I loved fall days of apple picking because it meant that my Mom's apple bread was not far behind. With a few adjustments of my own to the recipe, and allowances made for slightly different local ingredients, here's what to do.:

Ingredients:
2 T. oil
1/4 c. applesauce + 1T. (or use grated apple)
1 egg + 1 egg white
1/2 c. honey
1 1/2 c. chopped apples
3/4 c. white flour
3/4 c. oat flour (may yield a gooier bread) or whole wheat flour
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1/2 c. chopped walnuts

Combine all ingredients and pour into a 9" round pan. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 50-60 minutes, until cooked in the center.

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The first weekend Austin came to my house in Tennessee has been deemed "The Weekend of the Pumpkin." We went pumpkin picking, did some pumpkin carving, and made a pumpkin feast! We made pumpkin-y fruit salad, pumpkin seed- crusted chicken, salad with pumpkin salad dressing, pumpkin soup, and pumpkin ice cream. Pumpkins have earned a warm place in my heart.

We had some extra pumpkin in the fridge, so I decided to give this pumpkin cinnamon nut roll recipe a try.

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
1 small packet rapid rise dry yeast
3 T. sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup canned or mashed pumpkin
1/3 to 1/2 cup water

Filling:
1 cup chopped walnuts*
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
a bit of oil and water for moistening the filling

*If you're shopping at our local market, you'll find these labeled as "Malnut Meats." Don't be fooled! They're the real thing.

First I combined the dry ingredients then mixed the wet ingredients into it to form a dough. Then I kneaded it for 12-15 minutes until it seemed less gooey.

After that I let it sit in a covered bowl for about 15 to 20 minutes. The original recipe advised spreading the dough over an area, sprinkling the filling on, then rolling it as a whole and cutting it, but my dough was still a little messy, and my countertops are not ideal for rolling. So I opted to tear off small portions of the dough, stretch them into 8 inch strips, sprinkle some of the filling on them, and roll them individually. This was fast, easy, and pretty fun in my opinion.

I placed them all in a 9×13 pan and let it rise again for about 10 to 15 minutes.
Then it was into the oven set at 350 degrees F for 20 to 25 minutes.

These were a great breakfast treat (and there have already been requests for seconds!)

The man loves to eat. And with a shortage of healthy food at the local grocery, I decided to take some action.

These are some pretty healthy brownies with walnuts, healthy for the heart. They turned out pretty dense and cake-like, rather than the fudge-like ones I loved growing up, but for the healthiness of them, I'd say it's well worth it.

Ingredients:
2/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt 2 T. vegetable oil
1/2 cup milk (skim or plain soy)
1/4 cup water
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
2/3 cup walnuts, chopped

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl combine the oil, milk, water, eggs, and vanilla. Now mix everything together including the chocolate chips and walnuts, be careful that you don’t over mix.


Pour the brownie batter into an 8×8 nonstick pan. Drop in a few more chopped walnuts on the top and bake at 350 degrees F for about 30 minutes. Use a toothpick in the middle of the pan to check if it is done. Enjoy!

These brownies could have been better if I was willing to sacrifice the healthiness a bit more. If you're going for taste, here are some suggestions:
*Add 1/4 cup chocolate chips to the batter.
*Up the oil content to 1/3 cup as the original recipe suggested.
*Use more than 1/2 cup white sugar.
*Add some applesauce to the batter for more moisture and maybe some more density. (I think I'll try this one next time!)

Still, these were a favorite for the man of my dreams, so I'll be making them again.
Healthy heart + happy belly= Success!

Adapted from: madehealthier.com

A few days ago, I got really antsy to do some baking. I wanted to make some steak (or other random cut of beef... I never know what I'm buying) and breadsticks for dinner.

Last summer, I had a job, and Austin was kind of the stay-at-home-husband who did lots of shopping, cooking, cleaning, (and still managed to come to work with me to hang out half of the time). When he was at home, he'd sometimes bake bread, experimenting with some methods and recipes from a great bread book we got for our wedding. Sometimes we'd joke that I was the breadwinner and he was the bread baker.

Now it was my turn.

Ingredients:
10.5 oz whole wheat bread flour (about 2 1/3 cups)
7 oz white bread flour (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast
2 teaspoons fine-grain salt
12 1/2 oz water (about 13 fl. oz. in a glass measuring cup)
garlic-cheese powder or other filling of your choice

Mix the two flours together and rub in the yeast, using your fingertips. Add the salt and the water (add the water gradually, and you might not need all of it. Start with 10 fl. oz. and you can add more later if the dough is too dry.

Knead the dough. You want to stretch it and get as much air into it as possible. It works well to slide your fingers underneath with your thumbs on top, swing it upwards, then slap it back down, away from you, onto the counter. It will be really sticky at this point. Stretch the front of the dough towards you, then lift it back over itself in an arc to trap the air, still stretching it forwards and sideways and tucking it around the edges. Repeat this for maybe 10-15 minutes. (I know, it's hard to picture.)

The dough will start to come together and become elastic-y, less sticky.

Flour the counter and make a tight ball with the dough, making it smooth on top by tucking the edges underneath repetitively. Put it into a bowl, cover it, and let it rest for 1 hour in a warm, draft-free place. It should double in size.

After 1 hour, spread the dough into a rectangle on the counter, and sprinkle the powder or topping of your choice on top. Then fold the dough into thirds as if folding a letter. Austin helped me here.

Cut the dough widthwise into 10-12 strips about 1/2 inch -1 inch wide. Twist each strip, stretching it to the length of your baking tray and rolling it in remaining filling mixture or powder if desired. Place the strips on a cookie sheet leaving a gap between each one. Let rise 10-15 minutes.

Place in a preheated (475 degree) oven, mist the inside with a water spray, turn the temperature down to 425 degrees, and bake them for 8-10 minutes until golden brown.

Adapted from the book Dough by

Two days ago, we issued a dinner invitation to some of our students. Austin and I came back to our apartment and started discussing the menu. We quickly settled on some pumpkin chili (amazing-- take a look at the next post), semi-homemade chips, white rice (of course!), fruit salad, and…

“I remember being at home and when we had chili, my mom would often make muffins to go with it. Mmmm.”

“I LOVE muffins. Muffins are awesome!"

"I'd love to make muffins for breakfast for you anytime."

"Do you want to make some muffins for breakfast tomorrow?”

The Muffin Man had spoken. (Do you know the Muffin Man?)

And so it was that I found myself waking up with muffin-making excitement in my heart at 7:29 am, just in time to stop my alarm. I decided to whip up some whole wheat apple muffins with an oat topping.

This was supposed to make 12 muffins, but actually made 14 or so.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2  cups  all-purpose flour (about 6 3/4 ounces)
• 1  cup  whole wheat flour (about 5 1/8 ounces)
• 1/3  cup  sugar
• 1  teaspoon  baking powder
• 1  teaspoon  baking soda
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 1 1/2  cups  low-fat buttermilk (If you don't have buttermilk, you can combine 1 1/2 cups milk with 1 teaspoon vinegar and wait 5 minutes.)
• 1 cup apple, cut into tiny pieces
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1/2  teaspoon  vanilla extract
• 1  large egg
• Cooking spray
• 1/3  cup  packed brown sugar
• 1/4  cup  old-fashioned oats

Preheat oven to 400°.

Lightly spoon flours into measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flours and next 4 ingredients (through salt) in a large bowl; stir with a whisk. Make a well in center of mixture.

Place buttermilk, apple pieces, oil, vanilla, and egg in a bowl; mix until well blended. Add apple mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until combined. Divide batter evenly among 12 muffin cups coated with cooking spray.