Cinnamon, Swirled

I've been doing quite a bit of bread making lately!  I've been making a this great recipe for our every day consumption and have been branching out into new breads too.  I've even made some tortillas!!  YES!  While they need a little bit of perfecting (ok -let's be honest...a LOT of perfecting...), I think that I've found a winner with another new find.  Cinnamon Swirl Bread.  I know what you're thinking.  You're thinking: psh -who DOESN'T know how to make cinnamon swirl bread (because it was really quite easy)?

Right?  Did I hear correctly?  If you didn't think that, then maybe you're thinking that you'd like to eat some?  That you'd like to make some RIGHT this second (because it's that easy and even better -it tastes spectacular)?

Don't worry -I've gatcha covered.

I used a fabulous recipe from this fine lady's blog!  The Pioneer Woman.  Anyone know her?  heh -I don't know her either, but if I idolized humans, she'd be my idol!  *cough*  Anyway.  Of course the one she made looks beautiful (You should go see her finished version.  It's quite a bit prettier than mine ended up being), and the recipe tastes even better than it looks.

Here it is, folks (copied from her published posed):

Recipe

Homemade Cinnamon Bread

Prep Time:

 4 Hours

 

Cook Time:

 40 Minutes

 

Difficulty:

 Easy

 

Servings:

12

Print Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup Milk
• 6 Tablespoons Butter
• 2-1/2 teaspoons Active Dry Yeast
• 2 whole Eggs
• 1/3 cup Sugar
• 3-1/2 cups All-purpose Flour
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1/3 cup Sugar
• 2 Tablespoons Cinnamon
• Egg And Milk, Mixed Together, For Brushing
• Softened Butter, For Smearing And Greasing

Preparation Instructions

Melt butter with milk. Heat until very warm, but don't boil. Allow to cool until still warm to the touch, but not hot. Sprinkle yeast over the top, stir gently, and allow to sit for 10 minutes.

Combine flour and salt.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix sugar and eggs with the paddle attachment until combined. Pour in milk/butter/yeast mixture and stir to combine. Add half the flour and beat on medium speed until combined. Add the other half and beat until combined.

Switch to the dough hook attachment and beat/knead dough on medium speed for ten minutes. If dough is overly sticky, add 1/4 cup flour and beat again for 5 minutes.

Heat a metal or glass mixing bowl so it's warm. Drizzle in a little canola oil, then toss the dough in the oil to coat. Cover bowl in plastic wrap and set it in a warm, hospitable place for at least 2 hours.

Turn dough out onto the work surface. Roll into a neat rectangle no wider than the loaf pan you're going to use, and about 18 to 24 inches long. Smear with 2 tablespoons melted butter. Mix sugar and cinnamon together, then sprinkle evenly over the butter-smeared dough. Starting at the far end, roll dough toward you, keeping it tight and contained. Pinch seam to seal.

Smear loaf pan with softened butter. Place dough, seam down, in the pan. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise for 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix a little egg with milk, and smear over the top. Bake for 40 minutes on a middle/lower rack in the oven.

Remove from the pan and allow bread to cool. Slice and serve, or make cinnamon toast or French toast with it.

Yummy!

So I did as instructed by the ever wonderful Pioneer Woman.  Mostly, it went as I expected.  I made some changes like making it into 2 loaves (because there was SO much dough), added different types of flour (like rye so it'd be a little heartier for a different project), and went a little easy on the cinnamon.  *sigh*  Ok -so maaaayyybeee I ran out of cinnamon because I have a tendency to "forget" to plan ahead....  *cough*  I also used extra butter on the inside of the roll.  Paula Dean would be so proud!

As I pulled it out of the oven I was graced with the most beautiful smell.  Yeasty, cinnamony, and fresh.

I couldn't wait to try some.

I burned my tongue.

Stop laughing.

It was really spectacular!  The loaf lasted all week without getting stiff and stale!  The second loaf I made was to go with a crock-pot french toast project that just was embarrassing.  Nothing like serving your in-laws burned food.  *sigh*  Good thing they love me for my sassiness and not my burned french toast....

I hope you get some enjoyment out of this recipe.  I'll definitely be making it again, and maybe even adding raisins!

Happy fooding!

Love,
Me!

Snack Time Healing

The past six weeks have been wild for me.  Not in the normal twenty-something sense, but in honest-to-goodness real-life wild.  I've been through bad news and excellent news (did I mention I have a new nephew??), and have had the past six weeks to reflect upon them, as I continue to wait.  Today is another day like the ones before it, and as I sat eating my fabulous snack I began to feel myself thinking better.  Becoming better. Becoming a little bit more of myself.  Counting my amazing blessings.

