At Least ONE Promise Kept!

See? I couldn't go back on my word about promises and planning after that discussion I had with myself this morning!

This is a good fruity quickbread, albeit a simple one, with a crunchy crust all the way around from the caramelized brown sugar and fruit juices. There's very little fat, but it adds a ton of moisture from unsweetened, rich apple butter. It's dairy free, and can be made eggless easily - the flaxseed trick or Ener-G work equally well here. I can't wait for apples to be back in our orchards!

Fresh Apple Muffin - Bread

Serves 10 generously

1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup apple butter

2 tbsp canola oil
2 tart apples, peeled, and chopped coarsely

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a loaf pan.
2. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, mix together the sugar, egg, apple butter and oil. Stir in the sifted ingredients. Fold in the apples.
4. Bake for 45-50 minutes.

Amount Per Serving

Calories: 158.6

Total Fat: 3.5 g

Cholesterol: 21.3 mg

Sodium: 13.1 mg

Total Carbs: 30.6 g

Dietary Fiber: 1.2 g

Protein: 2.0 g

No Reservations - A Rant

We've all had to reserve things in advance. Whether it's for someone else's event - a birthday party, restaurant dinner or wedding - or one we invite others to in our own home, we still have to go through the motions of selecting a date, a time, and a method of ensuring our presence there once we commit. It's a promise, and no matter who it's to, be it your best friend or a major restaurant franchise, it's expected that it will be kept. And so they should!

Case in point: doctor's appointments. We all know the drill - call, wait "on hold" for 15-20 minutes, finally get through and book a 15 minute slot that's 6 months away, show up 15 minutes early and sit in the waiting room for 20 minutes past your appointment time. Been there, done that. With specialists (and I'm sure most readers can empathize) it's worse. I had waited for a consultation - not even a real appointment - for 8 months (with two of those waiting for the referral to go through and actually book a time, and being bumped up the line after a cancellation!). This doctor is apparently more holy than God when it comes to internal medicine, so it's not really a surprise that trying to get a space in his queue is harder than a table at The French Laundry. So Mom and I made the hour-long drive to this tiny, barren hole of an office and showed up nice and early. As soon as the receptionist saw us, she sighed.
"He's running late. At least an hour. He started late, and there are two procedures before you."
At this point I KNEW we were screwed. Each of those was essentially a surgery, and those run easily 30 minutes apiece. Not to mention that I could see more than two people in the waiting room, meaning at least one of them hadn't been prepped. I asked when the next appointment slot was and got late August. I really didn't care about this appointment (at this point it's essentially lip service to the family, because "they worry", just apparently not about my happiness) so I said okay, but mother dearest cut me off and said no, we'll wait.

People, she made me wait TWO HOURS - and we still had one person ahead of us (unprepped). I laid out the ultimatum that either we re-book and go, or I would hitchhike / cab / bus back home myself and she could wait herself. Finally we got out of there... with a shiny new re-booking in September. One of the other prospective patients left right after us (also with a rebooking) and asked me what time my appointment was. We had the same time slot. No way should a doctor - let alone a specialist - double book themselves! And we wonder why we wait eons!

What really irks me is that as acting "God", doctors can afford to show up late, double book appointments and take their own sweet time - it's expected that you'll be waiting a good long time even with an appointment. As an employee, you show up late, you get the axe. Students skipping class get suspended. Why do we even bother booking appointments anymore? I mean, sure, it's nice to know that you're on their radar, but it's sad that we've come to expect being rudely treated by an institution that we rely on. It's abuse of power - even though we pay for their salaries (either direct or through taxes) - it's a sad fact that we do rely on the few healthcare professionals that are out there, and that they can get away with their behaviour because the talent is stretched thinner than phyllo. Classic supply and demand. Sure, there are some chefs that can get away with showing up late, if they have a crack sous team, but not many! And God forbid you run your service late - there are so many restaurants out there that you'd be out of customers, a job and a reputation.

Sigh. At least I convinced my family to stop forcing me into any more appointments if this one doesn't work out. I'm freaking 21, I shouldn't have to have these childish arguments over going to the doctor any more! I don't want to sound ungrateful, but trying to "get better" is costing me my happiness, sanity, and my ability to heal. I'm taking control of myself and my body for the first time in my life and I'm going to expoxy that control to my wall if I have to!

