bread

Electric Lunchbox #95: Spoon Bread made with Jiffy Mix

Theresa Pizarro2 Comments

Spoon bread…

I went to school in Virginia briefly when I was in high school. I was lucky enough to have cooking/baking class as my elective class of choice. The counselor asked me a few questions about interests/hobbies and asked me to choose my elective. Kitchen it is!

It was my favorite time of the day! I learned to make lots of food (sugar cookies, lasagna, manicotti, Welsh Cakes…) and we get to keep a portion to take home, or eat at lunch. I still have a few recipes I copied from that time in a blue notebook that I still make frequently.

One of the things we made was spoon bread. I didn’t quite understand it at that time, but yes, just as the name implies, it is a soft, moist quick bread that you’ll use a spoon to scoop up to eat. It is soft like pudding but with a little more structure that you can cut it.

In this recipe, I used a readily available cornbread mix to make life easier. And the amount of the ingredients are adjusted to fit the big ELB bowl.

Enjoy!

*NOTE that this recipe uses regular sized measuring cups, NOT the tiny ELB cup, unless specified.*

Follow me for more recipes for the ELB!

See and order Itaki’s products here! https://www.itakico.com/theresa

Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/At-Home-With-Theresa-100255438410727/

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter, melted

3/4 cup canned creamed corn

1/2 cup canned sweet corn kernels, drained

1/2 cup sour cream

1 egg

1 tablespoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup Jiffy Cornbread Mix

3 ELB cups water for the base

*Use the big bowl of the ELB!*

Procedure:

1. Spray the big ELB bowl with nonstick cooking spray.

2. In a bowl, place melted butter,

3. creamed corn,

4. corn kernels,

5. sour cream,

6. egg,

7. sugar,

8. salt,

9. and Jiffy cornbread mix.

10. Mix everything together until well blended.

11. Pour into the prepared ELB bowl. Cover with foil.

12. place 3 ELB cups of water in the base. Place the bowl in the ELB base, cover and steam until it shuts off, about 1 hour.

13. Carefully open the ELB and check the bread for doneness by inserting a skewer in the middle. It is done when a few moist crumbs are sticking to the skewer instead of thick batter.

14. cool completely and unmold carefully. Slice and serve or use a spoon to scoop up individual portions.

15. Enjoy!

Mackerel Pate

Theresa PizarroLeave a comment

Hello my friends!

Today I’ll be making a delicious fish sandwich spread. As you might know, I make our bread at least once a week and of course, I want the best sandwich fillings to go with it.

My very favorite will always be butter and orange marmalade, but tuna salad, and BLT are close contenders.

We do have the usual Turkey and/or Ham with cheese and mayo quite often too.

My mom was taking about how she eats some canned mackerel more often now as it is very good fo your health, so imagine how excited I was when I found these at Trader Joe’s.

I was going to mix it up like my tuna salad but figured out I can make a more tasty spread using cream cheese. It makes a thicker spread that you can thin out using some mayonnaise. I hope you’ll like it!

Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/At-Home-With-Theresa-100255438410727/

Ingredients:

1/4 red onion, chopped

4-6 tablespoons cream cheese, at room temperature

Pinch of garlic powder

Pinch of ground black pepper

Pinch of Salt

1 6oz can mackerel, drained

1 hard boiled egg, peeled and chopped

*you can add 1 – 2 tablespoons mayo to loosen up the pate if you like it more spreadable*

Procedure:

1. In a bowl, mix together onions and cream cheese.

2. Add garlic powder,

3. Ground black pepper,

4. And salt.

5. Open the can of mackerel and drain well.

6. Place the fillets in the bowl.

7. Mash and mix everything together.

8. Add in chopped eggs.

9. Mix well. Add mayonnaise if using.

10. Spread on a thick slice of toasted bread.

11. Enjoy!

Electric Lunchbox #94: Apple Rum Cake

Theresa Pizarro1 Comment

Apple. Rum. Cake.

Apples were on sale this past few weeks so I had bought my fair share. Actually MORE than my fair share that I had to dehydrate some to save them from going bad.

