New Year= New Goals!

Happy 2013! I hope everyone had a great holiday season filled with family, friends and of course FOOD! What is the holiday season without all that delicious food? Now that the new year has arrived so have new goals and resolutions. My main goals for this year is to eat even less processed foods and to cut out even more sugar and white flour. Another thing I really want to get into is juicing. Of course I would need to purchase a juicer first but that is only a minor detail! Once I start my journey I will share my juicing thoughts and recipes along the way.

I know that many people have resolutions that involve food and exercise. So my first recipe that I'm going to share for the new year is homemade bread. I have been making bread for about a year now and I really enjoy it. The benefits of homemade bread without any preservatives and high fructose corn syrup outweighs the time and precision needed to achieve a perfect loaf. Take a Sunday afternoon and set aside some time. You can make several loaves which you can freeze and defrost as needed in the following weeks. Give it a try! I know it can be intimidating working with yeast but once you've got it down you will be able whip a few loaves in no time!

A few notes about ingredients:

The following recipe uses white whole wheat flour. This flour has all the benefits of 100% whole wheat flour with a more mild and light flavor. Once you master this recipe we can move on to baking 100% whole wheat bread. *You cannot substitute whole wheat flour for white flour. Whole wheat bread is a different recipe!*
I also use instant yeast instead of active dry yeast. When using instant yeast you only need to allow the dough to rise once instead of twice. This will save you an hour of rising time! If you are going to use active dry yeast you would need to follow a different recipe.
Two ingredients that you can leave out are the whole ground flax seed meal and vital wheat gluten. You can purchase these both at your regular grocery store. Market Basket carries them both. Look for them with the other Bob's Red Mill products. The flax seed meal adds fiber and omega 3. The vital wheat gluten is helpful for baking breads made with course, whole grain flours and cereal. It basically helps with the rise and elasticity of the dough. It is also 75% to 80% protein! Bonus!

Ingredients:

• 3 cups of white whole wheat flour (I use King Arthur Flour)
• 3 tablespoons of whole ground flax seed meal
• 2 tablespoons of vital wheat gluten
• 3 tablespoons of sugar
• 1 1/4 teaspoons of salt
• 2 teaspoons of instant yeast
• 1/2 cup milk (skin, 1%, 2% or whole)
• 1/2 to 2/3 cup water
• 4 tablespoons of melted butter

Directions:

1. Add all dry ingredients to your stand mixer and give it a quick mix.
2. Melt the butter and warm all liquid ingredients to about 110 degrees. Usually this is about a minute and a half in my microwave.
3. Add liquid to dry mixture. 
4. Turn the mixer on to the number 2 setting. 
5. Mix until all ingredients are combined.
6. The dough will start to form into a ball. Be patient! 
7. Once the dough ball has formed it should start to "clean" the sides of the bowl. If the dough is sticking you may need to add more flour. Only a a little at a time. If the dough is to dry add a little warm water.
8. Once the ball is formed and is the right texture set a timer for 7 minutes. 
9. Allow the dough to mix for the full 7 minutes!
10. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled surface and shape it into an 8 inch log.
11. Place the log into a lightly greased 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" loaf pan. Cover the pan loosely with lightly greased plastic wrap.
12. Allow the bread to rise for about an hour until it's crowned about 1" above the edge of the pan.
13. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 35 minutes. Remove the bread from the oven and cool on a rack before slicing. You can also rub a little butter on the crust when it's still hot. This will make the crust a little softer.
14. Store in a plastic bag at room temperature.

The bread should be consumed within a week. This bread is great for sandwiches and toast. I hope that you will be willing to give homemade bread a shot! You won't regret it! As always let me know how you do! Happy baking:)

Pad Thai

This recipe is being added by special request. I'm so glad I was asked to post it because it's so good and I'm really excited to share it with you! 

