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!

Best Autumnal Casserole

I came across this recipe yesterday when it was posted by One Green Planet. I follow them on Facebook and they often share the most awesome looking recipes.  This one seemed so easy to make (read painless) that I knew I had to try it. I would have made it yesterday except we didn't go grocery shopping until this morning and I had nothing at home except the spices I needed. The reason I say this recipe was painless is because even though it takes an hour or more to get to the table, your total effort is probably less than 15 minutes. Also, my adapted version is made with completely whole, minimally -processed, ingredients (I sub'd Tofurkey sausage with canned pinto beans) and used no butter or oil. 

The Best Fall Casserole

Adapted from: One Green Planet - The Best Fall Casserole

Prep Time: 15 min + ~1 hour in the oven

Ingredients (Serves 4):

1. 1.5 lb Red Potatoes (cleaned, diced into large chunks)
2. 1 lb bag of Crinkle-Cut carrots
3. 1 Large Green Bell pepper
4. 1/2 Large Yellow onion
5. 1/2 Large Red Onion
6. 1 tsp powdered garlic
7. 1 tsp Red pepper flakes
8. 1/2 tsp Dried Oregano
9. 1/4 tsp Sea salt
10. 1/2 tsp Ground Pepper
11. 1/4 tsp dried Parsley
12. 1 3/4 cups Home-made Vegetable broth
13. 4 tbsp balsamic vinegar
14. 1 cup Canned Beans (I used Pinto)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425° F. Meanwhile cut red onion into large chunks and line the bottom of a heavy baking pot with the onion. Next, add a layer of crinkle cut carrots and top off with large chunks of white onions.

Wash thoroughly with a vegetable brush, remove any dirt-filled eyes, and cut potatoes into large bite-sized chunks. I did not peel the potatoes as I prefer to leave the extra nutrients and fiber in my veggies. Add potatoes as your fourth layer and top off with chunks of green bell pepper. 

Finally, on top, add a layer of beans. I used pinto beans today but I think any kind of bean would work well in this casserole. Feel free to use red kidney beans or even any variety of white beans. The purpose is basically to add a source of complex carbohydrates and protein. In a small bowl, mix all the spices with the vegetable broth and balsamic vinegar, and pour over the veggies in your baking dish. Cover, and place the entire pot in the oven for about an hour. Check to make sure that the potatoes are tender and it's done. Turn off oven and let sit until ready to serve. 

I made this casserole this afternoon in my Le Creuset and simply turned off the oven before we left the house to go for a hike. I knew the Le Creuset would hold the heat and cook any hint of crispness out of the potatoes and also keep our dinner warm for when we got home. We hiked for almost 2 hours and drove about 30 minutes each way. This is how this casserole looked when we all got home. The house was filled with the aroma of the oregano and parsley and we were all starving. I made some Texas toast for the kiddos, reheated my pot on the stove and we enjoyed this hearty meal. It was an awesome meal to come home to after a good day in the woods! 

Nutrition Facts (Per Serving): Calories 256 (Fat Calories 7)

Total Fat 0.8 g; Carbohydrates 54.6 g; Fiber 11.0 g; Sugars 10.6 g; Protein 8.3 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!

Curried Potatoes & Peas

Every once in a while my husband will be flipping channels on the TV and will suddenly stop at some random TV show, often in Black & White that ran while he was a kid. Of course, to me it as foreign as space aliens ....!! But I do understand the sentiment as there are things which still remind me of my childhood and seemingly random things bring the memories rushing back in. One of the oddest things, to me, is this particular commercial on TV. It probably ran for 5 years or more on the single channel we had back then. I don't even remember the product it was for .. or the face of the little girl who was in it. I just remember her voice saying "Aloo Mutter ... aur bahut saare mutter" which translates to "Curried Potatoes and Peas ... with lots of peas". 

