Mango Almond Whole Wheat Bread

Don't worry, it's not all baked goodies forever and ever, but I haven't had time yet to go grocery shopping so my meal ideas are still just ideas.

I've been buying mangoes by the dozen, meaning to freeze them so I can enjoy the sweet-sour taste during a January blizzard, but they're so good I keep eating them fresh. I have a noodle recipe for later on with mangoes, but of course it wouldn't be The Cookery if I didn't try to make a mango type bread.

This one uses dried mangoes. Try to make sure you get the sugar free dried mango, no one really needs all that sugar, as delicious as it is. I accidentally bought the sweetened slices, so that's what I ended up using.

Now, full disclosure, I'm not a huge fan of whole wheat bread. It's dry and heavy and usually tastes like cardboard. Well not this one! The dried fruit melts during baking and keeps the bread moist while spreading the flavour around. In the end you have a nice crisp outside with a beautiful fluffy moist interior.

Mango Almond Bread
2 very large loaves (3 regular sized ones)

Ingredients:

5 c. warm water
2 tsp. active dry yeast
6 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/4 c. vital wheat gluten*
1/2 c. light brown sugar
scant 2 tbsp. salt
3-4 c. all purpose flour
1 1/4 c. dried mango strips, cut into bite sized pieces
1 c. whole almonds

Directions:

Add yeast to water in a large bowl and stir to dissolve completely. Add the whole wheat flour, 2 cups at a time, until you have a smooth batter. Cover and set aside for an hour, it'll be wicked bubbly and risen.

Sprinkle the brown sugar and the salt on top, then stir to combine. Add the remaining flour a 1/2 cup at a time, stirring and beginning to knead as it comes together. Turn out dough on to a floured surface, adding flour as necessary to prevent sticking, and knead 10 minutes. I just used my dough hook for 5 minutes on speed 2. Your dough should be smooth and elastic. Cut your dough in half, putting each half in a lightly oiled bowl to rise for another hour.

Press each dough into a rectangle and sprinkle on half the mango and half the almonds. Shape dough into loaves (poke in any escapee mangoes or almonds) and place into 2 buttered bread pans (9x5"). Leave to rise 30 minutes while you preheat the oven to 400F.

Just prior to putting the bread in the oven, make three diagonal slashes across the top. Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until golden. The bread is done when it sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom and the corners are firm when pinched. (Why does that sound dirty?) Remove from pans immediately and place on racks to cool. Let rest at least a half hour before digging in.

*
Vital Wheat Gluten helps the bread rise by creating more strands of gluten; it's especially important in breads with a lot of whole wheat flour like this one. I buy the Bob's Red Mill brand. The directions recommend using 1 tbsp. for every cup of whole wheat flour, though in this recipe only 4 tbsp. are used and that's plenty.





I just had a slice toasted with cream cheese and it was super delicious. The mango gives just a bit of tang. In the future I think I'll stick to sliced or slivered almonds, or maybe even pumpkin seeds since my kid had issues with the whole almonds. It's hardly the point to bake this beautiful bread only to have to rip it apart to find and remove the almonds since they may induce a choking fit. The other issue with this bread is that I wouldn't want to make a sandwich with it; it would be too many competing flavours.

This bread would be perfect for breakfast, or sliced for company, or even as buns with a special (or not so special) supper.

Triple Layer Cake

So, that carrot cake that I was talking about? It's the middle layer in this three layer cake that I made for my parents' visit. I've adapted these recipes from the originals, and the ginger cake one is a special version all my own. The ginger cake idea came from my husband. When I asked him what kind of cake he wanted for his birthday his only criterion was "different". I got to thinking and came up with ginger cake. There are a ton of recipes for this on the internet and a google search turned up a few that sounded really promising. Each one was missing something though, so I made a mash up recipe and it was tasty, but a bit dry I thought. The ginger cake layer in this recipe is a bit different because I lost the first measurements that I used. I made sure to write it down in a place I'd remember this time.

The carrot cake adapted from a Jamie Oliver recipe in his "Cook" book. I made it exactly to specifications the first time, but it wasn't quite what I wanted, so this time I tweaked it a bit. Moist and tender, this cake is worth every second spent grating carrots. Or you can be like me and use your Kitchen Aid. I'm telling you: Buy one! It's worth every penny.

The chocolate cake is a stand-by recipe that turns out every time. It's a nice dense chocolatey cake.

I made this cake over the course of a week. I would freeze each layer after it's fully cooled to make sure it remains fresh. If you were feeling ambitious, I'm sure you could do it all in one day!

