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Nourishing Pumpkin Bread

pumpkin bread

I feel pretty proud of this pumpkin bread. It has a wonderful tender crumb, is moist without being gummy, and the crust is crunchy without being obnoxious. It’s just sweet enough, and is full of healthy fats, not to mention sprouted flour (which digests as a vegetable).

The pumpkin is a puree I made over the winter, from an heirloom pumpkin that I roasted and processed through a ricer, then froze for a future use. While cleaning out my freezer last week, I found it in there and decided to defrost it and use it for… something (I wasn’t sure what exactly at the time). A day later it came to me: I could create a pumpkin bread recipe! One that had all the ingredients I wanted in it, and none that I didn’t.

Back around the holidays, I participated in a “secret santa” gift exchange, and received the Ratio book by Michael Ruhlman (my request). At the time, I wanted to start creating recipes – especially recipes that use unrefined sweeteners. I have found some recipes that I like but not that many. So, I thought the solution would be to create some of my own.

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Socrates Greenmarket and Mexican Panzanella

greenmarket sign

A couple weekends ago, I visited the Socrates Greenmarket for the first time – what a great market! It’s small, but packs a punch in its offerings. There, you can find all sorts of vegetables, fruit, bread, honey, juice, and even duck.

Apart from wanting to check it out for personal reasons, I went there as part of a meetup event with the Traditional Community Kitchen, a Meetup group focused on real, whole, unprocessed and traditional foods (I’m a co-organizer with them). Members come from a wide range of backgrounds – from those that follow a Nourishing Traditions way of eating, to Paleo, to vegan and vegetarian. Our events are a lot of fun, and the meetup at the Greenmarket didn’t disappoint.

We met around 11am and proceeded to take a tour of the market with the market manager, Markella Los. She took us to each stand and talked a little bit about the farmers and the farm and what they had to offer. It was really interesting and so nice to have more insight into each market vendor.

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Millet Tabbouleh

millet tabbouleh
Millet Tabbouleh

Back in July 2009, I volunteered to do some recipe testing for a new cookbook being written by Shauna and Danny Ahern. You probably know them as Gluten Free Girl and the Chef. I was sworn to secrecy at the time, but since their book is out, I can share this.

I only was able to test one recipe, but the one I tested was a total winner: millet tabbouleh.

Now, I don’t need to eat gluten-free, but I have friends who do, and it’s always interesting to work with new recipes. Millet is a delicious alternative to using bulgur wheat for tabbouleh, too. And it’s got a lot going for it: it’s high in manganese, phosphorous and magnesium. I love the taste and texture. And I always prepare this whole grain by soaking it with an acid to reduce the amount of the anti-nutrient phytic acid in it. This makes the grain more digestable and more nutritious.

I made this for an event over the weekend, and everyone loved it. The resident picky eater also loves it. I hope you do, too.

Millet Tabbouleh
Adapted from the recipe by Shauna and Danny Ahern

I’ve halved the original recipe – the original it made two large mixing bowls full of tabbouleh. This half recipe satisfied the needs of a small party, plus there was extra left over.

1 cup millet
vinegar/lemon juice
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
water

2 medium-size tomatoes, or enough to make 1 cup chopped (cherry tomatoes work well)
1/2 cup scallions, small dice
1 long English cucumber, peeled, seeded, and small diced
1 tablespoons Italian parsley, washed well and chopped
1/2 tablespoon mint, diced
1 lemon, zested and juiced
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper

Soak the millet for 8-10 hours in water with an acid (I used a tablespoon of raw apple cider vinegar). Drain and rinse the millet and put it in a large saucepan with 2 1/4 cups of water and 1 tsp of coarse sea salt. Let it come to a boil, stir the millet, then turn down the heat to low. Let it simmer until it has absorbed all the water and has turned fluffy, around 15-20 minutes.

Remove it from the heat, put it in the refrigerator (put a thick towel underneath), and let it cool down in there – this step is very important. .

Add the tomatoes, scallions, cucumbers, and herbs to the millet. Put the smoked paprika in the palm of one hand, and pinch it over the tabbouleh. Combine the lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper into a dressing. Pour over the salad and toss everything together.

You’ll easily get 8 servings out of this, maybe more.

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Farro, Cranberry Bean, and Winter Squash Soup

soup

This recipe started out with the idea of simply combining farro – my current favorite grain – and cranberry beans, as a way to eat up one of my CSA veggies this week.  So I soaked the farro in the morning, with the hope that the dish would simply come to me.  I’m happy to say that it did, and it is a winner!

