Posted on 03/23/2008 11:36:40 PM PDT by nw_arizona_granny
Americans finding soaring food prices hard to stomach can battle back by growing their own food. [Click image for a larger version] Dean Fosdick Dean Fosdick
Home vegetable gardens appear to be booming as a result of the twin movements to eat local and pinch pennies.
At the Southeastern Flower Show in Atlanta this winter, D. Landreth Seed Co. of New Freedom, Pa., sold three to four times more seed packets than last year, says Barb Melera, president. "This is the first time I've ever heard people say, 'I can grow this more cheaply than I can buy it in the supermarket.' That's a 180-degree turn from the norm."
Roger Doiron, a gardener and fresh-food advocate from Scarborough, Maine, said he turned $85 worth of seeds into more than six months of vegetables for his family of five.
A year later, he says, the family still had "several quarts of tomato sauce, bags of mixed vegetables and ice-cube trays of pesto in the freezer; 20 heads of garlic, a five-gallon crock of sauerkraut, more homegrown hot-pepper sauce than one family could comfortably eat in a year and three sorts of squash, which we make into soups, stews and bread."
[snipped]
She compares the current period of market uncertainty with that of the early- to mid-20th century when the concept of victory gardens became popular.
"A lot of companies during the world wars and the Great Depression era encouraged vegetable gardening as a way of addressing layoffs, reduced wages and such," she says. "Some companies, like U.S. Steel, made gardens available at the workplace. Railroads provided easements they'd rent to employees and others for gardening."
(Excerpt) Read more at dallasnews.com ...
http://stardustshoes.blogspot.com/2006/05/quilting-tidbits.html
Quilting Tidbits
Trust me when I say I’m not a quilting expert by any means. In fact, my first quilt was such a miserable experience for me, it’s amazing I kept at it. It was made up of 2 fabrics—a blue floral print and a white floral print. I cut them into 10” x 10” squares and placed them in a checkerboard pattern. Easy enough, right? But here’s why it was so miserable. First, I cut all the squares with SCISSORS!!!! Hello? It would have been so much easier with the right tools (rotary cutter, straight edge ruler and self-healing mat). Then I was up to my eyeballs pinning everything and trying to get it all the seams lined up. ARGH. I hate pins. And I was such a newbie to my sewing machine, I didn’t know that you should always “fetch” the bobbin thread with the upper thread before sewing. Duh. It’s laughable now. I hated that machine and I still have bad feelings about that quilt whenever I see it.
My second quilt wasn’t much better. It was a random nine patch made of 2.5” x 2.5” squares. This time I did have a rotary cutter. But get this, I actually cut the squares individually and once again pinned like a maniac. Luckily for me, it was about this time that a friend of mine took a quilting class and taught me a couple of her tricks. So , Capello, when I found out you were going to start on your first quilt, I thought I’d try to come up with some tips/shortcuts for you (and for any other quilting newbies who might be interested). May you be spared from the agony I experienced.
1. STA-FLO. This stuff is awesome. Just add a little bit to your spray bottle (1 part starch to 6 parts water) when you’re ironing and it stiffens the fabric and makes it behave a little better when you’re sewing. Besides that, the bottle looks so retro and cool in your laundry room. I think I got mine at Wal-Mart.
2. Take shortcuts whenever possible. Don’t do what I did and cut out 2.5” x 2.5” tiny little squares. They will drive you batty. Instead, cut long strips that are 2.5” x however long your fabric is. Sew the long strips together and then cut them.
3. Iron like this: this might be hard to see, but the seams are both ironed closed and in one direction, to the right, in this case.
NOT like this:
If you iron your seams open, when it comes time to quilt you’ve got a weak spot where the batting might show or possibly even stick out.
4. When making a strip quilt, make sure to iron each row in alternate directions. If you iron every row facing the right, for example, your quilt top will start to bow in that direction and you won’t be happy!
5. One last ironing tip—and this is the best thing I learned, because as I mentioned before , I HATE PINS!!!! This one will let you avoid the use of pins and speed everything up big time. When you’re making a nine (or whatever number) patch, iron your adjacent rows in opposite directions so that when you put your right sides together, they will “nest.” You’ll be able to see and feel as you sew whether or not things are lining up. If they’re not lining up, you can gently pull either the top piece or the bottom piece to make them line up.
So, as I was saying, I’m not a great quilter, and I actually feel a bit silly “imparting” any sort of quilting knowledge onto you. And I hope I’m not insulting anyone’s intelligence. But, these are things I wish I’d known before I started, so I thought I’d pass them on. If you can think of any other quilting tips that I should have included, please leave them in the comments section.
