flour – Page 5 – morestomach

blueberry clafoutis

Published on July 14, 2014July 13, 2014 by Lan | MoreStomach19 Comments

i’ve talked about it before
living in the city
has its perks
the vibrancy
the nearness of things
the anonymity
and for me,
the hilarity of it
but sometimes,
just sometimes,
i get that inkling for country living.
the abundance of space
the friendliness
and the farmland for berry picking.
come the warmer months
you’ll likely find us
hands in the dirt
picking some gem or another
it’s just like heaven.
i like to think this dessert
has the perfect balance
of fancy urban life
and laid back country charm.

it’s quiet around here
that’s how summer is,
you know?
hope yours has been just a lovely.

blueberry clafoutis
note: to make this gluten free, use whatever gf flour you like to use, like almond flour. local milk made a gorgeous one recently.

1 ¼ cups coconut milk, i use SO Delicious
6 TBL sugar
6 eggs
¾ cup spelt flour
3 cups blueberries
zest of lemon & juice of half lemon
icing sugar, for dusting

preheat oven to 425°.

grease a 9″ baking dish/pie pan. set aside, forget about it.

in a vitamix or blender, add the coconut milk, eggs, salt & lemon juice. blend until combined, add in the flour and blend until smooth.

pour into prepared pan, then distribute the blueberries evenly throughout. sprinkle with the zest.

bake 30 – 40 minutes, though check on it at the 30 minute mark. depending on how deep your dish is, the middle might still be liquidy. you want the finished product to be nicely browned on top and have some jiggle in the middle. mine puffed up a smidge while in the oven but sank as it cooled.

to serve, sprinkle with icing sugar.

best at room temp, and i prefer it the next day. it reminds me of a denser flan.

BAM!

Soy Sauced Chocolate Chip Cookies

Published on February 17, 2014February 16, 2014 by Lan | MoreStomach41 Comments

allow me to confess something
it’s not embarrassing
at least not anymore:
when i was a kid,
still living with my gparents,
i had to wear the same outfit
two days in a row
before putting the clothes in the hamper
this was a horror to me
not from a fashion sense
not really anyway
but
it was embarrassing
to be asked by my classmates why
i was wearing the same thing
as the day before
it was humiliating the reason
was because we had to lug
laundry to the laundromat
five blocks from home
to wash our clothes
and to make it worthwhile,
to ensure that my clothes were
sufficiently dirty,
gma mandated that i wear the same
outfit
in retrospect
it was humbling
it didn’t physically hurt me any,
to be seen in the same
shirt and pants combo
over & over again
these days i don’t wash
my jeans after just one wearing
and lord knows,
i wore the same outfit for a week straight
in college during exams
and honestly,
there have been times
i’ve worn a cute outfit running errands
on a saturday
and will wear it all over again
to work
the following monday
repeats are fine
in fact
i’ve made a version of these cookies
multiple times
off & on
for years
i’ve made them vegan
i’ve made them exactly as the recipe states
and now i’ve made them asian

Soy Sauced Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies
adapted from Jacques Torres in the NY Times

note: this is what i served in lieu of fortune cookies at our chinese new year dinner party. it was fun having our friends figure out the secret ingredient. the soy sauce is subtle, dw can discern it, i wanted more impact. i might have to make these with an extra tsp or so of soy sauce. but for now, we’ve attempted it twice and we have plenty of cookies already formed in our freezer…

makes about 4 doz pingpong sized cookie balls, which obvi flatten out during baking

8 1/2 oz cake flour
8 1/2 oz AP flour
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
2 1/2 sticks vegan butter, i use earth balance, at room temp
10 ounces light brown sugar
8 ounces sugar
2 large eggs
4 tsp soy sauce, i use Bluegrass Soy Sauce
1 1/4 pounds chocolate chips or chunks
sesame seeds

in a bowl, sift all dry ingredients

in mixing bowl cream the vegan butter with sugars until fluffy. add eggs, one at a time until incorporated. add in the soy sauce. reduce speed, and in 3 batches, add in the dry ingredients, mix until just incorporated. gently, add in the chocolate chips or chunks. cover with plastic and refrigerate 24-26 hours. can be kept in fridge for up to 72 hours, if not used after that period, freeze them.

when ready to bake, preheat oven to 350F.

line a baking sheet with parchment paper. on plate, pour out some sesame seeds.

using an ice cream scoop, scoop out dough. i typically bake in batches of 6. roll dough around sesame seeds. bake for 18 minutes. allow to cool on sheet a few minutes, then cool completely on rack.

typically, we form the cookies and line them up side by side on parchment’d baking sheets, freeze them and then put them in freezer bags for quick desserts or snacks. if baking straight from freezer, add about a minute or two to the bake time.