I know every health person on the face of the planet is going to disagree with my next statement.  If you happen to be a health person and agree with my following statement, please let me know.  We'll need to be friends.

Here it is....*drumm roll*  Are you just fraught with anticipation?

I am healing through food.

Yep -I said it.  Not the gorge-yourself-on-slurpees-and-twix (which I TOTALLY did six weeks ago.  That's right -go right on ahead and judge me.  I don't care) way, but the peacefully-meditative-knead-you-bread and plan-your-menu kind of way.

To me, this feels like yoga for my soul (something else I'm catching up on -yoga!), and the beauty of this experience is that I don't feel like I'm sacrificing anything to bake, photograph, share, then eat!

I'm sure some of you would have wonderful suggestions about how I can heal/manage/whatever because you care about me.  But...thanks but no thanks!  I've got this one.  And it tastes and feels wonderful.  I definitely consider this to be one of my many blessings.

Love,
ME!

Oatmeal: Long Time Love Affair

Since I was a small child (we're talking age two or three) I have LOVED oatmeal.  I remember my Me-Ma making it for me with warm milk, butter, and brown sugar.  Essentially, it was like dessert for breakfast!  To this day, that is my FAVORITE way to eat it.  But let's be realistic: while tasting amazing, this compilation of tastiness isn't the best for my body AND my blood sugar!  Another problem I have is that buying a box of Quaker Oatmeal is about $4 at Kroger.  They have everything from low sugar to low carb, to blah blah blah.  I'm a sucker for "low sugar", so I always buy some (remember -oatmeal obsession!).  Well, I hate to break it to ya Quaker, but I've found a better-for-me way to consume my beloved oats.

Remember how I talked about being agog during my first trip to the co-op?  Remember how I said I picked up some quick oats?  Well here's what I did with them!  

First, I photographed them.  See?  Lovely, yes?

After I snapped a few pictures, I put them in my bitty food processor.  While I LOVE my gigantic and heavy Cuisinart food processor, it's just...well, it's HEAVY, cumbersome, and a little too large for a project like this.  So I dumped the sack of oats into my bitty food processor by Black & Decker and gave it a chop-chop.  I will admit to perhaps being a tad overzealous with my chopping -they were a little more powdery than I expected.  But it's just that the button is so nice to push....

Anyway, the oats were chopped and fit nicely into a quart mason jar.  Because I enjoy cinnamon in my oatmeal, I added a tbs of cinnamon to the recently chopped oats and gave it a shake.  After the shaking (and of COURSE there was vocal accompaniment and dancing...) I settled myself in to have some!  How could I create it and NOT give it a try!!!

The beauty of this recently chopped quick oats combo?  It's now INSTANT oatmeal!  Bingo-bango-you're-welcome.  I put the kettle on (and joyfully sang, "Suki put the kettle on....") and once whistling, I added water slowly while stirring the quickly expanding INSTANT oatmeal!  It was like magic, y'all. No joke.

After the oatmeal sat for a few minutes (not so that it would taste better, it's just that the bowl was so hot that I scared the dog yelling after it burned my fingers...), I added some honey and then I ATE IT.

There wasn't any butter, there wasn't any brown sugar, there just wasn't anything that needed to be added.  It was rich and thick, gently sweetened, and had a nice cinnamon kick.  I ate the entire bowl while it was still steaming!  To try my hand with a few additional flavors towards the end of the bowl I added some nutmeg (tasty!), a light sprinkling of raw cane sugar (totally worth the addition!), and a little bit of powdered all-spice (that was a little much).

This was not only EASY, but is so healthy!  Whole grain quick oats, and whatever you want to mix in?  YES!  This has quickly become a family (TMV likes it alright, which means he eats it if I fix it for him!  Heh) favorite, right along with the crisp clean chai tea lattes!

Happy eating!

-XO-
B

Beans!

I've got so many beans that they're coming out of my ears.

I've got garbanzo beans and black beans.  And now they're beautifully packed away in my freezer.  But they didn't come that way....  I got these beans dried at the co-op, which is AMAZING!  When choosing where to start (after giving myself a pep talk that beans are good...beans are good...beans are good), I thought about which beans we would really eat.  That answer was easy.  We enjoy hummus, so check on garbanzo/chick peas.  I also like black beans in chili and stews (just a few...not a million!), so check on black beans.