So I thought about making apple torte (https://athomewiththeresa.com/2020/11/27/apple-cream-torte/). But then someone mentioned apple cake with rum…so off to testing I went! I was told that spiced rum works best but I only had Bacardi so I used that. It worked!

You can definitely taste the rum in this cake. Which I like, but feel free to lessen the amount if you have to. Or replace it with apple juice to make it kid friendly.

Hope you like this recipe!

*NOTE that this recipe uses regular sized measuring cups, NOT the tiny ELB cup, unless specified.*

Follow me for more recipes for the ELB!

See and order Itaki’s products here! https://www.itakico.com/theresa

Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/At-Home-With-Theresa-100255438410727/

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter

1/3 cup brown sugar, packed

1-2 tablespoons Bacardi rum

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 large egg

1/2 cup unbleached all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Pinch of salt

1 big apple, peeled and chopped

3 ELB cups water for base

Procedure:

1. Spray the big ELB bowl with nonstick spray. Set aside.

2. Melt butter in a microwave safe dish.

3. In a medium sized bowl, pour melted butter,

4. Brown sugar,

5. Rum,

6. Vanilla,

7. Egg,

8. Mix everything well together.

9. Add four,

10. Baking powder,

11. Salt,

12. Mix until no more trace of dry flour remains and the ingredients are well combined.

13. Gently fold in chopped apples. Make sure to try and coat the apples with the batter.

14. Pour into prepared ELB bowl. Cover with foil and set onto the ELB base,

15. Place 3 ELB cups water in the base, cover and let steam until it shuts off , about 1 hour.

16. Carefully open the ELB and check the cake for doneness. Poke the center with a skewer. It should come out clean.

17. Enjoy warm or cold! A scoop or 2 of ice cream would be great with this too!

18. Enjoy!

Jalapeno and cheddar sourdough bread

Theresa Pizarro2 Comments

This is a variation of my usual sourdough recipe. Filled with Pickled Jalapeño and cubed Cheddar Cheese, it is delicious on its own and makes awesome grilled cheese or turkey, or ham sandwiches!

Start by feeding your starter in the morning. Then prepare your dough after dinner, stretching and folding an hour later, 30 minutes apart, for about a couple of times.

Then you leave it on the counter till the next morning when you’ll work in the cheese and jalapeños, shape, let proof and then bake.

Just want to mention that you want these to cool completely before slicing, otherwise your bread might get gummy inside. It is hard not to devour a hot, fresh baked bread but it’s worth it, believe me!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup starter

3 cups water

4 2/3 cups bread flour

3 1/3 cups all purpose, kamut, or spelt flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 tablespoon sea salt

2/3 cup sliced pickled jalapeños

2 cups cubed (1/4 inch or so) cheddar cheese

Procedure:

1. Start by mixing your starter into the water until it breaks up. Add your flour and salt and mix just until you have a ball of dough coming together.

2. Cover and set aside for about an hour.

3. After the first rest, stretch and fold for at least 2 times, 30 minutes apart. If you can do 4 stretch and folds, it’s better, otherwise 2 sets will do.

4. Cover and set aside overnight at room temperature.

5. The next day, prepare the cheese and jalapeños.

6. Divide the dough into 2 equal parts. Working with 1 part at a time, stretch your dough on the counter and place half of the cheese and jalapeños on top. Fold 1/3 into the center, from both sides, then turn over and fold top part down, bottom part up. Pinch edges to seal and place in a floured banneton.

7. Repeat with the remaining dough, cheese, and jalapeños.

8. Let rise until doubled in size, about 2-4 hours.

9. Preheat oven to 500F. You can place 2 oven safe dutch ovens in to heat up with the oven. Or you could start from cold, like in this article https://athomewiththeresa.com/2020/01/22/baking-bread-without-preheating-the-oven/

10. Lower the heat to 450 after you place the breads in. Bake your breads 25 minutes covered, 20 minutes uncovered.

11. Remove from oven when done. Cool breads on a wire rack completely.

12. Enjoy!

Electric Lunchbox #89: 1 hour dinner rolls

FeaturedLeave a comment

Delicious steamed bread in the ELB, done in about an hour or so, and enough for one, or two, or even three if you feel like sharing!

