[Jump right to the recipe: Bulgur Wheat Tossed with Grilled Summer Vegetables]

I’ll confess, come summer time there’s a soft spot in my heart for cold salads. When I was a young ‘un my mom had a simple yet much-loved pasta salad recipe that was her go-to dish for summer picnics, BBQs, and potlucks. It was easy to make and held up well to the brutal heat of Texas summers – no chance of spoiled mayo in this salad. Back then I’d eat my way around the vegetables but today I’m happy to say my palette has improved and I enjoy them as much, if not more, than the pasta.As a part of my ongoing quest to bring more whole grains into my family’s diet, I’ve been looking for ways to make my favorite pasta salads pack more nutritional bang for the buck. While substituting whole wheat pasts for traditional pasta is one quick substitution, I’ve been looking for different bases entirely. I’ve previously experimented with quinoa and but wanted to try something different. Luckily, I’m not the only one questing for more nutritious grains, so there are plenty of options to choose from these days.

For this round of tinkering I went with bulgur, a parboiled form of whole wheat that is dried and coarsely ground. It’s a very common ingredient in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cooking and many Americans first come into contact with it in tabbouleh. While some of the bran is removed from the wheat to make bulgur, some remains making this grain a great source of fiber and protein. 1/4 c. of dried bulgur (which becomes about ½ c. of cooked bulgur) has about 120 calories, 6 grams of fiber, and 4 grams of protein. When you bulk it up with fresh summer vegetables, you can create a fiber- and nutrient-rich dish that really sticks to your ribs.

While I was changing up the cold salad of my youth, I thought it might be fun to do something a little different with the vegetables too, so I grilled them before tossing them with the bulgur and the vinaigrette. The result is a salad with a little more depth of flavor that you can start the night before if you so desire and toss together up to four hours before you plan to serve it.

Easy. Beautiful. Fast. Make-ahead. Light. Tasty.What more could you possibly want in a spring entertaining dish?

Seriously. If I’m missing something let me know in the comments and I’ll be on the case to find a dish that fits.

In the mean time, I offer up for your consideration this lovely panna cotta made from healthy non-fat Greek yogurt. It has a light, lovely, creamy texture that doesn’t require any whipping of egg whites, whisking of egg yolks over a pan of simmering water until just so, or the other cheffy techniques that often accompany light and creamy desserts. A bit of unflavored gelatin and a creamy yogurt base are the keys here, so even the youngest kitchen helpers can get in on the act of making this simple dish. And because every step in this recipe before “plate and garnish” happens the night before you want to serve it, there’s absolutely no crazy pressure the morning of the brunch (with this dish anyway).

It’s the perfect addition to a menu for brunch,  providing an ever so slightly sweet partner for savory egg dishes, sausage and bacon, or even smoked salmon. I’d recommend a pomegranate mimosa as a drink pairing, but coffee or a simple glass of juice will do in a pinch.

And you know, Mother’s Day is coming up quickly. What mom wouldn’t love a creamy yet not-really-bad-for-you dish garnished with sprinkles of granola and some fresh berries. Not this mom. Not that that’s a hint or anything.

[Jump right to the recipe: Granola]

My endless quest for quick and healthy breakfast options is, well, still endless. I’ve added waffles, muffins, and French toast to my repertoire which is a great start. Sadly, I’m easily bored when it comes to breakfast so I can’t rest on my laurels or I’ll be right back in the fast food drive through window before you can say “oatmeal”. Happily, the breakfast fairy must have been watching over me. Sensing that I was nearing my breakfast boredom limit, she delivered unto me a recipe for a simply divine granola like the one served at the acclaimed Prune restaurant weekend brunch in New York City. The vehicle for said recipe delivery? None other than Prune chef Gabrielle Hamilton herself! I was lucky enough to attend Chef Hamilton’s cooking class celebrating her newly minted memoir Blood, Bones, and Butter at the Central Market Cooking School and she shared several Prune favorites with us, including this wonderful granola.

There’s no two ways about it, this granola is most tasty. As Chef Hamilton says, it’s a grown-up granola because it’s cooked just a little longer than most so it has a slightly stronger taste that’s perfect for us adults. It tastes great splashed with milk and topped with fresh fruit (they serve it with bananas at Prune). I’ve also found it’s a great addition to my Fage Yogurt, and in a fun twist on dessert, Chef Hamilton recommends it as a crunchy topping for panna cotta. The recipe is really just a starting point for making your own custom granola blend (like wine, but for breakfast) with all sorts of combinations of nuts, seeds, and spices. I already have the kernel of an idea for a fall version of this recipe rolling around in my head that adds a hint of cinnamon and nutmeg along with some pepita seeds. And finally, this recipe is crazy easy. All you have to do is mix and bake. The finished dish keeps for up to 3 weeks in an airtight container, but I doubt it will stay around in your house that long. And I bet once you’ve moved to homemade granola, tweaked just like you like it, you’ll have a hard time going back to the store-bought stuff.

