Banana Bread (bread machine)

I know part of the point of using the bread machine is to let it do the kneading for you, but you have to admit, having a quick bread mix and bake in the same (highly non-stick) pan, leaving no mixing bowls to wash, is certainly a plus. A friend sent me this recipe when I first got my machine, and we've really enjoyed having it. I adapted it to whole wheat flour and to soaking the grains.

• 2 C flour
• 1 t baking powder
• 1/2 t baking soda
• 1/2 C white sugar
• 3 T vegetable oil
• 2 T flax seed, ground + 6T water, whisked
• 1 T apple cider vinegar
• 2 bananas, peeled and halved lengthwise
o or 3 small bananas, peeled and halved

1. Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine.
2. Select the Dough setting, and press Start.
3. Mix the bread for 3 to 5 minutes until the bananas are mashed and all ingredients are thoroughly combined.
4. If necessary, use a spatula to push the dough from the sides of pan and scrape bottom of pan to ensure all flour is incorporated..
5. When 3 to 5 minutes have passed on the clock display, press Stop, turn off or unplug machine.
6. Smooth out the top of the loaf with the rubber spatula.
7. Select the Bake setting, set timer for an additional 7 hours and press Start. (The Bake cycle time may vary with machines, but should be about 50 minutes.)
8. To test the bread for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center top. If the bread is done, the toothpick will come out clean. If not, reset the machine on Bake and continue to bake an additional 10 to 15 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
9. Remove the pan from the machine, but allow the bread to remain in the pan for 10 minutes.
10. Remove the bread to cool completely on a wire rack.

Lisa's 3-Bean Salad

The ex-pats in our town have a tradition of providing meals for several days when a family returns from the US. It is such a blessing as you're re-stocking your fridge and pantry to not have to scramble to feed your family, as well. Having lived life together with several of these families for 5+ years, we've developed "favorites." Dishes of each other's that we like the best. One of mine is a friend's 3-Bean Salad. Makes me want to fly out just so I can return to some of her cooking (seriously, I get the recipe for everything she makes for us).

• 1 can chick peas (drained)
• 1 can green beans (drained)
• 1 can kidney beans (drained)
• onion, minced (optional)
• green pepper, minced (optional)
• 1/2 cup vinegar
• 1/2 oil (not olive oil)
• 2 TBL sugar
• dash oregano
• dash salt
• dash pepper

1. Mix all ingredients
2. Refrigerate overnight

English Muffin Bread

For our first anniversary, ML gave me a bread machine. Wait, before you groan, it was probably the best gift he could have chosen. I loved it. It think it may have actually given rise to the use of the phrase "completely domesticated." If not, the phrase was certainly used.

I used that machine several times a week. Until we moved overseas.

Bread machines have heating elements (kinda part and parcel with the concept). Heating elements require a lot of wattage. Wattage that would have to be converted from 110 to 220, were I to take my beloved bread machine overseas. Bread machines also rely on timers. Timers don't play well with converters.

So, the bread machine went to live with my mother. My mother bemoaned the counter space it would take up, but accepted it reluctantly. My mother has used the bread machine even more than I did. Go figure.

Ten years I have wanted a 220 bread machine. Ten years we have lived in locations where 220 bread machines were either unavailable or ridiculously expensive. Until now.

I received an e-mail from a friend here while we were in the States saying that she'd spotted a 220 bread machine for a reasonable price. We then had an offer of money for the purchase of a bread machine after we received ZL's diagnosis. Sweet (new) friends who wanted to make our lives less difficult with all of the added stress.

Three months later, we purchased a bread machine. It took a little while, because we didn't want a non-discounted floor model (grungy and tinkered with), but we finally found a bread machine. And I am lovin' life. This thing even has a specific gluten-free cycle with which I have baked two loaves now of bread that ZL actually likes!

To come: several great bread machine recipes.

For now: one of the first things I did when I got moving with the bread machine was e-mail my mom for my favorite recipe from the recipe booklet that came with my original bread machine, English Muffin Bread. Seriously, the inside of this is just like the inside of an English Muffin. Really yummy stuff. Incredible as a sandwich bread for PB&J or PB & honey, because the jelly/honey soaks into the bread. Had to share.

• 1 1/2 C water
• 1 T sugar
• 1 t salt
• 1/2 t baking soda
• 3 1/2 C flour
• 1/4 C powdered milk
• 2 t yeast

1. Place the ingredients in the bread pan in the order listed.
2. Set machine for regular cycle, 2 lb. loaf, light crust.

