Gan Bian Si Ji Dou

DBD started liking this dish last year. This is my second attempt at making it. Still needs improving, but ok as is.

• vegetable oil
• green beans (400-500 g)
• salt
• 115 g pork
• 1/4 t sichuan peppercorns
• 3 dried chilis
• +3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 t ginger, minced
• 1 T shaoxing wine
• 1 T soy sauce
• splash dark soy sauce (optional)
• ~1 t sugar

1. Wash beans. Break off rough end. Dry thoroughly.
2. Heat 1 T oil on medium-high in large skillet. Layer beans, without overlap, and fry for 6-8 minutes, flipping every 15-20 seconds. Beans should start to brown and wither. If pan starts to smoke, turn down heat to medium. Move to plate.
3. Add pork and sichuan peppers to empty pan and cook until surface of pork is cooked.
4. Add the chilis, garlic and ginger. Stir until aromatic.
5. Add the beans, and stir for a few seconds.
6. Add the remaining ingredients (wine, soy(s), sugar). Stir until beans absorb sauce, about 1-2 minutes.
7. Salt to taste.

Macaroni and Cheese

I made a Mac and cheese with fancy white cheddar and it was awful. I tried a different recipe using the pre-shredded crappy cheddar at the store. It uses an egg instead of flour as a thickener. I used the herbed breadcrumbs and the kids didn't like it. Ate leftovers for a week.

• 4 c/450 g macaroni
• 6 T butter, divided
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 4 c milk
• 1 generous t dry mustard
• 2 t salt
• pinch of black or cayenne pepper
• 6 c shredded sharp cheddar
• 1/2 c fine bread crumbs (1 c was too much)

1. Preheat oven to 220C/425F. Grease a large casserole dish (~9x13).
2. Cook macaroni just until al dente. Drain well.
3. Melt 3 T butter in pot and add pasta. 
4. Whisk eggs, milk, mustard, salt, and pepper. Add to pasta with cheese. Stir constantly over med-high heat until cheese melts and sauce thickens.
5. Continue cooking, stirring constantly for 5 min or until very thick and creamy.
6. Transfer to prepared dish.
7. Melt 3 T butter in small saucepan and mix with bread crumbs. Sprinkle evenly over top.
8. Bake 10-15 min.

Pierogi

I could easily buy White Cheddar and Potato pierogies in the freezer section at my local grocery store in Toronto, but Cheddar is not really a thing in the land of Gouda. So I thought I'd try making this from scratch, but with orange cheddar. DBD liked them a lot. I thought the cheese was overpowering and would reduce the ratio next time.

1/16/25 made 42 pierogi, freezing immediately. Boiled then sauteed with buttered yellow onion. Both kids ate it (along with chicken noodle soup), xbd preferred extra crispy. Had too much filling leftover.

July 2025 - stuffed more aggressively so not as much leftover filling. ~46 pierogi

Dough

• 5 c flour
• 1 t sea salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 T butter, softened
• 1 c lukewarm potato water* (may not use all of it)
• 1/2 c milk

Filling

• 2 lb potatoes, Yukon gold (about 5)
• 3 c shredded sharp cheddar (would use less next time)
• optional: 1/2 c milk
• 1 t sea salt
• 1/2 t pepper

1. Leave the peel on the potatoes. Roughly quarter them so they cook faster. Add to pot with enough cold water to cover them. Salt the water. Bring to boil, and cook until fork tender.
2. *Reserve 1 cup of the cooking water (for the dough). Drain and peel the potatoes (they should come right off). Add the cheese, salt and pepper and mash with a fork or potato masher. Add the optional milk to make it creamier. Season to taste.
3. Dough
1. Sift the flour and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the middle or use a dough hook.
2. Add eggs, then butter and milk, and mix.
3. Gradually add the potato water and mix until dough starts to form. Add enough water until a ball forms and the dough is not sticky.
4. Wrap the ball in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 min to rest.
5. Divide dough into 4 pieces, keeping covered to prevent drying out.
6. Divide one piece into 10-12 pieces. Roll to about 1/8-1/6" thick circular shape, about 3" in diameter.
7. Place a heaping tablespoon full of filling in center. Optional: Dab edge with water. Fold in half to seal into half moon shape.
8. Place on lightly greased cookie sheet, keeping covered until ready to boil.
9. Optional: Freeze the uncooked batch to cook later
10. Boil pierogi until they float.
11. Optional: Freeze the boiled batch to reheat later.
12. Optional: Saute chopped onion with butter over medium heat until golden brown. Then add the boiled pierogi until onions are caramelized and pierogi are crispy. Add more butter as needed.
    
