I Heart Christmas (muffins)

Look!! There's a heart shape on the plate with the muffin.

Coincidence?

These muffins are an adaptation of Nigella Lawson's Christmas morning muffins. I substituted whole wheat flour for the regular flour and I used raisins instead of dried cranberries.

J loves these.

Chocolate Chunk Goodness Cookies

Believe it or not these are good for you. And yes, they are delicious!

No butter, no eggs, low sugar and whole wheat flour turn these yummy goodies into something even better.

The chocolate chunks are 88% cocoa too. So you get your flavonoids-on.

I really was a bit experimental with this so my measurements may not be exact.

But here it goes:

1/2 cup plus 2 tspns of whole wheat flour
3/4 cup of rolled oats
1/2 of a 3 oz dark chocolate bar banged to bits - go for the higher % of pure cocoa type.
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1/4 cup of brown-sugar splenda blend
1/2 tablespoon of black strap molasses
1/4 cup of applesauce (no sugar added)
1/4 cup of canola oil
1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract

Preheat over to 350.
Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl.
Add the chocolate chunks to the dry mixture.
Combine wet ingredients together in another small bowl to blend.
Then add wet to dry and mix.
form small spoonfuls of batter and place on cookie sheet lined with parchment or silpat.

Bake at 350 for 12 minutes.

Enjoy with your cold milk of choice!

Holy Whole Wheat Challah!

Rustic, but delicious!





















Here's the recipe:

I read a whole bunch of recipes for basic Challah(not whole wheat) and adapted it into my own. If I make this again I will probably brush the top with milk or egg wash.

I used good old King Arthur's "Traditional Whole Wheat Flour"


Ingredients

1 pkg. active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1/4 cup Splenda Brown Sugar blend (this was all I had in the house... you can probably use any type of sugar/sweetner here)
2 tablespoons of canola oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
2 cups of whole wheat flour
Canola oil for brushing the top (or egg wash)



Directions:

1. Mix the yeast and water and allow it to activate (5-10 minutes).
2. Add the sugar, oil, and salt.
3. In a separate large greased bowl (I used the Kitchen aid mixer bowl) put in the flour.
4. Add the yeast mixture and combine into a nice wet dough. Add flour or warm water if needed.
5. Knead (I used the handy kitchen-aid with the bread hook) until it forms a ball of dough on the hook. (2-3 minutes) Or knead by hand (will take a bit longer).
6. Cover bowl with a towel and allow to rise. 2 hours.
7. Divide the dough into 3 equal parts.
8. Shape each into 11-12inch(approx)long strips. Braid the strips together to form Challah loaf shape.
9. Cover the loaf and allow to rise for another 1 1/2 - 2 hours. It should double in size.
10. Brush the loaf with oil. Bake it at 375 for 30-35 minutes.
11. Let it cool on a cooling rack.

Enjoy with butter or margerine.



*This is a small loaf and was quickly consumed by my husband and myself in a day!

Indian Food

Yesterday I decided to challenge myself and make a full indian food feast for us.

We had:

Whole wheat naan (sooooo easy and sooooo yummy)
red curry lentils (pictured)

saag paneer with potatoes (I made the paneer too - first time I have ever made cheese)

I got the recipes from a variety of sources online and adjusted them slightly.

I'm going to make some more naan today and try another curry dish.

Here's the Naan recipe:

Need:

2 1/4 cups of whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons of sugar (I used light brown sugar because it was all I had and it worked out fine)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup of warm water
1 egg beaten
2 tablespoons of milk
1 packet of yeast or 2 and 1/4 teaspoons of yeast

Instructions:
Dissolve yeast in the warm water and let it activate (add sugar to help)

In a mixing bowl combine:
flour
sugar
salt
egg
milk

Add yeast and water mixture and combine.
Knead dough until it comes together nicely - it will be on the "wetter" side.

Leave ball of dough in a greased bowl to rise for an hour or so.
Punch down the dough and allow to rise another 3 hours.

divide dough into 8 balls.
roll out the balls into "small pizza" size.
Heat a cast iron skillet ot grill to med/high
Toast the flat breads on each side of the for 2-3 minutes.
Brush with butter(optional)

enjoy!

Feel Good Blueberry Muffins

I love using local products and this recipe incorporates a few of my favorites.

It's a super healthy version of a Nigella Lawson recipe.

1. Preheat Oven to 400 degrees -grease a small 12 muffin tin or use cupcake paper cups in the tin.
2. Combine 1 1/3 cup Whole Wheat Flour (I like King Arthur's), 1/2 tsp baking soda, 2 tsp baking powder, 1/4 cup of sugar and a pinch of salt in a large mixing bowl.
3. In a small bowl beat 1/3 cup of canola oil, 1 cup of non-fat yogurt (I like Nancy's), and one egg.
4. Pour wet ingredients into dry and mix (with a light hand!) Lumps are okay.
5. Grate in the zest of one orange. This makes this recipe!
6. Fold in 1 cup of frozen blueberries (I like Willamette Valley Berries) Mix lightly and spoon into muffin tin.
7. Bake for 18-20 minutes until golden. Let cool slighlty and then enjoy with butter and local jam.

Delish and SO good for you!!

We have these for snacks and for breakfast all the time. Also great with yogurt or a big glass of milk.