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.

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.