Food In Many Forms

It's been five years since I updated this recipe and my love for poppy seeds is unchanged. This time around, I'm excited to introduce them to my 11 month old so she can develop a love for them too. I used five different citrus flavors - lemon zest, orange zest, lemon juice, lemon extract AND lemon yogurt, so I am excited for all the lemon-y flavor. I've also moved since I last updated this recipe, and there must be something different about my oven, because it took a little bit longer to bake. I will just have to repeat this again soon and verify that it needs closer to 50 minutes. INGREDIENTS 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 cup whole wheat or oat flour 1/2 cup almond flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt Freshly grated zest of 2 large lemons 1/2 orange zest 3/4 cup Greek or other strained yogurt 1 cup granulated sugar 2 large eggs, lightly beaten 1/4 cup poppy seeds 1/3 cup avocado oil 1/2 lemon's juice 1 teaspoon lemon extract 2 1/2 tablespoons milk o...

I was baking once per week when I was quarantined at home, and I am only baking more often now, as I have been trying to share some homemade baked goods with the hard-working nurses and doctors at work. This bread recipe was a big hit with my coworkers, and it was a great way to use up loose leaf tea that had been sitting around in the cabinet. Looking at the ingredients and the nutrition information now afterwards, I think I could probably cut back on the oil - just 1/3 cup less would save me 80 calories and 9 g fat per serving.  INGREDIENTS 1 cup vegetable oil, plus more for pan 1 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour 1/2 cup oat flour 1/4 cup ground flax seeds 1 tsp. Morton kosher salt ½ tsp. baking powder ½ tsp. baking soda 2 large eggs 1¼ cups (250 g) granulated sugar 1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt 3 Tbsp. loose-leaf Earl Grey tea or ¼ cup tea from bags 2 tsp. vanilla extract 2 Tbsp sliced honey almonds DIRECTIONS 1. Preheat oven to 325°. Lightly coat ...

Now that I've made a few loaves, watched way too many Youtube videos and read a few blogs, here is what I've gleaned about sourdough so far: - The water in recipes is more of a suggestion than a rule - judgment and feel is everything - Add some of the water, and keep the rest to the side, adjust as needed - Bread flour has more protein than all-purpose flour, allowing for more gluten development - Whole wheat flour decreases gluten development, and should be used in combination with other flours - A levain can be the starter itself, or it can refer to the step where you soak flour, water, and starter together for a period of time prior to adding the rest of the ingredients - The autolyze step can range from 30 minutes to 4 hours - The dough should be sticky and wet in the initial phase - Proof the dough at room temperature for more sour bread, and at 80-90 degrees for less sour flavor - When proofing overnight in the fridge, make sure to lock in the mois...

On Monday, I said I would make another attempt at a loaf. After much debate on technique, we ultimately decided to try the "baking with babish" technique of using a levain but it kind of veered off of the recipe pretty quickly from there. After being refrigerated overnight, and multiple rounds of folding, we proofed half of the dough in the oven like America's test kitchen, and the other half we stuck in the fridge to make the next day. The first loaf came out short, but super airy, with a nice crunch - perfect for bruschetta, dipping in soup, with slices of cheese or tapenade. The second loaf was taller, and had the beautifully darkened crust, and sour flavor, but had fewer, smaller air pockets - more like a sandwich bread.

I love poppy seeds. I love them in muffins, on bagels, and as a dessert filling. I like sprinkling them on avocado toast, and sneaking them into recipes whenever possible. Lemon poppy seed bread is just the combination of two foods that I love. The first time I tried this recipe, it didn't seem quite lemon-y enough, but it was still a delicious breakfast to look forward to. When I went back to it two weeks later, I realized the lack of lemon was because I didn't add the lemon glaze or the syrup. So the second time around, I amped up the lemon flavor in the bread, knowing I didn't want the added sugar from the glaze. After all this is breakfast, not dessert, which I why I also switched out some of the regular flour as well.  I want to try this recipe one more time with less wax-y lemons, and I think the flavor will really pop. Then I want to try cutting back on the sugar, and maybe add some pea protein. INGREDIENTS 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 cup oat flour ...

Last night I was thinking about all the flour sealed away on the top shelf of my fridge, and I figured it was about time to try my muffin recipe again. When I woke up this morning, I laid out all my ingredients, and was excited to find I had fresh lemons, which I had said I wanted to try using back in July, as well as dried orange peel. I still had to run to the store for buttermilk, but that gave me the opportunity to buy cranberries! I made a batch of the Triple Berry muffins first. The last time I made them, I ran out of sprouted wheat flour, so I could only get about 1/2 cup. This time I split the flour content more evenly - 1 cup sprouted wheat flour, 1 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour - and I added about half a lemon's worth of zest when I added the berries. Unfortunately, I was impatient to eat and I didn't defrost the berries enough. Then I didn't hear the timer go off. So now I have burnt, under-cooked berry muffins (flavor is still good though!). I ate a ...

