Food and drink

NO KNEAD BREAD (taken from Minmiddag.no)
Grab a large bowl and mix the following ingredients:

1 Grated Carrot
50 ml linseeds
50ml sesamy seeds
50ml sunflowerseeds
50 ml pumpkinseeds
200 ml rye flour
200 ml brown flour of choice (i used Barley)
250 ml any other flour
1/2 teaspoon dry live yeast
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
400 ml water

Extras:
1 teaspoon malt extract
exhange any seeds for Chia



The result is a wet dough. Cover the bowl with cling film and set to a draught free corner of the kitchen counter. leave in ordinary room temperature for 12-18 hours. I will normally make the dough in the evening and it will be ready to bake the next day after work.

The Next day:
Grab a bakingsheet or kitchen towel. Cover in a thin layer of flour. Pour your dough out onto the flour and using a spatula, fold in both sides into the middle.
Turn your dough so the fold is down.
set your bakingbowl upside down over your dough and set a timer to 90 minutes.
After 90 minutes, set your oven to 250 degrees celcius and set a cast iron pan into the oven. (teflone one works as well. Just make sure it's deep enough and not too wide.)
This is to make sure both oven and pan is properly hot by the time the bread has "rested".
After 30 minutes, remove the pan from the oven. !Careful, it's HOT! Brush exess flour of the dough and carefully lift the bakingsheet. the trick is to tip the dough upside down into the pan. put a lid on the pan and place it into the oven.

Leave to bake at 250 C for 30 minutes, then remove the lid and reduce the temperature to 220 C for 15 minutes.

The result is fantastic and delicious bread.


Rich and Fabulous Fruitcake

150 grams unsweetened stonefree dates
150 grams prunes
200 ml orange or apple juice (unsweetened)
2 tbs dark syrup
1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
1 tsp finely grated orange zest
250 grams flour (mix rye and wheat)
2 tsp baking soda
1 tbs mixed spices (ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg,cardamom)
2 apples cored, peeled and diced. 
750 grams mixed dried fruits, chopped (i used rasins, figs, cranberries, apricots, peaches, apples, sultanas)
2 mashed bananas
apple juice to taste

Roughly chop dates and prunes and put them into a pan.
Add fruit-juice and boil for 10 minutes.
Remove from heat and leave to cool and set.
Add citrus zest and syrup.
Heat your oven to 160 degrees Celsius.
Combine flour, baking-soda and spices in a large bowl.
Stir in your mixed fruit and chopped apples.
Mash the bananas and stir into the dry ingredients.
Stir inn the date/prune mix.
Add apple juice until the mixture has a squidgy texture.

Pour (splat?) into a greased or papered oven tin and cook for 1 1/2 hours.
Leave to cool slightly before cutting.

I ended up with a HUGE cake to take to work tomorrow for the friday wine-lottery...




In my quest for a better self i have pretty much dropped shop-bought bread and i bake a lot of rye and wholegrain breads myself. Rye is an undervalued grain!
I like adding lots of seeds and some Malt extract (sirupy by-product from brewers yeast. high in vitamin B, sweet to the taste and aids digestion in fantastic ways)
And i have started baking these wonderful crispbreads. I bake a batch and bring to work with me for lunch along with some cream cheese, avocado, tomato or such spreads and toppings I have at hand.
I also love these for breakfast.
Your choc-almond/sunflower butter would probably be fantastic on them.
They are a good option for people who want to eat a bread-like product but in a better version.
And so I thought I'd like to share the recipe for these crispbreads with you!
They are easy, quick and vegan.
Apologies for metric measures. I'm sure you are able to convert them.

Marit's wholegrain crispbread.

100 ml dark rye flour
100ml Flat oats
100 ml sesame seeds
100ml oat husks (ground)
100ml sunflower seeds
50 ml Lin seeds/flax/(or chia?)
50 ml Wheat husks (ground)
50 ml dry Barley seeds (soak overnight to make them soft) (optional)
350 ml warm water
1 tbs malt extract (or swap for 1 teaspoon salt)
Seeds, pumpkin seeds, dry blueberries, cranberries et.c to taste.

Mix the dry stuff, dissolve Malt/salt in water and add to the dry mix well. Leave to absorb the water for 10-15 minutes while heating oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
spread thinly (1-2mm) over two bakingsheets. and carefully score into suitable squares (do not separate the squares. this is to break them up when cooked!)
cook for 45-50 minutes. remove from oven and break them up into serving size. if they are still moist on the bottom, turn them over and put back in the oven on the after-heat for 15 minutes.
they are supposed to be crisp and dry-ish when done. (adjust cooking time to your preferred level of dryness...)
(dry berries look a bit weird when mixed in but taste wonderful.)
serve with mashed/sliced avocado, soft cheese spread (philadelphia style) or any choice of sandwich spread or topping.


Dinnerwise:

Palak Paneer is a fave of mine
The cheese can be exchanged for meat(lamb or chicken) chickpeas, tofu or potatoes.

Ingredients
250 grams paneer (Indian cheese,tofu, chickpeas)
2 bunches of palak
3 medium sized onions (finely chopped)
2 medium size tomatoes (finely chopped) OR tomato puree as per convenience
2 green chillies (slit into half)
½ tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp red chilli powder
½ ginger paste
½ garlic paste
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp garam masala
½ tsp chana masala
1 tsp sugar
3 tbsp oil
Salt to taste
Cream for garnish (coconutcream or soy natural yoghurt works really well too)
Steps
1. Cook the palak (spinach) for about 5 minutes in boiling water and chop it to “forksize bites” after it is cold.
2. Cut the paneer into small cubes and deep fry in oil till light golden brown
3. Heat the oil in a Kadhai/non-stick pan and add the cumin seeds. Wait till it crackles and ensure that it does not burn. Add the chopped onions and green chillies and sauté till the onions are golden brown. Add the ginger garlic paste and sauté for another minute. Add the turmeric powder, chilli powder and the chana masala powder and sauté for another 1-2 minutes. Then add the tomatoes/tomato puree and stir till the oil separates.
4. Add the palak paste to this mixture along with 1 cup water.(Tip: You can use the water used for cooking the spinach)
5. Add the paneer, garam masala, sugar and salt and cook till you start to see the gravy bubbling. If the gravy seems a bit dry, you can add some more water.
4. Garnish with some cream in the end
Enjoy