1/2 c. millet

2 c. water

1/2 t. salt

2T active dry yeast (2 pkgs.)

1/2 c. water

1/4 c. oil

1/2 t. salt

1 1/4 c. water

4 T sugar (or, use 1 c. water and 1/2 c. honey or rice syrup)

1 C walnuts, chopped

5 c. whole wheat flour (or 1/2 unbleached and 1/2 wwheat)

Cook millet, covered, in 2 c water with the salt for 30 minutes.  In a large mixing bowl, soften the yeast in 1/2 c water.  When cooked milled has cooled to lukewarm, add to yeast.  Stir in oil, 1/2 t salt, 1 c water, brown rice syrup or sugar, and nuts.  Mix well.  Stir in flour, kneading in the last bit a little at a time, for 10 minutes.  Let rise, covered, until double (about an hour).  Place into two lightly oiled loaf pans and let rest 10 minutes.  Bake at 425 for 15 minutes, then cover tops with foil and continue to bake with oven temp reduced to 350 for 30 minutes more.

This also works nicely with cooked oatmeal, 2 cups, in place of the millet and water.  This makes a hearty bread that is crusty on the outside and very moist inside.  Makes amazing cinnamon toast!

Tags: flour

I can’t take too much credit for this one, its really the creation of a friend.  We decided to make lasagna tonight, he decided to show us what was up.  This one is really something special.

ingredients:

marinara sauce

1 green bell pepper, diced
1/3 C celery, diced
1/3 C carrot, diced
1/2 C white onion
4 cloves garlic
16 ounces tomato sauce
2 T tomato paste
1 C vegetable stock

filler

1 zucchini, diced
8 ounces portabella mushrooms, rough chopped
2 1/2 C eggplant diced

bechamel sauce

3/4 C shredded parmasean
4 C milk
4 T flour
4 T butter
1/2 C ricotta

other

8 ounces fresh mozzarella, cut into strips
1 lb lasagna noodles

method:

Start by building the marinara sauce, that way it has plenty of time to come together.  Add the carrots, onion, and celery to a skillet along with 2 T olive oil.  Saute the mix on medium-low heat for about 15 minutes, then put it into a food processor.  Start the processor and slowly add the stock.  Keep going until its fully pureed.  Pour into a sauce pan and add any remaining stock along with the tomato sauce, the tomato paste, and the bell pepper.  Place over medium-low heat and cover.

Next, we’ll build the filler.  Add the zucchini, mushrooms, and eggplant to a skillet along with 2 T olive oil, salt, and pepper.  Cook until the mushrooms have given up most of their moisture and the zucchini starts to become tender.  Feel free to add some fresh herbs to this step.  Rosemary, basil, and celery seed are all good choices.  That’s pretty much it on the filler.

Fill a large pot with water and place over high heat.  Once the water boils, turn the heat off and place the lasagna noodles into the water.  Once they are soaking, start building the final element to our lasagna, the bechamel sauce.  Put the milk into a saucepan and put on a burner over medium-low heat.  Once it begins to get warm, add the butter.  When the butter is all melted in, add the flour and stir well for at least a minute.

Ok, time to build.  Put a thin layer of the marinara sauce on the bottom of a 9×13 lasagna pan.  Next is a layer of lasagna noodles (remember which way you orient them), followed by a thin layer of the filler.  Pour half the bechamel in next, then put on another layer of lasagna noodles (make sure they are opposite orientation of the first layer), then another layer of marinara sauce.  Next, another layer of filler, then another of noodles.  For the top, pour on the rest of the bechamel, any remaining filler, and any remaining marinara sauce.  Finish your new creation off by placing all the cheese on it.

Cover with foil, bake in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes, then remove the cover and bake for another 15 minutes.  For an optional finihsing touch, broil for 4-5 minutes at the very end of the baking cycle.  This last step will slightly crunchify the edges of the cheese and add a lot of flavor and texture.

enjoy :)
-E

So I finally reheated something.

I’ve been straying from my kitchen lately.  I’ve been eating out and ordering in far too often.  I’m starting to miss cooking.  You see, I am a Foodie.  I love to eat.  I love to cook.  I love to make food and share it with my friends.  I love to write short choppy sentences.  Its time I got back to my roots and started focusing on what why this site was created.

Good food doesn’t have to come from 4 star restaurants and expensive magazines.  It can just as easily come from the heart, soul, and refrigerators of normal folks.  So grab your tupperware, we’re gonna make some primo grub…and then we’re gonna reheat it and eat it again tomorrow.

This is an easy dish that packs a lot of flavor.  It can easily be expanded to serve multiple people and the leftovers keep well.

Ingredients:

1 frozen chicken breast
1 serving left over rissoto
6-8 broccoli florettes (frozen or fresh)
2 cloves garlic, sliced long and thin
1 T olive oil
1 T worcestershire sauce
1 T butter, cubed
salt and pepper

Method:

In a small oval dish, add the olive oil, worcestershire sauce and the frozen chicken breast.  Put a foil tent over the dish and place it in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.  That should cook the chicken through.  If it doesn’t, put it back in for 5 minutes at a time till its done.  Once the chicken is cooked, remove the foil tent (carefully, we’re gonna put it back on) and add the risotto around the outside of the chicken.  On top of that, space the brocolli pieces so that none are touching.  Toss the garlic slices in and place the butter cubes evenly around the dish.  Replace the foil tent and put it back in the oven for another 15 mins.  Check that the broccoli is cooked.  If not, put it back in the oven.  Don’t worry aboutdrying out the chicken.  With the foil in place, very little of the moisture in the dish can escape.  Once everything is cooked through, remove the foil and serve hot.

Enjoy
-E

Tags: Broccoli, Chicken, Risotto

Yummy rhubarb pie I made by piecing together various other recipes, with help from my mom.

• 2 pie crusts (1 box of the roll out kind, or make your own)
• ~5 sticks of rhubarb (enough for about 4 cups)
• 1.5 cups sugar
• 6 tbs all purpose flour
• 1 tbs butter

1. Chop the rhubarb into 1/2 inch pieces.
2. Mix the sugar and flour together, and then mix it with the rhubarb.
3. Roll out the pie crust into a pie pan (9.5 inch, glass works best)
4. Add the rhubarb mix into the pan.
5. Dot butter all over the top.
6. Roll out the other pie crust over the top, fold the edges under the bottom crust so it doesn’t leak all over.
7. Cut vents in the top crust. I like to sprinkle sugar on the top too.
8. Cook at 450 degrees F for 15 minutes, then 350 degrees F for about a half hour, or until crust is golden brown and rhubarb is tender.

Tags: pie, rhubarb, Vegetarian