I LOVE Thai food!! My husband LOVES Thai food!! If you love Thai food as much as we do you are in luck because this is THE best Pad Thai recipe hands down. When I was working as a pre-k teacher, we were treated to a staff appreciation dinner every year. The parents would make all kinds of wonderful dishes for us to enjoy. One of the parents made a chicken and shrimp Pad Thai. Being vegetarian I was unable to try it. I was very disappointed, however, my co-workers did try it and said it was fantastic! We asked the parent for the recipe, but she didn't have one. She just made it the way she had always made, probably passed down from relatives. Since she didn't have a written recipe she searched at the library and found a recipe that matched hers. She photocopied it and brought it in to school a few days later. I am so glad she went through all the trouble! I will never try another Pad Thai recipe again!! 

This recipe calls for shrimp and tofu. When I make it I only use tofu because that's what we like. You can just use shrimp or you could use chicken or shrimp and chicken. Either way I'm sure you will love it just as much as we do! Here it is.

Ingredients

• 1 package of dried rice noodles (I use the wide ones)
• 2 limes
• 1/4 cup Thai fish sauce
• 1/4 cup dark brown sugar (I have also used light brown sugar and haven't noticed much of a difference)
• 2 Tbsp rice wine or white vinegar (I recommend rice wine)
• 2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 Tbsp ketchup
• 1/2 pound fresh large or fully thawed frozen shrimp, cut into 1 inch pieces 
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 5 or 6 sprigs of cilantro
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced 
• 1/2 cup roasted unsalted peanuts, coarsely chopped
• 1/4 pound bean sprouts (about 3 cups)
• 1 ounce of firm tofu, cubed (when I make this I use a whole package of tofu)
• 3 Tbsp vegetable or peanut oil
• 2 large eggs, slightly beaten

Directions

1. Place the noodles in a large bowl. Cover the noodles with warm water and push them down to completely submerge. Let soak for one hour. ( You can boil the noodles, however, I recommend the soaking method. They don't get mushy that way. You can soak them while you prep everything else.)
2. In a small bowl, mix the juice of one lime, fish sauce, brown sugar, rice wine, Worcestershire sauce, chili powder, and ketchup. Set aside.
3. Cut the other lime into wedges for garnish.
4. Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan (I suggest using a non-stick pan) over medium-high heat.
5. Add the garlic and stir fry for about 30 seconds.
6. Add the shrimp and tofu and stir fry for about 4-5 minutes or until the shrimp turn pink and are cooked through and the tofu is lightly browned. (I brown the tofu in oil before the garlic. I then remove the tofu and add it later. This way the garlic doesn't burn while I'm waiting for the tofu to brown.)
7. Add the drained noodles and stir fry until they are evenly coated with the oil.
8. Add the sauce and stir fry for 3-4 minutes or until almost all of the liquid has been absorbed into the noodles.
9. Push the noodles aside to open up the center of the wok or pan.
10. Add the beaten eggs and cook without stirring for about 1 minute or until the eggs begin to set.
11. Add the peanuts, bean sprouts, green onions and bell pepper, and stir fry until all the ingredients are well combined and the eggs are broken up and cooked. This will take a few minutes so be patient!
12. Serve hot on a large platter and garnish with lime wedges and cilantro sprigs.

I would of course share the information about the book that this recipe came from but I don't know what it is. All I have is photocopied pages. I have tweaked this recipe to make it just right for us and that is what I've shared with you. If you have all your ingredients prepped and ready to go you will be surprised how easy this recipe is! It's totally worth it! Give it a try and, as always, let me know how it turns out.

Vegetable Loaf

We are back from our vacation. While it's good to be back to reality, it is also sad not waking up to the ocean. I love Maine! We spent a week in Beals, Maine. It's a little fishing community about 5 1/2 hours from home. It was peaceful, relaxing and it was a nice break from all the modern technology that we are used to! We didn't have cell phone service, Internet service or TV. It was great! We just made sure we got the local newspaper each day so we knew the tide schedule as well as the weather. 

Now that we are back to reality I can share another wonderful recipe with you! This recipe comes from the Farmer Dave's website. http://www.farmerdaves.net/ This is the farm where we participate in the CSA. There is a recipe blog for members to share recipes that use all the fabulous veggies we receive each week. This recipe is from Farmer Dave's mom. I like it because you can use whatever veggies you have on hand that week. 

