Sourdough crepes, with buckwheat

This makes crepes even more awesome. And making a batch of savory crepes with a bit of cheese and whatever's quick from the garden or farm box makes this the perfect summer or seasonal food.

1 1/4 cups whole milk
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1 cup sourdough starter
3 large eggs (or 4 if you won't be resting the batter for a long while)

Beat all the ingredients together until soupy. You can then chill for a couple hours or just start frying up. (I tend to cook them right away).

My favorite way to make crepes for dinner is to make a savory saute of something from the backyard garden (e.g. greens with onion and a touch of tomato sauce) and cook that in the middle with a bit of cheese. If and only if those get eaten, then we might have something sweet for round two.

More detailed stuff about crepes here

Sourdough Chocolate Cake

I found a gem of a recipe that even my choco-holics like and is perhaps the least processed cake ever. And is delicious and moist and yummy. I mean, really, really yummy. Too yummy to keep to myself!


Here it is and this includes my changes. I've made it twice now, once plain, once with frosting. The page with the version I started with is here.

SOURDOUGH CHOCOLATE CAKE


INGREDIENTS:


½ cup sourdough starter

1 ½ cups whole wheat flour

2 cups sucanat

1 cup milk


¾ cup powdered cocoa (not instant)

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda


2 eggs

½ cup melted butter

¾ cup cold coffee

1 teaspoon vanilla


PROCEDURES:


Put the starter in a large bowl, mix in flour and milk. Cover loosely and allow to stand at room temperature at least a couple hours, preferably 8 hours or overnight.

Add the rest of the ingredients, dry ingredients first, then wet.

Grease and flour two 9 inch round cake pans. Pour in the batter, which will be thin, and bake in a preheated 350F oven for about 30 minutes, or until the layers test done when poked with a toothpick. The cake will have pulled away from the sides of the pan.

Allow to cool about 10 minutes before removing from pans, then finish cooling the layers on wire rack. Do not frost until the cake is completely cold.

A mild chocolate butter cream frosting is nice with this cake.

Adapted from: “Baking with Sourdough.”

bittman any fruit any nut bread

the last time I made this with raw grated acorn squash and the kids loved it.

Moosewood Fudge Brownies

I love these. And I love that I can make them in a small portion that's a little more reasonable (since I have been known to eat a whole pan if the moon's right, if you know what I mean...) My substitutions in parentheses.

Ingredients:
1/4 c. coconut oil
1/4 c. peanut butter (could replace these two with 1/2 c. butter)
1/2 c. chocolate chips, darkest and best quality you can get.
1 c. brown sugar (I use 3/4c. sucanat)
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 c. all-purp flour (I use whole wheat)

Preheat oven to 350'. Grease a 8 inch square pan (I like them thick and chewy so I use a bread pan, lower the heat to 325' after 10 minutes and bake a bit longer).

In a heavy-bottomed pot, melt butter and chocolate chips on low. (If using a nut butter, add after removing from heat).

In a bowl, add all remaining ingredients. Beat with a mixer til well blended. Add melted chocolate & mix. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 20 minutes.

Pumkin Cake with Orange Frosting

~Sylwinn posted this on FB and it is now one of my favorite~

I altered the icing for a less sweet drizzle on top~

4 eggs

2 cups sugar

1 cup canola oil

1 can of pumpkin (15 oz)

2 cups unbleached all purpose flour

2 t baking powder

1 t baking soda

1/2 t salt

3 t cinnamon

1 t ginger

1/2 t cloves

**********************

heat oven 350, beat eggs, sugar, oil, pumpkin until smooth.

stir in flour, b.p. , b.s., salt, spices.

Spread into greased 15x10 glass baking pan.

Bake 25-30 mins- although I go 40.

Let cool before frosting.

***********************

Orange Frosting

1/3 cup soft butter

2-3 cups confectioners sugar

3-4 T orange juice

1/2 t vanilla

grated zest from orange

beat ingredients until smooth~ ice your cake

Enjoy!

Carrot Halwa

Ted got this recipe from one of his co-workers. It is rather time intensive, but totally worth the effort.

Carrot Halwa by Ratna Kumria

Carrots (grated) 4 cups
Milk 2 cups
Sugar 1 ½ cups
Butter Ghee or Veg Oil ½ cup
Cardamom Seeds (crushed) 5 pods
Allspice (crushed) 2 berries
Golden raisins 3 tablespoons
Cashews or Almonds(sliced) 3 tablespoons
Time 2-3 hours

1.Wash, peel, and coarsely grate carrots. Soak raisins in enough water to cover them.
2.Cook carrots in milk on medium heat stirring occasionally until the milk has evaporated. This step can take an hour or so.
3.Stir in sugar and spices. Cook well until all moisture has evaporated and carrots are dry. This step takes time too.
4.In the meantime cook the raisins and cashews in 2 tablespoons ghee until nuts are slightly browned. Remove raisins and cashews with a slotted spoon. Reserve ghee for next step.
5.Add the reserved ghee as well as the remaining ghee and cook on high heat until the color changes and carrots become slightly crisp.
6.Mix in raisins and cashews.

Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas

There are a bazillion recipes for this all over the internet. This is the version I've adapted for our family. It's quickly become a family favorite and is pretty simple to throw together in under an hour for dinner. Plus, it's a lot less processed than many of the versions floating around.

Ingredients

Filling:
• 1 lb chicken, diced
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2tsp Mexican oregano
• salt & pepper to taste
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• green chile, diced (optional)


• 8 8-inch flour tortillas, softened
• 1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese (or other Mexican/southwestern type cheeses)

Sauce:
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 2 tsp oregano
• salt to taste
• 3 green chiles, roasted and diced (1, 4 oz can)
• 1 cup sour cream

Directions
Make filling:
1. In large frying pan, heat oil & cook onion til soft. Add chicken, garlic, oregano, chile, salt & pepper cooking together over medium-high heat until chicken is just done.
2. Divide cooked filling evenly between 8 tortillas; add 1 1/2 tablespoons cheese to each tortilla.
3. Roll enchiladas and place seam-side down in 9x13" baking dish that has been lightly sprayed with no-stick cooking spray.

Make sauce:
4. While chicken is cooking, melt butter in a medium saucepan; whisk in flour to make a roux. Gradually whisk in chicken broth small amounts at a time (to prevent clumping). Bring to boiling, stirring frequently. Add chiles, oregano and salt. Correct seasonings.
5. Remove from heat and let cool a bit; whisk in sour cream. Pour sauce evenly over enchiladas.
6. Top with remaining 3/4 cup cheese and bake at 400° for 20 minutes until cheese is melted and sauce near edges of baking dish is bubbly.

Enjoy!