Triple Layer Cake

Top Layer: Ginger Cake
This recipe makes a 9" cake as well as two decent sized loaves

Ingredients:

1 block unsalted butter, softened
2 c. light brown sugar
6 eggs
4 c. flour
2 tbsp. ground ginger
1 tbsp. grated fresh ginger
1/2 tsp. cloves
1 tbsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. salt
1 c. molasses
2/3 c. milk

Directions:

Cream butter and sugar, adding the sugar slowly until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Stir together the dry ingredients, including spices. (You'll note this recipe doesn't have any leavener. You can add 1 tbsp. baking powder if you want.)

Mix the molasses and the milk.

Add the dry and wet ingredients to the butter mixture, alternating dry and wet. Beat well after every addition. Your batter should be smooth and creamy, a light brown caramel colour.

Bake at 350F. The cake takes about 35-40 minutes and the loaves take about 50-55 minutes. Cool in pan for 10 minutes then turn onto wire rack to cool completely.

Be aware that you're going to want to eat at least one of the loaves that night. I would have either strong coffee or beer on hand to pair with the cake. If you find this too sweet, I think you could reduce the sugar to 1 cup and still have a really nice cake.

Carrot Cake
Makes 1 loaf, or 2 8" pans

Ingredients:

1 1/4 c. unsalted butter, softened
1 c. light brown sugar
5 eggs, separated
zest and juice of one orange
1 1/2 c. flour
1 heaping tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 heaping tsp. cinnamon
pinch of cloves
pinch of nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
10 ounces carrots, peeled and grated (about 2-3 carrots)

Directions:

Separate the eggs and allow to come to room temperature.

Cream butter and sugar, adding the sugar slowly until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the eggs yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the orange juice and zest and stir.

Stir together the flour, baking powder and baking soda. Add to the butter mixture, then add the spices and grated carrots. Mix well.

Whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff, then fold into the batter. Spoon batter into pans.

Bake at 350F for 50-55 minutes. Cool in pan for 10 minutes then turn onto wire rack to cool completely.

This cake is moist and chewy, kind of like a really good banana bread. Actually adding a banana instead of a couple of egg yolks would probably yield something delicious. Hmm, maybe I'll try that next.

Chocolate Cake
Makes 2 9" pans

Ingredients:

3/4 c. unsalted butter, softened
3 eggs
2 c. flour
3/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 c. sugar
1 1/2 c. milk

Directions:

Allow eggs to come to room temperature.

Cream butter and sugar, adding the sugar slowly until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the dry mixture and the milk to the batter, alternating dry and wet. Stir until just combined after each addition, scraping down the side of the bowl when necessary.

Spread into pans and bake at 350F for 30-35 minutes. Cool in pan for 10 minutes then turn onto wire rack to cool completely.


I used cream cheese frosting to ice the cake. I thought it was a great match but my husband wasn't crazy about the chocolate with the cream cheese. I notice that didn't inhibit him from inhaling said cake though.

Alright people, it's drool time. I know, I know. I need to work on my icing skillz.

Suzanne's Flax Bread

There are so many different types of bread out there and this recipe is a sure-fire success. It's now a stand-by in my kitchen since it's so easily adaptable and convenient. The dough rises either overnight or all day, making it perfect to fit into any schedule. I usually make the dough in the morning and bake it at night since by the time evening comes and the kids are asleep I'm ready to go to sleep myself. I used to do all this baking/cooking during Mister M's nap times, but now having two children, I find that I have to be willing to do everything while he's awake since otherwise I'd never get anything done. He's been fascinated by the mixer for a while (he has my old littler one to play with, unplugged of course), so now we do my baking together. It takes longer, but resolves the whining-child-at-my-feet issue I was having.

My sister came out to visit when I had the new baby and she loved this bread so I'm re-naming it for her.

Suzanne's Flax Bread
Makes 4 loaves

Ingredients:

4 c. warm water
1/2 tbsp. traditional yeast
2 c. milk (I use homo)
3 c. whole wheat flour
2 tbsp. honey
10-12 c. all purpose flour
2 tbsp. salt
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 c. ground flax seed

Directions:

Mix water and yeast. Stir to dissolve, then add milk. Stir in the whole wheat flour, it'll be quite lumpy, but don't worry about it. Add your honey and stir, then add about 4 cups of the all purpose flour and mix until it becomes a smooth batter.

Add the salt and oil, mixing after each addition. Add the flax seed and another 4-5 cups of flour. Knead, adding flour as necessary, until you have a smooth and elastic dough. I've done this both by hand and in my mixer, it works well either way.