Effortless Entertaining Tip: Keep a batch of this granola around the house when you have guests in town for easy breakfasts and snacking. You can leave out dried and fresh fruit for everyone to customize their own mix. Pack up some granola in a pretty bag tied with a bow as a travel snack when your guests hit the road.

Weekend mornings are a bit of a conundrum for me. I enjoy making a slightly more involved breakfast that takes more than the five minutes I have in the kitchen on week days and that my family can linger over at the table. It gives us another meal together to reconnect when we’re fresh and well rested. I also like to sleep in at least one day on Sunday and can be a little slow getting out of bed, so breakfast can become brunch or even lunch if I’m not careful. In my quest to have it all, I’ve been collecting make-ahead recipes for weekend breakfasts that have the “I spent the morning in the kitchen” feel and the “I slept in” reality.

French toast is a family favorite dish and it’s a great way to use up leftover bread from earlier in the week or from my freezer stash. When I griddle up individual pieces I’m in the kitchen for a while and I’m looking at a 30-45 minute process. French toast casserole however, is mostly hands-off once it’s in the oven. I can sit on the couch and get caught up on news or blog posts while it cooks, giving me the lounging feeling I’m looking for on the weekend.

I’ve tried a variety of French toast casserole recipes, but many of them were overly sweet and had more calories than I’m interested in consuming at any sitting because of the rich egg custards. After much searching and testing, I found Ellie Krieger’s Blueberry Almond French Toast recipe and it’s become a family favorite. It uses a combination of eggs and egg whites to reduce the calorie load, along with healthy dose of fruit and nuts to improve the overall nutritional value of the dish.

• Cooking Time
  • Stated in the Recipe — 50 minutes cooking time (no prep time listed)
  • My experience – 30 minutes to prep and 45-50 minutes to cook
• My Modifications
  • I usually make the recipe with skim milk to reduce the calories even further and it’s because I have it on hand.
  • My favorite griddled French toast recipe is Ina Garten’s Challa French Toast and inspired by that I add 1 Tbsp. orange zest to Ellie’s custard recipe along with some freshly-grated nutmeg.
  • The recipe halves beautifully. I weigh the bread cubes so I don’t end up with more bread than I want or need.
  • I often change up the fruit and nuts in the dish with whatever I have on hand or what’s in season. In my favorite version, I use slivered, blanched almonds with blackberries.
• Tips and Tricks
  • This dish isn’t particularly sweet, with only a couple of teaspoons of maple syrup and a dash of brown sugar per serving, but I can live with that. A quick sprinkle of powdered sugar or some extra maple syrup on individual servings lets each person at the table make it a sweet (or not) as they would like.
  • To be sure the bread is evenly soaked I mix the custard in a large mixing bowl, dump the bread into it, and mix it with the custard thoroughly before I pour it into the baking dish and top it.
  • Leftovers reheat well. Just pop them in the microwave for 30 seconds or so and you’ll have a warm serving of French toast in no time flast.

This recipe is perfect for holiday entertaining when you have a crowd in the house to feed for breakfast or brunch. It always makes at least one appearance on my holiday menus during the fall and winter holidays. Try it for Christmas morning so you can concentrate on opening gifts while the casserole bakes. It goes particularly well with blood orange mimosas.

I love food magazines with an almost obsessive passion. I love the feel of turning the pages, the lovely photos, the witty stories, and the connections to food in far-away places. When my magazines start to arrive, I hoard them, resisting the temptation to just give them a quick flip through, until all are present and accounted for. Then, as a special treat, I hide away with a glass of wine and savor each and every page of each and every magazine. They are my indulgence and offer restoration to my cooking and blogging mojo, and if I’m being totally honest, my life in general.

Did I mention I love food magazines?

As a blogger though, I tend to focus on sharing new recipes or menus of my own creation, but not at all on sharing the wonderful work of others that I so truly enjoy from month to month. It’s time to change that.

As a new feature I’m going to offer my take on recipes that catch my eye and actually delivery on their promise (because as we’ve all experienced, some recipes are just flops). I’ll make the recipe, probably tinker with it a bit as is my wont for most recipes, and share the results with you. This also gives me a chance to play with my new camera and improve my photography skills which we all know I need to do desperately (it’s okay, I know that part of my blog baby is ugly).

Up first in this new series is an interesting recipe from the January 2011 Bon Appetite: Quinoa Pasta with Spinach and Tomatoes. This recipe caught my eye for four reasons:

• It uses quinoa pasta, an ingredient that’s new to me. I love quinoa and turn to it regularly as a healthier alternative to rice or couscous, but I’ve never tried pasta made from this ancient grain. The pasta is a gluten-free alternative to pasta (in fact it was in the gluten-free section of my local grocery store) and in some cases it may have more fiber and protein than regular pasta.
• It boasts a big fat serving of vegetables and I always need more recipes to help my family bump up our vegetable consumption.
• It’s quick-cooking and doesn’t have an ingredient list a mile long, making it perfect for weeknight dinners.
• It was created as a main dish making a perfect option for dinner on Meatless Mondays which I’m trying to participate in a bit more this year.

