Lemon Chia Seed Muffins.

These are my new favorite muffins and have been for 6 months now (it's now May when I'm actually posting it). I love lemon. And I love the health benefits of chia seeds. The combo is a match made in heaven. Shayne even likes these, and he's not a huge lemon fan. Ya done it again Mama Pea. Thank.you.

"Slightly sweet, moist and just lemony enough, they are classic, but won't hinder any drug tests."
1/2 cup non-dairy milk (i use almond)
1 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 cup unbleached organic flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup chia seeds
1/3 cup coconut oil
2/3 cup agave nectar and/or maple syrup
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon extract
1 tablespoon lemon zest

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Combine milk and lemon juice and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt and chia seeds.

To the milk mixture, add coconut oil, agave or maple syrup, applesauce, vanilla, lemon extract and lemon zest.

Add wet ingredients to dry and stir until just combined.

Fill each well of a muffin tin that has been lightly greased or line with muffin cups 2/3rds of the way full.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until slightly golden and a toothpick inserted in the middle of a muffin comes out clean.

No-Knead Multi-Grain Peasant Bread.

I am not a good bread maker. I know the more I practice, the better I'll get... but let's face it... with a Mom that can make bread as good as mine can, sometimes it's just not worth it to go through that sort of self destruction each time a new loaf comes out...

[Look at that texture!]

So, when I found this bread - peasant bread - totally different from my Mom's whole wheat homemade bread... I thought I'd give it a whirl. I made it months and months ago and it didn't rise as high as it did in the picture, but it still tasted yummy. Probably because I never use as much white flour as it calls for. But, I figured it's time for me to try it again. When I wanted this soup for dinner, and knew how yummy it'd be if I had a good crusty dipping bread - I went for it.

I ended up not having all of the right flours and all the right proportions of the ones I did have... but I went for it anyway. It still didn't rise as high as it did in the picture {blasted picture!} but it was yum, and perfect for dipping in our soup.

And when it came out of the oven I rubbed a clove of garlic all over the top... so good... no butter needed.

It's such a good base... and it really couldn't be easier. Like 10 minutes of active handling time - that's it. I so want to play around with it more... I'll add some herbs (rosemary) next time.... and then cranberries and walnuts the next (trying to imitate my favorite bread from Central Market). I love so many possibilities.

No-Knead Multi-Grain Peasant Bread  

1 cup rye flour

3 1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup cracked wheat, uncooked steel cut oats, sunflower seeds, or other textured grain, seeds, or nuts

1 cups white all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon yeast

3 1/4 cups (26 ounces) room temperature water
2 tablespoons dried rosemary

In a large bowl, mix together all the flours, salt, yeast and rosemary. Stir in the water to form a thick, gloppy batter. (If your yeast needs to dissolve in water before being added, do this in a separate bowl before combining with the flours.)

Cover the bowl and let it sit at room temperature for 8 hours or overnight. If necessary, you can refrigerate the dough after this fermentation period for up to a week***. Refrigerating for a few hours also helps make the dough easier to work with and improves the flavor.

When ready to shape and bake the loaves, sprinkle your work surface with a little flour. Turn the cold dough out onto the counter and divide it in two equal pieces. Sprinkle the dough with a little more flour and shape them into round loaves or sandwich loaves, as desired. Cover and let the loaves rise for about 1.5 - 2 hours at room temperature, until nearly doubled in bulk.

A half hour before baking, preheat the oven to 450°. Put a pan in the bottom of the oven to preheat as well. If you're baking round loaves, set a baking stone on the middle rack while the oven is heating.

When the loaves have risen, quickly cut 1/2-inch slashes in the top with a serrated knife and set them in the oven. Pour a half cup of water into the pan at the bottom of the oven and close the oven door.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the loaves are dark brown, sound hollow when tapped on the bottom, and the interior registers 190° on an instant-read thermometer. {This is when I rub a clove of garlic on the top... sooooo good!} Allow to cool fully on a rack before slicing and eating.

***I love this because I'll make it once, cook one loaf one night and then cook the other refrigerated loaf a few nights later.

***Be sure to use a pan and not a glass dish when baking it... when you pour the water in the hot pan it'll break. Learned that the hard way!!

I adapted it from thekitchn who originally adapted it from the Master Recipe from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes

Makes 2 loaves

Pepper, Mushroom, Tomato, Spinach & Garlic Pizza.