Made with only 6 ingredients, which I believe everyone has in their pantry, you could prep this before 5 pm and have fresh, hot rolls by around 6 pm! Perfect to serve with soup or stew!

Or make them in the morning for hot breakfast bread! Either way, I promise you a very tasty, soft, and delicious bread that you might want to make this often!

I like to use olive oil and enjoy the mild flavor in the finished bread, but feel free to use canola oil if you prefer a more neutral flavored bread.

You can also knead in some chopped rosemary, chopped olives, cheese cubes and jalapeños, or fill the dough rolls with whatever filling you like. I like an – red bean paste, ube – taro paste, cream cheese, cream cheese and strawberry jam, sliced Chinese sausage, Filipino Menudo, or Nutella. Make it your own!

*NOTE that this recipe uses regular sized measuring cups, NOT the tiny ELB cup, unless specified.*

Follow me for more recipes for the ELB!

See Itaki’s offerings here! https://www.itakico.com/theresa

Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/At-Home-With-Theresa-100255438410727/

Ingredients:

1/4 cup warm water

1 1/2 tablespoons olive or canola oil

1/2 tablespoon sugar

1/2 tablespoon instant yeast

3/4 cup unbleached all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

Procedure:

1. In a small bowl, place water,

2. Oil,

3. Sugar,

5. And yeast.

6. Mix everything together. Set aside for at least 15 minutes.

7. This is what it’ll look like after 15 minutes.

8. Add flour and salt to the yeast mixture. Stir everything together until it forms a ball.

9. Knead for about 3 minutes, until the dough looks smooth.

10. It should look like this after kneading. Divide dough into 3 or 4 pieces. Roll into smooth balls and pinch seams.

11. This is how it would look like after shaping the dough into balls.

12. Spray the medium or large ELB bowl with nonstick spray.

13. Place the dough balls in the greased bowl, leaving space between them as they will puff up. Cover with foil and place on the ELB base. Add 2 ELB cups of water to the base, cover and set aside for 10 minutes.

14. Turn the ELB on and let steam until done, about 30 – 35 minutes.

5. Carefully open the ELB and check bread for doneness. Add more water and steam longer if needed.

6. Enjoy the bread warm with butter and jam, soup, stew, or curry dinner!

Espresso Chocolate Chip Muffins

Theresa Pizarro2 Comments

Espresso muffin is one of my favorite treat, as are blueberry, cappuccino, and chocolate chip! I had been playing with recipes to make this just right – with the taste of coffee coming through strong and blending well with chocolate.

I used instant coffee at first but that didn’t taste like espresso so I purchased a jar of instant espresso powder. That made it taste better. Semi sweet chocolate chips plays well with the bitter coffee to round out the taste of this delicious muffin! Perfect to start your day right!

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 cup instant espresso coffee powder

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup whole milk

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup melted butter

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper liners.

2. Combine flour, espresso, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a small bowl.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together milk, brown sugar, melted butter, eggs, an vanilla. Add dry ingredients to the large bowl, fold just until mixture is evenly moistened. Do not over mix.

4. Divide evenly among the muffin cups. sprinkle chocolate chips on top of each muffin.

5. Bake until edges begin to pull away from the sides of the muffin cup, 20-22 minutes. Cool on a wire rack before removing from pan.

6. I like this still a bit warm for breakfast, with a cup of hot coffee or tea! Enjoy!

Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/At-Home-With-Theresa-100255438410727/

Taro Mantou Buns

Theresa PizarroLeave a comment

I usually make plain mantou buns but someone asked if I made swirly ones like the commercially available, frozen ones.

Of course I had to try making it!

Here it is after a few tries! You could use the frozen “ube” available in Asian markets, or the fresh Japanese Purple sweet potatoes (Okinawan sweet potatoes), or the Stokes purple sweet potatoes. They will have a slightly different taste, depending on the sweet potato variety you used but they will all be delicious.

