Pesto-riffic

Image from here.

What's green, delicious, and tres chic? Why, pesto, of course! The typical pesto is packed full of calorie laden cheese, pine nuts and olive oil. To up the chic factor and pack a punch full of healthy omega-3's and vitamin K, I developed this recipe. You can toss pesto with pasta or use it to slather on a sandwich with artichokes and kalamata olives.

Walnut and Arugula Pesto

makes 4 servings

1 cup of walnuts

3 cups of arugula or spinach, tightly packed

1 clove of garlic, chopped

1 pinch of red pepper flakes

2 Tbsp olive oil or walnut oil

In a food processor, pulse the walnuts until chopped. Add the garlic, spinach, red pepper flakes, and oil. Process until combined. Use immediately or store in a container for up to 3 days in the fridge.

For Funsies...Happy Halloween!

My Black Cats, Spider Webs and Ghost sugar cookies ready to eat.

Sugar Cookies

2 3/4 c Unbleached flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 cups plus 1 Tbsp evaporated cane sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) of Earth Balance Butter

1 1/2 tsp vanilla, almond or lemon extract

Heat oven to 325 degrees.

Cream sugar and margarine until fluffy. Add vanilla. Add flour and baking soda and beat until a soft dough forms. If it is too dry, add almond milk by the tsp until it just comes together. Divide the dough into two parts. Roll out dough until 1/4" thick, cut out shapes and place on greased cookie sheets.

Bake 15-17 minutes until nicely browned on the edges. Let cool and then ice.

This recipe makes perfect, crispy thin sugar cookies.

Icing

2 cups of powdered sugar

6-8 tsps of almond or soy milk

4 tsps agave nectar or brown rice syrup

1/2 tsp of vanilla, almond or lemon extract

Mix the powdered sugar, sweetener and vanilla together in a small bowl. Add the milk by the teaspoon until a nice smooth icing forms. Color to your preferred choice. Dip the top of each cookie in the icing, let the excess drip off and then place on a counter to dry. This makes a nice icing that isn't too hard but also sets enough to stack without sticking all of your hard make cookies together.

The black cats were iced by adding 2 tsps of hershey's dark chocolate cocoa powder to the icing recipe.

Frickin' Awesome French Toast

I love French Toast, I really do. However it is full of sugar, carbohydrates and little else, not so Chic. Here is a recipe that you won't feel a morsel of guilt about making and devouring. This is perfect for lazy weekends or gatherings where you really want to impress your guests. I adapted this recipe from "Skinny Bitch: Ultimate Everyday Cookbook".

Coconut Banana French Toast

Makes 6 Servings

1 banana

1/2 cup of light coconut milk

1 cup of milk (I prefer almond milk)

2 Tbsp evaporated cane sugar

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

6 slices of crusty bread (like the bread you just made in the previous post!)

2 Tbsp butter (I prefer Earth Balance Vegan Butter)

In a blender or food processor, add the banana, coconut milk, milk, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla extract. Blend until smooth, then pour into a shallow dish.

Heat butter in a skillet or griddle over medium heat. Dip both sides of the bread into the mixture and place onto a skillet or griddle and cook in batches until golden brown.

Serve with fresh banana slices and maple syrup (don't use that imitation maple flavored high fructose syrup, yuck!).

Throw on your cheekiest apron and try it. You will love it, I promise.

Domestic Goddess Bread

My two loaves cooling off (made by doubling the recipe).

Domestic goddess, this is what everyone will be calling you after they taste this bread. Forget the bakery. You can make a beautiful, enviable loaf of bread without being a slave to the dough and starter process. Every Urban Domestic Girl can master this recipe no matter the size of her kitchen. Three variations keep this bread fun and new with rotation. I start this bread on a Friday night and finish it on Saturday or Sunday.

Crusty White Bread

A bread with 3 variations. Yields 1 large loaf or 2 smaller loafs.

What You Need

1 large enameled cast-iron dutch oven or skillet with a lid

Pre-ferment

125 grams warm water (1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp)

1/8 tsp dry granulated yeast

150 grams organic all-purpose flour (1 1/4 cups)

Bread Dough

625 g warm water (2 3/4 cups)

900 g organic all-purpose flour (6 3/4 c + 2 Tbsp)

100 g organic whole wheat flour (3/4 cup)

2 1/2 Tbsp kosher salt dissolved in 1/2 cup warm water

All-purpose flour for dusting

Step 1. Pre-ferment: In a medium bowl, mix the water with the yeast and stir until the yeast is dissolved. Stir in the flour. Cover loosely and let rise at room temperature, overnight, or for 10-14 hours.

