April « 2011 « Goth Panda

April 29, 2011

Cornmeal-Maple Biscuits

I found these biscuits in the King Arthur Flour Whole Grain cookbook. I liked the idea of a cornmeal drop biscuit as a quick breakfast, topped with honey and butter. And although these biscuits were not very attractive to look at, they were very delicious.

Although I think I do prefer biscuits that are rolled and cut, with nice flaky layers, sometimes a good, quick drop biscuits is all you need. These biscuits can’t be called light or flaky, but they do have a good flavor. I liked them a lot and would definitely make them again.

Cornmeal-Maple Biscuits

From King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking

Yield: 1-1/2 dozen (2-inch) biscuits

1 c (4-7/8 oz) whole yellow cornmeal
1 c (4 oz) white whole wheat flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
5 tbsp (2-1/2 oz) unsalted butter
1/2 c (4 oz) milk
1/4 c (2-3/4 oz) real maple syrup

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease a baking sheet or line it with parchment paper.

Whisk together the cornmeal, whole wheat flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Cut the butter into the dry ingredients with a fork, your fingers, or a pastry cutter, until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

In a separate bowl, stir the milk and maple syrup together, and add to the dry ingredients, stirring just until the dough is evenly moistened. Scoop the dough by heaping tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheet. Press down lightly with your fingers if you like, to flatten the biscuits, or leave them just as they are. Bake the biscuits until the edges are light golden brown, 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve warm.

Filed under: Breakfast

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April 27, 2011

100% Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread

I made this bread a while ago, and then I sliced it and put it in the freezer. Since I hadn’t even tasted it, I didn’t think I should post about it.

But when we got back from North Carolina on Saturday, I was too tired to grocery shop, and then the next day I was too busy to grocery shop. The bread we had from before we left had gone moldy. So I pulled this loaf out of the freezer and defrosted it. There are some advantages to baking and freezing more stuff than you can eat.

Now that I have tried it, I can definitely recommend it. I think I might slightly prefer the wheat bread recipe from Bread Baker’s Apprentice, but if I remember correctly, that one had some white flour in it, and this recipe is only whole wheat. This bread has a good rich flavor and was pretty easy to make and to slice. The only downside to it is that it is an 8-1/2 x 4-1/2 inch loaf, and I prefer 9 x 5.

100% Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread

From King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking

Yield: One 8-1/2 x 4-1/2 inch loaf, 16 slices

2 tbsp (1 oz) orange juice
1 c (8 oz) lukewarm water
4 tbsp (1/2 stick, 2 oz) unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces
3 c (12 oz) traditional whole wheat flour
3 tbsp (1-1/4 oz) sugar
Heaping 1/2 c (1-1/4 oz) dried potato flakes or 3 tbsp (1-1/4 oz) potato flour
1/4 c (1 oz) nonfat dry milk
1-1/4 tsp salt
2-1/2 tsp instant yeast

Combine all the ingredients, and mix and knead them – by hand, mixer, or bread machine – until you have a soft, smooth dough. Cover and allow the dough to rise until it’s puffy and nearly doubled in bulk, 1 to 2 hours.

Lightly grease an 8-1/2 x 4-1/2-inch loaf pan. Gently deflate the dough, and shape it into an 8-inch log. Place it in the prepared pan.

Cover the loaf gently with lightly greased plastic wrap or a proof cover and allow it to rise till it’s crowned about 1-1/2 inches over the rim of the pan, 1-1/4 to 2-1/2 hours. Near the end of the bread’s rising time, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Uncover and bake the bread for about 35 minutes, tenting it with foil after 15 minutes. The bread is done when it is golden brown and an instant read thermometer inserted in the center registers 190 degrees F. Remove it from the oven, and after a minute or so turn it out onto a rack. Brush with melted butter, if desired; this will keep the crust soft. Cool the bread for 30 minutes before slicing.

Filed under: Bread

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April 14, 2011

(Vegetarian) Tortilla Soup

This soup was inspired by a soup that Mike’s sister Cass made for us when we visited her in Arkansas in December 2009. I think her inspiration was this Cooking Light recipe, but needless to say it has changed beyond all recognition from that one. I wanted to make it a pantry meal, the sort of thing where you just put everything into the pot and cook it, so I eliminated onion chopping and minced garlic in a jar in favor of dried spices. These changes turned it from low-fat to fat-free, but of course that is before you put the toppings on it. It tastes very good without any toppings, but if you give me the choice, I will always add them.

In addition to a can of pinto beans, I use Westbrae Organic Soup Beans in this soup, which contain Great Northern, red beans, lentils, and barley. But if you don’t have these, you can easily substitute another can of beans of whatever variety you like.

When the soup is done, you crush up some tortilla chips, and put them in the bowl, and then ladle the soup on top. So I guess the chips are not technically a “topping.”

The actual toppings would be cheddar and sour cream, or any other yummy thing that sounds good. Avocado? Hot sauce?