Enjoy!

Chloe's Virus-Killing Chicken Soup

Yeah, it started here. And it was posted here. And again here. And those are just the ones I know about. But this is my version. :-P

Seriously, this soup is amazing. It tastes incredible, and the anti-biotic and anti-bacterial properties of the garlic, the nasal-clearing properties of the peppers, and the general immune-boosting properties of the vitamins from the veggies can't help but improve/maintain your health.

I was re-formatting it into my standard recipe format, which makes it easier for me to read, anyway, so I thought I'd share it here.

We're trying to avoid another round of the stomach virus that's been circulating and avoid getting the flu at all, so we're having this for dinner tonight.

• one whole chicken
• water to cover + 4 bullion cubes or 4 t bullion powder
o or 2 boxes/cans chicken stock + water to cover
• 15-30 cloves garlic, minced or crushed (1 1/2-2 bulbs)
• 1 T salt
• 3-4 fresh thyme sprigs
o or 1 1/2 t dried thyme
• fresh rosemary
o or oregano sprigs
• cayenne pepper, about 1 tsp.
o or 1/2 t cayenne + 1/2 t curry powder + 1/2-1 t crushed red peppers
• ground black pepper

• 1 large onion (coarsely chopped or sliced)
• 1 fennel bulb (sliced thin)
o or 1 t dried ground fennel
• 1 leek (sliced thin)
• 4-6 stalks of celery (coarse chopped)
• 1-3 large red and/or yellow bell peppers (coarse chopped)
• 1/2 lb. carrots (coarse chopped)
o or 1-2 lbs. carrots, if missing several of the above veggies
• any other stout veggies preferred by your family
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 1/2 C white wine, optional
• salt and pepper

• Frozen green beans
• Frozen peas
• zucchini
• flat leaf parsley (chopped)
• 1-2 cans chopped tomatoes with juice
• any other quick-cooking veggies preferred by your family
• salt and pepper to taste

• leafy green veggies

1. Place chicken, garlic, salt, thyme, rosemary, and peppers in a soup pot.
2. Cover with water/bullion or chicken broth.
3. Simmer on stove top until chicken starts to fall apart (1-2 hours, depending on attitude of bird and altitude of home).
4. Remove from heat.
5. Remove chicken and set aside to cool.
6. Using slotted spoon or strainer, remove larger herb pieces (i.e. stems).
7. Place oil in bottom of large pot and heat.
8. Add first group of veggies and sauté until onion is just transparent.
9. Add wine and simmer for 3-4 minutes.
10. Cover the vegetables with chicken broth from chicken--add more broth from can or box if you don't have enough broth from chicken.
11. Or skip steps 7-10 and just add the sliced veggies to the broth.
12. Simmer veggies until beginning to become tender.
13. Meanwhile, de-bone chicken.
14. Add quick-cooking veggies (2nd group) and de-boned chicken meat and continue to simmer until veggies are tender.
15. Add any greens, such as spinach, simmering a minute or two to wilt.
16. Serve or cool and freeze.

Serving options:
• Tortilla Soup: top with monterey jack or mozzarella cheese, slices of avocado and tortilla or tortilla chip pieces.
• Chicken Noodle Soup: Add egg noodles and simmer until cooked.
• Freezer Soup: Freeze, either in meal- or individual-sized portions to be served to sick members of the household as needed.
o For example, freeze in a standard-sized mug, remove from mug and store in freezer ziplock bag. Thaw and heat in original mug.

Benefits:
• Garlic: anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties
• Peppers: opens sinuses
• Veggies: vitamins and minerals
o i.e. carrots are packed with Vitamin A and bell peppers with Vitamin C

Saha!

Stretching a Boxed Muffin Mix

The only possible application I can think of for this particular recipe is living overseas and only having access to blueberries in a boxed blueberry muffin mix (or lemon poppyseed, for that matter). If you were in the States and willing to mix up a batch of muffins, you'd just buy your own blueberries. If you wanted the convenience of a boxed muffin mix, you'd just make the mix.

So, for all my friends who live overseas...

