Thursday, April 28, 2011
Royal Oat Currant Scones
I'm not ruling out a 3am tryst with Will and Kate tomorrow morning - I'm not setting my alarm, but if I happen to wake up during the wee hours, I might just have to get a quick sneak peak in. What I can guarantee is a more timely wedding recap over leftover oat currant scones with raspberry jam and tea for breakfast.
Without an ounce of English blood in me, I have still always been a royals fan, or more specifically a Princess Diana fan. Many royal weddings were staged through my childhood - Rachel, you'll recall the dress-up box dress that was my bridal couture - white polyester with a red v-neck collar. Poor Brent was forced to marry his big sister on multiple occasions.
So in honour of this Royal occasion, I give you a good British tea treat- oat and currant scones. These are indeed 'fab' and need only a good smear of butter, but the raspberry jam took them over the top. I had pictured a slightly more serene lunch of scones and tea today - however, Coby received her second time out this week, and unfortunately it occurred mid-scone. After devouring her piece of cheese, she had moved onto her brother's. His refusal was met with a firm chomp of his finger. Definitely not royal behaviour.
Oat and Currant Scones
adapted from King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking
1) Combine:
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour, regular or white whole wheat (I used white whole wheat)
1/4 cup sugar (I used brown)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup salt
2) Cut in (until resembles bread crumbs):
1/2 cup butter
3) Add:
1/3 cup currants (or raisins)
1/3 cup old fashioned rolled oats
4) Combine wet ingredients in a separate bowl, and then add to the dry ingredients:
1 large egg
1/2 cup buttermilk (I added 1/2 T lemon juice to regular milk)
1 tsp vanilla extract
5) When the dough is evenly moistened (I needed to add an extra tablespoon of milk to my dough as it was a tad dry), pat the dough into a large circle and cut into 8 wedges. These make a good sized breakfast scone, you could also divide the dough in half and make two circles, each with 6 wedges for a smaller tea-sized scone. Ensure the scones are aprox 1 inch apart on your baking sheet.
6) Brush the tops with milk or cream and sprinkle with course sugar.
7) Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes, or until puffed and golden brown, take a few minutes off for smaller scones.
These are best warm, though I can assure you I will be enjoying my scone leftovers while watching the pageantry tomorrow morning.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Basil Tomato Sauce with Meatballs and Pasta
2 cloves of garlic, minced
Monday, April 18, 2011
Monday Salad
One thing that makes Mondays a little friendlier is a lovely salad waiting for your lunch. A salad that was lovingly prepared on the weekend and will allow you an extra piece of leftover chocolate cake for dessert. This salad is great because it lasts in your fridge for a few days and tastes delicious and virtuous every time.
Haley's Barley Salad
This could be made using quinoa, or any other type of grain in place of the barley.
1) Cook 2/3 cup pot or pearl barley- cook in 2 cups of water with a pinch of salt. Cover, bring to a boil. Then stir and turn down to low heat for about 45 minutes, or until the liquid has been absorbed and the grains still have a slight 'chew'. Set aside to cool before adding the rest of your ingredients
2) Chop veggie add-ins of your choice: For this particular salad I used red pepper, green onion, and olives. Tomatoes, avocado, or cucumber are options, but should be added just before eating, not if you plan to save this salad for a few days like I do.
3) Other add ins: I add chick peas and crumbled feta cheese or chevre. Fresh herbs such as basil and cilantro are also nice additions, but I admit I usually just have them on hand in the summer.
4) Toss the barley and additions with your vinaigrette.
Vinaigrette: I combine 4 T olive oil (or canola) with 4 T wine vinegar and 1 tsp dijon mustard. Then add salt and pepper to taste. You may need more or less vinaigrette depending on your veggie quantities.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Spelt Carrot Muffins
Spelt Carrot Muffins
Topping (this is half the amount of topping Kim uses. I thought it sufficient.)
1/4 cup spelt flour
1.5 Tbsp brown sugar
pinch kosher salt
1.5 Tbsp butter
Dry 1 cup spelt
3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup oat bran
1/4 cup natural cane sugar
1 tsp all spice
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 cups corsely grated carrot (use the food processor:)
Wet
1/4 cup melted and cooled butter
1/4 cup agave syrup
1 cup buttermilk
1 egg
For the topping: Mix the flour, sugar and salt. Cut in the butter until the mixture is crumbly. Set aside.
For the muffins: Sift the dry together. Mix the wet together and fold into the dry. Scoop into a greased muffin tin (makes nine). Top with the topping, pressing the topping gently into the batter.
Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.
La!
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Invalids and Moon Cakes
Where have we been for the past month? While Rachel took her annual sojourn down to the Baja as a missions-cook, my absence started off with a bad chicken salad sandwich. What started as a lovely lunch out with my children and in-laws, spiraled downwards as all but one of our party came down with a nasty case of salmonella poisoning (Chief/Grandpa wisely stayed away from the chicken salad, opting for the safer and consequence-free pastrami). Of course, it took us a week of symptoms, indescribable on a food-blog, for us to realize that this was not a common GI bug. And of course, Mike was off to Belize with a plane-full of high-school students leaving me solo with two sick little monkeys. We breathed a sigh of relief as health seemed to re-appear in our household, only for me to be struck down by the after-effects of a case of salmonella, onto round 2. It took one excruciatingly painful swollen knee, several ER drainings, and a total inability to weight-bear before I was diagnosed with Reactive Arthritis. With the miracle of modern medicine, aka a cortisone injection, I seem to be on the road to recovery.
