No Meat on the Menu...at Least Some

In the aforementioned menu planning, I am trying to have at least one meatless meal.  Before David and I got married...well, actually before David and I started dating almost all of my meals were meat free unless I had fish or ate out.  It just wasn't worth buying for one person...and I prefer meatless most of the time.  David and K, however, love meat!  So, I'm doing my best to make us all happy but still healthy. 

We're done a good bit of bean burgers because they both like beans.  Our most recent one was a white bean burger from How Sweet It Is.  One thing that drew me to it was quinoa.  I haven't used it much but know it's good.    Needed a little more seasoning but was good.  Definitely one I'd repeat!

 Red Pepper Quinoa Burgers

Total Time: 30 minutes

1 (15 ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup cooked quinoa
1/2 cup chopped red peppers
1 tsp dried, minced garlic
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon flour
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 whole wheat bun, toasted
for topping: whatever you want!

In a small bowl, mix together bread crumbs, basil, paprika, onion powder, salt and pepper.
In a large bowl, add beans and mash coarsely with a fork. Stir in quinoa, garlic and roasted red peppers, mixing well to combine. Add in bread crumb mixture and egg, mixing well to moisten. Once combined, add in the flour and mix well. Form into patties of desired size.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add olive oil. Press each quinoa ball into a large patty, being careful to press the sides together so they don't fall apart while cooking. Add to skillet and cook until golden and crisp on each side, about five minutes. Serve immediately on toasted buns with your favorite toppings! Enjoy! (reheats well, too)

Bread Again

Whenever the first of the month comes, I get excited to find out what challenge I'll be doing for Daring Bakers.  We've been doing a lot of bread recently, but that's fine with me...D Loves bread!  Sara and Erica of Baking JDs were our March 2012 Daring Baker hostesses! Sara & Erica challenged us to make Dutch Crunch bread, a delicious sandwich bread with a unique, crunchy topping. Sara and Erica also challenged us to create a one of a kind sandwich with our bread! Usually, bread takes a good amount of time to complete; however, this bread was pretty quick, only requiring about an hour to rise.  I made it one Saturday afternoon.  The different part of this bread was a "topping" that we added to the top.  I did get the beautiful browned, cracked look that it was supposed to create...but I didn't take a picture right away.  Boo!

 The only picture I have is several days later, so it's not quite as fresh.  Neither D nor I were quite sure if we liked the "topping."  It was a bit sweet and, to me, had a little too much of a yeasty taste.  Still quite fun.  For my sandwich, I used roasted squash, sauteed peppers, mushrooms, and swiss cheese with some hummus all toasted together.

 It was actually really good but I waited too long to make it, so the bread had dried out.  Still...quite a fun challenge!  Can't wait for April!

Dutch Crunch Topping
2 tablespoons (2 packets) active dry yeast
1 cup (240 ml) warm water
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons  vegetable oil
½ teaspoon salt
1½ cups rice flour (I used brown) 


Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and beat with a whisk. The consistency should be like stiff royal icing – spreadable, but not too runny. Add more water or rice flour as necessary. Let stand 15 minutes. Coat the top of each loaf or roll with a thick layer of topping. Let stand, uncovered, for any additional time your recipe recommends. With the Soft White Roll, you can place the rolls directly into the oven after applying the topping. When baking, place pans on a rack in the center of the oven and bake your bread as you ordinarily would. The Dutch Cruch topping should crack and turn a nice golden-brown color.

 Soft White Rolls
1 tablespoon (1 packet) active dry yeast
¼ cup (60 ml) warm water
1 cup (240 ml) warm milk - I used almond milk
1½ tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1½ teaspoons salt
Up to 4 cups all purpose flour (I needed about 1/2 cups more flour)


In the bowl of an electric mixer or large mixing bowl, combine yeast, water, milk and sugar. Stir to dissolve and let sit for about 5 minutes (The mixture should start to bubble or foam a bit and smell yeasty).
  Add in vegetable oil, salt and 2 cups of flour. Using the dough hook attachment or a wooden spoon, mix at medium speed until the dough comes together. Add remaining flour a quarter cup at time until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, as shown in the photo below Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 4 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Place in a lightly greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for 1 hour, or until doubled (or more) in size (see photo comparison).

Once the dough has risen, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and divide it into equal portions for the size rolls you'd like.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 15 minutes while you prepare the topping.

Coat the top of each roll or loaf with the topping as described above. Once you’ve applied the topping, bake in a preheated moderately hot 380ºF/190°C/gas mark 5 for 25-30 minutes, until well browned. Let cool completely on a wire rack before eating.