2 HighTop Brand Graham Crackers (WinCo), broken in half
2 Medium marshmallows (or 4 banana coins)
2 squares any Fair Trade Vegan chocolate bar you can find. Good luck with that.
1 plate
1 microwave, 20 seconds.
Have fun :)
August 14, 2010
July 4, 2010
Vegan Chicken Broth
This is pretty much Karinna Ball's recipe... I just changed it over for vegetarians/vegans :)
2 T McKays *Vegan Chicken Seasoning
2 Pints Water
1 Whole Chopped Onion w/skin
4 Stalks Whole Chopped Celery w/leaves
4 Carrots (optional)
6 Cloves Whole Garlic w/skins
1/8 C Apple Cider Vinager
1 T Bragg Liquid Aminos
1 tsp. Cumin
1 T Garlic Powder
1 T Dried Cilantro
1 T Dried Basil
1/2 tsp. Cayenne
Salt & Pepper to taste
Simmer **10 to 20 minutes. Can be strained for broth and frozen as broth-ice-cubes, or eaten hot as soup.
*There are two kinds of this fake seasoning, plain and vegan. The plain does have milk. They also have the same two versions of fake beef seasoning.
** Since there's no meat to cook, it's just a matter of lightly tenderizing the veggies, and cooking in the great flavors :)
2 T McKays *Vegan Chicken Seasoning
2 Pints Water
1 Whole Chopped Onion w/skin
4 Stalks Whole Chopped Celery w/leaves
4 Carrots (optional)
6 Cloves Whole Garlic w/skins
1/8 C Apple Cider Vinager
1 T Bragg Liquid Aminos
1 tsp. Cumin
1 T Garlic Powder
1 T Dried Cilantro
1 T Dried Basil
1/2 tsp. Cayenne
Salt & Pepper to taste
Simmer **10 to 20 minutes. Can be strained for broth and frozen as broth-ice-cubes, or eaten hot as soup.
*There are two kinds of this fake seasoning, plain and vegan. The plain does have milk. They also have the same two versions of fake beef seasoning.
** Since there's no meat to cook, it's just a matter of lightly tenderizing the veggies, and cooking in the great flavors :)
Plain Strawberry Banana (or Nectarine) Fruit Cream
I'll start this off with a teaser. This recipe makes about 2 servings. For the whole recipe (both servings), you get:
4.5 g fat
152 mg sodium
640 mg potassium (about 1/7 what's needed in a day)
51 g carbs (28 g fruit-sugars, 10 g fiber)
3 g protein (a great protein to fat ratio!)
50% RDA of Vitamin E
25% RDA of Vitamin D
175 mg. Vitamin C
240 mg. Calcium
If you use nectarine cubed pieces instead of banana coins, you can knock off about 15 g of carbs (about 5 g sugars). So the whole thing, about 2 servings worth, would be about 36 g carbs or 23 g sugar and 9 g fiber). What you get in vitamins also changes, but it's not significant enough to worry about, really. The two main points of this desert, as listed below, is that it's insanely low in fat, and high in fiber, and you get a whopping 3 grams of protein. That's not as high of protein as in ice cream, but as deserts go, and really, as fruits go, that's a lot of protein. Plus, you're beefing up on Vitamins C, D, and E, and on your calcium. What's important here about the calcium is that it won't be leached out of your bones by animal-milk proteins. In fact, because the calcium is coming with vitamin D, it's a little easier to put on that sun screen when you're supposed to (after 10 to 15 minutes of moderate sun exposure in the mid morning or early evening).
Frozen Ingredients
1 large banana, peeled, coined and frozen
8 oz. frozen strawberry pieces (cut vertically into 3rds and then in half, then make a horizontal half cut)
1 large banana, peeled, coined and frozen
8 oz. frozen strawberry pieces (cut vertically into 3rds and then in half, then make a horizontal half cut)
Liquid Ingredient
1 C Almond Breeze Original Almond Milk (or water)
Instructions
1. Pre-freeze the strawberries and bananas (or nectarine chunks, about 2 nectarines worth) for at least 6 hours in ziplock freezer bags. Ideally at least 12 hours.
2. Pour Almond milk into blender, then add the frozen strawberry chunks. Use the "chop" and "pulse" modes on your blender, or the "smoothie" mode, to chop through the strawberry chunks until the milk looks pulpy, but there aren't any major chunks left. (Stop the machine often, and before using the spatula, to help rotate the frozen chunks.)
3. Add frozen banana chunks to the mix in the blender to create an ice cream like consistency.
4. Use the lowest regular setting (furthest down button on the right) to make the Vegan Fruit Cream a bit smoother. After a few seconds of using the "low" setting, use "medium" for a few seconds, and then "high" for a few more seconds.
There's another recipe in here from May that's similar to this. It's worth checking out, but it's a tad more complex (and, I think, even tastier, and it's a great thing to drink if you've kinda overloaded on the Indian Fry Bread, as the caffeine will help you burn those same-day calories, once you go on a walk!). I wanted to post this simpler version, 'cause having cool summer fun shouldn't be overly complicated, unless you want it to be :)
June 20, 2010
The Holy Grail: Active Dry Yeast Bread
I'd hoped to come up with something for Instant Yeast that would be, well, both instant and worth eating. Ok, the last recipe works alright - but when you try to replace your basic white and wheat flours with other grains, it doesn't seem to make much difference what gets tried: the moisture content is always wrong, and the dough simply doesn't rise. I've concluded that Instant Yeast is only good for white and whole wheat flour (and obviously, bread flour), but nothing else. A sadness.
When I was very, very little, my mom used to bake the most wonderful loaves of wheat and whole wheat bread, and sometimes other variants, you could ever taste. While others have the corner on novelty breads, such as artisan breads and sour dough or French... There isn't anyone I've ever met (and we really are talking a LOT of people, many of whom are great cooks/bakers) who could make a basic wheat or whole wheat loaf of bread that even held a candle to my mom's. Hers was more fragrant. It had better gluten structure. It didn't need butter or jam... And it always came out just right the first time, every time.
Unfortunately, as I got older, mom didn't have the time for real baking projects like that, so I think the last time I had real bread was probably 25 years ago. Honestly, everything else by comparison is just cheap and bland: boring. Stupid, really. Anyway, I don't actually remember how she made it, nor do I have her recipe. Thus, I get to try to, somehow, figure this thing out - and make it mine in my own way. I kinda gave up on the Instant Yeast, so I went for the Active Dry Yeast. Mainly because I've already learned that, apparently, though it's more work, it's said to have a better scent once baked, and it's just... A stronger, more "alive" yeast, on the long term. I think the main problem with Instant Yeast is that it's short-lived: it doesn't really "last" long enough to make it through an entire realistic recipe preparation time span. Anyway, I also know that my mom never used Instant Yeast (I distinctly remember her telling me that "regular" yest is always better), so Active Dry Yeast it is.
In my search for the Holy Grail of bread making, I opted to skip the experimentation and stick with what's known to work. I referenced a bread recipe on the back of a bag of stone ground wheat flour at Wal-Mart (I didn't buy it 'cause I have too much wheat flour already, and I forgot to write down the product name), and the instructions/info on the back of a 3-pack of Active Dry Yeast. I've simply melded those together into the following:
Starter Ingredients
1 pkt or 2 1/4 tsp Active Dry Yeast
1 1/8 C Water, 112 degrees
2 tsp. Fair Trade Sugar
Dough Ingredients
1 T Oil
1 1/2 C White Flour
1 1/2 C Whole Wheat Flour
1 Tablet Vitamin C, crushed
1 tsp. Salt
Instructions
1. Dissolve yeast and sugar in water and proof for 5 minutes.
2. Add other ingredients, in order, and mix into a soggy mass.
3. Kneed 8 - 10 minutes using more flour.
4. Rise at room temperature, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
5. Punch down, reshape, and let rise again, 30 to 40 minutes.
6. Reshape again, place in bread pan, and let rise another 30 to 40 minutes.
7. Bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes. Bread should sound hollow when bottom is tapped.
8. Allow bread to cool. Can be frozen.
Eventually, I'll play around with other flours, as I do remember that this can be done successfully without too much trouble. I'm just going to do this recipe first and see if I have any real luck with it. 'Cause to be honest, I'm kinda guessing that the recipe mom used was actually fairly basic/common place. I suspect she just kneaded it longer.
When I was very, very little, my mom used to bake the most wonderful loaves of wheat and whole wheat bread, and sometimes other variants, you could ever taste. While others have the corner on novelty breads, such as artisan breads and sour dough or French... There isn't anyone I've ever met (and we really are talking a LOT of people, many of whom are great cooks/bakers) who could make a basic wheat or whole wheat loaf of bread that even held a candle to my mom's. Hers was more fragrant. It had better gluten structure. It didn't need butter or jam... And it always came out just right the first time, every time.
Unfortunately, as I got older, mom didn't have the time for real baking projects like that, so I think the last time I had real bread was probably 25 years ago. Honestly, everything else by comparison is just cheap and bland: boring. Stupid, really. Anyway, I don't actually remember how she made it, nor do I have her recipe. Thus, I get to try to, somehow, figure this thing out - and make it mine in my own way. I kinda gave up on the Instant Yeast, so I went for the Active Dry Yeast. Mainly because I've already learned that, apparently, though it's more work, it's said to have a better scent once baked, and it's just... A stronger, more "alive" yeast, on the long term. I think the main problem with Instant Yeast is that it's short-lived: it doesn't really "last" long enough to make it through an entire realistic recipe preparation time span. Anyway, I also know that my mom never used Instant Yeast (I distinctly remember her telling me that "regular" yest is always better), so Active Dry Yeast it is.
In my search for the Holy Grail of bread making, I opted to skip the experimentation and stick with what's known to work. I referenced a bread recipe on the back of a bag of stone ground wheat flour at Wal-Mart (I didn't buy it 'cause I have too much wheat flour already, and I forgot to write down the product name), and the instructions/info on the back of a 3-pack of Active Dry Yeast. I've simply melded those together into the following:
Starter Ingredients
1 pkt or 2 1/4 tsp Active Dry Yeast
1 1/8 C Water, 112 degrees
2 tsp. Fair Trade Sugar
Dough Ingredients
1 T Oil
1 1/2 C White Flour
1 1/2 C Whole Wheat Flour
1 Tablet Vitamin C, crushed
1 tsp. Salt
Instructions
1. Dissolve yeast and sugar in water and proof for 5 minutes.
2. Add other ingredients, in order, and mix into a soggy mass.
3. Kneed 8 - 10 minutes using more flour.
4. Rise at room temperature, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
5. Punch down, reshape, and let rise again, 30 to 40 minutes.
6. Reshape again, place in bread pan, and let rise another 30 to 40 minutes.
7. Bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes. Bread should sound hollow when bottom is tapped.
8. Allow bread to cool. Can be frozen.
Eventually, I'll play around with other flours, as I do remember that this can be done successfully without too much trouble. I'm just going to do this recipe first and see if I have any real luck with it. 'Cause to be honest, I'm kinda guessing that the recipe mom used was actually fairly basic/common place. I suspect she just kneaded it longer.
June 19, 2010
Sabbath Lunch
I honestly don't have a better name for this :)
Croûton Ingredients
2 C bread cubes from any day old but still edible loaf
1/4 tsp each: Italian Seasoning, Oregano, Cumin, Rosemary, Basil, any others you like
8 to 10 sprays Olive Oil through a Misto Oil Sprayer
Broth Ingredients
1 C Broth from Loma Linda Fried Chik'n
1 C Water, cold
1 T Tapioca Starch
1 Stalk Celery, chopped
1/4 C Diced Onion or Green Onion pieces
Stew Ingredients
1 C Frozen Mixed Vegetables (or any fresh veggies you'd like)
Instructions
1. Mix all the croûton ingredients together, and broil in a cookie sheet for 7 to 10 minutes, stir again, broil for another 3 to 5 minutes, then call it good.
2. Completely mix tapioca starch into water. Add broth, celery, and onions, then bring them to a slow boil, just enough to make a thick, clarified gravy, and remove from heat.
3. Add croutons to the gravy, and mix in the frozen mixed vegetables in. Wait until they appear cooked but are still colorful and firm. Serve, enjoy, then go down for a nap :) And try not to fight with your neighbors over which day is which. How petty.
Croûton Ingredients
2 C bread cubes from any day old but still edible loaf
1/4 tsp each: Italian Seasoning, Oregano, Cumin, Rosemary, Basil, any others you like
8 to 10 sprays Olive Oil through a Misto Oil Sprayer
Broth Ingredients
1 C Broth from Loma Linda Fried Chik'n
1 C Water, cold
1 T Tapioca Starch
1 Stalk Celery, chopped
1/4 C Diced Onion or Green Onion pieces
Stew Ingredients
1 C Frozen Mixed Vegetables (or any fresh veggies you'd like)
Instructions
1. Mix all the croûton ingredients together, and broil in a cookie sheet for 7 to 10 minutes, stir again, broil for another 3 to 5 minutes, then call it good.
2. Completely mix tapioca starch into water. Add broth, celery, and onions, then bring them to a slow boil, just enough to make a thick, clarified gravy, and remove from heat.
3. Add croutons to the gravy, and mix in the frozen mixed vegetables in. Wait until they appear cooked but are still colorful and firm. Serve, enjoy, then go down for a nap :) And try not to fight with your neighbors over which day is which. How petty.
June 17, 2010
Breakfast Cakes
This recipe should work in a number of ways, but in any case, this is "bacon, eggs 'n toast" all in one very fluffy pancake :)
Dry Ingredients
1 1/2 C White Flour
2 tsp. Hickory Smoke Fake Bacon Flavoring
1 tsp. Baking Powder
Liquid Ingredients
3 Egg Whites, 1 yolk optional
1/2 C to 3/4 C Water
1. Turn a frying pan to medium heat and grease it, preferably with oil in a Misto sprayer.
2. Mix all ingredients together, in order, with a fork. Add the last 1/4 C water sparingly, to create a good thick cake-batter consistency.
3. 2 to 3 tablespoons full per pancake, drop the batter into the pan and spread it out fairly thin. Spray the top sides with oil in a Misto container or with pan spray.
4. Let one side get golden brown, approximately 30 seconds to 1 minute. If need be, regulate the temperature by turning it down to "low" or "warm" to prevent smoking. The pancakes shouldn't take long to cook, and the top sides should start looking a little white and rubbery before this step is complete.
5. Flip each pancake over, and allow to brown for the same length of time, then remove and stack on a plate.
These pancakes are great all on their own, but margarine (Nucoa and Smart Beat are options) are great with them as well. They're light, fluffy, well cooked, and not too greasy, even when a yolk is used. This batter should also make good bacon flavored cup-cakes, and possibly an interesting tempura batter. If syrup is to be used, I recommend withholding the hickory flavoring and perhaps using some tea instead of the water, as well as a few packets of Sun Crystals Stevia.
Dry Ingredients
1 1/2 C White Flour
2 tsp. Hickory Smoke Fake Bacon Flavoring
1 tsp. Baking Powder
Liquid Ingredients
3 Egg Whites, 1 yolk optional
1/2 C to 3/4 C Water
1. Turn a frying pan to medium heat and grease it, preferably with oil in a Misto sprayer.
2. Mix all ingredients together, in order, with a fork. Add the last 1/4 C water sparingly, to create a good thick cake-batter consistency.
3. 2 to 3 tablespoons full per pancake, drop the batter into the pan and spread it out fairly thin. Spray the top sides with oil in a Misto container or with pan spray.
4. Let one side get golden brown, approximately 30 seconds to 1 minute. If need be, regulate the temperature by turning it down to "low" or "warm" to prevent smoking. The pancakes shouldn't take long to cook, and the top sides should start looking a little white and rubbery before this step is complete.
