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orichalcum at 01:44pm on 20/02/2008 under books
orichalcum at 01:44pm on 20/02/2008 under booksSince I'm not teaching at the moment, I've been trying to throw some extra energy into cooking, especially baking. There are three reasons for this:
1. I like baking already and have a new bread machine.
2. Baking is an activity that can be done with Mac around and doesn't involve hot things and split attention problems.
3. I'm trying to cook and eat healthier for our family and in particular lower the amount of preservatives we eat and increase the amount of whole grains.
Some things have met with more success than others. For instance, I tried to bake a whole-wheat cornbread, following the Bob's Red Mill recipe on the back of the bag. We all love cornbread and I wanted a recipe that wasn't 3/4 white flour.
Unfortunately, what I got was a very dense, slightly sour tasting bread, with none of the light sweetness that you typically associate with cornbread. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't very tasty.
However, I also had acorn squash on hand, which led to the following successful impromptu
Preheat oven to 350. Slice two acorn squashes in half and scoop out the seeds. Place halves face down in an inch of water in a small pan and bake for 35 minutes.
Meanwhile, put 1/2 cup chopped pecans in a dry pan on medium heat for about 1 minute.
Add 1 TBSP butter and saute 1/4 cup of onions.
Add 1 tsp parsley if available and salt and pepper.
Toss in 2 sausages, preferably apple-and-chicken sausages, cut or torn into small bits, and cook.
Add 3/4 cup crumbled cornbread.
Add 1/4 cup dried cranberries if available.
Add 1/2 cup chicken or vegetable broth.
When the broth is absorbed, you should have about 2.5 cups of stuffing.
When the squash is ready, take it out of the oven and drain the water. Then flip the squash halves and stuff them with the stuffing. Bake again or broil on 400 for about 10 minutes. Serve and eat.
Another recent success was a low-fat moist whole-wheat carrot cake from the Cook's Book, which I can post if anybody's interested in; the frosting was mostly mascarpone cheese (1/3rd the fat of cream cheese) and the sweetness came from fresh squeezed orange juice.)
Also, TJ's wild mushroom risotto is seriously improved by beginning with a saute of wild mushrooms, onions, and garlic.
And the Moosewood Blueberry Muffins are still very tasty, if a bit denser, with a ratio of 1/4 whole wheat flour to 3/4 white; I'll try increasing it even more next time.
1. I like baking already and have a new bread machine.
2. Baking is an activity that can be done with Mac around and doesn't involve hot things and split attention problems.
3. I'm trying to cook and eat healthier for our family and in particular lower the amount of preservatives we eat and increase the amount of whole grains.
Some things have met with more success than others. For instance, I tried to bake a whole-wheat cornbread, following the Bob's Red Mill recipe on the back of the bag. We all love cornbread and I wanted a recipe that wasn't 3/4 white flour.
Unfortunately, what I got was a very dense, slightly sour tasting bread, with none of the light sweetness that you typically associate with cornbread. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't very tasty.
However, I also had acorn squash on hand, which led to the following successful impromptu
Preheat oven to 350. Slice two acorn squashes in half and scoop out the seeds. Place halves face down in an inch of water in a small pan and bake for 35 minutes.
Meanwhile, put 1/2 cup chopped pecans in a dry pan on medium heat for about 1 minute.
Add 1 TBSP butter and saute 1/4 cup of onions.
Add 1 tsp parsley if available and salt and pepper.
Toss in 2 sausages, preferably apple-and-chicken sausages, cut or torn into small bits, and cook.
Add 3/4 cup crumbled cornbread.
Add 1/4 cup dried cranberries if available.
Add 1/2 cup chicken or vegetable broth.
When the broth is absorbed, you should have about 2.5 cups of stuffing.
When the squash is ready, take it out of the oven and drain the water. Then flip the squash halves and stuff them with the stuffing. Bake again or broil on 400 for about 10 minutes. Serve and eat.
Another recent success was a low-fat moist whole-wheat carrot cake from the Cook's Book, which I can post if anybody's interested in; the frosting was mostly mascarpone cheese (1/3rd the fat of cream cheese) and the sweetness came from fresh squeezed orange juice.)
Also, TJ's wild mushroom risotto is seriously improved by beginning with a saute of wild mushrooms, onions, and garlic.
And the Moosewood Blueberry Muffins are still very tasty, if a bit denser, with a ratio of 1/4 whole wheat flour to 3/4 white; I'll try increasing it even more next time.
amused
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