Grains

Archive for the ‘Grains’ Category

Whole Wheat Walnut Pancakes with Brown Butter Apple Cinnamon Compote

A couple weekends ago, some girlfriends and I hopped on I-5 heading south for a 2 1/2 hour drive. Our destination; The Cedar Grist Mill. The oldest working water powered flour mill in the state. The September afternoon was bright and sunny, it felt like a much needed mini road trip. The mill is completely volunteer operated, so the hours are limited, but the setting is absolutely beautiful and arriving a little early was nice because we found ourselves exploring around the riverbank.

We were given a tour and complete history by a charming man in overalls named Fred. He even went over the health benefits to eating whole grains vs. processed ones. I was completely blown away at the whole process of how flour was milled in the late 1800′s. The whole system is massive, yet so utilitarian and simple in design. There were huge belts that wrapped around all sorts of large gears and when the water tank was full all you had to do was turn a large wheel to open the water flow and the mill was off and running, at least until the tank emptied. It even powered some of the electricity. I kinda wanted one.

That day there were two different flours milled, soft wheat and hard red wheat. Other times they grind cornmeal as well. We crunched on the different wheat berries and the flavor was incredibly distinct between the two. The sacks of flour Fred handed out at the end were warm and really fragrant. For a small donation we each took home a bag of the soft wheat, which is considered perfect flour for pancakes or scone making. Fred mentioned that he himself enjoys a short stack several times a week. I think I know why he volunteers! I couldn’t resist taking the guy up on his pancake suggestion.

I’ve made many whole wheat pancakes before, but there was absolutely no mistake about the difference in taste when I used the freshly milled flour. I wish I had one of these mills closer by, because it makes such a difference. I added in some ground walnuts to the batter and topped them with warm brown butter apples. Perfect for the crisp mornings we’ve been having. Have you ever used freshly milled flour before? And what did you make?

Whole Wheat Walnut Pancakes with Brown Butter Apple Cinnamon Compote / makes 8-10 pancakes

1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup walnuts
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs or 2 flax eggs (2T. flax meal mixed with 6T. water)
1 cup almond milk
2 tablespoons apple sauce
1 tablespoon maple syrup

apple compote
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 apples, peeled, cored and sliced into wedges
big pinch cinnamon
maple syrup

Place the walnuts into a food processor and pulse until the walnuts just start to become flour-like. Don’t go too far or you’ll end up making walnut butter. Place the ground walnuts, whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large mixing bowl and whisk together.

In another bowl whisk together the eggs, almond milk, apples sauce, and maple syrup. Pour into the dry mixture and whisk just until everything is wet. Let sit while you prepare the apples.

Start heating the pan you’re going to cook the pancakes on, that way it’s good and hot. In another large skillet or frying pan melt the butter over medium heat. Once melted, watch (and smell) closely for little flecks of brown and a nutty smell. Once this happens add the apple slices in one layer, sprinkle with a little cinnamon and let sit for 4-5 minutes, or just until browned on one side. Flip and repeat on the other side and let it get golden. Lower heat and drizzle in a bit of maple syrup. Keep warm over a low heat until the pancakes are finished cooking.

Pour the pancake batter, about a quarter cup at a time, into the hot skillet. Cook until the edges are set and there are lots of air bubbles surfacing. Flip and cook until the other side is dark golden brown. Keep warm in the oven. Serve with the apple compote and more maple syrup.

Breakfast, Fall, Fruits, Grains, Vegan

Tomato Cucumber & Quinoa Salad

You people always amaze me. I was hesitant about sending my last post out into the internet world. I kept asking myself, “is this too much information?” or ”how much do I really want to open up here?” In the end, I did a lot of editing and re-editing, deleting entire paragraphs I didn’t feel were necessary. But it didn’t feel right for me not to share anything and it ended up being an incredible way to look deeper into how I was feeling, even if I didn’t share it all here. All of you confirmed for me just how much people care, how much I know others can learn or at least remember to think about messages learned and passed along. I feel we could move mountains with the support this community gives, so thank you.

This blog has become more than just a place to share recipes. I’ve never been much of a journal writer. I probably started and stopped a dozen or so journals or diaries in my youth, each written with scribbled handwriting about how I thought recess should last longer, who my latest crush was, and all the other incredibly mundane day-to-day thoughts of a relatively happy pre-teenage life. I was thinking how this blog has really become an online journal of sorts. More than a collection of recipes. I enjoy that I can look back on and recall memories or what I was feeling or doing during a certain point in time. I’m not totally sure what makes this place so different from pen to paper, but I’m glad I’m here.

