Gingerbread

This is a fairly spicy gingerbread cake. It can be fasting or not--if not, it's great with whipped cream on the top! I brought this a few weeks ago for trapeza.

Gingerbread

2 ½ cups flour

1 ½ tsp baking soda

2 tsp ginger

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp cloves

(optional—½ tsp black pepper)

½ tsp salt

½ cup melted butter (or coconut oil)

½ cup sugar

1 egg (or ¼ cup water)

1 cup molasses

1 cup hot dark coffee*

Preheat the oven to 350. Grease and flour a 13x9 inch pan.

Sift dry ingredients in a small bowl. In a larger bowl, beat together the butter/oil and sugar; add the egg/water and molasses. Gradually beat in the dry ingredients. When completely combined, slowly mix in the coffee. Batter will be runny. Pour into pan and bake 30-35 minutes.

*Instead of a cup of coffee, I often add some instant coffee granules to the dry ingredients and use plain hot water at the end.

Salt-cured Salmon

Salt-cured Salmon

This is the salmon I brought for trapeza on the Entry of the Theotokos. There's a link to a website below that explains all about it, but basically, this is what I did: Find a glass container large enough to hold the entire fillet, laid out flat. Cover the bottom of the dish with a layer of coarse salt (like Kosher). Rinse off the (thawed) fillet of salmon and lay it, skin-side down, on top of the salt. Cover the top and sides of the fillet with more coarse salt. (I sprinkled some lemon juice--maybe a TBS?--over it as well.) Cover with plastic wrap (or use a lidded dish) and put in the fridge. Let it sit for about 24 hours, checking now and then to make sure all the fish is covered by salt. At around 18 hours it might develop a brine--this is fine--just spoon it back over the fillet. After 24 hours or so (taste a bit to see if it's "done"), brush off the salt and rinse the fish under cold running water (if you're afraid it'll be too salty, you can soak it in cold water for a bit). Thinly slice, and eat! It was so, so good.

I think my fillet was about 1.5 pounds, and I used about 1.5 cups of salt. 

Please read the blog post below for more information!

http://ourmothersdaughters.blogspot.com/2012/09/salmon-cured-at-home-with-ease.html

Inside-out Spring Rolls

Inside-out Spring Rolls

I really love Vietnamese spring rolls (the raw kind—though the fried ones are good too of course) but it takes forever to roll enough, at least for a family my size! So this is my way to get the fresh tanginess of spring rolls without the work. It's basically the spring roll fillings, chopped small and served on top of rice or soba (the Asian buckwheat noodles). The recipe is very adaptable and is really just a framework—use whatever vegetables sound good to you, and vary the sauce to your taste. I never measure when I make it, but I've tried to estimate what I usually use. It seems like a long list of ingredients, but it's very easy to put together. The only hitch is that the tofu needs to be prepared ahead of time.

Ingredients

1 block firm or extra-firm tofu (14 oz), cut into 4-6 strips

Marinade/sauce (all amounts approximate):

2 cloves garlic, minced/pressed

large chunk fresh ginger, chopped small or grated (about a TBS, grated?)

1/8 tsp Sriracha or other “hot” stuff

1 TBS sesame oil

juice of 1 lime and/or 1 tbs rice vinegar

1 TBS brown sugar

about ½ cup soy sauce

2-3 TBS peanut butter

water—a few TBS

Vegetables—prepare some or all of these, according to your taste:

2-3 carrots, grated

1 cucumber, chopped

2-3 green onions, sliced

sprouts

cilantro, chopped (lots!)

spinach, chopped (a fair amount)

fresh basil, if desired, to taste

fresh mint, if desired, to taste

rice or soba, prepared normally

To make the baked tofu:

Several hours before the meal, prepare the marinade by mixing all the marinade ingredients except the peanut butter and water in a baking pan large enough to hold all the strips of tofu laid flat (I like to use a glass baking dish). Taste the marinade to make sure you like the mix of flavors; it can be infinitely varied. Marinate the tofu for an hour or so, flipping a few times. Pour off the marinade into a bowl and save it to make the base of the sauce later. Bake the tofu at 300-325 degrees for about 2 hours, flipping it every 45 minutes or so, until it is well-browned and a bit dried. This isn't exact—just when you like the texture, take it out. Transfer the tofu to a plate, and refrigerate until later. (You basically are partially dehydrating the tofu by baking it long and slow—for more info you can go to this blog post, from which I learned this technique. Tofu prepared this way can be used in many different ways or just eaten by itself—it's delicious!)

