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.

Swiss chard Quiche

Tomorrow me and the kids and flying to Maui for a week. Hubby who can't take vacation is in charge of bunny, home, compost and vegetable garden. Since it's been so hot lately my swiss chard is looking sad so I picked it all and used it for my swiss chard and mushroom quiche. It's perfect to eat with a side salad and you can eat it hot or cold. 

Crust:

2 cup spelt flour

4 ounces butter

1-2 tbs cold water

1. Preheat oven to F400.
2. Blend everything to dough and press it into a pie mold, If it's too crumbly just add more butter and water.
3. Prick bottom with a form a few times.
4. Bake for 5-10 minutes or until crust is dry and partially baked.
5. Add filling and bake for 30 minutes.

Filling:

4 cups chopped and lightly steamed swiss chard

1 cup mushrooms, chopped and fried ( I used oyster mushrooms)

1 tbs herb salt

1 cup chive and garlic flavored cream cheese

1 cup firm tofu

1/2 cup salsa

1. Place tofu, herb salt, cream cheese and salsa in a bowl or use a cuisinart to blend really well until there any no lumps at all.
2. Add swiss chard and mushrooms and mix.
3. Pour into the partial baked pie crust and bake according to instructions above, 30 minutes. Enjoy with a nice crisp salad.

Buckwheat Neatloaf

This is my kids favorite neatloaf recipe and I love it because it's so fast to make compared to other neatloaf recipes. Buckwheat is gluten free and high in protein so it's very healthy protein source.

6 large marinated green olives, diced (mine was a Italian herb marinate)
1 tbs honey mustard
1 tbs Bragg's liquid amino's or light soy sauce
1 tbs olive oil
1/2 cup creamy buckwheat cereal
1/2 cup water
1 tbs dried parsley
1/2 cup cheese ( I used rice cheese)
1 tsp pepper

Preheat oven to F400

Grease a baking dish with a little margarine. Mix everything in a sauce pan and bring to a boil while stirring. Simmer until it's very thick. Remove from heat and add cheese and blend well. Place dough in a baking dish and shape it like a loaf. Bake for 20 minutes.

Tomatoes, Tomatoes and Bruschetta

My tomatoes are taking over the garden and on top of that our neighbor gave me some of her tomatoes and jalapeno pepper she had too much of too. So yes now we're eating tons of tomatoes here and I love it!!! For an evening snack I made spicy tomato bruschetta, mmmmmm.

1/2 jalapeño

1 large tomato, diced

1 large basil leaf, minced

1 tbs extra virgin olive oil

1 tbs balsamic vinegar

Salt & pepper to taste

A good crusty baguette

Grated cheese

Preheat oven to F400.
Roast jalapeño pepper over open flame until skin is black and blistered. Place plastic bag for a few minutes and then remove skin. Mince pepper and remove seeds. In a bowl blend peppers, tomatoes, basil olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Let the mix rest for 5-10 minutes to develop flavors. Slice bread and place a good amount of mix on top. Sprinkle some cheese and bake for 5 minutes in oven.

Rosemary Focaccia

Right now we're all working hard packing and getting ready for our long flight to Sweden. Fridge and freezer is almost empty. Today's lunch was soup and homemade focaccia bread, Perfect meal to set of on our journey. 

2 packages active dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1 3/4 cups lukewarm water (105-115oF)
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to drizzle on the bread
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
4-5 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
Coarse saltDried Rosemary
Dissolve the yeast and sugar in 1 cup lukewarm water in a bowl and let sit until foamy. In another bowl, add the remaining 3/4 cup water, the olive oil, and the salt. Pour in the yeast mixture. Blend in the flour, 1 cup at a time, until t he dough comes together. Knead on a floured board for 10 minutes, adding flour as needed to make it smooth and elastic. Put the dough in an oiled bowl, turn to coat well, and cover with a towel. Let rise in a warm draft-free place for 1 hour, until doubled.Punch down the dough, knead it for about 5 minutes, and gently roll it out to fit a deep dish pan, 15 1/2 by 10 1/2 inches. Cover with towel and leave to rise for 15 minutes,. Oil your fingers and make impressions with them in the dough, 1 inch apart. Let rise for 1 hour.Preheat the oven to 400oF. Drizzle the dough with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and rosemary. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until golden brown. Serve warm.

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!!!!

Buckwheat Neatloaf With French Flavors

We loved neatloafs in this family and my favorite neatloaf recipe for sure is this buckwheat one. It’s so easy and fast to make compared to other neatloafs so it’s a perfect one to have on hand when you’re in a rush. We ate our neatloaf with rosemary roasted potatoes and large leafy green salad made with lettuce from our neighbors garden.

