If you wish you were Irish...

Even though St. Patrick's Day parades and celebrations are being cancelled everywhere thanks to the Coronavirus scare, you can still have yourself some healthy Irish fare! Just in time for a dreary weekend, I decided to bake up a loaf of delicious Rye bread. Whole grain Rye flour is low in gluten and high in fiber and makes for a tangy, healthy bread - try my easy recipe below, which doesn't need to rise overnight. Total prep time: 2 and a half hours; Cook time: 40 min.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of warm-hot water, approximately 90-100 degrees F
• 1 packet of yeast (2 and 1/4 teaspoons) 
• 4 teaspoons of molasses
• 1 cup whole grain Rye flour (I used Hodgson Mill)
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt (I used vanilla Greek yogurt but any plain flavored will do)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 and 1/3rd cups all-purpose flour 
• 1 tablespoon of Carraway seeds (optional)

My yeast activating while I imbibe a delicious Irish ale!

Instructions:

1. Combine the water and yeast and let sit for about 5 minutes when it starts to activate and foam
2. Add the molasses and rye flour and stir until combined. Let the mixture sit for 20-30 minutes while the rye flour soaks up the water
3. Add the remaining ingredients (yogurt, salt, all-purpose flour) and knead into a smooth ball. It may be sticky - rather than add more flour try wetting your hands.
4. Place the dough ball into a large bowl that has been lightly oiled - I used olive oil for this. Cover with a towel or plastic wrap and let rise in a warm spot for 60-90 minutes. Rye dough does not rise as much as all wheat flour but you should see the dough puff up a little. I let my dough rise in the oven that has been warmed to 200 degrees F and then turned off. 
5. When the dough has puffed up a bit, knead the dough for 5-10 minutes, making sure to seal any folds. Please the seal side down in a lightly oiled 9"x5" loaf pan. I used a pan spray for this. 
6. Cover with towel or plastic wrap and let rise for 30-60 minutes. As noted above, the dough will not rise much, but you should see it puff up a bit. 
7. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F, score the loaf (slice the top with a knife) and bake the loaf until it reaches 200-210 degrees F in the center (40-50 min). 
8. Let it cool before cutting, and enjoy! 

Cheesy Bean-oa Tacos

Over the holidays, members of my family gave me some extra black beans and quinoa they had laying around and didn't want to eat. Blessed with a plethora of these nutritious foods, I had to decide what to do with it all....hmmmm what might go with those???

After a little pondering, I quickly decided to develop a perfect recipe that involved both foods, and which was both quick, tasty, and absolutely full of nutrients.

I am calling the end result: Cheesy Bean-oa (Get it?) Tacos!

If you have some canned black beans, quinoa, and a few scattered other ingredients, try them yourself! Below is the recipe (sorry, forgot to take pics). I even had my 22 month old daughter assist me in making everything so ANYONE CAN COOK IT.

First, cook the quinoa, which generally involves boiling one cup of quinoa and 2 cups of water, then covering and simmering for ~15 minutes, taking care to fluff the quinoa every 3-5 minutes. Very similar to cooking brown rice.

While the quinoa is boiling and simmer, you need to make refried black beans. To do so, open the can of black beans and set the liquid from the can aside. Then heat up one tablespoon of olive oil on medium heat, and add some diced onions. Cook until the onions are translucent and tender, then add some minced (or diced) garlic, about one tablespoon. Let those cook together for 2-3 minutes and turn the heat to low. Add the beans and begin mashing them into the onion and garlic mixture. Add the bean liquid as you go to get the desired consistency. You may or may not use all of the liquid, but the mixture will be very creamy if you do use it all. The beans will be done when you are satisfied with the texture.

Next, heat up some corn tortillas. I prefer heating them on the stove, but the microwave works too if you are in a pinch for time. You need to heat them enough to be able to wrap them as a taco shell, generally about 30-45 seconds. Once those are ready, spread a spoonful of the refried black beans onto the tortilla, followed by a spoonful of quinoa, then sprinkle some shredded cheese on everything and voila - Cheesy Bean-oa Tacos!

Very tasty, very healthy, and super simple. It also makes a very tasty dip if you have some tortilla chips laying around. Enjoy!

Two ingredient cookies (!)

Recently, some large bananas I had purchased split open on my counter and I was faced with making a quick decision on what to do with them. They had not fully ripened yet, so I did not want to use them for delicious banana bread. My wife and I had already eaten some that day. And I did not have any rum so I could not make bananas foster! 

I decided to break out an old recipe and make two-ingredient banana oatmeal cookies. I am not kidding when I say two ingredients, which are bananas and oatmeal in case you did not already deduce that. As you may know if you have read anything on this blog, I am a firm believer that ANYONE can cook, and also that simple recipes are the best. How much simpler can one get than TWO INGREDIENTS?!

