100% whole wheat bread for delicious breakfasts - or sandwiches

For quite a long time now I have been baking this wonderful bread every week and it makes my breakfasts tastier and healthier: I found this recipe almost two years ago and it instantly became one of my all-time favorites – and many of my Brazilian readers love it too.

I usually bake this bread on the weekends, cut into slices and freeze them – I take the slices from the freezer as I need them, and even when I forget to do that in advance I can pop the slices straight onto a frying pan over medium heat and in no time I have fresh bread to go with my latte – so good.

Even though this bread is made entirely with whole wheat flour it turns out so tender it is even hard to slice it sometimes. It is delicious and I feel fueled until lunch time every day. My six-year-old nephew is a fan of this bread, too – he was very surprised when I told him a long time ago that I’d made the bread myself. :)

I have also already made this bread replacing 50g of the flour with quinoa flakes and with teff flour and it worked like a charm – when using teff the flavor gets a bit nuttier.

This is a recipe I adapted from the wonderful King Arthur Flour website – if you like baking like I do, their website is perfect for you.

100% whole wheat bread

slightly adapted from King Arthur Flour's wonderful website

 

1 cup (240ml) lukewarm water

2 ½ teaspoons dried yeast

2 tablespoons honey – you can also use agave or maple syrup

¼ cup (60ml) vegetable oil – I use canola

400g whole wheat flour

1 ¼ teaspoons table salt

1 tablespoon rolled or jumbo oats

Place water, yeast and 1 teaspoon of the honey in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook. When mixture foams (about 5 minutes) add the remaining honey, the oil, flour and salt and mix with a spatula or wooden spoon. Mix in medium speed for about 10 minutes or until dough is smooth and elastic and pulls away from the sides of the bowl – you can knead by hand for about 15 minutes too.

Cover with plastic wrap and let it proof for 70-90 minutes or until doubled in size.

Lightly brush with oil a 6-cup capacity loaf pan.

Gently deflate the dough to remove the excess air, then roll it onto a lightly floured surface until you get a rectangle of roughly 30x20cm (12x8in), then shape it into a log. Transfer to prepared pan and cover loosely with a clean kitchen towel. Let the bread rise for about 40-60 minutes, or longer if the day is too cold. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F.

Brush the top of the bread lightly with water and sprinkle with the oats, pressing ever so slightly for them to stick. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown - bread should sound hollow when tapped with your fingers. Cool in the pan over a wire rack for 5 minutes, then carefully unmold onto the rack to cool. Cool completely.

Makes 12-14 slices

Curried cauliflower soup and memories from trips

Something that always brings me good memories from my travels is the food: I miss certain dishes and wines from places I have been. This longing is now even bigger, since no one knows when travelling will go back to what it used to be. It pains me to imagine how many restaurants have closed their doors due to the pandemic, so many people unemployed because of that. It is really sad. 

I visited Buenos Aires in 2016 and had a lovely curried cauliflower soup in a restaurant called Restó: delicious, the soup was served in a small cup and came with a crayfish floating on it - it was a dinner with several different courses and the portions were small. When I came back from Argentina, I still had thoughts of writing a cookbook and wanted to include this soup in it.

My version is creamier than the one I had in Buenos Aires and vegetarian – no crayfish here, and you can even turn it vegan by replacing the butter with more olive oil. I just find butter and leeks are a match made in heaven, so I usually add a bit of butter when cooking leeks.

I must confess Restó’s soup was tastier than mine, but my version still brings me nice memories from such a wonderful trip.

 

Curried cauliflower soup

own recipe

 

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

½ tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 large leek, light part only, thinly sliced

1 large garlic clove, finely chopped

1 large potato, peeled and diced

1 carrot, peeled and diced

1 cauliflower, about 500g, cut into small florets (to cook faster)

500ml vegetable stock, hot

300ml boiling water

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon curry powder

½ teaspoon ground cumin

salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a large saucepan, melt butter in medium-high heat. Add the olive oil. Add the leek and cook, stirring occasionally, until wilted. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute only – do not let the garlic burn or it will turn bitter. Add the potato, carrot and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring now and then.

Add the cauliflower, the stock, water, bay leaf and spices. Season with salt and black pepper, mix well and as soon as it starts to boil turn the heat to low and cook for about 20 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Remove the bay leaf from the soup, blitz with a handheld mixer until smooth and serve.

Serves 4 – or 2 very generous servings

Anthill yogurt, lime and almond cake on an atypical day

After months without baking cakes, I felt the urge to make a new recipe, a tasty one, to brighten up the rainy Friday. 

In a very atypical day, I woke up with such a disposition as I hadn’t in quite a long time: got up very early, turned on the oven, prepared the cake batter and while it baked and perfumed my home I sat down and wrote down a newsletter for my Portuguese speaking readers. It was a few minutes after 06:00 and the light coming through the balcony gave me energy.

While I picked the recipes for the newsletter and wrote the text, I started feeling so good, it was like a ray of sunshine coming from within: I did not even remember when I had last felt that way, especially about food, recipes. It was such a good feeling I would have kept it in a jar if I could.

When I removed the cake from the oven, it was so beautiful and golden, I wished really hard for it to turn out delicious, not only for our coffee break in that afternoon, but also so I could share the recipes with you here on the blog. I unmolded the cake and left it cooling on the kitchen counter – hours later, I cut myself a slice and tasted it: it was really good! My mind, so tired lately, immediately started thinking about the photo, how I would photograph the cake, which colors would work well with it. I opened my cupboard and, looking at the china and silverware, pictured in my head what would please my eyes the most. I prepped everything, grabbed the camera, took the photos, and again started feeling really good. If I could, I would turn that feeling into a scented candle.

With my hear at peace, with a nice cake to go with my cup of tea and a very productive day, for a moment I felt like my old self again. I hope the Patricia from the past shows up again sometimes, I missed her so much.

Anthill yogurt, lime and almond cake

adapted from the Epicurious recipe, once again

 

180g all-purpose flour

45g almond meal/finely ground almonds

2 teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon table salt

3 tablespoons chocolate sprinkles

finely grated zest of 2 large limes

1 cup (200g) granulated sugar

¾ cup (180g) plain yogurt – I used sheep’s milk yogurt

½ cup (120ml) vegetable oil – I used canola

2 large eggs, room temperature

1 tablespoon Amaretto (optional)

1 tablespoon lime juice

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 180C/350°F. Lightly brush a 6-cup capacity loaf pan with oil, line it with baking paper and then brush the paper as well.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the all purpose flour, almond meal, baking powder and salt. Whisk in the chocolate sprinkles. Set aside.

In a large bowl, rub lime zest and sugar together with your fingertips until sugar is fragrant. Whisk in yogurt, oil, eggs, Amaretto (if using), lime juice and vanilla until smooth. Fold in reserved dry ingredients – if batter is too lumpy, whisk for a few seconds – do not overmix or the cake will become tough.

Pour the batter into prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 50-55 minutes, or until a skewer or toothpick inserted into center of the cake comes out clean.

Let cake cool in pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Carefully and using the paper as a guide, remove cake from pan and transfer to the rack to cool completely.

The cake can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Serves 8

Oatmeal porridge - comfort food for troubled times

I have a small notebook in which I write down food ideas I want to test and also the recipes I make at home, so I can then post them here on the blog. The poor notebook has been so forgotten lately it is almost getting dusty, for I haven’t made anything new, but I keep it on the coffee table, with my iPad and my cell phone charger, hoping that maybe, sometime, I’ll look at it and feel like testing new recipes again.

This is how things are going here, some days seem slower and/or longer than others, sometimes I feel a little bit more energy, while other times I have less disposition, but everyday seems like the previous one, very “Groundhog Day” indeed. At least workwise things are truly great, working with a new boss since September 2020, a wonderful woman who is beautiful both on the inside and out, and that makes me eager to face this never-ending quarantine.

I want vaccines, but there aren’t hardly any, I want a better government for my country, which is not possible right now. I want to get up in the morning without feeling I am in an episode of “The Handmaid’s Tale” – not possible now either.

As far as food goes, things are a bit boring around here: very basic recipes, preferably quick dishes that do not result in a sink full of dishes to do. Lots of pasta and salads. 

Sometimes at night I don’t feel like eating, even when I exercise, which generally makes me hungry. To avoid going to bed on an empty stomach, I make myself some porridge: quick, easy and so comforting – it is like being hugged on the inside. I top it with chia seeds, coconut chips or cashew nuts and serve it with some fruit on the side. It is not a traditional dinner, but it comforts me and makes me feel fed and happy.

 

Oatmeal porridge

own recipe

 

¼ cup (25g) rolled oats

½ cup (120ml) milk or plant-based milk – I like to use cashew nut milk, it is so creamy!

¼ cup (60ml) cold water

pinch of salt

sugar, to taste – you can replace it with honey or agave

pinch of ground cinnamon, or 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder

Place all the ingredients in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring a few times to dissolve the sugar. When it starts to boil, reduce the heat and stir constantly until mixture thickens. Cook for 2-3 minutes, depending on how thick you want the porridge.

Transfer to a bowl and serve.

Serves 1

 

Marinated zucchini for exhausted people

I have been super busy lately, it seems that whenever the end of the year is near everything starts to accumulate – I must confess that I cannot wait for the holidays, 2020 was so exhausting (mentally exhausting, especially) and I know you feel the same way. I cannot wait to turn off the computer, to stop cooking in a rush, to take naps after lunch. I just want to be lazy for a few days.

Speaking of lazy, the recipe I bring you today is very much so: quick to put together, lasts a long time in the fridge (and it tastes even better after a few days there), makes any cheese & wine dinner even better. 

The bread you see on the photo is Jim Lahey’s no-knead bread, something I have been making once a week since quarantine started.

 

Marinated zucchini

slightly adapted from a Brazilian cookbook

 

4 medium zucchini

olive oil, for brushing

½ cup (120ml) extra virgin olive oil

4 garlic cloves, peeled and cut in half lengthwise

1/3 cup (80ml) white wine vinegar – I used sherry vinegar for it was all I had at home

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cut the zucchini into 3mm coins.

Heat a large nonstick frying pan over medium heat. Brush the zucchini slices with the olive oil and cook for about 1 minute each side, or until they become slightly tender. Set aside.

In a small saucepan, heat the extra virgin olive oil in medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the vinegar and remove from the heat. Cool completely. Season with salt and pepper.

In a shallow dish, make layers with the zucchini slices and the oil mixture, alternating them. Cover and refrigerate for 3 days – we finished the zucchini in 1 week after the first three days of preparation.

Serves 8