Feeling empowered, I stood facing the beans. I looked up and down the amazing row that encompassed flours, oats, sugars, beans, pastas, and granola.  I could have stood there all day just drooling onto the floor.  Flattering vision, I know.  Expecting it to be intimidating I was shocked to realize that I was making quick plans to take home as much as I could.  Split peas, mixed beans, quick oats, turbinado sugar, stevia extract, whole wheat pasta....swoon swoon swoon.  Once I got a hold of myself, I merrily scooped up some of the black and garbanzo beans, and a little of the quick oats just because (home-made instant oatmeal?  HECK YES!) and went upon my merry way.

Once home, it dawned on me that I had to cook said beans.  Crud.  So I googled and googled, and then looked on allrecipies (because theirs is my favorite site -has a free app, which is nice).  Everyone was telling me something DIFFERENT!  Oh the distress....  So I asked a girlfriend, who not only told me that I needed to plan something else in my day while re-hydrating the beans, but that they also needed to soak with a BAY LEAF.  Yep -you know what they say about beans?  It helps with that.  ;)

So I started with the garbanzo beans.  12 hours to soak, 3 hours to boil.  They were great.  Nice and easy, didn't make my house stinky, and chopped up really nice into some hummus!  YUM!  But the black beans -not so nice.  They were a tad stinky, and took 7 hours to soak, and 2 hours to boil, and turned my stove top purple (perhaps I was ambitious with the amount of water I added to the pot...boil over!).  Overall, however, I used them in my great cooking adventure (more to come on that), and things worked out beautifully.  The rest, well I filled up mason jars and stuck them in the freezer!  :)

So all in all, my first beans experience was important.  I learned about consistency and texture of what is cooked and what isn't as well as what is re-hydrated and what isn't, what to change and what to keep doing for next time, etc.  I also learned a little about myself in that tasting raw ingredients, formerly deemed frightening, is really important.  It teaches us to identify what we're really cooking with and what we're drawn to, and how we like it!

So far, I'm loving this adventure!  Who knew....

-XO-

B.

Chai Tea Meditation

 Today when I entered the kitchen I was greeted by a gray, overcast, and rainy morning.  The weather was so dreary that even the dog didn't want to go out (she'd been previously enjoying herself, rolling in the snow coming back to the door looking like a snow monster).  It was the perfect day for a chai tea latte and a good think session.   

So I took my favorite mug, heated the blissful concoction, and had a nice long sit in front of the window to the gray, overcast, and rainy day.  In the quiet of my home, no TV (TMV is out of town -he likes noise.  These initials standing for The Man Viking, of course...my husband), no radio, and no double bass (which I DO enjoy, just makes it hard to concentrate...I swoon for Bach.... ANYWAY), I was able to reflect on the recent happenings of my life.  Changes, blessings, and of course the best one -hope.  Because it is in moments like these that I am exceptionally thankful for the hope I've been granted.

Instead of being sullen like I'm wont to become on days like this I had myself a little Joy-up session, just like on Oprah!  With the exception being that my name is Briana, and I'm not famous.  I thought about our little family (and the constant entertainment the cat and dog provide for us), and about our future -the part of our lives we have no control over.  I thought about my beloved friends and family, and how they supported my three day long cooking spree (and really everything I happen to get myself into), and the freezer out in the garage that now houses all of those wonderful creations.  I thought about our new nephew -Hudson, and what a huge blessing he is to us, even if he is the temporary good-thing-in-a-small-package.  These are just a few of the many thoughts I had during my Joy-up session today.

Enough about me!  On to the part where I talk about food-things.  Ready?

I hope that this recipe brings you the opportunity for some of the peace and quiet it brought to me.  If it doesn't, at least it's tasty and caffeinated!  Heh.  I feel obligated to tell you, however, that while this puppy is fabulous it doesn't taste like Starbucks.  If you want Starbucks, you should go there.  If you want something that tastes clean, sharp, and humble this is your drink!

I didn't make the recipe.  It came from this fabulous site: Cookus Interruptus.  You'll find the recipe there, and if you have a few minutes you should watch the video.  It's funny (or at least I thought it was!)!  This website has TONS of wonderful recipes on it, and they do it with humor.  Thanks to Kelly for pointing me in their direction.