Prep Time: 20-25 min

Ingredients (Serves 4):

1. 1 lb Red Potatoes, cleaned, quartered. 
2. 1 x 12 oz Frozen Peas (thawed)
3. 1 Medium Red Onion, diced
4. 2 tbsp Tomato Paste
5. 1 tbsp Ginger-Garlic Paste
6. 1 tbsp Cumin
7. 1/2 tbsp Coriander Powder
8. 1 tsp Deggi Chilli Powder
9. 1/8 tsp Turmeric
10. 2 cups water
11. Salt and Pepper, to taste
12. Fresh Cilantro leaves, for garnishing
13. Hot Sauce (optional)

Directions:

Line a pot with water and add diced onion and saute on medium-high heat until translucent. Add ginger-garlic paste, tomato paste and all spices, mix well and saute for another couple of minutes. Add one cup water and potatoes, toss well. Cover and simmer on medium-low until potatoes are almost done (fork tender but not done enough to eat yet!). Add peas at this time, mix well, add remaining water. Bring everything to a boil again, cover and simmer for 10 minutes until fragrant, potatoes should smoosh under a fork and any liquid in the dish should be thick and starchy (from the potatoes releasing some of their starch!). Serve hot over a bed of brown rice. 

Nutrition Facts (Per Serving): Calories 177 (Fat Calories 9)
Total Fat 1.0 g; Carbohydrates 36.2 g; Fiber 8.1 g; Sugars 7.2 g; Protein 7.7 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!

Overnight Oatmeal & Rice Kheer

Last night after dinner, I had a little over 4 tablespoons of White Basmati Rice (about 1/8 cup dry) left over. No one wanted to finish this little bit off and I detest throwing good food away. On a whim, I decided to make an overnight oatmeal with rice which made for a delicious breakfast this morning. 

Prep Time: < 5 min

Ingredients:

1. 1/8 cup Cooked White Basmati Rice
2. 1/4 cup Old-Fashioned (Rolled) Oats
3. 1 tbsp Chia Seeds
4. 1 tbsp Dried Coconut Flakes
5. 2 Medjool dates (peeled, pitted, diced)
6. 1 cup Unsweetened Non-Dairy Milk (I used Almond)
7. 1/2 tsp Ground Green Cardamom Seed
8. Maple Syrup (optional, to taste).

Directions:

Mix all ingredients in a lidded container and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, mix well, heat for about 2-3 min on high in a microwave, if desired. Drizzle with a little honey or maple syrup and enjoy!

Nutrition Facts: Calories 352 (Fat Calories 93)
Total Fat 10.4 g; Carbohydrates 63.1 g; Fiber 11.7 g; Sugars 27.3 g; Protein 8.8 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!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Someone posted a recipe on one of the Herbie pages on Facebook this past week that had a picture of the most amazing gooey chocolate chip cookies with it. I wanted to try it .. because of the picture it came with. I'm not sure who to give credit for the recipe, so I'm going to acknowledge the lady who posted in on Facebook - Lori Conner (Thank you!!!).

Can you resist this cookie? I couldn't!!! 

I made slight modifications to the recipe like using a whole 15 oz can of chickpeas instead of just 1 and 1/4 cup as the original asked for and used an extra 1/8 cup of agave to make the dough smoother when it seemed too dry and I baked these cookies for twice as long as the original recipe. 20 min at 350°F.

Mine don't look half as good but tasted great!

Prep Time: 30-40 min

Ingredients (15 Servings):

1. 1 x 15 oz Canned Chick Peas (Rinsed & Patted Dry)
2. 2 tsp vanilla extract
3. 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp Natural Peanut Butter (I used Smucker's)
4. 1/4 cup + 1/8 cup Honey/Agave/Maple Syrup (I used Agave)
5. 1 tsp baking powder
6. A pinch of salt (optional, I didn't use any)
7. 1/2 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine all the ingredients, with the exception of chocolate chips in a food processor until smooth. Make sure that the sides of the processor bowl and scraped down and under all the sides to leave no chunks of chickpeas sitting around. Add chocolate chips, and pulse a couple of times. Using slightly wet hands (an excellent tip!), form small balls with the dough and place on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. I then used a wet fork to press down each one into a cookie shape, but you could also use your hand to do the same. Bake for about 20 minutes until the outsides begin to brown. The original recipe called for 10 min of baking and I thought they looked too doughy after only 10 minutes so baked them for another 10. I got 15 cookies out of this. Enjoy and keep out of the reach of little children, or they won't last long!! :)

My Assessment: My father-in-law, who WILL NOT eat anything plant-based loved these cookies and I sent almost all of my batch home with him. These were a hit in our household for sure. A big thank you to the creator of this recipe.

Nutrition Facts (Per Cookie): Calories 131 (Fat Calories 57)
Total Fat 6.4 g; Carbohydrates 15.5 g; Fiber 2.4 g; Sugars 2.0 g; Protein 3.9 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!

