sweet miscellany

When I was younger, Thanksgiving was an opportunity to scout out a new recipe and try it out with my family. I have collected plenty of delicious recipes from Thanksgivings past, ranging from a butternut squash gratin to an apricot and fennel stuffing. Why am I mentioning Thanksgiving in September? Well, one such Thanksgiving, probably almost 10 years ago now, I found a recipe for something called “brown bread”. It sounded interesting and easy, so I decided to try it. Since then, it has become a regular at Thanksgiving as well as other times of the year when I want an easy and tasty loaf of bread.

Don’t let the rather bland name confuse you. This bread is moist and hearty with a slightly sweet and smokey flavor from the combination of brown sugar and molasses. It is a quick bread, so it requires no yeast or rising time. You can go from mixing bowl to a warm loaf of baked bread in an hour or less. I have changed this recipe a bit so that it is healthier, but I think the original may have come off of epicurious if you are interested in trying to look it up. Normally I enjoy this bread with some jam or butter (or a mixture of both), but I bet it would make some awesome french toast.

Brown Bread
makes 1 loaf

3 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp fine grain sea salt
1/3 to 2/3 cups packed brown sugar, depending on how sweet you want it
1/4 cup unsulphured molasses
2 cups lowfat buttermilk
1 tbsp wheat bran (opt.)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Grease and flour a regular sized loaf pan and line with parchment paper to ensure your bread doesn’t stick. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and brown sugar. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and molasses until combined. Add the buttermilk mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Pour the dough into your prepared pan and sprinkle the top with wheat bran if you would like. Bake in the middle of the oven until a tester inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 50-60 minutes. Enjoy!

The last days of summer are upon us, and quite frankly, I’m not sad at all. I’ll be glad to wish summer a fond farewell and welcome cooler temperatures, pumpkins, fall leaves, and sweaters. Speaking of pumpkins, I had my first soy pumpkin spice latte of the season at Starbucks today. This was the first time I was actually able to tolerate a hot beverage after our scorching summer. Hopefully, there will be many more hot beverages to come as the temperatures gradually lower to a tolerable degree.

Before I bid summer a fond farewell, I decided to take advantage of some stone fruits that are still available in the market. I bought some beautiful large peaches and golden plumcots tinged with a bit of red at the store the other day. In wondering what to do with them, I decided that I would keep it simple and let their natural flavors shine through. I made a rustic galette which is basically an easy, free-form pie without the pie dish. You can bake it up right on a lined baking sheet and customize it to your heart’s content. I used a large peach and a plumcot, but you can mix and match any stone fruits as long as you have about 2 1/2 to 3 cups of fruit total. I have also included notes on how to make it gluten free or vegan (or both!).

Stone Fruit Galette

for the crust
1 cup of whole wheat pastry flour (or 1 cup GF flour mix, such millet, oat, and brown rice flour )
1/2 tsp fine grain sea salt
2 tsp raw sugar
1 stick cold unsalted butter, diced ( or 1 stick of Earth Balance )
4 tbsp ice water

for the filling
1 large peach, sliced
1 plumcot, sliced
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp ground ginger (or 1/2 tbsp fresh finely minced ginger)
2 tsp raw sugar
1 tbsp whole wheat pastry flour (or oat flour), if needed

For the crust: in a food processor, pulse the flour, salt, and sugar a few times until combined. Add the butter and pulse until it resembles large crumbles. With the processor on low, Add the ice water and process until the dough comes together in 1 or 2 balls. Form the dough into a 1 inch thick flat disc and chill at least 30 minutes. If you do not have a food processor, you can cut the butter into the flour by hand or with a pastry cutter, then add the ice water and bring it together with your hands.

Once the dough has chilled, pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into about an 1/8 inch thick round (about 12 or so inches across). Transfer it to a lined baking sheet. In a bowl, gently toss together the sliced fruit, ginger, sugar, and lemon juice. If your fruit was very ripe and juicy, you may need to add a tbsp. of flour here to help thicken the juices. Put the fruit in the center of the crust leaving a 2 inch border. Fold up the dough a section at a time to create a crust around the fruit and pinch it to ensure it stays when baking. Bake the galette 50 to 60 minutes until the edges are golden and baked through.

serves 6