Tag: whole wheat

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Whole Wheat Sourdough Scones with Goat Cheese and Rosemary

Whole Wheat Sourdough Scones with Goat Cheese and Rosemary

I am a superfan of Paisley Fig‘s scones at Room 11 (soon to have its own storefront in Mt. Pleasant DC as well). I’ve sampled scones far and wide but no pastry elsewhere holds a candle to these shaggy pillows of flour and butter. While I am no Paisley Fig, I do love baking bread and recently got back into the rhythm with a sourdough starter from Cultures for Health. After lovingly feeding and growing my starter for a week and building it up for use over the course of another few days, I now have a robust living culture for all my sour baking dreams. Rejoice!

I baked my first loaf last week only to realize I needed to knead it more. Edible, but not ideal. This week, I attempted their gluten-free sourdough oat and buckwheat scones – only I made it not gluten-free, probiotic and savory 🙂 Check out my adaptation below – they are delicious!

 

Whole Wheat Sourdough Scones with Goat Cheese and Rosemary

Whole Wheat Sourdough Scones with Goat Cheese and Rosemary

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup rolled oats
  • 2 cups whole wheat bread flour
  • 6 Tbs cold butter
  • 1/2 cup sourdough starter
  • 1/2 cup plain kefir (low-fat or whole milk)
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 4 oz goat cheese, crumbled
  • 2 Tbs rosemary leaves, minced

Directions

  1. In a large bowl, combine oats and flour. Cut in cold butter, cubed, until flour texture becomes crumbly (note: you can use two forks, a dough blender, or pinch the butter into the flour with your fingertips). Pour in sourdough starter and kefir and mix with your hand or cutting utensils until the dough begins to come together. Knead a few times in the bowl to ensure that everything is well-mixed.
  2. Cover with a dry cloth and let sour 8 to 12 hours at room temperature (ideally 68-85°F).
  3. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 425°F.
  4. In a small bowl, beat eggs. In a separate small bowl combine baking soda, salt, and baking powder with a fork until well combined.
  5. Add the eggs and dry mixture to the soured dough and mix together, using a utensil or your hands – I like to use my hands personally. Fold in the goat cheese and rosemary until  the ingredients come together well and the goodies look evenly distributed.
  6. Line a baking sheet. Use your hands or a large soup spoon to make shaggy triangles of dough on the prepared baking sheet. Leave at least 1 inch of space between scones. I did one baking sheet with 12 scones from this recipe, but you could definitely make them smaller and do two batches.
  7. Once pan is full, transfer scones to preheated oven and bake 14-16 minutes or until set on top and golden brown on the bottom. Allow to cool for a few minutes before serving or transferring to cooling rack.
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Sunday Spread: BBQ Pulled Chicken w/ Asian Broccoli Slaw & Kale Chips

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about my Jerk Chicken Sunday Spread. Well with NFL playoff season in full swing–GO PATS!–I decided y’all might enjoy another modified comfort food recipe, and one that will keep your guests happy and healthy. This Sunday Spread is tailgate-inspired with its sandwich, slaw and chip combo. The recipes are nutrient-dense and tasty as can be…leaving a little wiggle room for some of my signature perfect Manhattans (*insert devilish grin here*).

For starters, homemade BBQ sauce is the way to go. Not only do you know exactly what you’re eating and avoid a lot of preservatives, but you also get to control the acidity, sweetness and spice levels. At 32 g of lean protein per serving, the chicken in these sammys gives you a good dose of your recommended dietary allowance (RDA) of protein–which for adult women is 46 g and adult men 56 g. Cruciferous vegetables like the broccoli and kale used in these side dishes are packed with disease-fighting nutrients, including several carotenoids, vitamins C, E, and K, folate, and dietary fiber.

Get to cookin’ and enjoy this football-friendly Sunday spread, guilt-free!

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SLOW-COOKER BBQ PULLED CHICKEN

What You’ll Need:

  • 2 lbs chicken (about 4 chicken breasts or 5 chicken thighs)
  • 1 white onion, diced
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3/4 cup all-natural ketchup
  • 1/4 cup sun-dried tomato paste
  • 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 2 tbs chili powder
  • 1 tbs brown sugar
  • 1 tbs Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tsp dry mustard
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1/4 tsp allspice
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon
  • 6 whole wheat sandwich rolls

How to Make It:

  1.  Grab a mix bowl and combine the garlic, ketchup, tomato paste, vinegar, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, paprika, cumin, allspice and cinnamon. Give it a good whisk until smooth and well blended.
  2. Add your chicken breasts or thighs in a single layer at the bottom of your slow cooker. Sprinkle the diced onions evenly overtop. Pour your BBQ sauce mixture on top, cover and set heat to low. Let cook for 4-5 hours like this.
  3. Remove chicken from slow cooker. The chicken should be pretty much cooked-through, but now it’s time to shred. Using two forks, gently pull apart the chicken into stringy pieces and/or small chunks. Once you’ve shredded the lot, add it back to the sauce in your slow cooker and cook another 1-2 hours.