5. Flip each pancake over, and allow to brown for the same length of time, then remove and stack on a plate.
These pancakes are great all on their own, but margarine (Nucoa and Smart Beat are options) are great with them as well. They're light, fluffy, well cooked, and not too greasy, even when a yolk is used. This batter should also make good bacon flavored cup-cakes, and possibly an interesting tempura batter. If syrup is to be used, I recommend withholding the hickory flavoring and perhaps using some tea instead of the water, as well as a few packets of Sun Crystals Stevia.
June 11, 2010
Almost Real Soy Milk & Creamer
As I drink this, I'm honestly reminded of the days when I could still drink milk. It's not low fat or low carb, but if used in other recipes, it's really not that bad. In any case, when properly diluted, I'd give this an A- for passing for real milk. I'm still fairly sensitive to the taste of soy, especially after months of focusing on almond milk. And, I can still sort of identify a distinctly bean-y "soy" flavor. A little bit. But really, it's not all that bad.
Ingredients
1 Box Mori Nu Extra Firm Tofu
3/4 C Soy Good Powdered Soy Milk Drink Mix
1/4 C Soy Protein Isolate
2 C + 6 C Water, separated
1/2 tsp. Fair Trade Vanilla
1/4 C Fair Trade Sugar
2 pkts. Sun Crystals Stevia
Creamer Instructions
Add to blender, in order, and then blend together, all but the separated 6 C Water, in an Oster Fusion blender (I've just never used a better blender, it's awesome!), first on low, then medium, then high. At this point, you have a good "creamer." As far as I know, this is vegan. The Soy Good has never given me trouble, at any rate, and I'm one of the most hyper-sensitive people I've ever met, when it comes to the casein allergy.
Milk Instructions
Pour the creamer into a large pitcher and add 6 cups water. Mix well. If your pitcher won't hold 8 cups of liquid, then add as much water as it will hold, then use it as a "concentrate" later. Just add a little water to your cup first, then pour in the soy milk.
Whipped Cream Instructions
Add more Soy Good powdered drink mix, 1/4 C at a time to the creamer, and blend on high, until you clearly have a good whipped topping. (I started testing this tonight, but it got too late to use the blender properly, so I'll have to work the exact amounts/instructions for this later - it was starting to work though.) If you happen to have a true mixer, not just (no offense, but really...) a stupid hand held electric beaters (don't ever buy those if you haven't already), then it's preferable to use that instead. Technically, I still have an old Oster Regency Kitchen Center. Technically, the motor just about doesn't work anymore. You know. After about 40 years. Which is longer than I've been alive. Well, if yours still works, use it, that's better than a blender.
Ice Cream Instructions
Add 1 cup of the creamer or the whipped cream to the Fruit Cream recipe already posted, instead of the water it calls for, then blend together until smooth, then freeze. Remove from freezer every hour or so to stir, then after about 3 hours, blend it all again, and refreeze overnight. The thicker the creamer, the better the texture will be.
Other Instructions
Go rent yourself the Burns and Allen show, Volume 2, episode two, and replace the Carnation Evaporated Milk with the creamer. And try not to throw anything at the 1950's sexism exuded by your TV/Computer/Etc. You'll just bust your screen, lol. Guys, wanna get some? Learn a few "feminine" skills, just like I've had to learn to do EVERYTHING, "masculine" or not, for myself, 'cause, you know, I'm a PERSON.
Ingredients
1 Box Mori Nu Extra Firm Tofu
3/4 C Soy Good Powdered Soy Milk Drink Mix
1/4 C Soy Protein Isolate
2 C + 6 C Water, separated
1/2 tsp. Fair Trade Vanilla
1/4 C Fair Trade Sugar
2 pkts. Sun Crystals Stevia
Creamer Instructions
Add to blender, in order, and then blend together, all but the separated 6 C Water, in an Oster Fusion blender (I've just never used a better blender, it's awesome!), first on low, then medium, then high. At this point, you have a good "creamer." As far as I know, this is vegan. The Soy Good has never given me trouble, at any rate, and I'm one of the most hyper-sensitive people I've ever met, when it comes to the casein allergy.
Milk Instructions
Pour the creamer into a large pitcher and add 6 cups water. Mix well. If your pitcher won't hold 8 cups of liquid, then add as much water as it will hold, then use it as a "concentrate" later. Just add a little water to your cup first, then pour in the soy milk.
Whipped Cream Instructions
Add more Soy Good powdered drink mix, 1/4 C at a time to the creamer, and blend on high, until you clearly have a good whipped topping. (I started testing this tonight, but it got too late to use the blender properly, so I'll have to work the exact amounts/instructions for this later - it was starting to work though.) If you happen to have a true mixer, not just (no offense, but really...) a stupid hand held electric beaters (don't ever buy those if you haven't already), then it's preferable to use that instead. Technically, I still have an old Oster Regency Kitchen Center. Technically, the motor just about doesn't work anymore. You know. After about 40 years. Which is longer than I've been alive. Well, if yours still works, use it, that's better than a blender.
Ice Cream Instructions
Add 1 cup of the creamer or the whipped cream to the Fruit Cream recipe already posted, instead of the water it calls for, then blend together until smooth, then freeze. Remove from freezer every hour or so to stir, then after about 3 hours, blend it all again, and refreeze overnight. The thicker the creamer, the better the texture will be.
Other Instructions
Go rent yourself the Burns and Allen show, Volume 2, episode two, and replace the Carnation Evaporated Milk with the creamer. And try not to throw anything at the 1950's sexism exuded by your TV/Computer/Etc. You'll just bust your screen, lol. Guys, wanna get some? Learn a few "feminine" skills, just like I've had to learn to do EVERYTHING, "masculine" or not, for myself, 'cause, you know, I'm a PERSON.
June 9, 2010
Awesome Fair Trade Chocolate Strawberry Dip
Ingredients
1/3 C Soy or Almond Milk
1/3 C Dagoba Fair Trade Cocoa
5 packets Sun Crystals Stevia
10 drops Fair Trade Vanilla
Instructions
1. Heat the soy or almond milk in the microwave (1 1/2 minutes for low powered microwaves).
2. Mix in the other ingredients.
It comes out as an almost chocolate-like substance, kinda like a very thick/dark pudding, and it's the perfect dipping sauce.
1/3 C Soy or Almond Milk
1/3 C Dagoba Fair Trade Cocoa
5 packets Sun Crystals Stevia
10 drops Fair Trade Vanilla
Instructions
1. Heat the soy or almond milk in the microwave (1 1/2 minutes for low powered microwaves).
2. Mix in the other ingredients.
It comes out as an almost chocolate-like substance, kinda like a very thick/dark pudding, and it's the perfect dipping sauce.
June 6, 2010
Why these recipes matter
This is probably the best argument of all for both home cooking, and for my recipes in particular. I was raised on this info, it is all true, and the real truth is, home cooking doesn't have to be hard. Yes, it takes some learning. No, it doesn't take talent to learn. Just talent to write down ALL the steps, for the recipe writer. Well, you do have to be good at following directions, but the person writing the recipe should say more than, "Use 1 C sifted sugar." What kind of sugar? How do you sift sugar? What equipment will you need? And, should it be further stirred, or was that packed sugar? Etc.
This cooking blog is here for those who are first learning, step by step, even if it does contain some advanced cooking techniques. Why do I throw in, and then properly explain, advanced techniques to beginners? Simple. There's really no such thing as advanced cooking. There is, however, such a thing as shoddy cooking. And there's no sense in penalizing new cooks by teaching them methods that they don't need to know later on, just because it sounds less "complicated." Really? It's not complicated to have to spend an extra 2 hours fixing up a botched recipe because poor techniques were used to achieve it in the first place? Or worse: it's somehow "ok" to convince newbs that the product of stupid recipes is somehow fabulous? I'm sorry, but "push bits of pie crust into the pan to form a pie shell" is SHODDY. That's not even a legitimate technique. Ok, it's "edible" food that sort of holds together in the end. But it's NOT teaching anyone true culinary craftsmanship.
But, the main thing, is healthy cooking that tastes like food worth eating - for real. I think probably the only real splurging in this cooking blog has to do with some sweets. Even then, I still look for healthier alternatives to some of the worst travesties to hit the world of food. There's a certain logic that I feel people should employ: just because it can be eaten, doesn't mean that it should be, nor has to be. Also, it's a good idea not to let everyone, from TV to friends or even family, tell you what "good" tastes like. Yes, there are a few things on planet earth that most people just don't like to eat. But really - it's alright to redefine what tastes good to you, and the earlier you start, the fewer problems you'll have with it later.
There's one other reason that home cooking is important. It's cheaper. Everything from cheap produce at local farm stands (just hose it down outside before bringing it indoors to prevent fruit-flies and their eggs), to cheap baking ingredients in local bulk bins and freezing/canning options... These all make up an easy to use kitchen that saves close to 50% on a person's or a family's food bill. These days, there's almost never an excuse to buy pre-packaged or canned foods, particularly baked items and vegetables. Some fruits, such as lychees can't be sold in the US without being canned. Ok, drain them well, rinse them, re-drain them, and either make a stevia-based water-bath for them (if using them up right away) or freeze them in air-tight freezer bags. Anyway, you don't have to sell yourself short because of excess calories, nor do you have to spend excess money on food.
Yes, cooking takes work. And a bit of time. That's what days off are for - if you get two per week, in a row, then take one day to rest and the other day to cook. Those who are religious, well, take your religious day of observance to do what your religion tells you - and then take the other day to make a better life for yourself and your family in the kitchen. The thing is, you'll burn a small number of calories while cooking, and you'll actually save yourself all those hours during the week that you normally spent thawing and defrosting and whatnot. Even TV dinners take time to "cook" and they're so crappy for your system that you're whole body will complain. You might be so used to that "complaining" that you don't even realize there's a problem. Are you accustomed to having to depend on Metamucil but don't have a real "condition"? Or on antacids? Or Pepto? And your Dr. hasn't actually prescribed that you take these? Are you overweight, or is your brain often "clogged"? Are you tired most of the time?
Yeah. I suffer from these things too - because I didn't always know the stuff in the link above, or understand what it all meant at any rate, and I didn't always cook and eat like I'm working towards now. I am a work in progress. I'm not some gym instructor or exercise freak. I'm of a Germanic build, I'm 5' 1", and currently weigh 190 lbs. I've had, and beaten, both poly-cystic ovarian disease, insulin resistance, and irritable bowel syndrome. I used to get a lot of acid reflux.
That's all been changing for the better since I started doing more home cooking and eating fewer pre-packaged items. Essentially, I'm healthier, I spend less, and I worry less - not because of some false sense of "I can eat as much as I want because it's 'good for me'" but because I understand my food, I know what's really in it, and what effects each meal will have on me in what serving sizes and so on. And I don't "splurge" in most of my recipes, nor do I turn a blind eye to the hidden truths about most common, modern-day foods/cooking/recipes out there, even the "healthy" ones. If I do splurge in a recipe? I TELL YOU that I splurged, I tell you what you should know about it, and then let you make up your own mind about it.
The thing is, I know how to make a LOT of recipes out there in very tasty but healthier and less expensive ways, with just a few simple tricks. That's the main reason these recipes matter. At least to me.
This cooking blog is here for those who are first learning, step by step, even if it does contain some advanced cooking techniques. Why do I throw in, and then properly explain, advanced techniques to beginners? Simple. There's really no such thing as advanced cooking. There is, however, such a thing as shoddy cooking. And there's no sense in penalizing new cooks by teaching them methods that they don't need to know later on, just because it sounds less "complicated." Really? It's not complicated to have to spend an extra 2 hours fixing up a botched recipe because poor techniques were used to achieve it in the first place? Or worse: it's somehow "ok" to convince newbs that the product of stupid recipes is somehow fabulous? I'm sorry, but "push bits of pie crust into the pan to form a pie shell" is SHODDY. That's not even a legitimate technique. Ok, it's "edible" food that sort of holds together in the end. But it's NOT teaching anyone true culinary craftsmanship.
But, the main thing, is healthy cooking that tastes like food worth eating - for real. I think probably the only real splurging in this cooking blog has to do with some sweets. Even then, I still look for healthier alternatives to some of the worst travesties to hit the world of food. There's a certain logic that I feel people should employ: just because it can be eaten, doesn't mean that it should be, nor has to be. Also, it's a good idea not to let everyone, from TV to friends or even family, tell you what "good" tastes like. Yes, there are a few things on planet earth that most people just don't like to eat. But really - it's alright to redefine what tastes good to you, and the earlier you start, the fewer problems you'll have with it later.
There's one other reason that home cooking is important. It's cheaper. Everything from cheap produce at local farm stands (just hose it down outside before bringing it indoors to prevent fruit-flies and their eggs), to cheap baking ingredients in local bulk bins and freezing/canning options... These all make up an easy to use kitchen that saves close to 50% on a person's or a family's food bill. These days, there's almost never an excuse to buy pre-packaged or canned foods, particularly baked items and vegetables. Some fruits, such as lychees can't be sold in the US without being canned. Ok, drain them well, rinse them, re-drain them, and either make a stevia-based water-bath for them (if using them up right away) or freeze them in air-tight freezer bags. Anyway, you don't have to sell yourself short because of excess calories, nor do you have to spend excess money on food.
Yes, cooking takes work. And a bit of time. That's what days off are for - if you get two per week, in a row, then take one day to rest and the other day to cook. Those who are religious, well, take your religious day of observance to do what your religion tells you - and then take the other day to make a better life for yourself and your family in the kitchen. The thing is, you'll burn a small number of calories while cooking, and you'll actually save yourself all those hours during the week that you normally spent thawing and defrosting and whatnot. Even TV dinners take time to "cook" and they're so crappy for your system that you're whole body will complain. You might be so used to that "complaining" that you don't even realize there's a problem. Are you accustomed to having to depend on Metamucil but don't have a real "condition"? Or on antacids? Or Pepto? And your Dr. hasn't actually prescribed that you take these? Are you overweight, or is your brain often "clogged"? Are you tired most of the time?
Yeah. I suffer from these things too - because I didn't always know the stuff in the link above, or understand what it all meant at any rate, and I didn't always cook and eat like I'm working towards now. I am a work in progress. I'm not some gym instructor or exercise freak. I'm of a Germanic build, I'm 5' 1", and currently weigh 190 lbs. I've had, and beaten, both poly-cystic ovarian disease, insulin resistance, and irritable bowel syndrome. I used to get a lot of acid reflux.
That's all been changing for the better since I started doing more home cooking and eating fewer pre-packaged items. Essentially, I'm healthier, I spend less, and I worry less - not because of some false sense of "I can eat as much as I want because it's 'good for me'" but because I understand my food, I know what's really in it, and what effects each meal will have on me in what serving sizes and so on. And I don't "splurge" in most of my recipes, nor do I turn a blind eye to the hidden truths about most common, modern-day foods/cooking/recipes out there, even the "healthy" ones. If I do splurge in a recipe? I TELL YOU that I splurged, I tell you what you should know about it, and then let you make up your own mind about it.
The thing is, I know how to make a LOT of recipes out there in very tasty but healthier and less expensive ways, with just a few simple tricks. That's the main reason these recipes matter. At least to me.
June 4, 2010
I'm Such a Liar! Regular Water Bath Canning (3 8 oz Jars/batch)
(For high acid fruits only. Do not do this for vegetables, meats, etc. And NEVER can products containing flour or yeast, such as breads or pie doughs, not even with a regular canner.)
