baking – Page 14 – morestomach

black bean lasagna

Published on December 16, 2013December 13, 2013 by Lan | MoreStomach11 Comments

right now
the chill seeps
past the usual barriers,
finding passage through
cracks & crevices
every year
i wonder aloud
why we don’t live
in the tropics
or at the very least,
winter in Australia

it’s a daunting task
to shake slumber off
when burrowing beneath the
corduroy comforter
is far more appealing
it’s also tempting to
fall into the soup rut
what’s not to like?
they’re warming,
usually quick & nutritious
but truthfully:
repetitive

what to do?
sleep like the bears
surfacing when the world is green anew?
flying south is out
december has already made her presence
known
what with the frost
the shiver inducing gusts of wind
the rain,
the bloody freezing rain,
it feels like i’m going to be cold forever

so i made this lasagna
because we’re going to incorporate more beans in our diet
because i can’t be bothered to cook every night
because it was easy
because it kept me in the kitchen,
warmed by the stove, oven and crock pot
and it fed us all week,
either for dinner or lunch
and damn if it didn’t warm us through

today’s post is a loose nod towards write alm‘s december promt-a-day.

black bean lasagna
adapted from trisha yearwood

*note: i was in 7th grade when trisha yearwood’s song She’s In Love With The Boy came out and dang if i didn’t sing that song all summer long. prior to cutting cable i saw this recipe on her show and it intrigued me. my proportions, seasonings and techniques are different from hers, so use her recipe if you want exact measurements.

1 jar of tomato sauce, i used our csa jarred tomatoes
8oz can of whole tomatoes squished/cut up
3 generous tablespoons of homemade tomato paste
1/2 large onion, chopped
a few garlic cloves, minced
3 carrots, skinned and diced
1 cup of dried black beans, soaked over night, then cooked on low in the crockpot for 5 hours
olive oil
salt/pepper to taste
1 package lasagna noodles, cooked according to package instructions
tofu ricotta, recipe below

Tofu Ricotta
1 container of firm organic tofu, excess water squeezed out
1/4 cup – 1/2 cup of raw cashews, eyeball it, i didn’t measure it
1/4 cup – 1/2 cup nutritional yeast, eyeball it, i didn’t measure it
healthy sprinkle of italian seasoning
salt/pepper to taste

in a food processor, whizz all the ingredients together. the mixture won’t be silky smooth, but it won’t be chunky either. set aside, in fridge until ready to assemble the dish.

in a large pot, boil up some water. cook the lasagna noodles according to package instructions.

in a large sauce pan or skillet, heat up some olive oil, saute the onions, garlic and carrots. season with salt/pepper. allow the mixture to brown up a bit, it’s at your discretion. add in the tomato sauce and paste. again, season with salt/pepper. add in the prepared black beans, allow to simmer on low while you complete the noodle boiling.

preheat oven to 350F.

to assemble, in a casserole dish, spoon out some of the tomato sauce first. layer noodles, then add the tofu ricotta, spreading it as best as you can, top with tomato sauce. repeat until all the noodles are done, making sure the final top layer is the tomato sauce.

bake in oven for about 45 minutes – an hour, if the top gets too browned/dry, put foil wrap on it.
allow to sit for 15 minutes before digging in.
will keep, covered, in fridge for a week.

Pumpkin Challah Chips

Published on December 9, 2013December 9, 2013 by Lan | MoreStomach14 Comments

here’s the truth about disappointments:
they’re bullshit
and like most things in life,
they’re prevalent
i won’t tell you
how often i’ve been disappointed
by things, by people
because,
like i said,
it’s all bullshit
i will tell you that it all factors
down to perspective
and the adequate handling of it
some would call it avoidance
others would call it compartmentalization
i call it getting on with it

the fact is,
not everything i make in the kitchen
comes out golden
i make plenty of garbage
sometimes inedible
if i’m lucky i can revamp the dish
and salvage it somehow

over thanksgiving i baked a pumpkin challah
it came out tough,
a bit too dense for my liking
the french toast we ended making with it
came out just ok
we had more than half leftover
there had to be something
that could be done to
adequately handle it
and so,
i got on with it
sliced it up real thin
threw it in the oven
and challah chips were born
i included hummus in the pictures
because,
trust me,
just a smattering of
bread crumbs do not make
pretty pictures

i used this pumpkin challah recipe
for hummus, it’s your very typical concoction of chickpeans/garbonzo beans + tahini + lemon juice + salt & pepper + olive oil in the food processor