    
    

Chicken, Chickpeas and Rice with Spinach

Made this and felt the rice ratio was way too low. Was unclear when chicken should have been cut. Easy one pot meal.

• 2 c rice (increased from 2/3 c)
  
• 1 lb chicken breast, boneless, skinless
• 3 c spinach, chopped
• 1 c canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1 carrot, shredded
• 6 scallions, chopped
• 2 cl garlic
• salt and pepper
• 2 T olive oil

1. Cook the chicken in pan on both sides until golden brown. Set aside
2. Sauté onions and garlic for 30 seconds with 1 T olive oil.
3. On med-high heat, stir in spinach, chickpeas, carrot and rice. Add salt and water to cover.
4. Cover with lid and reduce heat to medium. Cook until the rice is ready, stirring and adding water if needed.
5. Once rice is done, add 1 more T olive oil and salt to taste. 
6. Slice the chicken, stir it in and cook for 3-4 more minutes. Season as needed.

Roast Garlic Bread (with Rosemary)

I didn't have rosemary the first time I made this so it turned out as a delicious garlic bread. The second time I made it was with rosemary but DBD preferred it without. The first time the dough was way too wet - made worse by the oil from the roasted garlic. The second time I put much more flour before adding the garlic...and it was better, but still too wet! The dough was floppy and did not hold it's shape.

• 1.5 t yeast
• 1 c warm water
• 2 t sugar
• 2 t salt
• 3 T e.v. olive oil
• 2.5++ c bread flour
• [1 T dried rosemary]
• 1/4 t black pepper
• 1/2 t oregano
• 1 head of roasted garlic
• olive oil, coarse sea salt

1. Roast garlic well in advance. Roast multiple heads at once for immediate and later use:
1. Slice a full head of garlic horizontally.
2. Place both halves on foil, cut side up. Drizzle olive oil generously on cut halves.
3. Sprinkle each with a pinch of kosher salt (I used regular salt)
4. Close the halves back together and quickly seal the foil, twisting it to prevent leaks.
5. Place garlic on baking sheet and roast for 1 hour at 400F/200C or until the garlic is fully soft and aromatic.
6. Let cool. Open foil and squeeze the cloves out of peel to use. Refrigerate unused cloves for later use in an airtight container.
2. In a large bowl mix yeast, water, sugar and salt. Let sit for 5-10 min until it foams.
3. Add in olive oil. Add flour and knead for about 10 min.
4. Add rosemary, black pepper and oregano. Knead another 5 min. Add in enough flour to have a somewhat stiff dough (you may need to add 1.5 c flour!).
5. Gently knead in the roasted garlic. The dough could be a bit sticky but manageable.
6. Place dough in well greased bowl, oiling all surfaces of dough. Tightly cover in cling wrap and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour (maybe up to 2).
7. Punch down dough.
8. Shape into rounded loaf.
9. Using sharp knife, cut criss cross slits on top.
10. Place on greased baking sheet. Cover with a large bowl. Let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
11. Gently brush with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt (I used regular salt and would have preferred a milder coarser salt), and optionally a bit more rosemary.
12. Bake at 375/190 for 25-30 min. Splash water on loaf during middle of baking (or bake with tray of water).
13. Increase temperature to 425 and spray again. Bake until top is a nice golden brown.
14. Let rest for at least 5 min before slicing.

