Sweet Cinnamon-Pecan Brie en Croute

Tastes: Sweet and warm and rich
Serve it up:  This grown-up hors d'oeuvre is wonderful paired with a tray of grapes and sliced pears.  Add some water crackers, and life is good!

To market, to market:
1 sheet frozen puff pastry
1 T butter
1/2 cup pecan pieces
1/4 t cinnamon
8-oz wheel of brie
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg, beaten

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Thaw puff pastry according to package directions, then unfold.  While pastry is thawing and oven is heating, combine cinnamon, butter, and pecans in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Stir constantly, until pecans are dark and fragrant (takes just a minute, so be careful not to burn them!).  Lay the puff pastry out flat, center the wheel of brie on it, and top with pecans.  Sprinkle the brown sugar all over the top then gather the corners of the pastry up around the brie.  Tie with baker's twine to secure (it'll look like a pastry "purse").  Brush the whole thing with the egg, place on a baking sheet, and bake for 30-40 minutes, until golden and puffed.  Serve on a platter, as it'll start to run just a bit when you cut into it.

A note about brie:  some people have asked what to do with the rind on the brie.  I say, eat it!  You can cut it off prior to cooking it in the recipe, but it has a very complex flavor that adds a lot to the recipe.  Traditionally, you leave it on for a brie en croute.

Black Bean and Quinoa Burgers

If you come to visit my house, you may get turned into a burger model!  Thanks Ali Darger!

We eat primarily meatless here in the nest, mostly to save money.  But it isn't saving a dime to buy faux-meat flavored to taste like meat, and it sure isn't good for our health (most of those products are loaded with sodium)!  Although we do still buy Gardein and Morningstar Farms products occasionally, my husband is pushing hard for us to make more of our meatless entrees from scratch, and not trying to make them taste like meat.  (Don't worry, he's a meat man, too- he's just big on real food.  If it's made from a bean, it ought to taste like a bean!)  So here is our first burger attempt.  It was great!

To market, to market:

1/2 cup uncooked quinoa (I used the tricolor variety)

water

1 cup dried black beans

1 cube Knorr vegetable bouillon

1/3 cup diced onion

1/3 cup chopped bell pepper (I used orange)

1/2 of a small jalapeno pepper, chopped

3 T olive oil

1 egg

1 cup bread crumbs

After cooking 

Cook your black beans per directions on the package.  This involves soaking them overnight or doing a "quick soak", then cooking them.  To save time, you can use one can of black beans, but be sure to drain them well.  Cool the beans while preparing the rest of the ingredients.

Cooked quinoa

In a large microwave-safe bowl, combine quinoa with 1 cup of water and the vegetable bouillon cube.  Cover and microwave 5 minutes, then stir and microwave another 3 minutes.  Fluff the quinoa with a fork and let cool to room temp.

Saute the onion and peppers in the olive oil until fragrant and soft, then transfer to a food processor.  Pulse until smooth, then add black beans and bread crumbs.  Pulse until combined.  Scrape mixture into the bowl with the quinoa and stir to incorporate.  Taste this mixture and salt/pepper as necessary.  Stir in the egg.

Shape the mixture into 6-7 burger patties and place each on wax paper and into the fridge to "firm up".  I placed mine in the fridge for one hour prior to cooking.

I'm all for mess-free oven cooking, so I lined a baking sheet with foil, sprayed lightly with cooking spray, and placed the patties on it.  These went into a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.  About 20 minutes into cooking, I flipped them over so both sides got nice and crispy, but the inside was moist and chewy.  I also saved a few to cook the next day, and they turned out very well also.

Quick Fruit Sorbet

So I made these for my sweetheart last night, and he thought they were tasty and cute...  I think you'll agree!
Great for:  Hot summer afternoons, especially when fresh fruits are in season

To market, to market:
1 large banana, broken into chunks
2 cups other fresh fruit (I used strawberries and blueberries)
2 T lemon juice
1 T sugar or honey

Combine all ingredients in a blender until smooth.  Pour into a freezer bag, and freeze for 2-3 hours, until very thick.  Break the sorbet into chunks (you can do this in the bag just by bending it some), and return to blender.  Blend until smooth.  Pour the icy mixture into ice cube trays or silicon muffin pans and return to freezer for another hour or so.  Serve!