Super-1 made a liar out of me last night! I was wandering around, looking for items on my shopping list, when low and behold, one of those "shining light w/the angelic music" moments settled upon my existence. They had unbeatable prices on Kerr Brand Mason Jars, lids, accessories... I couldn't resist - I had to try - I just... Went for it. I didn't get a canner though, as they didn't have one, nor any separate inserts, so I figured, "I'll just have to wing this." No, I really didn't know what I was doing. I figured that, at the very least, eventually I'd catch up with a canner at Good Will or something, complete with insert and everything (I've seen them before. Too bad I had no idea what in the world that funky looking wire thing was :S)
So, I'm now the proud owner of 12 1/2 Pint (taller) jars, 12 rings, and 36 lids. The jars and rings are reusable, but you have to use new lids every time you can, so, I just went ahead and got some extras. I doubt I'll use them all, but might come close - we'll have to see.
I'm still downloading the pics from my camera, so it'll be a while. Summary: I was able to make 3 8 oz jars in a medium sized kettle, all 3 sealed perfectly, no jars cracked... Strawberry jam, and it looks really good! I have to wait 24 hours though before I can call it "ready" though. Ah well.
The ingredients and food prep instructions (steps 1 - 3) are here, but don't follow them yet (more notes are below). You'll want to keep that page open and refer to it later. Make sure your jars are pre-washed and dried. The dishwasher is a great thing to use for sanitizing them.
Now, for the miracle of normal stove top jam, no canner required. Before anyone who's more "experienced" jumps down my throat, take note: all 3 jar lids did "pop" down to form seals, at the end, all on their own, and when you push down on them, they don't pop back up. They did seal, nicely. *Takes a pre-show bow, and notes that somehow, before the time of nice canners, there had to be some way that people did make things like jam.*
Stove Top Canning Instructions
The Insert
No More Extra $ is the Daughter of Invention
1. You'll need a medium sized kettle, preferably with a lid, that's taller than your jars, and 5 (minimum, more are fine) long bamboo or other wooden skewers. Honestly, I can't understand why anyone would put metal below jars, when it's sitting right above a hot burner. Duh, use some insulation - just not too much! Be good to your jars, and they'll last a lifetime. Hopefully, 12 is all I'll need or want! This rant will make sense in a minute.
2. You'll also need at least 2 medium sized coated (not with paper) twist ties. Cut all ties using either a wire cutter or an old pair of scissors you don't care about, into thirds.
3. Create a latticework of the skewers, leaving about 1" between their intersections, with a minimum of 2 parallel going vertically, and 3 parallel going horizontally (the pics will make this section make more sense). Use the twist ties to connect them all at their intersections. The best method is to bend the tie in half, wrap that around one skewer, but not all the way around, and then wrap the two ends as far as they'll wrap around each side of the adjacent (joining) skewer. These will hold well in place when all is said and done.
4. Turn the medium sized kettle upside down, and place the latticework on top. Keep the 2 parallel skewers vertically going away from you. (Math geeks: z-axis.) The 3 parallel skewers should be horizontally parallel to you. If you're right handed, push the left ends of the 3 parallel skewers so that they hover just barely "inside" the circle of the bottom of the kettle. The left end of the central horizontal skewer should hang out just a bit further to the left than the other two.
5. Using the cutter of choice, score (but don't cut), the right ends of the 3 parallel skewers so that they also will, once cut, hover just barely "inside" that same circle. You'll want all skewers to be just a little shorter than meeting end to edge with the diameter of the circle. (*Snorts at her former high school math teacher.* Take that! Hahaha!!! *Grumbles about geometry therums and such* I told him I don't need that junk - I was right. It's ALL visual, duh.)
6. Turn all the skewers 90 degrees one direction or the other. Repeat step 5 for the 2 parallel skewers, which are now horizontal to you. You now have a lot of scored skewers. Break off the ends, with the scores held away from you, for a clean break. Now, you should have a loosely held together wooden insert. If you like, you can reposition the skewers so the latticework looks nice, and then use more twist ties to completely tie down the intersections. Place the wooden insert in the bottom of your kettle.
The Jars
I think even old fashioned canners will like this one.
1. You'll need 3 (at least 18") long sections of aluminum foil. Fold them in half lengthwise, and then fold them lengthwise in half again. And, you'll need 3 8 oz. (1/2 pint tall, not short/wide mouthed) jars, with no lids or rings on them. You'll need the lids in a moment, and the rings at the end of all this.
2. Wrap the lengths around the tops of the jars, with a few millimeters of the foil standing above the tops of the jars. Fold those higher portions of the foil down over the tops of the jars, to keep it in place. Allow some space between the foil and the sides of the jars though, for water circulation.
Pre-Boiling Preparation
This process is so simple, it really surprised me. Honestly, unless I wind up with a huge family someday, it'll never be worth it for me to do regular canning the old fashioned way. So, here's the new fangled way (though it is based on the old way).
1. Add about 3" of warm water to the bottom of the kettle, and place the jars on the wooden insert. They should not ever touch the bottom or sides of the kettle. Nor should any of the glass sides touch each other. Once the jars are in place, put the lids (not the rings) into the water, between the foil wrapped jars. If a lid sinks below the wooden insert, that's ok. Let it.
2. Turn the burner on to low for about 3 minutes, and then up to medium, to get the water warm, but not boiling. Regulate this temperature at all times so that it's hot, but not boiling. You just need to keep the jars much warmer than room temperature. Don't ever start out with jars that were recently in the fridge. It's a good idea to use jars that just came out of the dishwasher.
3. Visit steps 1 - 3 on this page, but note the following instructions regarding step 3.
4. Instead of letting the jam cool for 4 hours, immediately use a jar tongs to pull a single jar out and place it on a towel (or thick paper towel). Leave all lids in the hot water. Do not EVER touch the glass of this jar with your bare hands, fingers... It isn't glowing red, so it's easy to forget just HOW hot it really is. Also, it takes a long time for hot glass to cool, so don't be tempted to think that you can touch it after a few minutes - you'll just get burned. Using two forks, carefully remove the aluminum foil wrapping around the jar and set aside - you'll need it again in a moment.
5. Use a funnel and a medium sized kettle-ladle (not gravy ladle) to fill the jar almost up to the bottom of the glass rim threads with the jam. The funnel should "hold" a little extra in the bottom after two ladles full. Pull the funnel out slowly and let the remaining jam fall out of it into the jar. The jam level will need to be up to the bottom of the glass rim threads before you continue.
6. Use the flat parts of two fork heads, in the hot water, to carefully fish out, lift, and carry a lid from it onto the top of the jar. If it doesn't fit perfectly, that's ok, it just needs to be close. Take a ring and place it around the top of the jar, and screw it down lightly. Use the jar tongs to hold the glass part of the jar in place with one hand, and reach inside the tongs with the other hand, then finish screwing the ring down tight. Rewrap the jar with it's original aluminum foil, molding about 1/2" of the uppermost portion of the foil in a circle both over and around the lid. Leave some space between the foil and the side of the jar. Using the jar tongs, place the jar back onto the wooden insert.
7. Repeat steps 4 - 6 for the other two jars, one jar at a time.
Boiling
1. Once all 3 jars are back in the kettle, sitting on the wooden insert, with about 3" of hot water surrounding them and foil protecting them from each other and the kettle, fill both a 4 cup and a 2 cup measuring cup, a large soup mug, or a medium sized bowl with HOT water, and set the 2 cup container aside. Pour as much of the hot water from the 4 cup container into the kettle as it will hold, until all the jars are well covered. Don't worry about water boiling over later on, your kitchen will survive, and the world will move on... Just clean up any spills later. If more hot water is needed, go for it - you do have to cover the jars though. The burner should still be on warm or medium by this time.
2. Once the jars are covered, slowly bring the water to a boil. Start with "warm," then after about 3 minutes, turn the burner up to "medium," and after about 5 more minutes, turn it up to medium high. Once it tries to boil, turn it up to high, just long enough to get a rolling boil, then turn it back down to medium high, then to medium. The water should be at a controlled rolling boil. It shouldn't be going crazy! (Reference: Mrs. Doubtfire trying to cook.) This means some good temperature regulation. So long as it never touches the glass of the jars, you may use a knife to lightly encourage water circulation around the jars, by "stirring" it lightly back and forth between the jars and the kettle side. Once the rolling boil is achieved, set your timer for 10 minutes (or add more time for your altitude, based on the chart on the instructions in the insert that came in the box of pectin). During that time, you'll need the hot water in the 2 cup measuring cup, to add small amounts at a time, to make up for what has boiled off, particularly if your jars come up almost to the top of the side of the kettle, once they're sitting on the wooden insert. You'll need to do this every couple of minutes or so.
3. Once the timer goes off, turn the burner off, and lay out a thick hand towel on the counter. Using the jar tongs, take the jars out and place them upright on the towel and, using the forks, remove the aluminum foil, then lightly dry each jar off with a wash rag, one jar at a time.
4. Once all jars are out of the kettle, dump the water out of the kettle, but leave the wooden insert in the bottom, to air dry over a cooled burner. Find a nice, out of the way location that won't be disturbed, and lay out another thick hand towel in an area large enough to accommodate the jars. Using the jar tongs, carry the jars, one jar at a time, over to their new location on the second hand towel, and leave them there for a total of 24 hours.
5. Sometime in the next few minutes, they should "pop" and you'll notice a downward indentation right in the middle. Using a thick washcloth, test the seal that just formed by pushing down on that indentation. If it pops back up, the seal didn't work, and you'll need to set this jar aside on a separate thick cloth to cool for a total of 3 of those 24 hours. Use an indelible marker or some tape to mark the lid of the jar (not the ring or the jar itself), so you'll know it needs to go in the fridge once it's completely cooled. If the seal did form properly, that central indentation won't pop back up. Congratulations! It's a healthy jar of jam (har).
6. Leave all the jars be for about the next 2 hours, then carefully (and slowly) turn them upside down, allowing the air to form a single bubble on the top side of the jar as it travels from one end to the other. If it is too set, you can shake it rigorously, but beware of anything you might hit your hand or the jar on. Turn the jar and shake it several times. Allow the fruit to distribute itself more towards the natural bottom of the jar (now on top), and then slowly re-turn the jars right side up again. The fruit ought to set in a more evenly distributed manner now. If not, wait another hour (instead of 2), and then repeat this step, until the jam sets with evenly distributed fruit.
After 3 total hours of cooling (improperly sealed jars)
Any jars which didn't seal properly can be put in the fridge. Once they're completely cool, if there were too many to use in the next 3 weeks, open them and store the jam in quart freezer bags with ziplock-type seals, stick them in the freezer immediately, and be glad you have anything at all from them. Just be sure to "vacuum" the air out of the freezer bags prior to fully sealing them (mostly seal them, press all the air out without spilling the jam, then finish sealing them before air can come back in). This will avoid freezer burn.
After 24 total hours of cooling (properly sealed jars)
Just keep the jars that did seal properly where they are, and use up any jars in the fridge first, then the packages in the freezer next, saving the properly sealed jars of jam for last. I've written this recipe based on 3 jars, but it can be used for more than just one batch. If making several smaller batches, be sure to note each batch as to what time the jars were placed on the first hand towel, and note any other timing issues on a per-batch basis. If multiplying the size of each batch of jam, I don't recommend doing more than 3 times this volume of jam at a time, in the manner recommended in this recipe. For larger batches, use a real canner and proper canning instructions as found all over the web and probably in the instructions that came with the canner as well as with the pectin.
Interesting Notes
While canning is primarily done for preserving fruits and vegetables which will soon go out of season, jams (and jellies, as well as pickling) are a special breed of canning. They are preserves with a purpose. I love jam, wish I could have had more jam growing up, but because stevia didn't exist in my world, really, that was unrealistic. Itty bitty dabs of jam were more calories than anyone ought to have had, and if the jam was used in something like a turnover?!? Wow - what a calorie sin!
Anyway, these days, it is cheaper to just purchase pre-manufactured jam. IF you want all the junk they sometimes put into that stuff. True, most of that is actually just latin for real food. But things like sucrolose, which causes the runs?! Forget that. Beware the "sugar free" jams. Read the labels more carefully.
The main reason I've put a little money into the jars and such is because of real health concerns, and the fact that the only way to get healthy jam is to just make it myself. As I said, I LOVE jam! Always have! I could practically subsist by just making foods centered around jam! And now that I can make my own without dealing with some silly, expensive canner, I don't mind the fact that a package of pectin intended to not have sugar added costs about the same as the least expensive 32 oz jar of jam (which, as in the previous refrigerator recipe, is about the right size for a single batch of jam based on one pectin package). I'm not saving any money by doing this (though eventually, the jars will somewhat pay for themselves). And that's not including the cost of the fruit. So yes, this is a spendy venture. And I considered that last night. But I decided that my good health, what's left of it, is worth the money, time, and effort.
Besides, this jam really does taste like it has real fruit and real juice in it, because it does. Sure, store bought jam has real fruit in it. But all that other junk... Honestly. It makes the flavor taste more like it was made from some powdered drink mix or something. When I use jam, I want it to taste like real fruit, not gelled and fake flavored candy.
You win some, you lose some. I've won the real fruit flavor in home made jam, and I hope this will somehow add to my other efforts to lose some weight as well as the fear of glucose spikes.
PS.
I found some great info regarding canning here.
Super-1 made a liar out of me last night! I was wandering around, looking for items on my shopping list, when low and behold, one of those "shining light w/the angelic music" moments settled upon my existence. They had unbeatable prices on Kerr Brand Mason Jars, lids, accessories... I couldn't resist - I had to try - I just... Went for it. I didn't get a canner though, as they didn't have one, nor any separate inserts, so I figured, "I'll just have to wing this." No, I really didn't know what I was doing. I figured that, at the very least, eventually I'd catch up with a canner at Good Will or something, complete with insert and everything (I've seen them before. Too bad I had no idea what in the world that funky looking wire thing was :S)
So, I'm now the proud owner of 12 1/2 Pint (taller) jars, 12 rings, and 36 lids. The jars and rings are reusable, but you have to use new lids every time you can, so, I just went ahead and got some extras. I doubt I'll use them all, but might come close - we'll have to see.
I'm still downloading the pics from my camera, so it'll be a while. Summary: I was able to make 3 8 oz jars in a medium sized kettle, all 3 sealed perfectly, no jars cracked... Strawberry jam, and it looks really good! I have to wait 24 hours though before I can call it "ready" though. Ah well.
The ingredients and food prep instructions (steps 1 - 3) are here, but don't follow them yet (more notes are below). You'll want to keep that page open and refer to it later. Make sure your jars are pre-washed and dried. The dishwasher is a great thing to use for sanitizing them.
Now, for the miracle of normal stove top jam, no canner required. Before anyone who's more "experienced" jumps down my throat, take note: all 3 jar lids did "pop" down to form seals, at the end, all on their own, and when you push down on them, they don't pop back up. They did seal, nicely. *Takes a pre-show bow, and notes that somehow, before the time of nice canners, there had to be some way that people did make things like jam.*
Stove Top Canning Instructions
The Insert
No More Extra $ is the Daughter of Invention
1. You'll need a medium sized kettle, preferably with a lid, that's taller than your jars, and 5 (minimum, more are fine) long bamboo or other wooden skewers. Honestly, I can't understand why anyone would put metal below jars, when it's sitting right above a hot burner. Duh, use some insulation - just not too much! Be good to your jars, and they'll last a lifetime. Hopefully, 12 is all I'll need or want! This rant will make sense in a minute.
2. You'll also need at least 2 medium sized coated (not with paper) twist ties. Cut all ties using either a wire cutter or an old pair of scissors you don't care about, into thirds.
3. Create a latticework of the skewers, leaving about 1" between their intersections, with a minimum of 2 parallel going vertically, and 3 parallel going horizontally (the pics will make this section make more sense). Use the twist ties to connect them all at their intersections. The best method is to bend the tie in half, wrap that around one skewer, but not all the way around, and then wrap the two ends as far as they'll wrap around each side of the adjacent (joining) skewer. These will hold well in place when all is said and done.