Ginger Molasses Cookies - soft and chewy

Despite the weird Dutch ingredients, these actually turned out soft and chewy even though they spread flat. In North America this might make a thicker cookie as it's meant to be. A bit too much clove for my taste, but otherwise good. This makes a very large amount of cookies, which is fine if you have people to share with. If not, might be good to cut the recipe in half. Mine all spread very quickly in the baking process but rose, and then deflated when taken out of the oven. I tried adding more flour to reduce spread but it was hard to mix in once it was chilled.

• 1.5 c butter, room temperature
• 1 c sugar (Dutch fine)
• 1 c brown sugar (Dutch basterd suiker - lichte and donkere mixed)
• 1/2 c unsulfured molasses
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 4.5 c (639 g) flour, or more
• 4 t baking soda (yes this is a lot)
• 1 T ginger
• 2 t cinnamon
• 1/2 t cloves (reduced from 1 t)
• 1 t salt
• dip: sugar (Dutch regular, bigger than fijn)

1. In a medium bowl sift the flour, soda, spices and salt.
2. In a large bowl cream the butter and sugars.
3. Mix in the eggs one at a time and then the molasses.
4. Gradually add in the flour mixture until it is combined. If it is too sticky, add more flour.
5. Cover tightly and rest in fridge for at least 2 hours.
6. Preheat oven to 350F/175C. 
7. Roll into small balls, about 1" diameter. Roll in sugar and place on parchment lined baking tray. Chill until oven is ready.
8. Bake for 8-10 min until the cookies start to crack on top (mine never cracked, so just baked before they were fully cooked). Cool on tray for 4-5 min, then transfer to rack. (Or if overbaked, transfer right away).
9. Can be kept on counter in sealed container for 4 days or frozen for 3 months.

Garlic Lemon Shrimp

I had a giant lemon and used the juice from all of it - and so this came out super lemony. I think it would have been nice with just a tablespoon of lemon juice instead of what probably amounted to 1/3 of a cup or so. 

• 
  454 g (1 lb) of deveined shrimp (or up to 1.5 pounds)
  
• 5 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 stick of butter (half a cup, divided)
• salt + pepper
• 1/4 c chicken broth
• some fresh lemon juice (1/2-1 small lemon)

1. Thaw the shrimp and peel, leaving tail on (optional, for extra flavor). 
2. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in pan. Add shrimp. Salt and pepper. Cook for 2-2.5 min until pink, flipping after 1 min. Remove to bowl.
3. Add 1 more tablespoon of butter and saute the garlic until aromatic. Add the lemon juice and broth. Bring to boil then simmer until reduced. Add remaining butter 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring until incorporated.
4. Add shrimp back to pan and stir. Garnish with fresh or dried parsley.
5. Serve with pasta and vegetables.

Flower Bread

This was a fun new shape to experiment with. However it results in a GIANT bread - which due to a pandemic lockdown, I had no one outside our household to share it with. I would not recommend making it for a single family. I also wanted to make a plain or savory bread, having baked many sweets the previous days. However, I had a small amount of cinnamon-sugar mixture leftover from the swirl cookies, so sprinkled this on the very outer edge. This ended up being my favorite part - which maybe speaks more to my sweet tooth than actually being a better option.

• the recipe is from: https://www.talesfromthekitchenshed.com/2015/08/flower-bread/
• but I used olive oil instead of rapeseed oil, and butter instead of spray. I also topped with black pepper, coarse salt, and thyme instead of sunflower seeds (but still had sesame seeds in the middle), as well as a cinnamon-sugar mixture on the very outer edge.
• Shaping was challenging - perhaps due to the wetness of my dough or the butter instead of spray, the dough layers tended to stick to each other when I flipped them over. Some of them I was able to separate, and some I left as a clump. I think if you can separate them, you can make a nicer layout. 
• I baked it on a 13" round pizza stone (covered in foil) - which was JUST big enough to fit this bread, considering that it gets bigger after rising. A larger pan would have been ok too.

This was fun to make once but I would probably not make again. Cinnamon Star Bread is still a favorite, and there are some other fun shapes I'd like to try first.

