Banana Bread

My favorite evening snack right now is a pieces of banana bread and half of a papaya. It feels so right here in Hawaii:)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cups white sugar

1/2 cup margarine, at room temp

3 very ripe bananas, mashed well

2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup vanilla soy milk, mixed with 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1/2 teaspoon salt

• Preheat oven to F350 
• Spray a 8×4 bread pan with non stick cooking spray, or lightly coat with margarine.
• Sift together flour, baking soda, salt and spices.
• Cream together the margarine and sugars. Add bananas, soy milk and vanilla.
• Add the wet ingredients to the dry. Mix well. Pour batter into pan. Bake for an hour to an hour 10 minutes.

Tea bread buns

This is another baked thing from Sweden and we call them tea breads. Why I have no idea and since Swedes are more famous for amount of coffee drinking rather than tea so it sure make no sense. These little breads are super soft flat buns and they taste great with tons of butter and cheese, with tea or notJ

50g butter

2 1/2 cup milk

1 cup rolled oats

1 package active dry yeast

1 tbsp. agave nectar

1 tsp. salt

5-6 cups white spelt flour

Melt butter and add milk, agave nectar, oats and stir. Leave to swell for 2 minutes. Combine in a large bowl or kitchen aid; yeast, salt and half of the flour and blend. Add milk/butter, oats and blend well. Keep adding flour while working dough until you have elastic dough that lets go of the bowl. Cover bowl with a towel and leave to rise for 30 minutes.

Knead dough on a counter top or table sprinkled with a little flour. Knead for a few minutes.  Divide dough into 14 pieces and roll them to a ball and then flatten them until about 1 inch thick with your hands. Use a fork and poke a couple of holes in each bun, not all the way down. Place on a cookie sheet and cover with a towel and leave to rise for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to F415.

Bake buns 5-10 minutes until they are golden brown. Yummy!!!!

Zucchini bread

I love my mornings because it’s just me and Noah having fun and cuddling. I love getting wet and snotty kisses from my little man. We usually spend fair amount of time in the garden taking care of all of our vegetables and fruit plants. Noah is finally appreciate all the goodies growing there and today was tasting freshly picked strawberries. Afterward we went inside and made zucchini and apple bread together. I used agave nectar instead of sugar because it’s so much better for little  bodies.

1 ½ cup whole wheat spelt flour

½ tsp salt

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp cardamom

1 egg

½ grated apple

1 cup grated zucchini

2 tbsp. plain yogurt

¼ cup agave nectar

½ vanilla bean

Preheat oven to F325

Mix together spelt flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cardamom and cinnamon in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl blend egg, grated apple, grated zucchini, agave nectar, yogurt and spilt open the vanilla bean and scrape out the seeds and add that too. Blend everything well and combine with the flour mix until incorporated. Pour batter into a well greased loaf pan.  Bake for 50-60 minutes, until center is dry. Check by inserting a toothpick and see if it comes out clean, then the loaf is done

Swedish Sugar Sponge Cake

This is a cake everyone have their own version of in Sweden we’re I’m from. The cake is very simple and fast to whip up so when you have an unexpected visitor in Sweden this is probably what you would make and serve with coffee off course. My Friend Amanda loves when my Swedish friend Jess makes this cake or I and wants to make it for her dad on Sunday. So here Amanda is the recipe.

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

½ vanilla bean
1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 cups white spelt flour or all-purpose flour

2 tsp. margarine or butter

1/2 cup milk (I use almond milk)

Preheat oven to F350.

Melt the margarine or butter and let cool. Beat the eggs and sugar until white and thick. Stir in melted and cooled butter. Split vanilla bean in half and use a knife to scrape out seeds. Add it and the flour and baking powder. Add milk, a little at a time. Mix well to a smooth batter. Pour into a 1 2/3 quart buttered cake pan. Bake for about 45 minutes or until an inserted toothpick in the middle of the cake comes out dry

Baked Vegetables and Pasta

I had planned to make lasagna today and here I was with ready with veggies, cream sauce and tomato sauce just to realize that I was out of lasagna sheets. Well change of plans and I used penne pasta instead and made a bake pasta dish. It all tastes the same anyway.

