The Empty Cabinets of my Mind

More Bread Experiments

I did not think my Bean Bread experiment would turn out, but it did.  Sounds gross, but I put some refried black peas and a little curry powder in my last loaf of rye bread.  It worked!  I used to bake yeast bread a lot, but ever since I discovered how foolproof and quick it is to make soda breads with sprouted grain flours, I seldom bother with the yeast and kneading and all that.  The black eyed pea loaf tasted good hot out of the oven and toasted the next day, but I did not care for it cold.

The soda bread that tastes best hot or cold is my sprouted wheat applesauce loaf.  The Gourmia 10-in-1 robotic oven allows me to make portion controlled loaves easily.  This loaf is about right for 2 people:

 I used about 1/2 cup of sprouted wheat flour plus a handful of ground flax seeds, 1/2 tsp each of baking powder and baking soda, and a pinch of salt.  Then I stirred in about 1/3 cup of fermented raw applesauce, a splash of avocado oil, and a dollop of buttermilk.  The dough wants to be almost but not quite runny, wet enough so it flattens out from its own weight. 

 

The applesauce I use is a by-product from making apple switchel, a refreshing fermented beverage made by soaking sliced or diced apples in diluted vinegar and brown sugar in a mason jar with a fermentation cap.  It sits out at room temperature for at least 24 hours and then I strain off the liquid to store in a cooler place in soda bottles until it gets bubbly, but not so long that the bottles burst or it turns into vinegar.  When I strain out the chunks, I add cinnamon (and sometimes more brown sugar to replace what the ferment "ate" and blend it into smooth applesauce.  This applesauce has just enough vinegar taste to work well in baking, but not enough to overpower it if eaten raw.  It is a very useful by-product of switchel making. 

 

I make this beverage from a wide variety of fruits, including cherries, mulberry, grapefruit, etc., but I especially like the apple and strawberry switchel because the chunks of fruit that are left are perfect for baking.  I use the "spent" strawberries in pancakes or waffles, and eat the applesauce raw or add it to my bread dough. 
 

 

Turmeric Flatbread

This was a sodabread experiment that I fully expected to hate. Instead, it is my latest food craving, right up there with strawberry switchel and beet kvass.

Since my greatly adored Gourmia 10 in 1 doesn't come with much of a recipe book, I am busily compiling my own collection of things that work.  The two settings that I use most are stir fry and grill.  Why do I use 365F as my go to temperature for baking bread?    1) It works, and 2) It is easy to remember, because this is approximately how many times a year I use this must-have appliance. 

Here is the recipe:

Part 1:  Dry mix (I premix this and store it in mason jars)

3/4 cup sprouted wheat flour 

1/4 cup Pioneer Buttermilk Baking Mix

1/2 tsp each baking powder and baking soda

1 T turmeric powder

A pinch of black pepper ( to potentiate the turmeric)

A pinch of salt and a few teaspoons of brown sugar

Part 2: Wet ingredients

1/4 cup cultured buttermilk

1 T apple cider vinegar

Enough milk to make the dough almost runny.

  It wants to hold together just enough to pick it up, but not so stiff that it forms a ball.  I pour avocado oil into a shallow silicon baking pan, then drop the dough in and very lightly knead it with oil covered hands before pressing it back into the pan.

Important:  In the Gourmia, the bottom gets hot fast, so to bake bread it is usually necessary to use a rack.  I just invert a silicon muffin pan beneath the bread pan.

Baking time is 30 to 40 minutes, until the sides sort of pull away from the pan and the whole thing looses its glossiness and looks golden and delicious.

 

Gourmia 10 in 1 Snacks: Pizza

A simple home made pizza nuked in the Gourmia Robotic oven.  This was a sprouted rye crust brushed with garlic and topped with onion, tomato, and provolone.  Served with tilapia and a glass of veggie kvass. 

I put the crust in the pan and used the Grill setting on high until brown on the bottom, then flipped it over and added the toppings.  Then I turned the heat control down to 365 and grilled on a rack a while longer (until the veggies started to wilt and the cheese melted.  Time to take the pizza out and put the fish in the pan. 

Big Daddy's Cheesesteaks in Hemet

Someday I am going to New Jersey and eat nothing but cheesesteaks for a couple weeks.  Seriously. I have never been to New Jersey yet, although I once gazed at it longingly on a trip to Manhattan.  But it has such a reputation for good cheesesteak that I want to try one from each of the most famous places. 

 I have been experimenting at home and finally made one that was almost as good as the ones Lamont Johnson makes at Big Daddy's Cheesesteaks in Hemet.  It is a family business that the locals love because Lamont and Debbie and their son not only sell good food, but they are all delightful people as well.  In my opinion that make the food taste even better.

The ones I make at home are a little different, but tasty and economical.  I cut a chuck roast into 3 or 4 chunks and braise them on all sides in my Omnia 10-in1 robotic cooker using the Grill setting, then pressure cook them over onions for 90 minutes with a cup of beef stock, thyme, and black pepper. After cooking I chop the meat, spray it with Bragg's amino acids, and put it back in with the pan drippings in the 10-in1 on the Stir Fry setting, adding more  cooking stock as needed to keep it moist.

Then I put it over provolone sauce in a croissant, preferably with some of Debbie and Lamont's incomparable sweet pepper sauce.

I call this Home-Brew GAG

Grapefruit and Ginger Switchel here.  This is my latest concoction.  It is a sort of hybrid between switchel and kvass.  It needs a few more days/weeks to get ripe, but I keep pouring out a little into a shot glass to taste test it and it is so yummy I do want another taste--and another.