Since it was my first attempt at the true home made kind (literally -I picked out the spices from the co-op myself!), there's room for improvement. I felt like the quantities in the recipe produced TOO MUCH for the estimated yield, so I split it up.  The tea is still strong, but the flavors are not as zingy.  They meld beautifully with the milk.  But I'll definitely be mixing it up next time and trying something different.  I may even try another recipe, or play with it until I find the combination that's perfect for me.   :)  I hope you do the same!

Now -off with you!  Go gather, make, and enjoy your little bit of peace and quiet, and let me know how it tastes!!!

-XO-

B.

Sooo..."the zen cookie"? Why?

Hi!  Welcome back!

I'd like to share with you the birth story of "the zen cookie...gets real."  No gory details, I promise!  Just  a little humor and insight.  :)

Haha (laughing just thinking about it...this is also why I'm bad at telling jokes...)!  I was speaking to a friend the other evening, whilst cooking away joyfully, about the humor that is inherent in the name of this blogging adventure.  This blog name was suggested to me, and after laughing hysterically I thought, "yeah, actually -that sounds awesome!"  Here's why.

First, I have something to confess.... I'm not zen.  I'm WAY not zen -I'm...well, I'm not in general.  :)  I'm excitable, enthusiastic, and loud about everything.  This is how I choose to live my life.  Being Briana brings me joy, and I LIKE THAT!  If you're curious if I'm ABLE to be calm and still the answer is yes, also when I choose to be.  I'm sure that this blogging process will expose my inner zen, but I like feeling excited and passionate -it allows me to express how and what I'm feeling most accurately.

Second -I LOVE cookies (this statement was intended to show excitement, therefore accurately expressing my love for cookies.  Did you get that?)!  I love to eat them mostly, but I do enjoy baking them.  I prefer them to be crunchy instead of raw-like in the center.  Sorry, y'all -I'm not a gooey cookie kinda gal.  Makes me wonder what I'm eating....  Just sayin'...

Third -this is a blog about getting and being real.  Real food, and real sass.  You read that right.  I said SASS.  Because I'm SASSY!  *snap snap*

And there you have it, folks.  "the zen cookie...gets real" birth story.  The humor in this, to me, is part of the fun.  I want you to imagine me calmly mixing up a batch of...whatever.  CALMLY.  See -I can't help but giggle.  Because to me, I'm wearing flour, listening to Bach (don't judge!), and skipping around my kitchen.  I'd love to hear your visions.  Ohh -I wonder if even some of them will be zen.  HA!  A girl can hope!

Maybe tomorrow I'll whip up a batch of celebratory cookies...on the crunchy side, of course.  :)

-XO-
B.

This is a food blog. Right?

Hi there!

Welcome to my food blog.  Grab a cookie, a mug of tea (ok ok ok...I GUESS it's okay if you drink coffee...), and have a seat!  Here on this blog of foodiness I want to talk to you about something really important to me.  Are you ready?  I can't tell if you're ready or not seeing as this computer screen isn't two-way.  You'll have to decide for yourself....

I want to talk to you about food.

Those of you who know me (in my real life...where I'm human...*cough*) know that there are many things that I am passionate about, and food -yep -food is definitely one of them (if you don't know me yet, don't worry!  That's why were here!)  But you know, I have an interesting relationship with food.  Food has the power to lift me up, but for me food also has the negative flip side (you know the one -it calls to you after you have eaten your third cookie.  Sound familiar??).

After being ill for quite some time this winter (we're talking a month here, friends!), I can feel my body waking back up.  It's asking for nutrients -protein, oils, vitamins, and fibers.  And the beautiful part about that is my brain responding with solutions like, "lets add some black beans to that" and "I don't need to run to the store for 'whole wheat bread'; I have everything I need here," and, "hey Kelly, how do I join the co-op?  I need some quinoa flower for these tortillas I'm making."

And that is why I am here, writing this introductory post to you (my faithful and loyal readers...hi, Mommah!) at midnight-30.  I am here to talk to you about food, and how it's changing my life for the better.  As a chronic Weight Watchers joiner, I am here to tell you that my life is better with real and whole foods, and to share with you the joy that preparing them brings to me. 

What is even more important about this journey is that you'll probably spit some tea (ok ok ok!  Or that coffee your drinking...) onto the keyboard because this lady loves to laugh at herself, tell stories, and include everyone in the experience of living.

So if that sounds good to you, then you should get out your pots and pans, food processors, and trashy romantic novels, and enjoy that cookie.  We've got some cookin' to do!  ;)

-XO-

B.