Apple Rhubarb Loaf

Fall is on its way and I couldn't be happier! Since getting tonnes of apples in our CSA share a couple weeks ago, I've been trying to find new recipes to help me get ready for fall and put them to good use. It took a little research to find some options that weren't a pie or a crisp but I can't wait to try making my own apple butter and apple chips in the next few months. I settled on this delicious recipe for apple rhubarb quick bread (slowly getting through my freezer bag full of rhubarb) and just peeling the apples made my taste buds go crazy with anticipation for autumn - the sweaters, the pumpkins, the leaves, all of it! This loaf will help you get your mind, mouth and belly into gear for fall with its tangy, sweet and slightly spiced flavour.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

2 eggs

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup white sugar

1/4 cup light brown sugar

1 cup rhubarb, chopped

1 cup apples, peeled and chopped

Preheat the oven 350 F and lightly grease a loaf pan. Whisk together the flour, soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. In a separate bowl beat together the eggs, oil, applesauce and vanilla on medium speed until combined. Add in the white and brown sugar and beat until well mixed. Gradually add in your flour mixture, mixing on low speed, until just combined. Fold in the apple and rhubarb. Pour the batter into your loaf pan and bake for  45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool for approximately 15 minutes before removing from pan and slicing up to enjoy!

I suggest enjoying a slice warm with a little butter, a pumpkin spiced latte (they're back! huzza!) a cozy quilt and a good book - can't you just feel the autumn love?

Quick and Easy Tea Biscuits

So remember when I went strawberry picking while visiting my Poppy a couple months ago? What a great day. One thing you can always count on at Poppy's house is an abundance of baked goods made by his wonderful wife, Diane. Diane never fails to have food ready for unexpected guests - whether its salads, cakes, pies, cookies, or my favourite - her scones. Diane has been baking long enough that she could probably make most of the family favourite recipes with her eyes closed, and the scones were no exception. When I asked about them she listed off the ingredients without question, and I quickly made note of them on my phone. These scones are made without butter giving them a much lighter texture, and are great either plain or with any mix-in your heart desires. I finally got around to making them the other day and thankfully it's not a family secret so I can share the recipe with you!

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour

3 tablespoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup 1% buttermilk

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

3/4 cup (approximately) of your mix-in

(I chose dried cranberries)

Preheat the oven 350 F and cover a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, soda and salt. Stir in the mix-in of your choice. Add in the buttermilk and vegetable oil and gently fold until just combined, don't over work it. Spoon drops of the batter onto the baking sheet (about six biscuits) and bake for 10-15 minutes until crusty and brown on the bottom.

Even though these tasted great, I don't think they'll ever compare to Diane's, there's something about a visit to Poppy's house that makes everything taste better, even his toast is better than mine! Either way these are so easy to make, the perfect compliment to a cup of tea. They are best served warm out of the oven with a little butter or with some homemade strawberry jam.

Blueberry Banana Oat Muffins

I realize my last food post was muffins, but these muffins are different I promise - and there is no coconut in them so a pat-on-the-back goes to me for leaving the coconut behind (though I was very tempted to sprinkle a bit in). I love muffins because they are quick, cupcake-disguised breakfasts. These muffins, though aren't a whole lot like cupcakes except for their shape, are protein packed and sugar and butter-less but still oh so yummy. I've been on this healthy baking kick for a little while now and every time I try a new recipe I am excited about how delicious they still are. So far there has been a serious lack in cardboard taste and I am very grateful to say so!

I followed this recipe from Ambitious Kitchen but traded in some frozen blueberries instead and they came out great. They are dense, sweet and moist and make for a perfect breakfast on the run.

Ingredients

1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup rolled oats 

1 tbsp ground flax

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt
3 ripe bananas, mashed

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg

1 egg white

1/3 cup plain greek yogurt

1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk

2/3 cup frozen blueberries, heaping

Preheat the oven to 350 F and grease a 12 cup muffin pan. Whisk together the flour, oats, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Toss the blueberries with 1 heaping tablespoon of the flour mixture and set aside. In a separate bowl, combine the banana, olive oil, honey and vanilla on medium speed with an electric mixer. Beat in the egg and egg white until well combined. Add in the greek yogurt and almond milk and beat on low speed until smooth. Add the banana mixture into the flour and combine just until it is mixed. Gently fold in the blueberries until distributed throughout. Scoop the batter into the muffin cups evenly. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

I ate a pair of these muffins with a little bit of butter and a side of fruit. It made for a great and filling start to my day. I would also try adding in walnuts, pecans or white chocolate chips for some extra texture and taste!

Tip: Try measuring the olive oil before the honey - this way when you measure the honey (with the same tablespoon) it will slip right off without any stickiness.

Coconut Raspberry Muffins

Feeling in the mood for coconut once again - but really who am I kidding? I'm always in the mood for coconut - I decided to make this muffin recipe for double coconut muffins that I had pinned on my Pinterest a little while back. The great thing about these muffins is that they had no butter, little sugar, and were also half whole wheat flour!

They didn't rise into your typical, crumby, muffin either but were more like a dense coconut biscuit, which I found to be even better. Though I loved the idea of 'double coconut' for taste I decided to mix in some frozen raspberries for some added flavour and colour. Great decision, they tasted amazing.

