Cook in the Kitchen #5 + Going Off Gluten Week 2

I figured these two topics are related. This will also help me avoid the egregious sin of posting twice in a day.

I made a family favorite muffin recipe this past week - raisin bran muffins! I prepared the dough on Saturday and we baked a fresh batch for Monday breakfast and this morning's breakfast. They're so much better fresh :-)

The ingredients. A box of raisin bran, eggs, flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda!

And the finished product!

Unfortunately I couldn't have any this go-around. After finishing one week of gluten-free dieting, I have noticed some slight changes that could be seen as improvements. Whatever those changes may signify, I'm going to do at least another week without gluten. Thanks to Mom, I now have some great gluten-free alternatives for breakfast, lunch and snacks: gluten-free nuts and fruit granola and gluten-free pretzels. And to get me through the Christmas treat season, we're going to make a batch of gluten-free brownies. :-)

~Mac

Going off Gluten

As some of you know, I've been experiencing stomach pain, food sensitivites, and other GI-related issues for a few years now. I've had all of the tests run, and they all came back negative. But I'm still having issues! All this is not to complain, just to fill in the background. :-) I am trying a week of removing gluten from my diet. My symptoms do seem to fit celiac disease, and one of Mom's friends just had a false negative for celiac, so I'm going to give it a shot and see what happens! I did feel a little bit better yesterday (day 1), but I'm not feeling good so far today. It's probably just because my body has to adjust to not having that diet element in my system. We shall see :-)

If anyone has tips or recipes or advice about the gluten-free diet, please let me know!

~Mac

Cook in the Kitchen #4

Last Saturday I decided to make pineapple coconut bread.

Chopped walnuts give the bread more texture and heartiness.

They took a while to completely bake, and they may be a bit too brown, but at least they rose this time! :-) We had them for breakfast yesterday. They were OK, but I couldn't really taste the pineapple or coconut :-/ Ah well! You win some and you lose some.

~Mac

Cook in the Kitchen #3: Foiled Again!

Today, since I made muffins last week, I decided to go with bread. I made some simple cinnamon raisin bread.

Cinnamon!

And raisins! Yum yum! :-)

Our trusty Bosch mixer churning up the ingredients!

When I put the dough into the pans, I thought there was something wrong. The bread just didn't rise and get fluffy. When they were done rising and baking, they were still the same height as when they were raw! Then I realized: I had been duped once again by the dreaded gluten-free wheat! :facepalm: We had accidentally bought some a while ago and I ground a bunch of it and put it into my bread, thinking it was hard white wheat (that was the label on the bucket it was in :-P). Ah well, at least there's still the same amount of food in each loaf! We will still enjoy our "power bread" (so-called because of the massive energy in each small slice :-) )

~Mac

Cook in the Kitchen #2

Sorry I'm tardy with (what should have been last week's) post. I won't make any excuses. Anyway, here it is! I made muffins Saturday :-)

 All I remember about the recipe is that you put eggs and liquid stuff in one bowl . . .

. . . and flour and dry stuff in another bowl. (I've slept since I read the recipe, it's long gone :-) If anyone wants recipes from these things, comment and let me know.)

Then you mix 'em!

I made this an apple raisin nut cinnamon variation on the original whole wheat muffin recipe. :-)

I mixed the apple chunks, raisins, and nuts in, then put the batter in muffin pans and baked them for about 10 minutes . . . 

And BINGO! They turned out very well IMO; each one is like a little apple pie! These are definitely going to be made again :-)

~Mac

Cook in the Kitchen #1

Well, I tried to start a weekly series so I would be updating my blog at least once a week, but that (Happenings Grab Bag) failed rather miserably :-P Partly because my happenings come in bunches I guess. I still want to be blogging at least once a week, but I couldn't think of anything that I did weekly that would be blog-worthy. That is, until this morning, when I realized that I bake breakfast once a week, and I usually try something new every week. So I thought I'd give my culinary endeavors a chance at being my weekly series. Presenting Cook in the Kitchen! :-)

This week, I tried something I had never done before - making granola. It's actually pretty easy to make, even in large batches (which is a big advantage in my book!).

WI tripled the recipe so I had three sticks of butter and 1 1/2 cups of honey. Yum! :-)

Melting the butter and honey together.

Sticky goodness! I brought it to a boil to caramelize it a bit so that the granola would clump better and added some vanilla for extra flavor.

I poured that mixture over about 12 cups of oats and a few cups of pecan chips while my lovely assistant (Mom :-) ) stirred it in.

I spread the mixture out on several trays to bake. . . 

