Cinnamon Raisin Bread

Another weekend, another bread. I decided I wanted to experiment with some whole-wheat flour today and experiment with my recipe from a couple of weekends ago. Today, Tony was in the mood for a Cinnamon Raisin Bread.

Time Required: 20 min prep time, ~2.0 hours rise time, 45 min oven time.

Ingredients:

1. 3 and 1/3 cups All-purpose flour (plus more for dusting)
2. 2/3 cup Whole-Wheat flour
3. 1 tsp Vital Wheat Gluten
4. 1.5 cups + a couple extra tbsp Water
5. 1.5 tsp Ground Cinnamon
6. 1/3 cup Raisins
7. 2 tsp Coarse Salt (Sea or Kosher)
8. 1 tsp Active Dry Yeast

Directions:

Measure out both kinds of flour, gluten, yeast and salt into the bowl. I'm trying the gluten trick for the first time today. I read recently that VWG helps with the rise in WW bread by providing more gluten fibers. Get the yeast started by dissolving in a cup of tepid tap water (the water should be barely warm to touch) and set aside. In the next 5-10 minutes the water will be become cloudy and foamy (if it doesn't, discard and start with fresh yeast, and check the expiration date on your packet). 

Mix water/yeast mix with the flour in the bowl of a Cuisinart Stand Mixer to form the dough. The dough should come together as a large ball. If not, add water in 1 tablespoon portions until everything is well incorporated, but doesn't look too dry. Be patient with this step as it is easy to add too much and you will most likely not need to much. Today I needed 4 tablespoons of water to get to a nice wet, but not slippery consistency. Once you have everything incorporated, make note of the clock time and knead the dough for about 10-15 minutes. Once you successfully achieve a windowpane with the dough, you can stop kneading (when stretched out dough looks somewhat translucent - light goes through it like a windowpane). 

One ready, remove the dough onto a well floured surface. I used a silicone baking mat. Lightly dust your fingers and shape the dough into a ball. Keeping the seam side down, transfer to a bowl. I also tried another trick today, which used wax paper instead of putting the dough directly in a bowl to rise. The recommendation was that you can then transfer everything directly into the cooking vessel. This did not work for me at all.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise for approximately 2-3 hours. If your house is cold, try the oven method I talked about in the last recipe). I only allowed around a 2 hour rise time today because the dough was ready to spill out of the bowl after 1 hour. After 2 hours, the surface of the dough was dotted with a lot of tiny bubbles and crevices. 

Preheat the oven and dutch oven (a 5.5 qt Round Le Creuset) to 450° F.  Remove dough from bowl and gently form into a round ball using the silicone mat and some flour for dusting. I did not score the loaf I made today.  For some odd reason, when I formed the ball this time, my down lost its rise and dropped to the same size it was prior to my 2 hour rise. I knew something was up :(! 

Remove preheated pot from the oven. Set lid aside. Do not grease the pot. Gently drop the dough into the pot, seam side down. Shake the pan a couple of times to help distribute the loaf, if necessary. Cover with lid and bake for 30 minutes at 450° F. 

After 30 min, remove the lid and set aside, and bake for another 15 minutes, until the loaf is golden brown. Remove pot from oven, give it a good shake and the loaf should shake loose immediately. Gently remove the loaf from the pot and allow to cool on a cooling rack. Allow bread to cool completely before cutting into it.

The loaf today was a little lopsided :) !! The flavor was great. The raisins were moist and the cinnamon aromatic. I did get rise and a lot of alveoli (bread speak for air pockets) but it was still a pretty dense loaf! My whole-wheat loaf still needs work. 

Suggestions: If you were to make this loaf with 4 cups of All purpose or bread flour, it would be the perfect cinnamon raisin bread!! One your guests would rave about.

Nutrition Facts (One Loaf): Calories 1940 (Fat Calories 47)

Total Fat 5.2 g; Carbohydrates 414.6 g; Fiber 17.6 g; Sugars 30.0 g; Protein 53.5 g


If you liked this recipe, be sure to check out my Recipe Index for more Whole-Food, Plant-Based, No-Added-Oil recipes. You can also like Rugrat Chow! on Facebook. Thanks!