4. Turn the medium sized kettle upside down, and place the latticework on top. Keep the 2 parallel skewers vertically going away from you. (Math geeks: z-axis.) The 3 parallel skewers should be horizontally parallel to you. If you're right handed, push the left ends of the 3 parallel skewers so that they hover just barely "inside" the circle of the bottom of the kettle. The left end of the central horizontal skewer should hang out just a bit further to the left than the other two.
5. Using the cutter of choice, score (but don't cut), the right ends of the 3 parallel skewers so that they also will, once cut, hover just barely "inside" that same circle. You'll want all skewers to be just a little shorter than meeting end to edge with the diameter of the circle. (*Snorts at her former high school math teacher.* Take that! Hahaha!!! *Grumbles about geometry therums and such* I told him I don't need that junk - I was right. It's ALL visual, duh.)
6. Turn all the skewers 90 degrees one direction or the other. Repeat step 5 for the 2 parallel skewers, which are now horizontal to you. You now have a lot of scored skewers. Break off the ends, with the scores held away from you, for a clean break. Now, you should have a loosely held together wooden insert. If you like, you can reposition the skewers so the latticework looks nice, and then use more twist ties to completely tie down the intersections. Place the wooden insert in the bottom of your kettle.
The Jars
I think even old fashioned canners will like this one.
1. You'll need 3 (at least 18") long sections of aluminum foil. Fold them in half lengthwise, and then fold them lengthwise in half again. And, you'll need 3 8 oz. (1/2 pint tall, not short/wide mouthed) jars, with no lids or rings on them. You'll need the lids in a moment, and the rings at the end of all this.
2. Wrap the lengths around the tops of the jars, with a few millimeters of the foil standing above the tops of the jars. Fold those higher portions of the foil down over the tops of the jars, to keep it in place. Allow some space between the foil and the sides of the jars though, for water circulation.
Pre-Boiling Preparation
This process is so simple, it really surprised me. Honestly, unless I wind up with a huge family someday, it'll never be worth it for me to do regular canning the old fashioned way. So, here's the new fangled way (though it is based on the old way).
1. Add about 3" of warm water to the bottom of the kettle, and place the jars on the wooden insert. They should not ever touch the bottom or sides of the kettle. Nor should any of the glass sides touch each other. Once the jars are in place, put the lids (not the rings) into the water, between the foil wrapped jars. If a lid sinks below the wooden insert, that's ok. Let it.
2. Turn the burner on to low for about 3 minutes, and then up to medium, to get the water warm, but not boiling. Regulate this temperature at all times so that it's hot, but not boiling. You just need to keep the jars much warmer than room temperature. Don't ever start out with jars that were recently in the fridge. It's a good idea to use jars that just came out of the dishwasher.
3. Visit steps 1 - 3 on this page, but note the following instructions regarding step 3.
4. Instead of letting the jam cool for 4 hours, immediately use a jar tongs to pull a single jar out and place it on a towel (or thick paper towel). Leave all lids in the hot water. Do not EVER touch the glass of this jar with your bare hands, fingers... It isn't glowing red, so it's easy to forget just HOW hot it really is. Also, it takes a long time for hot glass to cool, so don't be tempted to think that you can touch it after a few minutes - you'll just get burned. Using two forks, carefully remove the aluminum foil wrapping around the jar and set aside - you'll need it again in a moment.
5. Use a funnel and a medium sized kettle-ladle (not gravy ladle) to fill the jar almost up to the bottom of the glass rim threads with the jam. The funnel should "hold" a little extra in the bottom after two ladles full. Pull the funnel out slowly and let the remaining jam fall out of it into the jar. The jam level will need to be up to the bottom of the glass rim threads before you continue.
6. Use the flat parts of two fork heads, in the hot water, to carefully fish out, lift, and carry a lid from it onto the top of the jar. If it doesn't fit perfectly, that's ok, it just needs to be close. Take a ring and place it around the top of the jar, and screw it down lightly. Use the jar tongs to hold the glass part of the jar in place with one hand, and reach inside the tongs with the other hand, then finish screwing the ring down tight. Rewrap the jar with it's original aluminum foil, molding about 1/2" of the uppermost portion of the foil in a circle both over and around the lid. Leave some space between the foil and the side of the jar. Using the jar tongs, place the jar back onto the wooden insert.
7. Repeat steps 4 - 6 for the other two jars, one jar at a time.
Boiling
1. Once all 3 jars are back in the kettle, sitting on the wooden insert, with about 3" of hot water surrounding them and foil protecting them from each other and the kettle, fill both a 4 cup and a 2 cup measuring cup, a large soup mug, or a medium sized bowl with HOT water, and set the 2 cup container aside. Pour as much of the hot water from the 4 cup container into the kettle as it will hold, until all the jars are well covered. Don't worry about water boiling over later on, your kitchen will survive, and the world will move on... Just clean up any spills later. If more hot water is needed, go for it - you do have to cover the jars though. The burner should still be on warm or medium by this time.
2. Once the jars are covered, slowly bring the water to a boil. Start with "warm," then after about 3 minutes, turn the burner up to "medium," and after about 5 more minutes, turn it up to medium high. Once it tries to boil, turn it up to high, just long enough to get a rolling boil, then turn it back down to medium high, then to medium. The water should be at a controlled rolling boil. It shouldn't be going crazy! (Reference: Mrs. Doubtfire trying to cook.) This means some good temperature regulation. So long as it never touches the glass of the jars, you may use a knife to lightly encourage water circulation around the jars, by "stirring" it lightly back and forth between the jars and the kettle side. Once the rolling boil is achieved, set your timer for 10 minutes (or add more time for your altitude, based on the chart on the instructions in the insert that came in the box of pectin). During that time, you'll need the hot water in the 2 cup measuring cup, to add small amounts at a time, to make up for what has boiled off, particularly if your jars come up almost to the top of the side of the kettle, once they're sitting on the wooden insert. You'll need to do this every couple of minutes or so.
3. Once the timer goes off, turn the burner off, and lay out a thick hand towel on the counter. Using the jar tongs, take the jars out and place them upright on the towel and, using the forks, remove the aluminum foil, then lightly dry each jar off with a wash rag, one jar at a time.
4. Once all jars are out of the kettle, dump the water out of the kettle, but leave the wooden insert in the bottom, to air dry over a cooled burner. Find a nice, out of the way location that won't be disturbed, and lay out another thick hand towel in an area large enough to accommodate the jars. Using the jar tongs, carry the jars, one jar at a time, over to their new location on the second hand towel, and leave them there for a total of 24 hours.
5. Sometime in the next few minutes, they should "pop" and you'll notice a downward indentation right in the middle. Using a thick washcloth, test the seal that just formed by pushing down on that indentation. If it pops back up, the seal didn't work, and you'll need to set this jar aside on a separate thick cloth to cool for a total of 3 of those 24 hours. Use an indelible marker or some tape to mark the lid of the jar (not the ring or the jar itself), so you'll know it needs to go in the fridge once it's completely cooled. If the seal did form properly, that central indentation won't pop back up. Congratulations! It's a healthy jar of jam (har).
6. Leave all the jars be for about the next 2 hours, then carefully (and slowly) turn them upside down, allowing the air to form a single bubble on the top side of the jar as it travels from one end to the other. If it is too set, you can shake it rigorously, but beware of anything you might hit your hand or the jar on. Turn the jar and shake it several times. Allow the fruit to distribute itself more towards the natural bottom of the jar (now on top), and then slowly re-turn the jars right side up again. The fruit ought to set in a more evenly distributed manner now. If not, wait another hour (instead of 2), and then repeat this step, until the jam sets with evenly distributed fruit.
After 3 total hours of cooling (improperly sealed jars)
Any jars which didn't seal properly can be put in the fridge. Once they're completely cool, if there were too many to use in the next 3 weeks, open them and store the jam in quart freezer bags with ziplock-type seals, stick them in the freezer immediately, and be glad you have anything at all from them. Just be sure to "vacuum" the air out of the freezer bags prior to fully sealing them (mostly seal them, press all the air out without spilling the jam, then finish sealing them before air can come back in). This will avoid freezer burn.
After 24 total hours of cooling (properly sealed jars)
Just keep the jars that did seal properly where they are, and use up any jars in the fridge first, then the packages in the freezer next, saving the properly sealed jars of jam for last. I've written this recipe based on 3 jars, but it can be used for more than just one batch. If making several smaller batches, be sure to note each batch as to what time the jars were placed on the first hand towel, and note any other timing issues on a per-batch basis. If multiplying the size of each batch of jam, I don't recommend doing more than 3 times this volume of jam at a time, in the manner recommended in this recipe. For larger batches, use a real canner and proper canning instructions as found all over the web and probably in the instructions that came with the canner as well as with the pectin.
Interesting Notes
While canning is primarily done for preserving fruits and vegetables which will soon go out of season, jams (and jellies, as well as pickling) are a special breed of canning. They are preserves with a purpose. I love jam, wish I could have had more jam growing up, but because stevia didn't exist in my world, really, that was unrealistic. Itty bitty dabs of jam were more calories than anyone ought to have had, and if the jam was used in something like a turnover?!? Wow - what a calorie sin!
Anyway, these days, it is cheaper to just purchase pre-manufactured jam. IF you want all the junk they sometimes put into that stuff. True, most of that is actually just latin for real food. But things like sucrolose, which causes the runs?! Forget that. Beware the "sugar free" jams. Read the labels more carefully.
The main reason I've put a little money into the jars and such is because of real health concerns, and the fact that the only way to get healthy jam is to just make it myself. As I said, I LOVE jam! Always have! I could practically subsist by just making foods centered around jam! And now that I can make my own without dealing with some silly, expensive canner, I don't mind the fact that a package of pectin intended to not have sugar added costs about the same as the least expensive 32 oz jar of jam (which, as in the previous refrigerator recipe, is about the right size for a single batch of jam based on one pectin package). I'm not saving any money by doing this (though eventually, the jars will somewhat pay for themselves). And that's not including the cost of the fruit. So yes, this is a spendy venture. And I considered that last night. But I decided that my good health, what's left of it, is worth the money, time, and effort.
Besides, this jam really does taste like it has real fruit and real juice in it, because it does. Sure, store bought jam has real fruit in it. But all that other junk... Honestly. It makes the flavor taste more like it was made from some powdered drink mix or something. When I use jam, I want it to taste like real fruit, not gelled and fake flavored candy.
You win some, you lose some. I've won the real fruit flavor in home made jam, and I hope this will somehow add to my other efforts to lose some weight as well as the fear of glucose spikes.
PS.
I found some great info regarding canning here.
Healthier Raisin Bran
Something like two weeks ago, I discovered, to my dismay, that raisin brans, in general, have a high glycemic index. I realized why: they all, even the "healthy" ones, at least the ones I can get at my local stores, have TONS of sugar, high fructose corn syrup, honey, molasis... All the evils that diabetics have to avoid like the plague, people with insulin resistance have to worry about too, and people like me, who've had insulin resistance must be cautious about. And previously, well, I hadn't really even thought about it.
Cereal is kind of Custer's last stand in my kitchen: I can't really make my own raisin bran... It's the least expensive and still the healthiest pre-packaged cereal out there, I can't stand cooked oatmeal, yet need fiber... It's a real headache to deal with, and seriously, the companies that produce "healthy" cereals would do well to live up to their branding, and knock it off already with something that's SO unnecessary: simple sugars. The least they could do is rev up the sweet with stevia, the only non-cal, natural sweetener that isn't non-digestible (non-digestible means it would give anyone the runs if they used it in any real quantity). Stevia is a blessing in disguise, and I'm so thankful the FDA finally approved it's being put on our store shelves.
Well, anyway, the best solution I've come up with is to just "water it down" as it were. So, I bought two huge and cheap bags of Western Family Raisin Bran, which is nice because it isn't contaminated with milk, and one giant cylinder of Quaker Old Fashioned Oats (the non-gooey-when-cooked kind). Plus a few extras, like dates (which do have a little sugar, but not enough for some of us to worry about anyway, diabetics should just skip these), blueberry flavored Craisins, and a large container of regular raisins. You can see where I'm going with this.
The real time-killer was the oats. I refuse to eat those things plain, particularly when some liquid has been poured over them (in my case, soy, almond, or tofu milk). Even if they don't turn to mush, they still blow up and become soggy... Ik. So, cookie sheet by cookie sheet, I toasted them. It was helpful that I have two cookie sheets to work with, but I was also busy working on some other cooking projects after a big shopping trip tonight, so I really didn't have the wherewithall to try coordinating the timings for everything without fearing that I'd get something mixed up. Not until the last couple batches - I had more time and attention, so I now can post two different methods of broiling the oats.
Yes, I said broil, not bake. Broiling rules. If it existed before toasters and toaster-ovens, I'm sure this must be one way people made toast, previous to those inventions. Pan frying with little or no oil would be the other way.
Ingredients
2 jumbo bags Western Family Raisin Bran
1 large container Quaker Old Fashioned Oats
5 packets Sun Crystals Stevia
Raisins (any amount, I used the whole canister)
Chopped Almonds
Craisins
Dates
Instructions
Broil Method #1
2. Broil for 10 minutes on the top wrack, then remove, and leave the oven on.
3. Place the cookie sheet on a wooden unfinished surface, such as a large cutting board - some surface you don't care about. With a hotpad on at least one hand, and a pancake turning spatula or a large spoon/fork in the other, turn the oats so that the majority which are on top are of a lighter color.
4. Broil again for 5 minutes, during which time, prepare a second cookie sheet with the oats for a second batch. Remove the first batch from the oven to cool, and replace it with the second batch.
5. Repeat steps 2 through 4, using the "done" batch (broiled a total of 15 minutes) as the newly emptied cookie sheet. The oats from finished batches should be allowed to further cool in a large metal or glass bowl.
Broil Method #2
(Slightly altered from what I actually did, but this makes more sense if you're starting and finishing with it.)
Cereal is kind of Custer's last stand in my kitchen: I can't really make my own raisin bran... It's the least expensive and still the healthiest pre-packaged cereal out there, I can't stand cooked oatmeal, yet need fiber... It's a real headache to deal with, and seriously, the companies that produce "healthy" cereals would do well to live up to their branding, and knock it off already with something that's SO unnecessary: simple sugars. The least they could do is rev up the sweet with stevia, the only non-cal, natural sweetener that isn't non-digestible (non-digestible means it would give anyone the runs if they used it in any real quantity). Stevia is a blessing in disguise, and I'm so thankful the FDA finally approved it's being put on our store shelves.
Well, anyway, the best solution I've come up with is to just "water it down" as it were. So, I bought two huge and cheap bags of Western Family Raisin Bran, which is nice because it isn't contaminated with milk, and one giant cylinder of Quaker Old Fashioned Oats (the non-gooey-when-cooked kind). Plus a few extras, like dates (which do have a little sugar, but not enough for some of us to worry about anyway, diabetics should just skip these), blueberry flavored Craisins, and a large container of regular raisins. You can see where I'm going with this.
The real time-killer was the oats. I refuse to eat those things plain, particularly when some liquid has been poured over them (in my case, soy, almond, or tofu milk). Even if they don't turn to mush, they still blow up and become soggy... Ik. So, cookie sheet by cookie sheet, I toasted them. It was helpful that I have two cookie sheets to work with, but I was also busy working on some other cooking projects after a big shopping trip tonight, so I really didn't have the wherewithall to try coordinating the timings for everything without fearing that I'd get something mixed up. Not until the last couple batches - I had more time and attention, so I now can post two different methods of broiling the oats.
Yes, I said broil, not bake. Broiling rules. If it existed before toasters and toaster-ovens, I'm sure this must be one way people made toast, previous to those inventions. Pan frying with little or no oil would be the other way.
