m is for mad

food allergies suck.  we can pretend that everything is hunky dory and that we are perfectly happy eating quinoa mush and drinking coffee with rice milk.  but we are lying.

over a year ago i decided that it was time to figure out what was going on with my "delicate" digestive system.  i had suffered a broad range of unpleasant symptoms for years and had finally reached my limit.

since then i've been poked and prodded and had just about every test conceivable.  i've eliminated more foods from my diet than i've kept.  i no longer eat wheat, corn, soy, dairy or legumes (and countless others).  until the last couple of weeks i was eating spelt (i've tested negative for celiac- both with the blood test and the biopsy), but after a recent round of yet another undefined ailment, i've eliminated that as well.

as you can probably tell by my snarky tone, i've lost my patience with all this.  does my digestive system feel better?  yes.  is my life better?  no.

now what?  i don't know.

b is for bagels

now that the big competition i was working on is over, i have some time to play around in the kitchen again.  i know i've made grand promises of spelt baguettes (ahem), but i haven't quite worked up the courage for that just yet (although i do have PLENTY of flour).

so while b will eventually be for baguette, for today, b is for bagels.  and they be good.  very very good.

spelt bagels
(very slightly adapted from the fabulous spelt healthy by marsha cosentino)

i know this recipe may appear overly complicated, but there is plenty of time to complete all the steps while the dough is napping. 


1 package (2 1/4 tsp) active dry yeast
1 1/4 cups warm water
3 T sugar
1 T salt
4 1/4 cups white spelt flour

extra flour for kneading
extra sugar (1 T) for boiling water

1 egg beaten with 2 tsps warm water (egg wash)


1.  add warm water to bowl of stand mixer.  sprinkle yeast on top of water and allow to sit for 10 minutes until the yeast blooms.

2.  add 3 1/4 cups of the spelt flour and mix (using the paddle attachment) on low speed (2) for about 90 seconds until the dough appears smooth and long strands have formed.

3.  add the remaining 1 cup of flour in 1/4 cup increments beating for 30 seconds after each addition.

4.  after all of the flour has been added, switch to the dough hook and knead for 60-90 seconds until the dough forms a ball and cleans the sides of the bowl.  do not over knead!

5.  turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead very briefly until the dough forms a nice ball. 

6.  place the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise for 30-40 minutes until is has roughly doubled in size. 

7.  after the dough has risen, gently deflate the dough and turn it out onto a floured surface.  cover with a towel and allow to rest for 15 minutes. 

8.  while the dough is resting, add water to a large stockpot (mine holds 6QT) and add 1 T of sugar.  the sugar helps to create a shiny outer surface. 

9.  after the dough has rested for 15 minutes, cut the dough into 8 equal pieces.  roughly shape each piece into a ball and poke a hole into the middle using your thumb.  gently stretch the dough into a ring approximately 4 inches across.

10.  place each of the 8 bagels onto a floured surface (i used a baking sheet), cover with a towel and allow to rest for another 15 minutes.

12.  while the bagels are resting, pre-heat the oven to 375 and boil the water in the stockpot.  once the water has boiled, reduce the heat to a simmer.

13.  cover a wire cooling rack with a towel and set aside.

14.  once the bagels have rested, gently transfer them (one at a time) into the simmering water.  i used my hands but next time i will use a spatula as the dough was very sticky.  the bagels will expand once they are in the hot water.  i was only able to fit 3 at a time in my stockpot.

16.  simmer the bagels for 3 minutes on each side and then transfer them to the cooling rack to drain.  repeat until all of the bagels have been boiled.

17.  line 2 baking sheets with parchment and lightly coat with olive oil.  place 4 bagels on each sheet and bake for 10 minutes.

18.  after 10 minutes, remove from the oven and brush with the egg wash.  return to the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes until they are golden brown.  take care not to over bake them as the bottoms may burn.