Place in a large lightly oiled bowl to rise. During the summer I let it rise on top of my fridge, but in the frigid Canadian winter I put it in the oven and leave the oven light on for some warmth. Let rise overnight or 8-12 hours, whatever is most convenient.

Punch down dough. Turn out onto a floured surface and using a pastry scraper or a sharp knife cut the dough into four pieces. Working with one piece at a time, leaving the others covered with a towel, shape dough into a loaf and place it in your pan. Leave to rise 40 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400F. Bake loaves for 10 minutes, then turn down temperature to 375F without opening the door. Bake for 20 minutes, then rotate pans and bake for another 20 minutes. Loaves should sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.

Brush tops with margarine, but wait until mostly cooled to slice.

This makes great toast because it's nice and dense without being too heavy. No huge airpockets for your peanut butter to melt into. Sorry I don't have a photo, I'll take one next time!

ETA: Found a photo of the dough before I put it aside to rise.

After an extended absence I give you: Amazingness in a muffin tin!

Apologies for the extended absence. I do, however, have some great news to make up for it. I have a new baby!! That's right, I upgraded to the 6 qt KitchenAid mixer!! I am ridiculously excited about it. It arrived on my birthday of all days, though it hadn't been planned that way, and was the best gift to myself ever. Totally worth giving up the shoes I had promised to myself for my 30th birthday.

Hello beautiful.



Speaking of hello beautiful, I also gave birth to a baby. Another reason for the absence. I got to use my mixer to make a dense, moist carrot cake a few days after the birth and it was heavenly. Totally worth it. I'll have that recipe in a few days.

Today though I'm starting with an adaptation of Banana-Coconut Bread for Pam from the Home Baking cookbook (the original is also delicious!). I like to call it Amazingness in a Muffin Tin.

Ingredients:

4 medium over-ripe bananas
2 c. all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. cloves
2 1/2 tbsp. cocoa
1/2 c. butter, softened
1/2 c. light brown sugar
1/2 c. white sugar
1/8 tsp. apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 tbsp. spiced rum
1/2 c. shredded unsweetened coconut
1/2 c. chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F.

Puree the bananas. You should have about one and a half to two cups of puree. Set aside.

Sift the flour, baking soda, nutmeg, cloves, and cocoa. Set aside.

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the vinegar and the rum and beat briefly. Add the banana and flour mixture alternately about 1 cup at a time, beginning with bananas. Beat until smooth after every addition. Stir in the coconut and the chocolate chips.

Spoon the batter generously into muffin tins. Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until set.

Makes 12-16 depending on how big you like your muffins.



You know the only thing that could really make this recipe better? Peanut butter. I'll have to figure out a way to incorporate peanut butter. Try it though, you won't regret it!

Grown-Up Grilled Cheese

Now THIS is what I call a grilled cheese sandwich with everything you could want. If you haven't yet, you need to find the February issue of Bon Appetit. I bought it because the sandwich looked so good I began to (silently) blubber at the magazine rack.

Forewarning - This can take all day. But you should do it. Because the results are farking divine. You don't even have to take this with a grain of salt, you know why? Because I don't even really LIKE beef. In fact, I haven't eaten cow other than ground beef (which isn't even really like beef to me, it's like the original veggie ground round), in years. I avoid it because it's stringy and there's fat and I hate having to deal with the animalness of big cuts of beef. So I started small. You're totally supposed to use short-ribs, but they had the unfortunate drawback of having bones. Since I don't like bones I used some pre-cut shoulder steak instead. Nice little strips, very little fat and no bones!

You should check out the original recipe if only to drool over the photo. But my version was a bit different so I'll just post what I actually did.

Grilled Cheese and Steak Sandwich - KM Styles

Ingredients:

STEAK

1 pkg. shoulder steak strips
1.5 tbsp margarine
1.5 tbsp olive oil
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
3/4 cup dry red wine (I used a Merlot, yum!)
1/4 cup broth (I used chicken broth)
3 tbsp medium-dry Sherry
1 garlic clove, peeled
1 bay leaf

PICKLED CARAMELIZED ONIONS
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large white onion, sliced
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar

ASSEMBLY
8 slices of fresh bread, or 8 french rolls
some sliced sharp or old cheddar cheese
1/4 head of romaine lettuce

Directions:

STEAK

Mis en Place



Sprinkle beef with salt and pepper.



Heat margarine and olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook beef until just browned.