To make the sauce:

Warm the peanut butter in a small bowl in the microwave for 20 seconds or so to make it easier to combine with the other things. Gradually stir in some of the reserved marinade. Add the peanut butter mixture to the rest of the marinade and stir till combined—it may take some time to fully incorporate the peanut butter. Taste, and adjust; usually I add some water because the marinade itself is very concentrated, with all the soy sauce. You want a thick but pourable sauce. Refrigerate until serving time.

To serve:

Prepare the rice or soba. (If using soba, run cold water over the cooked noodles to cool them.) Toss together all the vegetables in a large serving bowl. Add the chilled tofu, cut into bite-sized pieces. On each person's plate put rice or soba, with a large scoop of the vegetable mixture on top, and a few spoonfuls of the sauce drizzled over everything. Enjoy!

Quinoa salad with black beans, avocado, and cumin-lime dressing

Quinoa salad with black beans, avocado, and cumin-lime dressing

Christina is the one who found this salad--she brought it to trapeza a few weeks ago. I've never liked quinoa before, but I really love this salad! It's fresh and flavorful and very healthy. Quinoa is a "grain" (not technically a grain, actually) native to South America that is very high in protein and other important nutrients--it's actually a complete protein, which makes it wonderful for fasting! Here is the original post where Christina found the recipe: http://www.eating-for-england.com/quinoa-salad-beans-avocado/.

Quinoa Salad with Black Beans, Avocado and Cumin-Lime Dressing

serves 4-6

1 cup dry quinoa, rinsed (it's very small, so use a very fine mesh strainer)

1 tbsp olive oil or coconut oil

1 3/4 cup water

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 clove garlic, minced

juice of 1 lime

1/2 tsp cumin

1 tbsp olive oil

salt, to taste

1/2 red onion, diced, or a few green onions, sliced

1 red bell pepper, chopped

large handful cilantro, diced

1 avocado, chopped into chunks (2 avocados would be great)

tomatoes in bite-sized pieces—3 Romas, a handful of cherry or grape tomatoes, etc.

Warm the olive/coconut oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Once it’s hot add the rinsed quinoa and toast for about 2-3 minutes until it starts smelling nutty and lovely. Add water, stir, cover, and simmer with a lid on for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the other ingredients. To make the dressing, mix together the garlic, lime juice, cumin, olive oil, and salt.

When the quinoa has finished cooking, remove it from heat and fluff with a fork. Add black beans and toss to warm them through. Let the quinoa cool for about five minutes and then stir in the dressing. Add the remaining ingredients and gently stir; adjust seasoning if necessary. Serve warm, room-temperature, or cold.

Leftovers are great—but it might be better to add the avocado and tomatoes at serving time.

Poor Man's Toffee

I've also seen this called Chocolate Caramel Crackers. There's both a fasting and non-fasting version. The non-fasting one is the tastiest, of course (and what I brought for trapeza today), but the fasting one is incredibly good too! (I've brought that in the past.)

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Poor Man’s Toffee

makes roughly 100 pieces

1 1/4 cups butter, divided
around 40 saltine-style crackers (or graham crackers)
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 cup chocolate chips
3/4 cups finely chopped nuts (optional)

You'll want to have all the ingredients ready ahead of time--once it starts boiling, everything happens quickly!