If you read all the way through this, thank you. I will post a few goodies for you all later tonight!

Tangy, Tasty Buns for BBD #20

Guess what day it is, everyone?? It's Bread Baking Day!!

Bread Baking Day was started by the fabulous Zorra, and is in it's 20th roundup! Rachel at Tangerine's Kitchen is hosting this time, with the theme of "Multigrain Breads". Not only does she tell a great story in her post for the event, but she shares some awesome tips for incorporating different grains into your loaves too!

To give my mom a break from bagels this week - I've been making a lot of them, and will eventually compile them all into one mega-post - I made these swirly buns instead. These soft, sweet rolls are made with rich, thick Greek-style vanilla yogurt (organic, no less - I would link to Liberte's site but it keeps crashing my browser) and my mom's weakness: honey. Rolled into ropes before being shaped into spirals, they rise and bake up beautifully - you'd never guess they were full of fibre!

For the grains, I used white bread flour, whole wheat flour, and a multi-grain cereal (Bob's Red Mill High-Fibre Hot Cereal with Flaxseed) that I also wrote about here. According to the package, the cereal has "stone ground oatmeal, nutrient rich flaxseed, wheat germ, high fiber oat bran, and wheat bran". Not a bad mix, but if I had thought about it at the time, I would have added in a bit of amaranth that I have in my cupboard too.

Though these buns are high in nutritional value, they aren't precisely "healthy" because of the rich, full-fat yogurt (mine had 15g of fat per 175g!) and creamy butter. You can definitely make this lower cal with low-fat yogurt (but don't go the nonfat route!) and by leaving out the butter, but where's the fun in that? The slight sweetness and vanilla flavour in the yogurt blends with the slight tang, and mellows the intensity of the honey. When I get a chance to make this again - not likely anytime soon, since mom went on a diet - I'm going to search out her favourite buckwheat honey and use that. These were inspired by a recipe I found here.

Greek Yogurt Honey Buns
Makes 10
1/2 cup warm water
3 tbsp runny, flavourful honey
1 tbsp dry active yeast
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda (Yup, both baking soda and yeast! Don't know why!)
1/2 cup high-fibre hot cereal (I used Bob's Red Mill)
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups full fat, thick vanilla yogurt, room temperature or slightly warm
2 tbsp melted butter

1. In a large bowl or a stand mixer, combine water, honey and yeast, stirring well. Let stand 10 minutes.
2. Combine flours, baking soda, cereal and salt in another bowl.
3. Beat half the flour mixture into the yeast slurry, then mix in the yogurt and butter.
4. Beat in remaining dry mixture and continue to beat 5-6 minutes, until it begins to clear the sides of the bowl and smooth out.
5. Place into an oiled bowl, turn to grease the top.
6. Cover and allow to rise 1 hour.
7. Punch down the dough and make into 10 balls (mine were about 4.3oz each).
8. Roll each ball into a thin rope shape, then curl each rope into a tight, flat spiral. Pinch the "tail" of the spiral to seal it together. Cover and allow to rise 45 minutes.
9. Preheat oven to 400F, line a large baking sheet (or two smaller ones) with SilPat or parchment paper.
10. Bake the spirals for 16 minutes, rotating sheet(s) halfway through.
11. Remove from pan immediately and cool on wire racks.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 282.7
Total Fat: 4.9 g
Cholesterol: 6.5 mg
Sodium: 37.0 mg
Total Carbs: 53.8 g
Dietary Fiber: 4.7 g
Protein: 8.1 g

You know, I'm betting these would be a great entertain-the-kids activity to do over the summer holidays - depending on how young they are, the full fat dairy is actually beneficial - and they can make fun shapes out of the dough that are all their own! For those A+ report cards, you could even knead in a few mini chocolate chips, or hide them in the middle of the swirl! Be sure to save yourself one or two (batches - haha), because they'll go fast!

More Seed Than Bread

Are you over your meat-induced shock now? Does this mean I can write again? I promise it doesn't involve protein in any form... it's all (vegan) bread and carbs here, baby! Actually, not only is today's bread vegan, but it was a component in an earlier vegan meal I made this week!