19.  allow to cool

20.  enjoy!

awakening

the last few weeks have felt like months and months.  could it really only be october 20th?  i counted up the hours i've worked in the last 18 days and it made me dizzy just to think about it.

now that i've had a couple of days to recover i'm feeling more excited than ever to spend some quality time in the kitchen and to tackle some of the crafting projects i had abandoned abruptly when i was called in to work on the competition. 

i've been collecting recipes that i'd like to try, especially this and these...mmmmm......

but first, a good friend has thrown down the gauntlet:  i must bake a (good) spelt baguette....

uh oh....

spelty returns

somehow i managed to survive the last couple of weeks at work.  we were doing a big competition but now all we have to do is wait to hear the results.....

after an entire spring and summer of cooking almost everything i ate, i was feeling kind of burnt out on cooking.  but after a couple of weeks of working- i couldn't think of anything i'd rather do than putter around in the kitchen.  the grass is always greener, eh?

anyway, i don't have any new cooking adventures to share with you just yet, but i did want to tell you about these amazing spelt tortillas.

earlier this fall i made a trip out west and was so excited to find these at the market.  i had seen spelt tortillas before but they had other weird ingredients (like flax seeds.....yuck), and if you have read my previous posts you can probably guess i how feel about that.  these tortillas, on the other hand, are about as perfect as can be.  the ones i have made from scratch are pretty good, but opening a bag beats washing the food processor any day.

so imagine my despair when i returned home and couldn't find these anywhere!  you can buy them on-line but the shipping costs put them out of my reach......what was a girl to do?  the answer?  pester local grocers into carrying them!  whoo hoo!

so now, fingers crossed, i have my own local supplier (and hopefully i'm not the only one who will buy them......)

time for lunch....i think i'll have something with tortillas!!

don't despair!

there is more spelty goodness coming soon....but first i must survive a huge work deadline.....the outcome is not assured.....

in the meantime, check out this great blog,  i wish i was at home making this right now (instead of working on a sunday)....

apple cake

as i mentioned in the previous post, i am currently swimming in apples (figuratively of course).  what i've really been craving is a simple apple cake.  not too fancy.  not to sweet.  just a simple apple cake.

i first tried to modify this one, using spelt and rice milk with lemon instead of buttermilk.  i should have learned from my lemon cake debacle that these types of cake do not take kindly to over modification.  it turned out oddly bread-like, and also kind of gummy and gluey, despite baking for almost an hour.  undeterred, i decided to try adding apples to a spelt cake i knew worked.  ta da!  success!

i am totally not a professional baker nor a food scientist, but it seems like spelt works better in recipes where you cream the butter and sugar together (like with cookies) instead of adding melted butter to make a batter.  i wonder why that is?

apple spelt cake
adapted from king arthur flour

2 apples, cored and chopped
1 T butter
1 T brown sugar

1/3 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
1/2 cup milk (i used rice milk)
1 1/2 cups spelt
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cardamom
1/4 tsp salt

preheat oven to 350.  

butter 8x8 baking dish.

melt 1 T of butter in a saute pan.  add apples and brown sugar and cook until the apples have softened slightly.  you do not want to make apple sauce, just partially cook the apples.  after the apples have cooked, remove from heat.

cream together butter and brown sugar.  add the eggs one at a time and beat until the mixture is fluffy.

add milk.  

add flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon and cardamom, mix well.

fold in cooled apple mixture.

pour into buttered baking dish and bake for 30-35 minutes, testing for after 25.

enjoy!

how about them apples?

last weekend a friend and i went apple picking and, as predicted, picked waaay too many apples.  note to self:  1/2 bushel = 63 apples = too many!

to make matters worse, i can't actually eat raw apples (i have oral allergy syndrome), so i've been trying to find ways to work them into baked recipes.  so far i've had mixed results.  i made an apple "cake" which was more like a gluey bread (yuck), and this apple cobbler which was fantastic!

apple cobbler with spelt crust

filling:
4 apples (i used macoun and cortland), cored (i left the peels on)
1 tablespoon spelt flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter, melted

crust:
(this delicious crust is based on this one)
1 1/4 cups spelt flour (i used white)
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 oz cold butter (i prefer salted)
3-4 tablespoons ice water

preheat oven to 375.
butter a baking dish (i used an oval dish, but an 8x8 or 9x9 pan would work as well)

for the filling,
cut the apples into medium sized chunks, roughly 1/4 to 1/2 inch cubes
stir in the melted butter, then the sugar and the flour.  mix well.  place apple mixture into the prepared baking dish.

for the crust,
add the flour and salt to a bowl, mix well.
cut the butter into small pieces and add to the flour.
using a pastry cutter, work the butter into the flour until it looks like a coarse meal.
gradually add the water, mixing until the dough forms a ball.

turn the dough out onto a floured surface and form into a disc.  cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes.

after the dough has "rested", take it out of the refrigerator and remove the plastic.  place on a floured surface and roll out until it is about 1/4 thick.  carefully lift the dough from the counter and drape over the apples.  tuck in the edges and make sure there are vents for steam to escape.

bake for about 45 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the fruit juices are bubbling to the surface.