Protein Pancakes

Ingredients                        Supplies/Equipment

1 cup               ricotta cheese             food processor
2                     eggs                           frying pan
1/4 cup           water
1/3 cup           all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp             brown sugar
1 Tbsp             vegetable oil
1/4 tsp            salt
1/4 tsp            baking soda
1/8 tsp            cinnamon

Measure all ingredients into a food processor. Pour 1/4 cup bat-
ter for each pancake; makes 8 pancakes.

Herbed Goat Cheese Toasts

Ingredients

170 g             fresh chevre-style goat cheese
1/2 cup         ricotta
1/4 cup         chopped fresh herbs (basil, oregano, parsley, thyme, tarragon,
.                       etc) If using dried, use 4 tsp instead.
1                   egg
1                   baguette-loaf French bread
sea salt and fresh ground pepper

In bowl, mash together with a fork: goat cheese, ricotta, and herbs. Season with salt and pepper, then beat in egg. Cut the baguette into diagonal slices 1/3 to 1/2 inch thick. Toast slices lightly to firm them up, spread with goat cheese mix and broil lightly and serve. Serves 8 – 12 as an appetizer.

Cheddar Beer Bread

Ingredients

3 cups             flour
1 Tbsp             baking powder
3/4 tsp            salt
2 Tbsp             sugar
2 cups             grated sharp (old) cheddar cheese
1/2 cup           finely chopped onion
3                     garlic cloves, minced
12 oz. can       beer

Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine all ingredients except the beer in a bowl with a fork. Add beer a quarter at a time until all the ingredients are blended. Spoon into a greased 4 X 8 loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour. Remove from pan and cool on a wire rack.

Lemon Garlic Hummus

Ingredients

1 can               chick peas
2 Tbsp            Tahini paste (sesame paste)
1/3 cup           lemon juice
1/2 tsp            cumin
1 tsp                corriander (I used seeds, but I think ground would be better)
1/2 tsp            cayenne
1/2 tsp            salt
2 – 3                garlic cloves, minced
fresh ground pepper

In a blender, combine all ingredients together and mix until smooth. (A food processor may also work.) Serve with pita bread or veggies.

Although this recipe seems a bit strange when you are making it, these little nibbles are truly scrumptious! Go buy bacon now, start crisping it (“Ready Crisp” bacon works great) or use leftover ham! And they aren’t even deep fried…..!

Ingredients                                Supplies/Equipment

1 cup                 water                                   heavy saucepan
1 cup                 white flour                           wooden spoon
4                        eggs                                    cookie sheet
1/3 cup             butter
1 cup                 crisp bacon, or ham, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups        sharp (old) cheddar cheese, grated
4 oz can            jalapenos, or less (optional)
1/2 – 1 tsp        dry mustard

Make sure you have enough bacon or ham already crumbled or chopped. Combine water and butter in heavy saucepan and bring to a boil. Meanwhile, grate the cheese and chop the jalapenos (if you’re using them). As soon as the butter-water mixture boils, remove from heat and add flour at once. Beat with a wooden spoon until well mixed. Return to medium heat and beat until moisture leaves sides of pan and mixture forms a ball. Remove from heat and one at a time, crack an egg, beat lightly, and add to pot to form a smooth mixture — be patient and beat thoroughly. You may build muscles! Stir in cheese, ham or bacon, mustard and jalapenos. Drop by small teaspoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet. Bake at 400°F for 15 – 20 minutes. Reheat if frozen in 350°F for 5 – 10 minutes. Be careful; they are addictive!

Another great find in a cookbook that was a Christmas gift! Delicious casserole! Preheat oven to 300°F.

Ingredients                              Supplies/Equipment

2 cloves                fresh garlic                      frying pan
1                          small cooking onion         hand whisk
1 Tbsp                  butter                              9″ square baking dish
9 – 10                   large eggs
1/2 cup                milk
1 box (300 g)       frozen chopped spinach (thawed and squeezed dry)
1 brick (250 g)     cream cheese, cut into small cubes
1 cup                   cheddar cheese, grated

Cook garlic, onion and butter together in frying pan until garlic is clear and onion is cooked. Let cool. Meanwhile, grate cheddar cheese and cut cream cheese into small cubes. Squeeze liquid out of thawed spinach by rolling in a paper towel. Whisk eggs until frothy. Add milk, a sprinkle of salt and pepper, and whisk together. Add garlic and onion mixture, spinach, cream cheese, cheddar cheese and mix together. Pour into a 9″ square
baking dish and bake at 300°F for 30 – 40 minutes until edges are golden brown and center is firm.

The cream cheese is such a soft, gooey delight! It’s wonderful!

Preheat oven to 375°F. Add more chili powder if you like! The nice part is, you don’t have to brown the ground beef!

Ingredients                                    Supplies/Equipment

1 1/2 lb (680 g)     ground beef*                  standard loaf pan
3 slices                   bread
1                             egg
10 oz can                diced tomatoes (300 mL)
1                             small onion, chopped
1/4 tsp                    black pepper
1 tsp                        chili powder

Ingredients (topping)
1/3 cup                   chili sauce (Louisiana hot sauce, whatever)
1/4 cup                   cheddar cheese, grated
Tear bread into small pieces. Combine main ingredients in a bowl. Spread into an ungreased loaf pan. Bake 1 hour in 375°F oven; drain excess drippings. Spoon chili sauce over cooked loaf, sprinkle with cheese, and bake an additional 15 minutes. The bread is awesome!

