Balsamic Spice Loaf

Experimenting with quick breads until I receive my sourdough starter for free from Carl's! To be honest, I enjoy making quick breads, because I already have everything I need, and I can usually eat whatever I make about an hour from the time I decide to make it. And, they are always incredibly moist, where I feel that yeast breads are a toss up in that category.



My classic is a whole wheat Irish Soda Loaf. What I made today uses the same general chemical processes, but is a lot jazzier and risky.



1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup unbleached all purpose flour

4 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons honey

4 tablespoons agave nectar

cinnamon

allspice

ginger

nutmeg

1 cup nonfat plain greek yogurt

a splash or two of buttermilk

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 egg

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

salt



melt butter. add sweet stuff. add yogurt and buttermilk. whisk until smooth. add egg and balsamic vinegar. whisk until smooth. combine dry ingredients well and add to wet ingredients. a pasty batter will form that is strange, but go with it and load it into a small bread pan. put it in a 375 degree oven and cook for 20 minutes, until the top is golden, then turn the oven down to 325 and let cook thoroughly, testing with your preferred method, whatever that may be.

Wah! It tastes a lot like banana bread! Moist, good with butter and honey. Would be great with nuts and fruits inside. Also, check the ingredients list. Whole wheat, some healthier sweetener alternatives*, and not too much butter! Most of the moistness definitely comes from the yogurt.

So easy. The next one I make will be a lemon/herb loaf or a beer/cheese loaf or any loaf....

-R

* I started using agave nectar when I had some blood sugar (all speculation, but indulge me) issues. It is low glycemic, because it is way high in fructose, which doesn't rely on insulin and has to pass through your liver, unlike the other popular monosaccharide, glucose, which gets absorbed anywhere and asks for insulin to help. Now, this DOESN'T mean it's a good sweetener for everyone, or even healthy. First of all, nothing is naturally that high in fructose, and your body probably isn't supposed to get that overload all at once, since nothing from nature is that high in fructose (not even fruit). The stuff from the plant is processed to make it that way (high fructose corn syrup, anyone?). Also, it ... ok... I'm just going to link to this article: AGAVE NECTAR. It is a very anti-agave article, and it is a really interesting read. Puts some things into perspective. But, clearly, since agave is in my recipe, the everything in moderation rule is well in place in this chicken's brain.

Soft Molasses Spice Cookies

After coming across this recipe, I decided to adapt it to my own tastes. If I were cute, I'd call them pantry cookies for obvious reasons: you use many things that sit unused in your pantry to make them, namely: autumnal spices, jars of sweet things, oats, and brown sugar. I would bet that most households have these things lying around, unused.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups Regular Unbleached Flour

1/2 cups Whole Wheat Flour (obviously not necessary)

2 packets Plain Flavor Instant Oatmeal

3/4 Teaspoon Baking Soda

Spices:

(Here's the deal. I didn't measure my spices, but I put a LOT of spices in. Here they are in descending order of the amount I put in.)

Cinnamon

Ginger

Allspice

Nutmeg

1/4 cup Blackstrap Molasses

1/4 cup Honey

A little less than a block of Plugra Unsalted Butter

1 cup Brown Sugar

1 egg

WARNING: This cookie dough looks like the consequences of eating too much Indian Food

WARNING: The way this dough tastes (as in, AMAZING) may entice you to eat the consequences of eating too much Indian Food. Don't do it.

Let's begin!

In one bowl mix the dry ingredients, without sugar. Good. Now cream the butter and sugar. Good. Now add the egg, honey, and molasses to the butter and sugar and blend! Good. Now add the dry ingredients to the wet slowly until you get what looks like a giant's toilet. Good. Taste it, if you dare. It's heavenly.

Now, the hard part. The dough is really sticky, and even though I'm usually too impatient, I DID roll it up in plastic wrap and stuck it in the freezer. So, you do that too. About an hour later, take it out and begin to roll ping pong sized balls of dough. Dip the tops in more brown sugar or big crystals of raw sugar and place on a lightly buttered baking sheet. If you have pecans, or better yet, CANDIED pecans, please push one into the center of the cookie! I wish I had them. Bake for only about 5-7 minutes at 375 or so and don't overbake! Try to use your best judgement here, you really want to take them out when they are JUST cooked.

Let cool and enjoy. Good with a mug of warm milk.

-R