eastwestbakery.com

Brighten up your taste with this bread

Dec 18, 2011 Uncategorized

• I love pumpkin pie and I love cranberries. I put dried cranberries in my salads, I have made cranberry pies. I even eat cranberry sauce when it is not holiday time.
• So when I stumbled across this recipe for a pumpkin bread with cranberries, I was elated.
• But when I first made this bread, the original recipe actually had too many cranberries for my taste – a full cup. I didn’t think it was possible, but it was almost too tart…and the savory pumpkin was not sweet enough to offset the berries.
• I made it again with raisins once, but I like the cranberries better. I cut the amount of cranberries by two-thirds. It makes a great snack with cream cheese or alone.
• Pumpkin Cranberry Bread 
• 1/4 cup of raw pumpkin seeds
• 2 tablespoons  of sunflower seeds
• 1-1/2 cups  of whole-wheat pastry flour
• 2/3 cup of stevia (or other sugar substitute)
• 1-1/2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice
• 1-1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt
• 3/4 cup of canned pumpkin purée
• Juice and zest of 1/2 orange
• 1/4 cup of water
• 3 tablespoons of olive oil, plus additional for oiling pan
• 1/3 cup of dried cranberries
• 3 tablespoons of crystallized ginger, finely chopped

• Preheat the oven to 375º. Put pumpkin and sunflower seeds in a loaf pan and toast for 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer seeds to a small bowl. When the pan is cool, lightly oil it with olive oil.
• In a large bowl, mix together the flour, the stevia, the pumpkin pie spice, the baking powder, the baking soda, and the salt. Add the pumpkin purée, the orange juice and the zest, the water, and the oil, and stir gently to combine everything.
• Stir in the cranberries, the ginger, and 2/3 of the toasted seeds. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle with remaining seeds on top and press them in.
• Bake for 30 to 35 minutes.

Vegetarian

Tags: Baking Powder, Baking Soda, Berries, Cranberries, Cream Cheese, Holiday Time, Pies, Pumpkin Bread, Pumpkin Cranberry Bread, Pumpkin Pie Spice, Raw Pumpkin Seeds, Salads, Sea Salt, Spice 1, Stevia, Sugar Substitute, Sunflower Seeds, Teaspoon, Teaspoons, Whole Wheat Pastry Flour

If you’re going to go vegan, start with dessert

Jul 21, 2011 Uncategorized

• I was going to try to move toward more of a vegan lifestyle. It seemed to me, however, that recipes that didn’t include eggs or dairy were pretty much out of the question. 
• Not to mention that such desserts were just not possible.
• Since sweets are my weakness, I thought my quest should begin there. I daresay the quest will probably end there as well…I like this cake just fine, but I think it would be better with real eggs and real sour cream.
• But that’s just me. I admire those who can give up eggs and dairy. I’m certainly not there yet.
• If you have the fortitude to move to a full vegan diet, this is a great way to begin your transition. It does show how good a vegan dessert can be. It’s fairly moist and very tasty.
• Vegan Blueberry Coffee Cake
• 1 1/2 cups of sifted flour
• 2 teaspoons of baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt
• 3/4 cup of sugar
• 3 teaspoons of dry egg replacer
• 4 tablespoons of water
• 1 cup of soy sour cream substitute (like Sour Supreme)
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
• 1/4 cup of  blueberries
• 5 tablespoons of sugar
• 2 tablespoons soy margarine
• 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

• Preheat oven to 350º F. Grease  and flour a medium  square baking pan.
• In a large mixing, bowl resift flour with the baking powder, baking soda, salt and 3/4 cup of sugar.
• In a separate bowl combine the egg replacer and water (2 eggs’ worth) and mix in sour cream substitute and vanilla. Pour the ‘egg’ mixture into the flour mixture and beat until smooth.
• Spread batter in baking pan. Sprinkle blueberries over the batter and stir slightly so that they stay in the top layer.
• In a small bowl, mix the 5 tablespoons of sugar, margarine and cinnamon.
• Mix with a fork until the mixture looks like cornmeal.
• Sprinkle the topping over the batter.
• Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Tags: 2 Eggs, Baking Powder, Baking Soda, Blueberries, Blueberry Cake, Blueberry Coffee Cake, Cornmeal, Egg Mixture, Egg Replacer, Flour Mixture, Fortitude, Margarine, Sour Cream, Spread Batter, Teaspoon, Teaspoons, Toothpick, Vegan Dessert, Vegan Diet, Vegan Lifestyle

Corny recipe that you can mix and match to your mood

Apr 13, 2011 Uncategorized

I like a good corn muffin with my chili or just slathered in more butter than my diet allows or a doctor would recommend.

I like to play with the recipe a bit every time I make a new batch. Sometimes spicier. Sometimes cheesier. Sometimes just plain.

It all depends on  your mood.

Muffins are fun to play with because you can mix and match flavors and get something that coordinates well with your mood. Give it a try.

Spicy Cheesy Muffins

1-3/4 cups of flour
1/4 cup of cornmeal
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon of baking soda
1/4 tsp of pepper
1/2 cup of cheddar cheese (and/or other cheeses)
3 tablespoons of unsalted butter, chilled and cut into pieces
1-1/4 cups of buttermilk
4 teaspoon of green chiles, chopped
1 large egg

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees and prepare a muffin pan with baking spray or oil.
• Combine the flour, the corn meal, the baking powder, the salt, the baking soda and the pepper. Combine well and add a bit more than half of the cheese and all of the butter. Combine all this again – just until the butter is the size of peas and the mixture looks like coarse meal. Do not overmix it.
• In a different bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, the chiles and the egg, until it’s all incorporated. Make a well in the center of the flour in the bowl, and pour the liquid into the flour. Stir it all together just until the flour is moistened. Again, do not over mix this stuff
• Fill the tins about three-quarters full and sprinkle the remaining cheese over the muffins.
• Bake on the top shelf of the oven for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the muffins cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then remove the muffins to a cooling rack. 

Vegetarian.

Tags: Baking Powder, Baking Soda, Cheeses, Chiles, Coarse Meal, Corn Meal, Corn Muffin, Cornmeal, Flavors, Flour, Kosher Salt, Muffin Pan, muffins, Teaspoon, Three Quarters, Tins, Toothpick, Top Shelf, Tsp, Unsalted Butter