Six Grain Bread

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Buckwheat, cracked rye and rye add a deep flavour and colour to multi-grain breads but they are heavy grains that are reluctant to rise. The high gluten flour helps to offset this. Bread is a lot easier to make then some people think. It is however, heavy labour if you are kneading the dough by hand. Work on a low table so you can put your whole weight into it. Bread is adequately kneaded when it is no longer picking up flour easily and it looks stretchy, like an elastic band about to break.

Ingredients

  • up to 6 cups whole wheat flour
  • 1/2 cup high gluten flour
  • 1/4 cup rye flour
  • 1/4 cup cracked rye flour
  • 1/4 cup buckwheat flour
  • 1/4 cup barley flakes
  • 1/4 flaxseed
  • 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/3 cup buttermilk
  • 1 oz yeast
  • 2 cups warm water

Steps

If you are using a bread maker, combine all the ingredients and set the machine to low speed until everything is blended. Then increase the speed and knead for 8 minutes.

  1. Combine half the whole wheat flour with the other flours.
  2. Combine the buttermilk, yeast and 1 cup of water.
  3. Stir into the flour.
  4. Stir in the rest of the water alternately with as much of the remaining flour as you can.
  5. Once the dough is less sticky, turn it onto a floured bread board.
  6. Knead the bread for about 20 minutes, adding the remaining whole wheat flour as you go until you can add no more.
  7. The dough will get less sticky and when you stretch it, it will look like elastic about the break.
  8. Cover the dough with a warm slightly damp cloth and let stand for 1 hour in a warm place with no drafts.
  9. Punch down the dough and knead briefly.
  10. Divide into 2 equal portions and shape into loaves.
  11. Place loaves on an ungreased baking sheet and brush the surface with water. Sprinkle with some cracked wheat.
  12. Cover with a warm slightly damp cloth and let the dough sit for 1 hour in a warm place with no drafts.
  13. Preheat the oven to 400F.
  14. Bake loaves for 40 minutes.
  15. When they are done they will slide easily on the cookie sheets and if you tap them, they will sound hollow.

Chicken Kiev

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Ingredients

  • 4 chicken double breasts, skinned
  • 1 cups breadcrumbs
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 6 cloves garlic, minced
  • 5 oz butter, softened
  • 2 T parsley, chopped
  • pepper

Steps

  1. Beat together the garlic, butter and parsley. Add pepper to taste.
  2. Open the chicken breasts slightly and pipe a thick strip of garlic butter into each.
  3. Refrigerate for 1 hour
  4. Use remaining garlic butter to baste each breast.
  5. Roll in flour.
  6. Dredge in eggs.
  7. Roll in breadcrumbs.
  8. Fry in a deep fryer set to 320F, for 7 minutes or bake in oven at 350F for 20 minutes. Test with meat thermometer to be sure they are done.

Egg Frittata

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You will need a small bowl and beaters, deep skillet with cover, wooden spatula

Ingredients

  • 1-1/2 cups assorted chopped vegetables, including red peppers
  • 1 tsp oil
  • 1 baked potato, diced
  • 1/2 cup vegetable or chicken broth
  • 2 tsp Italian herbs
  • 1/4 tsp chili
  • 8 eggs

Steps

  1. Use a deep skillet to saute the vegetables and potato in the oil.
  2. Add the broth and seasoning.
  3. Beat the eggs in a small bowl. Pour over vegetables. Cover and cook over low heat until the eggs are puffy.
  4. Serve

Hollandaise Sauce

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Eggs Benedict is poached eggs over English muffins and a slice of ham, drizzled with Hollandaise sauce.  The sauce appears hard to make because it is made by steaming the yolks as you beat them and adding the other ingredients slowly. Keep an eye on the texture. It helps if you have 3 hands and fresh eggs.

Ingredients

  • 3 egg yolks
  • 3/4 cup butter
  • 1/2 tsp lemon juice
  • pinch cayenne pepper
  • pinch salt

Steps

  1. Whip the egg yolk in a stainless steel bowl over a pot of boiling water
  2. Gradually add the melted butter, lemon juice and seasonings.

Croissants

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Croissants sound complicated to make because they are made by layering bread dough and butter. It takes a bit of time, but it’s not difficult. Here’s the technique.

  1. Once the dough is ready, form it into a ball.
  2. Cut a deep cross in the top of the dough but don’t separate the quarters.
  3. Stretch the four sections away from each other and roll out each one so that you end up with a large square cross; thicker in the center than the ends.
  4. Place the butter in the center of the cross and fold the four ends over the middle.
  5. Roll the dough into an oblong.
  6. Fold the ends across the center.
  7. Fold the dough in half and let rest for 20 minutes.
  8. Repeat steps 5-7, four times, letting the dough rest in-between.

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs flour
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 1b + 10 oz of butter
  • 2 tsp salt

Steps

  1. Combine flour, water, salt and 3-1/2 oz of butter.
  2. Work the dough into a ball and let it rest of 1 hour.
  3. Cut a deep cross in the ball and roll out the four sections to form the cross.
  4. Beat or knead the remaining butter to the exact same consistency as the dough.
  5. Place the butter in the center of the cross and drape the 4 legs of the cross over the butter.
  6. Fold the dough in half. Roll into an oblong. Fold the ends to the center. Let rest 20 minutes. Repeat 4 times.
  7. Pinch off large balls of dough. Roll into an oblong and cut along the diagonal so that you have 2 triangles.
  8. Roll up the triangles and form the bread into a croissant shape.
  9. Preheat oven t0 425F.
  10. Bake croissants until brown.