I realize many of you may be very over tomatoes, but I surely am not. In fact, I feel like tomato season only just got started at the beginning of September around here. My plans for 4 tomato plants in the garden, turned into 6. Then when a friend of a friend decided to drop off 8 more plants, I had to think quick about where to put them all. I envisioned all of summer with bright red, juicy tomatoes off the vine and me canning all of September to store for the winter. Fast forward to several weeks ago and I still had a ton of green tomatoes and only the little cherry ones had been turning red.

Now I have tomatoes daily. This salad is the perfect example of a meal inspired by the mass variety and sheer amount of tomatoes I have on hand. So if you live up in the NW like me or also are not quite ready to be roasting vegetables in the oven just yet, throw this salad together and eat it outside one more time.

Tomato Cucumber & Quinoa Salad / serves 4
Don’t feel you need to have all the exact tomatoes I’ve used. If you can, great, otherwise try to have at least 2-3 different varieties and sizes for all their different flavor profiles and estimate the approximate amount based on what I’ve given. Leftover quinoa is a great thing to have around for impromptu salads like this one, but making if from about 1/2 cup dried quinoa will give you about the right amount for this salad. I’ve also added avocado to this salad in a version I didn’t photograph and it was a delicious addition.

2 cups cooked quinoa
1/4 of a red onion, thinly sliced
1 herloom tomato, sliced into wedges
2 green tomatoes, sliced into wedges
1 cup yellow pear tomatoes, halved
3/4 cup grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
2 roma tomatoes, cut into wedges
1 cucumber, skin peeled and cut into slices
1/3 cup toasted almonds, roughly chopped
1/4 cup packed basil, roughly chopped

dressing
juice of 1 lemon
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon coriander seeds, crushed
1/2 teaspoon chile powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Quickly sauté the sliced red onion in a bit of oil until just softened, this step is not necessary and you can leave it raw, but I personally wanted to tame its flavor a bit.

Place the quinoa, red onion, all tomatoes, and cucumber into a large bowl.

Combine all the dressing ingredients and pour over the quinoa mixture. Season with salt to taste and sprinkle the almonds and basil over the top. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Gluten-Free, Grains, Salads, Vegan, Vegetables

Trail Cookies

“Tell me what it is you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”
- Mary Oliver

We lost a friend to cancer in late July. She was an all around beautiful person that we saw nearly every week for the past two years over dinner among friends. She was way too young, but from it, I found myself taking away an even greater appreciation of life. I yearned to spend real time with my husband, friends and family. I actively decided that every moment is a chance to greater not just myself, but the people around me I care so much about. Online life exhausts me more than anything and taking the time to step away is so good for me personally.

Every weekend we seemed to find ourselves hiking or camping, with a couple mid-week surf sessions thrown in. The challenges in life always fade into the background when I’m in the outdoors. Each step I take towards the top of a steep trail or paddle into the next wave is met with that perfect wholeness I feel when given one solitary task. The outside world holds such great treasures; I can never resist taking them on.

To make up for my absence I decided to entice you with cookies and take you along with us up the Tatoosh Ridge Trail in the Gifford-Pinchot National Forest. The wildflowers and views of Mt. Rainier and Mt. Adams were incredible, a must see if you are ever in WA during August. Making this video was new to us, but also very fun, so I’m hoping to take you all on more of our life’s little adventures in the future. It’s also my sneaky way of maybe teaching Scott a thing or two about how to cook, we’ll see.
Music by Loch Lomond

These could also be called one of those “everything but the kitchen sink” cookies. I’m still trying to get zucchini into everything, but shredded carrots or apples would be a great substitute as well (they’ll also make them a touch sweeter too), now that summer squash season is coming to an end. The cookies themselves are like homemade granola or granola bars; relatively healthy, oaty, lightly sweet, and something with a lot of staying power. They get a little softer after a day or two, but on the first day they have a great outer crust that gives way to a softer center, the almonds keep them crunchy.

And even though I haven’t posted lately, I’ve still been filling up on a lot of good food! Here’s a few tasty things from around the web I’ve been eating and enjoying this month:

This spicy little green bean number.
A ridiculously good lemon cucumber tofu salad, that is so refreshing.
Granola that tastes like banana bread. You definitely want to make this.
Sara and Hugh’s beautiful masterpiece.
I’ve been experimenting more with buckwheat flour after enjoying these buckwheat chocolate chip cookies.
Kimberly’s eating well on the road series seems to have summed up my summer. Minus the rice cooker, that was a new tip for me!
Gave myself the challenge of making my own sourdough starter after being inspired by Tara. Let’s just say I’m going to have to start round two next week…

Trail Cookies / makes about 2 dozen
You need 2 cups oat flour for this recipe, I’ve made the oat flour myself using a food processor, but you can buy pre-maid as well. And these are gluten free if you use rolled oats that are marked gluten free.

