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Honey Wheat Bread

This is such a simple recipe, but it turned out just the way I wanted it to - almost exactly like Great Harvest's Honey Wheat bread, without the bother of grinding my own flour. I don't think their version has oats in it, but I like them and they tend to keep the bread nice and soft. This recipe produces two loaves, since if you're making bread by hand, you might as well make two. Honey Wheat Oat Bread 2 c. white flour 2 c. wheat flour 2 c. oats 1/2 c. honey 1/4 c. oil (I mixed olive and salad) 2 Tbsp. molasses 2.5 tsp salt 3 tsp yeast 2.25 or so cups of water Optional: Flax seeds Sunflower seeds Standard bread procedure: Mix, knead, let rise, punch down, let rise again, shape into loaves (I made two loaves), place in greased loaf pans, let rise a bit in pan, bake at 350 until done.

Chicken Pozole Verde

Pozole is a hearty Mexican soup or stew that come in several different styles (with pork or chicken, red, white or green). This recipe can be made either as a pozole, using hominy, or as a white chicken chili, using cannellini beans (or heck, use both). The tomatillos are optional, but add a nice tartness and more color.  You will be surprised that all the green chiles don't make it very hot, so feel free to up the spice level if you like. This serves 6 hungry people.  This is the chicken chili style, which uses beans instead of hominy.   3 lbs bone-in chicken, skin removed 2 large red onions, one half reserved for garnish 3 jalapeño chiles, one reserved for garnish 3 anaheim chiles 2 poblano chiles 5-6 tomatillos, husked 7 garlic cloves, crushed 1 heaping Tbsp. ground cumin 2 tsp. ground coriander 2 cans white beans or hominy, rinsed and drained 1/2 bundle cilantro, chopped Salt and black pepper Oil or lard Garnishes : 3 limes, quartered (reserve jui...

Brown Lentil Soup with Cauliflower

Or "How to Make Brown Lentil Soup that Doesn't Taste Like Dirt". Here in Morocco, Melanie and I have had the problem that we can't find anything other than brown lentils - she's asked locals, and looked around pretty extensively, and hasn't been able to find the much tastier red variety. However, after a lot of travel, we were desperately craving something simple and vegetarian like lentil soup, and so I did my best to come up with a recipe that wasn't just edible, but delicious. Ingredients 1 smallish head cauliflower, cut into very small pieces 1 large carrot, cut into small pieces 1 medium onion, minced 4-7 cloves garlic, peeled but whole 2 Tbsp olive oil 1.5-2.5 c. brown lentils, picked over and cleaned if they're sketchy Water or broth sufficient for the quantity of lentils (I always just eyeball this) 2-3 bay leaves (depending on size and quality) 1/2 tsp cumin (optional) S&P Parsley (flat leaf is best), minced, 1-2 tsp per bowl of soup Lemon...

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

I found this recipe partly by experimentation, partly by accident. Baking while distracted, I accidentally added too much flour, which gave the cookies more body and kept them from spreading out too much. I intentionally used part shortening to further prevent spreading, and some corn syrup to keep them moist. I drizzled them with leftover chocolate glaze from Chocolate Meringue Gondolas . If you click to enlarge this picture the cookies look more delicious. Preheat oven to 375° and place parchment paper on two baking sheets. 1 lb. all-purpose flour 1 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. salt 4 oz. unsalted butter, softened (1 stick) 4 oz. shortening, softened 3/4 c. white sugar 1/2 c. brown sugar 1/4 c. light corn syrup 2 eggs 1 tsp. vanilla extract 12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used half white chocolate) 1/2 c. roasted walnuts, finely chopped Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, beat the butter and shortening until they ar...

Chocolate Meringue Gondolas

This recipe is from Great Cookies by Carole Walters. The results are light, delectable, and wheat-free. Great for after a heavy meal when you want a touch of sweetness, and perfect for Passover. Preheat oven to 275°, with racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Meringues 2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, broken into pieces 4 large egg whites at room temp 1/8 tsp. salt 1 c. superfine sugar, divided 1/2 tsp. vanilla For the meringues, chop the unsweetened chocolate in the food processor until fine. I found putting the chocolate in the freezer for 15 minutes helped keep it cool. Place the egg whites in a large bowl and beat at medium until frothy. Add the salt, increase the speed, and beat until it forms firm peaks. Add 2/3 c. sugar, 1 Tbsp. at a time. Add the vanilla and beat 1 minute more until it forms stiff peaks. Fold in the remaining 1/3 cup sugar in four additions, then fold in the chopped chocolate. Form 'quenel...

Pasta Fazool (pasta e fagioli)

This is the perfect, quick one-dish meal. You don't even need to add meat (it's good though)! It's great for using spring vegetables and cupboard staples. You could probably eat this for every meal for the rest of your life and not experience any nutritional deficiencies. 1 lb. loose Italian sausage 1 can cannellini beans 1/2 box chunky pasta 1 bunch broccoli raab (rapini) 1 onion, sliced 1 clove garlic, crushed 1/4 c. grated hard cheese 3 Tbsp. Italian parsley, chopped Salt and fresh ground black pepper Cook up the sausage in a large frying pan. Meanwhile boil a large pot of well-salted water. Immerse the raab in the water for 1-2 minutes until it is bright green and tender. Remove with tongs and immerse in cold water to stop the cooking. Drain well and chop. Using the same water, boil the pasta until cooked and drain. Add the onion to the sausage and cook until it starts to become tender. Add the beans, chopped raab, crushed garlic, and parsley and stir unt...

On aioli

I tried to write this as a comment to Lillian's post on mayonnaise sandwiches or something, but then it was way too long. So here is a good start on what you need to know about making aioli, though there is plenty left un-said. This is a base-line aioli recipe that I have used in restaurants: 1 egg yolk ~1/2 clove garlic 1 cup oil pinch salt squeeze lemon ~1TB water On emulsification : There are a few different kinds of emulsification, achieved via different emulsifiers. The compounds in egg yolks are what we would consider true, or chemical emulsifiers, as they actually bond to fat molecules, keeping them separate from one another in a matrix of water. When the fat in your mixture does all run together, it is "broken," meaning that you have a puddle of liquid with a big oil slick on top; not aioli. As oil exhibits cohesive properties, it does not want to be parted from itself once it has been allowing to join together, so the key, and the purpose of the slow additi...