Barley w Edamame Stir-Fry

I've come to the realization that I eat too much rice and too many beans/lentils. Duh! Took me only 40 years to realize that I'm just an Indian ;)!! Anyhow, one of the things I've been trying to do has been to up my intake of non-traditional grains, and cut back on rice. I've substituted barley, wheat berries, bulgur etc. Today it was the turn of barley again. 

Prep Time: 20-25 min

Ingredients (Serves 4):

1. 1 cup dry, Hull-less Whole Barley
2. 2 cups Water or Home-made Vegetable Broth
3. 1 Medium Red Onion, julienned
4. 1 x 14 oz Frozen Shelled Edamame
5. 2 tsp Ginger-Garlic Paste (or 1 tsp each, dry powder)
6. 1 tbsp Rice Wine Vinegar
7. 2-3 tbsp Soy Sauce, to taste
8. 1 tbsp Agave Syrup
9. Salt and Pepper, to taste
10. Asian hot sauce (optional, to taste)

Directions:

Rinse barley in lots of water until it runs clear and then transfer barley and water (4 cups) with a tsp of salt to a pressure cooker. Pressure cook on high, for 15 minutes. Allow pressure to dissipate naturally. Meanwhile, line a pan with water and add ginger, garlic, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce and agave and allow to come to a full boil, add julienned onions and saute until translucent. Bring to a full boil and add shelled edamame. On high heat, mix in, allow to come to a full boil and then cover and simmer for 5-10 minutes until edamame are fork tender and barley in the pressure cooker is cooked and ready to serve. Serve stir-fried edamame and onions over a bed of barley. Serve hot sauce on the side for the brave hearts in your household :)

My Assessment: I love the chewy texture of barley. Although I don't (at least in my mind) associate Asian foods with barley, this dish had that lo-mein-y flavor going for it and tasted great. I love edamame in any form and that accords its own brand of chewiness. This dish takes a while to eat and is consequently really filling. For being so simple to make and is loaded with a fantastic punch of dietary fiber (almost 14 g) and a ton of nutrition. Enjoy!! 

Nutrition Facts (Per Serving): Calories 334 (Fat Calories 45)
Total Fat 5.0 g; Carbohydrates 52.8 g; Fiber 13.7 g; Sugars 2.1 g; Protein 17.5 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!

Garlic Rosemary Artisan Loaf

As most of you know by now, I've been on a bread-making kick since I received a bread machine for Christmas last year. To be honest, my bread machine adventures have been far from successful. Okay maybe that's overstating how it's been. I've just not gotten the success I was hoping for. A few weekends ago, we finally bought a cast iron Le Creuset and I made Jim Lahey's No-Knead Bread and that came out great. Wasn't perfect but was pretty darned good. I've tried to make it a few times since then and the kids love it. I don't like the commitment required for it though. If I start the dough on Saturday, I have to make sure I'm home on Sunday, or Tony needs to complete it for me (which he does great at by the way!!). 

Garlic Rosemary Bread

This weekend, I was reminded that I don't need to worry about only looking for no-knead recipes because I have a KitchenAid Stand Mixer - that came with a handy-dandy dough hook (duh!). I decided to search for a bread recipe that used both my stand mixer for kneading and my cast iron dutch oven. After a few trials and tribulations, I found this recipe. It used a full stick of butter but I figured I'd easily substitute with good old water and even if my bread didn't 'bloom' like Pastor Ryan's ... I'd have a pretty good loaf. Also, I can make this in one day, without the need to commit an entire weekend. Also, this recipe can be made without a Stand Mixer by using your hands for kneading. It just takes longer to knead the bread to the right consistency. 

Adapted from: The Pioneer Woman - The Bread, In His Words

Time Required: 20 min prep time, ~3.5 hours rise time, 45 min oven time. 

Ingredients:

1. 4 cups All-purpose flour (plus more for dusting)
2. 1.5 cups + 2 tbsp Water 
3. 2 tbsp Minced fresh Rosemary
4. 2 tbsp Minced Garlic 
5. 2 tsp Coarse Salt (Sea or Kosher)
6. 1 tsp Active Dry Yeast 

Directions:

To get the yeast started, dissolve in a cup of tepid tap water (the water should be barely warm to touch) and set aside while you're measuring your other ingredients. In the next 5-8 minutes the water will be become cloudy and foamy. 