Now, this has had two consequences: The first is that Mike has become more aware of my local rock star status, well amongst the 80 + crowd. As an occupational therapist, most people, including my husband aren't totally sure of what it is I do. Despite a few stabs at explanations, most people find it easier to file away in their minds that I'm a nurse. Finn knows that I work at the hospital, but I'm honest with myself: When Mike asks me how my day was, my family doesn't really care that 92 year-old Violet can once again use the toilet independently; or that Reginald thinks that the microwave is a washing machine (actually, Finn would like that). So when Mike took my doctors script into the Red Cross to get me a pair of crutches he was unprepared for the reaction that greeted this request-
Haley Campbell?
THE Haley Campbell, the OT?
These crutches are for Haley Campbell?
Hey guys! - Haley Campbell needs crutches (chuckles all around).
Yes, I am the queen of raised toilet seats and safety frames.
The other consequence of being an invalid for a few days, is the realization of our community. Suddenly we have a freezer full of casseroles and childcare offers. Auntie Wiena spent a morning cleaning my floors. It's a good feeling that after living in Chilliwack for two and a half years we have friends and a church community that quickly steps up and provides us support when we need it.
So while I'm getting back into the kitchen, and gearing up to pepper you with our next exciting food theme (whole grains), I am going to leave you with this recipe from Anne, who made us a lovely meal this week with these cupcakes for dessert. Mike, who professes to not be a sweets guy, was quite firm in his insistence that I get this recipe!
A huge thank you for all of you who brought us meals or who watched our kiddies last week!
Moon Cupcakes
(She didn't specify how many this makes, but I'm guessing 1 dozen)
Beat Well: 8 oz cream cheese, 1 egg, 1/3 c sugar, dash salt
Add 1 c mini choc chips
Separate Bowl: 1 1/2 c flour,1 c sugar, 1/4 c cocoa, 1 t. baking soda, 1 c cold water, 1/3 c oil, 1 t. vinegar
Use mixer and beat- don't over beat.
Put this mixture in bottom of cupcake liner.
Fill to 1/3 level.
Then put cream cheese mixture over this in liner.
Bake 350 for 15-20 minutes.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Sweet Potato Waffles
Time change Sunday is always marked by an air of confusion for the Chilliwack Campbells. Mike and I spend the early morning of the change debating whether to ignore the children bouncing on top of us, and to lounge just another 5 minutes, or whether to adopt the new time and Carpe Diem. We generally opt for the ignoring of children (well, as long as possible), and the rest of the day is spent questioning the correct time.
Today the choice was made for us by our brilliant new clock radio. Unbeknownst to us, it was very much aware of the time change - so while we thought we were still on old time, we were actually on the correct new time. Mike and I were both stumbling around, feeling bleary for about an hour or so, before we realized that the time change had been made for us. I fully expect to arrive home tomorrow and find this clock radio folding my laundry, or maybe plotting global domination. Anyway, the silver lining was the gift of an extra hour we had planned to have lost to sleep - an hour used to make waffles, eat waffles, make coffee, drink coffee, make messes, make more messes - you get the idea.
This waffle recipe comes from A Real American Breakfast. The authors, the Jamisons, and I have reconciled, and while I took a few liberties, the results were delicious. These were sweet potato waffles - a recipe not for the faint of dishwasher. Many bowls were dirtied in the process of making these waffles. The upside was that they tasted fabulous, and I was able to trick Coby into eating a vegetable besides a tomato or avacado (both of whose vegetable status is under debate).
Sweet Potato Waffles
Adapted from A Real American Breakfast, by Cheryl and Bill Jamison
Serves 4 - I doubled this recipe and it made enough waffles for several days of breakfasts!
11/3 cup all purpose flour - I used whole wheat pastry flour and they were light and airy
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
pinch nutmeg
1 1/2 cups mashed, cooked sweet potato (2 small, or 1 lrg potato)
2/3 cup sour cream - I used 3 % yogurt with good results
2/3 cup milk
1/4 cup veg oil or melted butter
3 eggs, separated
1/4 cup brown sugar
Stir the dry ingredients together. In another bowl stir the sweet potatoes, sour cream, milk, oil, egg yolks and brown sugar. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix just to combine. The batter should be thick but spoonable. If it seems too thick add a bit of milk - waffles are forgiving.
Beat the egg whites with a mixer in ANOTHER bowl until stiff and then fold into the batter.
Cook the waffles on your preheated waffle iron. The directions say to grease your iron, but mine is non-stick and they turned out fine without the greasing.
Cook until brown and crisp. Serve with maple syrup and butter.
Apple sauce is another nice accompaniment - I find I can trick my youngsters into thinking they have loads of syrup on pancakes and waffles with the addition of apple sauce or blueberry sauce.