No, it doesn't contain any alcohol...yet.  I only started it yesterday. In addition to ginger and grapefruit, it contains apple cider vinegar and maple syrup.

Warning:  Before experimenting with something like this the first time, know that these beverages are alive and can break the glass container if left unattended too long.  It is necessary to open them up and let out the gas once in a while once carbonation starts to form.

Here is another one:

After an overnight ferment of vinegar and the sweetened juice drained off from mandarin oranges, I did a second ferment after adding fresh cranberries and diluting with water.

Making Huevos Rancheros in the 10-in1

 

Sent this by email from smart phone, but the photo got rotated 90°.  I will turn it around when I get a chance.  Meanwhile, eating these yummy eggs with beans and rice, etc. 

Never washing a skillet again

For someone who used to hate cauliflower I sure like this cauliflower rice with colorful orange sweet peppers and onions.  It comes out perfect every time in the Gourmia Robotic oven and I don't have to lift a finger. 

Cooking for two, it takes 1/2 blended head of cauliflower, half an onion, half a pepper, avocado oil, Bragg's Amino Acids (or soy sauce), and any kind of seasoning.

I coat the chicken in corn starch moistened with chicken stock (yeah, "bone broth" in today's vernacular) and let the Gourmia 10-in-1 stir fry that for me first, then I set tbe cooked meat aside to stay warm and pour the "rice" mix in for the same preset time and temperature. 

Gourmia sells extra cooking trays for $25 each, but I have been lucky in finding scratch and dent priced new ovens for $70 and up for all the spare parts I should ever need.  I seriously plan to never use or wash a skillet again.

 

PSST:  I braised some chunks of chuck roast in the Gourmia (on Grill) and then pressure cooked them on Low for 70 minutes in a cup of beef stock, then poured the stock into the Gourmia on stir fry to let it make gravy.  Put the meat right back in the Gourmia on a lower temp setting right in the gravy where it stayed moist and warm until dinner.  Easiest "pot roast" I ever made and hardly any clean up.  I am seriously never using (or cleaning) a regular oven, or skillet, or cooktop again. 

 

Sprouted Multigrain Soda Bread

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This is my current favorite Gourmia 10-in-1 robotic cooker bread recipe.  I make this often, so to save time I premix the dry ingredients and store them in pint mason jars.  One pint jar makes a 9" round loaf about 3' high, which is 3 or 4 servings at my table. 

Dry ingredients:  1 /2 C Pioneer buttermilk baking mix, 1/4 C sprouted rye flour, 1/4 C sprouted spelt flour (and/or quinoa or oat or sprouted wheat), 1 tsp baking soda, a pinch of sea salt, and a pinch of brown sugar.

Liquid ingredients:  Buttermilk and/or whey and/or kefir or plain water

I mix to make a very soft dough just thick enough to form a ball that holds together loosely, then bake it on a silicon rack in the Gourmia 10-in-1 set to Grill for 35 minutes.  Personally, I would use all whole grain sprouted flours, but someone else who eats at my house prefers a lighter texture.  To keep the bottom from overcooking I put the dough on a silicon baking mat on top of an inverted silicon six-muffin pan

 

Another Mistrake

 

After reading  Mercola's article about cauliflower flatbread I made some and it was OK.   Learning curve on liking it at first,  but it is a taste I can acquire.  I think.   Nutritionally dense.

So I tried to tweak it,  and came up with something porridge-like that has an interesting texture and tastes good to me,  but it is not remotely bread-like.* No problem,  as I am OK with gluten and am eating it with a slice of fresh warm rye/spelt straight from the Gourmia 10-in-1 robotic air fryer/oven thing.  

I now bake these microloaves in the Gourmia 10-in-1's Grill setting, lowering the temperature to 365 and raising the time to 35 minutes.   I place the unbaked loaves on top of an inverted muffin pan with a bowl of water alongside.

From the bottom left photo you can see how "runny" this dough is.  I made it from my own premix of 1/2 cup Pioneer buttermilk baking mix,  1/4 cup sprouted rye flour,  1/4 cup sprouted spelt flour,  1 tsp baking soda,  a pinch of sea salt,  and a pinch of brown sugar.   Then I just add whey (from making buttermilk/kefir cheese) until the dough is slightly mixed and thick enough to handle.  If you don't  have whey,  water is probably fine.   You can probably get by with less soda,  but I like the taste of it.

 *The porridge stuff was 1 cup riced cauliflower, 1 egg,  1/2 cup grated cheddar,  black pepper,  curry powder,  cayenne,  and Creole seasoning from the dollar store.

More on the Salt Flats

The first time I saw the salt flats near Amboy was from an airplane.  I was fascinated by them, but did not have a chance to see them for many more years and drove past them somewhat by accident the first time I saw them from the ground.  Since then I have made it a point to pass them many times and every time they look different.  The last time saw them the ditches were emerald green.  This time they were sky blue.

 

If you want to see this area from the air, here is one of several YouTube videos Steve King took with a Phantom 3 Professional drone flying above the salt mines at Bristol Dry Lakebed. 

Drone Over the Salt Flats

At this writing not many people have see this video, but I think it is really cool.  This area, near the Mohave National Preserve is under the oversight of the Bureau of Land Management.  National Chloride Company mines over 2000 acres of government owned land in this area pursuant to mineral rights they obtained under federal laws. 

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