Stretching a Boxed Muffin Mix

• 2 C flour
• 3/4 C sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon

• 1 C milk
• 1/4 C vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp grated lemon rind
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 T lemon juice, optional

• ingredients called for by the muffin mix

• 1 boxed muffin mix

1. Combine 1st group of ingredients in a large bowl.
2. Add the powdered mix from the box to the large bowl and stir.
3. Combine 2nd group of ingredients in a medium bowl.
4. Add the ingredients called for by the muffin mix to the medium bowl and mix.
5. Add the mixture from the medium bowl to the large bowl and stir.
6. Stir in any “mix-ins” included in the boxed mix (i.e. blueberries).
7. Pour into muffin tins and bake according to box directions.

• This will increase the number of muffins by 12.

*I use local "whole wheat," which is basically a white wheat flour, so it has the added benefit of increasing the healthfulness of the muffins, too.

White Chocolate Macchiato Cheesecake

We hosted a guys' get-together tonight to celebrate ML's birthday, which was yesterday. My original plan was to just make our traditional Washington Cheesecake and maybe pop some kettle corn. Then, I saw this recipe (linked on a SL thread, of course), and the rest was history. I was now out to make a White Chocolate Macchiato Cheesecake (white chocolate, because I didn't have caramel sauce, and I didn't have dark baking chocolate). We're not that fond no-bake cheesecakes, and I didn't have plain gelatin, anyway, so I just modified our standard cheesecake recipe to incorporate the coffee and the white chocolate and, of course, the Oreo, excuse me "chocolate sandwich cookie," crust. I was a little concerned, because the liquid I was replacing from the original recipe (the milk and the vanilla) was a good deal less than the amount of coffee I was substituting. No need to be concerned. The result was delicious. So, without further ado, I will share.

White Chocolate Macchiato Cheesecake

• 18 chocolate sandwich cookies (aka Oreos)
• 4 T butter (1 stick), melted

• 1/4 C white chocolate chips (or chopped baking white chocolate)
• 1/4 C instant coffee granules
• 1/2 C boiling water

• 3 8oz. pkgs cream cheese, softened
o or 41 Laughing Cow cheese triangles
o or 33 Kiri cheese squares
• 3/4 C sugar
• 2 T flour

• 3 eggs

• 1/4 C white chocolate chips (or chopped baking white chocolate), melted

1. Pulse cookies in food processor until finely ground.
2. Add butter; process to blend.
3. Press over bottom of 8in. spring-form pan.
4. Bake 10 mins at 325*.
5. Place in freezer until needed.

6. Meanwhile, stir boiling water into coffee granules and white chocolate chips in small bowl or glass measuring cup.
7. Let sit 1 minute & stir again.

8. Combine softened cream cheese, sugar and flour at medium speed until well blended.
9. Add eggs, one at a time, until blended.
10. Blend in coffee mixture.

11. Pour over crust.
12. Bake at 350* for 30-40 mins. or until cake is set except for a 1-2 in. circle in middle.
13. Loosen cake from edge of pan (with table knife) and allow to cool.

14. Drizzle with melted white chocolate.

Oh, and we skipped the kettle corn. I don't think anyone could have tolerated more sweetness. Besides, I was busy putting the kids down.

Cinnamon Raisin Muffins (GFCF, eggless)

***Edited to reflect some recent changes I've made.

Yes, it's been quite a while. I had a very low-energy first trimester, a trip to the States, a life-impacting diagnosis for my 3yo, a new house, and a baby. I've been a little busy.

When life hands you a PDD-NOS diagnosis, you go gluten-free, casein-free, so without further ado, my first GFCF recipe posting, which you may recognize as closely related to the dried fruit muffin recipe I posted previously. It's my first from-scratch adaptation, and it actually turned out! Hopefully, there will be more to come...

Cinnamon Raisin Muffins (GFCF, eggless)

- 3/4 C brown rice flour
- 3/4 C tapioca flour/starch/powder
- 1/2 C coconut flour (ground coconut)
- 3/4 C sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 C rice/coconut milk, apple juice or coconut milk yogurt
- 1/4 C oil
- 1 T (heaping) flax seed
o grind & add 3 T water
o whisk together
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- (3/4 C) 100 g raisins

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Spray muffin tin cups well with a non stick cooking spray.
3. In a large mixing bowl combine the flours, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
4. In a small mixing bowl whisk ground flax seed with water and then add and stir together the milk/juice, oil, and vanilla extract.
5. Pour the liquid mixture into the flour mixture and stir until mixed.
6. Stir in the raisins.
7. Scoop batter (making sure to include raisins from the bottom of the bowl) into the muffin cups filling each 3/4 full.
8. Bake 20 minutes or until golden brown.