So yummy Bran Muffins

I started with Cook's Illustrated's "Best Bran Muffins" and then made some alterations for health, taste, and what I had on hand.  These turned out so terrific they're my new Best Bran Muffins.  The whole family loves them.  Perfect for packing into lunches for fibre and protein.  Makes 12 muffins.

preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Combine:
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup (red) whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cup unprocessed wheat bran
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg

Cream in blender
7 tablespoons softened unsalted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs
3 tablespoons unsulphured molasses
1 cup plane whole greek yogurt
1/2 over-ripe banana

Add on slow until mixed
1/2 dry ingredients
1/4 cup 2% milk
the other 1/2 dry ingredients

Stir in 1 cup raisins

Scoop into greased 12 mold muffin tin.

Bake for 25 minutes at 375.  (Test with toothpick).

Enjoy!

Cara
www.caraaboutyou.com

Healthy Cake and Ice Cream for dinner

'Cause sometimes you just want to celebrate!

"Cake" = 12 blueberry muffins
adapted from "Hearty Blueberry Muffin" Vita-mix recipe

4 oz organic tofu
2 organic eggs
splash of vanilla
1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1 tablespoon organic canola oil
1/2 cup organic milk
1/3 cup raw organic sugar
Blend until smooth

Sift: 2 cups organic whole wheat pastry flour mixed with 2 teaspoons baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Just mix wet ingredients into dry.  Then fold in 2 cups of frozen blueberries.  (We used ones we had picked this summer.)

Poor into oiled and dusted with flour muffin tin.  Cook at 375 for 30 minutes

The kids would have eaten the whole dozen if I let them, but I wanted to save some to send in their school lunches.

"Ice Cream"
Package frozen organic fruit (our favorite is strawberry), handful of organic spinach, touch of maple syrup or honey to taste blended in vita-mix with whole Greek yogurt.

Vegetable Quiche with Wholewheat Crust

Adapted from Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything"
For this recipe you can make the crust, use any bought crust you like, including puff pastry, or use no crust at all.

Prebaked Crust:
Ingredients:
1 cup wholewheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick butter, cut into pieces
3 tablespoons ice water

Directions:
- Combine butter and salt in food processor
- Add butter and pulse until butter pea-sized or smaller
- Add water and pulse until just comes together into a ball
- Remove dough, shape into a ball, wrap in saran wrap, and place in fridge for 30 minutes or freezer for 10 minutes
- Roll the dough between two sheets of parchment paper until it is about 1/4 inch thick
- Transfer dough to a 10 inch pie dish, trim and mold down the edges
- (for a quick and dirty alternative, skip the fridge and rolling out, and press the dough into the pan with your fingers
- Place the dish into the fridge or freezer again
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F
- Prick the dough with a ford
- Cover the dough firmly with greased aluminum foil, then add dried beans to weight it down
- Bake for 10 minutes until it begins to brown. Remove pie crust from oven.
- Turn oven temperature down to 325 deg in preparation for quiche

For the Filling
Ingredients:
- 1-2 leeks chopped
- 2 small containers mushrooms of your choosing (button, baby bellas, shitake), thinly sliced
- 2 small or 1 large zucchini grated
- 2 tablespoons olive oil for sauteeing
- 6 eggs at room temperature
- 1 cup grated cheese of your choosing(parmessan, cheddar, gruyere etc.)
- 2 cups milk (or any ratio of milk and cream that you prefer)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Fresh herbs of your choosing(thyme, basil or parsely), chopped

Directions:
- Saute leeks and mushrooms over medium heat in the olive oil until soft and slightly browned. Add zucchini and cook until soft. Add salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to a medium bowl to cool.
- In a large bowl, combine the eggs, cheese and milk and herbs. Season with salt and pepper
- Add vegetable mixture to egg mixture and stir
- Pour this mixture onto the baked crust and return to 325 deg F oven for about 30- 40 minutes
-Start watching after 30 minutes, "until the mixture is set, but still moist; it should still jiggle a little in the middle"
- Serve warm or at room temperature. It's great with a light salad or sliced fruit.

