Strawberry mint muffins with apple.

So I love cooking for folks and rarely get to do it.  We had friends over and they brought a gorgeous plate of strawberries and mint.  From which I used to top the cherimoya pies but there was still bounty so from that I got the notion to toss together some more lovelies for the next day.  These are a wonderful treat.  The tiny mint leaves cooked throughout add the tiniest bit of class to this other wise tasty, but in a more regular way, muffins.  Cracking these open and having them with some warm fennel, rooibos and lemon balm tea is sinfully relaxing.

Preheat oven to 350

• 1 heaping Cup oat flour  (Rolled oats blended in a food processor do wonders in lieu of buying "specialized" flour which is the same thing)
• 1 shallow Cup Whole wheat flour
• A few small tender mint leaves cut chiffonade (Spearmint was used in this)
• 1 tsp Cinnamon
• 1 tsp allspice
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• pinch salt
• 1 granny smith apple peeled, cored, diced
• 1 Cup strawberries washed and sliced well

Toss the fruit with the already soft blended dry ingredients.

• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup apple sauce
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/2 - 3/4 cup loose light brown sugar

Beat the eggs, sugar, oil and applesauce together. Pour into the dry,  fold and blend everything gently until silky and scoopable.  Scoop into a muffin tin. Bake for 22 minutes.  This makes one dozen deliciously light muffins and the oat flour helps sustain you by being metabolized very slowly.  EXCELLENT for hiking, workout breakfasts, and for when you may miss a meal later. 

Flour Tortillas

 Tortillas are really just a flatbread minus all the scariness that the word bread carries with it.  They are very quick in the world of breads and probably the easiest of all.  You can roll them thick and make gyros and falafel styled sandwiches or make them thin and load them with vegetables and hot sauce.  Not much else is tastier than cucumber sauce and whole wheat tortillas.  SO good.  I have tried dozens of variations (at least) over the years and a dozen recently to find a good ratio, good ingredients and the best result.  My favorite of them all is below. 

Ingredients:   This recipe makes approximately one dozen 6-8 inch tortillas.

•  2 Cups flour (I use 1 Cup Whole wheat pastry flour, and 1 Cup unbleached white flour)
• 1 fat pinch of salt (not too much more than a teaspoon)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2-3 TBSP olive oil
• 1/2-3/4 cup hot water (as hot as you can do without boiling) 

Finger sift dry ingredients together first, then drizzle the olive oil over the top then without concern for its well-being pour hot water in a little at a time.  Fold ingredients with a spatula taking the outside of the flour and pushing it into the center, and as the flour sticks together it should form one mass.  If there are a lot of crumbles outside of the mass or a lot of flour remaining all over the bowl then add more water and fold any remnants in to your dough ball.

Turn out the dough onto a floured surface. Using the heel of your hand, knead the dough out to collect a little flour and then fold it back onto itself.  Rotate this as you do it and it will become less sticky and trade that for silky.  Once it has become completely silky and the texture is like a love handle or an ear lobe then you have a perfect dough. Wrap the dough disk in some plastic or slip into a plastic baggie  (covered by a towel on a table is fine too).  Let it rest for about 15 minutes.

Put the dough ball onto a lightly floured surface and roll out a disk to where it is still nice and thick (approx. 3/4 - 1/2 of an inch).  Put it on a cutting surface and cut into 2" squares.  Videos for help are available and I've included the links within the writing where it matches the video information.

 You can then use a tortilla press to help flatten the dough quickly and without overworking.  Or you can do all the rolling needed manually with a pin.  I split the difference.  I flatten it a bit with a tortilla press to get it started.  When using a press plastic wrap or parchment paper between the dough and the wood or metal will help you in removing the tortilla and lessen the clean up. My press is a wooden version and cost 12 dollars new.  Often you can find these at thrift stores like the Salvation Army and most folks don't know what they are unless it states so on the tag.  Sometimes you can get them at ridiculously low prices used.

Anyhow,  if you are rolling out the dough by hand or are planning on making more breads like this or any breads then I'd recommend using a "French" pin.  I find them easier to use especially if you are wanting speed, or working with multiples (tarts and pastry dough too).  French pins have a totally smooth tapered end with no separations for handles.  Mine is a Polish pin, it cost 3.50 new from Pasta Works in Portland.  No need to get too fancy... it's a piece of wood for crissakes!