Cornbread

 I made a big tray for a bbq at the park. It disappeared quickly.

• 1 c cornmeal
• 3 c flour
• 1 c sugar
• 2 T baking powder
• 1 t salt
• 2/3 c canola oil
• 1/3 c butter, melted
• 2 T honey
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 2.5 c lactose-free milk

1. Butter a 9x13 baking dish/tray.
2. In a large bowl mix the dry ingredients.
3. Pour in the wet ingredients and stir until moistened.
4. Pour into baking dish and bake at 350F for 45-50 minutes, or until cracks appear and golden in color.
5. Let cool. Serve warm, cooled, with butter, or as a side.

Tofu Black Bean Stir Fry

I usually buy extra firm tofu, but had a package of firm tofu in the fridge I needed to use up. Found a recipe I had the ingredients for.

• 1 pkg firm tofu
• 1 T black bean sauce
• 2 T cooking oil
• 1 cl garlic
• 1 t minced ginger
• assorted vegetables (spinach, carrot, snow peas, broccoli, mushrooms, etc)
• 1 T cornstarch
• 2 T cold water
• 1/2 c broth
• 2 T low sodium soy sauce

1. Pat tofu as dry as possible.
2. Cut into 1/2" cubes.
3. Combine with black bean sauce. My sauce was very thick and did not spread easily. Next time combine with soy or water to make thinner? Let sit for 10 min.
4. Heat oil in wok. Saute tofu until browned. Set aside in bowl.
5. Add oil as needed. Saute vegetables with garlic and ginger.
6. If possible, move veges to side of pan. Add broth and soy sauce.
7. Combine cornstarch and water in small bowl. Pour into broth and stir until thick.
8. Stir in slurry with veggies. Mix until veggies are cooked. 
9. Add tofu and stir one last time.
10. Serve with rice or udon noodles.

Oven Braised Beef Shank with Tarragon

Got a bottle of dry Marsala and was ready to go with this recipe. Next time try adding potatoes with the carrots.

• 2 T olive oil
• ~2 lbs beef shank (I used 2 pieces, bone in)
• salt and pepper
• garlic
• celery, 1 stalk, cut into 1/2" cubes
• 1 c Marsala wine
• 14oz+ beef broth
• carrots, 2" cuts
• 2 T dried tarragon

1. Season shanks with salt and pepper.
2. Heat olive oil in cast iron/dutch oven pan on stovetop. Fully brown the shanks, 5-12 min.
3. Transfer to plate.
4. Saute celery for 5 min. Add garlic and continue to saute 1-5 min.
5. Pour in wine, scrape brown bits off with wooden spoon.
6. If in small pan, transfer to oven proof pan.
7. Place shanks in pan. Add in carrots. Pour in broth (and water if needed) to cover 50-75% of shanks.
8. Sprinkle tarragon over shanks.
9. Cover with lid or with double layer of foil.
10. Bake at 275 until meat is falling off bone (about 4-5 hours). [Alt: cook at 300 for shorter time]
11. Serve with veggies and bread/mashed potatoes/rice.

Lemon Cake

DBD wanted a lemon cake but not a lemon almond cake. So I had to try yet another recipe. As usual, I did assembly of cakes and icing, but let the party kids decorate with choice of sprinkles or fruit. ***

10/14/20 Made this again with substitutions and it came out very moist and light. Filled it with lemon custard and topped with raspberries. Much improved - ****

• 2 1/4 c cake flour, sifted [substitute: all purpose flour with cornstarch]
  
• 1 T baking powder
• 1/2 t kosher salt
• 1 1/4 c low fat buttermilk [substitute: lactose free milk with lemon juice]
• 4 egg whites
• 1.5 c sugar
• 2 t lemon zest
• 1 stick butter, room temp
• 1/2 t lemon extract

