This is my vitamin pill. I made a big pot of vegetable soup for the week. I used my own chicken stock, which I had frozen, and added a mountain of vegetables – a total of twelve, I think. The fresh vegetables I used were: carrot, potato, red pepper, zucchini, kale, spinach, napa cabbage, green beans, celery, and broccoli, and I also added frozen peas and corn. Do you see anything in there I missed? The soup is for the week but it will never last that long.
This morning I also made English muffins for breakfast and for dinner, my skinless chicken drumsticks. Oh, I also marinated some beets (my beet salad) for dinner but I’ve been snacking on them all day. My favorite thing to do is spend all day in the kitchen. …just sharing… – Jenny Jones
This apple tart is pretty easy to make and it’s delicious! Not to mention it looks amazing. If you like things not too sweet you will love this crispy fruit tart. I make it with my easy oil crust, no butter, and very little sugar. I’ve tried it with different apples but granny smiths work the best. They are firm and easy to slice thinly. It takes three or four really big apples, about 1/2 pound each (I prefer four), and the glaze is just some apricot jam that’s warmed up a bit. I use St. Dalfour brand.
Most tarts use a crust with shortening or butter but mine is a much easier oil crust made with avocado oil but you can any flavorless vegetable oil of your choice. You could actually press the entire crust into your pan but it’s hard to get an even thickness so I roll it between wax paper. Then it almost fits the pan and you can press it a little towards the edges and basically “cut & paste” the crust together. Try not to have any holes or cracks and also keep it inside the rim or it can burn. As it is, the edge of the crust gets really dark but it’s super crispy and delicious.
I make this tart in a 12-inch pizza pan and I have also used a pizza pan with holes and that works well too. Here it is right before baking:
I love this healthy dessert. Make it for a party and call it apple pizza. One thing about serving: The apples are cooked and soft so the best way to slice the tart is with a long knife using a rolling motion. The soft apples will try to stick to the knife so keep an eye on them. I tried using a pizza cutter (the wheel thingy?) – bad idea. It took some of the apples with it.
Be sure to slice the apples nice and thin – 1/8-inch thick. As for how to place the slices, be creative. I always do the perimeter first but you can do your own thing. I also tried making the crust using whole wheat flour but it would not come out crisp so all-purpose is the flour to use. Hey, the apples have fiber! ? Click herefor the recipe. – Jenny Jones
This is what my valentine wants for his special day on Saturday. Of all the things I love to bake, this is the one he asks for on his birthday and on Valentine’s day. He loves it. It’s a white cake filled with two pounds of strawberries and covered with fresh whipped cream. I love it too. So I’ll make this amazing cake for him but it won’t be free. I’m negotiating some terms…
1) Immediate response when there’s a spider in the house – no delays.
2) Never ask if I’m going out wearing that… because I am.
3) Sign my contract that says valentine chocolates don’t have to be shared.
4) The above terms notwithstanding, the strawberry cake must be shared.
Don’t have whole wheat pastry flour? Regular whole wheat flour is not a good substitute for whole wheat pastry flour. It will give you a heavier and more dense product. Whole wheat flour is usually ground hard wheat that is high in gluten and best for baking bread. Whole wheat pastry flour is a much finer grind and is made from a soft wheat low in gluten. It is best for sweets like cakes, muffins, and cookies. Whole wheat pastry flour is available at Whole Foods and can easily be purchased online (King Arthur Flour has it). If you use my recipes regularly it’s worth the effort to find whole wheat pastry flour so you can add whole grains to your homemade baking.
Don’t have buttermilk? You cannot substitute milk for buttermilk. There is no perfect substitute for buttermilk, especially in baking. Due to its acidic nature, buttermilk makes baked goods lighter and fluffier so it’s worth using the real thing. You can freeze unused buttermilk in portions the size you will need for future recipes. It will separate when frozen but when you thaw it, just stir it back up. To substitute for buttermilk, there are several options:
1) Combine yogurt with milk, using plain yogurt and milk, about half and half.
2) Add 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice or distilled white vinegar to 1 cup of milk (not fat-free) and let it stand for 5 minutes or longer.
3) Combine sour cream with milk or water until it’s the thickness of buttermilk.
Don’t have bread flour? You can use all purpose flour. Bread flour has more protein than all-purpose flour and that helps with gluten development, which is helpful when working with yeast. With bread flour, pizzas may be a little crispier and breads may be a little chewier and have more body but it’s not a huge difference.