Your tortillas should be thin enough that if you hold it on top of one of your hands it drapes nicely and takes your finger impressions into it.  Once they are ready - have a pan warming.  I cook mine on a med-High heat and I use a DRY (no oil, no butter) cast iron skillet.  This means great things.  It holds heat fairly evenly, stays hot for a long time, no added fat or waste of fat that can go in something else, and clean up is as simple as wiping the scorched flour dust out of it. 

Carry your tortilla using your whole hand to support it,  you don't want it to stretch or slip out of your fingers.  Place your tortillas into the pan.  It will take only a few seconds before you see little bubbles on the surface... once those appear then flip the tortilla, the second side will take even less time to cook and you can judge your pan's heat from the darkness of the bubbles or scorch marks.  Adjust to your tastes.  I like a little darkness in spots.  Too much and it is carbon.  None at all and it looks like packaged food.  Variety is nice.

 

Brocoli Rabe and Sweet Potato tacos

On the right you can see the nation's 5th president, Lex Luthor.

These are good the next day without any fuss over them.  I don't even bother heating them up again as they remain pliable as long as they are stored outside of the fridge overnight and covered.  If you wish them to last longer you can refrigerate them.  I haven't.   If you see that you forgot them two nights out of the fridge after their debut, then you can cut them up and bake them to make little toasts for soup, salsa, salads and other meals that begin with 's'.  These do not last long.  They will mold.  I would say within 5 days sooner if warm and humid.  Unless you are sneaking some sort of preservative in there.  Fresh or day old is the way to go with these.

Besides, now you're a master and can make them anytime so don't bother hoarding them!  Cut the recipe in half if you don't want extras next time. MMMmmm.

Cranberry Apple Muffins (vegan with simple substitutions)

The base of this muffin can be used for several kinds of muffins just changing the fruit you put in it (Or chocolate and nuts instead of the healthier stuff).  Pumpkin and chocolate chip is a favorite non-fruit muffin.

1 1/2 Cup whole wheat (you can double the wheat in this and not change any of the spicing and get the base for other muffins, Pumpkin I just add more spices and leave it at 1 1/2c ww)
1tsp baking soda
1 pinch salt
1 heaping TBSP cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 Cup cranberries
1 granny smith peeled and chopped (I sometimes make just cranberry muffins if an apple isn't handy - I'll just make the 1 Cup cranberries a little more heaping!)

3 eggs (you can use applesauce instead or use 1/4 Cup applesauce to replace each egg you remove if you use applesauce you have to decrease the oil by a 1/4 cup - so 3/4 Cup applesauce and 1/4 Cup oil - if replacing all the eggs.)
3/4 Cup - 1 Cup vegan sugar or 1/2 Cup brown sugar plus 1/4 Cup other kind of sugar anything lighter in taste if using brown.  (you can use all light brown and it gives a richer earthier sweet, I do not tightly pack the brown sugar when measuring)  You can easily reduce the sugar by also using less cranberries as they can be REALLY tart.
1/2 Cup olive oil you can add more should your batter be dry, but I like to start out with less.

 

Preheat oven to 350. Okay, so dry stuff (not sugar) in a bowl, wet stuff and sugar in the other bowl.  Beat together wet stuff plus sugar. Pour cranberries into dry bowl... coat.  Pour apple chunks into dry bowl... coat.  Then rubber spatula the wet stuff into it and mix vigorously until all flour is blended into the wet and use a 1/4 cup measuring cup and scoop batter into the muffin tins.  I use unbleached paper liners to keep the muffins super portable and to avoid cleaning anything. Bake for 20-25 minutes.  I almost always use 22 minutes, maybe your stove is more awesome so always check them!  If you've used a good amount of sugar your muffin tops will be stiff and DELICIOUS! I also leave them on the counter uncovered so the tops stay firm and lovely. They are always eaten within the first night or the next morning anyway. 

Pasta

This pasta is so easy to do you can even have kids make their own portions if you have space and the patience for messy little ones.

The approximate proportions are for every 3/4-1 Cup flour an egg, a teaspoon of water, a teaspoon of salt and a TBSP of olive oil be used. From there you can make a great variety of kinds. You can leave out the oil and use more egg or you can leave out oil and use more water. Or in the water's place some puree spinach or herbs instead.

For about 4-6 servings is the recipe that follows:
1 slightly heaping cup unbleached flour
1 slightly heaping cup whole wheat
2 tsp salt
2 extra large eggs or 3 large eggs
2 TBSP olive oil

I chopped up a sprig of rosemary and put a little palm full into the 'pasta well.'