Happy Chrismahannakwanzakah! Cookies are a great holiday present for those on a budget - they require time and effort and most of the ingredients are cheap if you don't already have them at home.  These cookies taste like the real deal, but have 75% less sugar because of the Stevia blend I used. I also chose a cookie icing from Betty Crocker that was really easy to use and had 0 g of fat. Ingredients:  1 cup unsalted butter, softened 1/2 cup baking Stevia 2 large eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 4 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt Optional Garnishes: decorative candies and colored sugars Directions: Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer in a medium mixing bowl until creamy. Gradually add baking Stevia, beating well. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in vanilla. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate mixing bowl. Gradually add flour mixture to baking Stevia blend...

It's nurse's week this week, so on my day off, I decided to bake the nurses on my floor a cake. This banana cake is one of my favorite ways to use up overripe bananas, but it was also great with the fresh bananas I bought at the store today. I made it healthier by using Splenda in the cake and only using 2/3 of the recommended amount of oil. I also made cupcakes with the caramelized bananas on the bottom to keep for myself :) Caramelized Banana Loaf Cake  Rachel Ray Magazine, December 2009 Ingredients: 3 to 4 large bananas 1/4 cup sugar 1/2 cup baking splenda 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, in 1 piece 1 large egg plus 1 large egg white 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1 cup flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 1/2 oz vegetable oil Directions: 1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees. Grease a 5-by-9 loaf pan. Trim both ends off each of 3 bananas to fit crosswise in the pan; reserve the...

As you can probably tell by now, I make all my friends bake with me. Even when it's passover and the friend in question is observant. I do love a challenge after all. Before we even started, we were grilled by her mother about what ingredients were in the cookies, just to be sure we weren't pulling a fast one on her. After some debate, we carefully combined two recipes from "Couldn't be Parve". They turned out awesome considering the restrictions we were under, but your patience will be rewarded if you can wait until the filling hardens up before you eat them.  Ganache-Filled Almond Cookies Makes approximately 20 cookies For Cookies 1 cup almond butter 1 cup dark brown sugar 1 egg 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 teaspoon cinnamon Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and stir until well combined. Scoop out teaspoon sized balls of dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Space the cookies at least two inches apart since th...

I count myself lucky that I don't have any allergies, don't have to "count carbs" or "watch my salt". And even though I will try anything once, there are a handful of foods I won't be trying twice. For whatever reason they just don't agree with me.  During my internship, the hospital where I worked had an Au Bon Pain, and my partner and I would often split a pastry after a long day. It was so interesting to me how both of us would have GI symptoms with the same certain pastries. I have noticed that processed foods, saturated fats and hydrogenated oils in particular, are more likely to cause problems. Just one more reason to  eat healthy, fresh foods !  Unfortunately, these  lemon poppy seed bars  are in the second category of "never again", however delicious they might be. My friend actually used the wrong recipe when she went  grocery shopping , and I thought we could go ahead and make it since we had the ingredients. But now that...

I finally brought some of my cook books from home when I came back from winter break, and the Pioneer Woman Cooks was first on my list. Just out of sheer luck, one of my friends mentioned he loved pineapple upside down cake, so when I found this recipe, I had to make it for him.  Unlike Ree Drummond, I don't happen to own a cast iron skillet, so I had to adapt a little and transfer my caramelized pineapple into a cake pan, and drizzle the buttery brown sugar on top. On the plus side, I didn't have to pour the entire half-stick of butter in. The cake portion was super moist and the pineapple looked great (even though they stuck to the bottom of the pan at first).  Ingredients: 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 3 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 2 cups granulated sugar 1 1/2 stick  (3/4 cup) butter 1 1/2 cups milk 2 large eggs 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract One 20 oz can sliced pineapple, 2 Tablespoons juice reserved 1 1/2 cups ...

I learned recently that Americans eat an average of 28 pounds of cheese every year . I think I am giving America a run for its money this week with all my cheesy nachos, cheese-filled quiche and cheesy zucchini. I just need to make cheesy grits and I'll have covered breakfast, lunch and dinner with delicious cheese.  This recipe is what I would call and "fiber and fat" recipe, because if I was making this for food service class, 70% of the calories would come from fat and I would be in trouble. Luckily. I am not in class, and I can drizzle olive oil and sprinkle cheese to my heart's content ! Slice up pre-cooked polenta and zucchini . Get the polenta slices nice and crispy, cooking it on medium with olive oil, Italian seasonings , and garlic powder . Cook the zucchini separately in the same way, until soft. Place the crispy polenta slices on the bottom of a casserole dish. Layer zucchini on top. Sprinkle  Parmesan  and Mozzarella cheeses on top. Bake at ...

After eating take out for lunch and dinner, I knew I couldn't sit around in my apartment and wait for the cravings to strike. So, I dragged myself to the gym, and when I got home, I baked. It seems counter-intuitive to bake to prevent snacking, but it keeps my mind off of the tortilla chips in the cupboard and the Ben & Jerry's in the freezer. And even when I have "no food in the house", I always have flour and sugar. Kill two birds with one stone and bake your breakfast, lunch or dinner for the next day in advance! 1 3/4 cups flour 1/2 cup sugar 2 tsp. baking powder 1/4 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon 1 egg, beaten 3/4 cup milk 1/4 cup vegetable oil 1 cup frozen, pitted dark cherries, quartered In a medium bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Add egg, milk and oil. Stir until combined. Stir in dark cherries. Fill greased 2 1/2 inch muffin tins two-thirds full. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until tes...

