Kinwagrow

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HERBED ROSEMARY BREAD IN A BREAD MACHINE

This bread turned out to be so delicious, especially when served with a very good quality olive oil, aged balsamic vinegar, freshly ground black pepper and sea salt. Or simply by itself! My hubby was almost more excited than me as we smelled the herbed rosemary bread baking and it perfumed the house with an intoxicating aroma.

How this recipe came about was because I wanted to reduce unused appliances and gadgets in my kitchen. One of those unused appliances was a beautiful, high-end Williams-Sonoma bread machine, WS2094, I bought in 1996. The infrequent use may have resulted from a busy life with young children. Or after attending culinary school, I liked the traditional process of making bread with old-fashioned kneading and rising, and felt like using my bread machine to knead was cheating. But honestly, I very rarely made bread and spent my limited time focusing on desserts rather than bread.

Lately I’ve faced tremendous challenges in the kitchen because of arthritis in my hands and wrists, so activities like kneading bread have not been possible.  I realized a bread machine could be well-suited to my physical needs. Simply measure the ingredients, add them to the bread pan, and push a button to start the process of making fresh bread. And the process is fun! Hearing the sound of bread being mixed, kneaded and punched down; watching the dough rise through the little window on the top of my machine; and smelling the bread baking throughout the house is what makes this process so exciting.

It was more than 20 years since I used my bread machine, so the first step was to find out if the machine still worked. I read the manual. Most of the recipes included dairy ingredients and needed to be converted to plant-based recipes.

As I decided what type of bread to make, the heavenly rosemary bread I used to enjoy at Macaroni Grill years ago inspired me. I modified the basic recipe that came with my bread machine, and it turned out perfect.

My bread machine makes up to a 2.5 pound loaf. I have made different sizes depending on how much bread I want. The first loaf I made in my bread maker was a 2.5 pound size, and it rose so much, it nearly touched the window. The 2.0 pound loaf is almost as tall.

The order that you add the ingredients matters, so follow the instructions for your machine.

Since I started using my bread maker again, I’ve averaged about a loaf per week. It takes about 4 to 4 ½ hours for the entire process. I’ve even made two loaves the same day with no problems.

Advantages to making your own bread include control over the ingredients that are added or omitted, and the quality of the ingredients used, as well as the freshness of the finished product.

INGREDIENTS

For a 2.5 pound loaf

1 5/8 cups + 1 tablespoon water

5 cups bread flour

2 ½ tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons fine sea salt

5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

½ teaspoon Italian seasoning

1 ½ tablespoons dried crushed rosemary

2 ¼ teaspoons (1 packet) Active Dry Yeast

For a 2.0 pound loaf

1 3/8 cups water

4 cups bread flour

2 tablespoons sugar

1 3/4 teaspoons fine sea salt

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

3/8 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1 ½ tablespoons dried crushed rosemary

2 teaspoons Active Dry Yeast

For a 1.5 pound loaf

1 1/8 cups + 1 tablespoon water

3 cups bread flour

1 ½ tablespoons sugar

1 ¼ teaspoons fine sea salt

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

¼ teaspoon Italian seasoning

1 ¼ tablespoons dried crushed rosemary

1 ¾ teaspoons Active Dry Yeast

INSTRUCTIONS

Adapted from basic recipe for Model WS2094 (made by MK Overseas U.S.A. and sold by Williams-Sonoma), p.10 of manual.

1. Follow the manufacturer’s directions for your bread machine make and model.

2. For my machine:  Remove the bread pan and attached the kneading blade to the drive shaft in the bread pan. Pour water into the bread pan.

3. Add bread flour, sugar, salt, and olive oil. Add Italian seasoning and rosemary.

4. Make a small hollow in the center of the flour and add the yeast there.

5. Return the bread pan to the machine and ensure it clicks into place.

6. Close the lid and plug in the machine. Select the bread mode and the bread crust color mode for your machine. I used the Basic setting and Light for the crust color.

8. Press START.

9. My machine beeps when the bread is done. Press stop when the bread is done, unplug the machine, remove the bread pan (it will be hot!), and allow the bread to cool completely on a rack before slicing. Enjoy!

[kinwagrow-blog]

CORN SCALLION PANCAKES WITH MAPLE SYRUP

Adapted from Jessie Ziff Cool’s Breakfast in Bed, 1997.

Can’t decide between pancakes or cornbread? How about sweet or savory? Now you can have it all with these very addictive golden corn scallion pancakes. Fresh corn kernels and scallions make this hearty brunch winner stand out. They are delectable drizzled with rich maple syrup. I was fortunate to have a bottle of Trader Joe’s Reserve Bourbon Maple Syrup that really elevated the taste. Use your favorite.

I first made these beauties for our staff meal at Commander’s Palace Las Vegas restaurant, and everyone loved them. I enjoyed cooking for my kitchen buddies and wanted to offer them a dish that would delight them. As I browsed through my cookbooks for ideas and inspiration, I found the answer in Jessie Ziff Cool’s Breakfast in Bed cookbook. Corn scallion pancakes!

The other day I was craving those pancakes. Back in the day I made them with dairy products and eggs. I created this tasty and way healthier plant-based version. Judging by how quickly they disappear, the recipe is a success.

The substitutions were pretty straightforward. I used vegan butter for butter, almond milk for milk, and flax eggs for eggs. If you want some heat in the corn pancakes, you could easily add chopped jalapenos to the batter with the corn kernels.