I often contemplate dinner while I’m commuting home on the train.  I thought about what would go well with farro and cranberry beans, as well as considered what I had on hand at the house.  It occurred to me that these two ingredients would taste good with tomatoes and winter squash, along with thyme, onions, garlic, and white wine.  Something green also would be good, so I opted for watercress, in part because of its health benefits, and because it looked fresh at the produce stand.

I only had to buy the thyme, onion, and watercress, as well as the white wine. At the same time I took the opportunity to replenish our “house wine”, which is Cloudline pinot noir.  Love that stuff!  The wine I used for this soup is a Smoking Loon sauvignon blanc.  Honestly, I wasn’t sure what this $10 bottle would provide, but I have to say, it is very tasty.  I would definitely buy it again.

This soup is quite thick, almost more of a stew; I tend to like my soups thick, though.  The roasted squash breaks down and thickens the soup, and the starch from the farro also contributes to that thickening.  I enjoyed this soup topped with a fried egg and a bit of grated parmesan, but it is delicious on its own.  It’s a great soup for this time of year – cranberry beans are in the markets, and winter squash is starting to be seen.  Thick soups like this are excellent on cold autumn nights, too.

Farro, Cranberry Bean, and Winter Squash Soup

1/2 c. farro, soaked with water and a big splash of (raw) vinegar

1 small acorn squash, or small winter squash
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1/8 tsp cumin

2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1/2 white onion, diced
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh thyme
2 cloves garlic minced

1/2 c. white wine
1 pound fresh cranberry beans (1/2 pound shelled)

2 c. stock, water, or a mixture (I used 1 cup stock and 1 cup water)
1 pint crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped watercress
1/4 c. white wine
1/8 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

Soak the farro in water and acid (vinegar, in this case) for 8-10 hours.  As you start to prepare this dish, drain and rinse the farro.  Set aside.

Cut the squash in half and remove all seeds and obvious strings. Cut the squash into a total of 6-8 pieces. Brush the flesh with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, and cumin. Roast in a 375 degree oven for 40 minutes. When it is done cooking, simply let sit and cool on the pan.

Meanwhile, saute the onion in olive oil and salt in a large pan over medium-high heat until translucent. Add the thyme and garlic and cook for another minute. By this time the onion should start to caramelize.

Add the drained farro and cook about 5 minutes. Add the white wine and cook until most of the liquid has been absorbed.

Add the beans and combine with the onion-farro mixture. Add the stock/water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes.

As the mixture is simmering, peel and chop the squash into 1 inch pieces. Add it to the soup. Add the chopped tomatoes and the watercress.  Let cook for another 5 minutes.

Finish off with a 1/4 c. white wine, 1/8 tsp of smoked paprika, and 1 tsp of extra virgin olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serves 4-6.

This post is participating in the Simple Lives Thursday blog hop, hosted by Wardeh at GNOWFGLINS.

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Farro and Summer Vegetable Salad

farro summer vegetable salad

I did not plan this salad.  It just sort of came to be through improvisation; I like to cook in this way.  Recipes are great, don’t get me wrong, and I enjoy using them, but it’s also nice to take what you have and come up with something delicious, which this most certainly is. Or, was – I ate it all within a 24 hour period.  It was that good.

First, though – what is farro?  Farro is an ancient whole wheat grain also known as Emmer; it’s also related to spelt.  It looks like large barley or even a bit like freekeh, and is medium brown in color.  It has a toothsome texture and mild, nutty flavor.  It has slightly less protein than quinoa, but has almost twice the fiber. You cook it like most grains – soak then simmer in a pot til the water (or stock) absorbs.  My farro comes from Cayuga Organics via my CSA.

So, Tuesday morning I decided I wanted to cook some grains.  I looked in the pantry and the first grain I spied was the farro.  So, I brought it down, put it in my soaking bowl, added water and raw vinegar and let it soak while I was at work.

That night I picked up my CSA shares – the veggie share was full of summer vegetables, and I knew their robust flavors would go well with the farro.

I took what I had – red peppers, leeks, zucchini, tomatoes – and mixed it with the cooked farro, along with some feta and lemon juice.  The salad was so delicious!  It was hearty and satisfying without weighing me down.  The flavors were sharp and clear and they all mixed together to make an excellent dish.  It was wonderfully savory.

I would make this again… in fact, I probably will make it again next week!  It was fantastic the next day, too – the flavors had married and tasted a bit deeper.  Definitely a good dish to bring as leftovers to work.

