If at first you don't succeed... try, try again!

In our not eating out quest both this year and last year I have been eager to try and make our own bread. There are lots of reasons for wanting to make our own bread, not least of which is that bread is a staple of all the sandwiches I eat.

When I was in high school and had just started experimenting with cooking/baking a friend of mine and I would make bread together. I recalled this being a relatively easy process but then again I probably wasn't the person playing the main role in high school. In either case, I have been trying to master a new way of making break with a bread maker but as we chronicled, the bread wasn't rising and came out incredibly dense.

The bread maker not being as useful as we imagined, we went back to the old fashioned way... with a kitchen aid.

I must say that this came out MUCH better. We used this Easy Whole Wheat recipe which was pretty simple to follow. I would recommend letting the bread rise for as long as possible (we did an hour and then an hour and a half) to ensure it rises.
Easy Whole Wheat (or Spelt) Bread
yields 2 loaves

2 1/2 cups warm water
3–4 Tbsp. molasses
2 Tbsp. active dry yeast
3 cups whole wheat (or spelt) pastry flour, sifted
1/4 cup organic oil such as sunflower
5–5 1/2 cups whole wheat (or spelt) pastry flour, sifted
1/4 cup organic soy milk
3 tsp. sea salt
3 tsp. herb seasoning (such as Herbamare)
2 Tbsp. powdered egg replacer (or arrowroot)
2 Tbsp. gluten flour (optional)

1. Mix water, 1 Tbsp. molasses and yeast together in a large bowl. Wait a few minutes for bubbles to form. Add the 3 cups of flour and mix well. Cover the bowl and set in a warm place. Let sit for a minimum of 20 minutes, two hours, or up to a day.
2. Pour in molasses, oil, soy milk, sea salt, herb seasoning, egg replacer and gluten flour. Mix. Begin adding remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time. After the third cup, it begins to get dense. Begin kneading it in the bowl. It will be sticky; continue adding the rest of the flour. Knead for 10 minutes until it becomes smooth and elastic.
3. Cut dough into two equal parts. Shape into loaves and place them into two 8 1/2” by 6” or 7” oiled bread pans. (or make approximately 24 rolls or one loaf and 12 rolls)
4. Cover pans with a clean towel and set in a warm place until dough is doubled in size. This will take at least an hour.
5. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 350° for 30–40 minutes or until golden-brown and a paring knife comes out dry.

Brrrrr- Chili Time!

There are few things I enjoy more in the winter than snuggling up next to an ultra-competitive game of Settlers of Catan and enjoying a hot bowl of fresh chili over Forbidden rice to close out a week. Fortunately, for us, even though we worked a full day Saturday, we were still able to close out our week in such fashion (nerdy? oh yes. But oh so fun!)

For those new of our blog and cooking, one of my very favorite gems of the grain world is Forbidden Rice. If you haven't cooked with it or tried it yet- it's a must- incredibly delicious and healthy. Actually, take a minute to read my blog post on the history of it and cooking with it from last year. All of the same information and insights still apply - only double- since I have only grown in my love and devotion to it since my initial post.

So, for last night's chili- we brought out the works- forbidden rice, home made re-hydrated beans and all of our favorite spices- set out the Settlers board and went to town!

Recipe and pic posted below- and if you need support in any of the following- eating/making Forbidden rice, consuming hot chili or playing Settlers of Catan- you know who to turn to :o)

Ingredients:

• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 Tbs. olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce, drained and minced
• 2 8-oz. pkgs. firm tofu, crumbled
• 3 Tbs. tomato paste
• 2 tsp. smoked paprika
• 2 tsp. dried oregano
• 2 tsp. chili powder
• 15-oz. black beans
• 15-oz kidney beans
• 15-oz pinto beans
• 1 cup chopped carrots
• 15-oz fire roasted crushed tomatoes
  
• 2 Tbs. low-sodium tamari or soy sauce
• 1 Tbs. vegan Worcestershire sauce

Preparation:

1. Heat oil in Dutch oven or deep pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, and sauté 7 to 10 minutes, or until beginning to brown, stirring often. Add garlic and chipotle chile, and sauté 1 minute more. Stir in tofu, tomato paste, paprika, oregano, chili powder, and 1 cup water; cook 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. Add beans, carrots, tamari, tomatoes and Worcestershire sauce. Cover, and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer 1 hour, or until carrots are tender.

