100% Whole Wheat Cinnamon Pull-A-Part Bread

I’ve been reading Chef Dennis’s Blog, “More Than a Mount Full” since I began blogging. How could I not? His blog provides a wealth of knowledge for both new and seasoned bloggers. For seasoned bloggers, he provides recipes and tips that are inventive and original.  For new bloggers, in an effort to help them find their niche and succeed, in what some may consider, a saturated market, he dedicates a great deal of his posts to [food] blogosphere “trade secrets”. He also dedicates every Friday to giving a blogger the opportunity to blog on a stage, other than their own.

I’ve been secretly dreaming about the day I would be able to metaphorically, sing on his stage. (I’m sure this isn’t a surprise to many of you as I’ve already shared what happens when I have an opportunity to sing.)

Well, today is my first opportunity, since launching my blog thee months ago, to have my voice heard in front of an audience other than what I’ve been able to generate on my own. Sure the timing wasn’t ideal, and I didn't really feel ready, but when is it ever the right time and when do we ever feel ready? If I spent my life waiting for the perfect moment, I’d never get anything done. So, I said, “ YES!” (As it turns out…that was the easy part). To find out what I did next, you’ll have to head over to Chef Dennis’s Blog More Than a Mountfull.  (don't forget to say hey when you stop over.)

Thank you Chef Dennis! I’ve truly appreciated how this opportunity has helped me find my [blogging] voice.

100% Whole-Wheat Waffles

Does someone in your family make the best…something? Have you ever asked for the recipe? If your family is like mine, what you end up with is a recipe that reads something like this.

You add a little bit of this to the mixture until you get it to the right consistency.

Then you sprinkle some of this and that in until it tastes just the way you want it to.

These recipes frustrate me to no end because up until about 6 months ago I followed recipes religiously. It’s all I knew how to do. I followed them blindly always believing that what the creator had written would turn out as promised if I followed the directions. I lacked the understanding and knowledge to tweak the recipe at all. So when I came across recipes like the one above, I was parallelized and didn’t really know how to move on. Plus even if I did take a chance, I didn’t keep notes in the kitchen so if a miracle did happen and my tweaking worked, repeating my happy mistake was nearly impossible. So what was to be done with Dad’s whole-wheat waffles?

When I got married I wanted to continue some of the traditions I grew up with, like Saturday morning waffles. When I asked my Dad for the family recipe he said:

“The recipe?” while staring at me with a worried look. “Well I guess I could come up with a recipe, I just kinda throw it all together.”

Ergggh!

Over the past 13 years (or is it 14) I’ve been doing my best to make these waffles just like Dad’s. Sometimes I hit; sometimes I miss.

When I started this blog I knew eventually I wanted to share this recipe with all of you but before I could I knew I had to get it right AND it needed to be duplicable so with my handy kitchen notebook in tow, I set out to get it right.

There were two issues with the original recipe that I wanted to change. 1)- I wanted it to be 100% whole wheat and 2)-I wanted to eliminate the sugar.

The biggest problem I had in trying to reach my goal was that the 100% whole-wheat batter was too heavy, even with the egg whites. While the first batch of waffles was cooking on the waffle iron the eggs would separate from the batter leaving a less than ideal runny mess in the bowl for the next batches. The second issue I had was that the waffle, although super tasty with syrup and fixings, wasn’t good enough to stand on its own. After several attempts to add flavor with other sweeteners & flavors I began to think a bland waffle was just the way it was meant to be, after all It would be loaded with fruit, syrup (may I suggest strawberry or white), whipped cream and what have you.

While watching Food Network Star this week, Bobby Flay made a comment on how it was essential for each component of a dish to be able to stand on it’s own while still being able to meld with everything else in the dish and on the side. I knew what had to be done - my goal to keep sugar out of the recipe had to be nixed – a little bit of sugar was necessary to keep the acidity of the baking powder and buttermilk at bay. It worked!