1/2 cup almonds
3 cups rolled oats, divided
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/3 cup desiccated coconut
1/3 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup honey
1 egg
1 cup shredded zucchini
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/3 cup dried cherries

Preheat oven to 400F.

Place almonds on a lined baking sheet and roast for about 10-12 minutes, until fragrant and roasted smelling. Allow to cool, then roughly chop. Turn oven down to 350F.

Meanwhile, place 2 cups of the rolled oats into a food processor (if using oat flour you can skip this step) and process until the oats become oat flour. Toss together with the other 1 cup rolled oats, baking powder, sea salt, coconut, and roasted almonds.

In another bowl combine the coconut oil, honey and egg, stirring well, then add in the zucchini. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet, stirring until everything is just moistened. Stir in the dried cherries and chocolate chips. The mixture will be very moist and sticky, place in the fridge for about 30 minutes if you’d like it to firm up a bit, but it’s not necessary.

Using your hands form the dough into rounded mounds and place on a lined cookie sheet. The cookies don’t spread so you can get about 12 to a pan. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the tops are just slightly golden. Cool cookies on a wire wrack until completely cool. Store tightly covered and enjoy on your next adventure.

Desserts + Sweets, Gluten-Free, Grains, Vegetables, Video

Mini Chocolate Zucchini Bundt Cakes with Chocolate Mousse

Scott and I celebrated our 2 year wedding anniversary this past week. We didn’t have anything special planned; after being on the road and eating out for over a week, all we wanted to do was be home. I did however manage to keep our tradition of eating bundt cake going. Last year’s was a Peach Maple and this year I came home to quite a lot of large zucchini, so I went with chocolate and zucchini bundt cakes in mini form and topped them off with a decadent chocolate mousse and a few raspberries I froze before leaving.

The cake is simple and not very sweet, but the chocolate mousse topping is what really makes these into a decadent treat. It’s actually a very strange technique I’ve been wanting to try for awhile now, so when Green & Black’s sent me a few of their chocolate bars I couldn’t hold back any longer. When making this version of mousse it’s very important that you use a high quality chocolate with at least 70% cocoa solids. There is no cream or eggs in the recipe and actually, other than water, there is nothing else you need but the chocolate, so you can see why quality is really important. Green & Black’s harvests organic and fair trade cocoa beans that provide the perfect intense and pure chocolate flavor I was looking for in this mousse.

I used a giant zucchini when I made this. Two cups went into the cake batter and the rest was made into zucchini butter (a must make for anyone who has a lot of zucchini on their hands). I spread it on top of toast, sprinkle on a bit of basil and top it with fresh tomato slices; makes the perfect lunch. I also have already made 2 loafs of zucchini bread and plan on making brown butter zucchini corn bread again too. Not to mention I’ve already given or made plans to give a ton away soon. This is my first year growing squash in a raised bed, before I always had them in large pots, but now I’m coming to know the true meaning of having too much zucchini on your hands!

Mini Chocolate Zucchini Bundt Cakes with Chocolate Mousse / serves 6
Mousse adapted from Herve This via Cafe Fernando

You can add up to 2 tablespoons of sugar to the mousse recipe if you want your chocolate to be a little sweeter. Add it in when you’re melting the chocolate.

cake
2 1/2 cup light spelt flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup muscavado or brown sugar
1/2 cup melted coconut oil or neutral oil of choice
1/2 cup almond milk
3 tablespoons flax meal mixed with 9T. water (or 3 eggs if non vegan)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups shredded zucchini, drained

mousse
3.5 oz. bittersweet chocolate (70% cocoa solids), chopped
1/4 cup water
raspberries for serving, optional

Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease a 6 serving mini bundt cake pan and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

In a smaller bowl, mix together the brown sugar, oil, almond milk, flax eggs, and vanilla. Stir in zucchini until well incorporated. Gently stir in the flour mixture, stirring just until incorporated.

Pour even amounts into each budnt form, it should come up to about 3/4 of the way, and smooth it all around.

Bake for about 16-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool in pan for about 10 minutes before inverting and cooling completely on a wire rack.

Just before serving, prepare the chocolate mousse.
Fill a small bowl with ice and cold water and set a large bowl on top, making sure the bottom of the larger bowl touches the ice.

