Whole Wheat Cinnamon Raisin Bread

This is my first foray in Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Breads. You may remember that I made my own raisin bread recipe, but it is made from white flour. This is a 100% whole wheat recipe that it so tasty it is rather like eating cake. The boys absolutely love it and kick off their day with a nice hearty slice for breakfast. I will warn you that it does take 2 days to make, but it is totally worth it. Letting the dough sit brings out the flavour of the grain and makes for a softer and tastier loaf. The recipe calls for an egg, so I used a flax egg (1 tbsp ground flax + 3 tbsp water. Let sit for a few mins, then whisk until thickened). You can find the recipe here.

UPDATE: I kept wondering why I had to add way more flour to the dough than Reinhart calls for. Instead of elastic and kneadable, the dough was wet and sticky. Now, you will notice in the pic above that you can't see many raisins in the raisin bread. That's because the raisins are put in the soaker. When they are kneaded into the final dough, they break down, upping the moisture content in the dough, and making it more sticky. So, to solve that problem, I made the following adjustments.

Soaker:
- Add only 1/4 cup of raisins to the soaker.
Biga:
- Optional: add 1 tbsp of wheat gluten to the biga.
Final Dough:
- Soak remaining 3/4 cup of raisins in hot water for 15 mins while you mix the other ingredients and bring together the dough. Drain and dry raisins, then sprinkle with flour. Gently knead into the dough and proceed with the rest of the recipe.

Back to Basics

Sometimes I get so caught up in trying to recreate dishes I used to eat before I went vegan that I forget how great simple veggie dishes are. This pizza (thinly sliced eggplant, zucchini, mushrooms, tomatoes, red and green peppers, and red onions) was fresh and tasty and unsullied by fake meat and cheese. A good reminder to get back to basics.

Southern Style Greens

We all know that dark leafy greens are awesome for you. Kale always ranks at the top of the list as a super veggie. This month's Nutrition Action newsletter reminded me of this fact with their veggie chart. I must admit, though, that I am always a bit stumped when it comes to finding exciting ways to serve greens. Simple steaming or sauteing always results in a chorus of "eeewwwws"from the kids. And sometimes I go crazy and cook them with a few splashes of white wine and lemon juice. This recipe, however, are by far the tastiest method of serving greens I have come across yet. And the kids like them! I used swiss chard because it cooks quickly, but you could use kale or collards as well.

INGREDIENTS

- 2 tbsp margarine

- 1 red onion, small dice

- 1 garlic cloves minced

- 1 bunch swiss chard, tough stems removed, roughly chopped

- 1 tsp hot sauce

- seasoned salt to taste

- pepper to taste

- splash of liquid smoke

METHOD

1. Heat margarine in a large pot over medium heat. Saute onion and garlic for 5 mins, until softened.

2. Add swiss chard and cook until tender, stirring regularly. When cooked, add hot sauce, season to taste with seasoned salt and pepper, and stir in liquid smoke. Serve.

On Bread and Canning

I love cookbooks. I have a very large shelf of them and enjoy sitting down, flipping through them, and thinking about ingredients and flavours. I recently bought two new ones and thought I would share.First, I picked up Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Breads. This books employs new methods to draw out maximum flavour from the grain. The breads do take some time to make, but my experience has been is that it is always worth it. Since my bakery customers prefer whole wheat breads I thought I would try to expand my repertoire. Now, I am not sure how this is legal, but Google Books has an almost complete digital copy of the book if you want to check it out.
Second, I got the BALL Complete Book of Home Preserving. As the blurb says, the book contains "400 innovative and enticing recipes include everything from salsas and savory sauces to pickling, chutneys, relishes and of course, jams, jellies, and fruit spreads, such as: Mango-Raspberry Jam, Damson Plum Jam Crab Apple Jelly, Green Pepper Jelly Spiced Red Cabbage, Pickled Asparagus Roasted Red Pepper Spread, Tomatillo Salsa Brandied Apple Rings, Apricot-Date Chutney." Aside from a few canned meat recipes (blech), everything in the book is vegan. In my ideal world I would live off the grid, growing all my own food and snubbing anything with a UPC. Until then, I just have to make due with this book.

Light and Lemony Pasta

I've been meaning to blog this since Valentine's Day when Vegan Mom and I ate it. Needless to say, things have been busy, busy, busy lately. If I have not responded to a question you left on a post, just send me an email and I will get back to you. This dish, as the name indicates, is light and lemony. Even though it is pasta (which we seem to be eating a lot of lately), the bright flavour and wine sauce make it a refreshing meal.

INGREDIENTS

- 250g capellini

- 1/2 head broccoli, cut into small florets, steamed

- 1 tbsp olive oil

- 1 tbsp margarine

- 1 red onion, halved and sliced

- 1 garlic clove, minced

- 1 1/2 cup white wine

- juice of 1 lemon

- zest of 1 lemon

- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast

- 1 can white kidney beans, rinsed and drained

- 2 cups cubed chicken-style seitan (optional)

- salt and pepper to taste

- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

METHOD

1. Get your pasta cooking, and get steaming your broccoli.

2. Heat oil and margarine in a frying pan over medium heat. Saute onion and garlic for 5-7 mins, until softened.

3. Add wine to the pan with the lemon juice. Let reduce for about 5 mins. Add zest and nutritional yeast and mix well. Add beans, seitan, if using, and season to taste with salt and pepper.

4. Drain pasta and return to post over medium heat. Pour sauce over top and bring to bubbling. Cook for a few mins to let sauce absorb into pasta a bit. Stir in broccoli and parsley and serve.