Preheat oven to 375.
Melt 1/4 cup butter; pour into foil-lined jelly roll pan.
Arrange crackers over butter, edge to edge (cover the entire pan).
Melt remaining butter; add sugar and boil 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally (the longer it boils, the chewier the toffee will be).
Remove from heat and stir in condensed milk. Pour over crackers and spread as evenly as possible.
Bake at 375 for 10-15 minutes, until bubbly and slightly darkened.
Remove from oven, cool 1 minute, and sprinkle with chocolate chips. Let stand 5 minutes (until chocolate is soft and melty) and spread.
Sprinkle with nuts; press lightly into chocolate.
Cool; refrigerate until chocolate is set.
Remove foil and cut candy.

To make fasting--use margarine instead of butter and omit the sweetened condensed milk. Spread the caramel mixture over the crackers quickly; it will start setting as soon as it's poured.

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(My "personal" version is kind of a combination of an old family recipe, and these two blog posts at Smitten Kitchen and Life in a Shoe)

My new favorite (fasting) cookies

I checked Veganomicon out from the library because I've heard it's a fantastic cookbook. I can't speak for the whole book--this is the first recipe I've tried--but these definitely are fantastic! Rich, dense, chewy, with a lovely hint of flavor from the almond and raspberry. These aren't just good fasting cookies--they're good cookies period! And you don't need a mixer to make them.

Chewy Chocolate-Raspberry Cookies

1/2 cup raspberry preserves
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup neutral oil (like canola)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease cookie sheets.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the preserves, sugar, oil, and extracts. In
another bowl, mix the rest of the ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the wet in 3 batches, mixing well with a fork or spoon after each addition. Mix to a smooth, soft, pliable dough. By the last batch, you'll probably need to get your hands in there to help.

Roll the dough into walnut-size balls and flatten into 2 1/2 inch diameter disks. Place closely together on a cookie sheet. Bake 10 minutes (they'll be slightly cracked on the tops, but still very soft).

Remove the pans from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. Or eat warm and still slightly gooey!

Makes 2 dozen.

Orzo Salad with Corn, Tomatoes and Basil

I got this recipe from Soulemama's blog a few years ago and it's one of our favorites. It's fresh, easy, colorful, and keeps well. The original recipe doesn't have the feta, and it's delicious (and fasting!) without it, but with the feta it's even better.

Orzo Salad with Corn, Tomatoes and Basil

DRESSING:
2 TBSP fresh lemon juice
1 TBSP red wine or red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 TBSP olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
3 cloves garlic, crushed

SALAD:
1 cup uncooked orzo (half of a box)
2 cups chopped tomato
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
2 cups fresh yellow corn kernels
1/2 cup vertically sliced red onion
1 cup crumbled feta (or more!)

Prepare all dressing ingredients and place in a jar. Cover tightly and shake thoroughly. Prepare orzo according to package directions. Drain and place in a large bowl. Spoon half of the dressing over the orzo; toss to coat. Let cool to room temp. Add the remaining dressing, corn, tomato, onion, feta, and basil to the pasta. Let stand for at least 30 minutes.

Serves 8.

Stone Fruit Tea Cake

This is the peach tart I brought for trapeza. It is so, so good--especially warm from the oven--and very simple to make. It can be made with any type of stone fruit, but I've only ever used peaches and nectarines. This is from Rustic Fruit Desserts, which has a multitude of recipes organized by seasonal availability of fruit, but extremely adaptable and versatile. Everything I've tried from this cookbook has been delicious!

Stone Fruit Tea Cake

2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon fine sea salt (or slightly less table salt)
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter, at room temperature (1 1/2 sticks)
3 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 tablespoon butter, at room temperature, for the pan
2 1/2 cups coarsely chopped stone fruit, fresh or frozen (any variety, unpeeled is fine)
1 tablespoon turbinado sugar*

Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a small bowl. In a larger bowl, cream the sugar and butter together on medium-high speen for 3-4 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl after each, and then stir in the vanilla. Add the flour mixture and mix just till a smooth, sticky dough forms. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, flatten into a disc, and freeze for 30 minutes (it will be too sticky to handle, otherwise).**

Meanwhile, prepare your fruit. When the dough is well-chilled, preheat the oven to 375. Butter a shallow 10-inch round baking pan or tart pan.