BAM!

pull apart bread – two flavors

Published on February 6, 2014February 5, 2014 by Lan | MoreStomach34 Comments

i remember the first time
i successfully made bread
i was smug
oh was i so smug
i declared ridiculous things
like,
it’s so easy, anybody can do it
it’s the best thing, in the world
and the worst:
i’m never buying bread at the store again
the me today would’ve slapped the me then
because that shit’s just silly

i don’t have a kid,
i have a husband
our weekends are usually jammed packed
with social things
like,
wandering the mall before a matinee
and deciding to kill 30 minutes
playing skeeball at Dave&Buster’s
or,
doing nothing
while we watch water boil
most weekend mornings
i spend feeling guilty
for sleeping in past 8am
or
berating myself for not taking advantage
of sleeping in time
it’s exhausting
who has time to bake fresh bread
with all that?

unless one’s husband is sick
and there’s much more time
to spend in the kitchen
and there’s a work event
that requires some smug-like
bread baking —
then bread is made

pull apart bread – two flavors:
cinnamon sugar + citrus love (dairy free)
adapted from Baking for All Occasions by Flo Braker

note: these loaves were made weeks ago, when dw was super sick and didn’t even get a chance to eat any. i will be making this again for him, eventually. my favorite combo was the cinnamon sugar but the smell of orange zest was very intoxicating.
also, these will puff out during baking so have the pans on a cookie sheet to catch any dough that may overflow. i learned this the hard way.

12 1/4 oz AP flour
1 3/4 oz sugar
2 1/4 tsp yeast
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup so delicious coconut creamer
4 TBL earth balance vegan butter, melted
1/4 cup water
2 large eggs, room temperature

filling
1/2 cup granulated sugar
zest of 2 large organic oranges
2 oz earth balance vegan butter, melted

OR
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 oz earth balance vegan butter, melted
2 TBL cinnamon

cream cheese icing
3 oz tofutti cream cheese, softened
1 1/4 oz powdered sugar
juice of half an orange
splash of so delicious coconut creamer, if needed to thin

in stand mixer bowl, stir together 9oz of the AP, sugar, yeast and salt. in a saucepan, melt the coconut creamer and vegan butter on low, until butter is melted. add in the 1/4 cup water. aim for 120F – 130F.

pour the mixture into mixer bowl, stir with spatula. using the paddle attachment, and the mixer on low, add in the eggs, one at a time, mixing until just incorporated. add remaining flour and mix on low until dough is smooth, and slightly sticky. sprinkle counter top with a bit of flour, and turn dough onto it. kneed gently until dough is smooth and no longer sticky. place dough in large bowl, covered tightly with dampened towel, and allow to rise in warm place. (i usually turn the oven to warm for about 10 minutes and then put the bowl in, turning it off but keeping the light on.) it will double in size after about an hour.

meanwhile make the filling, melt the vegan butter. set aside. mix either the sugar + cinnamon or sugar + orange zest.

when ready, take the dough out and preheat oven to 350F. lightly grease a loaf pan.

gently deflate the dough. it will be sticky, dust the counter top with a bit of flour. roll out dough into 20X12 rectangle (honestly, i rolled it out to however long/big my counter space is, without the dough getting too thin. use your best judgement.) using a brush, spread the melted butter over the dough. sprinkle over top with either the orange filling or the cinnamon-sugar filling. with a pizza cutter cut the dough cross-wise into 6 strips, make it as even as possible, or not. carefully stack the strips on top of each other and then cut strips into 5 squares. lift the squares and fit them into the prepared loaf pan. filling the space might be tight lengthwise, i tilted the pan down and let gravity help. there will be space on either sides of the dough width-wise. fret not, the dough will rise again and fill out the pan during the final resting/rising period.

after the final rising, bake bread for about 30 minutes. transfer to wire rack and let cool in pan for about 10 minutes. after that time, i did slide them out to cool completely on the rack before putting them back in the pans for safe keeping.

to make the icing, mix the softened tofutti cream cheese with powdered sugar and squeeze of half an orange. mix until well incorporated. for a nice runny consistency, add a splash of coconut creamer, at your own discretion.

serve warm or at room temp.
i would think they’d last a few days, well covered, in fridge, but honestly, they were eaten up by my office coworkers in one go.