                            Ingredients 

3/4 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup virgin coconut oil

1 cup plain greek yogurt

1/3 cup sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut

1 cup frozen raspberries

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Grease a muffin tin with coconut oil. Mix together the flours, baking powder, and salt. Stir in 1/2 cup of the shredded coconut. In a small saucepan, heat the coconut just until it melts then remove from heat. Beat together the coconut oil, yogurt, sugar, egg, and vanilla. Combine the flour and oil mixtures together. The batter will be very thick and heavy, similar to a cookie dough. Fold in the raspberries. Evenly distribute the batter into the muffin cups and sprinkle the tops with the remaining shredded coconut. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

I intended to have these for breakfast for a few days but they were so good I could barely stop myself, or my family, from snacking on them and finishing them within a day and a half! Such a simple, healthier, and delicious muffin recipe, this one is for the books!

Coconut Banana Bread

You would think that with the name of this blog featuring a well-loved baked good, I would have started with a post on making banana bread. During my last couple years of high school, I became known among my friends for my banana bread. It was the one recipe I had perfected and had even given as a gift on numerous occasions. Though I have shared that recipe with a few close friends, I am not ready to share it with the internet just yet, so instead I am turning to Ambitious Kitchen for a healthier banana bread option. Looking at my Pinterest boards, you'll notice that I have recently developed an obsession with all things coconut and this recipe for Coconut Banana Bread couldn't be more appealing!

Ingredients

1 cup white flour

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

3 ripe medium bananas, mashed

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup brown sugar

3 egg whites

1 1/2 teaspoon olive oil

1/4 cup plain greek yogurt

1/4 cup orange juice

1/2 cup and 2 tablespoons sweetened flaked coconut

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Combine the flours, baking powder and baking soda in a mixing bowl. With an electric mixer on medium speed, combine the bananas, vanilla and brown sugar until smooth. Mix in the egg whites and olive oil. Gradually add in the flour mixture until it is well combined. On low speed, mix in the greek yogurt and orange juice - if the batter is too heavy, add a couple tablespoons of milk. Finally, fold in the 1/2 cup of coconut until it is evenly distributed. Pour the batter into a non-stick loaf pan and sprinkle the top with the remaining 2 tablespoons of coconut. Bake for 45-50 minutes until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.

Great for breakfast or a snack, the hint of coconut and the classic banana flavour brings the tropics to your taste buds on these (still) chilly first days of spring!

Note: The whole wheat flour makes for a heavier bread, so if you prefer for something lighter you can use entirely white flour. Also, why not try mixing in some dark chocolate chips for something more decadent or your favourite nut for an added crunch!

Croissants

I am going to go ahead and make the assumption that out of all the people on Earth - who don't have careers as bakers - I am one of the few who dedicated their entire Saturday to making croissants. I wish I was exaggerating too. From when I woke up, before eating breakfast, I began the long process of making these deliciously buttery pastries, and finished right around the time many people would be going to bed: a total of thirteen hours. Now I have spent days baking before, but usually there is a hefty amount of product at the end, or one of the recipes took a few practices, but not croissants! As long as the process was I am also crazy enough to say that it was worth the seven pastries that resulted.

Having some time on my hands (and being afraid of the cold winds outside) I decided to put yet another Christmas gift to good use - Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. The croissant recipe is in the second volume, along with various other French bread and pastry recipes. Though the recipes are intimidating at first, the instructions are so incredibly detailed that there were very few times (if any) that I felt completely lost at what I was doing. Julia guides you through each step of the process in a voice that is very much her own - I could almost imagine her teaching me the recipe in person. 

Given the detail of this recipe - and my lack of experience with pastries -there was no way I was about to make my own subtle changes, the croissants I made are entirely Julia's. This recipe takes a great deal of patience rather than skill. With every slight touch of the dough, time is added to its resting and rising times. The final rise, where the croissants are shaped and nearly ready for baking, is where I had the most trouble. The croissants need to rise at 75 F - and having no real idea on how to achieve this in my heat controlled apartment - so I made my own proofing setup in the kitchen. Though I knocked one of the trays over and lost a few it seemed to work just fine. Being lucky enough to have some homemade jam in the fridge, these croissants were the perfect pairing for my cup of tea this morning. In the words of Julia,                                                           Bon Appétit!

Note: I couldn't seem to find the exact recipe I used online, however this one is a great alternative seeing as it's from Julia Child's cooking show, the French Chef.

Garlic Rosemary Focaccia

Though my previous "classic white bread" making attempts have failed, I am determined to become a master. I've searched through and examined various bread recipes, and found artisan breads to be a little easier and could perhaps be considered a "beginner's couse" in bread making. I decided to make a garlic rosemary focaccia and loosely followed this recipe for guidance.

Rather than using different flours I stuck with white all-purpose flour through out, used dried rosemary on top instead of a blend of fresh herbs, was fairly generous with my use of garlic and was maybe not as precise with my measurements as I should have been. Overall the focaccia turned out delicious with a lightly crisped crust and just the right amount of flavour. Combine some balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil for dipping, some olives on the side, and this bread makes for a great appetizer.