Rosemary Potato & Celery Soup

Simple pleasures .. bubbles (for him) ..
a glass of wine (for me) ..
.. & warm sunshine in Central Ohio!

I opened a bottle of wine this afternoon after a long time because it just felt right. Nik and I were outside most of the day. Our neighbor visited with us for a little bit .. but for the most part, it was him and I chilling on a rather uncommon (these days!) warm spring afternoon in Central Ohio. He had his bubbles and his baseball bat and his scooter and I had my glass of wine and Nook to read the rest of my latest book! We spent a blissful afternoon under the budding trees (thank goodness I've got a fresh bottle of prescription Flonase!!) 

Anyhow, in the end, I was left with an almost full bottle of wine (since the wuss in me can consume 1 glass/sitting). I also had a pack of celery sitting in the fridge so I decided to use both for dinner and make a celery soup, with a white wine base. 

I looked at various recipes online and then decided to make a variation of one of I found. I included Rosemary since I've developed a fondness for the rosemary-potato combination.  

Adapted from: Crash Test Vegetarian [Vegan] Potato Soup

Prep Time: 30 min

Ingredients (Serves 6):

1. 1 lb Celery (diced)
2. 1.5 lb Russet potatoes (diced)
3. 3 cups of White Wine (preferably dry, and not too sweet)
4. 3 cups water or Home-Made Vegetable Broth
5. 1 tbsp 'Better than Bouillon' Mushroom or Vegetable Base
6. 3 tsp Onion powder
7. 2 tsp Garlic powder
8. 1 tsp Nutmeg powder
9. 2 tsp fresh Rosemary, diced
10. 3 tbsp Whole Wheat Flour
11. 3 tbsp Nutritional Yeast
12. 1/2 cup Almond Milk
13. Salt and Pepper, to taste

Rosemary Potato & Celery Soup

Directions:

In a deep stock pot, add 3 cups of wine and add celery with a sprinkle of salt. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer to allow celery to cook down into the wine (it will become more translucent). Then add diced potatoes, onion, garlic and nutmeg powders, bouillon base and more water (or broth) and simmer until potatoes are tender (~15-20 min). Cover partially to prevent over-drying. Add more water (or broth) as needed to keep the soup runny. In a separate stock pot on medium-low heat, dry roast the whole wheat flour until golden and then add a splash of water and then almond milk. Whisk this mixture to make a smooth roux. Add more water (or broth) as needed and whisk until smooth and frothy. Then add nutritional yeast and whisk again. Bring to a slow boil (on simmer) and then transfer contents to the soup. Mix well and allow to simmer for another 5 minutes to allow the soup to become thick and creamy. Taste test for salt and serve hot with a sprinkling of freshly cracked black pepper. 

Nutrition Facts (Per Serving)*: Calories 185 (Fat Calories 9)
Total Fat 1.0 g; Carbohydrates 30.3 g; Fiber 5.8 g; Sugars 3.5 g; Protein 5.5 g

* Nutrition facts are provided for the water option as vegetable broth calorie content can vary tremendously.

In Search of the Perfect Loaf #3

My adventures with bread making continue. After a brief hiatus, I attempted another loaf today. After a quick Google search revealed nothing immediately promising, I decided to improvise based on my last few attempts. I've been reading up on bread making and all in all - basic bread should consist of 4 ingredients - Flour (is the body of the loaf), Water (to dissolve all the ingredients; both too much and too little water prevent adequate rise in the loaf), Yeast (which helps the dough rise) and Salt (which helps retard the yeast and tempers the fermentation process). As the old fairy tale goes ... salt is essential also for our taste buds ... it adds flavor. Some folks would say that bread making also requires Sugar - to help feed the yeast, which is basically a microorganism that uses starches (and sugars) to grow and multiply. During this process, any simple sugars are converted to alcohol and carbon dioxide is released which bubbles through the dough and causes it to rise. During the baking process all the alcohol evaporates .. so you don't need to be worried about serving alcohol to your kids in the form of bread. So today, I tried a rather simple recipe, with only these basic ingredients and some Chia seeds for added fiber and omega-3 fatty acids.