(Vegetarian) Tortilla Soup

Altered beyond almost all recognition from Cooking Light

32 oz carton of No-Chicken or Vegetable broth
2 cups water
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 tbsp Better Than Bouillon (or equivalent in bouillon cubes)
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
1 15-ounce can pinto beans
1 15-ounce can soup beans (or whatever variety you prefer)
1 cup corn, fresh, canned or frozen
1/2 cup rice
1-2 tbsp Vegetarian Worcestershire or lime juice

Toppings:
Tortilla chips
Cheddar Cheese
Sour Cream

Combine the broth and the water in a 3-4 qt. soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion powder, garlic powder, chili powder, salt and black pepper. Don’t forget that I am wimpy with spices, so if you like things hotter, up the chili powder or add cayenne. Add the Better than Bouillon or bouillon cubes and the tomato paste, and stir over heat until they dissolve into the broth. Rinse the beans and corn in a colander, and add them to the soup. Reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes.

Add the rice to the soup and cook until the rice is done, about another 20 minutes. Remove soup from the heat, and add the Worcestershire or lime juice.

Crush the tortilla chips into the bottom of each bowl, and spoon the soup over them. Top with Cheddar cheese and sour cream.

Filed under: Quick Vegetarian Dinners

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April 11, 2011

Cheese & Onion Swirls

I think I bookmarked these rolls to make when I first saw them on the King Arthur Flour website. Nothing appeals to me so much as cheese and onions combined into roll form. And I already had some of the specialty items required, namely the Pizza Seasoning and Vermont cheese powder. I also had almost a full container of minced onions leftover from topping bagels. So I set out to make some swirls.

Both the filling and the dough were pretty easy to make. I rolled out the dough, spread in the filling, and rolled it into a log, similar to making cinnamon rolls. Then I cut the dough into 12 pieces with a pizza wheel. The rolls initially looked kind of deformed, but they filled out after the second rise.

Then I topped them with a little bit of mozzarella cheese and baked them.

These turned out very attractive and tasty. They were almost too strongly flavored for me, and I didn’t even use all of the minced onions. But that being said, I did eat a bunch of them, usually with a bowl of soup to accompany them, but sometimes just as a snack all by themselves.

Cheese & Onion Swirls

From King Arthur Flour

Yield: 12 rolls

Filling
1/3 c (2 oz) dried minced onions
1/3 c (2-5/8 oz) hot water
1 tbsp Pizza Seasoning
1/2 c (2-1/4 oz) Vermont cheese powder
1 tbsp (1/2 oz) soft butter

Dough
1 large egg
3/4 c (6 oz) warm water
2 tsp instant yeast
3 tbsp (1 1/2 oz) soft butter
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 c (12 3/4 oz) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1/4 c (1 oz) Baker’s Special Dry Milk
2 to 3 tablespoons shredded mozzarella or Parmesan cheese

Directions
To make the filling: Soak the minced onions in 1/3 cup hot water while making the dough. Stir in the Pizza Seasoning, cheese powder, and butter just before you’re ready to shape the dough.

To make the dough: Whisk together the egg and warm water.

Add the yeast, butter, salt, flour, and dry milk. Stir to combine, then knead the dough until it’s smooth and elastic, 5 to 10 minutes.

Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl or dough doubler, turning to coat all sides; cover it with lightly greased plastic wrap or a lid, and let the dough rise until it’s doubled in bulk, about 2 hours.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly greased work surface or silicone rolling mat.

Pat, then roll the dough into an 18″ x 10″ rectangle.

Spread with the onion mixture, leaving 1″ free of filling along the long edge farthest from you.

Starting with the long edge closest to you, roll the dough into a log, pinching the seam closed.

Cut the log into 12 slices.

Place the rolls on a greased pizza pan or baking sheet, leaving about 1″ between them. Cover and allow to rise for about 1 hour, or until puffy. Sprinkle with additional cheese, if desired. Towards the
end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F.

Bake the rolls for 22 to 26 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove them from the oven, and cool on a rack.

Filed under: Bread

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April 6, 2011

Baked Ravioli

This recipe is adapted from one that I got off the internet so long ago I didn’t even make a note of where it came from. I tried to Google it and nothing came up.

This dish is fairly quick and definitely delicious, but it is not exactly low in calories. I comfort myself by saying that it is at least not as bad as the deep-fried, toasted ravioli recipes that are similar. Please feel free to use this excuse as well.

Baked Ravioli

1 package (25 ounces) frozen cheese ravioli
1/2 cup (1 stick) melted butter
1 cup Italian seasoned dry bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp. ground pepper
Jarred or homemade marinara sauce

Heat oven to 400º. Lightly spray a 13×9-inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.

Cook ravioli as directed on package; drain well. Toss ravioli with melted butter in prepared dish. Mix bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese and
pepper; toss with ravioli.

Bake, uncovered, for 15 minutes or until ravioli is hot and mixture is
golden brown. Serve with warmed marinara sauce on the side.

Yield: 6-8 servings

Filed under: Quick Vegetarian Dinners

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