Don’t have instant yeast? Regular active yeast can be used wherever I use instant yeast. But be sure to check the package directions for the required temperature of the liquid. My brand of instant yeast calls for 120 degrees F while my regular active yeast calls for 110 degrees F.
Don’t have 1% milk or low fat milk? Use a mixture of 3 parts water to 1 part whole milk. For example, to make the equivalent of one cup of 1% milk: combine 3/4 cup water + 1/4 cup whole milk. (For 2% milk the mixture should be 50/50, i.e. half water and half whole milk)
Don’t have baking soda? Do not use baking powder instead. Baking powder is not a substitute for baking soda. Baking soda reacts with acidic ingredients in a recipe to make baked goods rise.
Don’t have extra light olive oil? For baking you can use any vegetable oil. My preference in avocado oil but they are not all the same. Some are too strong for baking. I use Chosen Foods brand avocado oil
Don’t have a Dutch oven? To see what other cooks have used in place of a Dutch oven, click here.
Don’t want to use eggs? I’m sorry to say I don’t know of any good substitute for eggs. For anyone with egg allergies, rather than change a recipe and risk being disappointed, you can find many eggless recipes the are already proven online. If cholesterol is a concern, all my research has shown that egg yolks may contain cholesterol but they are low in saturated fat and they do not raise serum cholesterol in the blood. Eggs also contain nutrients that may help lower the risk for heart disease, including vitamin B12, riboflavin, and folate. Besides providing protein, iron, phosphorus, iodine, and vitamin E, eggs are also one of the few natural sources of vitamin D.
Baking powder and baking soda are NOT THE SAME. They can not be substituted for one another. They are both leaveners but they are chemically different.
Baking soda is used in recipes that contain acidic ingredients like buttermilk, brown sugar, yogurt, lemon juice, honey, vinegar, or chocolate (except Dutch process). The acid in the recipe reacts with the baking soda, allowing your baked goods to rise. Baking powder is generally used when there is no acidic ingredient in the recipe. Bottom line: baking soda needs an acid; baking powder does not. – Jenny Jones
Make it overnight. I finally figured out the best way to make whole wheat no knead bread. Start the dough the night before using cold water instead of using the faster method with hot water. The faster method works well with regular bread made with bread flour or all-purpose flour but the faster method using 100% whole wheat flour makes a loaf that was too dense for a lot of people. I happen to love a dense, heavy bread, even those thin-sliced pumpernickel breads that they sell but I think most people will be more satisfied with the overnight method.
But know this: any bread that’s 100% whole wheat, no matter how it’s made, will never be as soft and light as a white bread version. But if you want a healthy, high fiber, nutritious bread, this one takes more time but there’s still nothing to do but wait. There’s no kneading and no shaping. Just start your dough the night before, let it stand at room temperature for 12 hours or more, then continue in the morning.
Here’s the truth about no knead 100% whole wheat bread. It won’t rise as much as the white version. I even took a picture of one I made this morning (started the dough last night) and used a tape measure. The middle of the loaf is no more than 2 1/2 to 3 inches tall but you can see the inside has lots of holes and it has a wonderful crust and soft interior. For anyone trying to avoid white flour, this is still the easiest and best 100% whole wheat bread you can make. You just need a little more time but it’s so worth it. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones
A recipe for a simple sandwich? Yes, and I’ll tell you why. This salmon sandwich is healthy enough to have for dinner! Think about it. You have an excellent protein in the fish, whole grains in the bread, and a vegetable in the lettuce. Then there’s the long list of red salmon health benefits from benefiting your heart to your bones. I grew up in Canada. We do salmon sandwiches. I never had a tuna sandwich until I was 25. I always have canned salmon at home so I often have a salmon sandwich for lunch and when time was short I’ve had one for dinner.
I never expected to be posting a sandwich recipe but I think I have to. I had some friends over recently and wanted to offer something different so I made salmon sandwiches… really simple salmon sandwiches. Salmon & mayo. I wondered if anyone would even want them but was shocked at the reaction. They devoured all my sandwiches (I should have made more) but not only that, they asked for the recipe. I had no recipe. I just mashed the salmon with my light mayo and that was it. I couldn’t even tell them how much mayo – I just eyeballed it.
Then the following week two people told me they couldn’t find the salmon sandwich recipe on my website. If they liked it that much, then I need to share it with everybody. So I measured the amount of mayo and now I have a recipe. It’s the easiest recipe I have ever posted, but one you will probably love just like my friends did. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones
