to me. Such a simple dish but so heart-warming, especially on a chilly evening. It gets right to the ribs... to the soul even. And I love having my soul tickled by some great home cooked comfort food. I can explain this one in no time.

Peel and cut russet potatoes into cubes and boil in salted water until soft when poked with a fork but not falling apart. You'll know because you'll be thinking "I can drain that and still mash them pretty easily." See how that works? Nice!

While that's going carmelize some diced yellow onions. Medium heat, stir often, deglaze with red wine 2-3 times, only when getting kinda dry, to prevent them from burning. Add diced carrots and cut green beans and saute in a little olive oil until softened a bit but not too much. You may want to add some water to the saute after a few minutes to help steam-cook the veggies. Remove veggies from the pan. Cook the lamb about 3/4 done. A little pink will remain and that's a good thing because we are baking this dish when assembled. Mix the veggies and the meat with some herbs and spices like thyme, paprika, cinnamon, salt, pepper or whatever you like. Put in a baking dish and set aside.

Mash the potatoes and add some milk, salt, pepper, dill, chives and butter until smooth enough to spread or pipe onto the veggies in the baking dish. Cover with shredded cheddar cheese and bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is golden bubbly on top. Cool for 10 minutes and then, if you are like me, cut carefully into squares, slide a pie spatula under and slide onto the plate with a flat-edged knife or other tool pressed firmly at the bottom of the spatula. It just looks better that way. My family used to just scoop a spoon into it making it a mess of stuff rather than a "pie" which I always hated. Do it your way, but if you come to my house this is how it's done.

Scotch Eggs with Mustard Sauce

This little ditty of a photo (to the right) popped up in an article I was reading about jQuery (web design code..) and I totally lost my train of thought. The only thing I could think was "I have to make that right now." And I did the very next day.

I got some Organic Valley eggs on sale, and a pound of ground beef (which was subsequently replaced with lamb since the dog ate the entire pound off the counter behind my back). I rounded up some corn starch, bread crumbs, plenty of canola oil and fresh parsley.

After that I boiled 8 eggs for 12 minutes and chilled them in ice water (to reduce the chances of a brown ring forming around the yolk, which happened anyway here since I used only cold water). Crack them while pulling them out of the boiling water to make them easier to peel.

Next I heated about 3 inches of canola oil to 350 in a small flat-bottomed pot. Mixed the meatball mixture next ie; a couple handfuls of bread crumbs, a pound of meat, an egg, chopped parsley, salt, pepper, thyme and paprika. Roll an egg in the corn starch. Pick up a medium meatballs worth of meat and form it around the egg, making sure to keep it tight and touching the egg. Roll it in a beaten egg then in breadcrumbs. Place in oil gently and fry for about 3 minutes or until dark golden brown. Drain and put on paper towels. Repeat 7 more times. My results were the photo on the left. Oh how I wish I had a better camera :)

The mustard sauce is easy. Mix whatever mustards you have together in your fridge with some worcestershire sauce, pickle juice, lemon juice, mayo and your pick of herbs and spices.

Delicious, but one must wonder what sort of sick mind designed this concoction to begin with? It's a bit, well... just look at them!

Banana Carrot Coconut Cake

Ever wondered what banana bread and carrot cake would be like together? No? Really? Well I have and I created such a concoction very recently. Here are the two recipes that I used for the cake:

Banana Bread http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/banana-bread-recipe/index.html
Carrot Cake (thanks Alton!) http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/carrot-cake-recipe/index.html

I used a bundt cake pan because... well, it's all I could find to bake in at the moment. Not my first choice but let's give it a go. I started with a buttered and powdered sugar dusted pan, then made and added the banana bread, smoothing it out slightly without spreading it up the sides of the pan. This is for a double layered effect. Next I chopped up some candied pecans I made a few days prior and sprinkled them on top. Then I made and added the carrot cake over top of those. I baked it at 350 for one hour then turned the oven off and left it in for another 10 minutes. I then pulled it out to cool (preferably in a place where your friend's dog isn't going to eat it) for about an hour. Then chill in the freezer for 10 minutes before adding the frosting.

I wanted to make a French buttercream for the frosting or at least a cream cheese frosting but alas neither were available from the cupboard genie. So I opted for a yogurt frosting. I made this by softening a tablespoon of butter in the microwave and blending it with yogurt and vanilla extract. Then blending in powdered sugar until thickened to a nice icing texture. Spread frosting on the cake and sprinkle coconut flakes on the outside, tilting the cake sideways to spread more evenly. You could even zest an orange or lemon into the icing or sprinkle on top. Slice and eat with a scoop or two of vanilla ice cream. Nums.

Stoneground Wild Cheddar Jalapeno and Onion Bread

Wild Stoneground Wheat Bread

What makes bread WILD?

Most bread you buy in grocery stores are made with commercially produced yeast. You know those little packets of Fleishmann's yeast you find in the baking isle. This is a yeast that guarantees a 90 minute rise, unlike natural yeast which generally takes hours to do it's work on bread dough. Natural yeast inhabits the air around us. It can be "captured" and cultivated with flour to produce what is called a barm, which is the precursor to sourdough and other wild yeast breads. This barm eliminates the need to buy commercial yeast, and quite frankly, tastes a whole lot better. So no matter where you are, you can produce a wild bread that captures the essence of the yeast in the air in that particular place. Pretty cool huh?

To make a barm all you need is 1 part flour and 1 part water by WEIGHT, not volume. That means you need to bust out with a scale... well not me. As I said before, I love to wing it. And I've done this a few times so it's become easier to just fly by the seat of my pants. So mix the flour and water together thoroughly. Tip: try using rye or whole wheat four and apple cider or pineapple juice just this first time. This gives the final barm a really developed flavor since the acidity of the juices promote the growth of bacteria which create complex flavors. Make sure to use 100% juice, no additives, as they can interfere with the production of the bacteria you want. Keep it in a container with a loose-fitting lid that is a good size bigger than your mixture as it is going to expand to about twice it's size. Leave it on the counter until the next day.

Now time for lesson 2 of barm making. Feeding is when you add flour and water to the barm to keep the yeast alive. You always want to at least double your barm size when you feed it. So you can take half out and make something with it or toss it, or double your barm. Feed the barm at room temperature for 3 more days like this, keeping an eye out for overflow. After that put the barm in the fridge and feed 1-2 times a week. At this point you can use the barm but the flavor won't quite be at it's peak. Don't worry. After 3 weeks of feeding the barm will start to smell kinda like rotten fruit and give off ethanol gas. Word of advice: don't stick you nose in the container right after opening it :) One more note: if you find that your barm seems too thin or runny just add flour. The best kinds to feed your barm with are bread flour, all purpose, whole wheat and rye.

Now that you have barm let's make some bread! Take a cup of cold barm and add 3/4 cup of water to it, mixing well. Add a teaspoon of salt, a teaspoon of honey and a tiny touch of molasses. Mix in bread flour until it thickens and is easy to lump together, but is still very sticky. Add some stoneground wheat flour and knead it into the dough. Keep adding flour as needed and knead the dough for about 8 minutes in a mixer, or 8 minutes by hand then rest for 5 minutes and 8 more minutes. You can tell when the dough is ready by taking a small lump off and doing a "window pane test" stretching a tiny piece of the dough into a circle over a light. If you see the light through the dough pretty easily it is done.

Shape the dough into a ball by stretching one side over the other and sealing it in a circle. Place on the counter seal side down, cover with plastic wrap or a large bowl until the dough almost doubles in size. Then flatten the dough lightly with the flats of your fingers or your palms and shape into either a loaf for a loaf pan or a batard. Both require you to fold the bottom third of the dough into the center and press lightly to seal. Then pull the top part over the seal you just made and seal a second time by pinching the crease. Put crease side down on an oiled baking pan. Beat a small egg well and brush it over the top of the loaf. Sprinkle oats, sesame seeds, flax seed, sunflower seeds, or whatever your heart desires on top. Spritz with a little water to help the toppings stick a little better. Score the bread with a serrated knife by cutting 2 slits diagonal across the top, and along the sides. Let rise until almost double and bake for 10 minutes at 400, then about 20 minutes at 350. Take the temperature by inserting a thermometer in the side. Get a reading from the middle of the bread. It should be between 190 and 210.

Quick and Easy Vegetarian Pasta

Pasta AGAIN? Sigh. Well what can I do to make this not boring? Let's start with some pipe rigate pasta (my favorite) boiled to al dente (remember to salt the water), some finely chopped broccoli, fresh garlic, frozen peas, feta cheese, yellow onions, and some left over eggplant-tomato sauce from the other night. Just saute the broccoli and onions in some olive oil for a few minutes, add the garlic, then add the frozen peas after a minute. In the mean time if your pasta is drained and cooling try drizzling milk or cream on it with a touch of olive oil and toss to coat. Then add about a quarter cup of water to the saute with the eggplant sauce. When hot add the pasta and toss. Serve with  a little crumbled feta and some herbs/spices on top. Lovelier than I was expecting!

Hold the Eggs! A New Take on Breakfast

Breakfast. It's seems like every time I make it I use eggs. I'm tired of eggs. There has GOT to be another way. Time for another cupboard dive.

I have been really liking quinoa a lot lately, and I bought some tofu that was on sale. That sounds like a protein-rich and tasty combo. I'll add a little fresh garlic, chopped spinach, diced onions and my signature seasoning blend: sweet and smoked paprika, thyme, salt and black pepper. It goes great on everything.

If you've never made tofu before, or have tried but it turned out bad, I'll give you a tip on how to cook tofu. There 3 types of tofu: silken, firm and extra firm. I usually get the firm one for things like stir fries etc. The trick is to first lightly press the tofu block between a folded towel. Get a decent amount of water out of it, then cut it into cubes to the size of your liking. Next heat a non-stick skillet on medium low. Add a touch of oil. Place the tofu pieces in the skillet and arrange them in a pattern that you can follow around in a circle. The reason for this is because you want to cook the tofu on all sides and at the same time slowly evaporate out some of the water. You could just toss them in and toss them around every few minutes to turn but the pieces won't cook as evenly and the texture suffers. I like to turn them on all sides and cook about the same, so you'll need to turn each one 5 times. Once all sides have a light golden color turn up the heat to medium high, add the chopped garlic, then the rest of the ingredients and toss/stir fry for a couple of minutes. You could also take the tofu out of the pan, add the other ingredients then add the tofu back in towards the end. You can keep a crispier texture on the tofu that way.

There's my proposal for an egg-less breakfast. The only thing that I would like to see is a few avocado slices on top and maybe a touch of goat cheese. This meal cost me under $2 and took about a half-hour. Happy breakfast adventures!

Oatmeal Cookies (Vegan!)

Oatmeal cookies have been a favorite of mine since my induction to the cookie experience at the tender age of, I dunno, like 2, right along with the grand daddy of all cookies: Chocolate Chip. If you've ever made cookies before you know they require eggs, right? Wrong! Haha!

Say one day you are looking through your cupboard and see all the ingredients necessary for oatmeal cookies except...oh no, you're out of eggs! And OMG butter too! Gosh I was really wanting some oatmeal cookies...built up a taste and everything. Well, you know... bananas are a great substitution for eggs in a cookie recipe! Don't believe me, try it. Also, coconut butter (same as oil) is a great substitute for butter. Sub both the eggs and the butter and these babies are VEGAN! What's even lovelier is the fact that coconut and banana compliment the flavor of the oatmeal. These are gonna be tasteeee.

Let's get started. Put 3oz of coconut butter in a small dish the freezer (one that will make it easy to pull the whole chunk out later). In a mixing bowl put a peeled banana and squash down with a fork and then blend it until it is smooth. Notice it gets to a very egg-like consistency. Next measure out 1/3 cup sugar and blend it into the banana. Add 2 tbsp of honey, a pinch of salt and a teaspoon of cinnamon. If you wanted to, you could add a tsp of flax meal, which will act a little bit like eggs when mixed with liquids, and add a little softness to the final cookies. Chill for 20 minutes in the refrigerator. Chop about 2 handfuls of almonds in a blender. Don't over grind. You want some chunks.

Remove the coconut butter from the freezer and the dish. Chop into pea-sized chunks and add to the banana mix. Add a cup of oatmeal and stir until combined well. Mix a half cup of all purpose or whole wheat flour (or for gluten-free try brown rice or sorghum flour instead) and a half teaspoon of baking soda or powder. If you use baking soda add a large pinch of corn or tapioca starch to soften the final cookies a bit. Don't overmix or you'll start gluten formation and that is good for bread, but bad for cookies. Add additional flour as needed to get the cookies to the consistency where when you break off a bit of the dough you can roll it in your dry-ish hands without it sticking much at all. I like to bake off one or two cookies before I do the rest.

With the oven pre-heated to 350, put the cookies on a sheet pan spaced about a half inch or more apart, then bake for 11 minutes. The results should be 1/4-1/3 inch tall cookies with banana and coconut hitting your nose right before your mouth bites into a slightly crispy outside texture, then giving into a chewy and slightly fluffy interior. Not too sweet either. Great with a cup of hot green tea.

15 cookies for about $4 in under a half-hour.

Organic ingredients from Vitamin Cottage: whole wheat flour, Horizon butter, oats, cane sugar, banana

Almonds!

One of my favorite things to make cheap on the fly are tamari almonds. Also up there are cocoa dusted almonds.  Almonds are my second favorite nut (next to the cashew, duh!) simply because they are so healthy. Did you know that almonds are a much better source of calcium than milk? Almond milk is pretty good for cereal and eliminates the cholesterol and fat associated with milk. It is much easier for your body to digest. Almonds have a decent amount of protein and are also believed to be cancer-fighting.

Enough health talk. These tasty finger fondlers are fantasticly infused with flavor from my slightly ferral food facilities, meaning I threw together a bunch of stuff from my cupboard to help elevate the taste of the almonds I am about to enjoy by the handful.

Cocoa Almonds: Heat a skillet on medium. Add a tablespoon of butter or oil. Add a tablespoon or so of sugar and a 1/4 cup of water. About a minute after the sugar is melted add the almonds and toss to coat evenly until almonds dry up for the most part. Put on a plate to cool and stick in the refrigerator or freezer for a few minutes. Put some cocoa powder in a bowl (with a touch of powdered sugar if you have it) and toss the semi-cooled almonds in the cocoa until evenly coated. You don't have to use your hands. Cool in the fridge for a few more minutes and enjoy.

Tamari Almonds: Heat skillet on medium. Add a tablespoon of butter or oil. When melted add the almonds and toss to coat. Heat almonds while tossing occasionally. Remove pan from heat for 30 seconds then add a tablespoon of tamari and toss to coat evenly. Add a teaspoon or so of honey and toss. Add chinese five-spice and toss. Cool on a plate in the fridge or freezer and enjoy!

Pizza Melanzane

OK, it's Friday night and I need pizza. I'm broke so I can't order out. BUT... I do have that sourdough barm that I've been keeping for a few months now, some bread flour, oh and some fresh garlic, jalapeno, a yellow onion, tomato sauce, spinach, a fresh tomato and some yeast (I know, I know, I should've not added the yeast but then it would have taken HOURS to rise, which is OK sometimes, just not now. I'm hungry.) This will make for some great pizza in under 2 hours time and about 45 minutes of actual prep. Cost: right around $7.

First things first:
Roast the eggplant. Preheat the oven to 350.  Hold the eggplant firmly to the counter and pierce with a knife or fork on the top several times, enough to let a little bit of steam escape the eggplant as it roasts. Roast at 350 for 30-40 minutes or until soft.

Get that dough going. As I said in my last blog, when I just want to get this done I wing it without a recipe. Experience allows me to do this with very little error, however illustrating to you the reader how to improvise is one of the goals of this blog. While the eggplant is roasting, take about a cup of the barm and add about 3/4 cup of cold tap water  and 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a mixing bowl, mixing it in well until there are no lumps (of if you don't have barm just omit it - it's mostly for extra flavor anyway). Add about a teaspoon of salt, the yeast and about a cup of flour. Mix until thick and there are no lumps. Keep adding flour until the dough releases from the sides but still sticks a little bit to the bottom, probably about 2-3 more cups. Take the dough out of the bowl and knead by hand until it passes the window pane test, which is taking a little lump off the dough, flattening it and stretching it out like a little pizza dough in the air in front of a light. You want the dough to be very translucent and get pretty thin before breaking. Then you know you have lots of gluten formation, which gives pizza crust it's texture. It's really hard to overknead by hand so if you are doubtful, knead for a few more minutes. A mixer will cut your time in half and save your hands from getting a cramp :) But alas I don't have one. Coat the dough with a little olive oil, place in the mixing bowl and cover. Let rest for 15-30 minutes or until the dough has not quite doubled in size.

