Bread by Ariel

I hadn’t seen my oldest daughter, Ariel in over two years, so it was a nice surprise to have here visiting from California. For the last week, we’ve been catching up and cooking together which is a lot of fun because we’re very similar in the foods we like to eat.

What surprised me was that one of the first things she wanted to make was bread. These days, I eat very little bread unless it’s made with sprouted grains, or something really special. Well, the bread she made definitely fit that bill. She made it with wild-crafted nettles that she picked back home and dried, flax and sunflower seeds, garlic, thyme and Himalayan salt.

It was, by far, one of the best breads I’ve had in a long time, especially when it was sliced while still warm and smothered in butter. In fact, I made similar breads following her recipe for Mother’s Day and she made more bread last night!

To me, this is a real treat since it’s not something I would eat everyday but something we are thoroughly enjoying for this week. And because it’s homemade, it’s made with basic, whole-food ingredients, with nothing artificial and without preservatives or other chemicals. If you’re going to eat bread, this is the way to go!

The recipe is below and you can also watch Ariel make the bread in this video below:

Bread by Ariel

2 c warm water (~110°F)

1 T Himalayan or sea salt

1 T honey

1 package yeast

~5.5 c organic bread flour

¼ c flax seeds

dried nettles, or other dried, green leafy herb (optional)

¼ c sunflower seeds processed with 2 cloves garlic (optional)

fresh thyme (optional)

extra virgin olive oil

Begin by pouring the warm water into a large, glass mixing bowl. Add the yeast, salt, and honey and mix well. Allow the liquid to rest for a few minutes for the yeast to become active.

Add ~2.5 cups of the flour to the bowl and mix with a spatula to incorporate most of the flour, then add another 3 cups of flour.

With oiled hands, combine the mixture until the flour is completely incorporated and it forms a soft dough that is not sticky.

Turn the dough out onto a clean, floured surface and knead the dough for 5 minutes by folding one corner over diagonally and kneading. Then rotate the dough 90 degrees and repeat this process for the entire kneading time.

Place the round of dough into a clean, oiled bowl and transfer some of the oil onto the dough. Cover the bowl with a clean, dry cloth and place the bowl in a warm place for 1 – 2 hours to allow the dough to double in size.

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Punch down the dough and knead it several times to remove any air bubbles. Knead flax seeds and dried nettles into the dough until incorporated.

Split the dough in half with a knife, then form loaves. Place the loaves onto a large baking pan coated with corn meal or oil.

Make several slices into the bread and stuff them with the sunflower seed, garlic, thyme and sea salt mixture. Bake the breads for ~30 minutes, or until they are nicely browned all over and sound hollow when tapped. Allow the breads to cool on a wire rack. Slice and Enjoy!!

Winter Candy

After making a delicious root vegetable soup the other day, I found myself with lots of leftover vegetables. This time of year, root veggies offer a wealth of nutrients and fiber and will stop a sweet tooth in its tracks.

When roasted, roasted root vegetables are colorful, crisp on the outside, warm and creamy on the inside and loaded with flavor. They’re perfect as a side (I had them with a fritatta) or even piled on top of a bed of salad greens. And no worries about what you have on hand. This time around, I didn’t have sweet potatoes, which are my favorite, so I used parsnips, rutabegas, beets, and fennel. The result was still sweet like candy and I didn’t even miss the sweet potatoes!

Roasted Root Vegetables

Any combination of the following:

Onions, Shallots, Leeks

Parsnips

Carrots

Celery

Rutabegas

Turnips

Sweet Potatoes, yams, or white potatoes

Beets

Fennel

Garlic, minced

1 – 2 T olive or grapeseed oil

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Wash, peel, and chop the vegetables into uniform, bite-sized pieces. Place them in a large bowl and add the garlic, oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Combine well then spread the mixture onto a pan or in a baking dish. Roast at ~400°F for 30 minutes, turn the veggies over and roast an additional 15 minutes, or until tender.

A Mushroom Tomato Sauce You Want to Eat With a Spoon

This sauce began as a quick idea to use as a filling with veggies or hummus for buckwheat crepes and after tasting it I decided it’s a keeper. Particularly now that tomatoes are in season, this sauce will be at its best and I’ve already made a list of other ways to enjoy it: on top of crusty baguette slices, with soba noodles or whole grains like quinoa, on eggs or breakfast burritos, and even with spaghetti squash–one of my favorites lately. The recipe below makes about 1 cup of sauce, but it can easily be doubled or tripled.

Mushroom Tomato Sauce

2 Portobello mushroom caps

1 – 2 T grapeseed oil

2 large ripe tomatoes – 1 diced and one grated with the large holes of a vegetable grater (this will mostly produce juice)

1 t minced, fresh garlic or to taste

1 T chopped, fresh chives

sea salt and cracked pepper to taste

Slice the mushroom caps into large slices then place them into a food processor and pulse to form small chunks. Heat oil in a medium skillet. Add the mushrooms and sauté for about 3 minutes, or until about to turn brown. Add the tomatoes and juice, some cracked pepper and a pinch of sea salt and stir well. Simmer over medium-low heat until the mixture reduces and is thickened to a desired consistency, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat, add the garlic and chives and adjust the salt and pepper. Here's to your health!!