Measure out the flour, coarse salt, minced garlic and rosemary in the Stand Mixer bowl. If you're using dry rosemary, you may need to add a tad more, about 3 tbsp to get the same flavor as the essential oils in herbs are often volatile and tend to evaporate over time. 

Add 0.5 cups of water and start mixing (I used the lowest speed setting). As the yeast/water  mix begins to cloud and froth, start adding small portions of it to the mixer bowl (adding all that water at once makes a mess with flour flying everywhere ;)!!). In the end, the dough should come together as a large ball. If the dough looks like it's not coming together and there are crumbs still sticking to the sides, add water in 1 tablespoon portions until everything is incorporated. Depending upon how fresh or old your flour is it may sometimes need just a tad extra water.  Be patient with this step as it is easy to add too much and you will most likely not need to much. I needed just 2 additional tablespoons of water.  Once you have everything incorporated, make note of the clock time. You will need to knead for about 10-15 minutes depending upon the dough. 

If during this time, all you see is a big fat pillar like in the picture above, I would stop the unit, use a rubber spatula to make the dough drop to the bottom of the bowl and then turn the mixer on again. 

Once you successfully achieve a windowpane with the dough, you can stop kneading. This is when stretched out dough looks somewhat translucent (light goes through it like a windowpane). Mine took about 13 minutes to get to that point. The original recipe indicated that they needed only 10 minutes.  I took a picture of mine but you don't see the translucency very well. Another good sign is when you can stretch it a lot without tearing.

At this point use a rubber spatula to remove the dough onto a well floured surface. In my trials and errors I've used pastry stones, the kitchen counter itself and found that what works best is a silicone baking mat. It uses very little flour to help shape the dough and doesn't stick as much as some other surfaces do. Lightly dust your fingers and shape the dough into a ball.

before rise .. 

Keeping the seam side down, transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise for approximately 4 hours. Yeast needs a temperature of 80° F–90° F (27° C–32° C) to grow and reproduce at dough fermentation stage. It will however, work as low as 70° F although it takes longer. One way to aid the process is Oven Rising. Turn on your oven at the lowest temperature setting (usually 150-170 F) for home appliances. Leave on for 2-5 minutes and turn off. Do this just before or while you're preparing your dough. Then, once the oven feels like it just nice and cozy warm, put the bowl of dough to rise in there. Make sure that the air feels only barely warm and anything over 90° F will burn i.e. KILL the yeast. Here's a nice primer on the Science of Bread. This is especially helpful in spring/fall when our houses are cooler than usual.

After a 2-hour rise .. 

At this point, I could smell the awesome garlicky yeasty aroma of the rising bread every time I came into the kitchen. Because the dough was rising in the oven today, my husband could not smell it very well. I allowed around a 3.5 hour rise time today. The rough was ready to spill out of the bowl I'd used today (see picture). Also, the surface of the dough was dotted with tiny bubbles and crevices. About 30 minutes before the rise is complete, start preheating your oven to 450° F. Set your dutch oven (I used my 5.5 qt Round Le Creuset) in the cold oven and preheat at the same time as the oven. 

After a 3-hour rise .. 

Remove dough from bowl and once again knead into a round ball using a silicone mat and some flour for dusting. Score the loaf either once or twice across the top. While scoring is not essential for loafs made in pans, I think they make for a pleasing visual effect. 

According to The Fresh Loaf - "... the purpose of scoring is primarily to control the direction in which the bread will expand during “oven spring.” Intentionally creating a weak spot on the surface of the loaf prevents the loaf from bursting at weak spots created during shaping. The pattern of cuts made, the angle at which they are made and the depth of the cuts also influence the rate of expansion and the formation of an “ear” - a raised flap of crust at the edge of a cut. The pattern of cuts also can create a pleasing visual pattern on the surface of the loaf. While there are some very traditional patterns, for example for baguettes, the baker can use the scoring pattern to identify the type of bread or to create an unique pattern that identifies the loaf as coming from his or her oven."

Once the loaf is ready, remove preheated pot from the oven. Remove lid and set aside. You do not need to grease the pot at all. No butter/oil is necessary. The enameled pot and the style of cooking (with lid) allows for the crust to form which helps prevent the loaf from sticking to the pot. Slide your hands under the loaf and gently drop the dough into the pot, scored side up. Shake the pan a couple of times to help distribute the loaf, if necessary. This is a more hearty loaf than the no-knead so may not move much.

