Baked sweet potato (salad)

This was a yummy different salad. The sweet potatoes by themselves are good and also good for a snack.

Sweet potatoes

garlic powder

salt and pepper

olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Slice potatoes into wedges. Spray cooking sheet with pam. Place wedges on the sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and garlic powder. Spritz with a bit of olive oil. Cook for ten minutes and then turn them over and cook another ten minutes or until they are as brown as you like them. I didn't want mine too brown for the salad.

Place them on mixed salad greens or romaine lettuce. Sprinkle with a balsamic dressing (I often use balsamic vinegar by itself since I am doing low fat for myself).

Better homes and gardens has a good citrus vinaigrette which uses

1 (1/2 inch) piece fresh ginger , peeled

2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar

1 tbsp chopped sweet onion

1 tbsp. honey

1 tsp orange zest

1/4 tsp dry mustard

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup olive oil

(Pulse the first 7 ingredients in blender or food processor until blended. "With blender running, add olive oil in a slow steady stream"....Pour through a fine wire mesh to discard solids.

Lentil with kidney bean chili (crock pot)

This was pretty good--a nice little change up for a chili and it makes a big pot in my crock pot.

2 (28 ounce each) cans of diced tomatoes
2 (15 ounce each) cans of red kidney beans rinsed and drained
2 large green bell peppers, chopped
1 large onion chopped
2 cups dry red lentils or brown (I always use brown because I can't get reds in my area)
1 to 2 tablespoons of chili powder (I start with the lesser amount and add more if needed)
1 1/2 tsp of garlic powder
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (6 ounce) can of tomato paste
1 tsp of Worcestershire sauce
3-4 cups of water

In large crock pot place tomaotes including their liquid. Add 3-4 cups of water, the drained kidney beans, green peppers, onions, dry lentils, chili, garlic. Turn pot on low and cook 6 hours on low and then 2 hours on high or until lentils are done. I believe it is less time for red lentils. Add water if it gets too thick. During the last 30 minutes add the tomaot sauce and the tomato paste. Add the Worcestershire sauce just before serving (more or less to taste).

You can serve this with cheese or vegan cheese mixed in and crumbled tacos on top if desired.

Black eyed pea masala by fatfreevegan

This was very good especially with some added Mango Chutney or Cranberry chutney. This is found at fatfreevegan.com here:

http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2010/01/black-eyed-pea-masala.html

Crusty Wheat Bread with no added oil!

This is a nice crusty bread. My guys liked this better than my usual wheat bread and this one is oil free!! The only fat/oil comes from the grains! THIS USES WHITE WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR

This is a no Knead bread! This is how it looks (below) when it has risen before you put it in loaf pans.

It is not dry--just crusty on the outside --there is a trick you do with ice cubes when cooking it!

The recipe can be found on the link below and you need to do it the way she says ;-).
http://www.cookforgood.com/recipe/homemade-no-knead-good-whisk-bread-part-1.html (note I am copying her recipe since one time the link did not work
 She also has a you tube that shows you how to do the part of this whisk bread before here (also below is another of her videos for getting it ready to place in the pans:

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups white whole-wheat flour (300 grams)
2 1/4 teaspoons rapid-rise or instant yeast
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 cup wheat germ, untoasted (64 grams)
1 tablespoon honey (21 grams)
3 cups warm water (2 cups then 1 cup at about 110 degrees)

4 cups all-purpose, unbleached flour (480 grams)

Method

1. Mix the dough. In a big bowl, put white-wheat flour and yeast. Stir to mix, then add salt, wheat germ, honey, and first 2 cups of water. Stir to dampen flour, then whisk or rapidly stir the batter for a minute. Swish your whisk in the remaining cup of water so you don't waste anything. Add the all-purpose flour and then last cup of water to the dough. Stir with a big spoon until all the flour is damp.
2. Let it rise. Cover the bowl with something tight enough to keep it from drying out but loose enough that the gasses from the yeast can escape. I use a plate but any loose lid or even a piece of waxed paper would do fine. Let the dough rise for one to five hours (see Note below if the room is cold). Refrigerate the dough overnight or for up to five days. This will let the yeast work on the flour longer, making the bread taste better and rise more.
3. Take the dough out of the bowl. When you are ready to bake the bread, grease one or two non-stick bread pans and a spatula with shortening, pan spray, or butter. Oil or flour your hands so the dough doesn't stick to them. Sprinkle a little flour on the dough, then use a serrated knife to cut it in half. Coax half the dough out of the bowl with the greased spatula. Try to keep the dough together without tearing it to preserve the progress the yeast has already made in making your dough rise. Sprinkle the other side of the dough with a little flour too. If you are only making one loaf, then return the rest to the refrigerator in the covered bowl.
4. See part 2 for how to shape the dough, let it rise, and bake your homemade bread.