3. Play Catan and Enjoy!!

Enchiladas!

Any of our friends know that Jess and I always enjoy some quality Mexican food which is great if you are vegetarian, a bit trickier when you are vegan. This is why I was excited when Jess pointed me to this blog post which then redirected us to I Eat Grass. On top of having what is a very clear description of why he is Vegan, the author also provides some great recipes, the first of which we tried last night.




Getting back into the swing of cooking when we get home from work was not as hard as I anticipated and was actually quite relaxing after a pretty busy day. We have crossed the threshold where we have the vast majority of ingredients in our house for cooking so after finding this recipe it was an easy decision to forge ahead and make it with what we had. This is also one of very few recipes where I made it in exactly the time it says it will take... not sure if that was actually the right amount of time, luck, or just finally knowing where all my ingredients are but I was happy to wrap up cooking in just under an hour.

All of that being said, the recipe as displayed on the New York Times I found to be very straight forward so I will respectfully repost their version here:

Vegan Enchiladas
Yield 2 to 3 servings
Time 1 hour and 15 minutes

Ingredients
For the sauce:
1/4 cup safflower or other vegetable oil
Half a medium onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and diced
1 1/2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
8 ounces canned organic tomato sauce
sea salt
For the filling and assembly:
1/4 cup safflower or other vegetable oil
1 pound firm tofu, drained and loosely crumbled
Six 7-inch corn tortillas
Half a medium onion, finely diced
Half a red bell pepper, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and diced
1 cup coarsely chopped cilantro leaves
1 1/2 tablespoons ground cumin, or more to taste
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder, or more to taste
2 tablespoons soy sauce
sea salt


Method
1. For the sauce: In a small saucepan over medium heat, heat oil until shimmering. Add onions, garlic, and jalapeño. Sauté until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Add cumin, chili powder, and flour, whisking until browned and thickened. Slowly stir in 3/4 cup of water and tomato sauce, mixing well. Reduce heat to low, and simmer for 15 minutes. Season with salt to taste. Remove from heat and keep warm.
2. For the filling and assembly: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium skillet over medium heat, heat oil until shimmering. Add tofu and cook until brown and somewhat crispy, and its liquid has evaporated, stirring from underneath to prevent sticking, 10 to 15 minutes.
3. Once tofu looks brown and cooked on all sides, add two-thirds of the onion and half of the red bell pepper. Stir, and add garlic, jalapeño, cilantro, cumin and chili powder; mix well. Add soy sauce, and mix well. Season with salt to taste. Sauté until the onions and red bell pepper begin to soften, 5 to 10 minutes. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of water if mixture seems parched, but it should be dry, and the tofu should resemble crisped, browned bits of meat.
4. While the tofu mixture is cooking, wrap the tortillas tightly in aluminum foil, and place them in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove, keeping them wrapped, and set aside.
5. In a shallow 9-by-7-inch casserole (or large enough to hold the enchiladas snugly in one layer), add 1/3 of the sauce to coat the bottom of the casserole. Unwrap the hot tortillas, and place one in the sauce to coat it, then turn it over so that it is coated on both sides. Add one-sixth of the filling, and roll the tortilla tightly. Place it seam side down on the sauce. Repeat to make six filled tortillas. Pour the remaining sauce on top of the tortillas, and sprinkle with remaining uncooked onion and red bell pepper. Bake until sauce is bubbling, about 15 minutes. Serve, if desired, with a green salad.
Source: Adapted from Ayinde Howell, Caterer, former Executive Chef , Jivamuktea Cafe