Ingredients

• 1 pound of fresh spinach or swiss chard
• 3 Tbsp oil
• 2 cups of zucchini, diced
• 1 cup of onions, chopped
• 1/2 cup celery, chopped
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 3/4 cups ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
• 3/4 cup Italian style bread crumbs

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cook spinach, or chard, until wilted. Press out as much liquid as possible.
3. Heat oil a large saute pan. Saute zucchini, onions, celery and garlic until tender.
4.  In a bowl, mix eggs, cheese, spinach and bread crumbs. Stir in sauteed vegetables.
5. Place into a greased loaf pan.
6. Bake for 1 hour.

Give it a try and, as always, let me know what you think! Happy eating!

http://www.farmerdaves.net/vegetable-loaf

www.farmerdaves.net

Roasted Beet Risotto

We've been getting beets every week in our CSA share. I love beets! They are so sweet they taste like candy! I usually roast our beets and just enjoy them that way. I did, however, do some searching for new beet recipes. I found this recipe and gave it a try. We all really enjoyed it. I haven't done too much with risotto so I was a little nervous that it would turn out mushy. To my surprise it didn't! I think they key is to stir, stir and stir while adding the broth a little at a time. If you have the patience to do that then I think this dish will be successful for you as well. One other note. Hopefully those of you who have a CSA or buy your beets at the grocery store, keep the greens! Chop off the greens leaving two inches from the beet and store in a Ziploc bag. You can use the greens just like spinach, swiss chard or kale. My husband enjoys beet green omelets on the weekends!

Roasted Beet Risotto


Ingredients:

• 3-5 medium beets (1 1/2 pounds with greens), trimmed, greens chopped and set aside
• 4 cups of vegetable broth
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 tsp garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup arborio rice
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 cup of finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Directions:

1. Put oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 425 degrees
2. Tightly wrap beets in a double layer of foil and roast on a baking sheet until very tender, about 1 hour. Cool to warm in foil package, about 20 minutes.
3. When beets are cool enough to handle, peel them, discarding stem and root ends, then cut into 1/2 inch cubes
4. Cook onion and garlic in oil in a large saucepan over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 3 minutes. 
5. Add rice and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute.
6. Stir in 1/2 cup of broth and simmer briskly, stirring constantly, until broth is absorbed. Continue simmering and adding broth, about 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly and letting each addition be absorbed before adding the next, until the rice is just tender and creamy looking, about 20 minutes.
7. Stir in beets, greens, salt and pepper and stir until heated through. Stir in cheese and remove from heat.

This dish was yummy and pretty as well. All of the rice turned a beautiful shade of dark pink from the beets! Give it a try and as always, let me know what you think! Enjoy!

Tex-Mex Summer Squash Casserole

Okay so it's been two weeks since my first 'weekly recipe' post! Sorry about that! I'm going to try my hardest to post one recipe a week. Since I didn't post one last week I'll post two this week!

The regular shares at our CSA pick up this week got ten squash!! That's a lot of squash! There was a choice between summer squash, cousa squash and zucchini. I plan on grating the zucchini and freezing it in two cup portions so I can use it to make zucchini bread later on. I also took a lot of summer squash.  If you have an abundance of summer squash or you really love it, try this recipe out. This was a really tasty dish and low-cal as well. Give it try.

Tex-Mex Summer Squash Casserole


Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 pounds summer squash, quartered lengthwise and thinly slices crosswise (about 10 cups)
• 2/3 cups finely chopped yellow onion
• 1 4 ounce can of chopped green chiles
• 1 4 ounce can of chopped jalapenos, drained (about 1/2 cup) 
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 1/4 cups grated extra sharp cheddar cheese, divided (about 7 ounces)
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup mild salsa
• 4 scallions
• 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Combine squash, onion, chiles, jalapenos, salt and 3/4 cup cheese in a large bowl. Sprinkle with four; toss to coat. 
3. Spread the mixture in the prepared baking dish and cover with foil.
4. Bake the casserole until it's bubbling and the squash is tender, 35-40 minutes. 
5. Spoon salsa over the casserole and sprinkle with the remaining 1 1/2 cups of cheese. Bake, uncovered, until golden and heated through, 20-30 minutes. 
6. Sprinkle with scallions and red onion.