Divide the dough into two equal portions and pat one portion evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan (butter your fingers or the spoon so the dough won't stick quite so much). Spread the fruit evenly over the dough, all the way to the edges. Break the rest of the dough into tablespoon-sized pieces and scatter them over the fruit, then sprinkle the turbinado sugar over the top.

Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until lightly golden and firm. Cool at least 10 minutes before serving.

* Turbinado sugar is coarse, raw sugar crystals. Most grocery stores will have it in the baking section, or I buy from Sprouts in bulk. It's a wonderful finishing touch, but I've forgotten them before and nothing bad happened. : )

**You can store the dough in the freezer for longer if needed; just soften slightly before continuing with the recipe.

Chess Bars

Ok, I'm finally posting this recipe! I'm sorry, I thought I had long ago... These are embarrassingly easy for something that gets such rave reviews!

Chess Bars

1 box yellow cake mix
1 egg
1 stick butter, melted
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. lemon

Beat together and spread in a greased and floured 9 x 13 inch pan. May be necessary to butter hands to keep the mixture from sticking.

2ND Layer:
1 box confectioners' sugar (about 4 cups)
2 eggs
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. lemon

Beat and spread over cake. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown. Cool before cutting.

Chocolate Sorbet

This is so wonderfully rich and chocolatey! Better than chocolate ice cream, in my opinion. Make sure you use a large pot or it will bubble over. And don't skip the blender step--I did, and while it was wonderful, there were little bits of chocolate and I think it would be even better perfectly smooth.

Chocolate Sorbet
from The Perfect Scoop

2 1/4 cups water
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
Pinch of salt
6 ounces (170 g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a large saucepan, whisk together 1 1/2 cups of the water with the sugar, cocoa powder, and salt. Bring to a boil, whisking frequently. Let it boil, continuing to whisk, for 45 seconds.

Remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate until it’s melted, then stir in the vanilla extract and the remaining 3/4 cup water. Transfer the mixture to a blender and blend for 15 seconds. Chill the mixture thoroughly, then freeze it in your ice cream maker. If the mixture has become too thick to pour into your machine, whisk it vigorously to thin it out. After freezing in the ice cream maker, transfer to another (cold) container to continue freezing until it's the right consistency (another hour or so).

You can probably make this without an ice cream maker--just put it in the freezer and stir every half-hour or so until frozen--probably 4 hours?

Makes 1 quart.

Vietmanese Clear Fish Soup

This soup has a very light, delicate flavor and is extremely quick and easy. It's a great way to make a pound of fish go farther. I like to serve this with Cilantro Lime Rice and Asian Carrot Salad.

Vietmanese Clear Fish Soup (ca nau ngot)

6 cups broth or water
1 lb firm-fleshed fish, cut in bite-sized chunks (ie-catfish, tilapia, salmon)
6 plum tomatoes, cored and coarsely chopped.
1 TBS fish sauce
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper
3 TBS thinly sliced green onion
¼ cup coarsely chopped fresh dill, cilantro, or basil
optional: fresh lime or lemon juice

Bring the broth to a rolling boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Add the fish to the saucepan, lower the heat, and cook the fish in the gently boiling broth until done, 2-5 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, fish sauce, salt, pepper, green onion, and herbs, and then quickly remove the soup from the heat. Serve hot. If desired, add a squeeze of lime juice before you eat.

6-8 servings

(adapted from Quick and Easy Vietnamese, Nancie McDermott)

Cilantro Lime Rice

This is a really nice accompaniment to Asian or Mexican main dishes. Not much harder than regular rice, and very tasty.