Ingredients
2 jumbo bags Western Family Raisin Bran
1 large container Quaker Old Fashioned Oats
5 packets Sun Crystals Stevia
Raisins (any amount, I used the whole canister)
Chopped Almonds
Craisins
Dates
Instructions
1. Place the top wrack in the oven to the mid-hight point, with the other wrack several inches below it. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Then put a layer of about 1/3" to 1/2" worth of the oats on a cookie sheet (you may lightly grease the cookie sheet if you like, which I did do), in a level layer (you shouldn't be able to see the cookie sheet bottom between any oats).
Broil Method #1
2. Broil for 10 minutes on the top wrack, then remove, and leave the oven on.
3. Place the cookie sheet on a wooden unfinished surface, such as a large cutting board - some surface you don't care about. With a hotpad on at least one hand, and a pancake turning spatula or a large spoon/fork in the other, turn the oats so that the majority which are on top are of a lighter color.
4. Broil again for 5 minutes, during which time, prepare a second cookie sheet with the oats for a second batch. Remove the first batch from the oven to cool, and replace it with the second batch.
5. Repeat steps 2 through 4, using the "done" batch (broiled a total of 15 minutes) as the newly emptied cookie sheet. The oats from finished batches should be allowed to further cool in a large metal or glass bowl.
Broil Method #2
(Slightly altered from what I actually did, but this makes more sense if you're starting and finishing with it.)
2. Repeat step 1 for a second cookie sheet's worth of oats. Broil both sheets for 10 minutes, with one sheet on the top wrack, the other on the bottom.
3. Place the cookie sheets on a large wooden unfinished surface, such as a large cutting board - some surface you don't care about. With a hotpad on at least one hand, and a pancake turning spatula or a large spoon/fork in the other, turn the oats so that the majority which are on top in each pan are of a lighter color.
4. Broil both sheets again for 5 minutes.
5. Repeat steps 2 through 4. The oats from finished batches should be allowed to further cool in a large metal or glass bowl.
Continued Instructions
6. When at least one full batch of oats has finished baking, start mixing in the raisins, Sun Crystals, dates, craisins, and chopped almonds. Keep adding more batches of broiled oats as they get finished, and stir them in immediately so they can start cooling. In the end, the large bowl should be full, with all ingredients well mixed together and reasonably cooled.
7. Using the canister from the raisins, scoop the oat mixture evenly into both bags of cereal. The large bowl should now be empty.
8. Pour one whole bag of cereal back into the large bowl, and mix well, until the raisin bran is evenly distributed throughout the oat mixture. Scoop it all back into the bag. Repeat this step for the second cereal bag.
Seriously - it's very good, and worth eating. I imagine that the glycemic index just dropped at least 40%, though I haven't calculated it all out. Anyway, it should now be sane to eat "healthy" cereal. You just have to add more actually healthy ingredients to it.
Total cost? $6 for the cereal, about $1.50 each for the raisins, crasins, and dates, and the Sun Crystals' cost was negligible. So, for two bags of healthy cereal, I spent about $10.50. That's $5.25/bag. But each bag now holds twice what it did, and started out at 32 oz. So really, comparatively, that's $2.62/32 oz batch of cereal. As compared to an average $4.00 per 15 oz to 21 oz box of standard cereal, if even that much.
I think it's worth it.
June 3, 2010
Refridgerator Jam
Basically, you need so few and inexpensive things that I'm shocked we don't all just make our own jam. I know that when I think of jams and jellies, I think of my grandma's huge steaming set, complete with metal jar-holding insert thingamajig, pre-boiled jars and crates and crates of unprocessed fruits everywhere -- AND HOURS UPON HOURS, really, a whole week, devoted to NOTHING but that dreaded canning.
Forget that. This is simple, easy, works with just ONE jar, and it's good up to 3 weeks - much longer than is necessary for something that tastes this good.
"Ingredients."
1 Pre-washed former Jam jar, 32 oz, with intact lid.
1 Medium sized kettle
3/4 C Apple Juice, store bought or home made (blended and strained)
3 C Fruit Pieces
1 Box Sure Jell Premium Fruit Pectin, "No Sugar Needed..."
8 Packets Sun Crystals (if the apple juice was home made)
Instructions
1. Wash the jar well, preferably in the dishwasher, then put immediately in the fridge.
2. Mix the Sun Crystals and Sure Jell into the apple juice, and use a spiral wire whisk to get all the lumps out.
3. Add apple juice and fruit pieces together, then bring to a boil for 1 minute, turning the temperature down to medium-high, then medium, as soon as it boils. Use a timer. Remove from heat, and let cool for at least 4 hours. It shouldn't fully set yet.
4. Pour the unset but thick jam into the jar and put in the fridge to set for at least 4 more hours. It will not be sealed, but really, in this case, that doesn't matter. It'll be good for up to 3 weeks, and gone within 1. So, eh, whatever.
Now, if you want to do many jars, I don't suggest following these instructions at all, because the jars won't be sealed, thus safe to store on the long term. At that point, I would suggest following the instructions that come in the box. But, if you're like me, and you only would really want to make 1 jar at a time, then this is definitely the way to go. Truth is - my first jar was made yesterday, and it's already half gone! It kinda helps that this is essentially sugar free and almost (not quite) calorie free. It's awesome :)
Forget that. This is simple, easy, works with just ONE jar, and it's good up to 3 weeks - much longer than is necessary for something that tastes this good.
"Ingredients."
1 Pre-washed former Jam jar, 32 oz, with intact lid.
1 Medium sized kettle
3/4 C Apple Juice, store bought or home made (blended and strained)
3 C Fruit Pieces
1 Box Sure Jell Premium Fruit Pectin, "No Sugar Needed..."
8 Packets Sun Crystals (if the apple juice was home made)
Instructions
1. Wash the jar well, preferably in the dishwasher, then put immediately in the fridge.
2. Mix the Sun Crystals and Sure Jell into the apple juice, and use a spiral wire whisk to get all the lumps out.
3. Add apple juice and fruit pieces together, then bring to a boil for 1 minute, turning the temperature down to medium-high, then medium, as soon as it boils. Use a timer. Remove from heat, and let cool for at least 4 hours. It shouldn't fully set yet.
4. Pour the unset but thick jam into the jar and put in the fridge to set for at least 4 more hours. It will not be sealed, but really, in this case, that doesn't matter. It'll be good for up to 3 weeks, and gone within 1. So, eh, whatever.
Now, if you want to do many jars, I don't suggest following these instructions at all, because the jars won't be sealed, thus safe to store on the long term. At that point, I would suggest following the instructions that come in the box. But, if you're like me, and you only would really want to make 1 jar at a time, then this is definitely the way to go. Truth is - my first jar was made yesterday, and it's already half gone! It kinda helps that this is essentially sugar free and almost (not quite) calorie free. It's awesome :)
June 2, 2010
Cheap Chow Mien
While I've discovered that I love Low Mien after all, so long as it's made right... I still love Chow Mien. So, I decided to buy all the ingredients in the produce sections of a couple local stores -- and then froze EVERYTHING. Including the precooked noodles. I've tried several "fresh" methods of food storage/preparation, but really, this seems to work the best. It levels the cooking times for all foods to the same time - about 3 minutes. And then I just boiled it all together, drained off most of the water, added my Stir Fry Seasoning (also pre-packaged, but not frozen), and then, over low heat, stirred that in until only a few drops of water remained in the bottom of the kettle.
That's it. Frozen and boiled Chow Mien. :)
That's it. Frozen and boiled Chow Mien. :)
June 1, 2010
Single Loaf Handmade Wheat Bread
I did a little more revising, and this seems to work pretty well, after having tried it out this morning. I won't leave the full instructions, just a summary. The complete instructions are in the previous post.
Total Time Needed: 2 hours
Dry Ingredients
Option A
Option B
2 1/2 C Whole Wheat Flour
Total Time Needed: 2 hours
Dry Ingredients
Option A
2 C Whole Wheat Flour
1 + 1/2 C White Flour, separated
1 1/2 tsp. Fast acting dry yeast
1 tablet Vitamin C, crushed
1/4 C Gluten Flour
1/4 C Potato Starch
1/4 C Soy Protein Isolate
1/4 tsp. Iodized Sea Salt (mixed into reserved 1/2 C White Flour)
Option B
2 1/2 C Whole Wheat Flour
1 + 1/2 C White Flour, separated
1 tablet Vitamin C, crushed
1/4 C Soy Protein Isolate
1 1/2 tsp. Fast acting dry yeast
1/4 tsp. Iodized Sea Salt (mixed into reserved 1/2 C White Flour)
Wet Ingredients
1 ½ C Water (do NOT substitute)
1/2 tsp. Fair Trade Sugar
1 tsp. Plain Light Corn Syrup
1 T Oil
Optional Topping Ingredients
1 T Egg whites (or just a single egg white will do)
1 T Sesame seeds, poppy seeds, or other seeds/grains/nuts
Instructions
1. Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees.
2. Add all the dry ingredients except for 1/2 cup white flour, in order, and mix thoroughly together in a large bowl.
3. Add all wet ingredients, in order, and mix thoroughly together in a separate glass baking dish. Microwave for 2 minutes or until 85 degrees.
4. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry, and mix thoroughly until a soft, very sticky dough forms. Dump the dough into the glass baking dish you used before.
5. Put the lid on the glass baking dish and then turn the oven off. Rise dough in the oven for 30 minutes until double in size and spongy. Prepare a large bread pan with either pan spray or oil in a Misto container. Do not use flour in the greasing process.
6. Turn the oven back on to 200 degrees and kneed dough into a "tacky" textured ball, using 1/2 cup flour and salt in large bowl.
7. Shape the dough into a loaf. Add toppings in bowl and roll the top of the dough in them before placing dough, right side up, in the bread pan.
8. Turn the oven off and rise the dough again for 50 minutes.
10. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes at 350 degrees.
11. Pull out of oven, turn oven off, leave bread in pan for 5 minutes, then remove. Keep bread upside down for 5 minutes, then turn right side up and cover lightly with a clean dry hand towel until it's cool.
11. Pull out of oven, turn oven off, leave bread in pan for 5 minutes, then remove. Keep bread upside down for 5 minutes, then turn right side up and cover lightly with a clean dry hand towel until it's cool.
No Machine Wheat Bread
I've been twiddling around in the kitchen, a LOT, trying to come up with some kind of bread that doesn't need a bread machine - and yet is affordable, simple, not hard on the wrists... And, of course, no milk, butter, etc. Eventually, I might come up with a wheat-based challah bread, which is an egg bread as well (and insanely yummy!) But, for now, I've just been struggling to get a good loaf of regular wheat bread that doesn't need a machine. Why give up the machine? LOL. Seriously. If there are just going to be nights when I'm awake, I might as well do something useful with my time. And that machine is very noisy, hands down. Not great for apartment life, at all. Well, here's what I have so far, though I will need to cut this in half next time around, to make just one loaf at a time.
This is a bread that's still made with Red Star Bread Machine Fast Acting Dry Yeast. Seriously, people, that machine isn't magic or something. It's a machine. You can do what it does - so long as you have the right recipe/instructions, and you aren't arthritic or suffering from back problems. In any case, this is a rather "damp" dough, so it's easy to work with, and the nice thing is, really, you only have to use your bare hands to work with it once.
Dry Ingredients
2 C Whole Wheat Flour
1 C White Flour
1/2 C Gluten Flour
1/2 C Potato Starch
1/2 C Soy Protein Isolate
1/2 tsp. Iodized Sea Salt
3 tsp. Red Star Bread Machine FAST ACTING dry yeast
2 tablets Vitamin C, crushed (be sure to check the label to avoid lactose).
Wet Ingredients
2 C Water (do NOT substitute, trust me)
1 tsp. Fair Trade Sugar
2 tsp. Plain Light Corn Syrup (no high fructose corn syrup, check the label)
2 T Oil
Optional Topping Ingredients
3 T Egg whites (or just a single egg white will do)
3 T Sesame seeds, poppy seeds, or other seeds/grains/nuts
Instructions
1. Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees.
2. Add all the dry ingredients, in order, and mix thoroughly together in a large bowl.
3. Add all wet ingredients, in order, and mix thoroughly together in a separate glass baking dish that's also microwaveable and has a lid (do not use the lid yet). Microwave for 2 minutes or until 85 degrees (for this recipe, ignore the sites/pages/instructions that say 110 degrees).
4. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry, and mix thoroughly until a soft, very sticky dough forms. You should need to wash your hands after this. Dump the whole mass of dough into the glass baking dish you used before. Be sure to get all the extra bits of dough out of the large bowl and add them to the dough in the baking dish.
5. Put the lid on the glass baking dish, then place it in the oven, and then turn the oven off. Allow the dough to rise into a sponge for 30 minutes. The dough should at least double in size and still be a good sponge. Prepare a large bread pan with either pan spray or oil in a Misto container. Do not use flour in the greasing process. You may need to use two pans, so preparing two ahead of time is wise, even if you don't wind up using the second pan after all. It depends on the size of the pans, as well as how well the dough rises. From here on out though, I'll write as if you'll only need one pan. Rinse out the large bowl well - do not use dish soap yet, then dry it thoroughly, inside and out.
6. Remove glass baking dish from the oven, turn the oven back on to 200 degrees, then pour the dough from the baking dish into the cleaned large bowl. Kneed for about 10 minutes, until it's firmer and "tacky" rather than "sticky/messy." It should form a real ball of dough. Add more white flour, 1/2 cup at a time, if necessary to achieve this consistency. Use the large bowl as an easy means of keeping the dough together as it forms a ball, and as you kneed it (to form excellent gluten strands, a basic necessity of making bread).
7. Shape the dough into a large, smooth cylindrical form, tucking the ends under if necessary, then place in the prepared bread pan. For a more "square" bread shape, be sure to flatten the dough down in the pan so that the pan's corners are equally filled with dough and the top surface of the dough is flat. The dough will still rise over the bread pan's edges a bit, but it will be more square-ish rather than rounded at the top.
8. Place the bread pan in the re-heated oven, then turn the oven off again, and allow the dough to rise for 10 minutes (for more square-ish bread) or 20 minutes for more round bread. Remove from the oven again, then preheat the oven to 350 degrees, in preparation to bake the bread.
9. If using egg whites as an egg wash, then use a sandwich baggy over your hand (don't use a brush) to smear egg white over the now risen loaf of bread dough. Use a light touch, you won't need to pat it into the dough or anything. Don't worry if it drips down over the sides of the dough - just wipe any excess off of the outside edges of the pan to keep it from burning/smoking. Then if using any other toppings (seeds/grains/nuts) which can be baked without burning them, add them after the egg-wash layer. A second layer of egg wash can be added after this, though that's delicate work. For a golden brown tinge, a layer of pan spray or Misto oil can be spritzed on instead of a second layer of egg-wash. Some people, when making an egg wash use the whole egg. That's to taste - I just don't happen to prefer it. The white is what really does the work, not the yolk, in this case, and the yolk can "water down" the white and cause it to be less effective.
10. Bake for 40 minutes at 350 degrees. Increase the time, not the temperature, if you need to use two pans. You'll have to determine how much to increase the time by playing it by ear. Use 5 minute increments and separate testing sites in the centers of the loaves of bread until you are sure the bread is done in the middle. If making buns instead, then decrease the time considerably. I would start by using 350 degrees for 15 minutes, and if that isn't enough, then add 10 minutes, then use 5 minute increments to add more time until the buns are fully done. Only you will know the size of the buns or even the bread pans you may use this recipe for, so it's good to play with the amount of time it takes to bake either kind of recipe, and just keep good notes.