If you still do not believe that you can make tasty cookies with just two ingredients, below is the entire ingredient list for the Two-Ingredient Banana Oatmeal Cookies (TIBOC):

• Bananas

• Oatmeal

See, I told you! Of course, you need to process the ingredients as follows below, but this is one of the easiest recipes you will ever make. Plus, it is healthier than regular cookies! It will have fiber, potassium, vitamin B-6, Vitamin A, magnesium, protein and iron. And, you can throw in some add-ins like nuts and dark chocolate to add more nutrients and flavor. Win-win!

To make these cookies, first mash the bananas in a bowl. Then, using a food processor or blender, blend the oatmeal until it is as fine as flour. Use 1 cup of oatmeal for 1 banana. Then mix both together until the mixture is smooth and no dry oatmeal exists. Stir in any extras (such as a teaspoon of vanilla for flavor), then roll a ball of the mixture in your hand and flatten it. It will be very sticky, but try to make it as flat as you can (maybe 1/8th of an inch thick). Place the flattened mixture on a greased baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes, or until the cookie as settled. Each banana will yield about 6-10 cookies depending on their size. I have posted some pictures below of the ones I recently made, in case they might be helpful.

Mashed bananas. Can be used for baby food. AND COOKIES! (and yes, that is an old-school potato masher)

Oatmeal blended into a fine powder. I used a food processor and it took maybe 20 seconds to get the oats this fine

My finished TIBOC! I added vanilla flavor, walnuts, and dark chocolate chip pieces. Tasty!

Enjoy as a snack or for breakfast!

Matt's famous homemade bread

One thing that always frustrated me when I was learning how to bake was that many recipes for bread call for: a) bread flour, b) using a bread mixer, or c) enough ingredients to make 2-3 loaves. This was problematic for me because I did not know anything about bread flour and did not own a bread mixer. And even though you can freeze dough and bake it later, I never had much interest in making 2 loaves at once. To solve that problem, I experimented with several recipes and was eventually able to produce the right amount of ingredients for one loaf of bread.The recipe I developed is delicious and the bread is delightfully soft with a slightly crunchy crust. If you use whole wheat flour, it can also contribute fiber and B vitamins to your diet; not to mention the smell of baking bread is one of the most wonderful pleasure of life!

You can find my recipe below, along with ideas for what to use the bread for. This recipe is very easy, and does not require a bread mixer or bread flour. Just remember - anyone can cook!

Ingredients:
3/4 Cup warm water (100-110 degrees Fahrenheit)
1 packet of active dry yeast (equivalent to 2 1/4 teaspoons)
1 teaspoon of salt
1 Tablespoon olive oil (or other vegetable oil)
1 1/2 Tablespoons of sugar
1/2 Cup of milk
3-4 cups of flour (I usually use a 50/50 mix of whole wheat and white flour)

Directions:
In a large bowl, combine the warm water and yeast. Stir until the yeast is dissolved and the mixture looks like watery hot cocoa. Add the sugar to the bowl and slowly stir. To ensure the yeast is active and the water was not too hot (which kills the yeast), let the mixture sit for a few minutes and make sure it starts foaming. When you notice the mixture has begun to foam, add the salt, oil, and milk to the bowl and stir. Mix in most of the flour and stir until the dough chases the spoon around the bowl. At that point, remove the dough from the bowl and place on a floured surface. Knead the dough with both hands, adding small amounts of flour as needed, until the dough is soft but firm and holds its shape. it should bounce back slightly when poking it with your finger.

Place the dough into a greased bowl (you can use olive oil for this) and cover. Let the dough rise in a warm spot for 1 hour, or until the dough has doubled in size. If you have trouble finding a warm spot, try above your refrigerator or on top of your dryer. When the dough has doubled in size, punch it down and knead for a few minutes. Grease a bread pan and form the dough into a loaf. Cover and let it rise for an additional 30 minutes. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. After the 30 minutes is up, cut a few slashes on top of the dough (a process known as "scoring" - which allows the dough to expand without tearing the crust). Place in the oven and bake until the crust is brown (approximately 30-45 minutes). The bread is done when it sounds hollow when you knock on it with your knuckles. Let it cool a bit, then slice it up for warm and delicious goodness! Below is a pic of the first loaf I ever made, which was the tastiest I have produced!

 

If you use all or mostly white flour in this recipe, the bread will be very airy and pliable and good for sandwiches. If you use mostly whole wheat flour, the bread will be more firm with fewer air bubbles and will be good for toast and French toast. In addition, I like to form the dough into bowls for soup, which is a great way to use the bread when using whole wheat flour. If you do not eat all of your bread within 2-3 days, save the leftovers and make croutons with them! A simple crouton recipe is to mix 2-3 Tablespoons of olive oil with a few slices of bread cut into cubes, and add 1 teaspoon of parsley and basil. Mix those ingredients thoroughly and bake at 350 until golden brown. Bon appetit!