baking – Page 10 – morestomach

cranberry swirl mini-loaves

Published on December 22, 2014December 22, 2014 by Lan | MoreStomach5 Comments

there’s been talk lately
about cancelling our cable.
and in preparation for it
we’ve been watching more netflix.
thus far,
i haven’t missed television,
not when most shows i enjoy
can be viewed in hd
and sans commercials.
so far, we’ve enjoyed:
spinning plates
sushi: the global catch
haute cuisine
repeats of: The Mind of a Chef, Bizarre Foods, Chopped, & Parts Unknown

what are some of your favorite netflix shows or online viewing pleasures?

cranberry swirl mini-loaves – vegan
makes 7 mini loaves + 2 muffins

these are a riff from the blueberry swirl muffins, making use of the season’s cranberries, and of course, making use of our new mini-loaf pan.

muffins/loaves:
2 cups cranberries, divided
a few sprigs of thyme (optional)
1 cup sugar
2 1/2 cups flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 flax seed eggs (1 egg = 1 TBL ground flax seed + 3 TBL water)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup mayo, i used veganese
1/4 cup almond milk

streusel topping:
1 1/2 TBL sugar
1 1/2 TBL brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
2 1/2 TBL warm coconut oil

Directions:

in a small bowl make the streusel topping by combining everything and mix evenly. set aside.

in a small sauce pan reduce 1 cup of cranberries (+ sprigs of thyme, if using), mashing with a fork and stirring. you want the berries to break down, the sauce to be thick. strain through a sieve if you’re not keen on the skin/pulp. set aside and cool to room temp.

prepare mini-loaf pan by greasing with coconut oil, or vegan butter.

preheat oven 425F.

in a mixing bowl whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt. in another bowl whisk flax seed eggs + sugar until thick and then add in the veggie oil, veganese mayo, and almond milk. now combine the liquid to dry ingredients, with the remaining cranberries. the mixture will be all sorts of fug, but try not to over mix. seriously, it’s a rather dense looking batter.

fill mini loaf pan a little over 3/4 way up, these will expand/rise. spoon about a teaspoon, more or less, of the reduced cranberry sauce on top of each muffin. use a toothpick or some stick-like kitchen tool and swirl the sauce into the batter. finally, top with streusel topping, amount at your discretion.

bake 17 – 20 minutes, i started hawking them around the 15 minute mark.

remove from oven, allow to cool for a few minutes and then remove from pans to cool completely.

will keep for a week, covered, in fridge.

BAM!

birthday | gingerbread cake

Published on December 15, 2014December 14, 2014 by Lan | MoreStomach12 Comments

the fact is,
it’s a year later,
approximately 365 days later,
a sun’s journey around the sun later,
and i’m a year older.
damn, 29 thirty-seven looks good.

without further ado,
36 random things i’ve done this year,
in no particular order:

|| walked with elephants!
|| celebrated my beloved gpa’s life
|| hosted our very first dinner party, sitting on the ground and all!
|| hosted our nephews for a week over the summer. can’t wait to do it again
|| honeymooned in Thailand
|| had oysters and lobster in Boston
|| stood among sunflowers
|| new eyes!
|| like grown ups that we are, we now have a dressing room to get dressed in
|| witnessed a drive by shooting, at a gas station
|| won people’s choice in a pumpkin carving contest, that dw carved and i did nothing. that is called WINNING.
|| saw a blooming cereus
|| thanksgiving in ny
|| skeeball champs we are not, but what a season
|| middle school AND high school reunions, in 2 countries and three cities
|| matt nathanson in baltimore AND dc
|| fireworks at the inner harbor
|| wore shorts to work, got suspended for a week, without pay. it’s a long, stupid story.
|| recipe tested for a blog friend and LOOK! her cookbook is out!
|| we went full share with our CSA. just the two of us
|| babysat a baby. like, fed her, changed her and then put her to bed. technically, dw did the last two, but i was there.
|| watched a break dancing performance
|| tasted duck eggs for the first time ever
|| walked to indianapolis. again.
|| finally invested in a proper pair of rainboots
|| came out of the closet about my lurve for this girl
|| fell in love with this dude
|| and this dude
|| featured on apartment therapy, even if some of the commenters are dicks
|| featured on today.com
|| packed up mi amor and saw her off to her new home state
|| spent 24 hours in dubai
|| voted 2x
|| found a new job, put my notice in, got countered, and then accepted the counter
|| became a member of the aquarium
|| learned how to properly cook dried beans

last year’s list.