This is another one of those 'if you don't think about the real deal stuff, and think of it as something different - and not just a healthy version of pizza' - it's good, reallllll goooooood. Don't ever think of it as a pizza replacer because I don't think there's such a thing. Part of the joy of eating a pizza - at least for me - is that I'm eating something so yummy but so bad for you!

There's no guilt with this stuff. I made this one for Shayne and made a separate pizza for the kids with basically just the sauce and spinach. Puree sauce, here I come! And maybe next time I'll add the vegan 'mozzarella cheese' sauce so I fake the kids out even more and roast the garlic. Yum.

Pizza Dough
2 teaspoons agave nectar

1 (1/4-ounce) package active dry yeast
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour (preferable organic)
1 teaspoon salt
Vegetable oil cooking spray
2 tablespoons yellow cornmeal

In a large bowl, dissolve the agave nectar and yeast in ¾ cup warm water (100*-110*). Let stand for 5 minutes. Add the flours and salt to the yeast mixture and stir until a soft dough forms. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, adding more flour if necessary to prevent sticking. Dough will feel slightly sticky.

Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat the top. Cover with a towel and let rise in a draft-free place until double in size, about 30-40 minutes.

Punch down the dough and roll into a 10- or 11-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Place dough on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper and sprinkled with cornmeal. Crimp edges to form a rim. Lightly spray the surface of the dough with cooking spray.

Pepper, Mushroom, Tomato, Spinach & Garlic Pizza
1 recipe Pizza Dough (above)
1 cup canned tomato sauce
½ yellow pepper, thinly sliced
½ red pepper, thinly sliced
½ small onion, thinly sliced

1 cup mushrooms, thinly sliced
½ cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup spinach, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon fennel seed
10 fresh basil leaves, torn



Preheat the oven to 500*F.

In a small bowl combine the tomato sauce, garlic, oregano and fennel.Cover the pizza dough with tomato sauce, then top with bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, tomatoes, spinach, and garlic. Bake for 8 minutes. Take pizza out of the oven, top with basil, and bake for another 1 to 2 minutes.

Adapted from...

Lemon-Poppy Seed Poundcake.

I made this poundcake to take to a couple of friends during Christmas... but only one of the mini loaves actually made it out to them. Why? Anything that happens at my house that is crazy can usually be related back to Coco. While cutely bowed, labeled and wrapped in saran wrap... she got a hold of them with her little fists and squeezed the crud outta them. Sigh. At least I got a picture before all that happened... and the remainder friends that had to settle for some granola got a kick out of it. "That sounds like her!" They'd say. So Shayne and I enjoyed the crumbled loafs. They were awesome, crumpled and all.

But... at the sole house that the lone loaf safely made it to, Matt & Mandy's... I told Matt that it was vegan and he said, "Really? It is? I'm sold, I cold be vegan if I can eat this." Whether he was teasing me or just making me feel good is still to be decided. But, he did eat like half the loaf while I was standing there... that's a good sign.

There are 2 different glazes... Alicia couldn't decide between the 2 to put in her book so she did both. One is "sweet, glossy, and elegant while the other is fruity and colorful."

Lemon-Poppy Seed Poundcake

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup maple sugar
2 teaspoon egg replacer
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup soy, rice or nut milk
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup safflower oil (i used coconut)
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon lemon extract
2 tablespoons poppy seeds

lemon maple glaze
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 teaspoons kuzu, diluted in a bit of cold water

berry glaze
1 bag frozen berries, thawed
maple syrup to taste
vanilla to taste

Preheat the oven to 350*F. Oil the pans (you can use 3 mini loaf pans, a muffin tin, or 4 mini bundt pans).

Combine the flours, sugar, egg replacer, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, combine the milk with the lemon juice and set aside for a few minutes; it will look curdled. Whisk in the oil, syrup, and lemon extract. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, and stir just until combined. Fold in the poppy seeds.

Pour the batter into the prepared pans, and bake for 15 to 25 minutes (mini loafs and muffins take about 15 to 18 minutes; loaf and bundt pans take 20 to 25 minutes) or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the cake completely in the pans on a baking rack.

If using the lemon maple glaze, combine the syrup and lemon juice in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the diluted kuzu, and continue stirring until the glaze comes to a boil. Simmer for 1 minutes. Drizzle over the cake, and serve.

If using the berry glaze, whiz the berries in a blender with the syrup and vanilla extract to taste. Drizzle over the cake, and serve.

The Kind Diet

Alicia Silverstone

page 188