Teff

I hadn't heard of teff until I took a cooking class at Kripalu a few years ago.  But like quinoa, teff is making a resurgence and can now be found with other baking supplies at Whole Foods. (It's the one that looks suspiciously like hot chocolate mix - probably shouldn't mix those up.)  For those who haven't yet experienced this unique ingredient, teff is a grain native to Ethiopia that has a really interesting nutty, even somewhat chocolaty taste (in my opinion).  It's rather dense, like whole wheat flour, so baking with it requires lots of leavener, and it has a fine, grainy texture in most finished products.

Below is a recipe for teff banana pancakes from my favorite source for breakfast recipes.  I finally found the magic amount of heat to use on my pancakes so that they didn't have a black sear on the outside like they so often do - medium heat, about 2 minutes/side.

Teff banana pancakes
From: Going Wild in the Kitchen by Leslie Cerrier

This recipe yielded 12 pancakes for me (about 2-3 inches across).

2 tbsp flax seeds
2 ripe bananas
1 1/2 cups milk
1 tbsp vanilla
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups teff flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt

Grind the flax seeds in a coffee grinder or blender.  Combine in a blender or food processer everything from the flax seeds to the oil and blend well.  In a bowl, combine the dry ingredients, then add the mixed wet ingredients.  Make pancakes as usual and enjoy!

Pecan roll redemption

After my orange bread debacle I wasn't sure what to make of my new Tassajara Bread Book, but yesterday I made some delicious pecan rolls from the book that assured me this one is a gem, indeed.  These rolls are loaded with butter, brown sugar and pecans, but they have whole wheat, so that must counterbalance all of the fat and make them good for you!  Hope you enjoy these as much as we did.  They're very best right out of the oven.

This recipe is easily adapted to making cinnamon rolls, if you're not partial to nuts.  Just stop before the pecans in the filling ingredient list.

Pecan Nut Rolls
From: The Tassajara Bread Book
Grade: A!  These are as good or better than any from a bakery in my opinion, and they don't even take as long to make as most yeast breads.

The recipe listed below makes enough rolls to fill 2 round cake pans - I cut it in half for just the two of us.

Dough:
1 cup lukewarm water
3 1/2 tsp dry yeast
3 tbsp honey or sugar
1/3 cup dry milk (regular milk works just fine, but you may need less water or more flour - or you can omit this all together for a grainier bread texture)
1 egg
1 1/2 cups white or whole wheat flour

3 tbs melted butter or oil
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sifted white or whole wheat flour
1/2 - 3/4 cup additional flour for kneading

Filling:                                                                     
1/4 cup melted butter                                              
3/4 cup brown sugar                                              
1 tbsp cinnamon                                                    
1/2 cup raisins (optional)
Stop here for just cinnamon rolls
1 cup chopped pecans
6 tbsp butter (for lining the pan)
1/2 cup brown sugar (also for the pan)

To prepare the dough, dissolve the yeast in water and stir in the honey, milk, and egg.  Stir in 1 1/2 cups flour (I used 1 cup white and 1/2 cup whole wheat) and beat well (100 strokes if you're going with the Zen method).  Let the dough rise for 30 minutes, covered with a damp cloth (mine did not rise a very noticeable amount).

Fold in the butter, salt, and 1 cup of flour (I used 1/2 white, 1/2 whole wheat).  Try to fold in and not cut through the dough.  Turn the dough out and knead on a floured board using extra flour as needed until the dough is smooth (5-10 minutes).  Let rise another 40 minutes (again, I didn't see much action in this time frame).

Roll the dough out into a square about 1/4 inch thick.  Brush with the melted butter and sprinkle with the brown sugar, cinnamon, raisins (if using), and pecans.  Begin at one edge and tightly roll up the dough like a jelly roll.  Have your cake pan(s) ready, each dotted with 3 tbs butter and 1/4 cup brown sugar.  Cut the log into 1/2-3/4" pieces and place in the cake pan(s).  Let the rolls rise an additional 20-30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350F (375 for cinnamon rolls).  Brush the rolls with an egg wash if desired (for cinnamon rolls only).  Bake the rolls for 30 minutes (20-25 for cinnamon rolls).  Cinnamon rolls are done after baking and can be topped with frosting or glaze if desired.  For the pecan rolls, turn them out of the pan to reveal the tops already coated with a nice glaze.  Serve immediately!

Weekends are for Waffles

This is one of my favorite recipes to make on a lazy Saturday or Sunday morning.  The great thing about this recipe, besides the wonderful taste, is that it's pretty versatile, like most of the recipes from this cookbook.  I've made it as waffles or pancakes, with whole wheat or white flour, with blueberries or strawberries, etc.  Any leftovers are good as new later in the week if you reheat them in the toaster.

Berry Good Waffles
From: Going Wild in the Kitchen by Leslie Cerrier
Grade: A!  Very easy to make and always delicious!

I often cut this recipe in half since there's only 2 of us - makes about 3 waffles.

2 eggs
2 cups all purpose flour (the original recipe calls for whole wheat pastry flour, but I don't use that because someone in our house won't touch the stuff...)
1 tsp baking powder (the original recipe calls for 2 tbsp - you only need this much leavening power if you're using only whole wheat flour, or if you want to have some really crazy looking pancakes...)
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups milk (original calls for apple juice)
1/3 cup canola oil
1 tsp vanilla (original calls for 4 tbsp vanilla, but like I've said before, I'm not made of money and 1 tsp does just fine)
1 cup blueberries (frozen works as well as fresh)
1 tbsp honey

I love this cookbook because the instructions for most recipes are the same as this one - mix everything in a bowl.  So easy!  Then just spoon onto your griddle, pan, whatever (I use nonstick spray for every batch) and cook to desired doneness.  Best with maple syrup, of course!  If you're using strawberries or any other berry you like, just make sure the pieces are as small as blueberries, or else you'll have trouble keeping the waffles/pancakes together.

Yes, you can make that at home!

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.