Lena's Bread

Our close family friend, Lena, is from Sweden and she makes an absolutely delicious bread with flax, rye, and all sorts of other wonderful ingredients. Here, her husband, Philip, has filmed her through each step of the process. It's especially good as a thick slick with some sharp cheddar cheese on top. It's a long process but absolutely worth every minute of work and waiting! Ingredient measurements to come!

Green Apple Cobbler (or Pie Filling)

Recently, I bought a whole bunch of beautiful Granny Smith apples. They were much to tart to eat, so I decided to make an apple pie filling to freeze so I'll have it ready for Thanksgiving. It was so tasty that I used some of it to make a mini-cobbler for dessert. Fantastic!

Ingredients:

• 10-12 medium green apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
• 5 cups of water
• 1 cup of white sugar
• 1/4 cup corn starch
• 2 star anise
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon cardamom

In a large pot, combine the water, sugar, corn starch and spices and bring to a boil. Stir constantly. Once boiling, add apples and bring back to a boil for two minutes. Reduce heat to medium low. Cover and cook for 6-8 minutes, until apples are tender.  Allow to cool for at least thirty minutes. Make sure you remove the star anise before freezing or using for cobbler.

I noticed that there was quite a bit of liquid from the apples--more than I would want in a pie, so I reserved some of that for topping ice cream in the future.


At this point you can divide the apples into a few containers for freezing, or freeze some for a later pie and use a little bit now for cobbler, which is what I did.

For the cobbler:

• 1 cup whole oats
• 1 cup white flour
• 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 cups of the above apple mixture, cooled.

Combine the oats, four, brown sugar and cinnamon. Place a few cups of the apple mixture at the bottom of a pie plate or any other heatproof container. Top with the cobbler topping, which will be powdery. Bake at 325 for 30 minutes. Serve warm and top with ice cream if you'd like!

White Bean and Chickpea Salad

I threw this together the other evening, and now I can't get stop eating it! 

• 1 15 oz. can white beans (also called Great Northern), drained and rinsed
• 1 15 oz. can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 3 Roma tomatoes, thinly sliced
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 1/2 tsp. dried basil
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 T. red wine vinegar
• 2 T. olive oil

In a medium bowl, whisk dressing together with a fork. Add beans and tomatoes and toss. Chill and serve!

Tamari Almonds

These are a staple in our house. Peter never goes a day without eating a handful... or two! It's essential that you use exactly 2 tablespoons of sauce per 1.5 lbs of almonds; the nuts can't absorb more than that, and if they're too wet, they just don't turn out quite right. This recipe comes courtesy of a friend of Mom's.

I usually buy the 3 lb. bag of almonds at Costco, and that way I can make two batches. Tamari soy isn't regular soy sauce. Regular soy sauce doesn't work at all for this recipe; tamari is near the soy sauce at the grocery store, and it's definitely available at Whole Foods and more specialty shops if it isn't at your regular store.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds raw, whole almonds
• 2 tablespoons tamari soy sauce

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. On an ungreased jelly roll pan, spread the almonds into a single layer. Roast them in the oven for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, measure the tamari into a large bowl. When the almonds come out of the oven, pour them into the bowl with the tamari. Stir vigorously for a few minutes until all the tamari is absorbed. Because the almonds are so hot, the mixture will steam quite a bit.

Once the tamari is absorbed, put the nuts back onto the jelly roll pan, now lined with parchment, to cool. The parchment makes it easier to remove them once they have cooled; it's not absolutely necessary but it certainly helps with cleanup! If the nuts are still wet once they have cooled, just reheat the oven to 250 degrees and then turn it off. Put the almonds into the oven to dry out. Keep them in an airtight container and enjoy!

Salt scrub

Okay, so it isn't really cooking, but it's all from the kitchen!

1 cup fine sea salt (Baleine is excellent)
1/2 cup grapeseed oil
few drops of essential oil(s) -- I like lavender or sage.

Mix all together in a jar or container with a wooden stirring implement, like a popsicle stick, and use to get baby soft skin!

Sugar works well too, but it has a disadvantage of attracting ants if you use it in your shower. Boo for ants. Yay for salt scrubs. 

Sesame Garlic Green Beans

These last for several days in the fridge and are just as good (or better!) cold as they are warm. These are in honor of Brianna and our love of the Evanston Whole Foods beans.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lbs fresh haricots verts or green beans, rinsed
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed or minced
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth

In a large skillet, warm the oil with the garlic and sesame seeds for about 10 to 15 seconds, long enough for the garlic to be aromatic. Then add the beans and the soy sauce, stirring. Cook over medium-high heat for 4-5 minutes, until the beans turn bright green.

Add the chicken stock, stir, and turn the heat to medium. Cover and cook, stirring once or twice, for 12 minutes or less, if you prefer your beans more crispy. Add salt and pepper if needed.

Individual Peach Pies (Whole or In Ramekins)

This is one of the most magnificent ways to use peaches that are in season. Credit goes to my Mom for this!

You will need to make 1 pie crust recipe at least an hour in advance to wrap the peaches, or to cover the individual ramikins.


For whole peaches:

Wrap six whole, ripe peaches (unpeeled) in squares or rounds of pie crust. I make the full recipe of dough, and then separate it into six pieces of the same size once it has chilled. Roll it out on a lightly floured surface. You will gather the crust at the top of the peach, as if you were wrapping a tennis ball in paper, or a wine bottle in a sheet of plastic. Brush the crust with a lightly beaten egg before baking to create a golden gloss.





For individual pies:
Cut up peaches into bite sized pieces, leaving skin on, and put into ramekins. Cover with pie crust, which you have rolled out and pinched around the edges. Pierce the crust to allow air to escape. Brush the crust with a lightly beaten egg before baking to create a golden gloss.

Bake the peaches on a jellyroll pan at 425 degrees for 40-45 minutes.

Serve with the following sauce, warmed. You may reduce the amount of sauce you make by cutting all ingredients in half:

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 3 tablespoons heavy cream
• 5 tablespoons honey

Combine and cook, but do not boil, in a double boiler or in a microwave safe dish, in twenty second increments.