Whole Wheat Molasses Loaf

Often, when eating quick breads, I can’t quite shake that guilty feeling that what I’m eating isn’t cake.

Especially since quick breads and cakes do have a lot in common: they’re leavened with chemicals (baking soda, baking powder, cream of tartar) instead of yeast, they go into the oven as a batter before they bake, and they’re often sweet.

But quick breads have good points, too: they’re particularly good for people who need want bread and need it to be, y’know, quick!

Would it be faster for a hard-pressed-for-time student to pop on over to the supermarket and pick up a loaf of Wonderbread?

Sure, it could be — but then I’d probably get distracted along the way and not come back for hours and hours.

Quick bread is 20% prep time and 80% bake time — which leaves me an extra hour to spend on writing papers… hooray?

Creamy Potato Leek Soup with Honey and Thyme

It’s almost the end of January, and I’m still chugging away at that box of potatoes I received in December.

I’ve been trying to think of things to make with potatoes… y’know, other than mashed potatoes and baked potatoes and hashbrowns, which are all very tasty — but not particularly good to eat day after day!

Why is it that potatoes seem to go best with stuff like butter and sour cream and cheese and more butter?

I like you, potatoes, but I think this relationship might be bad for me!

This is where leeks come in — they’re like a fatty potato intervention. They’re full of vitamin A, insoluble fibre, and even a little iron.

Spicy Sweet Potato Cornbread

First post of 2011! It kinda took me awhile to get around to it.

I’m sure everyone has New Years resolutions, too — except me. I can never keep them anyways, and neither can anyone else!

That’s okay, though — self-improvement shouldn’t be a promise you make to yourself just once a year anyways.

Speaking of improvement, though, I just made this awesome cornbread recipe I’ve had on the back burner for a while.

Tempeh Veggie Stew

Have you ever heard of tempeh?

I hadn’t until just a couple weeks ago. It’s a kind of savory, fermented soybean cake with a slightly nutty taste.

Tempeh is also very dense and holds its shape well — even better than the firmest of extra firm tofu, which means that you can dredge it in flour and season it with salt, and then brown it on either side for extra flavour!

Not only is tempeh is super healthy, but it also does a good job of also taking on the taste and aroma of whatever else you cook it with.

Move over, tofu — I want tempeh!

I’m going to finish off my November “Soup Month” with a stew, since stew is definitely in the soup family: liquid with good stuff floating in it!

Beer Bread

You don’t have to look far to find about a million different recipes for beer bread online — it’s quick, easy, and fairly tasty and well-textured for the amount of effort you don’t have to expend while making it.

Unlike “regular” bread, however, beer bread is made without yeast or (endless) kneading or waiting or punching down or more waiting.

In a way, this simple bread is closer to the way one would make a cake, but without the fat and sugar and egg. Not to make it sound weird or unappetizing, though, because with the right balance of sugar, salt, and beer, you can have something amazing on your hands.

I’ve made beer bread several times now, with various flours and beers and paired with different entrees, but this time I have definitely discovered my favourite combination of ingredients.

This time the flavour turned out so good that one of my friends ate over half a loaf in twenty minutes.

Yeah.
I mean, I was both flattered and irritated, but obviously he thought it was amazing enough to stuff himself silly — maybe I should take it as a compliment?

Either way, I can’t take all the credit, since the biggest factor in how well your beer bread turns out depends on what kind of beer you use!