*You could use “Veggie Ground Round” instead of ground beef, although I haven’t tried it that way yet.

Lynn’s Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients

- 3 1/3 cups Flour

- 4 teaspoons Cinnamon

- 2 teaspoons Baking soda

- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder

- 1 1/2 teaspoons Salt

- 2 2/3 cups Sugar

- 2/3 cup Vegetable Oil

- 4 Eggs

- 1 can (15 oz) Pumpkin

- 2/3 cup Water

- 0.5 cup Pecans chopped (optional)

Sift dry ingredients together. Beat sugar and vegetable oil together until blended (mixture will still look dry). Add eggs, 1 at a time, until blended. Add pumpkin and mix thoroughly. Add dry ingredients a little at a time, alternating with water. Mix in pecans Pour batter into 2 9×5x3 loaf pans. Sprinke tops of loaves with cinnamon sugar before baking.

Bake at 325 for 55-60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool for 15 minutes before removing from pans.

Buckwheat Cheese Straws

The buckwheat flour here gives these cheese straws a depth that others made from all-purpose flour don’t have. That being said, you could certainly give these a shot using all whole wheat pastry flour, spelt flour, or unbleached all-purpose flour. Or experiment with other flours in place of the buckwheat flour.

1/2 cup buckwheat flour — Of course, I don’t have buckwheat flour, so I run buckwheat (easy to get in grocery stores) through my food processor for a couple of minutes. The crunchy bits left just add to the flavour!
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour – I use the “best for bread” kind we can get in Canada.
1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped – I also made these with rosemary once – yum!
8 tablespoons (4 ounces) unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
3/4 cup (2 1/2 ounces) white cheddar, shredded on a box grater — I used aged cheddar
1/2 cup ice cold water

Combine the flours, salt and thyme in a bowl of a food processor. Put the 1/2 cup water in the freezer. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles little pebbles in a beach of sandy flour (about 20 quick pulses). Alternately, you can cut the butter in using a knife and fork. Transfer to a mixing bowl and toss in the cheese. Sprinkle with ice water and use your hands or a spoon to stir it through and bring everything together into a ball of dough. Flatten the ball into a 1-inch thick square patty, wrap well in plastic, and place in the freezer for thirty minutes (or outside in a Canadian winter for five).

In the meantime, preheat your oven to 400F degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat, and place a rack in the middle of the oven.

I find it easiest to work with one half of the dough at a time. Remove the dough from the freezer, cut in half, re-wrap the half you won’t be using immediately, and place it back in the freezer. If the dough gets too warm it is difficult to work with. On a well-floured surface roll out the remaining dough into a rectangle roughly 6×12-inches and 1/4-inch thick. Use a knife to cut 1/2-inch wide strips, each about 6-inches long. Now take a strip of dough and gently pinch it all along its length so that it is easier to roll out into a straw shape roughly 12-inches long. If the dough is giving you trouble, consider chilling it a bit longer. Place each straw on the prepared baking sheet, and repeat with the remaining strips, leaving at least 1/2 inch between each straw.

Bake the straws one pan at a time for about 8-10 minutes, or until the straws look set, and the cheese is golden where it is touching the pan. Flip each straw and bake for another 2-3 minutes on the other side. Keep in mind if your straws are on the thin side, they’ll bake in a flash, if they are slightly thicker they will need to go longer. Remove from oven and let cool, they will crisp more as they cool.

Sometimes I bake off half the dough, and keep the other half in the freezer for another day, but feel free to bake all of it – repeating the process with the second half of reserved dough.

Makes about 4 dozen straws.

Thank you, Heidi, for such a delicious recipe!!

Ingredients:

- 1 large can crushed tomatoes

-1 pkg Veggie Ground Round (the best stuff – no browning required!)

- 1 can mixed beans (would also be good with an additional can of kidney beans), drained, rinsed and drained again

- 1/4 bottle of beer (no more or it gets too runny)

Then comes the flavour!! Add some (anywhere from 1/4 – 1 teaspoon) of the following ingredients, depending on your tastes:

- chili powder

- sea salt

- cayenne pepper (and I think I put some fresh ground black pepper in too)

- garlic, chopped fine

- paprika

- chili sauce – Frank’s Red Hot or Louisiana hot sauce (not too much!)

- Tobasco sauce

- Worchestershire sauce

- a dollop of molasses (yes, for real!)

- maple syrup (don’t gasp!), about 1 Tbsp

- about 6 melting chocolates, the ones that are button shaped, about 1 inch across (stir well to melt)

The sweetness counteracts the spicy and makes all the tastebuds on your tongue come alive! Taste often to make sure you haven’t gone too far in any direction, sweet or spicy… you might need more spicy after adding the sweet stuff! Enjoy the best chili that ever took you 10 minutes to make!

When I make this again, I think I’ll start with some onions, and might also add some jalapenos or other hot peppers, if I’ve got ‘em. And it’s always better to let it simmer, but you can also make it super fast!