. . . and after about 8 minutes at 400 degrees, they were done! Some of the tops were a little browner than they probably should have been, but overall it was a successful experiment. It clumped better than I thought it would, so that's good.

Looking forward to breakfast on Monday!

~ Mac

Cup O' Joe

We had a cold breakfast this morning - bad planning for such a cold morning! I was wearing two sweatshirts and I was still cold, so decided I would make myself a hot drink to warm me up. For whatever reason, Mom suggested coffee.

Those of you who know me know that I don't drink coffee - I've just never started. Partly because I don't want to become addicted and partly just because I didn't have time to make it or just didn't think about it. But when Mom suggested it today, I thought I'd give it a try. At the very least, it's hot right?

Before all of you coffee drinkers start to get nervous, I didn't hate it! ;-) It wasn't mindblowingly good either (partly because it was just cheap decaf coffee; don't judge me java connoisseurs, it was all we had on hand). But it was hot! And it did its job of warming my insides :-) I had fun experimenting with different stuff; I started black, then added a bit of sugar about halfway down, then added more sugar and some milk with a quarter cup left. I think I liked it straight best, but the jury's still out on that. Maybe I'll try some hot tea tomorrow!

Back to school; l8r.

~Mac

RitzBurgers!

I was having leftovers today and I found a hamburger in the fridge. Unfortunately, there were no buns or even bread to put the burger on, and in my opinion, leftover burgers definitely require condiments even more than new burgers. I was debating what to do when my eye fell on the box of Ritz crackers sitting on the table. After some quick thinking, I came up with:

:DRUMROLL:

THE RITZBURGER!

I just tore up the burger into smaller pieces, put a pickle slice (or a dab of relish) and ketchup on the bottom Ritz, put dijon mustard on the top Ritz, and slapped them on either side of the burger piece. They turned out great! :-)

~Mac

As Was Promised of Old . . .

Sorry, I couldn't think of another way to title this post that didn't sound boring.

Anyway, as I promised, here is the recipe for the phyllo spinach triangles featured in this post:

http://godswarriorintraining.blogspot.com/2011/01/random-happenings-and-accomplishments.html

(You don't have to look at the nutrition facts btw ;-))

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Spinach Phyllo Triangles

From: Better Homes and Gardens

This succulent take on the classic Greek snack gets its rich flavor from feta cheese and spinach.

Phyllo dough dries very quickly so keep sheets covered until needed.

Servings: Makes 36 triangles

Prep: 50 mins

Total: 1 hr 5 mins

Ingredients

1 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

1 clove garlic, minced

1-1/2 cups finely crumbled feta cheese (6 ounces)

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed

24 sheets frozen phyllo dough (9 x14-inch rectangles), thawed

1/2 cup butter, melted

Directions

1. For filling, cook the spinach, onion, and garlic according to spinach package directions.

Drain well in a colander. Press mixture with the back of a spoon to remove excess moisture.

Combine spinach mixture with feta cheese and oregano.

2. Place one sheet of phyllo dough on a cutting board or other flat surface.

Lightly brush with some of the melted butter (or spray with butter-flavored spray).

Place another sheet of phyllo on top; brush with butter. (Keep remaining phyllo covered with plastic wrap until needed.)

3. Cut the 2 layered sheets lengthwise into 3 equal strips, each 14 inches long.

Spoon 1 well-rounded teaspoon of filling about 1 inch from an end of each dough strip.

To fold into a triangle, bring a corner over filling so the short edge lines up with the side edge.

Continue folding the triangular shape along the strip until the end is reached. Repeat with remaining phyllo, butter, and filling.

4. Place triangles on a baking sheet; brush with butter. Bake in a 375 degree F oven about 15 minutes or until golden. Serve warm.

5. Makes 36 triangles (18 appetizer servings)

6. Make-ahead directions: Prepare Phyllo Triangles through step 3.

Place the unbaked triangles in a covered freezer container; freeze for up to 2 months.

Brush with additional melted butter and bake as directed. Do not thaw the triangles before baking.

Nutrition Facts

Calories 124, Total Fat 8 g, Saturated Fat 4 g, Monounsaturated Fat 3 g, Polyunsaturated Fat 0 g,

Cholesterol 23 mg, Sodium 239 mg, Carbohydrate 9 g, Total Sugar 1 g, Fiber 1 g, Protein 3 g.

Daily Values: Vitamin A 0%, Vitamin C 2%, Calcium 6%, Iron 4%. Exchanges: Other Carbohydrate .5, High-Fat Meat .5, Fat 1.

Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet

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Enjoy!

~Mac