There are times when I get really excited about a new recipe. It has to hit a few key points: quick and easy to put together, use healthy ingredients and taste good.
No-Knead Crusty Artisan Bread
I was at a dinner party in Thunder Bay and the host had made two loaves of this bread. She made one loaf with quick-rising yeast and one with regular yeast. They were both the same in taste and texture. The question she had was “do you think other flours would work”? I made it with Loon Song spelt and a hard unbleached all-purpose flour and it was just as good.
3 cups all-purpose flour (optional: 2 cups spelt and 1 cup hard unbleached all-purpose)
1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp yeast
1. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, salt and yeast. Add the water and using a wooden spoon stir together until the mixture resembles a shaggy dough.
2. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit in room temperature for 8-18 hours. Dough will rise.
3. After dough is ready, preheat oven to 400°F.
4. Turn the dough onto a well-floured surface and with floured hands form the dough into a ball. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes.
5. While the dough is resting, put your Dutch oven (add parchment paper on the bottom) into the preheated oven for 30 minutes.
6. After the 30 minutes are up carefully remove (very hot) the Dutch oven and with floured hands place the dough into it. Put the lid back on and bake for 30 minutes. After the 30 minutes remove the lid and bake another 15 minutes uncovered or until the top is golden brown.
*No Dutch oven? Use any heat-safe covered pot as long as it doesn’t have any plastic handles/knobs. The bigger the pot the flatter the loaf of bread will be.
Vegan Chocolate Zucchini Cake
This is one of the better vegan cakes I have made and tasted. I didn’t have any zucchini so I used beets. Make sure you use dates that are pitted and are not to dry. I bought a package of dates that were soft and juicy, measured them out and put them in the blender but forgot to check the label. I had to warn people to eat very carefully!
CAKE INGREDIENTS:
1 cup oat flour
1/4 cup cacao powder
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp sea salt
2/3 cup pitted packed dates
3/4 cup warm water
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 Tbsp melted coconut oil
2/3 cup shredded zucchini
FROSTING INGREDIENTS:
2/3 cup pitted dates
3/4 cup full-fat coconut milk
1 Tbsp tahini or sunflower seed butter or pumpkin seed butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
4 Tbsp cacao powder
3 Tbsp melted coconut oil
CAKE:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease or line with parchment paper a 8” x 8” pan.
Whisk together all dry ingredients in a bowl. Blend the dates, water, vanilla, and coconut oil in a blender until smooth. Add the liquid mixture to the dry, along with the zucchini. Gently stir.
Scoop the batter into the pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the middle. Let cool before adding the frosting.
FROSTING:
Blend the dates and coconut milk until smooth in a blender. Add the remaining ingredients, and blend until smooth. Pour frosting over the cool cake. Place into the fridge for 2-4 hours, or until it firms up.
**if you don’t have oat flour simply grind oats in blender or food processor.