1 cup homemade tomato sauce (or use store bought)

1 cup zucchini, sliced think and then cut into half moons

1 cup carrots, peeled and cut into match sticks

2 cups cooked penne pasta

1 cup raw cashews

½ cup raw macadamia nuts

2 tsp. herb salt

2 tsp. dried French herbs

1 tbsp. lemon juice

½ cup-3/4 cup water

Preheat oven to F400

Steam carrots until al dente.

Combine cashews and macadamia nuts in a food processor and blend until it’s a grainy meal. Add lemon juice, herb salt, dried French herbs and keep on mixing while slowly adding the water. Keep blending until it’s a pretty smooth and creamy cream.

Blend pasta, tomato sauce and vegetables and pour into a baking dish. Pour the nut cream sauce over and gently fold it in with the pasta.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, until top is slightly crispy and browned. Enjoy as is or with a nice leafy salad.

Plum galettes

I get so excited this time of the year when I go to the farmers market. Because after a long winter with mostly apples, oranges and rot vegetables a more fun variety of veggies and fruits are now available. When I found plums on Saturday I knew already what I was going to make with them; a galette. Nothing taste like summer like a galette or pie.  Galettes are the perfect picnic dessert in my opinion and I love eating mine with whipped topping. For the galette dough I used this recipe.

Dough:

2 cups white spelt flour or all-purpose flour

½ tsp. salt

1 tbsp. sugar

12 tbsp. cold butter (if it’s salted just omitted the ½ tsp. salt form the recipe)

1/3-1/2 cups ice water as needed

Filling:

2 cups plums, peeled, pitted and chopped

Juice and Zest from one lemon

¼ cups sugar

½ vanilla bean, split open and seeds are used

Mix the flour, salt, and sugar together in a food processor. Cut in the butter by hand. Sprinkle the ice water over the top by the tablespoon and keep pulsing the flour mixture until you can bring the dough together into a ball. Press into a disk and refrigerate if the butter feels soft at all.

Let the dough rest in fridge while you make the filling.

Combine plums, sugar and vanilla bean in a small bowl and mix well. Let it sit and develop flavors while you roll out the dough.

To form a galette, roll it out on a lightly floured counter into a 14-inch irregular circle about 1/8 inch thick. Fold it into quarters and transfer it to the back of a sheet pan or a cookie sheet without sides, then unfold it - it should be larger than the pan (as you'll be folding it in on itself once it's filled).

Add the plum filling leaving a border 2-4 inches wide. Fold the edges of the dough over the filling, overlapping them as you go. Depending on how much of the edge you have left, the galette will be partially or completely covered, almost like a two-crust pie.

Brush the top with some almond milk or non-dairy cream. sprinkle the top with sugar 

Toasting bread with seeds

No this is not bread that gives a fabulous toast but bread that is perfect to use to make toast. I have craved toast with jam with my tea, which is such Swedish thing.  My friend Jess who also is Swedish came over for a tea, toast with jam breakfast this morning. I served two kinds of jam; one citrus and one vanilla-basil-strawberry jam. The bread is crusty with tons of flavors from the seeds. This bread you really have to work on the dough but then don't knead the bread after rising.

1 packaged dry active yeast

2 ½ cups warm water

3 tab’s honey

½ cup olive oil

½ tbsp. salt

1 ½ cups whole wheat spelt flour

5 cups white spelt flour or use all-purpose flour

½ cup mixed seeds (I used hemp and pumpkin seeds)

Combine flours, salt and yeast in a large bowl or eve better in a kitchen aid. Blend water, honey and oil in a small bowl and stir until honey has dissolved. Add that to the large bowl and begin work the dough really well for at least 10 minutes by hand or 5-10 minutes by machine. Add more flour if the dough seems very sticky. You should end up with dough that is elastic and lets go of the bowl easily. Cover bowl with a towel and set to rise for 30 minutes.