Tips and notes

• Your bowl will be big enough to hold the dough after it rises if it will hold 1 gallon or 16 cups of water.
• If you use a kitchen scale to measure the dry ingredients, you'll save time and reduce the chance of making a mistake.
• Bread rises best at temperatures between 72 and 90 F (22 to 32 C). In the winter my kitchen is at 68 degrees or colder, so I put my bread pans on a heating pad turned to low, cover it with a cake carrier, and then cover that with a clean bath towel.
• This recipe and its sister recipe for Whisk Sandwich Bread are my pride and joy, the results of eighteen months of research and bread making. I wanted a very nutritious bread that was fast and easy to make and didn't require any special equipment, like a bread machine, food processor, or standing mixer. I studied and tried dozens of recipes, with the key steps being inspired by three sources. Thanks to Mark Bittman's and Jim Lahey's Sullivan Street Bread for the idea of letting the dough develop overnight instead of kneading it. Thanks to Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois for the idea of creating a gluten cloak. And thanks to Rose Levy Beranbaum for the idea of using some white flour plus wheat germ to get the nutritional equivalent of whole-wheat bread without the sharp bran that cuts the gluten and her encouragement to measure by weight instead of with measuring cups.

http://cookforgood.squarespace.com/recipe/homemade-no-knead-good-whisk-bread-part-2.html

1. Shape the dough. Hold your hands underneath the dough and slowly spread them so the dough almost falls through. As it falls, the dough will stick to your hands a little and stretch, creating the gluten web that will support the bread as it rises. Gather the stretched dough at the top like a very short ponytail. Turn the dough some and repeat, until you have dropped the dough and gathered it at the top of the ball five or six times, going all the way around the dough. Stretching the dough should take about a minute. Turn the dough ball over so the rough, gathered part is underneath. Pat and stretch it some until the dough is nearly loaf-shaped, then put it into the loaf pan rough side down. Press the dough down gently until it fills the bottom of the pan. Repeat with the other loaf if you are making two at the same time.
2. Let the dough rise again. Put the dough in a small, warm place so it can rise without drying out, such as a cake carrier or a microwave. If you don't have something to use as a rising box, then just cover the dough with a clean tea towel or piece of knit cloth. Let the dough rise for about two hours until it has doubled in size. It should be at or near the top of the bread pan.
3. Bake. Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Put an empty pan or iron skillet on the very bottom of your oven. If you have a bread stone, put it on the bottom rack of your oven. When the dough is ready to bake, it will be at or just above the rim of the bread pan. Touch it gently with a finger and watch the dough spring back into place. Put about a half-cup of ice cubes in a bowl so you can easily put them into the empty pan in the oven without burning yourself. Open the oven, put in the bread, and slide the ice cubes into the empty pan below. Quickly close the oven door so you trap the steam from the ice cubes. Do not use convection baking since this will take away the steam.
4. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until golden brown. The interior temperature should be 205 degrees.
   Remove the bread from the oven. Remove the loaf from the pan. If you like a crisper crust, put the bread back into the oven without the pan for about three more minutes. Cool on a wire rack. (If the bread doesn't just pop out of the pan when you turn it over, slide a table knife or thin spatula around the edges of the bread to loosen it.) Let it cool all the way to room temperature before slicing it so that the bread structure can set. If you cut it while it's hot, it turns into a gummy mess. Slice with a serrated knife. Store at room temperature, wrapped in clean tea towel or piece of cotton, plastic wrap, or in a paper bag. To keep longer, wrap the bread well in plastic or foil and freeze.

Tips and notes

• Non-stick loaf pans are a must for a sticky dough like this.
• Bread rises best at temperatures between 72 and 90 F (22 to 32 C). In the winter my kitchen is at 68 degrees or colder, so I put my bread pans on a heating pad turned to low, cover it with a cake carrier, and then cover that with a clean bath towel.
• Do not refrigerate baked bread. If you do, it will go stale much faster than if you keep it at room temperature or freeze it.

Now if I could just find a fat free one for myself that would be gluten free!!

Earl Grey latte

I found this from another blogger this week and forgot to write which blog. I will see if I can find it , but I have my doubts. This was delicious!!!

London Fog Tea Latte
1 Earl Grey teabag
1/2 a mug of boiling water
1/2 a mug of steamed milk (I just used almond milk)
1 Tbsp. brown sugar (to taste)
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

I just microwaved the tea, water and milk. Then I added the rest. I used a bit less of the sugar but it would be good with all of it! I am drinking it right now--oh, this would be good before bed with the decaf Earl Grey!