Farro and Summer Vegetable Salad

1 cup dry farro
soaking water and an acid (I used raw apple cider vinegar; lemon juice would work, too)
juice and zest of 1 lemon
kosher salt
1 leek, finely chopped
1 small red, orange, or yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 small zucchini, julienned, then the matchsticks cut in half to the length of an inch or so
1/4 cup feta cheese (Bulgarian feta is my favorite), crumbled
2 tablespoons pine nuts (raw or toasted)
1-2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1/2 pint cherry tomatoes, each cut in half

Put the cup of dry farro in a bowl, cover with water and a splash of acid, and let soak for 8-10 hours.  When the soaking time is up, drain the farro and put in a saucepan with 1 cup of water.  Bring it to a boil, then let it simmer until almost all the water has been absorbed, about 20-25 minutes.  Rinse and drain and set aside.

While the farro is cooking, cut up the leeks.  The way I do this is that I cut off the top fibrous green leaves, leaving the tender white parts.  Then cut off the root end.  Slice the leek in half from root to tip, and rinse the leeks in a way to be sure there is no dirt stuck between the layers.  Put the cut side down and slice thin half moons.  You’ll have a pile of cute skinny half moon leeks – then chop them until they meet your standard for finely chopped.

Add the bell pepper and zucchini.  Add the lemon zest and squeeze the lemon onto the mixture of leeks, pepper, and zucchini, sprinkle with salt (I used about 1/4 tsp) and let that macerate until the farro is ready to be added.

Add the farro and mix with the vegetable lemon combination.  Crumble your feta and add the pine nuts. Pour the olive oil over it all. Last, add the sliced-in-half tomatoes. Mix it all together.  Adjust seasonings as you like.

Serves 4-6, or two servings for some very hungry people.

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Wild Raspberry Sprouted Wheat Muffins

individual muffin

I love to bake, and have a long history of being a baker. My mom’s side of the family is known for its tasty cookies and brownies, and I grew up with homemade puddings, cakes and cookies at home, many of them made by me. I developed quite the sweet tooth as a result.

When I began to eat traditional, unrefined foods, I started to analyze my connection to sugar – I realized that it was unhealthy and dysfunctional, and I came to the conclusion that I had to get the sugar out.   I went through a handful of cold turkey periods, and now I’ve found ways to manage my sugar cravings that work for me.  It also helped that after enough times of eating sugary sweets and having my GI tract revolt, I got the message my body was sending, loud and clear.

These days I find that I just have less of a sweet tooth, and that has happened naturally as I’ve moved toward this new way of eating. Increasing my intake saturated fats, which deters carb and sugar cravings, no doubt has contributed to this happy development.

As a result of cutting out refined sugar, most things taste a little sweet, therefore conventional sweets are often cloying to me.  When I do make sweet things at home, I use unrefined sweeteners – raw honey, maple syrup, sucanat/rapadura.  They have less of a negative effect on my GI-tract.  That being said, sweets are really a treat at this point, and I don’t eat sweet things regularly anymore.

I’ve been experimenting with using sprouted wheat flour, too.  It’s been fun working with it!  I will use it as much as I can – it digests as a vegetable, which is a kind thing to do to my body.

wild raspberries

When I went to go pick up milk this weekend, there were containers of wild raspberries for sale!  I love raspberries so I bought a container.  Man, were they ever good.  I ate a bunch yesterday, and knowing they are highly perishable, I wanted to do something with them that involved cooking.  Muffins seemed like a good choice.

wild raspberry muffin batter collage

So, I went hunting for a recipe for sprouted flour muffins and came across a recipe from Wardeh – it served my purposes perfectly!  Happily, I had everything I needed on hand – plus, since it’s summer, the coconut oil is liquid and the extra step of melting it is unnecessary.

It’s a very easy recipe to follow, too – wet ingredients mixed, then dry, add together and stir in the fruit. I love low-key recipes like this.

batter in muffin tins

The muffins came out beautifully – gorgeous to look at and delicious.  Not very sweet, which was what I expected, and nice and moist.  I’ll likely eat a few, then freeze some of them to have for later, too.  I look forward to experimenting with the basic recipe and adding all sorts of tasty things to it.

muffins baked

Wild Raspberry Sprouted Wheat Muffins
Based on the basic sprouted muffin recipe from GNOWFLGLINS

These muffins contain all sorts of good, healthful things – pastured eggs, unrefined sweetener, sprouted flour, and coconut oil.  These muffins are tasty and great for you!