In the mean time use butter to grease two loaf pans and sprinkle half of the seeds in the bottom of the pans. Leave half for the top.

Remove dough from bowl and place on a surface with some flour. Be very careful here because you don’t want to knead this dough. Divide dough in half and shape each pieces carefully to a loaf. Place in loaf pans and cover with towel to rise again for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to F400.

Cut two exes in each loaf top, brush with water and sprinkle remaining seeds over. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Brush water over two times during baking to make the top nice a crusty. The loafs should be golden brown when done. Remove loafs from pans and cool loafs down on a wire rack 

Capers and herb bread

I was in the mood for fresh bread and I don’t know why but I felt like an olive bread so I though why not make an olive and herb bread to eat with our lunch of a large salad. Unfortunately I discovered that I ran out of olives so instead I used capers.

3 cups white spelt flour (or use all-purpose flour)

½ tsp. salt

½ tbsp. active dry yeast

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 ¼ cups plain coconut yogurt

2 tbsp. capers

2 tbsp. fresh chopped herbs (I used basil, chives and parsley)

Combine flour, salt and dry yeast in a large bowl. Add yogurt, fresh herbs and oil and work the dough really well for about five minutes by hand and maybe 2-3 minutes with a kitchen aid. The dough should be pretty firm and not too sticky. Cover bowl with a towel and leave to rest for 45 minutes. 

Knead dough on a surface sprinkled with a little flour. Use a rolling pin to roll dough Place capers in the middle and fold sided over to “trap “ the capers. Shape the dough to three long pieces and place together and begin to braid them until you’re left with a long loaf. Place loaf on a parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Cover with towel and leave to rest for another 30 minutes. Preheat oven to F400 and bake bread for about 30 minutes. Let bread cool on a wire rack covered with a towel before serving.

Maple loaf bread

Serving fresh bread to my family with a meal is a luxury I love to do when I have time and this week it happened twice already. I made maple loaf and it taste great slightly warm with some butter and maybe honey. This recipe will make 1 large loaf or two small ones. I like making small loafs so that the family can eat one and I can freeze other one.

1 ½-2 ½ cups white spelt flour (or use regular All-purpose flour)

2 tbsp. psyllium husk

2 tsps. active dry yeast

1 tsp. salt

1 cup warm oat milk

2 tbsp. butter

2 tbsp. maple syrup

Combine 1 ½ cups of the flour, psyllium husk, salt and yeast in a large bowl. Melt butter in a saucepan and add milk and maple syrup and make it warm, not hot. Add to flour mix little at the time and add more flour if needed. You want to work the dough really well for 5 minutes if not using a kitchen aid. The end result should be elastic dough that is not too sticky and easily lets go of the bowl. Cover bowl with a towel and set aside to rise for 1 ½ hours. Place dough on a surface sprinkled with a little flour and knead dough for 2-3 minutes. Shape dough into one large loaf or two small ones and place in non-stick loaf pans. Cover with a towel and set aside to rise for another 30 minutes. Preheat oven to F350. Bake for 25-30 minutes for small loafs or 30-40 minutes for large loaf. It should be crusty and golden brown when down. Leave uncovered to cool down before serving.

Blueberry oatmeal bread

The past two mornings Noah has refused to eat his blueberry oatmeal so I’ve saved it hoping he would change his mind. When it happened again this morning I decided not to make it again. But since I now had a cup of made up I used by making blueberry oatmeal bread that turned out so well. It’s gluten free and low sugar and funny thing is THAT Noah loved.

1 cup blueberry oatmeal

2 tbsp. agave nectar

¼ vanilla bean, seeds used

3 tbsp. flax seed meal

1 cup warm non-dairy milk (I used almond milk)

2 cups gluten free all-purpose flour

1 ½ tsp. baking powder

Preheat oven to F350

Blend oatmeal, agave nectar, vanilla bean seeds, flax seed meal and milk in a bowl. Add flour and baking powder and mix. Pour batter into a greased loaf pan. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until center is dry. Check by inserting a toothpick into bread and see if it comes out dry and clean. 

Oatmeal bread baked in baking dish

This oatmeal bread is super easy to make because you don’t have to make rolls or shape into a loaf. All I did was press the dough into regular large baking dish.  The weekend are super busy right now with tons of activities for Bella. This weekend it was the May Fair at her school and we helped out. Right before the fair I taught a prenatal yoga class so it was running here and there and then spending time outside in the heat.

So today when I had to bake for the week I was lacking in both energy and inspiration. But lucky me, oatmeal and maple bread is the families favorite and what shape it comes out in they really do not care.

2 ½ cups  water

50g butter

2 ½ cups oats plus some for decoration

6 cups white spelt flour or all-purpose flour (maybe more)

1 tsp. salt

1 ½ tsp. active dry yeast

¼ cup maple syrup

Combine water, oats and butter in a saucepan and bring to boil while stirring. When it’s kind of gluey it’s done. Let it cool for 10 minutes. 

Pour oatmeal into to a large bowl or kitchen aid. Add flour, maple syrup, salt and yeast. Work the dough until it’s elastic and lets go of the bowl. Cover bowl with a towel and leave to rise in a draft free place for 1 hour. 

Knead dough on a floured surface for 3-5 minutes. Line a large baking dish with parchment paper and press dough into it and make it even. Use a fork to poke some holes all over dough. Cover with towel and rise again for 30 minutes. 

Preheat oven to F400. Brush dough with some warm milk and sprinkle oats over. Bake for 15-20 minutes until it’s golden brown and center is firm. Cut into squares once bread is cool. 

Sugar Free & Gluten Free Carrot And Zucchini Bread

Yesterday was a soup and bread day because it was cold and gray first half of the day. I wanted to bake a slightly sweeter bread to be eaten with the soup and finally settled on a recipe for gluten free carrot bread from Melomeal. I changed the recipe a little and added grated zucchini because I ran out of carrots. It’s a super moist bread/cake that is not too sweet. I even enjoyed a piece this morning with my tea.

Dry:

 2 cups Bob’s Gluten free flour mix

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 Tbsp. Cinnamon

½ tsp. nutmeg

¼ tsp. cardamom

1 tsp. stevia powder

¼ tsp. salt

Wet:

½ cup golden flax seed meal

1 ½ cup non-dairy milk

¾ cup oil

1tbs vinegar

2 cups grated carrots

2 cups grated zucchini

1 cup raisins

Preheat oven to F375

Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. In another bowl mix all wet ingredients. Combine both wet and dry and do not overwork batter, just blend. Pour batter into a greased 9 by 13 inch pan and bake for 30 minutes, until center is dry. Let bread cool before cutting it.

Balsamic Baked Asparagus

I’ve not had asparagus in long time and craved it today. I wanted to make something that would pair well in a salad with quinoa so baked seemed like a good way to prepare them and the sweetness of balsamic vinegar goes with most vegetables so that how I flavored them.

1 ½ pound fresh asparagus tops, ends removed

2 tsp. olive oil

½ tsp. salt

3 tbsp. balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp. Dijon mustard

½ tbsp. agave nectar

2 tsp. dried Italian herbs mix

Preheat oven to F400

Place the asparagus in a baking dish. Combine olive oil, balsamic vinegar, mustard and agave nectar in a bowl and then drizzle this over asparagus. Sprinkle salt and Italian herbs over. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until lightly browned. 