Cilantro Lime Rice

2 1/2 cups rice
4 1/4 cups water
1-2 cubes bouillon*
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup lime juice (or lemon)
1 tablespoon fresh lime zest (or lemon)
2 tablespoons olive (or other) oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cumin (sometimes I leave this out--just depends which taste you want)
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, minced fine

Combine all ingredients except cilantro in a pot. Stir with a wire whisk to break up big clumps of seasoning. Bring to a boil, stir again, and cook 15 minutes or until rice is done. Add cilantro and serve.

(adapted from owlhaven)

*My favorite vegan bouillon is Edward and Sons' Not-Chick'n and Not-Beef. A bit hard to find--some Krogers have them in their natural foods section--but a wonderful flavor, not pricey, and healthier than many others.

Cottage Cheese Pancakes

Cottage Cheese Pancakes

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour (or 1 cup white, 1/3 cup whole wheat)
3 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk
1 cup full-fat or low-fat cottage cheese
3 tablespoons butter, melted
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

Pure maple syrup or honey, or plain yogurt (optional, for serving)

Lightly butter, oil, or spray your griddle–nonstick works best with these, if you have them–if needed, and preheat it over medium heat. If you are using an electric griddle, preheat it to 350 degrees F. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F if you do not plan to serve the pancakes hot off the griddle.

Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon or nutmeg and salt together in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, cottage cheese, butter, eggs and vanilla.

Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and gently whisk them together, mixing just until combined. The batter will be thick and bubbly – similar to cake batter.

Spoon 1/3 cup batter onto the griddle for each pancake, nudging the batter into rounds. These are thick and might take a little longer to cook than most other pancakes. Cook until the top of each pancake is starting to dry around the edges – you will get a few bubbles here and there – then turn and cook until the underside is lightly browned. These will keep in a 200 degrees F oven while you finish making the rest, but they are best served immediately, when they are at their lightest and puffiest.

These are very rich and taste great topped with plain yogurt. Syrup is almost over-kill! We often have these as "breakfast for dinner".

Adapted from smittenkitchen.com.

Cheesy Fiesta Pie

Cheesy Fiesta Pie

3 potatoes
2 tbs butter, melted
1 egg, slightly beaten
pinch salt
2 cups shredded colby-jack cheese
about 2 tbs mild green chilies, diced
½ an onion, finely chopped (¼ cup)
1 small red pepper, finely chopped (½ cup)
2 tbs flour
½ tsp salt
2 eggs
2/3 cup milk

Heat oven to 375. Scrub potatoes (or peel if desired) and grate into a strainer. Rinse potatoes well, then squeeze out as much water as possible. Transfer the potato to a bowl and toss with butter, 1 egg, and pinch salt. Press mixture on bottom and up sides of ungreased 9” pie plate. Bake 20 minutes.

Reduce oven temperature to 350. Toss together cheese, chilies, onion, and red pepper in a bowl. Spread mixture in potato crust. Beat flour, salt, and 2 eggs until blended; stir in milk. Pour over cheese mixture.

Bake about 35 minutes or until center is set and top is golden brown. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.

Pumpkin Biscuits

Recipe from Jenny:

These are a variation on these Nutty Sweet Potato Biscuits. The original recipe called for 3/4 cup of sugar--way too much in my opinion; 1/3 cup is still quite sweet! I also incorporated a couple other things that I do differently--like using pumpkin instead of sweet potato.

Pumpkin Biscuits

1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1 1/4 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1 1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
3/4 c. chopped nuts
2 c. cooked, pureed pumpkin
1/3 c. sugar
1/2 c. margarine, melted (1 stick)
1 tsp. vanilla extract

In a large mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients and the nuts. In another bowl, combine pumpkin, sugar, margarine and vanilla; add to flour mixture and mix well. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead slightly, adding flour until the dough is not too sticky. Pat dough to 1/2 in. thickness. Cut with a 2 1/2 biscuit cutter and place on lightly greased baking sheets. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Makes 1 1/2 to 2 dozen.