blueberry jam danishes

Published on November 11, 2013November 8, 2013 by Lan | MoreStomach15 Comments

i don’t read the paper much anymore
in this day & age
i get my news from the internet
the occasional radio or tv in the background
facebook
twitter
and from dw, who gets it from reddit
of all the outlets
newspapers are my favorite
the way the paper stains your
forefinger and thumb black
the way it is light but bulky
the sound it makes when you flip the page
you can’t get your news any other way

the thing is, though,
i don’t read the news from newspapers
invariably i turn to the advice columns
(i adored Dr. Abby as a kid)
and the birth & wedding announcements,
and then the obits
morbid i know
there is just something to reading
about beginning of life,
the beginning of a life together,
and then the ending of it
i like it

when dw & i made the decision to have a wedding
i knew i wanted to make our favors
it had to be something completely us,
that when people took it home
they would be reminded of us
blueberries are dw’s absolute favorite fruits
berry picking is something we enjoy doing together
and jamming was something i had always wanted to do

on july 4th,
with dear friends nuria & jesse, her husband
we picked 22lbs of blueberries
and then spent the next day jamming the entire batch
it took 6 hours
on september 28th
we handed out 4 oz jars
to every guest to take home
we have a few jars leftover
and they are obsessively hoarded
we’ve slathered them on vegan biscuits
eaten them by the spoonful
and on sunday, november 3rd
with our 2nd to last jar
i made jam danishes
we needed breakfast for the week
the jam had to be blogged,
in part to finally bring closure to the whole wedding thing,
and mainly because it’s so good
and i’m so proud of the work ~~i did~~ nuria did

i would imagine the birth,
life
and end of this jam to be quite successful
yes?

bluberry jam danishes ~ vegan
adapted from oh, ladycakes
*note: while i realize i went on & on about the jam, the recipe i’m posting is for the danishes. jam is jam, we didn’t really deviate from the recipe, which is linked below, but these pastries that highlight said jam. well. let’s just say that they are not hard to make, do not be intimidated by the steps/process, and for the record, i only did 2 turns and it came out just fine. boom.

Danish pastry dough
3/4 cup warm almond milk, warmed in microwave for 1 minute (admittedly, my microwave is weak, just don’t let it scald, but make it warmer than lukewarm)
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
2 TBL sugar
1 tsp fine sea salt
2 TBL vegan butter, cold (this will be used to form the dough)
1 cup vegan butter, room temp (this will be used to spread on dough)
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup AP flour

Filling
1 cup good quality blueberry jam, in my case, it was homemade! recipe found here.

Icing
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp lime juice

add the yeast and almond milk to a small bowl; stir to combine then let sit for 10-15 minutes, until foamy

in a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine flours, sugar, and salt; mix until combined

add two tablespoons of the butter, cut in small pieces, and continue mixing until the mixture resembles coarse meal, pour in the yeast mixture and mix on medium speed

add the remaining 1/4 cup of flour one tablespoon at a time (you may or may not need the entire 1/4 cup), and mix just until everything is combined. wrap the dough tightly with plastic and refrigerate for 90 minutes. (note: it will rise in the fridge, mine busted out through the plastic.)

sprinkle counter with flour and roll dough out into an 12X24″ rectangle . cover 2/3 of the dough with the remaining cup of butter. i took the butter out for an hour to bring to room temp, made for much easier spreading. fold the unbuttered third of dough over the buttered center, then over again. pinch the edges of the dough to seal and roll it out into another 12X24″ rectangle. repeat the folding process by folding the dough into thirds again, but without the butter.

cover with plastic and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.

do the rolling and folding and chilling thing 2 more times (technically, i only did it once more. i got lazy, went to bed early. whatever.)

refrigerate overnight.

the next morning, line baking sheet with parchment paper. dush counter with flour and roll out the dough into 9X18″ rectangle. (truth be told, i think i ended up with 10X18″ rectangle)

cut into 3″ squares, or whatever shape you want. i used my square biscuit cutters to maximize dough and not waste anything. transfer squares to baking sheet and freeze for 20 minutes.

preheat oven to 375F.

once squares are chilled, use bottom of a 1/8 measuring cup to press into center. you want it slightly indented and there to be a small pit area for the jam. spread jam into pit, about 1 tsp or so.