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. Enjoy!!! :)

My Assessment: OMG!! The flavor was amazing. If you love garlic bread, this loaf is definitely for you. The crust was awesome which prompted me to call it 'artisan' bread. The inside had some rather large alveoli but in other places the loaf was denser than I imagined it would be after the wonderful rise I got. I'm wondering if that was a combination of scoring and pan baking because there are websites which say that pan loafs need not be scored. I think I will play with the scoring a little bit as I make it more and more. Unless I can find another awesome recipe, this bread may just make it to my Thanksgiving table. 

Nutrition Facts (One Loaf): Calories 1879 (Fat Calories 55)
Total Fat 6.2 g; Carbohydrates 392.9 g; Fiber 17.5 g; Sugars 1.5 g; Protein 54.6 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!

Dijon Roasted Chickpeas

This recipe is inspired by a few different recipes by the Happy Herbivore. I finally had the opportunity to meet her this past weekend and it was great. She's as warm and genuine in person, as she is via the internet. It was a great experience!!

She talked about her favorite recipes, her favorite ingredients and most of all she talked about living plant-based in an imperfect world. Aim for progress, not perfection. That's my mantra too!! 

Two ingredients she raved about in her cooking demo and also in her 3rd book Happy Herbivore Abroad are Dijon Mustard and Balsamic Vinegar. This recipe I tried today is inspired by her favorite ingredients and, on a whim, I decided to combine the two together. Also, on a whim, I decided to part of the directions from this recipe for "Honey Roasted Chickpeas". Basically, its a 'on a whim' recipe bastardized from various HH ideas ;)

Prep Time: 30 min

Ingredients (Serves 4-6):

1. 2 x 15 oz cans of Chickpeas
2. 2-3 tsbp Dijon Mustard
3. 2-3 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
4. Salt, to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Drain and rinse chickpeas and transfer to a bowl. Add remaining ingredients and give it a good toss. Lightly grease a cookie sheet with cooking spray (spray all over and then use a paper towel to wipe everything off, leaving just a very thin film on). Spread chickpeas in a single layer and roast, uncovered for 15 min. Once the chickpeas are dry, turn oven off and turn broiler on high. Roast chickpeas until dry and crunchy. Make sure to NOT WALK AWAY during this time. The chickpeas will need constant attention, and a few tosses every few minutes to ensure all sides are roasted equally. Once done, remove from oven and allow to cool on cookie sheet. Serve over salads, or eat as a crunchy snack! Yum!!! Although I was a bit skeptical about my choice of ingredients, as usual, HH didn't disappoint me. The flavor was awesome!!! Enjoy!! 

Baked Potato, topped with wilted kale, topped with crunchy chickpeas!

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!

Chocolate Bread Pudding

I made bread pudding this weekend, instead of canning apples which is what I original planned to do. I improved on my previous recipe and made it yummy and gooier than before and used half a loaf of stale bread from the loaf I made earlier in the weekend. It was a loaf of no-knead bread which was awesome when it was fresh and warm out of the oven. However, I need to figure our a better way to store homemade bread because it always dries out. I've tried putting it in a plastic bread box (becomes sweaty and soggy) and I've tried wrapping it in a couple of kitchen towels and leaving it on the counter. Any other suggestions on bread storage would be most welcome. Anyhow, the half loaf that we had left after lunch yesterday was dried and not quite edible this morning. So I decided to transform it into something much more decadent than stale bread. 

Prep Time: 5-10 min + 45 min in the oven.

Ingredients:

1. 3 cups of stale home-made bread pieces, coarsely torn with your hands
2. 4 tbsp Raisins
3. 1/2 cup Non-Dairy Chocolate Chips
4. 1/8 cup Slivered Almonds
5. 1/4 cup Brown Sugar
6. 2 tbsp Chia Seeds
7. 2 tsp Cinnamon
8. 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
9. 2.5 cups Almond Milk (Silk PureAlmond Unsweetened)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease a 2.5 qt covered casserole dish. Spread bread all across the bottom in an even layer. Sprinkle raisins, Chia seeds, chocolate chips, brown sugar, almonds and cinnamon across the bread, as evenly as possible. Mix vanilla extract in 2 cups milk and pour it slowly across the entire dish, so as to soak as much of the bread as possible. Cover and bake for 45 minutes. Once done, remove from oven. Uncover, pour the remaining 1/2 cup of almond milk across the pan and re-cover. Let sit for 5-10 minutes to allow the excess milk to get absorbed and for the dish to cook down. At this point all the bread should be soft and gooey and the chocolate should have melted all over the bread. 