Prep Time: 10 + ~3.5 hours in a bread machine

Ingredients: (8 servings/slices):

1. 1.5 cups Water
2. 1/4 cup Apple Sauce 
3. 3 tbsp Dark Brown Sugar
4. 1 tbsp Chia Seeds
5. 2 cups All-purpose White Flour
6. 1 cup Whole Wheat Flour
7. 1 tsp Salt
8. 2.5 tsp Active Dry Yeast 

So I placed all ingredients in the order they are listed into the baking pan of my bread machine. Started the machine for Basic White bread. Set it to a medium dark crust. I peeked in a couple of times as the dough was mixing and it looked pretty wet. I thought that would not be a huge issue and it would be okay once it rose. the dough rose really well and then .... poof!! It fell in on itself!!! BIG FAIL!!! The loaf that came out was so bad, its not even worth a picture!!!  Oh well ... I learnt something from this failed attempt. .... and I will try again tomorrow!! :)

Chocolate Raisin & Walnut Bread

Another weekend, another bread-making attempt ... I wish I could do this more often. Last week's attempt was actually quite good, with the exception of being a little too sweet. We ate about half of it on the same day and then I put the rest in the fridge. Unfortunately, when I took it out next, it was too dry and chewy to be eaten as bread. So I made my East-Indian Stuffing ... in January :) !!! It was pretty delish and half a loaf made me 4 good sized servings which I enjoyed for lunch this week. So here's today's attempt. Its in the machine now and is expected to be done in about 3 hours. 

Prep Time: 10 minutes + ~3.25 hours in a bread machine

Ingredients: (8 servings/slices)*:

1. 1 cup Water
2. 6 tbsp Apple Sauce (1 Mots Naturals Snack cup)
3. 2.5 cups All Purpose Flour
4. 0.5 cup Whole Wheat Flour (Atta)
5. 3 tbsp Dark Brown Sugar
6. 1.5 tsp Sea Salt
7. 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
8. 2.5 tsp Active Dry Yeast
9. 1/4 cup Raisins
10. 1/4 cup Pecans
11. 1/4 cup Ghirardelli Non-Dairy Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

Directions:

Place all ingredients in the order they are listed into the baking pan of your bread machine, with the exception of the Raisins, Pecans and Chocolate chips. Most bread machines want you to put in liquid ingredients first, followed by dry ingredients and the require that the yeast be added at the very top, in a little hollow made into the dry flour. Make sure that any salt is not in contact with the active yeast. 

Start the machine using the menu selection for Basic White bread. Set the crust to medium or light. Start the cycle and when the machine beeps at the 'add ingredient' stage (just before the last 5-10 minutes of kneading), add the last 3 ingredients. Allow the baking cycle to complete, remove the bread from the pan onto a baking rack and allow to stand for 20-30 minutes before slicing/cutting into the loaf.

Chocolate Raisin & Walnut Bread

My Assessment: Adding a half a cup of whole wheat flour made it a tad denser than the 100% white bread I made last week. The recipe initially called for 2 tbsp of oil. Initially, when I substituted 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour, I added 4 tbsp of applesauce, instead of just 2. When the dough was initially formed, it looked just a tad too tight to me so I added 2 tbsp more. That was probably a good idea. I got very good rise and some nice air pockets. The bread was light, but not fluffy. I wonder if it can even be fluffy when I've added raisins and nuts and chocolate chips. This recipe tasted a lot like the Pepperidge Farm Raisin Cinnamon Swirl. Yummy! 

Nutrition Facts (Per Serving): Calories 240

Total Fat 3.5 g; Cholesterol 0 g; Carbohydrates 46.9 g; Fiber 2.4 g; Sugars 8.8 g; Protein 5.9 g

* I seem to have trouble slicing bread very thin. Especially fresh bread is even harder to slice in my opinion. The best I've ever gotten out of my bread machine is 8 slices. If you can slice thinner ... more power to you :)

Multi-Grain (Machine) Bread - Take 2

Homemade Multi-Grain Bread - Take 2

So my first attempt at using my bread machine turned out pretty good. It wasn't great 'to die for' bread but it had a lot going for it. It had 3 different whole grains, it had a nice and crunchy crust, and was soft inside. The downside - it had 2 tablespoons of Earth Balance (a vegan butter replacement) and it was pretty dense - almost the consistency of a dense banana bread. So this morning, I decided to make a few changes that would help reduce the density and replace the fat with a more healthy alternative. 