Chocolate Ginger Molasses Cookies

Published on February 3, 2014February 3, 2014 by Lan | MoreStomach24 Comments

the thing is
oh the thing is:
i don’t like molasses
i hate the smell of it
its burnt smell
that makes me gag
i even hate the way it
slowly pours out of the bottle
like,
hurry the fuck up already
and yet
inexplicably
i like me a good molasses cookie
chewy
snappy
a cloying sweet
that, if done correctly,
is cut by the sharpness of ginger
and maybe nutmeg
(which is something i also hate)
then the addition of chocolate
genius
i’m serious
the added creaminess that
the chocolate brings to the cookie
evens out the sharpness of the ginger,
which as mentioned before,
has to cut the cloyness of the molasses
which has lost its burnt odor
instead, there’s just cloves
and cinnamon wafting
every ingredient has a function

i made these cookies for
my foodie penpal alyssa
but i managed to steal 2 4
that didn’t fit in the box
when i make these again
i’ll see about keeping
the chocolate chunks bigger

Chocolate Ginger Molasses Cookies (vegan)
adapted from Martha Stewart

note: we don’t have cable anymore and i saw an episode of martha bakes on PBS and she made these. i made fun of her for only baking 3 cookies at a time. don’t do that, make fun of her that is. she knows her shit. these cookies spread. i was still smarting over it and baked 4 at a time. makes for more batches but trust me, worth it. correction, trust martha.
also, i doubled most of the flavor ingredients, cus i like a punch in your face impact.

7 oz best-quality chocolate, rough chopped
1 tsp baking soda
1 stick vegan butter, i use earth balance, at room temp
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
2 TBLS freshly grated ginger
1 1/2 cups plus 1 TBL AP flour
2 TBLS cocoa powder
2 1/2 tsps ground ginger
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 cup molasses

to roll dough in:
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/8 cup of sweet ground chocolate, i used ghiradelli

chop chocolate into chunks, set aside. (alternatively, you can use chips too, i won’t judge)
dissolve baking soda in 1 1/2 teaspoons hot water; set aside

using a mixer with paddle attachment, cream vegan butter and brown sugar until combined. add the fresh ginger and mix. in a bowl, sift all the remaining dry ingredients, in increments add to butter mixture, mix until combined

next, add the slow ass molasses and baking soda mixture. mix in the chocolate. transfer to fridge. ignore it for a few hours, i ignored it for about 24 hours. it happens

when ready, preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper

mix the granulated sugar and sweet ground chocolate on a plate. using an ice cream scoop, or whatever, scoop out dough and roll into balls, then roll around in the sugar + chocolate mixture. transfer balls onto lined baking sheets, fridge for 20 minutes. (martha reversed that step, good for her. i wanted to get that step over with, go from fridge to oven…) bake for 15-18 minutes, allow to cool for 5 minutes and then transfer to wire rack until cool completely.

BAM.

Blueberry Breakfast Cookies

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

last week i read a book that made me pause,
look up and ask dw the most random questions,
prompted by the story,
but mainly because i wanted to hear his voice
and i wanted to know his answer
(fyi: no it’s not romantical to be boba fett,
even if skies are crossed on your behalf)
(and i also made dw croon love will tear us apart,
because i’m not familiar with the song
and it seemed SO IMPORTANT that the main protagonist loved it so much)
it’s been 3 days since i finished the book
and i’m still thinking about it
(it’s like i’m 15 again)
he always thinks about my questions,
treating each with the same reverence
for someone who likes to ask silly questions
it means so much that he doesn’t make me feel irreverent

one of the things i love so much about dw
is that he is game for anything
it’s never “do we have to?”
it’s always “sure, LET’S DO IT!”
during one of our early conversations,
it may have been our 4th date,
i mentioned to him that i was giving up meat for Lent
then i offhandedly said that if he
wanted to hang out during mealtimes
it’d be a good idea for him to give it up for 40 days
cus you know,
it’d be hard for me to watch him nibble on a steak
while i noshed on cauliflower
i didn’t seriously think he’d do it,
nor did i think he had to,
and most importantly, it wouldn’t have been a deal breaker
for me if he didn’t want to partake
but without blinking an eye
or skipping a beat
he said OK
and that was that

Blueberry Breakfast Cookies
*note: i am a stickler for breakfast. i’m not always good at eating breakfast but i know the importance of it. every sunday i try to make something for the week so to keep myself accountable i’m starting this Breakfast Series. i won’t be able to do it every week, and likely, there’ll be some weeks that are repeats but i’m hopeful that i’ll come up with delicious but wholesome treats for us to eat during the early hours of the day.
**note: blueberry season is over, sadly. early in the summer we went berry picking to make jam and well 22lbs is a lot of berries. we still have a bag left in the freezer from that adventure. you’ve been warned: there might be a few more blueberry treats coming up. any seasonal fruit will do in these cookies.

1 cup spelt flour
1/2 cup rice flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup tahini
2 tbl lemon juice
1 tsp ground ginger
1/4 cup brown rice syrup
1/2 cup of fresh blueberries

Pre-heat oven to 400F

in food processor, combine dry ingredients and pulse a few times. add in the tahini, pulse until combined. add the lemon juice and maple syrup. the dough should feel moist and pinch together.

divide the dough into 4 equal parts, then divide each part in two, shape into flattened rounds. dot the top with a few blueberries, as many as you’d like.

place on baking sheet.

bake for 14 minutes

cool on sheet. will keep in tightly covered container at room temp for a few days, after which, put in fridge.