Well, that day has come. I’ve finally done it! I’ve tweaked the recipe just enough so that it can be shared and duplicated. And wouldn’t you know it, the day after I figured it all out, someone emailed me a waffle recipe that was almost exactly the same as what I had come up with. Why didn’t I just google in the first place? You think you have an original idea or an “old family recipe” only to find out that about a million other people had the same idea and the same recipe. How does that happen?

100% Whole Wheat Waffles

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Yield:  20 4x4” waffles (easily halved)
Serving Size 2, 4" waffles

Ingredients:

6 eggs

2 tablespoons lemon juice

~2 cups milk

¼ cup vegetable oil

3 – 3 ½ cups whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon kosher salt

¾ teaspoon cream of tartar

¼ cup sugar (optional)

1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

1. Separate the eggs placing the yolks in a small bowl and the whites in a large bowl or bowl of a stand mixer. Set aside and bring to room temperature (or just long enough to take some of the chill off)
2. Pour 2 tablespoons of lemon juice into a 2-cup measuring cup and then fill the measuring cup to the 2-cup capacity with milk (this is essentially a 2 cup buttermilk substitute but I prefer this to buttermilk in this recipe). Stir the lemon juice and milk together then set aside to sour and thicken.
3. Preheat oven to 200 degrees F and waffle iron to desired setting.
4. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together 3 cups of the whole-wheat flour, cinnamon, baking powder and salt; set aside.
5. With a stand mixer on low, whisk the egg whites until frothy (about 1 minute). Add in the cream of tartar and whisk eggs on high until soft peaks form. With mixer still on high, slowly add ¼ cup sugar (if using) to egg whites until stiff peaks form. With mixer on low add in vanilla until just incorporated. Set aside.
6. Whisk egg yolks, soured milk and oil into the dry mixture. If batter is too runny, whisk in another ½ cup of flour until lump are gone.
7. To temper the batter, stir in a quarter of the egg whites into the batter until well combined then carefully fold in the remaining egg whites. Once folded together, the batter should be airy and silky.
8. Spray your waffle iron with cooking pray then pour a portion of the batter (about 1cup or so) onto the center of your iron, close the top and cook to desired doneness. Place waffle onto a wire rack in the oven until all the waffles are cooked or serve immediately with syrup, fresh fruit or whipped cream.

Source: family file, Apron Appeal original

Nutrition Facts/Info:
Without sugar: Serving Size: 2, 4" waffles. Calories - 231, Fat Calories - 75, Total Fat - 10, Saturated fat - 1.7, polyunsaturated fat - 1.9, Monosaturated - 5, Cholesterol - 113, Sodium - 122mg, Total Carbs - 29, Dietary Fiber - 3.6, Sugars - 2.5, Protein - 10, Vitamin A - 5.6%, Vitamin C - 1.6, Calcium - 9.6%, Iron - 2.4%.

WITH sugar: Serving Size: 2, 4" waffles. Calories - 250, Fat Calories - 75, Total Fat - 10, Saturated fat - 1.7, polyunsaturated fat - 1.9, Monosaturated - 5, Cholesterol - 113, Sodium - 122mg, Total Carbs - 34, Dietary Fiber - 3.6, Sugars - 7.3, Protein - 10, Vitamin A - 5.6%, Vitamin C - 1.6, Calcium - 9.6%, Iron - 2.4%.

Gwenevere

Strawberry Syrup

Letting children explore and experience life unfettered from parental supervision can be unnerving… especially when your kids are hot wires…like mine. I can’t help but wonder what reflection of my parenting they will project when I’m not around? 

Well three weeks ago, I got my chance to find out. Grandma and Grandpa asked to take our 8-year-old with them on a 10-day trip to Houston to spend time with his cousins. TEN DAYS! Who knows what manner of chaos could unravel in 10 days without mom or dad!  So we did what any parents would do, we packed his bag, gave him a kiss and said goodbye.

What?

That’s not what most parents would do?

Oh well, me march to a different drum around here.

