Breads

I make up new recipes all the time. I try to cut out all the stuff that isn't absolutely necessary to make that dish function. I want a recipe that I can modify and tweak to go with everything. So I REALLY like recipes that can go in either the sweet or savory direction.
Lately I’ve been experimenting with adding fruits and veggies into baked goods to make them low fat. We could all stand to eat less fat. I get quite excited about eating more cookies and less fat. So cookies, cakes, and now finally breads have fallen prey to my tampering.

Quick Veggie/Fruit Bread
1.5-2 cups Pumpkin or any Fruit or Veggie puree
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
3 eggs
2.5-3 cups Whole Wheat Flour

Combine the puree, salt, soda, and eggs. Add the 2.5 cups of flour, stir until combined. Add more flour if the batter is runny. Bake @ 350 for 1 hour.
-Vegan Variation: Substitute 1 tbs ground Flax Seed and 3 tbs water per egg (3 Tbs Flax & ½ cup water for this recipe). Let the flax mixture soak for 5 minutes before use.
-Pumpkin Spice Variation: Use pumpkin puree and add 1 cup sugar, 1.5 tbs cinnamon, ¾ tsp ginger, ⅜ tsp nutmeg, ⅜ tsp allspice.
-Banana Spice Variation: Use banana puree and add ½ c sugar, ½ tsp cloves, ½ tsp nutmeg, 1 tsp cinnamon. Optional add ins: ½ cup chopped nuts, ½ cup chopped dried fruit, 1 tsp coffee, ⅛ tsp fresh ground black pepper.
-Cranberry Walnut Variation: Use orange puree and add 1 cup sugar, 1 cup cranberries, and ½ cup chopped walnuts.

Fruit or Veggie Yeast Bread
1.5-2 cups Kale or any Fruit or veggie puree
1 tsp salt
½ tbs yeast
3 eggs
2.5-3 cups Whole Wheat Flour

Combine the puree, salt, yeast, and eggs. Add the 2.5 cups of flour, mix until combined. Add more flour if the dough is too sticky. Knead dough for 10 minutes - I either do this in the food processor or mixer. Sometimes I put the dough in a plastic ziploc bag and knead through the bag. It’s less messy and you can add more flour a little bit at a time to make the dough not stick to the bag. Shape into a loaf and let rise in it’s pan for 2 hours (or a doubling in size). Bake @ 350 for 1 hour.
-Vegan Variation: Substitute 1 tbs ground Flax Seed and 3 tbs water per egg (3 Tbs Flax & ½ cup water for this recipe). Let the flax mixture soak for 5 minutes before use.

I haven’t tried many types of the yeast bread recipe so I’ll add variations to this post as I make them up.

Guest Post

While I've been neglecting creating my own recipes, I've been tampering with other people's recipes resulting in a guest post at HappyHerbivore.com.

Cheap Food

I can't believe I've never posted this recipe. I love beans so naturally I've experimented to make a bean chili. I generally make a double batch of this in the big pot my brother gave me for Christmas a few years back.

Bean Chili

1 onion, chopped

3 heads garlic, minced

2 chipotles, chopped

1c red beans, soaked

1c pinto beans, soaked

1c black beans, soaked

10 tomatoes, chopped or

28oz can crushed tomatoes

.5c fresh oregano, chopped or not

.25-.5 c chili powder or

1T of cumin

Saute onion, garlic, and chipotle in medium-high heat oil. Stir in beans. Add tomatoes and water to cover. Cook until beans are soft (1-2h unless you use a pressure pot). Add oregano, salt, pepper, and chili powder or cumin.

For Milehigh

Paul and I have this some weekends for lunch, it's fabulous. :)

Chile-Garlic Grits

2-3+ cloves garlic, minced

2/3 c grits (this is really 2 scoops of grits from the white spoon I keep next to the stove)

2-3 T smoked paprika (you want enough to make the grits orange-ish)

1-2 T nutritional yeast

Saute garlic in olive oil or butter for 30 seconds or so. Add the grits and some water - I usually keep a kettle of nearly boiling water going while I cook grits so that I can add more if they need to cook a little longer. Boil until cooked to the consistency you like. Add paprika - any powdered chile you like is good here - and yeast.

I love alliteration!

J asked me to make some munch-able dessert for the LSU game; thus, the great cookie experiment round 46.

Chickpea Chocolate Chip Cookies

1c butter

.25c brown sugar

.75c maple syrup

3 eggs

1t vanilla

1.5t baking soda

.75t salt

1.5t cinnamon

.25t allspice

.25t nutmeg

1T cocoa powder - 'cause I saw it

2.5c whole wheat pastry flour

1c chickpea flour

2c chocolate chips

2c pecans, chopped

Cream butter and sugar. Stir in eggs one at a time, then the maple syrup. Stir in vanilla-cocoa powder. Stir in the chickpea flour, nuts, and chocolate. Lastly, stir in the wheat flour. Bake @ 375-400 degrees for 10-15 minutes. Let cool for 5-10 minutes.