2 tablespoons raw apple cider vinegar
1 cup raw milk (if you can’t get raw milk, whole milk from grass fed cows would be the best option)
2 local, pastured eggs
1/2 cup evaporated cane juice or Sucanat or other solid natural sweetener (optional: powder in food processor if coarse – I didn’t do that)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup virgin, unrefined coconut oil (melted if solid at room temperature)

2-1/4 cups sprouted spelt or wheat flour
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
2 teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon

1.5 cups wild raspberries

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In mixing bowl, combine eggs, milk, apple cider vinegar, vanilla and sweetener. Whisk well. While whisking, add coconut oil.

Combine flour, salt, cinnamon, and baking powder in a separate bowl and fluff with a fork. Add to wet ingredients and mix until smooth.

Add wild raspberries to incorporate.

Fill oiled muffin tin, or paper-lined muffin tin, with the batter to a generous three-quarters full each.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean and muffins are gently browned.

Take out of oven and transfer muffins to a cooling rack. Store in an airtight container when fully cooled.  They can also be stored in the freezer.

Makes ~1 dozen muffins

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Melted Leeks, Quinoa, and Poached Egg

poached on top

I can’t remember exactly what originally brought me to Married …with dinner, but it was probably through a tweet or a blog post by Shauna.  Oh wait, I remember! I was led to the site because of this post.  It is part of the discussion about the importance of cooking meals at home, something that I do believe is important.

However, as someone who works a full time job, has a lively social life, and is active in the community, I know how challenging it can be to put together dinner at the end of the day when you have competing interests vying for your time and attention.  There are evenings when I get home, when I can’t think straight, and just want to order-in something, or eat a bowl of cereal, or even forgo dinner altogether (not a good idea).  It can be really hard to figure it all out when you’re beat from the workday.

As it turns out, my solution to this is planning out my meals for the week.  Granted, I’ve only been at this practice for a couple of weeks, but I’ve noticed a difference.  It helps to have the evening’s menu all written out, and I definitely eat more consistently well these days.

quinoa

Last week, MWD posted this intriguing recipe that includes a number of my favorite ingredients – leeks, quinoa, broth, and egg.  It could be considered a soup, but it’s much more than that.  It’s surprisingly filling for its size, too.  The nutrition will also increase if you use a nourishing homemade broth (I had broth from my stewing hen, which was delicious).

I can see myself making this again and again because it’s just that awesome.  It was easy to prepare, too – and it can be made piecemeal over a few days, combining everything on the day you want to eat it, or you can make everything on the same day, which is what I did.  It took me about 45 minutes to put everything together.

leeks

These “melted leeks” – which are basically soft, caramelized, salty leeks – are a wonderful condiment all by themselves and would be good on other things, too, like pasta, roasted tomatoes, or even toast with cream cheese.  They would be excellent on top of salsa verde chicken, too.

Melted Leeks and Quinoa with a Poached Farm Egg and Parmesan Broth
Mildly adapted from Married …with dinner, who was inspired by a first course at Range.

For each serving — multiply as needed:
1/3 cup melted leeks (recipe below)
1/2 cup cooked quinoa (I prefer red)
1/2 cup simmering chicken stock
a handful of Parmesan or other hard cheese, grated as finely as possible (about 1/2 oz by weight)
1 large egg, preferably pastured
minced chives, for garnish
salt, as needed

NOTE: Soak the quinoa in water and an acid (I use raw apple cider vinegar, but lemon juice works well, too) for 8-12 hours before you start preparing this dish.  I find it convenient to put this together in the morning before I go to work.

Cook the quinoa: rinse the soaked grain and add it to a pan with water (1:1 – I used 1/2 cup quinoa to a 1/2 cup water).  Cook for 15-20 minutes until all the water is absorbed by the grain.  Makes a 1 1/4 – 1 1/2 cups of quinoa.

Make the melted leeks:  cut off and discard the root and the woody tops, slice the leeks in half lengthwise, then slice the white and light-green parts into half-rings about 1/4- to 1/8-inch thick. You should have about 2 cups.  Rinse leek slices well in a bowl of running water. Melt 4 tbs butter in a heavy skillet over medium-low heat. Add leeks and a couple of tablespoons of water. Simmer slowly until leeks are tender and almost all water evaporates, adding more water if needed to further soften the leeks. Season well with salt. If using immediately, remove pan from the heat and set aside.

Mince the chives.

Bring the chicken broth to a lively simmer and whisk in the Parmesan.

Just before you’re ready to serve, soft-poach the eggs.

While the eggs are cooking, divide the melted leeks among individual bowls, spreading to cover about 2/3 of the bottom of the bowl. Scoop the quinoa over the leeks, and top each serving with a soft-poached egg. Sprinkle with chives, and pour the Parmesan broth around the edges of the bowl.

Enjoy.

This post is participating in Real Food Wednesday, hosted by Kelly the Kitchen Kop.