whole wheat oatmeal bread

Hello, friends. Today I want to introduce to you a very humble-looking, but magical-tasting loaf of sandwich bread.

I grew up on every kind of sandwich bread in the bread aisle - from the whitest to the wheatiest, to the sweetest cinnamon raisin to the grainiest of toasts. Instead of school lunch, I always had two slices of toast with "something" in between, with that "something" really depending on what we had in the house.

When my father packed lunches, it was usually some predictable formula of Lunch Meat + Condiment, whereas my mother, who liked to experiment, once had me eat blueberry yogurt with avocados on toast. It was...interesting - and quite mushy, if I recall. The worst was 2 weeks of mayonnaise and cucumbers, though. (I. hate. mayo. With a passion.) But, I suppose, who's to complain when you're being served food?

Me and my sister (and my suitemates this past year) consumed bread at egregious rates. I've always wondered if it was cheaper to make your own sandwich bread than it was spill a few dollars every week for a new bag. After all: bread is cheap! It seems hardly worth the time and effort to save a few pennies to make your own bread than to buy it. But after making this whole wheat oatmeal bread, I realized that the difference here is not so much monetary as it is in taste.

Because... yo, storebought bread, I'm really happy for you. Imma let you finish. But homemade sandwich bread is some of the best breads of all time! Some of the best breads of all time!

I'm serious. It's so good that my father ate it for breakfast and for dinner, too. It's so good that I woke up the next morning anticipating eating it, only to find an empty container with crumbs at the bottom. Thanks, dad! I ate those crumbs! And I enjoyed every particle left of it! True story.

Breakfast is served.

If you ever need a trusty bread recipe, I highly recommend heading to the King Arthur Flour website. And hey, I highly recommend this adapted recipe, too. I based it off of their Vermont whole wheat oatmeal bread recipe, but subbed oil for butter and added molasses. This bread smells like cinnamon and molasses, like a candle shop in the fall, but in a more fragrant and less obnoxious way, so you'd actually want to eat it. It's fluffy and sweet with hardly any trace of whole wheat bitterness, although I'll confess it's only about 25% whole wheat (wait, that's still healthy enough, right?). Regardless, it's delicioso, and everyone deserves a slice of homemade sandwich bread. It could change your life.

P.S. According to my crude calculations based on awkward conversions and Walmart's online pricing, sandwich bread is just barely cheaper to make at home (roughly $1.22) than it is to buy in the store (roughly $2.00). Only if you ignore the labor, utility and opportunity costs, that is.

whole wheat oatmeal bread (slightly adapted from King Arthur Flour)
227g hot water [$0]
50g oatmeal [$0.15]
10g honey [$0.09]
10g unsulfured blackstrap molasses [$0.08]
50g brown sugar [$0.14]
25g canola oil [$0.05]
1/2 Tbs salt [$0]
1/2 tsp cinnamon [$0.05]
1/2 Tbs yeast [$0.25]
85g white whole wheat flour [0.15]
240g all purpose flour [$0.26]

Yield 1 loaf, about 13-15 slices

1. In a bowl, mix the hot water, oatmeal, honey, molasses, brown sugar, oil, salt, cinnamon. Let the mixture sit for 10-15 minutes, or until it's warm and not hot.
2. Once the mixture is ready, mix in the yeast and the flours. Knead until smooth dough forms.
3. Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover with cloth or plastic wrap and let is rise for 1 hour.
4. Knead the dough into a loaf shape and place in the greased loaf pan. Let it rise for 1-1.5 hours, or until the dough is approx. 1 inch above the lip of the pan. (see photo below for reference)

5. Bake at 350 F for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, place a foil tent over the dough to protect it from burning. Continue baking at 350 F for another 15-20 minutes.
6. Let the bread cool thoroughly before slicing. Enjoy!