Prep Time: 10 min + ~4 hours in a bread machine

Ingredients (8 servings/slices): 

1. 1 cup almond milk
2. 2/3 cup water
3. 2 tbsp Natural (No Sugar) Apple Sauce (replaces Earth Balance)
4. 2 tbsp Agave syrup (I removed this because I figured Apple Sauce would add some sweetness)
5. 2 tsp Salt (I removed this because I added Roasted Salted Sunflower Seeds)
6. 3 cups Whole Wheat flour 
7. 3/4 cup All Purpose flour
8. 1/4 cup Ground Flax Seed Meal (replaced 3/4 cup Old Fashioned Oats) 
9. 1/4 cup Roasted Salted Sunflower Seeds (replaced 3/4 cup Old Fashioned Oats)
10. 2 tbsp Chia Seeds (I doubled this from Take 1, as I added less than 3/4 cup seeds) 
11. 2.25 tsp Active Dry Yeast

Directions: 

Place all ingredients in the order they are listed into the baking pan of your bread machine.  I used the menu selection on my machine for whole wheat bread. 

Allow the baking cycle to complete, remove the bread from the pan onto a baking rack and allow to stand for 20-30 minutes. Let the awesome yeasty aroma penetrate the senses of every living being :) !! Once they're all begging for you to cut some slices ... slice away!! 

My Assessment: Its still not there yet! Even though Joules, the old dog is begging for a slice (and she got a little piece!) it was still too dense in my opinion. So its back to the drawing board for me. Also, next time I will add back the agave as replacing both the salt and the sweet with only roasted seeds and 2 tablespoons of applesauce made it rather bland. This was definitely a better version than yesterday's attempt.  

Nutrition Facts (Per Serving): Calories 198
Total Fat 10/9 g; Cholesterol 0 g; Carbohydrates 22 g; Fiber 4 g; Sugars 1.3 g; Protein 5.8 g

Multi-Grain (Machine) Bread

In this past year of being plant-based, I've often read and wondered about the multiple ingredients and preservatives in store-bought bread. Lindsay Nixon (Happy Herbivore) did a blog post last March about how to look for vegan breads. She posted a iPhone pic of a bread label that she took one day while grocery shopping. The ingredient listing was almost 5 inches long. Now that is a tad insane, isn't it?

Home-made Whole Grain Bread

Anyhow, all last year I mused about getting a bread machine so we could have our own home made bread. Surprise, Surprise ... Santa, disguised as my DH of course, brought me a Black & Decker BK1015W Bread Machine. Yup! That's me all smiles on Christmas morning :) !!!

The only bread we ate growing up was either store-bought white bread, or it was whole-wheat (unleavened) Indian flat-bread (chapati). My mom always made the dough at home, by hand, and we were taught to help out as we got older. Kneading the dough was a rather tedious job. I am sure anyone who has ever made home-made bread of any kind can attest to that. So, I didn't make chapatis at home until very recently and even then I used my Cuisinart with its dough hook attachment.  So when I got a kneading bread machine ... I was admittedly quite excited. Then ... came the realization that I can no longer just made dinner in 30 min or less after work. If I wanted to have fresh bread with dinner, I needed to plan ahead. So my bread machine has been sitting in its box for almost 2 weeks. Finally, this evening, again rather late to be able to eat it today .. I opened the box and washed out the removable parts with the intent of making a loaf tomorrow. But, I couldn't wait and decided to do a test run tonight! :) If it works, I have a plan for Monday night .... !! 

I adapted a recipe I found online on Guilty Kitchen. Since this is my first attempt and because I am relatively new to 'yeast' breads - I followed the recipe almost to the tee, with one slight change. I called it multi-grain, instead of whole wheat, because I used all, in addition to whole wheat flour - Oats (which the original recipe allows for) and Chia seeds (my addition). 