http://whipup.net/2008/11/18/colossal-list-of-tutorials-boxes-containers-baskets-buckets/
fabric box [image above]
soft boxes
origami box
bag-sket tutorial
work basket
No-sew fabric covered boxes tutorial
fabric basket
storage cubes
open pocket pouch
undercover crate
fabric basket
vintage sheet work basket
cat basket
zakka pouch
magazine bowl
collapsible bucket
felted bowls
bucket bag
fabric buckets
jeans bucket
[more tomorrow]
Share and Enjoy:
[more hidden urls, google should have them, or go to the above link for them]
http://whipup.net/2008/11/23/tremendous-list-of-whimsical-tutorials-for-kids-grownups/
tremendous list of whimsical tutorials for kids & grownups
pencil toppers
bat finger puppet
bunny hat and costume
recycled glove softie
cute amigurumi
racing snail [image shown]
fabric apple
fabric bird cage
paper fortune cookies
hedgehog softie
knitted winged heart tattoo
fly a kite
fabric beach ball
fabric house
toadstool baby rattle
apple cosy
felt strawberries
rock babies
pumpkin bears
safety cones
molly monkey pattern
teeny tiny knitted toys
itty bitty oddity
knitted star
paper doll templates
five stones game
soft acorn
camilla’s creatures
cashmere bunny
[live links at url]
http://www.cocoknits.com/info/tutorials/ragknit.html
Tutorial : Rag Knitting
Rag Knit BallRag Knit Rug Over Bath Tub
How to cut rags for knitting:
Plastic Bag Knitting 1
You can use any kind of fabric for this, even t-shirts or bedsheets. In this example I’m using plain muslin bed sheets from IKEA ($1.99 for a twin size). To make strips for a #19 needle, cut slits about 1 1/2” apart across the bottom. For Really Big knitting on a #35 needles, cut them 3” apart across the bottom.
Plastic Bag Knitting 1
Rip from each slit so you have a pile of strips like this:
Plastic Bag Knitting 1
Now cut slits in each end about 1” long like this:
Plastic Bag Knitting 1
So now you have strips with slits in the end.
Plastic Bag Knitting 1
Feed the end of one strip through the slit in the next strip:
Plastic Bag Knitting 1
Make sure that as you form a ball, you always poke the end of the strip attached to the ball through the slit first! Like this:
Plastic Bag Knitting 1
Now take the other end of the strip (not attached to the ball) and feed it through the remaining slit, like this:
Plastic Bag Knitting 1
Now carefully pull on the strip you just fed through the slit…keep pulling and you’ll get this:
Plastic Bag Knitting 1
Pull a little more until they are snug like this:
Plastic Bag Knitting 1
Ta-da! Keep doing that and you’ll end up with a big ball of rag yarn:
If you need to rip more “yarn” to add to your WIP, work backwards from your working yarn. If you try to attach a new ball of yarn to existing WIP, you will have no free end to pull through the slit, so you’ll have to tie a knot. It’s not the end of the world, but for a completely knot-free piece it’s something to think about…
There are photos and it should work, I don’t knit, but crocheted many rag rugs...
Plastic bread sacks will make a good dirt catcher at the door step, when crocheted, I cut them I cut circles and looped one through the other, to form a chain....LOL a 10 year old child showed me how to loop them.
granny
Poor baby, it is so cold here, that Kitty wears a personally designed Hoodie sweater, in his own gang colors, I hope......LOL
Why would you put a sweater on a cat and make it go play in the snow?
Pattern link on page, if you can knit...
http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2008/12/how_to_cat_hoodie.html
Several nice crafts here and a craft show in Seattle this week end.
If you like wild ear rings, check out these Christmas Trees, different and simple to make:
http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2008/12/how_to_bead_tree_holiday_decor.html
A different pattern for baby booties, of fabric, please don’t put the lights in them:
http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2008/07/led_firefly_booties_tutorial.html
Poor baby, at least they did not put him in the snow.
LOL, we can change his unhappy face, easy, take the hat, open it wide, as if it were a bowl, fill it with catnip and sew it closed, tight and toss it across the room, you could even include a big jingle bell in the middle of it, before it was closed.
Or......evil idea here, at a craft shop, or at least a few years ago, I picked up a voice box for a doll, such as came out in the 1950’s and said ‘Mama’, when you turned it over.
Now that stuffed in the hat, with catnip, would freak out any cat.
Thanks for sharing your kitty.........LOL
Were you prepared at that point, Granny, or did you have to learn?<<<
No, I wasn’t prepared at all.
It turned out to be a tear in the heart wall, nothing could be done for it, except to lie in intensive care for weeks and I think the first hospital stay was 3 months, then a year of not even driving the car.
He had fought a big canal cleaning truck, to keep it out of the canal, when all the power on it suddenly went out.........I have photos of the tracks he left, in the soft sand, to stay out of the canal.
A super feat, so difficult, that it ruptured his heart.
The amazing thing, is that he did not know it for another 3 or 4 days, and then all of a sudden he couldn’t pick up the hose on the water truck.
It had been a very short time before that he had a physical for his truck drivers license and all was well.
As luck would have it, we took the weekend off and visited friends, almost no work at home, some thing we never did, but felt the need to do so that weekend, maybe a little guiding from God.
The irrigation company he worked for, paid the white shirters a bonus, based on how much money they didn’t spend on repairs.
The Truck mechanic, came late at night and told me that he had told them that the power was ready to go on Bill’s truck and they ordered him to patch it and get it out of the shop.
The irrigation company, told the employees, that if they had anything further to do with Bill they would be fired.
There folks shared the food they got in the fields and where they worked, even a box of squash was delivered late at night, so no one would know they had been to Bills place.
The Irrigation company would not release Bill’s last check, said he had not quit, so he couldn’t have it.
LOL, That was the week that I fell in love with a Mormon, I knew Catherine only lightly then, she called to see how Bill was and I told her about the check.....she hung up and told her husband, who said “Call her back NOW”, and I get this booming ranchers voice “What do you mean they won’t give you his check.........” I explained that it was an on the job injury and we had been told to not ‘quit’.
Logan made a couple of phone calls and the check was delivered that night by 2 of Bill’s bosses.