He had a blast while he was gone. So much fun in fact that he wouldn’t be bothered to call and let his parents know what he was up to. I was certain he had forgotten all about us. My fears were put to rest when I ran to give him a hug when he got home. He hugged me back and then promptly handed me a recipe card, “Mom, will you help me make this for breakfast tomorrow?” Ahhh, he hadn’t forgotten about me. And of everything I’ve tried to teach him, it was my love for all things kitchen that he projected while we were apart, and I’m ok with that.

Strawberry Syrup

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Makes 2 cups

Ingredients:

2 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced

½ sugar

Directions:

1. Puree strawberries and sugar in a blender.
2. Pour puree into a heatproof container (a mason jar) and then warm the container in a pot of boiling water. (if you have a Blendtec, apparently you can puree and heat all at once.)
3. Serve syrup over your favorite breakfast bread or over ice cream or smothered on a slice of warm bread…the possibilities are endless.

Source: Amy-Jo, family file

Gwenevere

Chocolate Raspberry Scones

Being a mom means that sometimes I get to be a detective. Since I spend more time at home than Boy and tend not to put things back where I got them, the responsibility of finding lost things, naturally falls on me.  When it comes to finding lost shoes - me, paperwork/bills – me,  toys – me, leftover food in the fridge for today’s lunch – me, obscure kitchen tools – me. My super sleuthing is not limited to finding lost things however, it also includes knowing if kids are telling fibs to get out of trouble, determining who is/was responsible for the reason someone got their feelings hurt and my personal favorite role as a detective parent is figuring out what my kids will eat on a day to day basis.

Does anyone else have this problem? From the time my 1^st was eating solid food up through my now youngest just starting on solid food, none of them have ever had a food they liked so much that I knew they would eat it every time I put it in front of them. (Sometimes I tell myself that the “go to food” is probably a PB&J sandwich but since none of my kids can eat peanuts, I’ll never know.) 

What in the world does any of this have to do with Chocolate Raspberry Scones? Well, Ryn, my almost 6 year old, is a hard case to crack when it comes to fruit, raw or baked. I just don’t know what she’ll go for. She likes raw strawberries, but put them on crepes, no way. She won’t touch peaches or apricots raw, but bake them into a cobbler – gone. The first time I made scones with raspberries, I thought for sure I’d hit the ball out of the park. I mean really, these things are almost like cookies, just bigger and cleverly disguised as a breakfast food. Nope, she wouldn’t even touch them. Well that’s not true, she did eat a bite but as soon as she got to the berry - she was done. How anyone can resist these scones, I do not know. They are so good. Crispy and flakey and melt in your mouth kind of goodness.

Normally I wouldn’t really care if my kids eat pastries but because these scones can be prepared in advance and kept frozen until baking time, they make for a relatively simple, hot breakfast that doesn’t cut into my “find my backpack, jacket, homework” sleuthing time, so I knew I had to get her to like these.

I started with an all chocolate chip version. She would be happy to eat that version all day everyday, but that wasn’t good enough for me, not for breakfast anyway. I decided to do raspberries WITH chocolate and then, perhaps over time, slowly take out the chocolate so that all that would be left would be the raspberries. SCORE! Combine fruit, with chocolate, and Ryn will eat it. Now I just have to start diminishing the chocolate and we’re good. – CASE CLOSED!

As a side note…when I made these I actually piped a ganache into the hollow raspberry center - Super delicious but absolutely unnecessary [for this recipe]. If you would like to take the time to do that, you can find the instructions here (Annies Eat’s Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Cupcakes) – just quarter the recipe and you’re good to go. Next time I make these, I’m just going to stuff the raspberries with chocolate chips. The recipe below reflects that intention.