Daily Bread

I have a romantic attachment for the idea of the "daily bread" - a healthy, relatively easy bread to make regulary for the supper table. There is really nothing to beat fresh bread, it touches all the senses and welcomes you to the dinner table. How wonderful with a hearty soup . Maybe with some cheese on the side. I played with several of the bread machine recipes without much success. They lacked body and were all pretty bland. I asked Lisa for suggestions and she gave me this recipe. It is one she adapted herself from a sponge-starter Challah recipe from "A Treasury of Jewish Baking". The sponge-starter adds that extra body that the breadmaker lacks and is worth the extra time. Lisa makes challah, sandwich bread and rolls with it. I have made it several times in all these variations and it is, as Goldilocks once said, "just right."

This week I made the recipe as rolls, served them with a vegetable lentil soup and my romantic vision was realized :)

Here is my slightly adapted version for smaller batches:

Ingredients:

Sponge Starter: (make at least 30 minutes ahead)

3/4 cup warm water
1 tablespoon instant yeast
1 cup whole wheat flour

Dough:
All of the starter
1/4 cup warm water
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp salt
2 eggs at room temperature
1/4 cip canola oil
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cup bread flour
wheat germ to sprinkle on top


Directions:
Sponge:
- In a large bowl (or kitchen -aid bowl) mix yeast, and water until dissolved, then add flour and mix again
- Cover with plastic wrap and then a clean tea towel and let it sit for 30 minutes in a warm place

Dough:
- Stir down the sponge
- Add the water, sugar, salt, oil, eggs, and flour
- Mix in the flour with the paddle attachment of the mixer or with a spoon for about 30 seconds
- Change to the dough hook (or by hand) knead for about 10 minutes.
- Shape the dough into a ball and place in a well greased bowl
- Cover with plastic wrap and tea towel and place in a warm place for 45 - 90 minutes to let it rise to about double in size (or overnight in the refrigerator)
- Gently deflate the dough.
- Shape into rolls or challah and place on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or if you want sandwich bread, shape into a loaf and place in a loaf pan.
- Allow to rise for at least 45 minutes more (until doubled)
- Heat oven to 350 degrees
-For rolls or loaf bread, sprinkle with wheat germ. For challah you can do an egg wash
- Bake for about 30 minutes until golden brown

Joanne Trimmer Carrot Bisque

Joanne Trimmer Carrot Bisque

(Joanne says this soup is a favorite of her whole family.  I can't wait to try it!)

1 onion chopped
1-2 gloves of garlic
1/4 cup of butter
4.5 cups of sliced carrots
1 large sweet potato
1 LARGE leek or a couple of small ones
1 parsnip
3.5 cups of chicken broth (I use water and kosher chicken powder (VEGAN)  - I think it is by carmel - it is magic - I don't know how the soup will taste with just regular chicken broth)
1 cup of a sweet white wine (I used SWEET by Kuhl which is a late harvest Riesling - Any late harvest sweet wine would be fine I am sure)
Freshly ground cracked black pepper
1-1.5 cups of heavy whipping cream

Saute Onion, Garlic and leeks in the butter in a large soup pot. Add chopped parsnip, potato and carrots. Saute for a while and then add wine and chicken broth. Cook for about 30 mins til tender. Cool for 15 mins. Then puree in small batches until completely smooth. Return to soup pot over low heat and add cream -mixing until smooth and uniform in color. 

ENJOY!!!

Zucchini Carrot Pancakes

I serve these as a side dish. They are delicious, packed with vegetables, easy to make, and freeze well.

Ingredients:

2 cups grated zucchini

2 cups grated carrots

1/4 cup freshly grated parmessan cheese

1 cup whole wheat flour

4 eggs

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Beat egg

2. Mix in flour and salt

3. Add zucchini and carrots and fold in

4. Warm skillet at medium/low heat

5. Coat skillet with thin layer of olive oil

6. Spoon mixture onto skillet to form about 2-3 inch pancakes

7. Cook until lightly brown, about 2 minutes per side

my Soba Noodle Soup

Here was my photo from Soba Noodle Soup (different recipe as noted in the comments - not good enough to pass along). 

Today I made Chana Masala but need to try a different recipe as well (I think) as it didn't taste the way I wanted it to... but I put it in the fridge and maybe tomorrow it will taste better. LOL! When I opened the Amchoor (dried unripe mango) powder package that I bought, it looked icky so I opted out and subbed in lemon juice instead but I have a feeling that wasn't the real issue. I'll keep you posted. :)