The results of my first experience with this recipe were quite satisfactory:

• Cooking time:
  
  • Stated in the recipe – 25 minutes
  • My experience – 30 minutes
• My modifications
  
  • For some reason I got it in my head that I should cut the tomatoes in half even though it wasn’t called for in the directions. The tomatoes lost some of their structural integrity so they weren’t quite as pretty, but I think it resulted in a somewhat creamier sauce thanks to the tomato pulp. If I were making this with pretty heirloom tomatoes though I’d leave them whole so the dish could show off their beautiful markings.
  • Speaking of tomatoes, I used small orange tomatoes because they looked like fun, but any small grape or cherry tomato will work. A mix of colors would create a beautiful presentation.
  • I subbed fresh oregano for the marjoram because that’s what I had on hand.
  • I like a little bit of heat so I doubled the red pepper flakes. I could feel the warmth in the dish but it wasn’t overpowering.
• Tips and tricks
  
  • This dish comes together quickly once you get going, so I recommend getting all of the ingredients prepped while the water boils. You don’t want to be chopping herbs when you need to be wilting the spinach.
  • It took about double the time in the recipe (4 minutes or so) for my spinach to wilt. I was careful not to overcook the pasta so the extra couple of minutes in the pan didn’t lead to mushy noodles.
  • The two main course servings this dish makes are huge and may possibly be enough for three or even four people depending on what else you’re serving. A half serving with a piece of bread and glass of wine was just enough for me on a weeknight, but were I serving this as a main to guests I’d probably plan on making one full recipe for every 2-3 people.

I’m definitely going to add this to my menu rotation and I think it would be particularly good in the summer with fresh, local tomatoes. I’d absolutely put it on a summer al fresco party menu or serve it as part of weeknight get together with friends.

By the time September rolls around I’m so desperate for it to be Fall that I decorated my house with pumpkins and leaves on Labor Day. And, when summer is stubborn and lasts interminably into late September, I’ve been known to turn up the air conditioner to chill the house and break out every bit of fall produce I can lay hands on. For a few days toward the end of September I was pretty sure I was going to have to do that this year because it had been just plain hot her in good ol’ Texas far far into September of this year. Happily, Mother Nature came to my rescue just in time and has blessed us with cooler weather and the autumn weather is in full swing (such as it is in Texas of course).

In celebration of the glory of fall, I declare it to be Fall Favorites month on the blog. There will be pumpkin recipes, squash recipes, apple recipes, and for good measure some pork loin and possibly some chili thrown in for good measure. I’ll be wallowing in all food goodness and I hope you’ll not only indulge me, but join in.

To start the month, I offer this recipe for Pumpkin Walnut Muffins. I love to keep my freezer stocked with healthy muffins for quick and easy breakfasts during the week and I wanted something more fallish to add to the collection. It’s not quite time for fresh cranberries, so I turned to my good friend pumpkin. I found a great recipe on the My Recipes site, but of course couldn’t resist tinkering with it. The result is a muffin with a bit of whole grain flour mixed in for good measure and walnuts for-some additional healthy fat. Brown sugar adds moisture as does a bit of Greek yogurt. The result is a moist and rich muffin perfect for any fall morning.

Recipe: Pumpkin Walnut Muffins

Adapted from My Recipes Pumpkin-Cranberry Muffins

Details

• Difficulty: Easy
  
• Makes: 12
  
• Prep Time: 20 minutes
  
• Cook Time: 20-25 minutes
  

Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
• 3/4 c. white wheat flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• ½ tsp. baking powder
• 1 ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
• ¼ tsp. ground cloves
• ¼ tsp. freshly ground nutmeg
• ¼ tsp. salt
• 1 c. brown sugar
• 1 c. pumpkin
• ½ c. low-fat buttermilk
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• 2 Tbsp. fat free Greek yogurt
• 1 large egg
• 1 c. chopped walnuts, toasted and chopped

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Spray a muffin tin with the cooking spray.
3. Combine the flours, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and salt in a medium bowl and whisk to combine.
4. Combine the sugar, pumpkin, buttermilk, honey, yogurt, and egg in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix with the paddle attachment until well combined, about 3 minutes.
5. Add the flour mixture in three parts mixing just to combine after each addition. Be careful not to over mix.
6. Add the walnuts to the bowl and mix briefly to fold them into the mix.
7. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tin. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the tops of the muffins spring back when pressed lightly in the center.
8. Remove the pan from the oven and place on a cooking rack for five minutes. Remove the muffins from the pan and let cool completely.