Chocolate Raspberry Scones

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Ingredients:

CHOCOATE STUFFED RASPBERRIES

1 ½ cups fresh raspberries

¼ cup chocolate chip

SCONES

8 tbsp. (1 stick) unsalted butter, chilled whole


1½ cups (7½ oz.) chocolate stuffed raspberries
(or other mix-in)

½ cup chocolate chips

½ cup whole milk


½ cup sour cream


2 cups (10 oz.) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the work surface


½ cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling


2 tsp. baking powder


¼ tsp. baking soda


½ tsp. salt


1 tsp. finely grated lemon zest


2 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

Directions:

1. Adjust an oven rack to middle position and preheat to 425˚ F.  Grate the chilled butter on the holes of a large box grater, put grated butting in a bowl and place in the freezer. Stuff raspberries with chocolate chips and place in the freezer until needed.
2. Whisk together the milk and sour cream in a medium bowl; refrigerate until needed.  Combine the flour, ½ cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and lemon zest in a medium-mixing bowl.  Whisk to combine.  Add the grated butter to the flour mixture and toss with fingers until thoroughly coated.
3. Add the milk mixture to the dry ingredients and fold with a spatula just until combined.  Transfer the dough to a generously floured work surface.  Dust the top of the dough with flour, and with well-floured hands, push the dough together into a ragged ball.  Add small amounts of flour as needed to prevent sticking. (I do not use extra flour- there are so many flour bits that I didn’t feel extra flour was necessary)

1. Roll the dough into a 12-inch square.  Fold the dough into thirds like a business letter (a dough scraper really helps with these steps-but I wouldn’t know since I don’t have a bench scraper).  Fold the short ends of the dough into the center in thirds, to form an approximate 4-inch square.  Transfer the dough to a plate lightly dusted with flour and chill in the freezer for 5 minutes.

1. Return the dough to the floured work surface and roll into an approximately 12-inch square again. Sprinkle the raspberries and chocolate chips evenly over the surface of the dough, and gently press down so that they are slightly embedded in the dough surface.  Using a dough scraper, roll the dough up to form a tight log.  Lay the log seam side down and press the log into a 12 by 4-inch rectangle.  Using a sharp, floured knife, cut the rectangle crosswise into 4 equal rectangles.  Cut each rectangle diagonally to form 2 triangles. (for smaller portions, cut each 4 in rectangle into 4 triangles instead of 2) Transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet.

1. Brush the tops of the scones with melted butter and sprinkle lightly with sugar.  (If freezing ahead of time, flash freeze on the baking sheet for 20 minutes, then transfer to a freezer bag and store in the freezer until needed.)  Bake until the tops and bottoms are golden brown, 15-20 minutes.  Transfer to a wire rack and let cool at least 10 minutes before serving. (bake frozen scones in a 400 degree F oven for 18-25 minutes.

Notes:

The original recipe called for blueberries. I have used blackberries, chocolate chips, and raspberries to fill these scones with and plan on trying many, many more mix-ins. Also I don’t keep whole milk in my fridge. I do however always keep heavy cream. To substitute whole milk I simply add cream to it. For this recipe add 1-tablespoon cream to a ½ cup measure and then fill the rest of the measuring cup up with milk. It’s not exact, but it works.

Source: Adapted from Annies-Eats: Blueberry Scones

Gwenevere

Buttermilk Biscuits

If you know how to make yeasted bread, flat breads and pie dough how hard can it possibly be to make flakey buttermilk biscuits?

That is what I thought when I first set out to find and make the perfect buttermilk biscuits. I should have known something was up when I got to the third recipe and read a disclaimer that said something like:

Once you’ve tried this recipe about a dozen times, you’ll understand the dough and you’ll be able to turn out the perfect biscuits every time.

A dozen times?

Really?

Whatever - I betcha I can do this on the first try.

I learned three things:

1. It may not be pretty but it almost always will taste good.

2. It’s impossible to duplicate a recipe if you refuse to follow it.

3. You cannot judge the success/failure of your finished product against a photograph that showcases food that was made from a recipe other than the one you are using.

Had I known those three tips when I started making the first batch I would say that a dozen attempts is overkill.  If you know how to follow a recipe and know what you are working toward I’m fairly confident you can crank out these delicious, beautiful buttermilk biscuits by the 2^nd or 3^rd try. So what are you working toward with these biscuits? This recipe will turn out about a dozen crispy, flaky buttermilk biscuits. These aren’t exactly what I was originally looking for, (I’m looking for something more tender) but perhaps this is exactly what you have been looking for. If so, have at it.