Spelt tortillas

Sunday’s are what we call a low-impact-day, which means we try to do as little impact on the environment as possible. In our case it means only go where we can go by foot, bike or trolley, not use electricity unless necessary, eat at home and create as little trash as possible. Sounds nuts but it’s fun and kids love it since it means doing tons of funs together. Since I can’t use mixer of blender I have to really think about food what makes me wonder how on earth I ever survived without my food processor or blender beforeJ

For lunch I made Mexican food; pinto beans, grilled veggies, salsa and avocado and  homemade tortillas’ I leaned to make tortilla while volunteering in Bella’s class last week and I loved how they ate them with beans and cheese for snack. It inspired me to make my own version of their snack time but made it suitable for lunch.  I did cook my tortillas on the BBQ but you can also cook them on a dry skillet.

1cup whole wheat spelt flour

1 cup white spelt flour

1 ½ tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

2 tbsp. butter, room temperature

¾ cup warm milk

• Combine flour, salt and baking powder in a large bowl and blend it well. 
• Add milk and butter little at the time until all is mixed and you have a sticky ball. 
• Knead on a floured surface until you have a firm and soft ball. Place dough back into bowl and cover with a towel. 
• Leave it to rest for 10 minutes. 
• Take dough and divide into 10 pieces. 
• Roll each pierce to a ball with your hands. 
• Flatten ball with your hand and use a rolling pin to roll out dough to a large and thin circle on floured surface. 
• Cook the tortilla on each side until bubbly and than wrap in a towel to keep warm. 
• Don’t over cook, as they will become crispy. 

Baking Soda Carrot Bread Loaf

I hope you all had a great time celebrating Earth Day yesterday. We harvested potatoes from our garden, which will be dinner tonight, we planted new potatoes and we BBQ hot dogs. All and all it was a mellow but fun day. At night James and me ate a romantic raw dinner by candle light and toasting in kombucha. Our pledge was to not use TV, computers, IPads or phones all day and beside one short phone call we made it. Instead we played cards after the kids went to sleep.

I baked bread this morning so Bella would have a sandwich for her lunch and just made a fast rising bread with oats, honey and carrots.  This is bread that does not contain yeast so therefore there is no need to rise or knead it. The dough resembles more like batter but it’s good and fast to bake.

Bella and me gathering our potatoes

Noah celebrating Earth by admiring all the wild flowers

¾ cup oats

1 ½ cups whole wheat spelt flour

2 ½ cups white spelt flour

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

2 cups plain yogurt

2/3 cup honey

¾ cup grated carrots

½ cup raw sunflower seeds

Preheat oven to F400

Grease a large loaf pan. Combine whole wheat and white flour, oats, baking soda, salt and sunflower seeds and blend. Add yogurt, carrots and honey blend until a sticky batter. Pour into loaf pan bake for 40-50 minutes. Center should be dry when done. Let loaf cool completely in pan before removing. 

Pineapple filled sandwich cookies

Happy Earth Day Everyone! I hope all are taking this opportunity to do something to celebrate our beautiful planet. On Green Mom you can read what we and our staff are doing to celebrate.

We had a date with our neighbors for Mexican traditional enchilada making. Kristen makes the best enchiladas so I finally got her to teach me. They were amazing and soon as I get the OK from Kristen I will post the recipe here. As a thank you and for a sweet ending I baked pineapple sandwich cookies. The pineapple fried quinoa I made yesterday inspired me to make these cookies. 

½ cup almond meal

1 ½ cup white spelt flour or all-purpose flour

½ cup sugar

½ tsp. baking soda

110g butter

Pineapples preserve

Combine almond meal, flour, sugar, baking soda and butter in a food processor and mix until it’s a firm dough ball. Wrap in plastic and place in fridge for 20 minutes. Preheat oven to F400.  Roll dough into just larger than a quarter size ball and place on a cookie sheet. Use back of a fork to press balls slightly flat. Bake for 7-10 minutes, until golden brown. Let cookies cool completely. Spread pineapple preserve on flat side and pair up two cookies to make a sandwich. 

Walnut baguettes

This is bread I baked for my friend. I prepared the dough in the evening and let it rise over night and then I baked it in the morning. Long rising time require less yeast and makes a nice fluffy dough in my opinion.