Recipe for Success

• You can use canned pumpkin or fresh roasted pumpkin for this recipe. There’s something special about freshly roasted sugar pumpkin but good organic canned pumpkin works just as well.
• You can easily substitute other nuts or even dried fruits for the walnuts.
• These muffins freeze beautifully. Wrap them in aluminum foil and place in a zip top bag. Reheat frozen muffins for 20 minutes in a 400 degree oven.

Citrus Scallops over Quinoa Risotto with Fennel

[Jump right to the recipe: Citrus Scallops over Quinoa Risotto with Fennel]

I’ve long been a fan of making dinner at home on Valentine’s Day instead of going out to a restaurant because there’s something so special about cooking for someone important to you. While my Valentine’s Day menus often include decadent favorites like lobster, steak, and truffles, this year I wanted to put together a healthier menu that would still feel decadent.

Scallops are a perfect healthy luxury ingredient. Per ounce they have just 31 calories and less than a gram of fat. They are also a great source of B12, calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, zinc, and copper. They are naturally rich and just a little sweet, so you don’t need a lot of them to fill you up. Because they cook best over high heat in a dry pan, you don’t even have to add oil during the cooking process.

I love risotto – in really crazy ways do I love it – but it’s not particularly healthy. Besides the fact that risotto rice isn’t a whole grain, most risotto preparations involve quite a bit of oil, butter, and cheese. As an alternative, I’ve put together a quinoa risotto that uses a little bit of mascarpone to emulate the creaminess of a traditional risotto. Quinoa is an ancient grain originally cultivated by the Incas. it sports the highest protein content of any grain and is a complete protein source. It’s also gluten-free and high in fiber, making it a healthy alternative to rice and couscous.

Because the scallops are so rich, the nutty and slightly crisp quinoa helps balance out this dish. The fennel is a strong enough flavor to hold its own with the scallops and quinoa, and the citrus in the scallops brightens the entire flavor profile. I served asparagus as a side, but really, and lightly roasted vegetable will do. And of course, save room for a little dark chocolate for dessert.

Recipe: Citrus Scallops over Quinoa Risotto with Fennel

Details

• Difficulty: Medium
• Serves: 2
• Prep Time: 30 min
• Cook Time: 20 min
• Weight Watchers™ Points: 12

Ingredients

For the quinoa

• 1/3 c. red quinoa
• 2/3 c. water (or more as according to package directions
• 2 tsp. olive oil
• 1 tsp. butter
• ¼ small red onion, diced
• 1 medium shallot, diced
• 1 head fennel, core removed and sliced
• ¼ tsp. fennel seeds
• ½ c. champagne
• ½ c. chicken broth
• 1 Tbsp. mascarpone cheese or goat cheese
• ¼ c. chopped parsley

For the scallops

• 10 oz. scallops (6-8 total)
• ¼ c. panko
• 2 Tbsp. orange zest
• 2 tsp. minced thyme
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• ¼ tsp. pepper
• 1 tsp. butter, softened

Instructions

For the quinoa

• Cook the quinoa according to package directions.
• Transfer to a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap; store at room temperature until ready to use.
• Add the butter and olive oil to a large sauté pan. Heat over medium-high heat until the butter is melted.
• Add the red onion and cook over medium until soft, about 5 minutes. Be careful not to brown the onion.
• Add the shallot, fennel, and fennel seeds to the pan and cook until the fennel is soft, about 5 more minutes.
• Add champagne to the pan, raise the heat to high, and bring to a boil. Continue boiling until the liquid is reduced by half.
• Reduce the heat to medium. Add the chicken broth and mascarpone or goat cheese. Stir until the cheese melts and the sauce is smooth.
• Add the quinoa and parsley to the pan. Toss to combine.
• Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

For the scallops

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
• Combine the panko, orange zest, thyme, salt, pepper, and butter in a small bowl and stir to combine.
• Heat a cast iron skillet or other heavy oven-safe skillet on over high heat for 2-3 minutes.
• Place the scallops in the skillet and let them brown for 1 and a half minutes.
• Turn the scallops and top them with about a tablespoon of the panko mixture, distributing it evenly among the scallops.
• Transfer the skillet to the oven and cook for another 1-2 minutes, being careful not to overcook the scallops.
• Remove from the oven, place on the quinoa, and serve immediately.

Recipe for Success

• Because this dish was for Valentine’s Day I used red quinoa, but you can use any color quinoa you like. Black would be a great contrast to the white scallops.
• The key to success with scallops is not to overcook them. They should be a little less than firm to the touch.
• You can substitute garlic for the shallots in the quinoa if you are a fan of garlic. You could also stir ½ a cup of parmesan into the quinoa to make it creamier. This will increase the points value of the dish.
• A crisp white wine with little to no oak can substitute for the champagne.
• Resist the urge to put oil into the skillet in which you cook the scallops. They will do best in a very hot and dry pan. You know they are ready to flip when a brown crust forms on the bottom and the release easily from the pan.

Slow Cooker Herbed Pork Sandwiches

[Jump right to the recipes: Cinnamon Toast & Slow Cooker Herbed Pork Sandwiches]

I’m happy to report that in January I stuck with my 2010 culinary resolution to learn how to bake bread. A couple of weeks ago I shared with you my first foray into this adventure: making the master recipe from Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois book Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day. My experiences (experiments?) proved that indeed homemade bread is possible with just a few minutes active effort at any given time. I was generally happy with my results and with the encouragement of my family I’ve persevered. I continue to be well-supported by the baking group so wonderfully organized by Michelle from Big Black Dogs. In short – I’m hooked!

Soft Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread*

The baking group’s second assignment was to make the Soft Whole What Sandwich Bread recipe and turn out three different creations:

• A loaf of bread baked in a traditional loaf pan
• Hot dog or hamburger buns
• Apple strudel bread

I’m happy to report that I made all three different applications of the dough and had a thoroughly fun time with each. Thus far this dough is my favorite to make, work with, and eat.

*As a reminder, all of the bread recipes the baking group is following can be found in Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day. We’ve agreed not to republish them online but you can pick up a copy of the book for less than $20. Also, I’ll be giving a copy of the book away later this month, so you can try to win a copy then. Following Michelle’s great example I’m sharing a recipe that goes well with our bread as part of this post, so you won’t feel recipe deprived.

Making the Dough

The sandwich bread dough recipe has nine ingredients instead of the 6 in the master loaf, so it took just a little bit longer to make: 13 minutes instead of 11. Because these branded ingredients worked so well for me for the master recipe I stuck with them for this recipe as well:

• King Arthur Whole Wheat and unbleached AP Flour
• Hodgeson Mill vital wheat gluten

I did double the salt in this recipe based on my experience with my first batch of dough and the little extra helped enhance the flavor of all of the breads I made. I once again measured the ingredients by volume using my kitchen scale, which probably adds a couple of minutes to the process but it’s worth it. I mixed the dough by hand again because it was so easy last time, and once again with just a little elbow grease the mixture came together quickly.

Soft Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread dough - just mixed

The dough rose beautifully as well, as you’ll see below.

Soft Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread dough - after initial rise

Bread #1: Sandwich Loaf

Because this loaf gets most of its shape from a loaf pan, it’s very easy to put together. A quick shaping of the dough into a ball and then a stretch to lengthen it was all it took. I had it in the pan in less than 3 minutes.

Whole wheat loaf - after shaping

I wasn’t sure how much rise to expect while the loaf rested because the master loaf didn’t rise much at all, but I was excited to see the dough fill the pan before I even put it into the oven.

Whole wheat sandwich loaf - after resting

I was very happy with the final loaf. It has an even and open crumb and a deep wheat flavor. My family does like wheat bread, so they were fine with the richer flavor. Even so, I think I’ll make the dough again with light wheat flour to see how that changes the flavor profile.

Whole wheat sandwich loaf - baked and sliced

As I was trying to think of a recipe to go with this bread, I saw that Elise from Simply Recipes recently offered up her take on cinnamon toast, a recipe that’s so simple yet has so many different possible preparations. It turns out my mother’s cinnamon toast that I grew up eating and still make for my family is indeed different from the method Elise outlines. I thought for fun I would share my mom’s “recipe” for making cinnamon toast as it was a perfect match for this hearty wheat bread.

Bread #2: Hamburger Buns

I will admit that I had my trepidations about making hamburger buns. Now that I’ve made them, I’m not sure where they came from, but indeed they were there. Making hamburger buns is as easy as making small balls of dough and flattening them a bit with your hand to form a burger-sized round. Yep – that’s all there is too it. It took me maybe 5 minutes total to prep the pan with my slipat and shape the buns. My fourth bun was a little more evenly shaped than my first, which shows that a bit of practice is all it takes to form professional-looking hamburger buns.

Whole wheat hamburger buns - after shaping

Interestingly, the buns didn’t rise as much as the loaf of the same dough did, although they only rested for half of the time which might explain it.

Whole wheat hamburger buns - after resting

I chose to brush the buns with melted butter and skipped the sesame seeds. The resulting buns were fantastic. Like the loaf of bread they had a nice open crumb and the melted butter created a crisp crust on the top. They weren’t as light as store-bought buns, but I didn’t really expect them to be given the robustness of the loaf of bread I’d made earlier in the week. At some point I’ll confer with the group to get their thoughts on how to make a lighter bun, but for now, I’m excited to be able to make my own, particularly for those nights when we only need 3 buns instead of the 6 or 8 we usually get at the store.