1. Grease the sides of 2 8" pans (or one 8" and one 9"). Line the bottom with parchment paper. Grease the parchment paper.
2. Sift together the cake flour, powder and salt in a medium bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk the buttermilk and egg whites.
4. In a large bowl, rub together the zest and sugar.
5. Add the butter to the sugar mixture and mix on medium speed for 3 minutes until light and fluffy.
6. Mix in the lemon extract.
7. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture alternating with 1/2 the buttermilk mixture, ending on the flour mixture, beating on medium speed. Then beat an additional 2 minutes.
8. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans evenly. Smooth the tops.
9. Bake 30-35 min until well risen, the center springs back when lightly touched and a knife inserted in center comes out clean.
10. Rest on wire rack for 5 minutes. 
11. Flip out, remove the paper, and cool to room temperature on wire rack.
12. Wrap airtight and keep at room temperature for up to a day before icing. Otherwise freeze.

Lemon Icing

• 1 pkg cream cheese, softened
• 1 stick butter, softened
• 2 3/4 c powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 T lemon juice
• 1 T zest
• 1 t vanilla
• 1/8 t kosher salt

1. Combine the cream cheese and butter on medium speed until no more lumps (about 3 minutes).
2. On low speed combine the powdered sugar. Once incorporated, beat on high for 3 min
3. Add in the lemon juice, zest, vanilla and salt.
4. May be kept in airtight container in the fridge or used to ice the room temperature cake.

Lemon Custard

• 1/2 c sugar
  
  
  
• 1/4 c cornstarch
• 1/4 t salt
• 2 egg yolks
• 3/4 c water
• 2 T butter, softened
• 1/3 c lemon juice
• 1 t lemon zest

1. Prepare all the ingredients before starting. In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch and salt.
2. Add the egg yolks and mix until completely mixed in.
3. Stir in the water until mixture is smooth.
4. Cook over medium low heat until just boiling. It will become quite thick. Immediately remove from heat and stir in the butter.
5. Gradually stir in lemon juice until smooth. Stir in the zest.
6. Pour into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30-60 min before spreading on cake.

• 
  

Savory Pancakes

Using the food processor makes whipping up these savory pancakes so much faster.

Asian Pancakes - ****

Onion free, but add scallions if it's not an issue. Served as appetizer for 4 adults + 2 kids. All disappeared.

• 2 c zucchini
• 1.5 c carrot
• 2 c potato
• 2 c flour
• 1 egg, beaten
• 3/4-1 c water
• 1 t salt
• 1/ t black pepper
• 3 T soy
• 2 T black vinegar
• 2 cl garlic
• sesame oil

1. In a food processor, grate zucchini, carrot and potato until amount desired.
2. Stir in flour.
3. Mix in egg, water, salt and pepper. Add water if mixture is too dry/thick.
4. Heat 1/2 T oil in pan, flatten 1/4 c batter, and fry until browned and crispy. Flip and continue to cook until crisp. 
5. Cool slightly on paper towels to absorb excess oil.
6. Mix soy, vinegar, garlic and sesame oil as dipping sauce.
7. Serve immediately or freeze. 

Chickpea Pancakes - ***

Also onion free - use garlic powder or other Italian spices as desired. Makes 8 patties. Ate half for lunch.

• 1 c chickpeas (2/3 of a can)
• 1 zucchini
• 1 carrot
• 1/2 t salt
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 c breadcrumbs
• 1 t dried basil (or use 2 t fresh)
• 2 cl garlic, minced
• pepper
• thyme
• optional: potato, parmesan

1. Grate zucchini and carrot in food processor. Add salt.
2. Blend chickpea in food processor.
3. Mix zucchini and carrot with eggs, bread crumbs and spices. Add more bread crumbs if too wet. 
4. Stir in chickpea mash.
5. Fry 1/8 of batter per pancake, until browned and crispy on each side.
1. Alternative: Bake at 400F for 20 minutes.
6. Drain on paper towels.
7. Eat warm plain or serve with salsa or ketchup.

Very Cherry Pie

Tried making a cherry pie for the first time after having found nice tasting frozen, pitted, dark cherries at the local grocery. They've been a pleasant change to oatmeal in the morning. Normally cherry pie is too sweet or too gloppy but I found a combo of recipes that I wanted to try. This comes out not too sweet at all, and the crust is fun to eat in star form. I probably over mixed it but given the hint of coconut and the thick shapes it was a bit like shortbread. Yes those are little stars around big stars around a sweater vest!