While the dough is rising put your tomato sauce, chopped garlic, herbs, spices in a small pot and simmer on low. Take the eggplant out of the oven when it is done, cut it in half and scoop out the insides into the tomato sauce. At this point you can blitz it in the blender for a few pulses, or not if you want it chunky. Add about a 1/2 cup of water and simmer on low. Start chopping the rest of the veggies for the toppings, shred the cheese and toss the toppings with the cheese in a mixing bowl, then refrigerate.

Prepare your pizza pan by oiling it lightly. Take the dough and flatten it with your fingers and palms to roughly the shape of the pan, insert it into the pan and stretch to the outsides by holding the center of the dough so it doesn't stretch too much and pull the outside of the dough to the edge. If you are having a hard time stretching the dough try letting it rest as is for 10-15 more minutes. It should loosen up. If not then you probably needed to knead your dough more. Lightly oil the top of the dough and cover. Leave it on the counter for about an hour or until risen about 1 1/2 - 2 times it's size. Top with the sauce, toppings and bake at 450 for 5 minutes, then lower to 375 for roughly 25 minutes or until the cheese has color all the way to the center. If you are not sure if it is done in the middle insert a thermometer and it should read about 180 or so.

Enjoy your homemade pizza melanzane a la Geo!

5 Moments of Delicious Zen

Since I haven't been feeling all that creative in the kitchen lately, I thought it would be nice to take a look back at some of my favorite dishes for inspiration. Here are a few moments of zen.

1/3 lb buffalo burger stuffed with habanero chicken slices and provolone, topped with sliced cucumber, tomato, avocado, red onion and tzatziki, served on a giant rosemary roll. Best burger I've ever eaten.

Broccoli Beer Cheese Soup in a bread bowl

Nuff said? K. Nope, I used New Belgium Trippel and Tillamook 3 year sharp cheddar for this deliciosity.

Huevos Benedictos

Garlic chive pancakes, black beans, tostones, chorizo and poached eggs. The only thing I wished for was a little bit of poblano hollandaise.

Souvlaki pizza

homemade crust (of course), falafels and tzatziki with ground lamb, feta, pepperoncini, basil, garlic.

Southwest Watermelon Tapas

Semi-frozen watermelon with jalapeno, bacon, goat cheese, scallions, chives, avocado oil, apple cider vinegar, lime juice and habanero sauce.

I remember each of these clearly in my head. Although recently I have vowed to eat less meat, so I've been cutting down on portion sizes when making things like this and also using less dairy. I won't go into my personal philosophies on that but maybe in my other blog 3Cents I'll write about it.

Tropical Juice

Pineapples were on sale at Vitamin Cottage so I picked one up. I have 5oz of frozen Cascadian Farms organic peaches, lime juice, a quarter of a lemon and a small chunk of ginger, all of which sound like they would be great together. Let's give it a try. Juice time.

Here's how I like to do my juice: in a blender and through a strainer. Why you ask? Because it's healthier that way and you get the most out of your fruit. The tiny pulp that thickens the juice is fiber.

Did you know that most of the nutrients in many fruits and vegetables are located just below the surface of the skin? For that reason when I trim down my fruit I like to leave some or all of the skin on, for instance all of the skin of an apple, but for an orange I would peel the whole skin off since the white pith is bitter. There's nothing wrong with zesting citrus before you peel and juice it. That's when you grate off the very outside layer of the skin of most citrus fruits (not the white part). It's great for adding to a stir fry or sugar cookies.

OK, so I chopped most of the outside of the pineapple off and cubed it, blended it, the ginger and the peaches together, strained it, and now to finish it off with a touch of extra sweetness. A cup of hot water from the tap, a half cup to a cup of natural cane sugar and stir until melted. Add a tablespoon or two of honey and stir. Then add to the strained fruit mixture. You may need to add a little more water or just throw a bunch of ice in and come back in 5 minutes.

Final yield was about a gallon of juice and it cost under $5. Toss in some rum and well you've got a party.