I knew that rich buns like these would need a substantial filling – both in weight and flavor. After some hunting I found a recipe for slow roasted pork on Epicurious.com. I liked the flavor profile of the pork but wanted something more low-maintenance, so I converted it into slow cooker recipe that the whole family really enjoyed. I secured a pork shoulder from a local purveyor and topped the sandwiches with locally grown micro greens and locally produced cheese. When I served the sandwiches to my family I felt I really knew the source of every single ingredient, starting and ending with the bread.

Slow cooked pork on freshly baked buns

Brad #3: Apple Strudel Bread

The last application of our dough was a stuffed and rolled loaf of bread mean to be reminiscent of apple strudel. The recipe calls for a filling of apples, raisins, and walnuts mixed with sugar and cinnamon. I modified the recipe to use dried cherries and sliced almonds because we prefer those flavors. It took me almost 30 minutes to prepare this loaf but that was largely due to the time it took to prep the filling. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I got ready to roll out the dough, but it rolled out very easily.

Whole wheat dough rolled thin

The bread is like a giant cinnamon roll with filling spread over the dough and rolled inside. The recipe makes quite a lot of filling, particularly if the apples are big.

Whole wheat dough with apple filling

The one mistake I made was not to be sure I had enough flour under the dough as I rolled so it stuck to the counter as I tried to roll it up. The result was some torn dough a slightly mangled outside exterior. I patched the holes with a bit of left over dough and I’m confident that next time I make this bread I’ll be able to get it into the pan in slightly better shape.

Slighly mangled filled dough in a loaf pan

Even with my patch job, the final bread was just beautiful, particularly when sliced. It was also very tasty – not too sweet and substantial enough to be breakfast on its own along with a glass of milk and maybe a slice or two of bacon. This bread is a perfect candidate for preparing the night before and resting in the refrigerator overnight before baking the next morning. Nothing says “I love you” on a weekend morning like freshly baked bread!

Apple strudle bread - pretty after baking

What’s Next

Our next assignment is inspired by Valentine’s Day. We’ll be making red beet buns and chocolate espresso bread. My calendar is a little full right now with a couple of Mardi Gras parties, so I’m only planning to make the espresso bread but will squeeze in the beet buns if time allows. Until then, enjoy the recipes that my family has enjoyed with our homemade bread.

Recipe: Cinnamon Toast

Details

• Difficulty: Easy
• Serves: 4
• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 7 minutes

Ingredients

• 8 slices whole wheat sandwich bread
• 4 Tbsp. softened butter (light butter works well too)
• 4 Tbsp. raw sugar (white sugar works here as well)
• 4 tsp. cinnamon (recommend Saigon or Vietnamese)

Instructions

1. Turn your oven broiler to high. If the broiler is at the top of the oven, position a rack in the position closest to the broiler.
2. Spread butter evenly over each slice of bread.
3. Sprinkle each slice of bread first with sugar and then with cinnamon.
4. Place the bread slices on a baking sheet and cook under the broiler until the sugar begins to bubble and the edges of the bread are brown.

Recipe for Success

• You could mix the sugar and cinnamon together before you sprinkle them on the bread, but my mother always made cinnamon toast this way so I can’t imagine having it any other way.
• I used the bread I made for this recipe but you can use any bread you like. Lighter breads may not hold up as well to the weight of the butter, sugar, and cinnamon so choose a slightly heavier bread if you can.
• Keep an eye on the bread while it’s under the broiler. It will go from not done to done in the blink of an eye.

Recipe: Slow Cooker Herbed Pork Sandwiches

Adapted from Hot Slow-Roasted Pork, Onion, and Mozzarella Sandwiches

Details

• Difficulty: Medium
• Serves: 8
• Active Prep Time: 60 minutes
• Inactive Prep Time: 1 hour – 24 hours
• Cook Time: 6 hours

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 medium shallots, minced
• 2 tsp. dried basil
• 2 tsp. dried oregano
• 1 Tbsp. fresh rosemary
• 1 tsp. dried sage
• 2 tsp. fennel seeds, toasted and then ground in a spice grinder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 1 3 lb. pork shoulder or butt
• 1 medium onion, roughly chopped
• 1 c. white wine
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 c. chicken broth
• 1 Tbsp. corn starch
• 2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. honey
• Fresh mozzarella, sliced (optional)
• Roasted red peppers, sliced (optional)
• Micro greens (optional)

Instructions

1. Combine the olive oil, shallots, basil, oregano, rosemary, sage, fennel, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Stir to create a thick paste.
2. With a sharp knife, make slits 1 inch long and 2 inches deep all around the pork shoulder. Rub the herb paste over all sides of the shoulder, pressing the paste down into the slits.
3. Wrap the pork in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 24 hours.
4. Add the chopped onion, white wine, and bay leaf the bottom of a slow cooker. Place the pork shoulder on top of the onion and cover with the lid.
5. Cook on high for 6 hours or until the pork begins to fall apart.
6. Remove the pork from the slow cooker and place in a shallow bowl or dish. Shred evenly with two forks.
7. Drain the juices from the slow cooker into a fat separator. Pour the juices without the fat into a 2 cup measuring cup. You may only have a quarter cup or so of defatted juices.
8. Add enough chicken broth to the measuring cup to equal 2 cups of liquid.
9. Combine 2 Tbsp. of the liquid with the cornstarch in a small bowl and stir to combine.
10. Pour the remaining liquid into a medium sauce pan. Add the cider vinegar and honey. Bring to a boil
11. Whisk in the cornstarch mixture and stir over medium heat until the mixture thickens.
12. Taste for flavor and add salt and pepper as needed.
13. Pour the sauce over the shredded pork and toss to combine.
14. Serve on whole wheat buns with slices of mozzarella, roasted red peppers, and micro greens.

Recipe for Success

• You can also make the pork in an oven instead of a slow cooker. Bake in a tightly-covered pot at 325 degrees for 4-5 hours.
• Make the pork up to a day ahead and warm before serving.
• To hold warm, return the sauced pork to the slow cooker and turn it to the warm setting.
• This recipe will easy double or triple. You’re really only limited by the size of your pot.
• The pork will freeze beautifully for up to 3 months in a zip-top bag.

Citrus is a bright spot in the cold of winter, giving us a sneak peak of the fresh fruits and vegetables waiting for us in spring and summer. And while oranges and grapefruits probably come immediately to mind when you think of citrus, there are many interesting and fun varieties to choose from, including Satsuma mandarins, tangelos, and yuzu. Citrus is also a source of important nutrients, including the ever-critical Vitamin C. With so much going for it, there’s really no good reason not to add more citrus to your diet.

Celebrating Citrus with Central Market

As I started to see more citrus show up in my market’s aisles this past holiday season, I really had citrus on my mind. I absolutely love Satsumas and I buy them by the box in December for healthy snacking during the fat- and sugar-laden holiday season. Needless to say, I was very excited when the wonderful folks from Central Market invited me to attend a special olive oil tasting and kickoff to their annual Citrus Fest. The event was amazing and I learned a lot about olive oil, so much so that it will get its own post next week, but I was truly inspired by the citrus dishes we were served. Citrus was party of every dish in our tasting but it played a different role in each, truly showing off its versatility. I’ve scanned back through my notes and gone on the search for recipes similar to those we enjoyed at the tasting with the hope that you’ll be as inspired as I was to get your citrus on this winter.

Shrimp and Grapefruit Salad with Fennel: This lovely cold salad featured perfectly cooked shrimp, crisp fennel, slightly sweet grapefruit, and a drizzle of light olive oil. The tastes and textures were well balanced to allow each ingredient to shine without overshadowing the others. To put a similar dish on your table, try Sautéed Shrimp with Spicy Grapefruit.

Baked Salmon with Citrus Goat Cheese and Roasted Cauliflower: I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t like salmon as much as I should. I don’t dislike it, but I don’t love it, which is not a good thing because salmon is so very good for us. This year I promised myself I’d find ways to like salmon, and this dish will help me get there pretty quickly. The chef topped a perfectly cooked piece of salmon with goat cheese blended with herbs and citrus. The balance of creamy goat cheese, tangy citrus, and earthy herbs was a fantastic companion to the fresh salmon. To try a dish similar to this one, whip up a recipe of Citrus Broiled Alaska Salmon and then mix some fresh herbs and citrus zest into goat cheese as a garnish.

Key Lime Tart: I love key limes in every possible incarnation: pie, tart, cookies, or sorbet. You name it, I like it. As you might imagine, I was most excited to see our tasting end with a light and creamy tart. Sometimes creamy pies and tarts can be too heavy so the citrus is almost muted, defeating the entire purpose of the dessert in the first place. Not so in this case – it was really fantastic. Having tried several key lime recipes in my day, I can highly recommend Martha Stewart’s Key Lime Tart. While it may be difficult to get key limes other times during the year, they are in abundance right now, so go out, get some, and make a tart!

If these three recipes recommendations aren’t your cup o’ tea (or cup o’ juice), you can find even more citrus inspiration in these recipe collections:

• Central Market
• Epicurious
• Saveur

When I left class I was inspired to come up with my own citrus recipe to share here. I had the goat cheese salmon on my mind and the staff at Central Market said their blood oranges are amazing this year, so I decided to combine the two and create a blood orange and goat cheese crostini. These little bites come together in a matter of minutes. Supreming the orange is the most arduous task but is well worth it. They are perfect for a light lunch or as an appetizer before a meal. The citrus is the star of the show here and this recipe really lets it shine. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Recipe: Goat Cheese Crostini with Greens and Blood Oranges

Details

• Difficulty: Easy
• Serves: 8 as an appetizer, 4 as light lunch
• Prep Time: 20 min
• Cook Time: 15 min