If you like Mexican food I think you will enjoy this dish. This makes twelve servings and is only 101 calories per serving!! Enjoy!

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/tex_mex_summer_squash_casserole.html

Hip Hip Hooray For CSA!

My favorite season is finally here! I love the long warm days of summer but I also love the abundance of fresh summer veggies just as much! Our CSA has begun and it's been fabulous. If you don't know what a CSA is check out this post. http://homemadejess.blogspot.com/2011/10/community-supported-agriculture-are-you.html

This is my third year participating in a CSA. I feel like each year I have a better sense of how to make the most of all the veggies. I have been trying a lot of new recipes lately and thought I could highlight one or more of the veggies from our share in a new recipe each week. We have also been counting our calories so a lot of these recipes are low-cal. Don't let that term fool you! These recipes have been delicious and more than satisfying! So please check in every week for a new recipe. Hopefully you will enjoy them as much as we are!

The first couple weeks of our CSA are made up of a lot of greens. So the first veggie I'm going to highlight is spinach. My husband LOVES spinach any way he can get it. I like it as well but I enjoy it more when it is accompanied by something rather than just steamed. I found this recipe from Whole Foods and gave it a shot. This is by far the best pasta salad I have ever had! My whole family loved it!

Pasta Salad With Grilled Summer Vegetables and Fresh Mozzarella


Ingredients:

• 1-2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2-3 yellow squash or zucchini, cut on the diagonal into 1/2 inch slices
• 2 red bell peppers, cored seeded and quartered 
• 12 oz fusilli pasta, cooked, drained and cooled
• 2 cups baby spinach leaves
• 6 oz fresh mozzarella, cut into bite size chunks
• 1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
• 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
• 2 Tbsp chopped basil
• 1/2 cup balsamic vinaigrette
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat grill to medium heat. Brush squash and peppers with olive oil and grill, flipping once, until just charred in parts and tender.
2. Transfer to a plate and set aside to cool. Cut into bite size pieces
3. In a large bowl, toss grilled veggies with pasta, spinach, mozzarella, tomatoes, basil, vinaigrette, salt and pepper.

This makes 6 servings and is only 300 calories per serving!! Can't beat that! The best part is that you can substitute any of the veggies for whatever you have in the fridge. I bet this would be really good with grilled eggplant. This pasta salad is great for dinner or to bring to a cookout this summer. I guarantee everyone will love it. Give it a try and let me know what you think. Enjoy!

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/1920

Mother's Day Brunch

I hope everyone had a fantastic Mother's Day! All mom's deserve to be celebrated for all they do for their families 7 days a week, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It's a full time job for sure but it's totally worth it! This year I hosted a Mother's Day brunch for my mother-in-law and my mom. We had a total of ten people coming for brunch so I had to figure out what I could make to serve that many people. I also wanted to make items that I could prepare the night before which would allow me to relax on Mother's Day and not have to stress out before people arrived, especially since guests were arriving at 10:30. Here is the menu that I decided on.

• Yogurt Parfaits
• Vegetable Egg Souffle
• Baked Apple-Cinnamon French Toast
• Zucchini Bread
• Buttermilk Blueberry Cake
• Fruit
• Bagels and Cream Cheese
• And of course COFFEE!

I was able to make the zucchini bread and blueberry cake the day before. The french toast is supposed to be prepared and left in the fridge for 8 hours so I prepared that the night before. I chopped all the veggies for the egg souffle the night before and put them in the fridge in a zip lock bag so they were ready to go the next morning. These dishes were great for the brunch but would also make a great weekend breakfast. Check them out and give them a try. As always let me know what you think!