2 cups white spelt flour

1 cup whole wheat spelt flour

2 tsp. salt

1 tbsp. sugar

½ package active dry yeast

2/3 cup walnuts, chopped

1 ½ cup warm almond milk

1 tbsp. coconut oil

Combine spelt flour, salt, sugar, yeast and walnuts in a large bowl or kitchen aid. Blend milk and oil and add little bit at the time until all liquid is incorporated and you have shiny dough that is elastic. Cover bowl with a towel and leave to rise over night or at least a couple of hours. Knead dough for a few minutes and add more flour if it’s very sticky. Divide in half and shape each to a long baguette. Place on a cookie sheet covered with a parchment paper. Cover with a towel and leave to rise for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to F440. Place an ice cube in the oven or spray some water for mist and bake baguettes for 15-20 minutes. 

Raspberry and Banana Millet Puffs

I’m always looking for the perfect snack that is both yummy and healthy for my kids. It’s fun to try new things and to surprise them with it. This recipe I found on a Swedish blog by a woman who dedicate it to cooking for her child. I’m in love them myself and could not stop eating them.

7 medjool dates, pitted
¼ cup raspberries

1 very ripe banana

½ vanilla bean, split open and seeds used

1 tbsp. chia seeds

2 cups millet puffs

Preheat oven to F350

Line a cookie sheet with a parchment paper.

Puree dates, raspberries, banana, vanilla bean seeds and chia seeds until lump free and creamy. Fold in the puffs until completely incorporated. Spread dough in the parchment paper with wet hands. Bake for 30 minutes. Break cake a part to smaller pieces when cool.

Hot dog buns

This weekend we BBQ hot dogs for the kids and I made my own hot dogs bun. I can’t believe I never done this before and actually bought store bought because it was so easy and everyone thought they were so good.

5 cups white spelt flour

2 ½ cups whole wheat spelt flour maybe more

1 package active dry yeast

3 tbsp. sugar

2 tsp. salt

2 ½ cups warm almond milk

125g room temperature butter

In a large bowl or kitchen aid, combine flour, salt, sugar and dry yeast and blend. Add milk and then butter and really work the dough for a few minutes until the dough is shiny and lets go of the bowl. Add more flour if it’s too sticky. Cover the bowl with a towel and set aside to rise for 40 minutes.

Place dough on a flat surface sprinkled with flour and kneads the dough for five minutes. Divide dough into 30 pieces and shape into long and skinny buns. Place on a cookie sheet and leave to rise for another 40 minutes covered with a towel. Preheat oven to F400.  Bake for 10 minutes and then let them cool of on a wire rack cover with a towel.

Cardamom and Hazelnut Biscotti

I’ve had a crazy work week and on top of that a very over tired five year old. As you can imagine this spells trouble and a very tired mama at the end of the day. Luckily Noah has been super happy little guy who takes a long naps in the afternoon giving me some much needed work time but also a chance to enjoy a cup of tea in the garden. Today I made biscotti to enjoy with the tea. I love biscotti but never attempted to my own and I was pleastlly surprised how easy it was.

1 ¾ cups white spelt flour

¾ cup sugar

¾ tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. ground cardamom

1 ½ tbsp. egg-replacer

2/3 cup water

½ vanilla bean, split open and seeds used

1/3 cup chopped hazelnuts

• Preheat oven to F350.
• Combine flour, sugar, baking soda and cardamom in a large bowl and blend well. 
• In small bowl whisk together water, egg replacement and vanilla bean seeds until there are no lumps left. Add to the large bowl and begin to mix until it’s all combined. 
• I used my hands but next time I think I will just use my food processor or kitchen aid instead. 
• Divide dough I half and with slightly wet hands roll and shape each piece into a log. 
• Place on parchment paper on a cookie sheet. 
• Bake for 30 minutes. 
• Remove from oven and let them cool for 10 minutes and carefully slice diagonally bake the slices cut side down for 8 minutes and flip and bake another 8 minutes. 
• I drizzled some melted chocolate chips over mine to make them pretty but it's optional.
• Yummy!!!!