Oh and finally - Please be aware that climate, elevation, brand of ingredients, calibration of your oven and fridge, time of day, what you are wearing, how your hair is combed, and whether or not you car is clean or dirty may or may not have an effect on how your biscuits turn out. J

Buttermilk Biscuits

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Makes 8-10 biscuits

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

7 tablespoons unsalted butter, grated on the large holes of a box grater and then chilled in the freezer

¾ cup cold buttermilk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F
2. In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk until combined. Toss in chilled butter and coat with flour.
3. Create a well in the center of the flour and pour in the cold buttermilk. With a spatula gently toss the flour and milk together until somewhat combined. Do not over mix or your biscuits. They will become dense and tough.
4. Dump the mixture out onto a board or nonstick mat and push it all into a ragged ball.
5. Pat the dough into a 4” x 7” rectangle and then fold the dough into thirds like a letter. Repeat this step 2 more times (3 times total) doing your best to include all stray crumbs and dough pieces.
6. Press the dough out to be ¾” to 1” thick. Using a round or square cutter that is 2 ½ inches, cut out biscuits without twisting the cutter. Twisting the cutter could seal the sides and make it difficult for the dough to reach its full height potential in the oven. I prefer to use a square cutter to minimize scraps. Scraps don’t rise as well as the biscuits cut from the first press.
7. Place biscuits on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a silpat, brush with scant buttermilk and bake in the oven for about 15 minutes until raised and golden.
8. If you would like to freeze the biscuits for later use, after the biscuits have been brushed with buttermilk, put the cookie sheet - uncovered into a freezer for 30 minutes. Once dough is set, transfer the biscuits to a ziplock bag and store in freezer until ready to bake. Bake directly from frozen in a 425 degree oven for 17 – 18 minutes.

Source: Adapted from foodwishes: Beautiful Buttermilk Biscuits (how to video included) with help from Frieda Loves Bread and freezing instructions from Annie’s Eats.

Gwenevere

Blueberry Streusel Muffins (vegan & 100% whole-wheat)

We are not vegans around here. We rely on meat for protein because too many of us can’t eat, beans, nuts & soy.  However, due to the other allergies and dietary restrictions we juggle in this crazy house (eggs and dairy and who knows what else) sometimes it looks like we are [vegan]. So…when in Rome......we call ourselves vegan. (That makes absolutely no sense but I thought it was funny so I left it there.)

In short, we are not vegan, but sometimes our food is. This food, Blueberry Streusel Muffin(s), is (or are –I’m not an English major and I don’t want to google that grammar rule right now). 

What I'm really trying to say 
is that if all vegan food is this good, then 
SIGN ME UP!

I grabbed this recipe off Annie’s eats yesterday morning and threw caution to the wind. Usually when I make something I’ve never tried I cut the recipe in half (in case it’s yucky-which it never is when it’s from Annie) and I follow the recipe precisely.  Not this time. I wanted a whole-grain muffin right away and since her recipe said it only made 8 muffins, I just went with it. In my hour of wild abandon, I substituted ALL of the all-purpose white flour with fresh milled hard white AND red winter wheat. I wanted to be sure the muffin had a hearty, nutty flavor. I swapped Ener-G Brand Egg Replacer in for the egg, rice milk for regular milk and coconut oil instead of vegetable oil and butter. 

When I read the part in Annie’s recipe that said “pour” the batter into the prepared muffin cups I got a little worried, my batter was no where NEAR pourable, at best I could call it a sticky, sticky cookie dough. It was stiff enough that if I could get it into a shape without sticking to my fingers it was going to stay in that shape. I thought about adding more milk, but I listened to my heart and just shaped the dough into large (1/4 – 1/3 cup) balls and plopped them into the muffin cups, generously sprinkled the tops with the streusel and tossed ‘em into the hot oven. My intuition paid off. The muffins “melted” into shape and in 20 short minutes I had my hearts desire….warm, nutty, 100% whole-grain muffins bursting with blueberry goodness. I loved them so much I ate… too many to admit to today. J

Blueberry Streusel Muffins

(vegan & 100% whole-wheat)

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Ingredients:

MUFFINS

1 ½ cup flour (I used 1 cup fresh milled, hard, red, winter wheat and ½ cup fresh milled hard white winter wheat.)