Ingredients

• 1 baguette, sliced on a diagonal into 16 pieces
• Olive oil for drizzling
• Salt and pepper
• 2 Tbsp. freshly squeezed blood orange juice
• 1 Tbsp. champagne vinegar
• 1 medium shallot, minced
• 1 tsp. honey
• 2 Tbsp. good olive oil
• ¼ tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. pepper
• 3 cups baby greens
• 4 oz. goat cheese
• 32 segments from 2-3 blood oranges

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place the baguette slices on a baking sheet about 1 inch apart. Drizzle evenly with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
3. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until crispy.
4. Combine the juice, vinegar, shallot, and honey in a medium bowl and whisk to combine. Continuing whisking and slowly stream the olive oil into the bowl. Season the vinaigrette with salt and pepper. Taste and adjust for seasoning with more salt and pepper if necessary.
5. Add the baby greens to the vinaigrette in the bowl and toss gently to coat the greens.
6. To assemble the crostini, spread baguette slice with a thin layer of goat cheese, top with a small bunch of the dressed greens and two blood orange segments.

Recipe for Success

• If you can’t find blood oranges, regular oranges will work as a substitution.
• Be sure to taste your vinaigrette for balance before you coat the greens with it. Some blood oranges may be more tart than others, so you may need to add a touch more honey to account for that tartness.
• Create the orange segments using the supreming technique. If you’ve never supreme citrus, watch Ming Tsai’s video for a great overview of the technique. The process is a little time consuming but the beautiful segments are well worth it.

Over the years I’ve faced two ongoing hurdles in reaching my healthy eating goals:

• Eating enough vegetables
• Making healthy lunches

It’s not that I don’t like vegetables, but I don’t love them, and my repertoire of vegetable dishes is small, so I tend to burn my options out pretty quickly. Lunch is its own brand of fun because it often gets lost in the healthy dinner fray. By the time I’m done with my day and dinner, the thought of prepping lunch for the next day is a bit more than I can handle. To attack these two challenges I’m going to try a few new tactics:

• Actively seek out and develop new vegetable recipes. (Have a favorite? Please let me know in the comments.)
• Shop at my farmers market and ask my fellow food bloggers, the farmers, and other local sources for their favorite ways to prepare in-season vegetable.
• Add more vegetables to every dish I practically can.
• Plan dinners that turn into easy lunches the next day.

This week I put a couple of these tactics to use to create a hearty pasta recipe that uses four different kinds of vegetables, including one that’s somewhat new to me – bok choy. It’s based on a recipe for BBQ lamb chops with a soba noodle salad that I first had in a cooking class with Terry Conolan, the executive chef at the renowned Lake Austin Spa and Resort. Terry is a big believer in big flavors and using collections of vegetables in a single dish. I took his original concept and focused on the soba salad as the main dish. I made the dressing spicier and added edamame to create a dish that in a half portion goes well as a side for dinner, but in a full portion is a wonderful lunch. It keeps beautifully in the fridge for several days, so make the whole batch and you’ve got lunches for a couple of days at the very least.

Learn more about soba noodles

Recipe: Spicy Soba Noodle and Vegetable Salad

Details

• Difficulty: Easy
• Serves: 4 as a main dish, 6-8 as a side dish
• Prep Time: 20-30 minutes depending on your knife skills
• Weight Watchers™ Points: 8 (main dish serving)

Ingredients

For the dressing

• 3 Tbsp. lime juice
• 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp. honey
• 1 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar
• 2 tsp. mirin
• 1 tsp. Sesame oil
• 2 tsp. sriracha sauce (hot chile sauce, usually in a bottle with a rooster logo)
• ¼ c. grape seed oil

For the salad

• 6 oz. uncooked soba noodles
• 1 c. frozen, shelled edamame
• ¾ c. chopped green onion
• 1 c. julienned carrot
• 1 c. julienned cucumber
• 1 c. sliced baby bok choy

Instructions

1. Combine all dressing ingredients in a small bowl and whisk to combine.
2. Bring a medium-sized pot of salted water to a boil. Add the soba noodles and edamame to the boiling water at the same time.
3. Cook for 5 minutes or until the noodles are tender. Drain and rinse with cold water.
4. Combine the cooked noodles and edamame, the chopped vegetables, and the dressing in a large mixing bowl. Toss gently to combine.

Recipe for Success

• The vegetables listed here are just a starting point – feel free to use any combination of crisp vegetables you like or have on hand. Red or yellow bell peppers would lend crunch and as would slivered spinach. Even crisp fennel would work as might some thinly sliced cabbage.
• To amp up the spice, use a little sriracha or toss in some thinly sliced fresh jalapenos.
• If you can’t get soba noodles, whole wheat spaghetti works well as a substitute.
• The edamame brings protein to this dish, but you could add thinly sliced steak, chicken, or pork for a meat component instead of or in addition to the edamame.