Creamy Broccoli Salad

I had a salad the other day that was so satisfying. It was a conglomeration of broccoli and cheddar cheese with a number of spices, some onion and almonds. Really tasty. Unfortunately, afterward I was regretting all that cheese intake and wanted to have something similar that was also lactose free.

The answer? Nutritional yeast. Add a pinch or more to any dish to give a savoury and delicious taste that resembles cheddar. Add some greek yogurt (lactose free plain) and some lemon juice and BAM= non-mayo based creamy wonder that is bound to satisfy during a busy work day.

Creamy Broccoli Salad

1 large broccoli floret

3 large carrots

1/4 dried cranberries

1 cup lactose free greek yogurt

1/2 cup nutritional yeast flakes

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp water

dash of sea salt

1. Wash and cut broccoli into smaller pieces
2. Use a peeler to peel the carrots into thin strands. Add to broccoli.
3. Add cranberries to veggie mix
4. In separate container, add greek yogurt, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, water and salt together. Stire until well combined. Add to vegetables.
5. Mix well and serve!

Colourful Sour Cabbage

Cabbage. A seasonal veggie that has wonderfully dense and delicious leaves! 

Its a diverse veg thats' used in many culture's staple dishes!

Coleslaw.

Sauerkraut. 

Kimchee.

Just to name a few!

The leaves are thick and lush and when you cut the cabbages down the centre, a wonderful pattern emerges! Cabbage can be either green, white or purple and is rich in vitamin C and K, and of course (like all greens) is a good source of fibre!

If you're in need of a beautiful side dish, grab a cabbage and a bottle of tasty vinegar to cut the bitterness of the cabbage, saute together and enjoy!

Cookin' tunes:
Glass house [Red]
Though You Slay Me [Shane and Shane]
Steady Heart [Steffany Gretzinger]

Colourful Sour Cabbage

1 purple cabbage

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

[3 tbsp sesame seeds]

1. Roughly chop half of the cabbage (it's a lot!) and place in a large pot on the stove (with 2 tbsp olive oil)
2. Put the lid on the pot and allow the cabbage to steam itself for about 5 minutes
3. Add 1/2 cup red wine vinegar to the cabbage and place the lid back on.
4. Occasionally stir, cook until slightly tender.
5. Serve with sesame seeds and enjoy!

*Add some sweet corn on top, dried cranberries or some crushed cashews. Serve with your favourite protein or just eat a heaping helping of it (that's what I did!) :)

Roasted Garlic and Minted Baby Potatoes

In the mood for some good old carbs? How about a spin on boring old potatoes?  Well...I have a recipe for you!



You can park these potatoes beside any steak, salad or steak salad. Or just eat them all by themselves, I won't judge ;)

Potatoes are an excellent starch to serve with any meal, but it's important to remember that they are a starch, particularly a root vegetable. This has implications for how many potatoes it's healthy to be eating on a daily basis. Let's do a little reading, shall we?

First off, what on earth is a starch?

Well it is basically a really long chain of sugar molecules- a polysaccharide of glucose. 

What happens to starch when you eat it?

Digestion of Starch
The same 4-ounce potato has approximately 23 grams of starch, which is a complex carb. Starch starts breaking down in your mouth. As you chew, more saliva is secreted. Saliva clings to starch and begins deconstructing these large, branched compounds. Starch converts into maltose, a smaller, simpler carbohydrate, right in your mouth. Maltose heads down to your small intestine, where it converts to glucose and is free to enter your bloodstream to fuel cells.

Glycemic Index Rating

Because potatoes are comprised of more than 92 percent carbohydrates -- in the form of sugar and starch -- they are relatively high on the glycemic-index scale... Mashed potatoes and boiled white potatoes are 82 and 87 on the glycemic scale, respectively. Sweet potatoes are a little lower, having a glycemic index rating of 70, according to Harvard Medical School. 

What is the glycemic index? See here!

 But first, Cookin' Tunes:
Sweater Weather [Max and Alyson]
When I Was Your Man [Fifth Harmony and Boyce Avenue]
Dreams [Leighton Meester and Dana Williams]

Roasted Garlic and Minted Baby Potatoes

30 baby potatoes

10 shallots

1 whole garlic clove

6 fresh mint leaves

olive oil (as needed)

salt and pepper (to taste)

1. Wash and cut baby potatoes into bit-size pieces. Add them to a large bowl.

2.  Peel and cut shallots into halves. Add to potato mixture.

3. Chiffon mint leaves and add them to the bowl with a pinch of salt and pepper.

4. Add about 4 tbsp of olive oil to the large bowl. Mix until all the potatoes and shallots are covered lightly in olive oil. Pour out the mixture evenly onto a baking tray.

5. Preheat the oven to 350F. 

6. Slice the top off of a whole clove of garlic. Drizzle olive oil over the top of the garlic clove and place it, open face up on the baking tray.