¾ cup sugar

½ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/3 cup melted coconut oil

2 “eggs” made from Ener-G egg replacers (or 1 whole egg)

~1/3 cup rice milk (or cows milk)

1 cup fresh blueberries

STREUSEL

¼ cup sugar

1 tablespoon red winter wheat flour

1 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons white winter wheat flour

¾ teaspoons cinnamon

1-2 tablespoons coconut oil (solid)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400°. Grease or line 12 muffin wells with muffin liners.
2. Make streusel topping, combine sugar, flour & cinnamon. With a fork add, 1 tablespoon of coconut oil to dry ingredients and mix until crumbly. You may need to add more coconut oil but mix as you add to ensure that your streusel does not get too wet that you will be unable to sprinkle it on top of the muffins. Once crumbly sprinkle over tops of muffins.
3. Combine flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. Place melted coconut oil into a 1-cup measuring cup; add the egg replacer and enough rice milk to fill to 1- cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Place ¼ - 1/3 cup of the dough/batter into the muffin cups (fill to the top if your batter is liquid or a little higher if dough is a solid)
4. Bake at 400° for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Source: Adapted from Annies-Eats “Blueberry Muffins” which was taken from Allrecipes “To Die For Blueberry Muffins”

Gwenevere

Orange Rolls

Birthdays are kind of a big deal in Boy’s family. His mother does all that she can to make her children feel like they are king or queen for a day. As part of the royal birthday treatment tradition, everyone gets orange rolls for breakfast. It sounds like a good idea right? That is unless you are the one who has to wake up before the crack of dawn to make aforementioned orange rolls.

Well lucky or unlucky for me (I’m never quite sure which) the term orange roll means something entirely different to me than it does to Boy. In the home I grew up in orange rolls were always made from scratch and were served at formal holiday dinners (a rare treat). In Boy’s family, orange rolls were served out of a refrigerated cardboard tube (see lucky me I don’t have to make fresh bread, unlucky for me I have to eat rolls out of cardboard tube).

Yes, I was not excited about replacing my beloved orange rolls with a store bought version, but since this was Boy’s tradition, we kept it “as-is” and I’ve been “making” refrigerated, canister orange rolls for every birthday breakfast since we’ve been married. This year that tradition ended.

Happy Birthday Boy!

(Belated blog post because blogger was down on your birthday and the day following)

For his birthday this year I made some homemade orange rolls to replace the ones the tradition was founded on (does this make me a progressive?) I hope he can forgive me for messing with a 35-year-old tradition but for the sake of flavor and quality, I hope he’ll appreciate the change.

Happy Birthday!

Orange Rolls

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Ingredients:

ROLLS

¼ cup warm water

2 ¼ teaspoon yeast (active dry)

1 cup warm milk

½ cup unsalted butter,

1/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 cups whole-wheat flour (I used fresh milled winter white wheat-AP flour can also be used)

2 eggs

zest of 1 orange (2 tablespoons)

juice of 1 orange (¼ cup)

3-3 ½ cups all-purpose flour

FILLING

Zest of 1 orange (2 tablespoons)

Juice of ½ an orange (2 tablespoons)

3-4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

¾ - 1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)

Directions:

1. Dissolve yeast in ¼ cup of water and set aside.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attached, combine milk, butter, sugar and salt. Once combined mix in whole-wheat flour and beat well. Beat in eggs, softened yeast, and zest & juice from one orange.
3. Replace paddle attachment with the dough hook and add it 3-3 ½ cups of all purpose flour (dough should be soft and sticky). Knead dough for 8-10 minutes until it is smooth and elastic.
4. Shape dough into a round, place into an ungreased bowl. Cover; let rise in a warm draft-free place until double (about 2 hours)
5. If using whole-wheat flour; carefully deflate the dough after 1^st rise, reshape into a round, put back into bowl, cover with lid and allow to rise for another 45 minutes (until when a wet finger is poked ½ inch into the dough, the indentation stays without springing back or sagging). The second rise is not necessary however it will make for a more flavorful and lighter dough.
6. Deflate dough (again, if using whole-wheat), divide into 2 equal halves, shape each half into a  round then cover with a bread cloth for 10 minutes to allow for the dough to rest.
7. While dough is resting, make the filling by combining the orange zest and juice with 3 tablespoons melted butter. Add in the cinnamon (if using) and the sugar until you reach the desired consistency (if you like a lot of filling, you may need to add another tablespoon of melted butter and an additional ¼ cup sugar)
8. On a nonstick mat or floured board, roll one round of dough into a 19x13(ish) rectangle that is ¼-inch thick. Using ½ of the filling, schmear a thin layer over the dough leaving a 1” margin along one of the longer edges of the rectangle. Take the filling all the way to the edge  on the other three sides. Starting with the long side of the rectangle (that has the schmear taken all the way to the edge) start rolling the dough. Begin in the middle and work your way out to the edges. Continue to roll until the dough is in one long roll. Pinch the seam closed to prevent the rolls from unraveling during the final proof and baking.
9. With a string, dental floss or a sharp serrated knife, cut the long roll into 1-inch segments and place each segment 1” apart on a baking sheet sprayed with cooking oil or lined with parchment paper. Repeat steps 8 -10 for the second dough round. (If you would like to freeze your rolls for a later time (which I highly recommend – especially if you are planning on eating these for breakfast), place them on a greased cookie sheet so that the rolls are touching one another and then place them, uncovered, in the freezer for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, transfer the dough to a freezer proof container or Ziploc bag.)
10. Cover rolls and allow to rise for 45 minutes (after 30 minutes preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.) Bake the rolls for 12-15 minutes until rolls are golden brown.
11. Remove from the oven and immediately drizzle or frost with orange ginger cream cheese glaze/frosting (Recipe follows)

ORANGE, GINGER, CREAM CHEESE GLAZE/FROSTING

     

1/3 cup (5.3 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened but not melted

      5. 3 oz. (2/3 of an 8 oz. brick) cream cheese, softened

      1 tsp orange zest

      2 tbsp orange juice

      1 tsp fresh ginger, grated

      1 - 2 ½ cups powdered sugar

Combine the first 5 ingredients. Gradually add the powdered sugar until you achieve the desired consistency for glaze or frosting. (If you have leftover frosting from the Carrot Cupcakes-you can just use that.)

Notes: To prepare rolls from frozen, place frozen rolls in or on a prepared baking pan/sheet (greased or lined w/ parchment paper or silpat). Cover rolls with plastic wrap that has been sprayed with cooking oil and allow to proof. This will take about 2 to 2 ½ hours.  Rolls can then be baked in  375 degree F oven for 12-15 minutes.

Source: adapted from my Aunt Gayle’s Thanksgiving Orange Roll recipe which was adapted from an Orange Rosette Recipe in a 1970’s edition of the Better Homes and Garden red checkered cookbook.

Gwenevere

Sweet Potato Hash

A few days ago I read a blog post by Wok In Time that touched on the issue of ugly food. I thought it was funny and it made me think it would be nice [or fun] to have a day set aside for foodies to post all about the ugly food they LOVE…. Because ugly food deserves it’s turn in the spotlight too!

Well since such a day does not exist….or at least I’ve never heard of it…I am making that day TODAY…because I have an ugly dish I want to share with you. Now since I don’t have the props and tools to style my food properly, when I say ugly, you know you are getting the real deal. Poor ugly food, you don’t even get a fighting chance on my blog. Hopefully everyone will look past your ugly and see the potential of taste that resides within you. J

So here is my Ugly…

Sweet Potato Hash!

The most interesting thing about this dish is that even though it’s ugly….my kids eat it. It’s so weird! They will turn their nose up to anything that is slightly off their path of familiarity but for some reason, this one always gets eaten. Sure it takes a little bit to remind them that they do actually like it, but once they get past the first bite, they remember, and have no problem packing down the rest. (I think it has something to do with the bacon.)