Gingerbread Cake
adapted from ashlae warner (oh ladycakes for westelm)

*note: dw baked this. he’s too good to me.
**note: this cake is very molasses-y, i enjoy snacking on it. the original recipe calls for it to be served with a side of whipped coconut cream, which would likely cut through the acridness, but i didn’t mind it.

2 cups spelt flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
2 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground cloves
6 tbsp sunflower oil
1/2 cup molasses
1/3 cup sugar
1 flaxseed egg (1 TBL raw whole flaxseed, grounded + 3 TBL water)
1/8 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup hot water

preheat oven to 350F. prepare a round 8″ can pan, grease and line with parchment paper.

in a bowl, sift the dry ingredients and spices. in a larger bowl, add in the oil, molasses, sugar, powdered ginger, cinnamon and cloves, combine with flaxseed egg. dissolve baking soda in water and then add to the wet ingredients. add in the dried ingredients and whisk until just comboned, don’t get crazy though.

pour into prepared pan and bake for 32 minutes. the edges will pull from the sides of pan just slightly.

cool completely. tastes even better the next day.

BAM!

chocolate chip peanut butter cookies (vegan + gluten free)

Published on December 1, 2014November 26, 2014 by Lan | MoreStomach10 Comments

it being the day after
the Biggest Eating weekend
Of The Year
i’m sharing cookies.
i know.
my bad.
just kidding.
i’m not sorry.
because these are good.
i know for a fact
that most of you are going
to be on a Baking Cookie Binge
in the next week or so,
rushing to the post office to
send them off
or sharing them in
some cookie exchange thing
which is all fine and shit,
but after all that toiling
you usually end up with nothing
(or some random people’s cookies)
(not a euphemism for anything dirty)
(get your head out of the gutter)
fear not,
these particular cookies?
they won’t ship —
they’re too delicate.
that’s not a bad thing.

chocolate chip peanut butter cookies (vegan + gluten free)
adapted from the bojon gourmet

note: as i said, my version came out soft & delicate, and i thought they’d firm up but they never did. they were almost cakey and very rich. alanna’s original recipe calls for the use of 1/2 cup of rolled oats and 1/2 cup quick oats (instead of the full cup of rolled oats i used), the latter ingredient absorbing a lot of the moisture.

1/2 cup sweet rice flour (mochiko) (truth be told, i had just barely 1/2 cup, so i supplemented with regular rice flour)
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
1 cup smooth, unsalted peanut butter
3/4 cup plus 2 TBL agave (truth be told, i may have been shy with agave, and i supplemented with honey)
6 TBL melted but cool coconut oil
1 1/2 cups chocolate chunks, i use Enjoy Life
kosher salt for topping, optional

preheat oven o 375ºF.

line two or three cookie sheets with parchment paper.

in bowl, whisk all the dry ingredients together.

in another, larger, bowl, stir together the wet ingredients. add in the dry ingredients and stir until combined, last adding in the chocolate.

using an ice cream scooper (mine is just shy of 1 TBL worth), form cookie doughs and place onto prepared cookie sheets. place about 2″ apart, they will spread some. top with salt & a few chocolate chunks.

bake for total of 10 minutes, around the 5 minute mark rotate pans.

cool completely, store in air tight container. they lasted a week at room temp in their containers.