We lived in a town of 200, and I had lost my job, when the owners got in a fight and locked the doors on the laundromat, a couple weeks before. [Not my fault]
It was 3 years, before we got the Workman’s Compensation check, and they paid the hospital bill.
It turned out to be simple, once I managed to get a hearing for the case, they asked if I wanted to supponea any witnesses and I said yes, every employee of the water district.
All of a sudden it was over, they did not dare allow the employees to talk under oath.
We had livestock and I had a few cases of canned food no money and payments still on the land, well and mobile.
We made it, don’t ask me how.
I wonder how people ever got started drinking cow’s milk in the first place? <<<
Can I tell the version that I just thought up? or the truth of “I don’t know”.
I would tell it like this, in the old days a goat did not have a large bag and only 2 teats.
Someone noticed that a cow had a larger bag and 4 teats and figured there was more profit in the cow’s milk and more pounds of beef for dinner.........
You’re not crazy! I am going to read through this post so I can absorb it.<<<
Maybe I should warn you, that my family never willingly enters into one of my brainstorms.
Scott rebelled against something that I wanted him to do, a couple weeks ago, got that strange look on his face and he was biting his tongue to stay silent, so I said it for him....
“Another one of your 15 minute projects that only took 2 days to build”..........how many times we heard that comment from Bill.
Many times he was grumbling “15 minute project and I will be all day on it”, as he went out the door to get started.
I do think you could do it with the cement blocks, turn every second or third one sidewise and it will leave a hole in the side, LOL, for a minute, I thought of a problem, what would support the next layer?
You don;t want the holes in a row, stagger them, so the plants get more sunlight. that should work, LOL or does in my head.
If you could find the oak pallets, used in shipping, they would make a nice bin, so what if they rot out, they are free materials and work for lots of things.
Thanks for the photo, you always make them better than they were on site.
It looks like Kitty has second thoughts about that being a litter box.
http://chilechews.blogspot.com/search/label/frugal
Learn to Substitute Ingredients
One of the most valuable skills one can learn in the kitchen is how to substitute ingredients. Not everyone knows how to cook entirely from scratch without following a recipe, and that’s fine. Even if a recipe is used, though, learning to be flexible and creative enough to substitute ingredients is very helpful.
“Why bother?” you ask, complaining that just making the recipe in the first place is hard enough for you. Well, think about some of the benefits of switching out one ingredient for another:
* Eliminates last minute trips to the store for the ingredient you forgot you didn’t have on hand
* Saves money by not buying specialty ingredients or more than you need for one recipe, not to mention the gas and time spent driving to the store
* Makes eating local foods far easier
* Allows you to personalize a recipe to include what you and your family like most
* Lets you make your favorite recipes without ingredients that you’ve just learned cause you to have an allergic reaction
* Encourages creativity - use the brain or lose it!
[Long and different list with hidden urls...]
The Quick Breads File
Posted: Sun Oct 22, 2006 5:50 am Reply with quote
These recipes evolved and simplified over time, so here’s some notes to go with them:
(1)Bake at 350 F.
(2)liquid can be lukewarm soymilk, ricemilk, juice, or water
(3)Just add the vinegar to the liquid; no need to “sour” anything.
APPLE-OAT QUICK BREAD
Pre-heat oven to 375 F. Spray or grease an 8 x 8 cake pan.
Peel, core, and chop 1 medium apple.
Combine:
1 and 1/4 cup soymilk (fat-free is fine)
1 and 1/4 Tbs. white vinegar
Let stand to sour while you mix the dry ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup uncooked quick oats
4 Tbs. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbs. baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
When the oven reaches temp, stir the soured soymilk and the chopped apple into the flour mixture. Mix quickly and do not over-mix. Pour into prepared pan. Bake about 30 minutes. Toothpick inserted in center will come out clean. Let stand 15 minutes before cutting and serving. Optional: Sprinkle the batter in the pan with brown sugar. The bread will be very much like a coffee cake.
CRANBERRY-ORANGE QUICK BREAD (revised)
Preheat oven to 375 F. Grease or spray an 8 x 8 cake pan.
1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
1 cup water
1 and 1/4 cups orange juice
1 Tbs. white vinegar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1 Tbsp. orange peel (optional)
1) Put cranberries and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook about 5 minutes, or until the skins on the cranberries burst. Drain the berries. You don’t need the cooking water.
2) Combine the orange juice and vinegar.
3) Combine the remaining dry ingredients and mix well. Add the orange juice mixture and the hot cranberries. Mix quickly and do not over-mix. Pour into prepared pan. Sprinkle top of batter with sugar. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until top is golden. Toothpick test for doneness. Let sit in pan 5 minutes then remove to rack to cool completely. Cover with a kitchen towel while it is cooling.
CORNBREAD
Preheat oven to 375 F. Grease an 8” square or round cake pan.
Combine:
1 and 1/4 cup soymilk
1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. white vinegar
Let stand while you mix the dry ingredients:
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
When the oven reaches temp., pour the soured soymilk into the dry ingredients. Mix quickly, and don’t overmix (standard quick bread directions). Pour into the prepared pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes. When done, the top will be golden and a toothpick inserted in center will come out clean. Let stand to cool before trying to cut.
BOSTON BROWN BREAD
Pre-heat oven to 350 F. Grease an 8 x 8” baking pan.