1 cup creamy buckwheat cereal such as Bob's Red Mill

1 cup water

½ cup sundried tomatoes

½ cup dried mushrooms, I used chanterelles

2 tsp. dried French herbs

2 tsp. salt

½ tsp. black pepper

¾ cup grated cheese

Preheat oven to F400.

Heat water and soak the sun dried tomatoes and dried mushrooms in it for 30-60 minutes. Place soaked mushrooms, tomatoes, the soaking water in blender and mix for 20 seconds. Combine this with buckwheat cereal, French herbs, salt and pepper in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring often. Keep cooking on medium heat while stirring until it thickens. Pour batter into a greased small loaf pan. Bake for 20-30 minutes, until the loaf solid and stiff so you can cut into it. 

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

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 

Nut cheese stuffed dates

I was giving a friend a recipe for an appetizer and it was for nut cheese stuffed dates, which are one of my favorite ones to serve. The salty and sweet combination are wonderful and dates are so much fun. Dates are rich in antioxidants and its natural sweetness revitalizes the body so they are perfect snack after a workout.

1 cup raw cashews nuts

½ tbsp. minced chives

½ tbsp. minced parsley

Juice form ½ lemon

1/8-cup water

½ tsp. salt

15 dates, pitted

2 tbsp. Agave nectar

Preheat oven to F400.

Combine the nuts, lemon juice and salt in a food processor and begin mixing. Slowly add the water. Keep mixing until it’s smooth. Stir in the herbs by hand. Use a teaspoon to fill dates with the cheese. Place dates in a baking dish cut side up. Drizzle agave nectar Bake for 7 minutes. Stick a toothpick in to serve the dates. 

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.

Sweet potato and quinoa cakes

When I was out walking the other day I walked passed a new restaurant. I did a quick glans at their menu and my caught a dish with sweet potato and quinoa cakes. It sounded so wonderful that I made me go home and start thinking about a recipe for it. Today I finally made then and although not a hit with either kids who might just have been too over tired to appreciate them James my husband absolutely fell in love with them. They taste great as is or on the side of black bean salad and mixed green salad.

50g quinoa, rinsed

250ml vegetable stock

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 large sweet potato, peeled and grated

1 cup kale, stems removed and chopped

¼ cup yellow onion, minced

1 garlic clove, grated

½ tsp. ground coriander

1 tsp. ground cumin

Salt & pepper to taste

Combine the rinsed quinoa and vegetable stock in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer for about 20 minutes, until all liquid is gone. Heat oil in a skillet and cook onion and garlic for 2 minutes. Reduce to medium/low heat and add sweet potato and kale. Cook until potatoes are soft. Add a couple of splashes of water when it gets dry. Fluff quinoa with a fork and combine quinoa with sweet potato and stir in coriander, cumin, salt and pepper.  Place in fridge for 20 minutes to get “stiff”. Preheat oven to F400. Shape dough into cakes and place on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the cakes are golden and crispy on top. 

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.

Butternut Squash Enchiladas

I finally made enchiladas after my class over at my friend and neighbor Kristen house a couple of weekends ago. I love her cheese enchiladas but wanted to put my own spin to them so I ended up butternut squash enchiladas and they were so amazingly good and a huge hit with both kids.

Sauce:

8 dried Anaheim California chilies or New Mexican dried chilies

2 cups water

¼ cup buckwheat cereal

1 tbsp. dark chocolate

Dash of cinnamon, salt and ground chili pepper to taste

Wash chilies and tear of the tops. Place them and everything else for the sauce in a blender and puree until smooth. Strain and remove seeds.

 

Filling:

1 cup cooked and pureed butter nut squash

1 cup grated dairy free mozzarella cheese

6 scallions, minced

Mix everything for the filling and set a side.

Preheat oven to F350.

Soften 6 corn tortillas one at the time in hot oil. Dip the tortilla in the enchilada sauce and then add filling. Roll up and place in fold side down in a baking dish. Repeat until all tortillas have been filled and stacked in baking dish. Sprinkle some cheese over in an even layer. Bake for 15 -20 minutes until the enchiladas are slightly crispy and cheese has melted. Serve with rice, beans, guacamole and a leafy salad.

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. 

Snack Time—Baked Apple Sandwich

I’m always on the lookout for the perfect snack. It has to be satisfying, healthy and good enough for kids to eat it. This baked apple sandwich has been my cravings lately and that it's served warm is just plus because you get a little warm apple pie feeling from it.

1 slice of whole wheat or multi grain bread

1 tbsp. almond butter (or substitute wit any other nut butter)

¼ apple, peeled and sliced very thin

¼ tsp. ground cinnamon

½ tbsp. agave nectar

Preheat oven to F400

Spread almond butter on the slice of bread. Arrange apple slices on top. Dust cinnamon and then drizzle agave nectar over. Bake for 5-10 minutes, until apples are soft and bread slightly toasted. Enjoy with a cup of tea or a glass of milkJ

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. 

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.