11. Remove the bread from the oven, and let it sit right side up, in the pan, for 5 minutes to start cooling. Then, on top of a counter or cutting board, and while using oven mitts, turn the pan and bread upside down and remove the pan, placing the pan on a cold stove burner to cool. If the pans was greased well enough, the bread should slide right out on it's own. If not, use a knife as a wedge between the bread and the pan to loosen just the sides of the bread from the pan. Do NOT use the knife to try to remove the bread! Once the sides are loosened, unless there is serious trouble in the bottom of the pan (like burning or toughness/sticking), the weight of the bread, once the pan is turned over again, should pop the bread right out. If you had to wedge the bread out, you probably used too much water in the dough (particularly if 40 minutes wasn't enough time for a single loaf). If it's too tough or burning on the bottom, you didn't use enough water.
12. IMPORTANT: Immediately rinse, wash, and dry all cooled bowls, pans, and utensils. Use cold water, not hot, and both dish soap and a little salt are also recommended for thorough washing. Also, be sure to wash your hands the same way. Bread yeast is still a form of Candida, which can infect everything on your body that allows contact with bodily fluids, including eyes, nose, mouth... It's just NOT something to mess around with carelessly. Also, be sure to wash your counters well and sweep your kitchen floor thoroughly after baking bread. I've personally learned the hard way because of minor oral yeast infections that "shouldn't have happened." They just do. If you do suspect trouble with yeast contamination in your body, use cold water to rinse well for 15 minutes, and if your eyes are involved, keep a bottle of fresh eye drops on hand. For nose and mouth, a cold salt-water wash (do not swallow or snort) is appropriate. For any other yeast related problems, or if these solutions don't help, see a Dr. or ER immediately. That's usually not a problem, but don't hesitate at all if it becomes one.
Eventually, I may work out some instructions for hoagie style buns, as well as yeast based pita pockets.
This is a bread that's still made with Red Star Bread Machine Fast Acting Dry Yeast. Seriously, people, that machine isn't magic or something. It's a machine. You can do what it does - so long as you have the right recipe/instructions, and you aren't arthritic or suffering from back problems. In any case, this is a rather "damp" dough, so it's easy to work with, and the nice thing is, really, you only have to use your bare hands to work with it once.
Dry Ingredients
2 C Whole Wheat Flour
1 C White Flour
1/2 C Gluten Flour
1/2 C Potato Starch
1/2 C Soy Protein Isolate
1/2 tsp. Iodized Sea Salt
3 tsp. Red Star Bread Machine FAST ACTING dry yeast
2 tablets Vitamin C, crushed (be sure to check the label to avoid lactose).
Wet Ingredients
2 C Water (do NOT substitute, trust me)
1 tsp. Fair Trade Sugar
2 tsp. Plain Light Corn Syrup (no high fructose corn syrup, check the label)
2 T Oil
Optional Topping Ingredients
3 T Egg whites (or just a single egg white will do)
3 T Sesame seeds, poppy seeds, or other seeds/grains/nuts
Instructions
1. Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees.
2. Add all the dry ingredients, in order, and mix thoroughly together in a large bowl.
3. Add all wet ingredients, in order, and mix thoroughly together in a separate glass baking dish that's also microwaveable and has a lid (do not use the lid yet). Microwave for 2 minutes or until 85 degrees (for this recipe, ignore the sites/pages/instructions that say 110 degrees).
4. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry, and mix thoroughly until a soft, very sticky dough forms. You should need to wash your hands after this. Dump the whole mass of dough into the glass baking dish you used before. Be sure to get all the extra bits of dough out of the large bowl and add them to the dough in the baking dish.
5. Put the lid on the glass baking dish, then place it in the oven, and then turn the oven off. Allow the dough to rise into a sponge for 30 minutes. The dough should at least double in size and still be a good sponge. Prepare a large bread pan with either pan spray or oil in a Misto container. Do not use flour in the greasing process. You may need to use two pans, so preparing two ahead of time is wise, even if you don't wind up using the second pan after all. It depends on the size of the pans, as well as how well the dough rises. From here on out though, I'll write as if you'll only need one pan. Rinse out the large bowl well - do not use dish soap yet, then dry it thoroughly, inside and out.
6. Remove glass baking dish from the oven, turn the oven back on to 200 degrees, then pour the dough from the baking dish into the cleaned large bowl. Kneed for about 10 minutes, until it's firmer and "tacky" rather than "sticky/messy." It should form a real ball of dough. Add more white flour, 1/2 cup at a time, if necessary to achieve this consistency. Use the large bowl as an easy means of keeping the dough together as it forms a ball, and as you kneed it (to form excellent gluten strands, a basic necessity of making bread).
7. Shape the dough into a large, smooth cylindrical form, tucking the ends under if necessary, then place in the prepared bread pan. For a more "square" bread shape, be sure to flatten the dough down in the pan so that the pan's corners are equally filled with dough and the top surface of the dough is flat. The dough will still rise over the bread pan's edges a bit, but it will be more square-ish rather than rounded at the top.
8. Place the bread pan in the re-heated oven, then turn the oven off again, and allow the dough to rise for 10 minutes (for more square-ish bread) or 20 minutes for more round bread. Remove from the oven again, then preheat the oven to 350 degrees, in preparation to bake the bread.
9. If using egg whites as an egg wash, then use a sandwich baggy over your hand (don't use a brush) to smear egg white over the now risen loaf of bread dough. Use a light touch, you won't need to pat it into the dough or anything. Don't worry if it drips down over the sides of the dough - just wipe any excess off of the outside edges of the pan to keep it from burning/smoking. Then if using any other toppings (seeds/grains/nuts) which can be baked without burning them, add them after the egg-wash layer. A second layer of egg wash can be added after this, though that's delicate work. For a golden brown tinge, a layer of pan spray or Misto oil can be spritzed on instead of a second layer of egg-wash. Some people, when making an egg wash use the whole egg. That's to taste - I just don't happen to prefer it. The white is what really does the work, not the yolk, in this case, and the yolk can "water down" the white and cause it to be less effective.
10. Bake for 40 minutes at 350 degrees. Increase the time, not the temperature, if you need to use two pans. You'll have to determine how much to increase the time by playing it by ear. Use 5 minute increments and separate testing sites in the centers of the loaves of bread until you are sure the bread is done in the middle. If making buns instead, then decrease the time considerably. I would start by using 350 degrees for 15 minutes, and if that isn't enough, then add 10 minutes, then use 5 minute increments to add more time until the buns are fully done. Only you will know the size of the buns or even the bread pans you may use this recipe for, so it's good to play with the amount of time it takes to bake either kind of recipe, and just keep good notes.
11. Remove the bread from the oven, and let it sit right side up, in the pan, for 5 minutes to start cooling. Then, on top of a counter or cutting board, and while using oven mitts, turn the pan and bread upside down and remove the pan, placing the pan on a cold stove burner to cool. If the pans was greased well enough, the bread should slide right out on it's own. If not, use a knife as a wedge between the bread and the pan to loosen just the sides of the bread from the pan. Do NOT use the knife to try to remove the bread! Once the sides are loosened, unless there is serious trouble in the bottom of the pan (like burning or toughness/sticking), the weight of the bread, once the pan is turned over again, should pop the bread right out. If you had to wedge the bread out, you probably used too much water in the dough (particularly if 40 minutes wasn't enough time for a single loaf). If it's too tough or burning on the bottom, you didn't use enough water.
12. IMPORTANT: Immediately rinse, wash, and dry all cooled bowls, pans, and utensils. Use cold water, not hot, and both dish soap and a little salt are also recommended for thorough washing. Also, be sure to wash your hands the same way. Bread yeast is still a form of Candida, which can infect everything on your body that allows contact with bodily fluids, including eyes, nose, mouth... It's just NOT something to mess around with carelessly. Also, be sure to wash your counters well and sweep your kitchen floor thoroughly after baking bread. I've personally learned the hard way because of minor oral yeast infections that "shouldn't have happened." They just do. If you do suspect trouble with yeast contamination in your body, use cold water to rinse well for 15 minutes, and if your eyes are involved, keep a bottle of fresh eye drops on hand. For nose and mouth, a cold salt-water wash (do not swallow or snort) is appropriate. For any other yeast related problems, or if these solutions don't help, see a Dr. or ER immediately. That's usually not a problem, but don't hesitate at all if it becomes one.
Eventually, I may work out some instructions for hoagie style buns, as well as yeast based pita pockets.
May 23, 2010
To Instruct or Not to Instruct?
The truth is, here at home, I just make lists of wet and dry ingredients, with recipe titles at the tops. I don't instruct myself, at all. Why? It's actually fairly simple. I don't need to be told, anymore, how to cook or bake. I was raised being taught the old techniques, be they Low German, English, Low French, Dutch, Italian, or Native American. And of course, be they Julia Child (Gourmet French) or Betty Crocker :)
I'll touch on a sensitive topic here, one that other women in their 30s today who have been cooking all their lives can probably attest to: my mom was a sadist in the kitchen. In the same way that a psycho dance instructor just can't let it go if her star pupil breaks an ankle. Etc. She wasn't. Nice. But she knew a lot, and I wound up learning a lot, regarding basic techniques. However, there is more than one way to do just about everything. That's actually where she and I started parting company, really. We don't talk anymore. There actually just isn't anything left that can be said, or even trusted. It's just. Over.
That's actually been a big controversy for me - should I leave hordes of instructions for anyone who wants to learn at least a way of doing things? After all, if someone doesn't want to follow them, they can choose not to! I'm no sadist: my motto is, do what makes you happy. I just don't believe in modulism, where everything has to be done the same way all the time. Such thinking is not the mother of invention. There is the thought that, if you tell someone how to do something your way, then that's the only way they'll ever know. And, history has shown that often times, that's exactly what happens. But... For some people, they don't know any way at all, they want to learn to do at least something somehow, and they don't have any creative ideas to start with. Some people never will. I'd like to ensure that those people won't be in the dark, nor wasting tons of extra hard earned cash on microwaved dinners, even the "healthy" ones, which really aren't any healthier than anything else out there, if you read the ingredients and Nutrition Information panels, and know what you're doing.
Thus, I've left the long, drawn out, complicated instructions in the recipes posted here, in case anyone out there does need them. However, I'd like to encourage everyone who reads this blog to start coming up with your own instructions and ideas for yourselves. Even if you're not sure if it will work! Just don't spend too much money on the ingredients you'll experiment with. Start small, maybe 1 cup of flour at a time, a couple tablespoons of sugar, or whatever. Use cheap, easy ingredients first, like white flour instead of barley meal, just to get the hang of things. I promise you, the first few tries will fail. But you won't - if you keep good notes on what you did, what you wanted, what went right, and what went wrong -- and what you're planning to do next time.
See, the thing is, food isn't only an art. It's also a science, both in the physical/chemical worlds, and in the biological world. When you make food, you aren't just making something to eat. Nor even something to keep you healthy. Or, just something to appear pleasing and hopefully be somewhat tasty and satisfying. You're dawning a giant white hat worn by millions of chefs who've gone before you and dared to do something that only they could do, in their own specialized ways. And I do hope that you're making that hat fit your head, and not only trying to grow into it as it already is.
And no, I don't really wear a chef's hat. LOL. Those things look so silly!
I'll touch on a sensitive topic here, one that other women in their 30s today who have been cooking all their lives can probably attest to: my mom was a sadist in the kitchen. In the same way that a psycho dance instructor just can't let it go if her star pupil breaks an ankle. Etc. She wasn't. Nice. But she knew a lot, and I wound up learning a lot, regarding basic techniques. However, there is more than one way to do just about everything. That's actually where she and I started parting company, really. We don't talk anymore. There actually just isn't anything left that can be said, or even trusted. It's just. Over.
That's actually been a big controversy for me - should I leave hordes of instructions for anyone who wants to learn at least a way of doing things? After all, if someone doesn't want to follow them, they can choose not to! I'm no sadist: my motto is, do what makes you happy. I just don't believe in modulism, where everything has to be done the same way all the time. Such thinking is not the mother of invention. There is the thought that, if you tell someone how to do something your way, then that's the only way they'll ever know. And, history has shown that often times, that's exactly what happens. But... For some people, they don't know any way at all, they want to learn to do at least something somehow, and they don't have any creative ideas to start with. Some people never will. I'd like to ensure that those people won't be in the dark, nor wasting tons of extra hard earned cash on microwaved dinners, even the "healthy" ones, which really aren't any healthier than anything else out there, if you read the ingredients and Nutrition Information panels, and know what you're doing.
Thus, I've left the long, drawn out, complicated instructions in the recipes posted here, in case anyone out there does need them. However, I'd like to encourage everyone who reads this blog to start coming up with your own instructions and ideas for yourselves. Even if you're not sure if it will work! Just don't spend too much money on the ingredients you'll experiment with. Start small, maybe 1 cup of flour at a time, a couple tablespoons of sugar, or whatever. Use cheap, easy ingredients first, like white flour instead of barley meal, just to get the hang of things. I promise you, the first few tries will fail. But you won't - if you keep good notes on what you did, what you wanted, what went right, and what went wrong -- and what you're planning to do next time.
See, the thing is, food isn't only an art. It's also a science, both in the physical/chemical worlds, and in the biological world. When you make food, you aren't just making something to eat. Nor even something to keep you healthy. Or, just something to appear pleasing and hopefully be somewhat tasty and satisfying. You're dawning a giant white hat worn by millions of chefs who've gone before you and dared to do something that only they could do, in their own specialized ways. And I do hope that you're making that hat fit your head, and not only trying to grow into it as it already is.
And no, I don't really wear a chef's hat. LOL. Those things look so silly!
Almond Sugar Cookies
Nope - no almond butter. Instead, I'm working on using up the almond meal I had previously spent almost $10 on before I realized I don't need it for the Almolate I was working on. Anyway, this recipe's a real keeper. It's not sickeningly fattening - nor is it fat free. Same thing with the sugar. Instead, I've mixed yummy with healthy and I really like the results. Btw, if you remove the Baking Powder, you have a great sugar-based, edible-once-baked modeling clay, and possibly also a better pie crust than I came up with last time. I do intend to try using the almond meal in a separate pie crust recipe though.
Even though this is a cookie recipe, I'll be using the standard "mix wet into dry ingredients" technique. It's a real keeper, when properly employed. Also, a touch of Iodized Sea Salt is optional, and should be mixed into the dry ingredients.
Dry Ingredients
1 1/2 C White Flour (1/2 C can be substituted with Soy Protein Isolate for added protein)
1 C Almond Meal
1/2 C Fair Trade Organic Sugar (I used the white kind - it's a tad sweeter)
4 packets Sun Crystals Stevia
1 1/2 T Baking Powder
Wet Ingredients
1/4 C Sugar Free Apple Sauce (Tree Top has a good one) [Carbs/Cellulose/Fiber - Puffiness]
1/4 C Egg White [Protein - Congealing]
3 T Nucoa [Fat - Fluffiness/Runniness]
4 drops Fair Trade Vanilla
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix together all dry ingredients, in order.
3. In a blender, add the Wet Ingredients, in order. Blend on low for a few seconds, and then on medium for about 30 seconds, until generally smooth, though the butter won't completely blend in - nor should it. This is for a fairly non-pliable cookie. For a softer cookie, add a tablespoon or two more of any of the liquid ingredients, excepting the Vanilla. I've noted which main health and physical properties you'll be increasing next to each ingredient, for your convenience.
4. Pour liquid ingredients into the dry, and mix in until all the dry ingredients are damp. Small clumps should start forming but not really sticking together without pressure. If this is for a softer cookie, then a sticking-together dough ball should start forming from the clumps. If the dough is too runny for your purposes, add more almond meal or flour. Don't instantly revert to adding more sugar: it's not necessary to add more of that first.
5. Using your hands, mold the dough into a ball, and then place the ball on a sheet of wax paper, then choose one of the two methods in step 6 for forming your cookies.