Prep Time: 10 min + ~4 hours in a bread machine

Ingredients (8 servings/slices): 

1. 1 cup almond milk
2. 2/3 cup water
3. 2 tbsp Earth Balance
4. 2 tbsp Agave syrup
5. 2 tsp Salt
6. 3.75 cups Whole Wheat flour 
7. 3/4 cup Old Fashioned Oats 
8. 3 tsp Chia Seeds (not in original recipe) 
9. 2.25 tsp Active Dry Yeast

Directions:

Place all ingredients in the order they are listed into the baking pan of your bread machine. This is important because bread machines allow the ingredients to sit for a while before the program initiates. Always add the liquid ingredients, followed by the dry ingredients and always add the active yeast at the very end - make a little well in the center of the flour and place yeast there. Make sure that the yeast does not immediately come in contact with salt, or water (this is especially important when using the delay-bake function).  

The dough, before rising!

Use the menu selection on your machine for whole wheat bread. Mine had a setting for 3 hours and 53 minutes. I got quite the scare today when the bread machine sat for a good 30 minutes before it showed any signs of life (it just sat there .. giving out the occasional click). Apparently, it was making sure that all the ingredients were at the ideal temperature for the yeast before it even starts kneading the dough. It made a pretty smooth ball of dough after it was done kneading.

The dough, halfway through rising .. very spongy!!

Then, it allowed the bread to rise for another 90 minutes before the bake cycle began. The instruction manual asks you not to open the lid once the kneading cycle is done, but curiosity got the better of me. I could not just sit there and smell the delicious aroma without looking. I did let the program run its course however. The house smelled amazing during and even after the baking period. Once done, remove the bread from the machine when done and allow to cool on a baking rack for 15-20 minutes. Slice away ... !

The loaf, after it was done & resting!

My Assessment: For a first attempt, this bread came out pretty good. The crust was nice and crunchy and the inside of the bread was soft and warm. It had the wonderful aroma of fresh baked bread. The body of it was a little denser I would have wanted it to be - which might be a function of the brand of whole wheat dough that I used versus the original recipe. I might try to mix a little bit of all purpose flour to tone down the density of the whole wheat flour next time. I really liked the bits of  Oats and Chia seeds which gave it the bread a little more substance. This recipe also uses 2 tbsp of Earth Balance (a vegan butter) .. so I need to modify my next attempt to replace that as well. The loaf slid out of the pan in one smooth swoop. The crust could have been darker, but I set it to medium. Overall, I think the bread machine was a hit! 

Nutrition Facts (Per Serving): Calories 222
Total Fat 11.5 g; Cholesterol 0 g; Carbohydrates 27 g; Fiber 4.6 g; Sugars 1.4 g; Protein 5.1 g

Arti's Aloo Paratha

So, my sister-in-law Arti makes the best food. Whenever I visit her, as we are now, I can be assured of a feast, or two, or several, during our visit. This morning, she made Aloo Parathas. This is the ultimate breakfast food in India. Historically, parathas fried in butter, and served with fresh butter, mango and chili pepper pikles and often also with fresh plain yogurt. Keeping in line with my food choices (no added fat), she made my parathas without oil or butter. Amazing!!!

Arti's Kitchen ... 

A Paratha is basically a stuffed Indian flat-bread made with unleavened dough and originating from the Indian state of Punjab. My DH calls them potato pancakes except they're typically savory and spicy and you don't pour syrup over them. A ball of dough is stuffed with crumbled spiced vegetables or cheese (potatoes, cauliflower, mint, radishes, paneer, onions, fenugreek, lentils, etc.). The dough is then rolled out and is the pan-fried or pan-roasted on a flat skillet. Another "cheater" method is to roll out 2 chapatis (see link here). Cover the surface of one with the filling and then cover with the other (like a chapati sandwich). Pan-fry or pan-roast as described above.

Arti's Pan-Roasted Aloo Parathas

Prep Time: 15 min

Ingredients for the Filling: 

1. 4-6 Steamed/Boiled Russet potatoes, crumbled
2. 1 small Red Onion, diced finely.
3. Cumin, to taste
4. Red Chillies, to taste
5. Ajwain (Carom) seeds, to taste
6. Amchoor (Dried Mango powder), to taste
7. 2-3 tbsp fresh Cilantro leaves
8. 2-3 fresh Serrano peppers, sliced, to taste.
9. 2-3 tsp Dried Mint leaves
10. 1-2 tsp Garam Masala
11. Salt and Pepper, to taste.