You may recall that my Mother's Day pasta dinner involved toasted bread cubes - coming from a loaf I proudly claimed as my own! I was actually asked by a fellow Flickr user if they were seasoned, since in the dish they really do look like they are crusted with pepper and cheese, or done "Caesar-style". However, the loaf is nothing more than flour, water, yeast and a bevy of seeds and grains, shaped into a baguette and baked to crispy-crusted perfection. When I started out making the dough, I knew I wanted something with a ton of flavour - and I wasn't disappointed. The texture (not to mention the size, it's a demi-baguette) is not something I can reccommend for making sandwiches, but it would be perfect for croutons, bruschetta, crostini or even panzanella salad. Even mini French toast rounds would be good, especially if made savoury.

I'm sending this to WildYeast's Susan's event YeastSpotting this week.

Seed - Filled Crostini Bread
Makes enough for 10 crostini

1 cup flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup coarse cornmeal
2 tbsp flax seeds
2 tbsp poppy seeds
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup warm water
1 tsp dry active yeast

1. In a bowl, combine flours, cornmeal, flax seeds, poppy seeds and salt. Set aside.
2. Mix water and yeast in a large, deep bowl. Allow to stand 10 minutes.
3. Beat the flour mixture into the yeasted water to form a stiff, smooth dough.
4. Place in an oiled bowl, cover and let rise 1 hour.
5. Punch dough down and roll into a small baguette shape. Place on a lightly greased (or parchment lined) baking sheet.
6. Cover again and allow to rise 45 minutes.
7. Preheat oven to 400F.
8. Bake loaf for 25 minutes, until golden and hollow-sounding when tapped.

Amount Per Serving

Calories: 98.1

Total Fat: 1.9 g

Cholesterol: 0.0 mg

Sodium: 2.8 mg

Total Carbs: 17.5 g

Dietary Fiber: 2.1 g

Protein: 3.1 g

We Interrupt This Blog...

To quote Galen Weston - "A warning to all vegetarians". Usually, this includes me, so trust me, I know, I know how ironic this post is. However, I also freely admit that when Charlie Kondek approached me with this review offer - a chance to try out the new "President's Choice Naturally" line of fresh beef, pork and chicken products - I heartily agreed. I'm the only one in my family that eschews meat products, and I know Andrew loves pork and chicken (though he doesn't really groove on the red meat - except lamb).

What came to my door, though, was way more than I could have expected! Along with the vouchers for free chicken drumsticks, a boneless ribeye steak, and pork ribs (which I unfortunately couldn't find), I was given a cute picnic basket and tea towel filled with a salt and pepper grinder (which I have officially fallen in love with - you can adjust the grind coarseness and it has both seasonings inside, in a good ratio... no huge chunks of salt!), as well as a grilling sauce and a bottled marinade.

The meat in both the steak and chicken is clearly high-caliber: look at the marbling in the steak! It wasn't mushy or "fake plump" feeling like so many other store brands, and though it is more expensive, if you really value the taste of simply cooked meat (ie not drowned in steak sauce, ketchup or gravy) it's worth it.

Since I wouldn't be partaking in the meat tasting, I came up with some good uses for the marinade and sauce that I could utilize instead. Turns out that the steak spices in the Steak Spice Marinade were great when poured over tofu and left to sit for a day or so, and equally good as a "toss together before work, cook for dinner" flavouring on carrots, mushrooms and broccoli. The Dad's Grill, Maple, Apple & Beer sauce was pretty good on oven fries and in my Sloppy Joe mix. It does need a bit more "oomph" though - I added a touch of garlic powder, Tabasco and a little bit of honey to pump up the flavour, which worked nicely.

I do have plans for the chicken thighs, which will work themselves into a mini-cacciatore soon for Andrew, and if I can convince my mom to try the marinade on the (gigantic) steak before I cook it, I can make the three red-meatheads dinner too. Once I find those pork ribs, I'll put the stepdad to work on his new BBQ - which my mom had to assemble for him...

If you happen to be in Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Halifax and Calgary from 4-6:00 PM tomorrow, keep an eye out for President's Choice street teams dressed in butcher aprons! They will be distributing vouchers for free meat products at the busiest commuter transit hubs until all the coupons are distributed.

With grilling season soon to open, it's a great deal for the conscious-minded meat eating set!