Combine and let stand for ten minutes:
1 cup plain soymilk
1 Tbs. white vinegar
Mix the dry ingredients:
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup white flour
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 + 1/8 tsp. baking soda
To the dry ingredients, add the soured soymilk and:
3 ounces molasses
1/2 cup raisins
Mix quickly and do not over-mix. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for about 25 minutes — toothpick test for doneness. Let stand in pan for ten minutes, then remove to rack. Let cool completely before slicing.
LEFTOVER OATMEAL QUICK BREAD
Preheat oven to 375 F. Grease or spray an 8x8” baking pan.
Cook together:
1/2 cup quick oats with
1 cup water (or use 1 cup leftover oatmeal)
Combine and let stand:
1 cup soy or rice milk (you can also use water)
1 Tbs. + 1 tsp. white vinegar
Mix the dry ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbs. baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
When the oven is preheated, combine the cooked oatmeal with the liquid ingredients and mix well. Then combine the oatmeal liquid with the dry ingredients. Mix quickly and do not overmix. Batter will be very thick. Pour (dump) batter into prepared pan. Bake about 25 minutes — toothpick test for doneness. Let stand in pan 10 minutes. Remove and wrap in dry towel to cool. Let cool completely. Wrap in plastic. This is a very moist bread which will slice more easily on the second day. No need to refrigerate.
GINGERBREAD
Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease or spray an 8” x 8” cake pan.
Combine the liquid ingredients:
1 and 1/4 cups hot soymilk, ricemilk, or water
1 Tbs. + 1 tsp. white vinegar
1/4 cup molasses
In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbs. baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. cinnamon
When the oven reaches temp, pour the liquid into the dry ingredients. Mix quickly and do not over-mix. Pour into prepared pan. Bake about 25 min.—toothpick test for doneness. Remove from oven and let stand in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and wrap in a clean dry kitchen towel until completely cooled. May dust with powdered sugar or eat with applesauce.
SALLYBREAD
Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray or grease a 9” x 13” baking pan.
Combine the liquid ingredients together:
1 and 1/4 cups HOT soymilk, ricemilk, or water
1 Tbs. + 1 tsp. white vinegar.
Combine the dry ingredients together:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbs. baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
When the oven reaches temp, stir the liquid ingredients into the dry. Mix quickly, and do not over-mix. Pour into prepared pan and spread it around evenly to cover bottom of pan.
Now pour the contents of:
1 (21 ounce) can of fruit pie filling
on top of the batter in the pan. Spread it around to mostly cover. Bake about 20 to 25 minutes — toothpick test for doneness. Remove from oven and let cool in the pan. Serve warm or cover and refrigerate.
ICED CINNAMON-RAISIN QUICK BREAD
Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease or spray an 8” x 8” cake pan.
Mix the dry ingredients together:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 Tbs. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. baking soda
Combine the liquid ingredients:
1 and 1/4 cups hot water
1 Tbs. + 1 tsp. white vinegar
Have ready:
1/2 - 1 cup raisins (the amount is flexible; use what you have on hand)
When the oven reaches temp., pour the liquid ingredients and add the raisins to the dry ingredients. Mix quickly and do not over-mix. Pour into the prepared pan. Bake for about 25 minutes — toothpick test for doneness.
Just before the bread is ready to come out of the oven, prepare the icing:
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
4 tsp. warm water
Mix the ingredients for the icing together, then spread over the bread as soon as it comes out of the oven.
Let the bread cool completely before serving, several hours or overnight.
Chopped, peeled apples could easily be added to this with good results.
PLUM GOOD COFFEE CAKE
Pre-heat oven to 350 F. Spray or grease an 8” x 8” cake pan.
Mix the dry ingredients together:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tbs. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. grated lemon zest (optional)
Pit and slice, but do not peel:
4 red or purple plums
Mix the liquid ingredients:
1 and 1/4 cups soymilk, ricemilk, or water (I use water)
1 Tbs. + 1 tsp. white vinegar
Have ready:
1/4 cup light brown sugar
When the oven reaches temp., stir the liquid ingredients into the dry. Mix quickly and do not over-mix. Spread in prepared pan. Arrange plum slices close together on top, peel side up, pressing them halfway into batter. Sprinkle with the brown sugar. Bake 30 minutes — toothpick test for doneness. Cool in pan on rack for 15 minutes. Cool completely in refrigerator before slicing.
Zucchini Quick Bread
Pre-heat oven to 350 F. Grease or spray an 8” x 8” cake pan or an 8” round pan.
Combine the dry ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 Tbs. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ginger
pinch ground cloves
pinch nutmeg
Combine the liquid ingredients in a separate bowl:
1 and 1/4 cups soymilk, ricemilk, or water (I use water)
1 Tbs. + 1 tsp. white vinegar
1 cup peeled and shredded zucchini (about one average zucchini)
When the oven reaches temp., add the liquid ingredients to the dry. Mix quickly and do not over-mix. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for about 25 to 30 minutes — toothpick test for doneness. Remove from oven and let stand in pan 10 minutes. Remove from pan and wrap in clean dry kitchen towel. Let cool completely before slicing.
PUMPKIN SPICE QUICK BREAD
Pre-heat oven to 350 F. Grease an 8” x 8” square cake pan.
Combine the dry ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tbs. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. baking soda
In a separate bowl, mix the liquid ingredients thoroughly:
3/4 cup hot water, soymilk, or ricemilk (I use water)
1 Tbs. + 1 tsp. white vinegar
1 cup canned pumpkin pie filling
When the oven reaches temp., add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients. Mix quickly and do not over-mix. Dump into prepared pan. Bake about 30 minutes — toothpick test for doneness. Remove from oven and let sit in pan 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely on rack. Slice when completely cooled.
Variation: If you use pumpkin pie filling, note that it contains sugar already; you may want to reduce or eliminate the added sugar in this recipe, according to taste. If you want to use plain canned pumpkin, then use the sugar, and add 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice or 1/2 tsp. cinnamon and 1/4 tsp. nutmeg, or according to taste.
You could also add 1/2 cup raisins to this. Soak ‘em first to soften, then drain, and add in with the liquid ingredients.
CARROT QUICK BREAD
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease or spray an 8”x8” cake pan.
Mix the dry ingredients together:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 Tbs. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 tsp. baking soda
In a separate bowl, combine the liquid ingredients:
1 and 1/4 cups hot soymilk, ricemilk, or water (I use water)
1 Tbs. + 1 tsp. white vinegar
1 cup grated carrot
1 tsp. vanilla extract
When the oven reaches temp., add the liquid to the dry ingredients. Mix well, but do not over-mix. Pour into prepared pan. Bake about 25 to 30 minutes — toothpick test for doneness. Remove from oven and let stand in pan 10 minutes. Remove from pan; wrap in clean dry kitchen towel. Let cool completely before slicing. Optional: You may add 1/2 cup chopped nuts or raisins to the batter.
ALMOND-POPPYSEED QUICK BREAD
Preheat oven to 375 F. Grease or spray an 8” x 8” baking pan.
Combine the liquid ingredients in a small bowl:
1 and 1/4 cups HOT tap water
1 Tbsp. + 1 tsp. white vinegar
1 tsp. almond extract
Combine the dry ingredients in a medium bowl:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
2 Tbsp. poppyseeds
1/2 cup toasted sliced almonds*
When the oven reaches temp, combine the liquid and dry ingredients. Batter will be foamy. Mix quickly and do not overmix. Pour into prepared pan. Bake about 25 minutes. Toothpick test for doneness. Remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes. Remove from pan. Wrap in a clean dry kitchen towel and let cool thoroughly before slicing.
*To toast almonds, put in a dry skillet and cook over medium heat, stirring often, until browned. You can also make this without the almonds, because the almond extract provides plenty of almond flavor...without the fat.
Pineapple upside-down Coffeecake
Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a 9” round cake pan with non-stick.
1/2 cup brown sugar
8 oz. can pineapple rings, packed in its own juice, drained (reserve juice)
HOT water
1 Tbs. + 1 tsp. vinegar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. or less salt
1 Tbs. baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1. Spread the brown sugar and 1 Tbs. pineapple juice evenly in the bottom of the pan.
2. Arrange the pineapple rings in the pan on top of the brown sugar.
3. Mix the rest of the pineapple juice with enough hot water to equal 1+1/4 cups liquid. Add the vinegar and vanilla and stir to mix.
4. Mix the remaining (dry) ingredients in a bowl. When oven has reached temp., pour the liquid ingredients into the dry. Mix quickly and do not over-mix.
5. Pour the batter over the pineapple rings. Spread evenly with the back of a spoon.
6. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until browned. Toothpick test for doneness.
7. Let cool in pan 10-15 minutes.
8. Invert pan over plate and remove coffeecake onto the plate. If the pineapple rings stick to the bottom of the pan, just use a spatula to remove and put them in their place on the cake.
9. This is the hard part: let cool completely before slicing and eating.
This is a tea- or dessert-bread, not a dinner bread. Slice in wedges, put on a plate, and eat with a fork.
Banana Bread
Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease or spray an 8”x8” cake pan.
Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl:
2 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar or to taste
1 Tbs. baking powder
1 tsp. salt or to taste
3/4 tsp. baking soda
Mix the liquid ingredients together separately:
3/4 cup hot water
1 Tbs. + 1 tsp. vinegar
3 bananas, well mashed
When oven reaches temp., combine the liquid with the dry ingredients. Mix well, but do not over-mix. Pour into prepared pan. Bake 25 to 30 minutes; toothpick test for doneness. Let sit in pan 10 minutes. Remove from pan. Let cool completely on rack.
“EGGNOG” QUICK BREAD
1 and 1/4 cups hot nog (tested with Silk Nog)
1 T + 1 tsp. vinegar
2 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbs. baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground nutmeg, or to taste
Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease or spray an 8” x 8” cake pan.
Mix the dry ingredients. When the oven reaches temp., add the hot water and vinegar to the flour mix. Mix quickly and do not over-mix. Pour into the prepared pan. Bake about 25 min. — toothpick test for doneness. Glaze: Mix 3/4 cup powdered sugar with enough nog to let it drizzle over the warm bread, then sprinkle lightly with nutmeg. Let cool completely before eating.
Raspberry Cocoa Quick Bread
Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray an 8 x 8” square or 8” round cake pan with non-stick spray.
Combine the dry ingredients and mix well:
2 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbs. baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
Combine liquid ingredients separately:
1 and 1/4 cups hot water (tap water hot, not boiling)
1 Tbs. + 1 tsp. white vinegar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Have ready:
1 (10 ounce) jar Polaner All-Fruit, in Raspberry flavor
When the oven reaches temp., add the liquid ingredients all at once to the dry ingredients. Mix quickly with a spoon, and do not over-mix. Put half the batter into the pan; spread evenly. Spoon about 3/4 of the jar of Polaner Raspberry fruit spread onto the batter. Put it on evenly, but don’t try to spread it around. Put the rest of the batter on top of the fruit and spread gently and evenly to cover. Bake 25 minutes — toothpick test for doneness. Leave the bread in the pan and put the pan on a rack to cool. Remove the last 1/4 jar of fruit spread, put in a bowl, and microwave 30 seconds or so to melt. Pour this melted spread over the warm bread to glaze. Let the bread cool completely before cutting.
HONEY SPICE QUICK BREAD
Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray or film an 8 x 8” cake pan.
Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbs. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. powdered ginger
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
Mix the liquid ingredients together in another bowl:
1 + 1/4 cups hot soy or rice milk or water
1 Tbs. + 1 tsp. vinegar
1/4 cup honey
When the oven reaches temp., pour the liquid into the dry ingredients. Mix quickly, but do not over-mix. Pour into your prepared pan. Bake 25 to 30 minutes — toothpick test for doneness. Let cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan, wrap in clean dry kitchen towel, set on rack, and let cool completely. This is a lighter form of my gingerbread recipe, as it uses honey instead of molasses.
HONEY-ALMOND QUICK BREAD
Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease or spray an 8” x 8” cake pan.
Mix the dry ingredients together:
2 cups unbleached flour
1/2 cup sliced almonds (don’t use a full 1/2 cup; reserve some to garnish the top of the bread)
1 Tbs. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. baking soda
zest from half an orange, or to taste
In separate bowl, mix the liquid ingredients:
1 and 1/4 cups orange juice
2 to 4 Tbs. honey, amount depends on your taste. I used 4 Tbs.
1/2 tsp. almond extract
When the oven reaches temp., pour the liquid into the dry. Mix quickly — don’t overmix. Pour into prepared pan. Bake 25 to 30 min. — toothpick test for doneness. Remove from oven. While bread is still hot, drizzle with 2 Tbs. warm honey; spread with knife to cover top of bread. Sprinkle with reserved almonds; press lightly into the honey so they will stick. Let cool for a while in pan. Remove very carefully to a rack to finish cooling.
CORN CAKES & SPICY BEANS
Sandie’s note: Because these corn cakes go so well with the spicy beans, I have to include both (even though this is a list of quickbreads)!
Two steps: make the corn cakes, and heat up the beans.
Corn Cakes:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup yellow corn-meal
1 Tbs. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 cup water
Heat up the griddle. Mix the dry ingredients together. Stir in the water. Mix well until there are no lumps in the batter. When the griddle is hot (a drop of water dances on the hot surface), pour the batter out to form 4 or 5” cakes. When they are done on the bottom, flip them over and continue cooking. They will be yellow, not browned. This will make 7 or 8 cakes, depending on size.
While your cakes are cooking, open up a can of your favorite spicy beans, or chili beans or baked beans and heat them up.
When the corn cakes are done, remove to a platter and pour the hot beans over the tops of the cakes. Sprinkle with a little chopped onion, if you like. Enjoy! You can have dinner on the table in about ten minutes!
BEER BREAD (This is not an original recipe.)
Only 3 ingredients!
3 cups self-rising flour
2 Tbs. sugar
1 (12 oz.) can beer, at room temperature
Mix all the ingredients together with a spoon. Pour into greased and floured loaf pan. Bake at 373 F. for 45 min. Cool on rack.
_________________
“Be seeing you.”
Easy Chapatis
Posted: Wed Oct 08, 2008 10:47 am Reply with quote
I got this recipe off of recipezar. I am using fresh ground whole wheat flour. It is resting now- I will let you know how it turned out. I am having trouble finding whole wheat tortillas that are good and no oil.. and our store doesn’t always have whole wheat pitas. So if these turn out I will make these fresh. I also read that you really don’t need to keep warm in oven- just put in a serving dish with lid to keep warm and then they won’t dry out. and you don’t need to blister them on the stove either.
I will keep you posted.
Easy Chapatis (Flatbread) Recipe #33622
Found at yahoo! health online. LOVE these flatbreads—perfect for brown bag lunches or dips at parties.
by spatchcock
1¾ hours | 1½ hours prep
SERVES 8
* 2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
* 1 teaspoon sea salt
* 1 cup water
* cooking spray
1. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a dough blade, process flour, salt and water until the mixture forms a ball.
2. Turn dough onto a floured work surface and knead for 5 minutes.
3. Transfer to a bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap.
4. Let dough rest for 30 to 90 minutes.
5. Preheat oven to 200 degrees F (95 degrees C).
6. Divide dough into 8 equal pieces.
7. Roll each piece into a 7-inch (18-cm) circle.
8. Spray a cast-iron griddle or skillet once with cooking spray and set over medium-low heat.
9. Cook a chapati for 1 minute.
10. Turn over and cook 5 minutes on second side or until chapati bubbles up.
11. Flip back to first side and cook for 5 minutes.
12. Then place the cooked chapati over the open flame (or on the coils) of a separate burner for a few seconds to brown, as you would a tortilla.
13. Keep cooked chapatis warm in the oven while you cook the remaining dough.
14. If you prefer a crispy, cracker-like texture, increase oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
15. Bake cooked chapatis, on a pizza stone if possible, until crispy, about 10 minutes.
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Blessings, Debra
http://myvintagehome.com
Posted: Wed Oct 08, 2008 12:46 pm Reply with quote
They are delish!
Next time I will use less salt. and tomorrow when I do my grocery shopping I am getting an old fashioned tortilla press. For my large family (and to have left overs) I quadrupled the recipe. I was rolling for over an hour and a half! but they were sooooo worth it.
I had some lentils that I made with taco seasonings the other day- to that I added several cans of no fat refried beans, some cumin and cayenne. yum!
Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal
Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2008 9:27 am Reply with quote
This was so good-I thought I would share this with you.
1 cup water
1/2 cup canned pure pumpkin
1/2 cup old-fashioned oatmeal
1TBSP cinnamon
1tsp. pumpkin pie spice
2 TBSP Stevia [Posters say that is too much stevia]
In a small pot,bring water to boil.
Stir in pumpkin and remove from heat;turn heat to low
Stir in oats and put pot back on burner, gradually increasing heat to medium-low-reduce heat if it begains to bubble
Cook for 7 minutes until oats are fluffy
Stir in spices and Stevia
Enjoy! Very Happy
Posted: Sat Oct 18, 2008 8:39 am Reply with quote
This is a great idea! I tweaked the recipe as several of the measurements did not make sense to me. What is below makes one large serving:
2.25 cup water
3/4 cup canned pure pumpkin
3/4 cup old-fashioned oatmeal
5/8 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
dash Stevia
salt
In a small pot,bring water to boil.
Stir in pumpkin and remove from heat;turn heat to low
Stir in oats and put pot back on burner, gradually increasing heat to medium-low-reduce heat if it begains to bubble
Cook until oats are fluffy
Stir in spices and Stevia
I actually used baked sweet potato instead of the pumpkin. Because of the difference in taste between the two I think leaving the nutmeg out of the spice mix might be better w/ the potato
Dog gone good though!!!
Recipe: Seven-Grain Bran Bread [ABM]
Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2008 7:26 am Reply with quote
I made this bread yesterday to go with the split pea soup I made for dinner. It was really good!
Seven-Grain Bran Bread
1 1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons soy milk powder [I use Soy Supreme]
2 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
1 tablespoon each golden syrup and molasses
1 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cup unbleached flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup each dry seven-grain cereal and wheat bran
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
Layer ingredients in bread machine according to your machine’s instructions. Set machine for regular crust, whole grain bread.
Because this recipe uses dry milk powder, it can be used for an overnight or timed baking. You can also use any kind of dry mixed-grain cereal - 3-grain, 8-grain, 12-grain, etc. I happened to have 7-grain in my freezer.
This bread can also be baked in the oven. Select dough cycle. When the cycle is finished, remove the dough and put it in a lightly-sprayed or parchment-lined 8x4 loaf pan. Let rise for about 30-45 minutes. Preheat oven to 375F. Bake the loaf for about 45 minutes, or until it falls easily from the pan and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.
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To become vegetarian is to step into the stream which leads to nirvana. ~ Buddha
[Interesting thread]
May have found the recipe!!!!!!
Posted: Wed Oct 29, 2008 12:41 pm Reply with quote
I have not had time to try this recipe, yet — so, I don’t know how it will turn out. BUT it sounds very close to what I have been looking for!!!
Perhaps all that is needed to make pumpkin brownies out of this recipe is to SUBSTITUTE about 1 & 1/3 cups canned plain pumpkin and about 2 Tbs. lemon juice FOR the 1 & 1/2 cups of applesauce! (I figure the baking soda will need some acid to work with — since pumpkin is not as acidic as applesauce.) I might reduce the sugar a little bit, too.
Chocolate Applesauce Cake
By Jolinda Hackett, About.com
This low-fat and vegan cake recipe uses applesauce instead of eggs or oil, making it nearly fat-free and guilt-free! Though its a little bit heavier than other cakes, the generous amount of cocoa makes this vegan cake absolutely heavenly.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch
2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup cocoa
1 1/2 cups applesauce
Preparation:
Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a bundt cake pan.
Note: You can use other cake pans, but because this cake is a bit heavy, layered cake pans are not recommended.
(SB’s Note: Of course, instead of “greasing and flouring” a pan you should use a non-stick or a slicon pan.)
Mix all of the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Add applesauce and mix well until batter is smooth. Bake for 50-55 minutes, until done. You can always tell that a cake is finished baking by sticking a toothpick in the center of the cake. If the toothpick comes out clean, that is, not covered in batter, then your cakes is done baking.
Frost, if desired, and enjoy!
Nutritional Information:
Makes 8 fat-free cake slices.
Calories per slice: 242, Calories from Fat: 7
Total Fat: 0.8g, 1% RDA
Cholesterol: 0mg, 0% RDA
Sodium 390mg, 16%
Total Carbohydrates: 56.9g, 19%
Dietary Fiber: 2.5g, 10%
Protein: 4.0g
Vitamin A 0%, Vitamin C 1%, Calcium 1%, Iron 11%
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Okay, here’s the one we liked - especially fresh.
Low-Fat Peanut Butter Cookies
makes 18-20 small cookies
1/2 cup whole wheat flour (I use the King Arthur White Whole Wheat)
2 T. flax seed, ground
1/2 cup quick oats (I used old fashioned oats)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp Vanilla extract (I increased it to 1 Tbsp.)