6a. Cookie Cutter Method. Push the ball down to being about 2" thick and relatively flat, then cover with another piece of wax paper. Roll the dough out to being about 1/3" thick, then pull the top layer of wax paper up. Use a cookie cutter to make nice, professional looking cookie shapes. Line a cookie sheet with wax paper, or spray it down with pan spray or else with oil in a Misto container. Do not use flour in this procedure, as it will only burn later. Once all the rolled out dough has had shapes cut into it, carefully remove the excess dough from around the outside edge of the dough, and place it into a small, clean bowl. Then carefully pull up each cookie and place on the prepared cookie sheet, leaving about 1/4" or more between each cookie. (Remember to place any bake-able toppings on the cookies before putting them onto the prepared cookie sheet, or if they can't be baked, withhold them until after the cookies are done baking and off of the cookie sheet.) Make sure that the thicker cookies are placed furthest from the center, and the thinner cookies closer to it, to help prevent burning and increase baking consistency. (Kind of like turning food in a microwave.)
6b. Hand Rolled Method. Line a cookie sheet with wax paper, or spray it down with pan spray or else with oil in a Misto container. Do not use flour in this procedure, as it will only burn later. Using a melon baller or small ice cream scoop, break off a piece of the dough that's about 3/4" cubed, and roll it into a smooth ball with your hands. Place the ball on the cookie sheet and move on to making the rest of the dough into balls, all lined up on the cookie sheet, with about 1 1/2" between the ball edges. Or, make whatever shape you wish. (Remember to place any bake-able toppings on the cookies before putting them onto the prepared cookie sheet, or if they can't be baked, withhold them until after the cookies are done baking and off of the cookie sheet.) Once the cookie sheet is filled with balls of cookie dough, use the smooth bottom of a clean cup to flatten each dough ball. The cup shouldn't stick, but if it does, either greasing it or coating it with sugar will keep it from sticking to the dough. Optionally, you can use your fingers to make different designs in the dough while flattening each ball down. Ideally, even a clean (never used) rubber stamp (with larger, non-fine designs in it) should be fun to play with here! Use a candy mold to make shapes and then transfer each cookie back onto the cookie sheet. Whatever. Have fun with it!
7. Once the cookie sheet is full, place it in the oven and bake the cookies for 12 minutes (13 if you want them slightly toasted). Pull the cookie sheet out with oven mits and place on cool stove burners to start cooling, but keep the oven at 350 degrees.
8. Using a wire mesh strainer (I use my globe tea strainer for this), optionally sprinkle some fair trade organic powdered sugar on top of the cookies. If wax paper was used to line the cookie sheet, then it's a great idea to do this while the cookies are still sitting on top of it. Otherwise, place the cookies on a cooling wrack first, and have some old newspaper or something under the cooling wrack to catch the excess powdered sugar. Other toppings, syrups, etc., which could not be baked (or they would have burned), can be added during this stage. If wax paper was used to line the cookie sheet, then remove it carefully (to avoid a lot of mess) and discard.
9. To finish baking the excess dough, repeat steps 5 through 8, but baking the cookies for 2 minutes less than you did before, because there is that much less dough that the oven will now be too hot for 12 or 13 minutes, and they would otherwise burn.
Serve stacked on a regular plate or a nice candy display, etc.
Even though this is a cookie recipe, I'll be using the standard "mix wet into dry ingredients" technique. It's a real keeper, when properly employed. Also, a touch of Iodized Sea Salt is optional, and should be mixed into the dry ingredients.
Dry Ingredients
1 1/2 C White Flour (1/2 C can be substituted with Soy Protein Isolate for added protein)
1 C Almond Meal
1/2 C Fair Trade Organic Sugar (I used the white kind - it's a tad sweeter)
4 packets Sun Crystals Stevia
1 1/2 T Baking Powder
Wet Ingredients
1/4 C Sugar Free Apple Sauce (Tree Top has a good one) [Carbs/Cellulose/Fiber - Puffiness]
1/4 C Egg White [Protein - Congealing]
3 T Nucoa [Fat - Fluffiness/Runniness]
4 drops Fair Trade Vanilla
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix together all dry ingredients, in order.
3. In a blender, add the Wet Ingredients, in order. Blend on low for a few seconds, and then on medium for about 30 seconds, until generally smooth, though the butter won't completely blend in - nor should it. This is for a fairly non-pliable cookie. For a softer cookie, add a tablespoon or two more of any of the liquid ingredients, excepting the Vanilla. I've noted which main health and physical properties you'll be increasing next to each ingredient, for your convenience.
4. Pour liquid ingredients into the dry, and mix in until all the dry ingredients are damp. Small clumps should start forming but not really sticking together without pressure. If this is for a softer cookie, then a sticking-together dough ball should start forming from the clumps. If the dough is too runny for your purposes, add more almond meal or flour. Don't instantly revert to adding more sugar: it's not necessary to add more of that first.
5. Using your hands, mold the dough into a ball, and then place the ball on a sheet of wax paper, then choose one of the two methods in step 6 for forming your cookies.
6a. Cookie Cutter Method. Push the ball down to being about 2" thick and relatively flat, then cover with another piece of wax paper. Roll the dough out to being about 1/3" thick, then pull the top layer of wax paper up. Use a cookie cutter to make nice, professional looking cookie shapes. Line a cookie sheet with wax paper, or spray it down with pan spray or else with oil in a Misto container. Do not use flour in this procedure, as it will only burn later. Once all the rolled out dough has had shapes cut into it, carefully remove the excess dough from around the outside edge of the dough, and place it into a small, clean bowl. Then carefully pull up each cookie and place on the prepared cookie sheet, leaving about 1/4" or more between each cookie. (Remember to place any bake-able toppings on the cookies before putting them onto the prepared cookie sheet, or if they can't be baked, withhold them until after the cookies are done baking and off of the cookie sheet.) Make sure that the thicker cookies are placed furthest from the center, and the thinner cookies closer to it, to help prevent burning and increase baking consistency. (Kind of like turning food in a microwave.)
6b. Hand Rolled Method. Line a cookie sheet with wax paper, or spray it down with pan spray or else with oil in a Misto container. Do not use flour in this procedure, as it will only burn later. Using a melon baller or small ice cream scoop, break off a piece of the dough that's about 3/4" cubed, and roll it into a smooth ball with your hands. Place the ball on the cookie sheet and move on to making the rest of the dough into balls, all lined up on the cookie sheet, with about 1 1/2" between the ball edges. Or, make whatever shape you wish. (Remember to place any bake-able toppings on the cookies before putting them onto the prepared cookie sheet, or if they can't be baked, withhold them until after the cookies are done baking and off of the cookie sheet.) Once the cookie sheet is filled with balls of cookie dough, use the smooth bottom of a clean cup to flatten each dough ball. The cup shouldn't stick, but if it does, either greasing it or coating it with sugar will keep it from sticking to the dough. Optionally, you can use your fingers to make different designs in the dough while flattening each ball down. Ideally, even a clean (never used) rubber stamp (with larger, non-fine designs in it) should be fun to play with here! Use a candy mold to make shapes and then transfer each cookie back onto the cookie sheet. Whatever. Have fun with it!
7. Once the cookie sheet is full, place it in the oven and bake the cookies for 12 minutes (13 if you want them slightly toasted). Pull the cookie sheet out with oven mits and place on cool stove burners to start cooling, but keep the oven at 350 degrees.
8. Using a wire mesh strainer (I use my globe tea strainer for this), optionally sprinkle some fair trade organic powdered sugar on top of the cookies. If wax paper was used to line the cookie sheet, then it's a great idea to do this while the cookies are still sitting on top of it. Otherwise, place the cookies on a cooling wrack first, and have some old newspaper or something under the cooling wrack to catch the excess powdered sugar. Other toppings, syrups, etc., which could not be baked (or they would have burned), can be added during this stage. If wax paper was used to line the cookie sheet, then remove it carefully (to avoid a lot of mess) and discard.
9. To finish baking the excess dough, repeat steps 5 through 8, but baking the cookies for 2 minutes less than you did before, because there is that much less dough that the oven will now be too hot for 12 or 13 minutes, and they would otherwise burn.
Serve stacked on a regular plate or a nice candy display, etc.
May 22, 2010
(Fake) Bacon Bombs
Kids who love Battleship will love this one!
Dry Ingredients
2 C White Flour
1 T Vegan McKay's Chicken Seasoning
1 tsp. Hickory Flavored Seasoning
Wet Ingredients
1/2 C Egg Beaters
1 T Oil
1 C Water
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a cupcake pan with paper liners. Spray the paper liners with pan spray or oil in a Misto container.
2. Mix all the dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl.
3. Mix all the wet ingredients in a 2 cup measuring cup.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. A hand mixer might prove useful here.
5. Ladel the batter into the prepared paper liners in the cupcake pan until they are each about 3/4 full. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.
Cupcakes should come out looking like bomb-clouds hovering over the bottom halves of the cupcakes.
Dry Ingredients
2 C White Flour
1 T Vegan McKay's Chicken Seasoning
1 tsp. Hickory Flavored Seasoning
Wet Ingredients
1/2 C Egg Beaters
1 T Oil
1 C Water
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a cupcake pan with paper liners. Spray the paper liners with pan spray or oil in a Misto container.
2. Mix all the dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl.
3. Mix all the wet ingredients in a 2 cup measuring cup.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. A hand mixer might prove useful here.
5. Ladel the batter into the prepared paper liners in the cupcake pan until they are each about 3/4 full. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.
Cupcakes should come out looking like bomb-clouds hovering over the bottom halves of the cupcakes.
May 19, 2010
Better Crackers (High Carb though)
I posted a cracker recipe before, but I can say without a doubt that this recipe works a lot better. I wanted something I could quickly add onto the McKay's Vegan Chicken Seasoning based "Chicken Noodle Soup" I made myself today, after spending the whole day being very, very sick with Vertigo.
Dry Ingredients
1 C White (All Purpose) Flour
1/2 C Whole Wheat Flour
3/4 T Baking Powder
1/4 tsp. Salt
Wet Ingredients
2/3 C Water
1 T Oil
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Add all the dry ingredients together, in order, in a medium sized bowl, then stir until well mixed.
3. Add all the wet ingredients together, in order, in a 1 or 2 cup measuring cup. (I recommend just getting a set of 2 cup and 4 cup measuring cups, and not messing with the 1 cup size.)
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, and mix until all the dry ingredients are damp.
5. Lay out a layer of plastic wrap, overlapping if necessary, that's just a couple inches bigger then the surface of the cookie sheet you'll be using. This recipe is meant for a single standard cookie sheet, but don't use that yet. Spray down the plastic wrap with either pan spray or oil in your Misto oil sprayer, and then put the cracker dough, in a ball-like mound in the center of the plastic wrap layer, and press it down a bit. Spray the top of the dough mound well, and then duplicate the original layer of plastic wrap with another layer, which you'll then lay down on top of the dough mound, matching the corners of both layers of plastic wrap together.
6. Roll out the dough, repositioning the top layer of plastic wrap, and respraying the top of the dough under it, as necessary before laying the top plastic wrap layer back down. The dough should be rolled until it's about 1/4" thick, or less, and to the same general shape and size of the cookie sheet you'll be using, though it isn't likely to be quite as big (and shouldn't be bigger). The thinner it is, the less time you should bake it, and you may also need to turn down the temperature a bit. You'll have to work that out "by ear" though. One note: the thicker the layer of dough is, the more "dried-pancake-like" it'll be. The thinner, the more cracker-like it will be.
7. Once the dough is rolled out between the sheets of plastic wrap, pull the top layer of plastic off the rolled out cracker dough. Spray down the full inside of the cookie sheet. Lay the cookie sheet, upside down, over the top of the cracker dough so that the length of the sheet matches up with the length of the dough, and slide your right hand under the layer of plastic wrap that's below the cracker dough. Once you have a steady right arm ready to do this, flip everything over so that your right hand is now on top of the plastic wrap, the dough, the cookie sheet, and your left hand, which should be now below the cookie sheet. You may need to reposition parts of the cracker dough at this point. Try to keep the dough and the plastic wrap together while doing this, and work with the dough, not the plastic wrap. Once the dough is completely flat against the cookie sheet, lay the cookie sheet down and pull off the remaining layer of plastic wrap, carefully, being sure not to tear the cracker dough. This shouldn't be too hard if everything was properly sprayed down.
8. Use a pizza cutter and a spatula (for the edges) to cut lengthwise and widthwise cuts into the dough, forming crackers. Then use the end of a spoon handle or some other long, blunt but thin and sturdy object, to poke random dents into the cracker dough.
9. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Allow to cool in the pan for a couple minutes, and then use a pancake spatula to remove the crackers from the pan to finish cooling.
The crackers can be used as oyster crackers, or can have Nucoa spread on them. A little salt can be sprinkled on them as well. Don't overdo that though. Any other seasonings would also work. For sweet crackers, replace the whole wheat flour with either sugar or more white flour+Sun Crystals (probably 2 packets would do it). To make them into Oreos, replace another 1/4 or 1/2 cup of the white flour with Dagoba Fair Trade Cocoa. To make it into a nice sweet pie dough, make it into the sweet dough from above and then bake it for only 10 minutes instead of 15.
Which reminds me. The meringue pie dough recipe from before will be fun when I make it, but I think I'll be augmenting this recipe for that most of the time in the future. I'll probably also replace some of the white flour with soy protein isolate.
Dry Ingredients
1 C White (All Purpose) Flour
1/2 C Whole Wheat Flour
3/4 T Baking Powder
1/4 tsp. Salt
Wet Ingredients
2/3 C Water
1 T Oil
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Add all the dry ingredients together, in order, in a medium sized bowl, then stir until well mixed.
3. Add all the wet ingredients together, in order, in a 1 or 2 cup measuring cup. (I recommend just getting a set of 2 cup and 4 cup measuring cups, and not messing with the 1 cup size.)
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, and mix until all the dry ingredients are damp.
5. Lay out a layer of plastic wrap, overlapping if necessary, that's just a couple inches bigger then the surface of the cookie sheet you'll be using. This recipe is meant for a single standard cookie sheet, but don't use that yet. Spray down the plastic wrap with either pan spray or oil in your Misto oil sprayer, and then put the cracker dough, in a ball-like mound in the center of the plastic wrap layer, and press it down a bit. Spray the top of the dough mound well, and then duplicate the original layer of plastic wrap with another layer, which you'll then lay down on top of the dough mound, matching the corners of both layers of plastic wrap together.
6. Roll out the dough, repositioning the top layer of plastic wrap, and respraying the top of the dough under it, as necessary before laying the top plastic wrap layer back down. The dough should be rolled until it's about 1/4" thick, or less, and to the same general shape and size of the cookie sheet you'll be using, though it isn't likely to be quite as big (and shouldn't be bigger). The thinner it is, the less time you should bake it, and you may also need to turn down the temperature a bit. You'll have to work that out "by ear" though. One note: the thicker the layer of dough is, the more "dried-pancake-like" it'll be. The thinner, the more cracker-like it will be.
7. Once the dough is rolled out between the sheets of plastic wrap, pull the top layer of plastic off the rolled out cracker dough. Spray down the full inside of the cookie sheet. Lay the cookie sheet, upside down, over the top of the cracker dough so that the length of the sheet matches up with the length of the dough, and slide your right hand under the layer of plastic wrap that's below the cracker dough. Once you have a steady right arm ready to do this, flip everything over so that your right hand is now on top of the plastic wrap, the dough, the cookie sheet, and your left hand, which should be now below the cookie sheet. You may need to reposition parts of the cracker dough at this point. Try to keep the dough and the plastic wrap together while doing this, and work with the dough, not the plastic wrap. Once the dough is completely flat against the cookie sheet, lay the cookie sheet down and pull off the remaining layer of plastic wrap, carefully, being sure not to tear the cracker dough. This shouldn't be too hard if everything was properly sprayed down.