Apple Stuffing

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This is a lowered fat recipe. There is no sausage. Vegetarians can use vegetable broth instead of the chicken broth and create a fruity side dish. You can substitute 4 cups of bread crumbs and add a tsp of mixed herbs if you don’t have croutons, and I sometimes make a similar stuffing using shredded bread rolls. It’s a great way to use up stale bread.

You will need a steamer, mixing bowl, wooden spoon, whisk or beaters, baking vessel (loaf pan or turkey).

Ingredients

  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1/2 cup celery, chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 5 cups fat-free croutons
  • 1 cup low fat chicken or vegetable broth
  • 4 egg whites
  • 1/2 tsp sage or to taste
  • 1/2 tsp thyme
  • 2-1/2 cups apple, chopped

Steps

  1. Preheat oven to 350F.
  2. Steam the vegetables and garlic until soft.
  3. In a large bowl, combine the vegetables and croutons.
  4. Pour in the broth and mix well.
  5. Add the herbs and apples. Mix well.
  6. Beat the egg whites to soft peaks. Fold into mixture.
  7. Place in loaf pan and bake for 40 minutes.

Key Lime Pie

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Key lime pie is easy with this recipe.

You will need a large bowl and a mixer. Note that the filling goes in a pastry shell that has already been baked. Create a different texture and flavour by using a graham pie shell instead of a pastry pie shell. Still good.

Ingredients

  • 2 cans sweetened condensed milk (28 oz)
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 3/4 cup key lime juice
  • 1/2 cup whipped cream
  • pre-baked pie shell

Steps

  1. Preheat oven to 350F
  2. Combine milk and yolks. Beat to frothy.
  3. Gradually add the lime juice.
  4. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Do not let it brown.
  5. Cool until ready to place in fridge.
  6. Refrigerate for 2 or more hours.
  7. Garnish with whipped cream

Vitamin E

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Vitamin E is said to help slow the progress of some cancers. One possible reason is that the T cells of people taking Vitamin E appear to produce up to 10% more cytokines. However, high doses may increase the risk of other cancers and heart disease. People with cardiovascular disease or diabetes, or who have had cancer, should be cautious about taking Vitamin E supplements.

Synthetic Vitamin E is labelled “dl” in Canada and is only half as effective as natural Vitamin E, labelled “d”.

Adults should try to get 15mg or 22IU of natural Vitamin E per day to a maximum of 1500IU. Some sources are:

  • 1 T wheat germ oil – 30IU
  • 1 oz dry roasted sunflower seeds – 11 IU
  • 1 oz dry roasted almonds – 11 IU

Unpleasant Food Facts

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Allergies: The most common food allergies are milk, eggs, seafood, wheat, nuts, seeds, chocolate, oranges, tomatoes.

Carcinogens: a musty mold called aflatoxin found on corn, nuts, sorghum

Chemicals:

  • In 1986 there were some 60,000 chemicals in common commercial use in the USA.
  • American industry produced 96 billion pounds of hazardous chemical waste per year; much of which is disposed of in unsafe ways and some of which ends up in our water cycle.

Migraines: For some people food can be a trigger: MSG, sodium nitrate, red wine, old cheese, avocados, ripe bananas, curried meat.

Plaque: Saliva contains streptococci bacteria that use sugar to wrap themselves in a sticky protective wall or plaque. They produce acid that eats enamel.

Quality of Food:

  • Broccoli loses 1/3 of its vitamin C within 2 days of picking
  • canned juice loses 70% of its Vitamin C if it is stored in a hot space

Seville Orange Marmalade

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This is an old recipe that I am told dates back to the 1790s Scotland. The name Marmalade comes from the Persian word marmelo meaning quince, the original fruit used to make this style of preserve. Marmalades are now made from any number of citrus fruits including limes, and from pineapples or ginger.This recipe makes a lot of marmalade so consider cutting the quantities down if you don’t have time or enough jars. As a rule of thumb, use 1 cup of mash to 3/4 cup sugar.

This recipe uses every part of the fruit and the water it is cooked in, so don’t throw anything away until the recipe says it’s okay.

Ingredients

  • 3 lbs Seville oranges
  • 1 lb lemons
  • 1 lb sweet oranges
  • 2 cups water
  • 12 cups water
  • 7 lbs sugar
  • 4 oz scotch

Steps

  1. Cut each fruit in half and squeeze out the juice including the pits. Pour juice into a container and store in fridge until needed.
  2. Cook the pits in 2 cups of boiling water for 20 minutes. Let cool. Pour into a bowl and store at room temperature until needed.
  3. Simmer the squeezed fruit (mostly peel) in 6 cups of water for 20 minutes. Let cool.
  4. When the peel has cooled, remove it from the water and slice it into thin strips. Keep the water.
  5. Return the strips of peel to the water in which it was cooked. If necessary, top up with more water to cover.
  6. Let stand for 24 hours.
  7. Preheat oven to 200F.
  8. Remove the pits from the water and throw away the pits. Pour the water into a very large pot.
  9. Add the juice, sliced peel and its water, and remaining water.
  10. Bring to the boil and let simmer for 1-1/2 to 2 hours until the peel is tender. The volume will be reduced to about 1/2.
  11. Warm the sugar in a large pan in the oven.
  12. Add the sugar to the juices and stir until dissolved.
  13. Boil rapidly until setting point is achieved. To test, pour 1T into a saucer and let it cool. Tilt the saucer. If it runs freely, keep boiling!
  14. Test every few minutes.
  15. When setting point is achieved, remove from heat
  16. Briskly stir in 4 oz of scotch. This causes the impurities to rise to the surface which clarifies the marmalade.
  17. Let sit 10 minutes.
  18. Ladle the jam into sterilized jars and seal.