apple crumble cake

apple crumble cake (adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction )
crumble topping
1/3 cup white granulated sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup butter, melted (I used I Can't Believe It's Not Butter)
2/3 cup all-purpose flour

cake
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white granulated sugar (or more, if you'd like ^_^)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup butter, softened (I used I Can't Believe It's Not Butter)
1/4 cup oil (I used canola)
1/3 cup milk (I used coconut)
2 eggs
1/2 cup low fat plain greek yogurt
3 medium granny smith apples, peeled and cut into small chunks

to make the crumble topping
1. Preheat the oven to 425 F. In a bowl, combine all the crumble topping ingredients. It might initially be difficult to incorporate the flour, but keep mixing until you have moist clumps.
to make the cake
2. In a separate bowl, beat the softened butter with the sugar until incorporated. Then, beat in the eggs and the vanilla extract. Then, mix in the yogurt, milk and oil.
3. In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients - flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
4. Combine the wet and dry ingredients until just moistened. Fold in the apple chunks.
to assemble the cake
5. Pour batter into a greased 9x9 dish.
6. Pinch or spoon clumps of the crumble topping all over the batter's surface, covering the top of the cake.
7. Bake at 425 F for 10 minutes. Then, turn the oven down to 350 F and continue to bake for approx. 35 minutes, or until the crumble topping is golden.

Let cool for 30 minutes to an hour. Refrigerate for 10 minutes if you can. Enjoy!!

hasselback potatoes photo diary

recipe here

coconut magic bars

 

One of the most tiresome, but necessary tasks after final exams are over is packing up all your belongings to move back home. Alas, if only it were as easy as throwing all your junk in one trunk and calling it a day.

Kind of like these coconut magic bars.

My theory is that the "magic" about magic bars is how you can take all your leftover bits, throw them in a dish and bake them into something delicious. Kind of like the midnight breakfast cookies. But come to think of it, how can you possibly go wrong with a combination of chocolate chips, coconut flakes and pretzels?

The most challenging part of this recipe is slowly boiling and coaxing the coconut milk into having a similar viscosity to condensed milk, You want to aim for about a little more than a cup of condensed coconut milk.

overnight coconut magic bars
crust
1 1/2 graham cracker crumbs
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 egg
1/3 cup oil (I used corn)
coconut icing
1 13.5 oz. can full fat coconut milk
1/4 cup white granulated sugar
toppings 
1/2 cup sweetened coconut flakes
1/2 cup chocolate chips
Optional: pretzels, butterscotch chips, marshmallows, nuts like pecans and peanuts

to make the crust
1. In a food processor, combine graham cracker crumbs, cinnamon, egg and oil. Blitz until the texture is moist and clumpy.
2. Press the crumbs into the pan to form a crust.
3. Bake at 350 F for 10-15 minutes, or until crust is set.
to make the icing
1. Heat the coconut milk and sugar in a pot over Medium heat. Stir for 20-30 minutes, until the coconut milk reduces to approx. 1 cup of liquid and is thickened in texture. You're not looking to get caramel here, but you do want something similar to sweetened condensed milk.
2. When desired texture is reached,
to assemble the layers
1. Sprinkle on a layer of chocolate chips.Then, layer on the pretzels (and other toppings of your choosing.
2. Sprinkle coconut flakes as the top layer.
3. Pour the coconut icing over the entire bar, creating a layer that will "set" all the other toppings.
4. Bake at 350 F for 20-25 minutes. Let cool to room temperature. At this point, the bars will still be pretty soft, especially because they are coconut based. Refrigerate them for a few hours or overnight to allow them to firm up, until the coconut icing has set.

Betty's funfetti fudge

My friend Betty is a woman of many trades. In addition to her medical prowress (she's pre-med), she makes amazing soul food - namely, her slutty brownies and snickerdoodles and so much more. Recently I learned that Betty is a funfetti addict. While I won't go into the details of her addition, I will share this gorgeous treat she made. It's funfetti fudge with white chocolate, and it's somewhere between fudge and frosting and sugary crack that melts on your tongue into your dentist's worst nightmare. Isn't it so darn pretty? Almost too pretty to eat!

easy dairy-free banana mango smoothie

Yes, I ate a smoothie with a spoon. Don't judge!