Directions:

Prepare the whole wheat flour into dough (see link here). Prepare the potato filling by mixing the above ingredients together. My sis-in-law cooks the Indian way, so all spices are estimates. Taste check after each spice and once the filling is yummy :) you're all set. Roll out a ball of dough into about a 4 inch round. Place about a heaping tablespoon of filling in the middle and fold over the sides and pinch the top closed. Flatten the stuffed dough and then roll out gently into about a 6-7 inch round. Gently lift the rolled out dough and transfer to a hot skillet and pan roast on both sides until done. If you're okay with using butter, add a little butter and pan-fry instead. The difference is only visual. Both taste equally yummy!

Arti's Pan-Fried Aloo Parathas

Cooking Tip: If you want to save some for later, partially fry each one, and store some for later in a tupper-ware (use saran wrap between individual parathas if you want to freeze them for later). When ready to eat, transfer to a skillet and complete the cooking process :)

Arti's Aloo Parathas .. some for later :)

My Assessment: LOVED my breakfast today!! As did my DH :)

Chapati (Roti) - Indian Flat bread

Some days are just meant for an old relaxing meal and a chilled out evening. Yet, this afternoon I got it into my head that I wanted to make some fresh chapati (roti). Now for the uninformed, please note, that this is in no way shape or form a relaxing meal or a chilled out evening. Although my plans for the evening included laying in bed with my Nook book ... here I was jumping head first towards something that I have not tried doing in ... oh maybe 20 years or so!! Yup ... I'm that old and I'm that lazy!! In the past 20 years I have never once had the urge to make fresh chapatis at home. Unless someone else has lovingly made the dough, and the chapatis, I have not eaten chapatis during this time as well. Some might think that's a bit messed up for an Indian, and I'm okay with that ... :)

Chapati (Hindi: चपाती) is an unleavened flat bread (also known as Roti) eaten at practically every meal in India. It is the most common form of wheat consumption in the Subcontinent. The dough is firm and contains only whole wheat flour and water. Occasionally, in few households, salt and/or oil may be mixed into the dough. Small portions of this firm dough are rolled out using a rolling pin and the chapati is then cooked on a flat pre-heated and dry skillet known as a Tava (Hindi: तवा). In some regions, it may be partly cooked on the skillet and then put directly on a high flame, which makes it blow up super quick. This air-filled bread, often called Phulka (Hindi: फुल्का) cooks quickly, as the hot air on the inside promotes rapid cooking.  Some people like to butter their chapatis, but I have honestly always preferred it plain. Sometimes, a ball of dough may be stuffed with spiced mixtures (potatoes, onions, cauliflower, cheese, and even cinnamon sugar). This stuffed ball of dough is then carefully rolled out and cooked with ample amounts of butter to make Parathas (Hindi: परांठा). 

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup whole wheat flour, and more for dusting the rolling pin and cutting board. 
2. Tap water, as needed
3. A flat, non-stick skillet, or a seasoned cast iron pan.

Directions:

To make the dough, measure out the flour into a large mixing bowl and using your hands, slowly add water, a few splashes at a time, and knead it into the flour. I used a KitchenAid Stand Mixer with the dough hook attachment as I'm not one to get my hands dirty ;-)

I started out by adding just a splash of water to the flour and added more water as needed until the flour was soaked well and balled up together.  

Here's how I remember my mom checking the dough for the right consistency - it should not stick to your hand when you try to lift it out of the bowl, but should feel moist, and not dry, to touch. This dough can be stored refrigerated for at least 3-4 day. According to my sister-in-law, it may darken in color over this time, but its still good. 

To make chapatis, I used my large rectangular wooden cutting board, as I don't have a traditional Chakla (Hindi: चकला) - which is a round flat-topped utensil, often made of marble. The weight of the marble makes it stable and the cool temperature of the marble helps the chapati move easily while rolling, without sticking. Take a small ball of dough, roll it in some dry flour, dust the rolling surface with more flour and roll away. You may need to turn the ball a couple of times, and dust if needed to prevent sticking.  