3 T. applesauce
1/4 c. maple syrup, honey, or agave nectar
1/3 c. creamy style natural peanut butter
optional: 1/4 c. vegan chocolate chips, nuts, or dried fruit
Preheat oven to 325 degrees
dump ingredients into mixing bowl and stir, may need some mash/smashing motions, makes a thick batter
drop into 1 T. rounded mounds on a non-stick cookie sheet or parchment paper or silicone liner, smash down with a fork or spoon
bake until bottoms are lightly golden - about 10-12 minutes
They are soft at first and crisp up somewhat as they cool.
Made with the pb but no choc chips, nuts, or dried fruit they were about 27% of the calories from fat.
_________________
- Kim
Here’s the other recipe we thought was pretty good ~ it also has some PB in it, but the % fat is lower, only about 13.5% of the calories is fat. I think you could omit the PB too - but I didn’t try it that way.
Low-fat Chewy Chocolate Cookies
1.5 c. whole wheat flour (I use White Whole Wheat)
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 c. honey (or agave nectar)
2 T. creamy peanut butter
2 T. flax seed, ground
2 T. water
1 T. balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. vanilla
Preheat oven to 350. Use parchment paper or silicone liner to line cookie sheet.
Combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda in a bowl
Stir in honey, flax, pb, water, vinegar, and vanilla
Drop the sticky, thick batter by rounded teaspoons onto prepared cookie sheet. Bake 7-9 minutes or until just set — cookies will be soft. Do not overbake. Cool on wire rack.
Makes 12 cookies.
_________________
- Kim
Here is one I made a few days ago, I thought they were very good, my first vegan cookie. I left the coconut out because I did not have any.
Not sure where the recipe came from, maybe here?
Chocolate Chip Coconut Cookies
2 tbsp ground flax seed
3 tbsp water
1/2 cup vegan margarine
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
3/4 cup vegan chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350°F. In a small dish, mix together the ground flax and water. In a food processor or large bowl, blend or mix together the flax mixture, margarine, sugar, and vanilla until smooth and set aside.
In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, coconut and chocolate chips. Add the margarine mixture and stir until well incorporated. Roll dough into balls, lay on cookie sheet and bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Let cookies cool 5 minutes before removing from sheet.
Makes 18 to 24 cookies
FAT FREE OATMEAL RAISIN COOKIES
1 c. flour
1 1/2 c. quick oats
stevia to your taste
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp grnd cloves
1/8 tsp dry ginger
biggish pinch glucomannan or some other substitute for 2 big egg whites
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. raisins
1/3 c. water
try adding small amt of baked sweet potato
I use silicon coated baking paper on cookie sheet (or good non-stick sheet). In large bowl combine dry ingredients. Stir in egg whites, stevia and vanilla until well mixed. Add raisins. (Batter will be stiff.)
Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheets. Bake in 375 degree oven for 10 minutes or until firm. (Do not overbake.) Remove; cool on wire rack. Yield 2 1/2 dozen.
(Bake up to 15 minutes, depending on texture desired. Shorter baking time results in a chewy soft cookie, the longer time in a crisp cookie.)
Betcha can’t eat one!
This is from the Esselstyn book. It is my favorite cookie...cures my cookie cravings but is so different that I am not comparing it to the ‘real thing’ and coming up disappointed.
Chewy Gingerbread Cookies
1 1/2 c whole wheat pastry flour or barley flour
2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder (Wonderslim)
1 1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 c baby food prunes
1Tbsp peeled, finely chopped fresh ginger
1/2 c packed brown sugar (I use1/4 c organic br sugar and 1/4 c succanet...they come out softer)
1/4 c unsulphered molasses
1 tsp baking soda dissolved in 1 1/4 tsp boiling water
1/4 granulated sugar
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees
2. Put flour, cocoa and spices in a bowl and set aside.
3. Put prunes and ginger into bowl of electric mixer and blend on medium until well mixed. Add brown sugar; mix until combines. Add molasses, mix until combined.
4. Add flour mixture in 2 batches alternating with baking soda mix
5. Transfter dough to a piece of plastic wrap (it will be really sticky) and regrigerate until firm.
6. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Roll dough into 1 1/2 balls and roll balls in graulated sugar. Space balls 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets.
7. Bake for 20 minutes or until surface cracks slightly. Cool on sheets for 5 minuts and transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Enjoy!!!
Oatmeal Cookies
1/3 cup plain or vanilla rice milk
1/3 cup maple syrup
4 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup barley flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup raisins, chopped coarse
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional - I usually omit these)
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Heat ove to 350 degrees F.
In a small bowl combine the wet ingredients.
In a large bowl combine the dry ingredients (do not add the raisins yet). Add the wet ingredients, along with the raisins and walnuts to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
Drop tablespoons of the dough onto the prepared baking sheet and flatten slightly.
Bake 15-20 minutes, or until the bottoms are lightly browned.
Makes about 12 cookies.
Recipe is adapted from Neal Barnard’s book Foods That Fight Pain
I found this recipe in an email newsletter I receive. I tried them yesterday and they are really good.
Gingerbread Cookies
2 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 Tbs baking soda
1 tsp ginger
1/2 cup molasses
1/3 cup orange juice concentrate
Mix flour, baking soda and ginger. Add molasses and orange juice concentrate. Mix well. Form into 1 inch balls. Place on greased cookie sheet. Flatten to 1/2 inch thick. Bake at 300 for 10 minutes or until firm and jus barely starting to brown on the bottoms.
Makes 1 1/2 dozen
Hope you enjoy them.
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