Crust

• 2 c flour
• 1/2 c coconut flour (or substitute almond flour)
• 1 c butter (2 sticks)
• 1 t salt
• 1 t sugar
• 6-10 T water, ice cold

Filling

• 32 oz pitted frozen dark/sweet cherries
• 8 oz mixed frozen berries (I used strawberries and raspberries)
• 3 T sugar
• 3 T lemon juice
• 4 T tapioca flour (can sub cornstarch)
• ~1 t butter

1. Cut the butter into 1/2" cubes and freeze for 15-30 min.
2. In a food processor, mix the flours, salt and sugar.
3. Pulse the butter in just until lumpy.
4. Add a 1/4 c water and pulse. Add in remaining water through spout until finely coarse. 
5. Turn out into bowl and divide into 2 uneven pieces. Place each piece in saran wrap and flatten to disc. Refrigerate at least 30 min.
6. For filling, thaw berries in large bowl.
7. Add the sugar, juice and tapioca flour. Stir well. Let sit 15 minutes.
8. Roll larger dough piece into pie plate. Smooth out edges.
9. Fill with cherry mixture. Dot with butter.
10. Roll the smaller dough piece and cut out shapes, placing on top of filling.
11. Cover edges with foil. Place tray with parchment paper on lower rack.
12. Bake at 325 for 40 minutes on middle rack. Remove foil and continue to bake until bubbly and crust is nicely browned. NOTE: This took well over 40 minutes for me at 350. It could be my oven runs low. I was out of patience waiting for it. A toothpick test showed some of the cherries were done and others were al dante. I was not too particular about having a perfect pie so a pie with bite is ok with me.

Pumpkin French Toast Bake

Had some leftover pumpkin puree so decided to make this baked version of french toast. Parents left super early so had time to preheat the oven and stick it in for the hour before waking up for real. Turned out delicious. Would definitely eat it again. Having to bake it for an hour takes up a lot of time so don't see this as a regular go-to breakfast item since I like to eat within 20 min of waking up. Leftovers were great. This recipe is a combo of multiple recipes, but without the streusel topping. I don't like super sweet breakfasts. Even the 1/3 c sugar was a bit much. Other recipes had up to 1 c sugar in the batter plus 1/2-1 c in the streusel!
2/27/16 Made this again adjusted and came out better. Would increase milk even more next time. Editing below and putting old amounts in brackets.
5/10/16 Made this with a partial loaf of bread in a smaller pan but same amount of filling. Tasty!

• 1 loaf egg bread (like the Challah loaf from Metro), can be old and dry
• 6 eggs
• 1.5 c milk (could try increasing to 1.75 c next time) [1 c]
• 1 T vanilla
• 1 t cinnamon [1/2 t]
• 1/3 t nutmeg
• dash of cloves
• 1 c pumpkin puree [3/4 c]
• 1/4 c sugar [1/3 c]

1. Grease a 9x13 baking dish.
2. Cut bread into large cubes. Place in baking dish.
3. Beat eggs, milk, pumpkin, sugar and other spices in a large bowl.
4. Pour over bread.
5. Cover in saran wrap and let sit overnight.
6. In the morning, bake at 350F for 55 minutes.
7. Let cool until warm. Serve with fresh fruit.

Asian Lettuce Wraps

Made this for a simple dinner. Vinegar and hoisin sauce were a bit too strong so marked as scant below to adjust for next time. Used ground beef. Original calls for onions and scallions.

• 1 lb ground meat (beef, pork, turkey, etc)
• scant 1/4 c hoisin sauce
• 3 heaping t minced garlic
• 1 T soy sauce
• scant 1 T rice vinegar
• 2 t ginger, minced
• optional: chili sauce
• 1 (8 oz) can water chestnuts, minced
• 2 t sesame oil
• 1 head firm lettuce

1. Cook meat. Drain. Set aside.
2. Saute garlic. Add ginger, soy sauce, vinegar.
3. Stir in water chestnuts and beef.
4. Top with sesame oil.
5. Serve with lettuce leaf cups.