Transfer to a baking sheet or bowl. Add celery, carrots, and onion to pot and sauté until beginning to soften and brown, stirring often, about 5 minutes.



Add wine, broth, Sherry, garlic, and bay leaf; bring to boil, scraping up browned bits. Season with salt and pepper.



Return steak to pot, placing them over the vegetables. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 1/2 hour.
Transfer steak to baking sheet or bowl. Continue to simmer sauce until thick, adding more stock if necessary, about another 45 minutes or so. Discard bay leaves and thyme sprig. Cut meat into 3/4- to 1-inch pieces then return meat to pot.



PICKLED CARAMELIZED ONIONS
Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions, sprinkle with salt, and sauté until beginning to brown, stirring frequently, about 10 minutes. Add vinegar and sugar and cook until almost all vinegar is absorbed, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to bowl; cool.



ASSEMBLY
Butter your bread slices on each side. Divide meat among four slices. Add cheese, then top with onions. Finish with some romaine, and top with extra bread slice, buttered side out.

Heat griddle to medium heat. Grill sandwiches until bread is golden brown and cheese melts, about 3 minutes per side.



Transfer to work surface. Cut each in half on diagonal. Transfer to plates and serve.

To make it a real treat, serve with fries.





We had this on Friday night and it was perfect with a bit of the leftover wine. I'm really looking forward to making this again, though I think next time I'll try the actual short-ribs from the original recipe. I need a cast iron dutch oven though. I've been looking through the Pioneer Woman website and several ladies have mentioned that her shortribs are delicious, but I really want one of those 5L dutch ovens. I notice that she has a Le Creuset, but it's a little out of our price range right now, so we were looking at the KitchenAid one. Unfortunately a few people have complained about the quality, leaving us to save up for the one I really want.



Almost makes me drool as much as this sandwich. Almost.

Udon Soup

I know I've been MIA, many apologies. My kid and Mr. Man were flu-ey for a week and it was enough to keep them alive and myself uncontaminated. I do have a few recipes to post however, since I've been okay to both cook and eat!

So I bought the Bon Appetit magazine because of the delicious looking grilled sandwich on the cover (we'll get to that later) and found this recipe for Udon Soup. I thought it would be perfect since Mr. Man and Little Man needed something clear and healthful to regain strength.

You know, just because it's in Bon Appetit, doesn't mean it's good. Also, why buy the magazine when they post all the recipes on their site? Seriously, I could have spent that $7 on something delicious! Another plus of recipes on their site is that I can copy and paste rather than typing it all out myself. Woot for websites!

Udon with Mushroom Broth, Cabbage, and Yams

4 TO 6 SERVINGS
Recipe by Anna Thomas

Ingredients:

BROTH
10 cups Light Vegetable Broth (see recipe) or good-quality canned vegetable broth (such as Swanson) (I used regular veggie broth cubes)
3 cups water
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped fresh cilantro (I only had some frozen stuff)
1 1/2 ounces dried shiitake mushrooms, rinsed
3/4 cup thinly sliced peeled fresh ginger (I think I only had about a 1/2 cup)
2 lemongrass stalks, outer dark layers removed, all but bottom 4 inches cut off and discarded
2 6-inch strips dried kombu (I used sushi seaweed since I couldn't find kombu)
2 teaspoons tamari soy sauce
1 teaspoon unseasoned rice vinegar (omitted)

GARNISHES
2 cups 1/2-inch cubes peeled yams (red-skinned sweet potatoes)
5 ounces snow peas, trimmed
4 cups 1/2-inch-wide crosswise slices cored Napa cabbage (I used red cabbage, slice it VERY thinly, a 1/2-inch-wide is too wide)
5 ounces slender carrots (preferably assorted colors), peeled, thinly sliced on diagonal
10 ounces Japanese-style udon noodles or soba noodles (I used rice noodles)
1 cup sliced green onions
1/4 cup matchstick-size strips peeled fresh ginger
4 to 6 ounces semi-firm tofu, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (optional)
Sambal oelek
Tamari soy sauce

Before we get on to the directions, I think the biggest issue with this soup was that I couldn't find the proper noodles or seaweed. Usually recipes are adaptable so I didn't worry about my substitutions, but maybe this is one of those soups that really requires the specific ingredients listed.



Directions:

BROTH
Bring broth and 3 cups water to simmer in large pot over medium heat. Add cilantro, mushrooms, sliced ginger, and lemongrass. Cover; simmer until mushrooms are tender, about 30 minutes. Rinse kombu; add to broth. Simmer 1 minute. Using tongs, remove kombu and mushrooms; discard kombu. Transfer mushrooms to work surface; cut off stems and discard. Cut each mushroom into 3 to 4 strips. Strain broth through fine-mesh strainer into another large pot; discard solids in strainer. Add tamari and rice vinegar to broth.




DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill mushrooms. Cool, cover, and chill broth.



GARNISHES
Bring large pot of salted water to boil. Cook yams until just tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Using skimmer, transfer to medium bowl. Cook snow peas, cabbage, and carrots separately until crisp-tender (snow peas, 30 seconds; cabbage, 1 1/2 minutes; carrots, 2 minutes). Using kimmer, transfer vegetables to separate bowls. Reserve cooking liquid.



DO AHEAD Vegetables can be cooked 2 hours ahead. Let vegetables and liquid stand at room temperature.

Bring cooking liquid to boil. Sprinkle with salt. Add noodles; cook until tender but still firm to bite, stirring often. Drain; rinse.



Meanwhile, bring vegetable broth to simmer. Add green onions and ginger strips. Season with salt and pepper.
Using tongs, divide noodles among bowls. Divide mushrooms, yams, snow peas, cabbage, and carrots among bowls, each in separate mound. Divide tofu, if using, among bowls. Ladle broth over and serve, passing sambal oelek and tamari separately.

I don't even have any photos of the end result because it was such a bust. The yams weren't cooked enough, the cabbage was too thick, the noodles were all pasty. The plus side though is that the mushroom broth is freaking delicious! I've frozen a bunch of it and will definitely be making more when it runs out. It was full-flavoured and dark and rich, but not too. Really great broth.

Side notes: Have you ever noticed how much cheaper it is to shop in the "ethnic" aisle of the grocery store? Can't believe it! I cut my costs in half because I went down there looking for kombu. Don't buy the little packages of dried mushrooms in the produce section above the button and cremini mushrooms, go to the ethnic aisle and they have huge bags of the exact same thing for the same price as the 150g ones! Crazy!

The Big Enchilada

Someone mentioned a taco bar today as an option for a buffet, followed closely by someone mentioning a chili bar, and I drooled over the thought of them put together. I wasn't feeling ambitious enough though, so I'm making enchiladas instead.

My mom had a rotating list of suppers that were acceptable to everyone in the family. They were posted on the side of the fridge and once in a while, when we were lucky, we got to pick one that we wanted. I varied between macaroni and cheese, shake-n-bake chicken and enchiladas. She would make the tortillas from scratch on her cast iron grill, then roll them up over crazy amounts of cheese, then bake with tomato sauce. It wasn't fancy, but it was so filling and comforting and tasty.

I only had mozza cheese instead of cheddar, but it didn't really matter. Cheese was cheese at that point.

For starters, make your tortillas.

Cornmeal Tortillas

Ingredients:

1/2 c. cornmeal
1 c. all-purpose flour
1 egg
1 1/2 c. water
1/2 tsp. salt

Olive oil

Directions:

Whisk all ingredients together until they form a uniform batter.



Heat a bit of oil in a heavy bottomed skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, quickly re-whisk your batter for a couple of seconds to distribute the cornmeal, then pour about three inches worth (diameter) into your pan. Swirl the batter to make a thin tortilla. Cook until golden then flip, about 2-3 minutes depending on your heat.



Cook evenly on both sides, then remove to a warm plate in the oven. I just used my toaster oven set at "Keep Warm".

You can use these for all sorts of things, and they freeze really well too.


Enchiladas

Ingredients:

about a 1/3 - 1/2 brick of cheese, usually cheddar, grated
1 lb. ground beef (I used lean)
1 small onion, chopped
2 tsp. taco seasoning

Olive Oil

A jar of tomato sauce (or your own which would be even better! It should be pasty.)

Directions:

Heat a bit of oil, then sauté your onion and beef until just cooked through. Add your seasoning and mix well. Remove from heat.



(Oops! Forgot a photo after it was done!)

Pre-heat your oven to 375F, and lightly grease a deep baking dish.



Put a reasonable amount of meat and cheese mixture in each tortilla, then wrap and place seam side down in your baking dish. Snug them in together nice and close. After your bottom layer is done, pour about a cup of the tomato sauce over top. Finish your second layer of wraps.

Smother with tomato sauce, then top with any extra cheese.



Bake, uncovered, for about 35 minutes or until cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbling.



Serve with a salad so you don't feel so bad for the heart attack in a pan that you've brought to the table. Total cheesy goodness comfort food, perfect for February weather.