Adventures in breakfast baking
In an effort to cut back on costs, ingesting unnecessary chemicals, and eating less/more healthy, I've taken some interesting measures. See, I love to cook; so I've started cooking in bulk for one. What does this entail, you may ask? Well, if you're a person who needs variety to survive, it brings only constant boredom. If you're a person like me, who can enjoy the same meal one, two, or even three weeks straight, then this is perfect for you. For example, three weekends ago I made a giant pot of chicken noodle soup. I portioned it out and got about fifteen servings. I froze it individually and took one out of the freezer for lunch each day. For three weeks. It works for me; much more filling and tasty than the frozen stuff that most of my coworkers have for lunch! I finally ran out of chicken soup; I'm going to have spaghetti squash for part of the week (I made a great casserole, I'll leave the recipe a bit later), and possibly stir-fry later on. Definitely breaking out the crock for some beef stew next weekend!
Another thing that I've found difficult lately is eating a fulfilling breakfast. With my old schedule, I could get up, eat some fiber-filled cereal, some yogurt, check my email, shower; all the fun stuff. Now, I roll out of bed, shower for ten seconds, and rush to school. No breakfast. I accidentally came across the solution three weeks ago. I bought a zucchini at the farmer's market. This particular squash, however, was odd. Completely spherical; a wonder to behold, but almost completely useless in the fashion which I tend to cook zucchini. So, I made two loaves of cranberry-walnut zucchini bread. I froze one loaf, and took one slice to work with me each day of the week. I have a break every day at 8:45, albeit a short one, it's the perfect amount of time for me to grab my snack and I'm not starving by lunch time.
So, this week, I've decided to try a new recipe. This time around I'm making three loaves of pumpkin spice bread. It's in the oven now; I'll let you all know how they came out!
Pumpkin Spice Bread
Ingredients:
4 eggs
2/3 C water
1 C canola oil (I used 1/2 C oil and 1/2 C applesauce)
2 C ~or~ 1 16 oz can pumpkin (not seasoned!)
3 1/3 C flour (I used 2 C wheat and 1 1/3 C white)
3 C sugar (yes, this is correct)
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
pinch ground cloves
Directions:
-Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
-In one bowl, beat the eggs. Add oil, water, and pumpkin. Mix well.
-In another bowl, sift the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, soda, salt, and spices). Make a well in the center of these ingredients and add the pumpkin mixture. Stir well, so all is smooth.
-Turn into 3 well greased loaf pans. Bake for one hour. Allow the loaves to completely cool in the pans before removing to store.
I found this recipe in "Cooking Down East" by Marjorie Standish, one of my all time favorite cooks!
Just a little tid-bit; you can freeze whatever you don't use! I freeze all but one loaf whenever I make bread, and then take it out as I use it. Actually, I freeze just about everything; it's wonderful! Oh, and the bread tastes just as good once it's thawed as it did fresh.
Another thing that I've found difficult lately is eating a fulfilling breakfast. With my old schedule, I could get up, eat some fiber-filled cereal, some yogurt, check my email, shower; all the fun stuff. Now, I roll out of bed, shower for ten seconds, and rush to school. No breakfast. I accidentally came across the solution three weeks ago. I bought a zucchini at the farmer's market. This particular squash, however, was odd. Completely spherical; a wonder to behold, but almost completely useless in the fashion which I tend to cook zucchini. So, I made two loaves of cranberry-walnut zucchini bread. I froze one loaf, and took one slice to work with me each day of the week. I have a break every day at 8:45, albeit a short one, it's the perfect amount of time for me to grab my snack and I'm not starving by lunch time.
So, this week, I've decided to try a new recipe. This time around I'm making three loaves of pumpkin spice bread. It's in the oven now; I'll let you all know how they came out!
Pumpkin Spice Bread
Ingredients:
4 eggs
2/3 C water
1 C canola oil (I used 1/2 C oil and 1/2 C applesauce)
2 C ~or~ 1 16 oz can pumpkin (not seasoned!)
3 1/3 C flour (I used 2 C wheat and 1 1/3 C white)
3 C sugar (yes, this is correct)
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
pinch ground cloves
Directions:
-Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
-In one bowl, beat the eggs. Add oil, water, and pumpkin. Mix well.
-In another bowl, sift the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, soda, salt, and spices). Make a well in the center of these ingredients and add the pumpkin mixture. Stir well, so all is smooth.
-Turn into 3 well greased loaf pans. Bake for one hour. Allow the loaves to completely cool in the pans before removing to store.
I found this recipe in "Cooking Down East" by Marjorie Standish, one of my all time favorite cooks!
Just a little tid-bit; you can freeze whatever you don't use! I freeze all but one loaf whenever I make bread, and then take it out as I use it. Actually, I freeze just about everything; it's wonderful! Oh, and the bread tastes just as good once it's thawed as it did fresh.