Place the chocolate and water in a small saucepan and melt the chocolate over medium heat, stirring occasionally.

Pour the melted chocolate into the reserved mixing bowl and start whisking with a wire whisk until thick. Watch the texture as you whip and make sure not to over-whip as it will make the mousse grainy. If it does become grainy, transfer it back to the saucepan, reheat until half of it has melted, pour it back to the mixing bowl and whisk again briefly.

Divide evenly into the center of each cooled cake, top with raspberries (if using) and serve. Best eaten immediately after mousse is finished because the texture is perfect. However, we didn’t mind eating them cool from the fridge the next day, the mouse hardens up a little, but still maintains it’s airy and light consistency.

*Full Disclosure: Green & Black’s provided me with samples of their chocolate. All opinions, text, and images are my own.

Desserts + Sweets, Grains, Summer, Vegan, Vegetables

Green Quinoa

One evening, a couple weeks ago, Scott and I were lounging in the living room and I turned to Scott and said, “I really can’t believe this house is ours.” He responded, “I was just thinking the same thing.” I’ve been reflecting about my life and how incredibly fortunate I feel for everyone and everything in it. We’ve been in our house for about 7 weeks now and I have to pinch myself every time I’m reminded of this fact. This whole time I’ve been wondering when I would have a chance to sit back and just enjoy it because the unpacking, painting, and building that we embarked upon when we first moved in was taking up so much of our time, all while still working on our businesses needs too.

Then I realized there have been friends and family coming over or stopping by 2 or 3 times a week. Sometimes for dinner or an afternoon snack, other times for just hanging out or a round of ping pong or badminton. It has felt so effortless and normal that I haven’t thought twice about it. You see, our previous rental house was only 650 sq. ft. being used as not only a home, but an entire work studio for two fully self-employed, married adults. To say the least, it was a bit cramped all the time, even with our best efforts to maintain organization.

We have a giant dining table made from a reclaimed bowling ally that we’ve been hauling around with us for the past 5 years, but it’s never been put to use for it’s intended purpose; dining. The few times we did have people over, we had to corral ourselves around a small coffee table in the living room and stoop down or hold our plates in our laps to enjoy a meal. We often ate meals at our computer or on a small rolling cart we used in the kitchen. Since moving here I have eaten every single meal at our dining table and it has felt so great. I now cherish this moment when I get to close my computer 3 times a day to just sit and enjoy my food.

It feels a little weird to say that I’ve probably dreamed of having my own house since I was little, but I have. I’ve always been incredibly domestic and a nester by nature. I used to arrange and re-arrange my room, organizing and putting things in their place. I enjoyed cooking and cleaning and the prep work that came with holidays around the house when my mom would prepare big family meals for our guests. I seriously can’t wait for that in our new house. I can’t wait for trick-or-treaters this October or setting up holiday decor. I can’t wait for our garden to be fully exploding (fingers crossed) with more vegetables than I know what to do with, so I have to force them onto neighbors and friends (more zucchini anyone?).

I’ve been picking herbs and greens and uprooting radishes for a little over a week now and my cooking has definitely been lead by it too. All those herbs and baby arugula you see up there, are from our garden and were put into this green quinoa. Having so much fresh produce right in our back yard makes cooking even easier. Everyone who has seen or heard about our garden, is always so impressed that we even put one in this year. It was the first thing on my to-do list and this green bowl is the first proof that it was definitely worth our efforts.

Green Quinoa / serves 4-6
Adapted from Plenty

I’ve made several changes to Ottolenghi’s original recipe, using what I had. I used some leftover quinoa I had, but have given instructions for starting with dry quinoa.

1 cup quinoa
2 cup water or vegetable stock
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

herb paste
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
6 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup chopped pistachios, toasted and roughly chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
big pinch red pepper flakes
1 1/4 cup baby arugula leaves or larger ones chopped

Rinse and drain the quinoa. Place in a saucepan with the water or stock, adding a pinch of salt if you like, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a low simmer, cover and cook for about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat a large pan over medium heat and fry the onions in the oil until golden and completely soft. Add the salt and cumin and mix well. Leave to cool slightly.

To make the herb paste, place all the ingredients in a food processor and blitz until smooth.

Add the herb paste to the quinoa and mix everything together well with a fork to fluff it up. Add the cooked onion, the pistachios, garlic, red pepper flakes, and arugula and gently mix. Serve at room temperature.

Gluten-Free, Grains, Salads, Sides, Spring, Vegan, Vegetables

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