Classic Spelt Pie (a.k.a. Boobies)

This is my classic pie that I bake whenever I get the chance. It's great at buffet dinners, tea parties, or even as party food.

INGREDIENTS
300g spelt flour (sometimes I use 150g buckwheat and 150g spelt flour)

150g butter 

Ice cold water

PROCESS
Mix the cubes of butter and the spelt flour together with your bare hands. Add a bit of water to get the right consistency. When the dough is ready you should be able to put it into a ball, or rather, a sausage. Then wrap this in cellophane wrap and put it into the refrigerator for half an hour. 

When you have taken it out, simply cut the 'sausage' up into slices (cut them as thick as you want the dough to be) and mush them into the bottom of the pie mould with your fingers.

You can fill it up with whatever ripe, seasonal fruit that's around. But for your visual convenience, I used an impromptu mixture of slices apples (five apples, to be precise), combined with ground hazelnuts and whole roasted almonds. I threw in some cinnamon and vanilla sugar to taste, and this is what came out:

The decoration seemed like a good idea at the time- to make the pie look like almonds boobies. Now it's not so funny.


Baking song (obviously):
Making Pies- Patty Griffin

Jana's Lunch

PLEASE excuse the gross pictures, they were taken in bad lighting on some ipod, since I was not at home to perk up the shots. Nevertheless, this is just to give you an idea, it is the recipe that counts.

One gloomy Saturday, I took the bus, bearing ecological vegetables, over to my boyfriend's mother's house to try out some recipes. We made lunch together, and this is what came out.

Potato Casserole

Spanish Potato Casserole

This is kind of an off-the-record recipe. I made it few weeks ago and although it has nothing to do with Jana or this post, it's still a casserole and very delicious!


INGREDIENTS
Potatoes (depends on how big they are, but I usually use about six)
2 Green peppers
1 Red pepper
2 onions
2 tomatoes


PROCESS
Slice up the onions and throw them onto a sizzling pan with some sesame oil (or coconut or whatever good oil you have at hand). Over that, throw the thinly slices potatoes.
Let this sizzle for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. About halfway through, throw in the peppers and tomatoes as well and cover it up.
When the potatoes have gotten softer, slide the contents of the pan into a baking dish and bake for 20min at 180 C.
Serve hot, with salad.

Vegan Pear Pie (absolutely GF!)

INGREDIENTS
150g ground hazelnuts
150g ground almonds
Raw chocolate powder
Cinnamon
2 eggs
Coconut oil
5 nice ripe pears


PROCESS
Simply mix together the ground nuts, add some cinnamon and a few spoonfuls of chocolate powder. The scoop in about 5 heaping teaspoon of coconut oil (or coconut butter, if you wish) and knead the dough with your bare hands hands. Then add in the two whisked eggs to bring the dough together.
Lay the dough out evenly on the bottom of your pie mold. In the middle, distribute the thinly pears evenly, as shown on the picture. Sprinkle the whole thing with chocolate and cinnamon and pop it in the over for 45min at 180 C.

Lunch Song:
Try A Little Tenderness- Otis Redding

Basic Muffin Recipe (GF if you like!)

GOOD TO KNOW


You can put in anything you like, from powedered chooclate to different chocolate chips, to banana puree, to big chunks of fresh or frozen fruit (but please be careful when using frozen berries, they really should be ecological!) You can even alternate the flours, using any two from the list in the 'Hello' section. For sweet muffins, I always combine a flour that has a strong taste with a milder one, usually anything with rice or corn flour works (ex. spelt and rice, buckwheat and corn), but eventually you see what suits your taste. But my most frequently combination is still spelt and buckwheat, because I feel they truly compliment each other, even though they both have a strong flavor.


They can even be salty, you can mix in spinach, cheese, cherry tomatoes, carrots, as you wish! But in this case it's best if you use corn and/or rice flour and some spices to taste. You'll figure out what goes with what, just keep tasting!


For your visual convenience I am going to make tons of different muffin doughs, all spin offs of the basic recipe, so you can see examples of all the variations you can do! And I might also add in more detailed recipes of the best ones! This here is just to give you a basic idea...


INGREDIENTS: SWEET VERSION


1 cup milder flour (ex. spelt)
1 1/4 cup more flavorful flour (ex. buckwheat)
1 cup oats
1 tbsp baking soda
1 cup nut milk (almond or hazelnut)
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup agave syrup
2 eggs (you can even go vegan without them, but in that case add a lot of nuts and less of the nut milk)
pinch of salt (always)
spices like: cinnamon, cardamom, vanilla extract, etc.
then fold in fresh fruits, dried fruits (raisins and cranberries are especially nice), nuts (soaked and chopped up!), chocolate pieces and so on.


