#guest post

This week’s guest post is from  Marsha from what-marsha-eats with two healthy bread recipes. I love my breads and will definitely try making the savory one for some runny egg grilled cheese.

Marsha:

I’ve been trying to eat whole wheat bread that isn’t loaded with sugar, which is impossible to find on the bread aisle of an American grocery store. So I’ve sampled a few loaves from local bakeries and one from the bakery department of a local supermarket, and they tasted all right with suitably low sugar content.

A few weeks ago, I stumbled across a PBS cooking show called “Home Chef” hosted by Neven Maguire of Ireland’s MacNean Restaurant. He baked the bread they serve at his restaurant, calling it a wheaten bread, which fits because it is mostly whole wheat. And boy, is it fast! I’ve been baking this bread every week since late June, and it makes the most scrumptious grilled cheese sammies, fried egg sandwiches, and peanut butter toast. 

Summer squash are everywhere, and I make a chocolate zucchini bread at least once every summer with the bounty. You can leave out the nuts, and you can double the recipe to make two loaves. The original recipe made two loaves, and I halved all the ingredients to make one loaf. The zucchini bread is a similarly speedy bread. For a week or so now, I’ve been warming a slice in the microwave, then slathering it with peanut butter alongside a cup of decaf for a late-night snack. 

MacNean Restaurant Wheaten Quick Bread

from http://www.rte.ie/lifestyle/food

Makes 1 loaf that can be cut into approximately 12 slices

1 lb. 2 oz. or 2 c. + 2 oz. whole wheat flour

4 1/2 oz. or a little over ½ c. AP flour

1 t. baking soda

1 t. salt

1 pint of buttermilk, plus a little extra if necessary

1 T. light brown sugar

1 T. melted butter, plus extra for greasing the pan

1 T. golden syrup or light corn syrup (I used corn syrup.)

1 T. porridge oats (I used old-fashioned oats.)

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease either two 1 1/2-pint loaf pans or one large loaf pan. (I used one 8 1/2 ” x 4 1/2 ” dark metal loaf pan, and I sprayed it with cooking spray.)

 2. Sift the flours, baking soda, and salt into a bowl. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the buttermilk, brown sugar, melted butter, and corn syrup. Mix gently and quickly until you have achieved a nice dropping consistency. If necessary, add a bit more buttermilk until the mixture binds together without being sloppy.

3. Divide the mixture evenly between the two small pans or put the batter into the one large one. Sprinkle over the oats. Bake for 1 hour until cooked through and each one has a slightly cracked, crusty top. Check halfway through that the loaves aren’t browning too much. If they are, reduce the temperature or move them down in the oven.

4. To check that the loaves are properly cooked, tip each one out of the pan and tap the base. It should sound hollow. If it doesn’t, return it to the oven for 5 more minutes. (I had to bake mine for 5 additional minutes.) Tip out onto a wire rack and leave to cool completely before slicing.

No nutritional info provided by author.

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Makes 1 loaf that can be cut into 12 slices

from SparkPeople user WINDY01 at www.recipes.sparkpeople.com

¾ c. Splenda

2 eggs

¼ c. + 1/8 c. unsweetened or low-sugar applesauce

1/8 c. to ¼ c. vegetable oil (I use canola. I would start with 1/8 c. but if the batter is not coming together, add another 1/8 c. Sometimes this has happened to me, sometimes it hasn’t.)

1 t. vanilla

1 med. zucchini squash, grated

½ c. AP flour

¾ c. whole wheat flour

1/3 c. cocoa powder

3/4 t. baking powder

1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 t. cinnamon

½ c. chopped walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray and flour a loaf pan. (I only spray my dark metal 9x5-inch loaf pan, and the loaves always slide out.)

2. In a large bowl, beat together the sugar, eggs, applesauce, oil, and vanilla. Stir in the zucchini.

3. Add the flours, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and walnuts. Stir just until combined.

4. Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour or until toothpick comes out clean. (My cranky oven always takes 1 hour.) Cool in pan for 5 minutes. Remove from pan to cool on a wire rack.

Nutritional info per slice provided by author without using walnuts:

Fat: 3.1 g

Carbs: 13 g

Calories: 80.8 g

Protein: 2.4 g

Pho (pronounced FAH) is a Vietnamese noodle soup made from beef stock, star anise and cinnamon & is about as classic in Vietnam as chicken soup is in the U.S. I could go on and on about it but I’m sure that some of you have had it so no need to preach to the choir.  To those of you that have not here is a quick and easy pitch. This soup is a cure all. If you have a cold, drink it up. If you had a bad break up, slurp it up. If you have a huge assignment due at work, eat it up. If you are hungry, scarf it up and if you are bored, spice it up! This soup is soooooo (Pho)cking Good that once you try it you will crave it on most occasions, especially if those occasions have anything to do with a need for comfort…It’s like a warm blanket on a cold day or like an ice cold rag on a hot summer day…Pho(ck) it Up!!!!!   

In my version I give the steak a quick sear after seasoning it with salt & pepper, this adds another layer of flavor to the dish in my humble opinion. Normally the steak is raw and cooked by placing it in the hot soup at the table right before you eat it.

PHO SOUP BASE & NOODLES:

Prep Time: 5 Minutes
Cooking Time: 1 Hour
Stove Temp: Boil Then Simmer

Ingredients:

• 1 Sweet Onion
• 64 Oz Beef Stock
• 2 Inches Ginger
• 1 Stalk Lemon Grass
• 1 Stick Cinnamon
• 2 tablespoon Coarse Salt and  Cracked Pepper

Slice ¼ of the onion into small rings, slice the ginger into 
thin slices and the lemongrass into 3 inch portions and then add 1 Tbs 
grape seed oil to a soup pot preheated to mid heat. Add the onions, 
ginger, cinnamon stick, star anise and the lemongrass to the pot 
allowing to cook while stirring for 5 minutes. Add the beef stock and
bring to a boil before reducing the heat to a simmer, cover and allow
soup base to cook for 1 hour. 

To cook the cellophane noodles, bring water to a boil, take water off heat. Add noodles and cover to steep for 20 minutes. 

• Basil
• Mint
• Mung Bean Sprouts
• Cilantro
• Sweet Onions -  cut extremely thin as these are added to the
  raw to the hot soup as a condiment. 
• Red & Green Jalapenos, sliced thinly

Condiments: Sriracha , Hoisin Sauce, Fish Sauce & Fresh Lime Wedges

SIRLOIN:

ASSEMBLY:

Get a bowl of the soup, be sure that it is boiling hot. Add the noodles,
then the meat and the condiments and enjoy. Simply nothing better.. The Bentley of soups.

This post is not about the cinnamon buns. I repeat: this post is not about the cinnamon buns - but what better way to catch your attention than parading photographs of sweet, buttery, cinnamon-y brioche smothered with cream cheese frosting and toffee walnuts…I digress.

What I really wanted to write about is more of a proposition. Seeing as the month of Ramadan is upon us (a belated Ramadan Kareem to my fellow Muslims - may the timezone be ever in your favor!) and I probably won’t be posting as much, I wonder if anyone is interested in doing a guest post? It’ll also be a chance to get to know other food bloggers here on Tumblr. It could be about your favorite food, go-to recipe, summer thirst quenchers - anything food related. Just drop me a message if you’re up for it and I’ll post it up on the blog.

Cheers!

PS: recipe for these buns can be found here.