This recipe comes from my friend Naomi and I think she actually eats this as a breakfast dish. We don’t but why not? …It’s an ugly. It has no pressure to live up to anyone’s expectations so it can do whatever it wants to. J

Sweet Potato Hash

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Ingredients:

Olive oil, for sautéing

½ pound breakfast sausage or ½ pound bacon

1lb sweet potatoes, pealed and cut in half lengthwise, then sliced into rather tin half moons

1 medium onion finely chopped

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

salt and pepper

1 cup extra sharp cheddar or manchego cheese, shredded

2 cups brown rice, steamed

Directions:

1. Brown sausage or bacon in a skillet over medium high heat until just about done.
2. Add the sliced sweet potatoes, chili powder, cumin and salt and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes (stirring minimally. If you stir too much the sweet potatoes will get mushy and will not caramelize) After 5 minutes add the chopped onions. Continue to cook (again stirring minimally) for another 5-7 minutes until sweet potatoes are tender and onions are caramelized. Add olive oil as needed to keep food from scorching.
3. After the hash is cooked, remove skillet from heat, stir in the shredded cheese and steamed rice and serve warm with fried eggs or salsa and tortillas.

Source: Adapted from Naomi

Gwenevere

Banana Crunch Whole-Wheat Muffins

What do you do with over ripe bananas?

Is there really a need to even ask that question?

You make banana bread of course!

It’s a great metaphor for life really - once we’ve become “spotted” or “spoiled” we can still be changed and made (in my opinion) into something better. (Better because I’d choose bananas baked into a carb over raw any day.)

As usually happens when I buy bananas, I had some that had not been eaten and had past their prime. When I saw this recipe from The Barefoot Contessa with the word CRUNCH in it, I knew exactly what my over ripe banana's would soon become. To healthy these up a bit I swapped out 1 2/3 cup of the all-purpose flour for fresh milled whole-wheat flour and replaced 1 cup of the refined sugar with 1 cup more of squished bananas (the recipe below reflects my changes. Oh! And due to allergies, I also left out the nuts). If you don’t have whole grain flour and/or don’t care about refined sugar then just change it back to The Barefoot Contessa’s original recipe of 3 cups all-purpose flour, 2 cups sugar and 1 cup mashed ripe banana.

I’m sure either way you mix it-they will be great, but I can only vouch for the whole-wheat version. I also think these muffins would accompany a smoothie of the pina colada or peanut butter variety quite well.

Banana Crunch Whole-Wheat Muffins

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Ingredients:

1 2/3 cup whole-wheat flour (I used fresh milled red winter wheat)

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

½ pound unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2 extra-large eggs

¾ cup whole milk

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 cups mashed ripe bananas (4 bananas)

1 cup medium-diced bananas (1 banana)

1 ¾ cup granola (divided)

1 ¾ cup sweetened shredded coconut (divided)

½ cup banana chips (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Brush the flat surface of the cupcake pan with oil to prevent muffin spillage from sticking to the pan.  Line 30 regular muffin cups with paper liners.
2. Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and alt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the melted butter and blend well but do not over mix or you’ll end up with tough muffins. Then add in the eggs, milk and vanilla. Scrape the bowl. If you are making the day before the muffins will be served, cover the batter and put it in the fridge. When you are ready to finish the recipe add the mashed bananas to the batter. Again be careful not to over mix.
3. Fold in the diced bananas, 1 ½ cups granola and 1 ½ cups coconut into the batter. Scoop the batter into the prepared baking tins, filling each to the very top. Top each muffin the remaining granola, coconut and dried bananas (if desired). Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the tops are brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool slightly, remove from the pan and serve warm.

Notes:

I used Back to Nature 100% Natural Chocolate Delight Granola. It is very crunchy and contains no refined sugar (other than what is included in the dark chocolate chunks).

Source: Adapted from Ina Garten Recipe on Food Network