INGREDIENTS: SALTY VERSION


1 cup rice flour
1/4 cup corn flour
1 tbsp baking soda
1 cup sheep cheese
3 eggs
1 cup rice milk
salt and pepper (always)
spices like: paprika, chili, basil, rosemary, thyme, curry... depending on which direction you're going in, in terms of flavor. I'm usually choosing between spicy, Mediterranean, and Indian.
When adding in tomatoes, it is automatically best to go Mediterranean, with herbs like rosemary and thyme, and trust me, it's good to go with tomatoes, because they come out so incredibly juicy in the muffins, especially in combination with the cheese and corn!


AND definitely: shredded parmesan (parmegano rigano) or goat cheese to put on top!


PROCESS
Very easy. Mix the dry ingredients (including spices) in a bowl with a spoon or your hands. Whisk together the wet in a different bowl. The combine the wet and dry, mush together (using your bare hands) until the dry are completely mixed in (no streaks or lumps.) Let the flour absorb the liquids for a few minutes. Then fold in the fruits or vegetables or chocolate chips or whatever it is that you're folding in. Spoon the batter into the muffin pan. Put into the oven for 20-25 minutes at 180 C. Be sure to do the fork test before you take them out for good. Allow to cool before serving.

Katja's Cranberry Morning Cookies

GOOD TO KNOW

First off, if you don't have ghee, please do not fret. Ghee gives the cookies a bit of a sour taste, which goes well with the cranberries and molasses, but feel free to use coconut oil instead, or even regular butter, but I suggest you soften it first (by heating it up). You can also substitute cranberries for raisins if you prefer. Also, if anyone would like to experiment, I'm thinking vanilla would go nicely with all of this, but I haven't tried it yet myself.This recipe is dedicated to Katja and her mysterious grandmother, who kindly inspired the recipe.

INGREDIENTS

200g oat flakes 

70g ghee

2 eggs

1/2 cup hazelnut milk

1/4 cup maple syrup

70g molasses sugar

150 g cashew & 50g almond nuts grounded

1 cup dried cranberries

1 teaspoon baking powder

100g spelt flour

PROCESS
It's so easy. Mix the flour and baking soda (with your hands). Then throw this into a nice big bowl and add the rest of the ingredients, with the exception of the the nuts and oats.

Chop up the cashews as much as you can using a good knife. It's enough if each nut is chopped into three of four pieces, then roast them until they unleash their delicious aroma and their wonderful smell spreads across the entire room. That's when you know it's time to set them aside to cool off. Then roast the oat flakes and wait for the signal from your nostrils. Then add both things into the batter.

Mush all the ingredients together using both your hands. The batter will be chunky no matter what you do, so don't worry. It will take a while to get to the right consistency, so, when in doubt, add hazelnut milk! I like to set the batter aside for about 10 minutes before I mold the cookies, so that the liquids absorb the flours.

Then make little balls out of the batter (don't worry if a cashew sticks out here and there). Align them nicely on baking sheets, with an inch or two in between the cookies.

Bake for 20 minutes at 160 degrees Celsius.

BAKING SONG

Banana Pancakes- The Faces

Chocolate Mini Souffles (Salty Style)

   

This recipe is dedicated to my friend Neva, who inspired this recipe with her glorious Fondant Au Chocolat!

Prep time: 10 min

Baking time: 10 min

Makes: 8 mini-souflees (depending on how mini your ramekins are!)

GOOD TO KNOW

The key to a nice soufflé is very obvious. Simply DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN UNTIL THEY ARE DONE.  And they will- no matter how tempted or concerted you might be about their fragile fate- be done in 10 minutes. If you open the oven too early, the much admired soufflé puff will die down and you will get a flat mess resembling pudding (I speak from experience, sadly). There is no fork test, no poking or prodding or pounding or any other p-related activity of any kind. After ten minutes, carefully take them out and I recommend you carry them straight to the table, because sometimes the puff dies down while you're not watching! It's best to serve them hot and with whipped cream, berries, ice cream or sorbet. But don't worry: they will remain moist and gooey even the next day.

Why so much salt?

Because it brings out the chocolate flavor and spices things up a bit, without distracting from the creamy-chocolately taste of the soufflé. Be sure to taste the batter before you put the egg in. If you don't like it salty, add no more than a pinch.

Why mini?

Because small things are cuter (big culinary lesson!) and they look wonderful on the table, especially at parties. I like to use many ramekins of different sizes, which is just more party-ish.

INGREDIENTS

250 g dark chocolate (never use the powdered kind. Trust me, you need it creamy, not fake-powdery)

200 g butter

2 tablespoons salt (no joke.)

2 tablespoons buckwheat flour

3 eggs

PROCESS

Cut up the chocolate bars and butter sticks into chunks. Melt the chocolate and butter until you get a smooth, consistent viscous liquid. Add the salt and leave to cool off until warm. In the mean time, whisk the eggs, and when the butterchocolate is ready, pour them in. Still whisking or stirring slowly, add in the flour until completely mixed in. The batter should look something like this:

Transfer straight into the ramekins and bake for 10 minutes at 200°C.

BAKING SONG

I Feel It All - Feist

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-iAS18rv68&ob=av2e