bake for 15 minutes, until golden. cool on wire rack

make icing by stirring powdered sugar and lime juice. drizzle over pastries

will keep for up to 2 days in container, doesn’t have to be airtight

i baked 6 at a time, the rest i froze. to bake those, thaw overnight and then do the remaining steps the next day

calamansi olive oil bread

Published on November 4, 2013February 5, 2015 by Lan | MoreStomach20 Comments

some weekends ago,
maybe it was two ago,
i had brunch with some of dw’s friends
i remember it was a blustery day
warm in the sunlight
cold in the shade
the kind of weather you felt
silly for toting a jacket
but foolish without a scarf

these friends of dw’s
had just returned from a jaunt out west
where they picked calamansi fruit
from their father’s tree
and shared with me
just the smell of these tiny citrus fruits
took me back to the time
i lived in manila
when my nanny made fresh calamansi juice everyday
a drink that wasn’t quite like lemonade
but had all the components to quench a thirst
that only childhood and tropical heat can produce

because our home now is nothing like
the heat the Philippines is known for
i like to utilize the oven much more often
than is necessary in the cooler months
there is always something to bake,
you know?
a cake
bread
roasting veggies
any reason at all to turn that knob
and so with that in mind
after a whirlwind 2 days in Charlotte
last weekend,
before the calamansi could go bad,
i used them in some breakfast cakes
to add a touch of sour and sweet
and all good things reminiscent of
the tropics
these cakes were born.

edit to add: felicia of dish by dish adapted this recipe, found here.

calamansi olive oil bread
adapted from gourmet traveller, Sept 2011 issue

makes 12 mini loaves

300 g sugar
3 eggs
1 cup almond milk (any milk, animal or otherwise)
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
juice 11 calamansi (that’s how many i had… alternatively, you can use juice of 3 lemons)
2 cups plain flour
1 tbsp baking powder

preheat oven to 350F

in kitchen aid mixer, beat sugar, eggs and pinch of salt until thickened

combine the almond milk, olive oil and calamansi juice, mix. slowly add to egg mixture. add in the dried ingredients

divide among greased tins (i used my mini loaf pans, though i think cupcake/muffin tins would be fine, or just one loaf pan, but the baking time would be different).

bake for 13 minutes

allow to cool before removing from tins

serve warm or at room temp

best eaten day of, with coffee or tea, or if you can’t possibly eat them all in one sitting, wrap well in plastic wrap, will keep for the week in fridge

snickerdoodles

Published on October 24, 2013October 22, 2013 by Lan | MoreStomach11 Comments

within our humble home not much has changed:
i still spend countless seconds at the stove
i flip pages of beloved cookbooks for inspiration
dw is sorting laundry, whistling a tuneless tune
the house is a constant clutter of things
it’s comforting, our routines

there is a perpetual breeze wafting through the open living room window,
it is cool, almost bitingly so,
so i am huddled on the couch with a lap blanket
nursing a watery cup of coffee
as i have yet to figure out what the right
measurements of coffee grinds:water is with the new keurig

without our humble abode some things have changed:
the leaves are a riot fire of reds, oranges and yellows
the dark is still prevalent when we rise for the day
there is a constant greyness that hangs in the air,
even on the brightest of days
i reach for scarves,
soon it’ll be gloves and ear muffs
i beg dw to wear a jacket
before long i’ll leave a pot simmering of
citrus + rosemary to perfume the air,
signaling, for me, that the season of
hibernation has begun

meanwhile, the oven has been turned on,
seemingly permanently,
and small treats to greet the early evening
grace our dessert table
dw made these for me recently
i saw them on instagram
about 30 minutes later
they were in my face

here’s to autumn and all the sweetness it brings

snickerdoodles – dairy free & gluten free
adapted from deliciously organic
*note: we didn’t have gelatin so we used agaragar, which honestly, i think could be taken out. as far as i know, it can’t be activated unless in boiling water… we halved carrie’s recipe, because we’re trying to keep our booty sizes in check.

makes 6 cookies

1 cup almond flour
1 TBL qunioa flour
1 TBL peanut butter
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp agaragar
under 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1/8 cup honey
2 1/2 TBL coconut oil, melted
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 cup coconut sugar

preheat oven to 350 degrees

whisk together almond flour, quinoa flour, peanut butter, salt, baking soda, gelatin and cream of tartar in a mixing bowl. pour in honey and butter until mixed through

in a small bowl combine the sugar and cinnamon

divide dough into 6 equal balls, roll in cinnamon/sugar mixture and place on baking sheet

bake for 12 minutes