 Spring came three weeks late this year, and now that it's *finally* warming up around Boston, my frozen dessert cravings have started kicking in. Dairy-free frozen desserts are not the easiest to find, nor are they particularly affordable. Thankfully, when I'm not in the mood for caving in on an overpriced single-serve from my college dining hall, I know I can still throw together something as quick, easy, cheap and refreshing as this banana mango smoothie.

This recipe is amazing because it:

• is free additional sugar. Believe it or not, you can get all the necessary sweetness and flavor from the frozen mango and the ripe banana. 
• is free of dairy. You can easily substitute liquid in this recipe for non-dairy milk or juice. I used coconut milk.
• takes less than a minute to make. Just throw your ingredients in a processor or mixer, blitz and voila! You're done.
• can be slurped like a smoothie via straw or consumed like a sorbet using a spoon.

This is actually quite filling!

mango banana smoothie [df] [v]
1/2 cup frozen mango chunks
1 banana, very ripe
1/3 cup non-dairy milk (I used coconut)

Yields approx. 1 1/2 cup (1 serving for a hungry person, 2 servings for 2 not-so hungry people)

Dump ingredients in a food processor or blender, and pulse until it reaches your desired texture. Enjoy! :)

coconut banana bread [df]

Someday in the future, someone will invent something that will allow us to deliver scents virtually. But before that day arrives, you can only trust my words when I describe how fruity and comforting this coconut banana bread smells while baking in the oven.

The secret to flavorful banana bread lies in the ripeness of the bananas. You're looking for the browning, beyond freckly bananas because those are the sweetest and easiest to mash. When they turn black, they take on a mild fermented flavor.

Actually, I don't often get to make banana bread because the bananas are usually in my stomach by then. I will only eat freckled bananas because I love my fruit very ripe. However, most of my friends prefer them at their yellow stage, and for a while my love of overripe bananas became a running joke, and I was frequently the *lucky* recipient of forgotten, bottom-of-the-backpack overripe bananas.

I didn't add too much sugar - 1/4 cup - so as to let the banana and coconut flavor come through. This way, the bread is just sweet enough. If you are looking for something more sweet, I recommend adding up to an extra 1/4 cup of sugar to the recipe.

coconut banana bread [df]
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup white granulated sugar, packed
3 medium-sized bananas, very ripe
1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
2 eggs, beaten
2 Tbs milk (I used coconut)
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup sweetened coconut flakes
Optional: 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/8 tsp nutmeg, chopped walnuts

1. In a bowl, mix the dry ingredients - flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar and (optional) spices.
2. In a separate bowl, mash the bananas. Then, incorporate the wet ingredients - beaten eggs, melted coconut oil, vanilla, milk.
3. Fold the dry and wet mixtures together until moistened. Fold in the coconut flakes.
4. Pour batter into a greased loaf pan (I used 9x4), and bake at 350 F for 45-50 minutes.

dairy free monkey bread - attempt #1

Monkey bread has been on my baking list forever. It's also one of my friend Jessie's favorite desserts, which she's reminded me on several occasions (Hmm, intentionally? Unintentionally? Doesn't matter!). After making fluffy star bread with coconut oil instead of butter, I felt more confident that I could substitute coconut oil for butter in bread recipes and get fragrant and delicious results. I also got to try out this awesome dairy-free caramel sauce recipe, which I'm kind in love with.

Dough balls soaking in coconut caramel sauce, prior to baking. Nomnom.

When I heard about Joanne Chang's new book, Baking with Less Sugar, and her monkey bread recipe, I had to try it. Joanne Chang is the founder of the Flour Bakery + Cafe, which has 3 locations around Boston. I own both of her cookbooks Flour and Flour, too, and every recipe I've tried so far has been great. She's also one of my heroes because of her inspiring story - she graduated from Harvard with a degree in Math, but departed from a career in finance to pursue her culinary passions. I respect that!