(keep in mind, these do not have eggs or anything traditionally perishable)

BAM!

za’atar socca + middle eastern smashed avocado

Published on November 10, 2014November 9, 2014 by Lan | MoreStomach18 Comments

we’ve been travelling
these last few weeks,
with just two more trips
before the year is out.
as with tripping
there’s been eating
and with eating
there’s been the lament
about expanding waistlines
spending of money
exhaustion
lack of time to be bums.
for all our desires to
be elsewhere
there is just something about
being home.

last weekend
we were in ky
and one of the many, many
delightful dishes
we consumed
was a pita + crushed avocado appetizer
at a local middle eastern
cafe.
it’s simple, really.
guacamole
with a Mediterranean twist.
rather than chips,
it’s served with pita bread.
my version is with socca
topped with za’atar.

za’atar socca + middle eastern smashed avocado
inspired by grapeleaf
socca adapted from dolly & oatmeal

socca
1 cup garbanzo bean flour
1 cup lukewarm water
4 TBL olive oil, divided
healthy dash of za’atar, for the batter and after baked

preheat oven 450F
prepare two 8″ cake pans by drizzling 1 TLB of olive oil in each. set aside.

in a mixing bowl, or glass measuring cup with a lip, mix all the ingredients and remaining olive oil.

pour batter evening into prepared pans. bake for 12 minutes. remove pans and carefully flip the socca over. bake for additional 3-4 minutes.

allow to cool completely before removing from pan. smear with a bit of olive oil and sprinkle, generously, with the za’atar. if you’re up to it, toast until just warmed through and crispy around the edges.

smashed avocado
2-3 ripe avocados
5-6 chive blossom stalks (or you can use half a small red onion, diced)
bunch of cilantro, rough chopped
handful cherry tomatos, halved or quartered
1 garlic, finely minced
healthy squeeze of lime
salt/pepper to taste
seed of half pomegranate

in a bowl, thoroughly mix all the ingredients. you’re aiming for a guacamole-type of concoction.

BAM!

blueberry swirl + coconut macaroons

Published on October 6, 2014October 5, 2014 by Lan | MoreStomach16 Comments

“Mr. McDowell. Sir, I was wondering, did you happen to catch the professional football contest on television last night? Oh it was most exhilarating. The Giants of New York took on the Packers of Green Bay, and in the end the Giants triumphed by kicking an oblong ball made of pig skin through a big H. It was a most gripping victory.” – Coming to America

i get the basics of football,
what i don’t get,
i fake.
or ignore.
or if i’m feeling curious,
i ask what’s going on.
dw & i are casual ravens fans.
casual.
not rabid.
or biggest.
we know that if the ravens do well
then the city does well.
it also means the majority
of our friends will be nicer,
and our FB feeds aren’t
dotted with bad words.

these blueberry speckled macaroons
aren’t really seasonal.
they’re leftover blueberries
i froze right at peak,
saved for special occasions,
like watching our purple team
with friends,
who instead dotted our afternoon
with bad words.

blueberry swirl + coconut macaroons
adapted from my chocolate + coconut macaroons, which was adapted from the Splendid Table

*note: any bright hued berries will do, the more vibrant the color, the better. truth be told, sans berries and the end result is still delightful. in the original post, i used just one bowl. in this reincarnation, i dirtied the food processor set and an ice cream scooper.
**note: i have to painfully but truthfully admit, this isn’t an original recipe. it was inspired by things we make who adapted it from a resource i cannot bear to mention. it makes use of egg whites and raspberries and almond extract. un gamine dans la cuisine recently made a blueberry version, too.
***note: i only used sweetened shredded coconut flakes because that’s what i had on hand. typically i like to use a mix of sweet & unsweetened. keep in mind, if unsweetened flakes are used, sugar may need to be added. use your best judgement.

2 large eggs
3 cups sweetened shredded coconut flakes
generous pinch of salt
good squeeze of half a lemon
zest of lemon, amount at your discretion
1 scant cup of thawed blueberries, give or take
if mixture seems a bit wet, add up to 1/3 cup almond or coconut flour. use your best judgement*

preheat oven to 350F.

in a food processor and whiz to break the flakes down a bit. if you need to, scrape down the sides. add in the zest & lemon juice and pulse to distribute the citrus love. scrape. add in the eggs, one at a time, whizzing and scraping in between.

scrape one last time.

now this is where it gets tricky. this is just an aesthetic thing but the goal is to have streaks of blue & white, so you’re not aiming to pulverize the berries and integrate them into the coconut flake mixture.

add in the berries, pulse a handful of times, just enough to break the berries, you want to stain the mixture, not dye it.

scoop with an ice cream scoop onto parchment papered cookie sheet.

bake for 25 minutes, until golden brown.

allow to cool on wire rack.

BAM!