I hope you try this recipe out! The buns look so pretty but can go with any filling, sweet or savory, as they have a very mild taste! Enjoy!

Makes 12 buns

White Bread:

100 grams water

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon yeast

200 grams all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 tablespoon oil

1/4 teaspoon salt

Purple Bread:

100 grams water

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon yeast

30 grams cooked mashed purple sweet potatoes

200 grams all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 tablespoon oil

1/4 teaspoon salt

Procedure:

1. Prepare the white dough first: In the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle(or Thermomix), place water, sugar, and yeast. Stir gently to mix.

2. Add flour, baking powder, oil, and salt. Mix until incorporated. You can then knead by hand, the dough hook or by the kneading function of the Thermomix. Knead until smooth and elastic, around 5 minutes by hand or mixer, or 2 minutes with Thermomix. Transfer to a greased bowl, cover and set aside.

3. Repeat the same procedure with the purple dough. Place in another greased bowl, cover and set aside.

4. Let both dough rest for about an hour, until doubled in size.

5. Roll out the white dough into a rectangle, about 12 x 8 inches.

6. Roll out the purple dough to the same size.

7. Stack the purple dough on top of the white dough and roll up tightly. Pinch seams.

8. Score at 1 inch intervals, then go back and cut all the way through.

9. Set each bun on a piece of parchment paper, seam side down, and set on steaming racks/trays. Let rise, covered, until it doubles in size, about an hour.

10. Prepare steamer by boiling water in the pan without the steaming trays. You want the water boiling before placing the proved buns in the steaming trays/racks to steam.

11. Place the steaming trays/racks over the boiling water and let steam for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat but leave buns covered for 5 minutes more.

12. Remove the buns to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!

Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/At-Home-With-Theresa-100255438410727/

Country Sourdough with Dark Rye and Kamut

Theresa PizarroLeave a comment

I recently bought a Mockmill 100 stone grain mill so that I can make flour from black beans, garbanzo, and other grains I’d like to include in my baking and cooking that are not readily available as flour.

I did run a variety of dried beans through it the moment I got it. Black beans, red lentils, rice, garbanzo…(I’m sure the grinder got the shock of it’s life!😊) It was wonderful! The flour is really fine, which is perfect as I want to use the flour for pasta.

Debating to exchange it with the Mockmill 200 but decided I do not need it for now. I’ll do a review of it soon, as I truly love the fact that I can have a flour of any grain I can get my hands on!

Back to sourdough, I had been making our breads for a while now, only supplementing with store bought when needed. And I had been incorporating various grains in my regular Country Sourdough.

This bread has Dark Rye and Kamut. Yummy and very healthy too! I hope you like it!

Note: This recipe makes 2 loaves, around 900-950 grams dough weight each prior to baking, and 750-800 more or less after it’s baked. So feel free to halve the recipe if you only want 1 loaf.

Ingredients:

720 grams bread flour

90 grams dark rye flour

90 grams kamut flour

700 grams water

180 grams starter

18 grams sea salt

1. Mix everything together until a rough dough forms. Cover and set aside for about an hour or so.

2. Grab one side of the dough and pull straight up, stretching the dough, then press it on the opposite end of the dough. Turn bowl half way and repeat. Do this 2 more times to finish 4 stretch and folds. This is one set. Try to do 3 more sets, about half an hour apart.

3. After the stretch and folds, cover and let dough rest for 2 – 4 hours at room temperature.

4. Weigh and divide the dough into 2 equal parts. Shape and place in a floured banneton (or bowl, or colander). Cover and let rise for an hour or two. Place in the refrigerator overnight.

5. Next morning, take dough out of the fridge and invert onto a piece of parchment paper. Score and place in a dutch oven or clay baker. Cover dutch oven or clay baker.

6. Place the dutch oven or clay baker in a COLD oven and close oven door. Set temperature of the oven to 500F. When it reaches the temperature, lower to 450F and time for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, remove cover and bake for 20-25 minutes more, until browned.

7. Remove bread from oven and place on a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!