If it is not evenly melted, and the bread is still hard, make sure you add more milk and re-bake for 15-20 minutes to get the desired softness. Serve warm. 

My Assessment: Adding the brown sugar instead of maple syrup (my original recipe) makes for a thicker more yummy dish. Also, adding raisins to this dish added a new dimension this time. Even Tony loved it!!! My job is done :)

Antioxidant Smoothie

I've been eating Oats for breakfast for a long long time. Quite a few months actually. So this morning I decided to change it up a little bit. I decided that an antioxidant rich smoothie would be a perfect pick-me-up to start the day on a strong note. And it was ... !!! 

Prep Time: 5 min

Ingredients (Serves 1):

1. 2/3 cup Almond Milk (Chilled)
2. 2/3 Medium Banana, preferably frozen
3. 3 oz Red Raspberries (fresh, half pack)
4. 6-8 Medium Strawberries (fresh)
5. 1/3 cup Blueberries (frozen)
6. 2 tbsp Non-Dairy Chocolate Chips
7. 1/2 tbsp Chia Seeds

Directions:

Blend almond milk, banana, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and chocolate chips together until smooth. Add Chia seeds and mix well. Pour and enjoy!! 

Nutrition Facts (Per Serving): Calories 281 (Fat Calories 9.2)
Total Fat 9.2 g; Carbohydrates 51.7 g; Fiber 10.2 g; Sugars 30.5 g; Protein 5.5 g

Jim Lahey's No-Knead Bread

This post should really be entitled "In Search of the Perfect Loaf #5" to continue with my previous attempts from earlier this year. I came across this recipe months ago on a blog called Simply So Good. Even the author of that blog found the recipe much before she realized that it was Jim Lahey's recipe. In recent weeks, I've also read Michael Pollan's Cooked where he dedicated a whole section to breads. Anyhow, my on-off interest in bread making was rekindled a couple of weeks ago when a friend posted a picture of a loaf of No-Knead bread made by her husband. Oh I wanted it so bad :) !! So what was holding me back? I didn't own a an Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven (like a Le Creuset) and I really really wanted one. I had put it on my Christmas list and my husband took a picture of the exact one I wanted at the local Williams & Sonoma. It's not everyday that you just go out and buy a $300 pot. 

As luck would have it, this past weekend we were strolling around in Ohio's Amish Country and walked into a kitchen store (both my husband and I love exploring kitchen stores for new gadgets!) and we came across a 5.5 qt Round Le Creuset almost for free - it was so highly discounted (we can't find a single flaw with the pot!). Of course, we brought it home with us much in advance of Christmas. So here I am - baking my first loaf of Jim Lahey's No-Knead bread. He is the owner of Sullivan St. Bakery in New York City. This recipe has been published and discussed and talked about by multiple columnists and bloggers before me. Suffice to say, it is simple and in Jim Lahey's words "... a 4-year-old could master it - and the results are fantastic!''. So here I am .. trying out this recipe, with my Rugrat in tow. Since my li'l Nikhil is 4y old now, I was guessing the stars were in my favor today. 

Adapted from: Jim Lahey's No-Knead Bread

Prep Time: ~60 min (in 3-4 sessions) and 14-20 hours rising time.  

Ingredients (1.5 lb loaf):

1. 3 cups All-purpose flour (more for dusting)
2. 1/4 tsp Active Dry Yeast 
3. 1 1/4 tsp Salt 
4. 1 5/8 cup Water
5. 2 clean 100% Cotton kitchen towels.

Directions:

In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Mix to incorporate and then add water and stir for a minute or two until everything is well combined. I used a rubber spatula which several other bakers recommended as it is more flexible than a wooden one and helps combine everything quicker. The dough at this point looked rather soggy, shaggy and messy. 

Everything I read told me not to worry.  This is the trick used by Mr. Lahey. At this time the dough is about 42-43% water. From what I've read on other websites, the wetness of the dough is an important part of making this beautiful bread. Gluten molecules in the flour are more likely to be able to move around and align themselves (without kneading and sweating) and bind each other to make an elastic network. So fear not!! Simply cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rest for 12-18 hours at warm room temperature (about 70° F).  The dough increases by about twice overnight so make sure you use a large enough bowl.