The lemon bars turned out great... just a few minor flaws... 1) I used half the butter (1 stick), and it made the lower crust a little crumbly, no big deal though 2) I used yellow food dye instead of red...oops... it looked red in the bottle! I think I used all the red dye making red velvet cake.... 3) I forgot to share them... I'm going to have to bring them to work tomorrow...

Somehow a search for healthy kid's recipes led me to pink lemonade bars... they certainly are fun... but not so healthy. On second thought, I promised baked goods to a friend I'm visiting this weekend.... yep, Thursday night this is happening. Hands-On Time:  15 minutes Ready In:  1 hour 20 minutes Yield:  Serves 24 Ingredients 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter - softened 1/2 cup granulated sugar 2 cups flour Pinch of salt 6 large eggs 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice 1 teaspoon lemon zest 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar 1/2 cup flour Several drops of red food coloring Powdered sugar for dusting Directions Preheat oven to 350 F degrees and line a 9 x 13 baking pan with parchment or waxed paper. Cream together butter and 1/2 cup granulated sugar. Stir flour and salt together and add to butter. Stir with a wooden spoon until a soft dough forms. Press dough evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove ...

I just moved to Baltimore so naturally I had to break in my new kitchen with a little baking! A friend from University of Maryland gave me this recipe for Chocolate Muffins and they always turn out moist and delicious . Plus, they are full of vitamin A and fiber . I wonder what I'm having for breakfast tomorrow? Ingredients Duncan Hines Devil's food cake mix 15 oz can of pureed pumpkin 1/3 cup water Dark chocolate chips (optional) Directions Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine pumpkin, cake mix, chocolate chips (optional) and water. Grease 2 muffin tins and fill them half-way up with batter. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until a fork comes out clean. Allergens: Wheat, gluten, soy, milk

This Upcoming Friday is Purim, a Jewish holiday which is celebrating with dressing up in costumes and making Hamantaschen. The recipe I used was actually really easy to use, and the results were better than anything store-bought!  These are them before they went into the oven. I thought they looked pretty good, but in the first batch, the corners separated and they opened up. The second batch turned out much better because my friend showed me how to mercilessly pinch the corners of the cookies until you can't pinch anymore.  The results were delicious! I used pre-made poppy seed filling in some and raspberry jam in others. There were also one or two we stuffed with chocolate chips, but that didn't work so well. Here's the recipe, from the Food Network, for the Hamantaschen dough.  Ingredients: 2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 3/4 cup cold unsalted butter 2/3 cup sugar 1 egg 1 egg white 1/2 orange, zest gr...

Even in the picture you can tell that these Kolachky cookies are sticky and shiny. I can tell you when I split them in two, they definitely weren't cooked all the way through. The insides were doughy even after they cooked for forty minutes and they were burned on the outside. I got the recipe from the food network  website from an episode of Sweet Dreams called "Bubbe's Bakeshop", but in this case I think you just need to go to real people to find out the tricks. On All Recipes, someone said to knead the dough until it lost its stickiness, and I bet when I try this again it will turn out better. After all, I used a pound of prunes to make the homemade filling, now I have to find a way to use it all up!

These tea cakes were perfect bite size treats for our roommate tea party. I only filled the muffin cups half way so they wouldn't overflow - so cute! Adapted from Taste of Home. Almond Tea Cakes 60 Servings Prep: 30 min. + chilling Bake: 20 min. Ingredients 2 cups butter, softened 3/4 cup sugar 3/4 cup packed brown sugar 2 eggs 4 teaspoons almond extract 4 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder Filling: 1 egg white 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup ground almonds 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice Milk Sliced almonds Directions In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add eggs and almond extract; mix well. Add flour and baking powder (dough will be soft). Chill. For filling, in a small bowl, stir egg white, sugar, almonds and lemon juice. Remove a portion of the dough at a time from the refrigerator. Place 1-in. balls of dough into miniature muffin cups, pressing slightly into sides and bottom. Place 1/2 teaspoon of filling ...

I was looking for a Baked Pear recipe. This one from Disney Family was easy and hard to resist (see above). If you don't have a melon baller or a peeler (like me), slice the pear, cut off the skins and cut the slices into small chunks.  Juicy pears are the star of this flavorful baked dessert. Hands-On Time: 1 hour Ready In: 2 hours Yield: 2 servings Ingredients 1 ripe pear (Bosc, Anjou, or Bartlett) 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided Pinch of cinnamon Pinch of nutmeg 1 teaspoon plus 1 tablespoon packed brown sugar 1/4 cup all-purpose flour Pinch of salt Directions Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cut the pear in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeded centers with a teaspoon or melon baller. Then spoon out most of the flesh onto a cutting board, leaving the pear shells intact. Put the shells in a baking dish. Chop the scooped pear into bite-sized pieces and transfer to a small bowl. Cut 1 tablespoon butter into small pieces and add to the bowl. Your child can add the cinnamon,...