Chocolate chip pumpkin muffins

recipe from Jenny:

My girls LOVE these muffins. The original recipe calls for 2 eggs instead of the flax seed and water, but I really don't taste a difference. It also calls for almost twice the amount of sugar, but we like it like this. I don't obsess overmuch about finding completely vegan chocolate chips; as long as they're not milk chocolate, I figure a bit of milk fat won't break the spirit of the fast.

Chocolate chip pumpkin muffins

1 1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tbs ground flax seed
6 tbs water
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup white sugar
2/3 cups apple sauce
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 can (15oz) pumpkin (or 1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree)
1 cup chocolate chips

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 24 regular muffin cups, 48 small, or a combination. Mix flours, spices, and all the other dry stuff together. In a different bowl mix the ground flax seed, water, oil, applesauce and pumpkin. Add the dry stuff to the wet, then stir in the chocolate chips. Bake 20 minutes or until done (it usually takes more than 20 for me).

Makes 24 regular muffins, 48 mini, or a bit more.

Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day

Recipe from Jenny:

This is the basic bread recipe from my absolute favorite bread cookbook--Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day. I make almost all our own bread (and bread products--tortillas, muffins, etc.) and using this book it really does take only a few minutes! The recipe is endlessly adaptive; I think I've only made it exactly as written here once, the first time. I HIGHLY recommend this cookbook!

You'll need a medium pot with a lid or a lidded (but not airtight) plastic food container for the dough (it needs to fit in the fridge). Also, you'll need a stoneware baking sheet and another flat (no sides) baking sheet for rising (or a pizza peel, if you have one, which is what the book calls for).

Basic Bread Recipe

Makes 4 1-lb loaves. Recipe can be doubled or halved.

3 cups lukewarm water
1 1/2 tbs active dry yeast
1 1/2 tbs coarse salt (or 1 1/4 tbs regular salt)
6 1/2 cups flour
cornmeal for pan

Add the yeast and salt to the water in the pot or bowl in which you'll be storing the dough. Mix in all the flour at once with a wooden spoon or your hands. No kneading is necessary; just mix until all the flour is incorporated and everything is uniformly moist. The dough will be wet and loose. Cover the container and let the dough rise at room temperature until it begins to collapse (or at least flatten on top), around 2 hours. At this point you can remove some dough to use, but it will be easier to manage if you refrigerate it first. So, either put the covered container in the fridge, or remove some dough to bake.

When you're ready to make a loaf, sprinkle a handful of cornmeal evenly and fairly thickly on the flat sheet. Then sprinkle some flour over the dough in the container and, for a 1-lb loaf, cut off a grapefruit-sized piece of dough. Hold the mass of dough in your hands, adding a bit of flour if needed, and gently stretch the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball as you go. Most of the flour will fall off; it's not meant to be incorporated into the dough. The bottom of the loaf will probably be all bunchy and uneven, but will smooth and flatten out as it rests and bakes. The whole shaping should take less than a minute. Place the ball on the cornmeal-covered flat pan (flatten it a bit if you want) and let it rest for 40 minutes (you don't need to cover it). It might or might not rise a lot during this time, depending on how old the dough is. Put the rest of the dough back in the fridge in the covered container.

20 minutes before baking (ie, halfway through the resting period) put the baking stone on the middle rack of the oven and an empty broiler tray below it. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. After the loaf is finished resting, dust it liberally with flour and slash it a few times with a serrated knife. Slide the loaf off of the flat pan onto the stoneware pan in the oven. Pour a cup of hot tap water into the broiler pan and close the oven to trap the steam. Bake for about 30 minutes, until the crust is nicely browned and firm to the touch on all sides (including the bottom). Remove from the stoneware and allow to cool at least 15 minutes on a cooling rack.