Pumpkin Yeast Bread

I've always thought of Pumpkin Bread as a quick bread but thought I'd try this one as a yeast bread. It's got cranberries and pumpkin seeds too. This loaf looks nice with the pumpkin giving it color and the specks of red and green. It also has great texture from the crunch of seeds and chew of the berries. I can't attest to taste because I've lost my sense of it due to illness. MM says it's just ok but great texture. Great toasted with butter.

• 1/2 c milk, warmed
  
• 1/2 c pumpkin
• 1 egg
• 1.25 t salt
• 1/4 c sugar
• 2 T butter, room temperature
• 2.75 c flour
• 1/2 t allspice
• 1/4 t ginger
• 1/4 t nutmeg
• 1.5 t yeast
• 1/2 c craisins
• 1/4 c pumpkin seeds

1. Put all ingredients except cranberries and seeds in bread machine.
2. Set to 1.5 lb, medium, sweet cycle.
3. At beep, add cranberries and pumpkin seeds.

Almond Yeast Bread

Requested by XBD. This was the first attempt. It wasn't quite enough almondy for me, but still enjoyed by everyone. 1.5 lb medium crust loaf, almonds added after beep.

• 3/4 c milk
• 2 eggs
• 1.5 T butter
• 1.5 t almond
• 3 T sugar
• 3/4 t salt
• 1/2 c almond meal
• 3 c flour
• 2 t yeast
• chopped almonds

Cherry Chocolate Bread

Got a bag of dried sour cherries and made this loaf. The chocolate mostly melted in the bread, turning it brown, but there were a few pieces still left in it.

• 1 c milk, warm
• 2 T cherry juice
• 1 egg
• 1.5 t salt
• 3 T maple syrup
• 2 T butter, room temp
• 3.5 c flour
• 1.5 t yeast
• 2/3 c chocolate chips
• 2/3 c dried cherries

1. Dump ingredients, except chips and cherries, into bread machine.
2. Set to Sweet Cycle, 2 lb loaf, dark.
3. Add chips and cherries at beep.

Olive Breads

Spinach Feta Twist

An olive bread finished outside the bread machine. Presents well. ***

• 1 c water
  
• 1/2 c crumbled feta
• 1 egg
• 1.5 t salt
• 2 T olive oil
• 3 3/4 c flour
• 1 1/4 t yeast

Filling

• 10 oz frozen spinach
• 1 T melted butter
• 1 t minced garlic
• 1/4 c grated parmesan
• 2 t oregano
• 1/2 c crumbled feta
• 1/4 c sliced kalamata olivse

Topping

• 1 egg white
• 1 T water
• optional: 1 T grated parmesan

1. Set dough ingredients in bread machine and set to dough cycle.
2. Defrost spinach in microwave. Squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Stir in the butter, garlic, parmesan and oregano.
3. Remove dough from machine and turn onto lightly floured surface. Let rest for 10-15 min.
4. Roll to 18x15" rectangle.
5. Spread filling to within 1/2" of edges. Sprinkle on feta and olives. 
6. From long side, tightly roll it up. Pinch seams to seal.
7. Place on parchment paper on cookie sheet. Cut in half lengthwise with scissors. Twist the halves together and make into round, keeping the cut sides up. (Alternatively, place into greased tube pan.)
8. Cover and let rise 45-60 min.
9. Combine egg white and water and brush onto dough. Sprinkle with parmesan.
10. Bake at 375F for 45-55 min or until done.
11. Eat as snack or serve with salad for a meal.

Mediterranean Bread

1.5 lb basic loaf bread.

• 1 c water
• 1/3 c crumbled feta
• 3 t minced garlic
• 1.25 t salt
• 1 T olive oil
• 1 T maple syrup
• 3.5 c flour (all purpose or bread)
• 3 t basil
• 1/2 c sliced kalamata olives
• 3/4 t yeast