Fresh out of the oven, after sprinkling on some coconut. Time for nomz.

Two episodes of The Following later...

...All gone.

The monkey bread turned out soft, sweet and coconutty. Every time I stood close and got a whiff of the scent, I could barely resist sneaking another piece. One of the best parts about monkey bread is how sharable it is, so if you have a good chunk of time one day to make this, it makes a great Netflix night snack to enjoy with friends. Probably helps explain why this disappeared so fast :)

monkey bread
dough (adapted from Baking with Less Sugar by Joanne Chang, as seen here)
3/4 cup coconut milk, warmed
1/2 tsp active dry yeast
1/2 tsp white granulated sugar
2 ~1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
3 Tbs coconut oil, softened
1 egg yolk
Optional: sweetened coconut flakes

cinnamon caramel sauce 
1 recipe coconut-based caramel sauce (click for recipe)
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

to prepare the dough
1. In a bowl, combine the yeast and warm coconut milk and sugar. Let sit for at least 5 minutes.
2. In a separate bowl, combine the flour and salt.
3. Combine the yeast and flour mixture, and begin mixing into a dough.
4. When the dough is partially formed and the texture is still "rough", add in the egg yolk and softened coconut oil. You might feel small coconut oil bits through the dough, but this is okay.
5. Knead until relatively smooth. Place the dough in a greased bowl in warm/dry place, and let it rise for 2 hours or until doubled in size.
to prepare the caramel sauce 
While you wait for the dough to rise, you can prepare the caramel sauce. The recipe for dairy-free, coconut-based caramel sauce.can be found here.
to assemble the monkey bread
1. After the dough has finished rising, Cut it into 48 small, similarly-sized pieces.
2. Roll each piece first in egg white and then in a cinnamon-sugar mixture. Pile them one-by-one in a greased pan.
3. After you've finished step 2, let it rise in warm/dry place for another 30 minutes.
4. Pour the caramel sauce over the top, making sure you cover all the crevices.
5. Bake at 350 F for 30-35 minutes. Sprinkle coconut flakes over it, if you'd like to add some texture and flavor.

dairy free caramel sauce

As I continue through my journey to find dairy-free recipes on a budget, I keep learning about more methods for using simple ingredients and taking advantage of their similar properties to achieve just as, if not more delicious outcomes.

I was elated to find that a $1.50 can of full-fat coconut milk could be turned into so many different things - from dairy-free whipped cream to caramel sauce! With this recipe, you can happily say good riddance to butter and cream, Don't get me wrong - I love butter and cream; my body, however, does not.

This dairy-free, coconut-based caramel is smooth and rich and dangerously delicious. It can be substituted for any rich caramel sauce. You can dip fruit in it, drizzle it over cakes and whipped cream or even hide it in chocolate truffles and cupcakes. I used it for my first attempt at (dairy-free) monkey bread (recipe coming soon!).

Waiting for the coconut milk to cook down and thicken does take some time, so make sure you have about half an hour to stand by the stove and stir. Feel free to rock out to some music while you're at it. The results are totally worth it.

coconut-based caramel sauce [df] [v] (adapted from here)
1 can full fat coconut milk, at room temp.
1/3 cup white granulated sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup coconut milk, at room temp.
Optional: cinnamon,

1. In a pot, combine the full fat coconut milk and sugar.
2. Over low-med heat, stir the mixture until it is boiling softly. Continue boiling softly and stirring until the mixture is reduced and thickened. This step will take a while - 20 to 30 minutes, perhaps.
3. When the mixture has thickened into a thick paste, take it off the heat and mix in the vanilla and other additives (e.g. cinnamon), if you'd like.
4. Place the mixture back on low heat and add in the coconut milk. The mixture might "curdle" at first, but keep stirring until it is a smooth, darker brown sauce.