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You can substitute another kind of flour for up to half of the flour in the recipe--I usually use 1 cup of rye, 2.5 of whole wheat, and 3 of white. I also often add a couple TBS of sugar and/or oil. There are many more variations and ideas in the book--I've only made a few, but they've all been great. You can also make a larger loaf; I usually use about 1/2 of the dough (of course the baking time is longer), and that makes a loaf big enough for us to eat at dinner with perhaps a piece or two left over. It's so simple that it's easy to make fresh bread every morning! I've never left the dough in the fridge more than 4 days or so, but the book says it should be fine for at least a week.

Apple-Cranberry Cake

recipe from Jenny:

This cake is chock-full of fruit and, as cakes go, fairly healthy and not too sweet. And tasty!

Apple-Cranberry Cake

1/2 of a 12-oz pkg of fresh cranberries (or frozen)
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup water
2 apples, peeled and diced
2/3 cup sugar
3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
½ tsp cloves
1 cup chopped nuts
1 cup raisins or other dried fruit (optional)
¾ cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla
~1/4 cup liquid (cranberry juice, orange juice, and water all work)
Preheat oven to 325º. In a small pot, bring to a boil ½ cup sugar and 1 cup water. Add cranberries and cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cool. Stir together cranberry mixture, apples, and the rest of the sugar and let stand 10 minutes. Combine dry ingredients in another bowl, then add nuts, raisins, oil, and vanilla to the apple-cranberry mixture. Stir fruit mixture into the dry ingredients, adding as much liquid as needed to make a thick batter. Pour into 9x13 inch greased pan and bake 50 minutes.
Variation: To make a plain apple cake (no cranberries), omit the cranberries, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1/2 cup water. Use 4 apples instead of 2 and 3/4 cup of sugar instead of 2/3. Continue as above.

Paskha

No fasting recipe today--time to start getting ready for Pascha!!!!

recipe from Jenny:

I've never made "real" cooked Paskha cheese, but we all like this, and it's very quick and easy, so I'm not sure I ever will!

Cream Cheese Paskha
adapted from Food for Paradise

1/2 lb softened butter (2 sticks)
1 1/2 lbs softened cream cheese (3 pkgs)
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup sour cream
golden raisins (or regular)
slivered almonds

Cream butter and cream cheese. Add powdered sugar and vanilla and continue to mix. Add sour cream and desired quantities of raisins and almonds. Spoon into a nice serving bowl, smooth, and decorate the top with additional raisins and almonds. Some ways to decorate: a border, a cross (3-bar or simple), XB (the initials of Christ is risen in Russian), the outline of an egg... Chill, covered, for several hours before eating. This is wonderful on kulich or tsourekia, or any sweet breads!

Hummus and Pita

recipe from Jenny:

We had this for a picnic dinner at the park last night and it was so good! I've never made pita or humuus before, but both are surprisingly easy, and so much better than store-bought. These are not pocket pitas--more like flatbread. I'm going to try the humuus with no oil for during the week.

Humuus

2 15oz cans chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
3 TBS lemon juice (or juice of one lemon)
1 TBS tahini (ground sesame seed paste)
1 TBS olive oil
2-4 cloves garlic, minced
few TBS water
salt

In a good blender, blend first five ingredients. Add water as necessary to achieve a smooth paste—slightly lumpy is fine. Add salt to taste. Chill. A variety of different seasonings can be added as desired.


Arabian Pita

1 tablespoon yeast
1 ½ cups warm water
6 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
1 ½ cups unbleached flour

In a large bowl, mix yeast, water and sugar; set aside for about 5 minutes, until frothy. Add oil and salt. Add flour and mix well to make a softish dough. Add more flour as needed. Knead dough briefly, then divide into 18 egg sized balls. Place on a floured surface, cover and let rest for 15-30 minutes.

Roll balls into 6 inch circles and cook in a skillet on med-high heat until large "bubbles" form and the bottom side is lightly browned. Flip pita over and cook for a few more minutes. Wrap in a towel to keep warm while cooking the rest of the pitas.

To make pita chips, roll thinner and cook slightly longer. Break into pieces when cooled.