March 8, 2009

Raspberry & Blackberry Muffins

These are delicious muffins, with a sweet batter and slightly tart berries. They look pretty and taste wonderful! (And they're good for you, as long as you don't eat four because they taste so great!)

Raspberry & Blackberry Muffins
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup wheat flour
1 cup quick-cooking oats
1 cup granulated sugar
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
2 cups low-fat vanilla yogurt
1/2 cup skim milk
3 Tbsp. canola oil
2 tsp. vanilla
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blackberries and raspberries
1/4 cup flour
1 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. brown sugar

Preheat oven to 400ºF. Combine flours, oats, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt with a whisk. Make a well in the middle of the center.

In separate bowl, combine yogurt, milk, oil, vanilla and egg with a whisk. Combine moist ingredients with dry ingredients until just moistened. Gently fold in berries.

Spoon two tablespoons of batter into each of 30 lined muffin tins.

Combine flour, butter and brown sugar to make streusel topping. Sprinkle evenly all muffins. Bake 15 minutes or until muffins spring back when touched lightly in center. Cool in pans 10 minutes on a wire rack, and then remove. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Zuni Cornmeal Bread

This bread doesn't taste like my mom's wonderful corn bread, but it is a delicious bread. It's slightly sweet and goes great with soup.

Zuni Cornmeal Bread
1 1/3 cups water
2 tsp. yeast
1/2 cup masa harina
1/2 cup cornmeal
2 tsp. salt
3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
3 Tbsp. dark molasses
3 cups bread flour

Heat water until warm, between 105ºF and 115ºF. Pour into warmed mixing bowl, and add yeast, masa harina and cornmeal. Let stand 5 minutes.

Add salt, olive oil, molasses and half the bread flour. Beat well. Cover and let stand 15 minutes.

Slowly add remaining bread flour. Mix until dough forms. Knead on medium speed until dough is smooth and springy but soft to the touch. Cover and let rise one hour.

Punch down dough, and divide into 2 to 3 loaves. Shape into round loaves, and place on lightly greased baking sheets. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes. Preheat oven to 375
ºF. Bake 30 to 35 minutes until loaves are golden and wooden skewer comes out clean. Cool on wire rack.

March 7, 2009

Cranberry Semonlina Bread

This smells just a bit like cornbread but doesn't really taste like it. It's a good breakfast bread, with a bit of tartness from the cranberries. There's a funny story about how I learned to poach eggs by accident while making this bread.

Cranberry Semolina Bread
2 large eggs plus water to equal 1 1/3 cups
2 tsp. yeast
3 Tbsp. honey
1 Tbsp. butter, softened
2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup nonfat dry milk
1/2 cup semolina flour
1 cup wheat flour
2 cups bread flour
1/2 cup dried cranberries

Warm eggs to room temperature and heat the water until warm, between 105ºF and 115ºF. Pour both into warmed mixing bowl, and add yeast. Let stand 5 minutes.

Add honey, butter, salt, dry milk, semolina and wheat flour. Beat well. Cover and let stand 15 minutes.

Slowly add bread flour. Mix until dough forms. Knead on medium speed until dough is smooth and springy but soft to the touch. Knead in cranberries. Cover and let rise one hour.

Punch down dough, and divide into 2 to 3 loaves. Shape into round loaves, and place on lightly greased baking sheets. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes. Preheat oven to 375
ºF. Bake 25 to 30 minutes until loaves are golden and wooden skewer comes out clean. Cool on wire rack.

Slow Cooker Beef-Tortellini Soup

This is a good soup. I'm a big fan of tortellini. (I love cheese!) It's forgiving if you substitute different vegetables, such as frozen mixed vegetables instead of green beans.

Slow Cooker Beef-Tortellini Soup
1 lb. beef stew meat
1 large onion, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tsp. sugar
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
2 cans condensed beef consomme
1 tsp. dried basil
2 cups frozen cheese tortellini
1 cup frozen cut green beans

Place beef, onion, carrot, celery, garlic, sugar, tomatoes and beef consomme into slow cooker in order listed. Cook on low 8 to 9 hours. Stir in basil, frozen tortellini and green beans. Increase heat to high. Cook 25 to 30 minutes, until beans are tender.

Cinnamon Bubble Loaf

This tastes somewhat like a traditional coffee cake. It looks pretty neat but tends to fall apart when you cut it. I found that bigger squares rather than slices worked better.

Cinnamon Bubble Loaf
3 1/2 cups bisquick
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cups granulated sugar
3 Tbsp. butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
Cinnamon and sugar to coat
2 Tbsp. butter, melted

Heat oven to 375ºF Grease bottom and sides of 9 x 5 loaf pan. Combine bisquick, milk, sugar, butter, vanilla and egg together until a soft dough forms. Roll into 1-inch balls. Roll in cinnamon and sugar mixture and set into pan. Drizzle with melted butter. Bake 25 to 30 minutes until golden brown. Let sit in pan 10 minutes. Remove from pan, and serve warm.