ASIAN BROCCOLI SLAW

What You’ll Need:

  • 1 package pre-shredded broccoli slaw mix (your could use the cole slaw mix here as a substitute or shred your own cabbage and carrots)
  • 2 tbs green onions, sliced thin
  • 2 tbs fresh cilantro, minced

For the dressing:

  • 2 tbs sesame oil
  • 2 tbs low sodium soy sauce
  • 2 tbs honey
  • 1 tbs rice vinegar
  • 1 tbs lemon juice
  • 1 tbs fresh ginger, grated

How to Make It:

  1.  Whisk all dressing ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Add slaw mix, green onions and cilantro. Toss together until well-coated and combined. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

BBQ-INSPIRED KALE CHIPS

What You’ll Need:

  •  1 head kale (whatever variety you like best)
  • 3 tbs olive oil
  • 1 tsp dry mustard
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 1/2 tsp allspice
  • salt and pepper, to taste

How to Make Them:

  1. Pre-heat over to 300°F. Wash, stem and cut kale into bite size pieces.
  2. Toss kale and olive oil together in a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle spices as evenly as possible over the kale then mix thoroughly with your hands, massaging the kale, for 1-2 min. 
  3. Place wire cooling racks on two cookie sheets. Spread coated kale leaves over both wire racks. (Note: the wire cooling racks allow heat to crisp the kale from top and bottom. Without this added elevation your chips will be soggy and oily.) Bake for 20-30 min depending on the oven. Keep an eye on them for the last 10 min or so to ensure they don’t burn.
  4. Remove from oven, flake them into a bowl and enjoy!
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Don’t ya like Bran Muffins?

I love muffins. We all do. On the contrary, not many of us love bran muffins, but we should. Here’s why: bran–the outer layer of grains like oats, wheat and rice–is made of insoluble dietary fiber. Bran is good for your GI tract, is a pro-biotic food (meaning it has natural antibacterial fighting properties), and helps in combating heart disease. I feel fairly confident that I’ve found a way to make bran muffins mo’ than nutritious, and dare I say delicious. Not only that, but I’ve made them low-fat by substituting a ripe banana for oil, nutrient-rich by using whole wheat flour and almond meal in lieu of refined white flour, and dairy-free by trading out buttermilk/yogurt for almond milk. Eating is believing, so enjoy!

AMY’S BANANA BRAN MUFFINS:

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups wheat bran
  • 1 1/2 cups currants
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 cup unsweetened chocolate or vanilla almond milk
  • 1 tbs orange zest
  • 1/2 cup Demerara sugar (or pure cane sugar)
  • 1 (very ripe) banana
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1/4 cup almond meal
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup shredded (unsweetened) coconut – optional

Instructions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners or grease lightly with oil (I use the spray kind).
  2. Spread the wheat bran on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for 6-8 minutes, being careful not to let it burn!
  3. Let the bran do it’s thing while simultaneously heating the currants with 3/4 cup of the water for 10 minutes, or until the water is mostly absorbed. Puree the raisins with the remaining 1/4 cup of water in a food processor or blender until semi-smooth (I like to keep some whole or semi-whole currants in there for texture).
  4. Mix together the toasted bran and almond milk. Add in the currant puree, orange zest and Demerara sugar. Stir in the mushy banana and two eggs.
  5. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, almond meal, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Fold into the wet ingredients and stir until everything comes together. Mix in the coconut (you could also add walnuts, pecans, or even chocolate chips here!)
  6. Spoon the batter into the muffin pan, mounding the batter in each one.
  7. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the muffins feel firm in the center.
  8. Let cool for 10-15 minutes then remove from the pan.

Enjoy immediately or freeze for up to 3 months. They are grrrreat for breakfast with a cup of coffee or tea and some fresh fruit. Bon appetit!

P.S. Just in case you didn’t quite catch the reference insinuated by the title: http://muffinfilms.com/psst.html. Psst!