The dough is considered ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Mine looked like this after about 15 hours of resting. In retrospect, I should have probably left it for the full 18 hours recommended. At this point, lightly flour a work surface (I used my marble pastry board) and transfer the dough on to it using a rubber spatula. The dough at this point was nicely aromatic. It had a yeasty aroma to it, but the sweet yeasty aroma came a couple of hours later. Sprinkle more flour on top and using clean hands fold the dough over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes. This is how mine looked just before I covered it.

After about 15 minutes, using flour to keep the dough from sticking to your fingers or the work surface, gently and quickly shape the dough into a ball. Mine looked like a flat disk even after this stage (despite trying to shape it into a ball and I decided I wasn't going to worry about it and hope for the best). Sprinkle flour on a cotton towel (make sure it is not terry cloth, or mixed fibers), place towel on a flat surface and gently transfer dough, seam-side-down on towel. Dust it with more flour (if needed) and cover it with a second cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. This is how mine looked just before I covered it.

Set a kitchen timer to 90 minutes. When the timer beeps, start oven to preheat to 450° F. Some online recipes called for a 6-8 qt Dutch oven while another one said they used a 5.5 qt size. Mine is a 5.5 qt Round Le Creuset and it worked perfectly for a loaf this size. Set the dutch oven in the cold oven and preheat at the same time as the oven.

At this point the sweet yeasty aroma of the rising bread should have overtaken your kitchen. I was beginning to feel hungry. When the dough is ready (about 2 hours or so), it should more than double in size. Mine grew in girth more than height and did rise really well. I wonder if the next time I should put the ball of dough in a bowl to help it grow in height more than girth.  Here's what it looked like after 2 hours of rising. At this time, the dough should not readily spring back when poked with a finger. 

Remove preheated pot from the over, remove lid and set aside (remember it is very hot so watch your fingers and knuckles). You do not need to grease the pot at all. No butter/oil is necessary. The enameled pot and the style of cooking (with lid) allows for the crust to form which helps prevent the loaf from sticking to the pot.  Once the pot is ready, remove top towel from dough, and then use your hand to slide under the towel (and loaf) and gently turn the dough over into the pot, seam-side-up. I tried using the towel, but for me it was easier to pick up the ball of dough an place it in the pot with my hands.  Also, it seemed like despite the amount of flour I had added to the bottom towel, it still wasn't enough, so I had to peel off the loaf with my hands as well.  Once placed, if looked messy, so I shook the pan once or twice to help distribute it evenly. I remember reading that online.  But also remember, it is a loaf of bread and it will straighten itself out to some extent as it bakes. Mine looked perfectly rounded when it came out. 

Cover with lid and bake for 30 minutes at 450 degrees F. And be prepared to be in awe of what you will find in your pot 30 minutes later. I've posted a few extra pics here ;)

Remove lid, and return the pan to the oven to bake for another 15 to 30 minutes, until the loaf is golden brown.

And with slightly different lighting. It was a real beauty. Perfectly rounded with a nice golden crust!

Remove pot from oven and gently remove the loaf of bread from the pot (without scalding yourself) using hot pads. I shook the pot just a tad as I took it out and the loaf immediately came loose. I simply used one hand to tip the pot over and use the other hand to support the loaf onto the cooling rack. The pot is heavy so be prepared to ask for help if you can't lift your pot with one hand. 

Allow bread to cool completely before cutting into it. Dig in!!! 

My Assessment: The loaf was definitely fighting gravity. It was broad and squat, unlike the nicely rounded loaves I've seen in artisan bakeries. Overall, the crust was where I think this loaf aced it. It was nice and rugged like it came from an actual bakery (and not my humble kitchen). The inside was nice and crumbly with a lot of alveoli. It was a little denser than I imagined it would be and the flavor was pretty darn good - slightly nutty, slightly yeasty and also slightly sweet. Pretty awesome transformation of flour and salt with just a quarter teaspoon full of yeast. 

Nutrition Facts (One Loaf): Calories 1368 (Fat Calories 34)
Total Fat 3.7 g; Carbohydrates 286.5 g; Fiber 10.3 g; Sugars 1.0 g; Protein 39.1 g