Unlike pastry, chapatis require a rather light touch with slight pressure. In fact, the most experienced cooks make it so gracefully that the dough moves around in a circle while being rolled. Mine, with 20 years of no practice came out halfway decent. Make sure while rolling that the thickness is as even as possible. Traditionally, the dough is rolled out to about ~2 mm thickness, or even thinner of you are that talented.  

Preheat a flat, dry skillet on medium high heat. Carefully transfer the rolled out chapati and slap it onto the skillet. Slapping it on ensures that there are no trapped air bubbles between the dough and the skillet. The rule of thumb, according to my mom, is that you should only turn a chapati 3 times during the cooking process.  Once it is placed on the skillet, wait until the top surface begins to look dry and then turn it over. Once turned over, and the surface begins to blow up, ball up a clean, dry dish rag and used to press down gently on the chapati as it cooks, to help it balloon up with steam. This cooks the underside, then turn it over and do the same on the other side ... and voila ...  

After all these years of living in the United States, I love the smell of fresh baked bread and cakes and vanilla extract but I've got to say ... my house smells absolutely heavenly tonight. There is no greater aroma than one that reminds you of carefree summer days and Mommy's cooking!! I promised myself tonight I will never be lazy about making Chapatis again!! I was an idiot all these years!! I'm not winning any prizes for rolling out the perfect circles just yet ... but they were home made and they were fresh ... Chapatis!! Aaah!!

A basket of Chapatis

Note: If you want to serve a basket of Chapatis with a meal, its best to butter each one lightly on one side, and wrap them as they come off the skillet. A clean dish towel works well because its nice and thick and holds the warmth better than a cotton napkin. Keeping the chapatis wrapped during cooking and during dinner helps keep them warm and also prevents them from drying out halfway through the meal.  

Egg-less Chocolate Cake

An old friend of mine, Nitika Jassal (of the Kale recipe fame!) sent me another recipe a few days ago and I'd been thinking of trying it but didn't get around to it until today. I decided to eat a light dinner, Spinach salad with almonds, strawberries and a corn salsa instead of dressing, so that I could actually enjoy some dessert without guilt. The recipe I used was a modification of King Arthur Flour's Original Cake-Pan Cake. 

King Arthur Flour's Original Cake-Pan Cake

Prep Time: 45 minutes.

Salad before Dessert

Ingredients: 

1. 1 1/2 cups Whole-Wheat Flour
2. 1 cup Brown sugar
3. 1/4 cup Hershey's Cocoa
4. 1/2 tsp salt
5. 1 tsp baking soda 
6. 1 tsp vanilla extract
7. 1 tbsp lime juice
8. 1/3 cup Canola oil
9. 1 cup dark coffee 

Directions: Preheat oven to 350°F. Measure all dry ingredients in a mixing bowl*. Measure all wet ingredients in another bowl, or large measuring cup. Mix the dry ingredients with a whisk or fork until there are no large lumps of brown sugar or cocoa or flour visible. Once the dry ingredients are well mixed, pour in the liquid and mix well with a rubber spatula until smooth and pour into a well greased (bottom & sides) cake pan. I used a non-stick, dark baking pan and I only needed to bake the cake for about 20-22 minutes before a pin dipped in the center came out clean. Remove from oven and let stand for a few minutes before cutting slices. Decorate with either powdered sugar, or drizzle with some Hershey''s Chocolate Syrup and serve with strawberries, or any other berries you have on hand, and a glass of non-dairy milk. Yum!! 

Nik's Reaction: He was super excited about helping mommy make a cake. He was up on a chair right next to the mixer (I used a stand mixer today, but soon realized that it was quite unnecessary, hence the recipe above calls only for a mixing bowl and a rubber spatula). By the time the cake was out of the oven and ready to eat, he had eaten a good dinner and had 2 bites before he could not eat another morsel. :)

My Assessment: For an egg-less cake, this came out phenomenal. Rich and gooey, but also light and not overly sweet. This is the kind of cake you can eat everyday. Even Tony had a couple of bites of it and actually liked it, even though he swears he will not eat my non-dairy, non-meat creations ;-)

* The original recipe calls this is a one bowl cake as well. The website linked above suggests mixing the wet and dry ingredients in the cake-pan itself. I thought that would be kind of messy and would recommend using a mixing bowl for sure.