8. Use a pizza cutter and a spatula (for the edges) to cut lengthwise and widthwise cuts into the dough, forming crackers. Then use the end of a spoon handle or some other long, blunt but thin and sturdy object, to poke random dents into the cracker dough.
9. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Allow to cool in the pan for a couple minutes, and then use a pancake spatula to remove the crackers from the pan to finish cooling.
The crackers can be used as oyster crackers, or can have Nucoa spread on them. A little salt can be sprinkled on them as well. Don't overdo that though. Any other seasonings would also work. For sweet crackers, replace the whole wheat flour with either sugar or more white flour+Sun Crystals (probably 2 packets would do it). To make them into Oreos, replace another 1/4 or 1/2 cup of the white flour with Dagoba Fair Trade Cocoa. To make it into a nice sweet pie dough, make it into the sweet dough from above and then bake it for only 10 minutes instead of 15.
Which reminds me. The meringue pie dough recipe from before will be fun when I make it, but I think I'll be augmenting this recipe for that most of the time in the future. I'll probably also replace some of the white flour with soy protein isolate.
May 18, 2010
Pavlova-Graham Pie Crust
I've decided to come up with a decadent, low fat pie crust substitute. I love the fluffiness of high-fat Crisco-based crusts, and the yummy wheatiness of a high-fat oil based crust, and I do believe that no good desert is fat or sugar free (unless you work really hard at it), and yet, well, those should always be options as well. This recipe will NOT be vegan, as it will contain things like eggs and honey. I'm sure there's some agar-ish or egg-substitute way of making this, and I'll deal with that later. I will however ax all the milk containing ingredients -- after all, I'm allergic, and I have to eat what I make. Anyway, at the moment, I'd like to work with what's at least already readily available on the sane side of the Universe.
So then, I'm playing around with the following recipes:
Pavlova (read more about it here)
Graham Crackers (I'll substitute a few milk-ish ingredients to make the dough Parve)
The basic idea is to make the graham crackers first, sans the topping (unless it's for apple or pumpkin, or perhaps a pear/peach/vanilla-containing pie), and then crumble them fairly finely. Then make the Pavlova ingredients, without baking them. Instead, hand-folding the crumbled graham crackers into the Pavlova, in the right proportions, to make a fluffy yet well-binding dough. I'd thought about just using the Pavlova as a pie crust shell, but I just don't feel that it would really support a good batch of pie filling, even if it where all magically baked "perfectly." It would be too - either too flexible or too crumbly, with no "mortar" to hold the Pavlova together once it was baked.
The idea actually came because I got to thinking, "What if I made an egg-white based pie shell?" Then I thought, "Ik. Who would eat that?!" Well, if it's a meringue-based shell, just with some good support structure built into it, then it should work. My other option is to make some kind of cookie-dough, but really, even that is fairly high-fat, and often the fats required are just not defendable at all. Well, high-fat anything isn't actually defendable unless you're already thin and spend all day running around, but whatever. For most of us, we ought to be more careful about it. That, and the carbs.
Obviously, this starts out as a high-carb recipe. But you know, a lot of that really isn't necessary. I'm planning on substituting tapioca starch for the powdered sugar in the Pavlova (and then adding a few packets of Sun Crystals Stevia), and pulling a similar stunt on the graham crackers. Stevia's sweetness doesn't change when it's baked, and really, the powdered sugar in the Pavlova just provides volume and something for the Cream of Tarter to work with for stiffening: Tapioca starch can do the exact same thing, while being a complex carb, rather than a simple sugar. Yes, Sun Crystals contain trace amounts of sugar. Honestly? In that small amount? A person would have to have severe diabetes in order to really care about that. The point is, Stevia, in an essentially no-calorie way, adds tons of sweetness and hyper-volumizes the sweetness of any sugar that is present. Probably even a bit of the complex-carbs as well.
So, I'm going to seriously mess with both recipes, once I have the ingredients ready. I'm still working up the nerve to attempt the SNLish Betty White Muffin. Somehow, I just... I don't have the courage! Ak! That, and just, what, a week or two ago? I totally fudged up the fudge beyond belief, and have had to suffer through eating all that, since money's tight and I can't afford to just throw away even remotely edible food. Anyway, I've been on kind of a chocolate-free diet lately. It's just... Going to have to wait. Anyway, this pie crust recipe is also going to have to wait a bit. I don't -have- to have pie right away or anything. It was just - an idea :)
PS. Hat tip to this site! Excellent!
So then, I'm playing around with the following recipes:
Pavlova (read more about it here)
Graham Crackers (I'll substitute a few milk-ish ingredients to make the dough Parve)
The basic idea is to make the graham crackers first, sans the topping (unless it's for apple or pumpkin, or perhaps a pear/peach/vanilla-containing pie), and then crumble them fairly finely. Then make the Pavlova ingredients, without baking them. Instead, hand-folding the crumbled graham crackers into the Pavlova, in the right proportions, to make a fluffy yet well-binding dough. I'd thought about just using the Pavlova as a pie crust shell, but I just don't feel that it would really support a good batch of pie filling, even if it where all magically baked "perfectly." It would be too - either too flexible or too crumbly, with no "mortar" to hold the Pavlova together once it was baked.
The idea actually came because I got to thinking, "What if I made an egg-white based pie shell?" Then I thought, "Ik. Who would eat that?!" Well, if it's a meringue-based shell, just with some good support structure built into it, then it should work. My other option is to make some kind of cookie-dough, but really, even that is fairly high-fat, and often the fats required are just not defendable at all. Well, high-fat anything isn't actually defendable unless you're already thin and spend all day running around, but whatever. For most of us, we ought to be more careful about it. That, and the carbs.
Obviously, this starts out as a high-carb recipe. But you know, a lot of that really isn't necessary. I'm planning on substituting tapioca starch for the powdered sugar in the Pavlova (and then adding a few packets of Sun Crystals Stevia), and pulling a similar stunt on the graham crackers. Stevia's sweetness doesn't change when it's baked, and really, the powdered sugar in the Pavlova just provides volume and something for the Cream of Tarter to work with for stiffening: Tapioca starch can do the exact same thing, while being a complex carb, rather than a simple sugar. Yes, Sun Crystals contain trace amounts of sugar. Honestly? In that small amount? A person would have to have severe diabetes in order to really care about that. The point is, Stevia, in an essentially no-calorie way, adds tons of sweetness and hyper-volumizes the sweetness of any sugar that is present. Probably even a bit of the complex-carbs as well.
So, I'm going to seriously mess with both recipes, once I have the ingredients ready. I'm still working up the nerve to attempt the SNLish Betty White Muffin. Somehow, I just... I don't have the courage! Ak! That, and just, what, a week or two ago? I totally fudged up the fudge beyond belief, and have had to suffer through eating all that, since money's tight and I can't afford to just throw away even remotely edible food. Anyway, I've been on kind of a chocolate-free diet lately. It's just... Going to have to wait. Anyway, this pie crust recipe is also going to have to wait a bit. I don't -have- to have pie right away or anything. It was just - an idea :)
PS. Hat tip to this site! Excellent!
May 15, 2010
Vegan Fruit Cream - No Machine, Maker, or Added Starch
I first started learning how to make this YEARS ago. It's kind of a strange story, but essentially, there's an older couple out there who owes me a Champion Juicer, which they told me to put frozen fruits into along with bananas (either frozen or fresh, I don't remember which). Anyway, that experience inspired me to try again.
The blender I'm using is the Oster Fusion. In my opinion, loud and odd as it might come across - it's the best blender I ever used. I got it at Wal-Mart, though it didn't come with the extra food-slicing attachment. That's ok, I have a tomato holder and knives.
Anywho, I actually... Well, had a very bad morning this morning, and seriously needed some comfort food. So, I just threw a bunch of stuff together and accidentally came up with what I've spent years trying to duplicate without the Champion Juicer's help! I feel better already :) What I love about this recipe is that it's all natural, no significant added sugar (there were a few grains in the Stevia), and it's also fat free which means that it's not super-high-cal and off limits to me. I could probably have added some soy protein isolate to this, but wanted to eat something for once that's purely a desert and not something that tastes a little off for "health's sake." Health be damned! I wanted comfort food! And comfort food I certainly got :) And it's even healthy, even without the added vegan's perfect-protein, lol.
Some Important Notes
The best idea is to just buy a couple bunches of bananas, coin them to 1/2" thick coins, buy one of those 7 lb. boxes of bulk giant strawberries grown in CA and cheaply sold at Wal-Mart and then stem and quarter them, freeze the bananas in single layers per quart-sized bag, and the strawberries in maybe two or three layers per quart-sized bag, and then you'll have all the frozen bananas and strawberries you'll want throughout the May-September "West Coast Summer" season. Oh sure, you can call March-May "Spring" if you want... Haha. We had hail last night and the ground was dry by 10 am this morning and now it's a beautiful, hot, sunny day. You tell me what that is! Anyway, it's just best to catch the bananas and strawberries at their peak for both ripeness, size, and sales: in mid-late April, and then just prep and freeze 'm all at once. You won't regret it, and you'll gain back your freezer space in no time, once you've had this tasty treat ;) Especially if you have kids. In fact, you can even make the liquid heated ingredients ahead of time as well, and just freeze those (after cooling them) in ice cube trays, and then it's all good to go at the last minute. Total prep time for a WCS season? About an hour.
Honestly, of everything I've ever made, I think I'm most proud of this one recipe, simply because I've waited so long to finally come up with it. And what's so hilarious is that I really wasn't trying for anything like ice cream at all. I figured I was just making another smoothie. This is sort of like a smoothie - but not. It's a LOT more like real soft-serve ice cream. I haven't tested it for freezing yet, and would probably need to add some almond butter to it in order to make it less likely to turn into a solid block when frozen over night. But I do suspect that re-chilling it after first making it would bring it to a more "real ice cream-like" and solidified state.
Frozen Ingredients
2 1/2 C Frozen banana coins, 1/2" thick, single layer when in freezer
2 1/2 C Frozen Strawberry quarters, stemmed & prewashed/dabbed dry before freezing
Liquid Heated Ingredients
1 C Almond Breeze Original Almond Milk
1 tsp. Fair Trade Vanilla
2 T Dagoba Fair Trade Cocoa
4 Pkgs. Stevia
1 T Fair Trade Coffee Grounds
Tea Ingredients
1 bag Celestial Seasonings Red Tea (With Vanilla)
1 bag Celestial Seasonings Goji Berry Pomegranate Green Tea
Instructions
1. Pre-freeze the strawberries and bananas for at least 6 hours in ziplock freezer bags. Ideally at least 12 hours.
2. Over medium-high heat, bring liquid heating ingredients almost to a boil.
3. Strain hot liquid into a large mug (at least 2 cup capacity).
4. Steep tea in the hot liquid for about 3 minutes, then pull out tea bags and lightly squeeze their remaining liquid back into the cup.
5. Allow liquid to cool at least to room temperature, but refrigerating it until cold, then freezer-chilling it for about 5 minutes is better.
6. Place 1 pint frozen strawberry chunks, then 1 pint frozen banana chunks in the Fusion blender, in that order, then pour the cooled liquid over the frozen fruit chunks, cover the blender top and then use the "frozen drinks" setting and a rubber spatula (stop the machine often, and before using the spatula, to help rotate the frozen chunks), to create an ice cream like consistency.
7. Use the lowest regular setting (furthest down button on the right) to make the Vegan Fruit Cream a bit smoother. A higher setting is not recommended, due to wear and tear on the motor and also because the fruit cream will melt too quickly.
The blender I'm using is the Oster Fusion. In my opinion, loud and odd as it might come across - it's the best blender I ever used. I got it at Wal-Mart, though it didn't come with the extra food-slicing attachment. That's ok, I have a tomato holder and knives.
Anywho, I actually... Well, had a very bad morning this morning, and seriously needed some comfort food. So, I just threw a bunch of stuff together and accidentally came up with what I've spent years trying to duplicate without the Champion Juicer's help! I feel better already :) What I love about this recipe is that it's all natural, no significant added sugar (there were a few grains in the Stevia), and it's also fat free which means that it's not super-high-cal and off limits to me. I could probably have added some soy protein isolate to this, but wanted to eat something for once that's purely a desert and not something that tastes a little off for "health's sake." Health be damned! I wanted comfort food! And comfort food I certainly got :) And it's even healthy, even without the added vegan's perfect-protein, lol.
Some Important Notes
The best idea is to just buy a couple bunches of bananas, coin them to 1/2" thick coins, buy one of those 7 lb. boxes of bulk giant strawberries grown in CA and cheaply sold at Wal-Mart and then stem and quarter them, freeze the bananas in single layers per quart-sized bag, and the strawberries in maybe two or three layers per quart-sized bag, and then you'll have all the frozen bananas and strawberries you'll want throughout the May-September "West Coast Summer" season. Oh sure, you can call March-May "Spring" if you want... Haha. We had hail last night and the ground was dry by 10 am this morning and now it's a beautiful, hot, sunny day. You tell me what that is! Anyway, it's just best to catch the bananas and strawberries at their peak for both ripeness, size, and sales: in mid-late April, and then just prep and freeze 'm all at once. You won't regret it, and you'll gain back your freezer space in no time, once you've had this tasty treat ;) Especially if you have kids. In fact, you can even make the liquid heated ingredients ahead of time as well, and just freeze those (after cooling them) in ice cube trays, and then it's all good to go at the last minute. Total prep time for a WCS season? About an hour.
Honestly, of everything I've ever made, I think I'm most proud of this one recipe, simply because I've waited so long to finally come up with it. And what's so hilarious is that I really wasn't trying for anything like ice cream at all. I figured I was just making another smoothie. This is sort of like a smoothie - but not. It's a LOT more like real soft-serve ice cream. I haven't tested it for freezing yet, and would probably need to add some almond butter to it in order to make it less likely to turn into a solid block when frozen over night. But I do suspect that re-chilling it after first making it would bring it to a more "real ice cream-like" and solidified state.
Frozen Ingredients
2 1/2 C Frozen banana coins, 1/2" thick, single layer when in freezer
2 1/2 C Frozen Strawberry quarters, stemmed & prewashed/dabbed dry before freezing
Liquid Heated Ingredients
1 C Almond Breeze Original Almond Milk
1 tsp. Fair Trade Vanilla
2 T Dagoba Fair Trade Cocoa
4 Pkgs. Stevia
1 T Fair Trade Coffee Grounds
Tea Ingredients
1 bag Celestial Seasonings Red Tea (With Vanilla)
1 bag Celestial Seasonings Goji Berry Pomegranate Green Tea
Instructions
1. Pre-freeze the strawberries and bananas for at least 6 hours in ziplock freezer bags. Ideally at least 12 hours.
2. Over medium-high heat, bring liquid heating ingredients almost to a boil.
3. Strain hot liquid into a large mug (at least 2 cup capacity).
4. Steep tea in the hot liquid for about 3 minutes, then pull out tea bags and lightly squeeze their remaining liquid back into the cup.
5. Allow liquid to cool at least to room temperature, but refrigerating it until cold, then freezer-chilling it for about 5 minutes is better.
6. Place 1 pint frozen strawberry chunks, then 1 pint frozen banana chunks in the Fusion blender, in that order, then pour the cooled liquid over the frozen fruit chunks, cover the blender top and then use the "frozen drinks" setting and a rubber spatula (stop the machine often, and before using the spatula, to help rotate the frozen chunks), to create an ice cream like consistency.
7. Use the lowest regular setting (furthest down button on the right) to make the Vegan Fruit Cream a bit smoother. A higher setting is not recommended, due to wear and tear on the motor and also because the fruit cream will melt too quickly.