7. Put the baking tray into the oven for 45 minutes- make sure to turn the potatoes at about 20 mins so we can get a good brown on both sides! Add salt and pepper to taste.

8. You can serve the potatoes with whatever you want! Same goes for the garlic, but the most awesome thing is literally squeezing the garlic out of the clove case onto a piece of fresh bread. It spreads like butter and tastes like roasted garlic perfection.

Got-tha Focaccia.

Focaccia 
Italian pronunciation: foˈkattʃa

This is one of my most favorite breads. I absolutely LOVE the variety of toppings that you can have on it and the lightness of the dough. The outside of the bread can range from bring soft to more of a thin crust. It all depends on where you buy it and who has made it!

Olives.
Simple salt and olive oil.
Smokey chilis.
Roasted red peppers.
Cured meats (proscuitto? YUM)

The toppings are endless!!

I am no bread baker. I definitely am a noob in that field, but after enjoying The American Baking Competition this summer on the Food Network (pretttttty much the only TV I watch haha) I was inspired to try diving into this world more....

I learned the some basics from reading one of my favorite books (I've mentioned it tons and will continue to endorse it): Ratios by Michael Ruhlmanns'. I also watched the occasional episode of Baking with Anna Olsen- so many good tips and tricks! I'd highly recommend her show to learn more about baking basics.

When it came to September I had made a few basic things, but wanted to finally bake my first loaf of bread- from scratch! Now, why not just use a bread maker? Personally, I feel like they're a form of cheating and in the end they don't really save me time or money. They tend to be limited to making basic "sandwich" breads, I find that they aren't quite as fluffy as scratch-made bread because of the lack of rising times, and they are expensive (or can be).


One of the primary reasons I didn't ever make my own bread before was because I told it was really time consuming...If you browse recipes for bread making the total time is usually >2 hours which, as a student, that is an impossible amount of time to dedicate to making a single loaf of bread. BUT, what is the majority of the time dedicated to? The proofing period. This is the time when the yeast within the bread, metabolize the sugars in the dough and produce carbon dioxide, the dough rises and should double in size as a result. During this time, why not read a book? Do some studying? Call a friend? Dance around and sing some songs? Do some cleaning (my apartment always somehow needs cleaning! haha)

Don't be intimidated! :) Just use your time in a way that is productive for you!

Rosemary Sea Salt Focaccia

2.25 tsp dry active yeast

1 tsp sugar

2 cups flour

pinch salt (fine)

1/2 cup water (may beed 1/2 to 1 cup water additionally)

2 sprigs fresh rosemary

2-3tbsp olive oil

1 clove garlic

coarse sea salt (to taste)

Flour for surfaces

**Pre-cooking prep: turn on awesome tunes that are great and that you can either 1) sing along to because you think the words are great 2) sing along because you know the words and therefore can belt them out with a ton of passion or 3) 'sing along' to  but you don't actually know the words but pretending to sing, makes you feel like an opera singer and more Italian (therefore your bread is more Italian obviously).
Here is what I recommend (based on what I actually do haha):
for option 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vf2YJAG84_8
         for option 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1y6smkh6c-0
                 for option 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwhP4vZAh18

Now for the cooking:
1. Dissolve the yeast in 1/2 cup warm water with sugar until there is a lot of foam present. Set aside.



2. Add flour to mixer (with dough hook attachment) with a pinch of fine salt. Create a well in the center of the flour.




3. Add the frothy yeast mixture to the 'well' that you created in the flour. Turn the mixture on low speed and slowly add 1/2 cup water. Add additional water until the dough has become moist (but not wet) and has 'climbed' up the dough hook and been removed from the sides of the mixing bowl.

4. Place dough on floured surface and gently knead with your palms (push forward with palms, then pull the dough back with your fingers). Do this until the dough has some resistance and feels elastic. Do not overwork the dough! Make the dough into a round ball. 

5. Use olive oil to coat the inside of a large bowl. Place the dough into the bowl. Cover with a damp towel and place in a room temperature (or slightly warmer than room temperature), draft free space for 30-60 minutes (until double in size). This is your first study break!

I put mine in the sun on my balcony :) Perfect spot!

6. Roll the dough out on floured surface. Shape into what shape you want your final foccacia to look like! Place this dough on a non-stick baking sheet. Cover with towel and let proof for another 30 minutes. This is your second study break!

7. Preheat oven to 470F

8. Use your index finger to make indentations throughout the top of the foccacia bread



9. Mix fresh rosemary and olive oil in a small bowl. Spread this, and chopped garlic pieces  across the top of the bread. Finish with generous sprinkling of coarse sea salt.

10. Bake for 10 minutes (soft) or longer (15minutes) for a crust. I baked mine for 10 minutes to get a really light bread but bake for longer if you want more crust! :)

** if you want to have a really good crust on the bread the while baking, have a pan of water also in the oven. The steam from this water in the oven will help to crisp the outside of the bread!

ENJOY! :)