Pour the flour onto a large clean surface leaving it in a heap, push the measuring cup or your hand into it to make a little well to hold the other ingredients. Into the well put your eggs, salt, oil, any herbs or veggie mash/puree and blend the eggs and others in the center and push some of the flour into the center collecting as much flour as it will carry. Clean off your fork into your pile and toss him somewhere out of the way. Get your hands in there and work the dough from this ugly stage into a ball. DO NOT WORRY if it looks like a massive failure. Pasta does that, its a dirty trick it tries to play on you in a last ditch effort to not be eaten. It will comply with the palm of your hand. If you run out of flour and it wants more then add a little... if it is not blending and it is too dry then add a teaspoon of water until it gives up the goods and becomes blended.


Now that you have won and the ball is formed put it into either a covered bowl to rest or a plastic bag. Have it rest for 10-20 minutes until it goes from dry and leathery to lightly sticky and pliable. If not, give it a little more time. Clean up the chunky flour, sieve it and toss the chunks. Re-flour your big clean surface and press your ball out by hand into the floured surface allowing it to collect flour on both of its sides... form the ball into a rectangle to help you roll it out. Make certain flour is under it and roll, roll, roll, until it becomes smooth and thin. This is the most time consuming part. Once rolled out to be quite thin 1/16th of an inch? I don't know, I'm not an architect. Thin, but not totally translucent or anything. Flour the top which you were rolling on, flip and flour that side wipe off excess. Starting at one of the short sides roll it like a tube onto itself lightly.

 Once you have your tube cut little slices all the way through to make pasta strands. They'll look like little snails and now they can be put somewhere to dry or can be cooked straight away. I like to dry them for awhile or overnight so they are toothy and firmer. So if you like al dente then drying is for you.  Fresh pasta does cook faster than boxed pasta so monitor it closely.  It cooks in almost half the time.

I made a spinach pasta and was so excited that I didn't document much. So I promise to post that SOON!

Dry Goods

 All-purpose flour (Unbleached and NOT enriched)

Whole wheat flour (NOT enriched)

Whole Wheat Pastry Flour (NOT enriched)

YOU DO NOT NEED Cake flour you can skip the cornstarch and SIFT your finer flour like grandma used to!

Cornmeal {{ when in desperate corn need I use Bob's Red Mill corn flours, It has treated me well IN MODERATION and I cut it like in the Killer Corn Muffins with other flours}} (I think by now most folks know the deal with corn is that it is heavily modified, it resembles corn as we knew it, it is nearly impossible to even grow any that has not been modified- the best you can do is either grow it or not have it)

VEGAN sugar (this is not because animals are cute or are our friends, and they are, it is because refined sugars often use bones to bleach and process the sugar. Natural MSG. It does other things too.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bone_char )

This Confectioner's sugar (NO! This form of sugar is derived from granulated sugar made from sugar beets -which are very high in naturally occurring glutamate- or sugar cane. It can have an additional ingredient -this was in the definition I do not know to what additional ingredient they are speaking, cornstarch, which helps to keep the sugar from clumping - yeah right, because we have never used cornstarch pour out some in half powder and half in clumps? Oh, or was that just me?. Essentially, granulated sugar is ground into a finer sugar to make the powdered form. It often does not have ingredients, or has INCOMPLETE ingredients)

Brown sugar (this is a tough one. I use it sparingly when used... never more than a half cup because the origins get muddy as with refined/granulated sugar which is its first ingredient)

Baking soda

Baking powder (Cornstarch with Baking soda, stick with the baking soda it will get you there without the problems!)

Yeast (Freeze for longer shelf life)

Cornstarch (NO NO NO! Nasty)

Unsweetened cocoa

Unsweetened chocolate

Semi or bitter sweet chocolate

Oatmeal

Cereal - GRANOLA!

Pasta, white and/or whole grain (Never enriched!)

Rice

Brown rice

Wild rice

Arborio rice

Barley

Couscous (never enriched)

Quinoa (high in protein so when it is cooked, it contains the natural break down of protein but not nearly as bad as the stuff ADDED to foods.)

Kidney beans

Great Northern beans

Lentils

Chick peas

Split peas

(ALL legumes, and beans will have the natural break down of protein but not nearly as bad as the stuff ADDED to foods.)