Vegetable Egg Souffle

Ingredients:

• 1 dozen eggs
• 3 cups of milk
• 1 bell pepper, slice
• 1 bunch of asparagus, chopped (reserve a few stalks for the top of the souffle)
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 bunch of broccoli, chopped
• 2 cups of shredded mild cheddar cheese
• 1 1/2 tsp dry mustard
• 1 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.Saute or microwave veggies to soften.
2. Beat eggs in a large bowl.
3. Add veggies, cheese, mustard and salt.
4. Pour into a greased 9x13 baking dish.
5. Top with asparagus stalks.
6. Bake covered for about 50 minutes. Uncover and bake for 20-30 minutes longer or until done.

This recipe is fairly easy when everything is prepped ahead of time. It is also easily adaptable because you can use whatever vegetable you like or have in your fridge! 

Baked Apple-Cinnamon French Toast

Ingredients:

• 3 cups of nonfat milk
• 2 cups pasteurized liquid egg whites
• 3 Tbsp honey
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 bag of sliced whole wheat bread
• 1 cup of chopped dried apple rings (3 ounces)
• 1/2 cup of raisins
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 Tbsp confectioner's sugar

Directions:

1. Whist milk, egg whites, honey, vanilla and salt in a large bowl.
2. Trim crusts off 8 slices of bread and set aside. Cut the crusts and remaining bread into 1 inch pieces. Toss the cut bread with dried apples, raisins, cinnamon and nutmeg in a large bowl.
3. Coat a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Transfer the bread mixture to the pan. Lay the reserved crustless slices evenly over the top of the casserole, trimming to fit. Whisk the milk mixture one more time, then pour evenly over the bread. Press the bread down with the back of a wooden spoon, making sure it's evenly moist. Cover with parchment paper, then foil, and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or up to 24 hours.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
5. Bake the casserole, covered, for 49 minutes. Uncover and continue baking until puffed , set and lightly browned, about 29 minutes more. Let stand for 10 minutes; dust with confectioner's sugar and serve with maple syrup if desired.

This was the first time I tried this recipe and it was really good! Best part is that it is a healthy version of baked french toast. Everyone loved it! Let me know what you think.

Yogurt Parfait

Ingredients:

• Chobani Vanilla Non-Fat Greek Yogurt (or yogurt of your choice)
• Granola
• Mixed berries

Directions:

1. Layer yogurt, granola and fruit into parfait glasses or other pretty glasses.
2. Serve and enjoy!

Zucchini Bread

Ingredients:

• 3 cups of all purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 3 tsp ground cinnamon
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 1/4 cups white sugar
• 3 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups grated zucchini

Directions:

1. Grease two 8x 4 inch pans. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Sift flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon together in a bowl.
3. Beat eggs, oil, vanilla and sugar together in a large bowl. Add sifted ingredients to the creamed mixture and beat well. Stir in zucchini until well combined
4. Pour batter into pans.
5. Bake for 40-60 minutes or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on cooling rack for 20 minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely.

Buttermilk Blueberry Breakfast Cake

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 tsp lemon zest or more
• 7/8 cup* plus 1 Tbsp sugar**
• 1 egg, room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 2 cups fresh blueberries
• 1/2 cup buttermilk

*7/8 cup = 3/4 cup + 2 Tbsp

**This 1 Tbsp is for sprinkling on top

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter with lemon zest and 7/8 cup of the sugar until light and fluffy.
2. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined. Meanwhile, toss the blueberries with 1/4 cup of flour, then whisk together the remaining flour, baking powder and salt.
3. Add the flour mixture to the batter a little at a time, alternating with the buttermilk. Fold in the blueberries.
4. Grease a 9 inch square baking pan. Spread batter into pan. Sprinkle batter with remaining tablespoon of sugar. Bake for 35 minutes. Check with a toothpick for doneness. Let cool at least 15 before serving.

Try out these recipes for your next family get together or weekend breakfast and let me know what you think! Happy Mother's day to all you wonderful mothers!