Didn't I tell you it was tasty and cute?

Fruit and Nut Granola

This is a deliciously nutty topping for yogurt, but you can use it as a cereal too!  Feel free to experiment with different nuts or dried fruits.  Note, this is not a chunky/clumpy granola, but you can achieve that by using honey instead of maple syrup (honey just has an overwhelming taste, in my opinion, and maple syrup is THE BOMB in this granola) and add a tablespoon or two of melted butter.

Combine in a large bowl:

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup chopped almonds

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

3/4 cup dried fruit

1 T cinnamon

1/2 cup maple syrup

dash of salt

3-4 cups oats

Stir till everything is combined and let rest 10 minutes.  Meanwhile, preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Spray a large baking sheet with cooking spray, spread the granola evenly over it, and pop in oven for 30-40 minutes.  You'll want to check up on it, and stir it every 10 minutes until it is nice and fragrant, and golden brown.  Remove from oven, cool completely, and store in an airtight container.  Stores well in fridge for several weeks.

40-Minute Yeast Rolls

I told you we make them huge!

This is my no-frills, very basic yeast roll recipe, and it is fabulous.  I use white whole-wheat flour in my house for just about everything, but have used enriched all-purpose flour too.  These rolls, when made small, are great for family dinners and potlucks (recipe yields 20-24 small pull-apart rolls), but we make 6-9 huge rolls with each batch of dough for burgers, sandwiches, etc.
Another note.... they rise for 40 minutes.  Total time, start to finish, is less than an hour, but a bit more than 40 minutes.  Sorry for any confusion.

To market, to market:
7 tsp active-dry yeast (if you're using the packets, just use 3 of them)
1 cup plus 1 T very warm water (not hot, or you'll kill the yeast- think baby's bathwater temp)
1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil
1/4 to 1/3 cup sugar (depends on how sweet you want them, I go with 1/3 cup)
1/4 tsp salt
2-3 cups white whole wheat flour (if you use AP flour, that is FINE- just realize it may take another half cup of flour to get the right consistency, as white/processed flour is "wetter" than whole wheat)

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine yeast and warm water.  Let sit for 5 minutes, until yeast dissolves and is quite frothy.  Add oil, sugar and salt, and stir to combine.  Add 2 cups of the flour, and mix on low speed until smooth.  Change to a dough hook, and set the mixer to low, adding flour a tablespoon at a time, until a smooth, elastic dough is achieved (the dough will still be tacky/slightly sticky).  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (the ultimate in quick-cleanup baking! love!) or spray baking sheet with a bit of canola oil spray.  Roll dough into balls (about the size of golf balls for small dinner rolls, or about the size of baseballs for sandwich buns) and place on baking sheet spaced 1/2 to 1 inch apart.  As the dough rises, the rolls will start to touch.  This is fine! It yields a higher rise.  Lay a clean tea towel (dish towel?) over the rolls, and let rise in a warm spot for 40 minutes.  Remove towel and bake at 425 degrees for 7-9 minutes.  Done!

Dough prior to rising

Dough after rising

More notes:  Letting the dough rise for longer is fine, but don't exceed 70 minutes.  It tends to go downhill from there, in taste and appearance, rather quickly.
I coat my hands in cooking spray to roll out the dough.  Less sticky that way.
If you don't have a warm place to let your dough rise, try this:  When you start making the dough, turn your oven on to 350, for just one minute.  Then turn off the oven, and open the door a bit.  When you're ready to let the rolls rise, feel one of the racks in the oven to make sure it is not hot, just warm, and place your rolls on the rack to rise, shutting the oven door.  Using this method, you don't have to cover them with a towel, and I don't even preheat the oven when it's time to bake.  I just make sure they've risen enough, turn the oven on, and pull them out 9 minutes later.  How easy is that?!?!