Step 2. Bread Dough: In a very large bowl, whisk the all-purpose flour with the whole wheat flour, set aside. Add the warm water to the pre-ferment using your hands to break it up until dissolved. Add the pre-ferment to the large bowl and use your hands to mix together until a smooth dough forms. Cover the bowl and let stand for 30 minutes.

Uncover the bowl and add the salt water. Gently fold the dough onto itself until all the water has been incorporated. Cover the dough and let sit for 1 hour gently folding the dough onto itself four times, every 20 minutes. Cover the dough and let sit for 3-4 hours.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and gently shape into a large round (or 2 small rounds), folding the dough under itself as necessary. Let the loaf stand on the work surface for 20 minutes. Gently fold the sides under again.

Line 1 large bowl (or 2 smaller bowls) with a generously flour dusted kitchen towel. Transfer the loaf to the bowl, rounded side down. Cover the loaf with a clean towel and let rise for 4-5 hours or alternatively, let rise for 1 hour and then refrigerate overnight.

Step 3. Baking: Preheat oven to 490 degrees. Heat 1 large enameled cast-iron dutch oven or skillet with a lid (or 2 smaller cast-iron dutch ovens or skillets) in the oven for 30 minutes. Make sure the lids have heat proof knobs! Remove from the oven and dust the bottom with all-purpose flour. Turn the loaf into the dutch oven, rounded side up. Using a sharp, thin knife score the top of the loaf with an X or square pattern. This prevents the loaf from cracking and popping out into a funky shape on the top. Don't burn your fingers, use those oven mittens to place the lid back on top of the dutch oven. Bake bread for 15 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 470 degrees and bake for an additional 20 minutes. Uncover dutch oven and bake for approximately 25 minutes (less if you are making 2 loaves) until the the bread is richly browned. You will smell it when it is done, it smells amazing! Transfer the loaf to a rack and let cool before slicing. Enjoy your beautiful bread and marvel at your smarts for learning to make a charming bakery loaf.

Variations

2. Whole Wheat Make the pre-ferment with 150 g of whole wheat flour and 150 g warm water. For the dough use 700 g white flour, and 300 g whole wheat flour and 750 g warm water.

3. Rye Make the pre-ferment with 150 g of rye flour and 150 g warm water. For the dough use 850 g white flour, 300 g rye flour and 750 g warm water.

Why is everything weighed out and not measured by volume?

Weighing ingredients using a scale, such as a digital scale, is more accurate than measuring by volume. A decent scale runs about $20, a super scale will set you back $50. I consider this an Urban Domestic Girl kitchen necessity.

Slather some of your homemade nut butter on a slice with a cup of tea or use it to make a slammin' sandwich for lunch. My little heart patters when it is used for french toast, yumm.

Let's Get Some Domestic Inspiration

Sassy, simple and sophisticated healthy cooking. This cookbook will inspire you to exchange that nasty, fat laden Ho-ho for a homemade Orange Scone, a considerable trade up. Whether you are vegan, vegetarian or looking for healthy alternatives this book is for you. Whoever said healthy had to equal tasteless was not an Urban Domestic Girl like you! Check it out and get inspired!

http://www.amazon.com/Skinny-Bitch-Ultimate-Everyday-Delicious/dp/0762439378/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1286980276&sr=8-2

Hot Cocolat Break

As my term in school draws to a close I am finding little time to post so here is one for you urban girls to curl up on the couch with while reading a good book.

Hot Cocolat

It's amazingly sinful, satisfying and so much like the hot coco I had in Europe. Serves 4.

4 cups of almond milk (or other milk)

1 cup of chopped milk chocolate ( I prefer vegan chocolate)

2 tablespoons of carob powder (no caffeine!) or unsweetened cocoa powder (boo, caffeine)

Bring the milk to a simmer in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the chocolate and carob or cocoa powder and whisk until smooth. Remove from the heat and pour into mugs. Enjoy!