You and your guests will love them, whether it’s breakfast, brunch or dinner. Sometimes you’re craving pancakes for dinner, right? I would happily eat these any time of the day or night. And trust me, you will too, after your first bite. Get out your skillets and let’s cook.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup boiling water

1 cup corn meal

4 tablespoons vegan butter, cut into small pieces

1 cup unbleached white flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

3 tablespoons sugar

3 flax eggs (use 3 tablespoons of ground flaxseed and 7 ½ tablespoons of water)

1 cup almond milk

2 green onions, sliced thin

1 cup fresh corn kernels

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat the oven to 250° degrees F.

Prepare the flax eggs by mixing together the flaxseed and the water in a bowl. Let the mixture sit for about 10 minutes to form a gel-like consistency.

In a large bowl, pour the boiling water over the cornmeal. Stir in the vegan butter until melted, and set the cornmeal mixture aside to cool for about 10 minutes.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar.

Blend the almond milk with the flaxseed mixture together. Then add the green onions and the corn to the mixture.

Add the flax egg mixture to the cornmeal mixture. Then add the sifted dry ingredients, half at time, stirring just until blended. Do not overmix.

Heat a griddle or heavy skillet over medium heat, and lightly grease it with oil.

Drop about ¼ cup of batter for each pancake onto a hot pan. When the pancakes are nicely browned on the bottom, flip them. Keep the finished pancakes warm by placing them on a rack on a baking sheet in the oven while you cook the rest of the pancakes.

Serve the piping hot pancakes with warm maple syrup and garnish with additional green onions.

[kinwagrow-blog]

Welcome to my kitchen!

I’m Joan Black, the founder, chef and developer of KINwagrow, a plant-based food blog. I’m also a mom, wife, Air Force veteran, culinary school graduate, writer and breast cancer survivor.

As far back as I can remember, food has been my obsession. As a teenager, I cooked my way through Betty Crocker cookbooks, and in my twenties, I moved on to Martha Stewart’s Entertaining and Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Over the years, I became an avid vintage cookbook and magazine collector. Shows like The Galloping Gourmet, East Meets West with Ming Tsai, Cucina Amore and In Julia’s Kitchen with Master Chefs, fed my curiosity and open my eyes to the world of cooking.

Living in Hawaii during part of elementary school, I incorporated food into school projects and eagerly researched native Hawaiian foods as we studied the history of Hawaii. In junior high, I wrote reports on the foods of Peru and Russia for world geography. I performed a comparative nutritional analysis of fresh, canned and frozen green beans for my high school chemistry project.

After earning my biology degree from UNLV, I joined the Air Force and landed in Washington, D.C., and later Philadelphia, where my fascination with food exploded. The food culture on the East Coast was very different from Las Vegas. I took French cooking classes and made puff pastry from scratch. When I ate a great dish at a restaurant, I’d often recreate it at home. I loved picking produce at the farmers’ grocery stands, sampling local fare of county fairs and festivals, and tasting the offerings of historic country bed-and-breakfast inns. 

My Air Force buddies shared my love of food. We had weekly themed dinners showcasing foods from different countries. There was the Greek toga party with Ouzo and moussaka and German night with cherries soaked in cherry brandy in the Black Forest cake. We cooked together making fudge, pulled butter mints, French baguettes, and so much more. The best of times!

In 1999, I enrolled in culinary school and decided I wanted to become a chef. From day one, I knew this was where I was supposed to be. I worked as a cook at Commander’s Palace Restaurant Las Vegas. Whether I was creating a roux for béchamel sauce, making gumbo or prepping artichokes, I loved being in kitchen.

After a back injury, I needed a break from the physical demands of the kitchen. Food was still my passion, so I started writing about local restaurants and interviewed celebrity chefs. I also did business writing for magazines, newspapers and marketing agencies. For nearly five years, I owned and operated, The Creative Octopus, LLC, a professional writing firm catering to the needs of small businesses.

My Plant-based Journey

In 2011, a friend introduced me to plant-based cuisine and I read The China Study by T. Colin Campbell. I was intrigued, interested in the health benefits, and wanted to see how I felt eating differently. As I embarked on a new culinary adventure with ingredients I’d never heard of and didn’t know how to use, I was open to new possibilities. What was nutritional yeast, how did you make cheese from nuts, and what was raw cooking? I’ve always loved baking and it proved to be a challenge as I stopped using heavy cream, butter and eggs. I felt lost. Then I learned how to make delectable chocolate mousse, cheesecake and scones without eggs and dairy products. As my confidence grew, I created my own mouthwatering plant-based dishes and revisited the classic cookbooks and magazines that once inspired me—to craft vegan versions of my old recipe favorites.

My perspective shifted. Eating a plant-based diet makes me feel better, have more energy, and now I’ve adopted the ‘way of the vegan’ for the animals as well as the health benefits.

KINwagrow – Welcome to the family!

In December 2016, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. As I went through treatment, I had time to reflect, meditate and think about the next step in my journey. I decided blogging offered the perfect way to share my passion for creative and innovative plant-based food with others.

KINwagrow focuses on simply delicious and decadent plant-based food. It is the foodie haven where you’ll find crave-worthy recipes, healthy eating tips from experts, information about plant-based restaurants, chef interviews and more.

For those dealing with cancer and the effects of its treatment on eating, KINwagrow will serve as a resource center and include interviews with nutritionists, dieticians, physicians and other experts. It is my hope that their suggestions help readers and their loved ones get through this difficult time easier.

I’m so glad you stopped by!