Nigella's Lazy Loaf - Gutsy Cooks Club

This week I found 2 amazing recipes to make for the Gutsy Cook's Club. This would be the second fabulous treat I tried and loved!

First of all, I am a huge fan of Nigella Lawson. I have a few of her cookbooks and love that she pours her heart and soul into real foods.

I also had to try anything called a "Lazy Loaf", especially when I read the list of ingredients. Lazy? ...and healthy? Count me in.

What makes this special? Well, apart from it being super simple it is made with Muesli. I don't usually have that in my pantry, but it was easy enough to find a raw version in our bulk food section at the grocery store. I went ahead and got a little crazy by throwing in some additional dried cranberries.

6 ingredients is simple in my book...

This was practically the "dump cake" version of bread. Everything got dumped in together, mixed and then plopped in a greased loaf pan. *Plop*

Think thick oatmeal. I had some reservations, but my Muesli was already committed...

The next part was fun. It goes into a cold oven for a while and rises... then, without taking it out of the oven, crank up the heat and let it go for another hour. Then open the oven door to get a glimpse of pure "lazy" magic.

Tah-dah! This sucker is like a lead brick. If you have weak wrists, get help.

But inside? Amazing!
It reminds me of the expensive "healthy" bread my folks used to buy when I was young. It has a thick crust, but a dense and soft inner crumb laced with the nuts and sweet dried fruit from the Muesli. I was blown away.

...and I was in love.

So far I like it best lightly toasted with a swipe of butter and homemade peach jam. I highly suggest taking a peak at the recipe yourself. I will be making this again. Next time I might throw in a bit of cinnamon. Yum!

Spinach Rice Gratin #Recipe - Gutsy Cooks Club

What did I whip up this week for the Gutsy Cooks Club?

Well, something sure to be a new hit in our house. I chose the Spinach Rice Gratin recipe from 101 Cookbooks. It fit all my criteria: simple, great ingredients (that I had on hand was a bonus!) and relatively healthy.

I love spinach. Even as a kid I would watch Popeye and ask for that dreadful  can of tinned and vinegared spinach. Blech! Now my more mature taste buds look back in horror.

It wasn't till college and cooking for myself that I realized fresh spinach was delightful. I tossed it into stir fry or grabbed a handful for a salad. Currently I love throwing a few cups into my fruit juice smoothie to make my children's favorite, Green Monster.

This rice bake had everything! Cheesy goodness cut by the sharp red onions as the creamy rice and spinach is kicked up with the crunch of toasted nuts. A real treat alongside a baked pork chop, or served alone we ate up every last bite.

The biggest surprise was the tofu. It added to the creamy texture and brought the protein content up. I did change up a few things in my version which is based on the 101 Cookbooks Spinach Rice Gratin recipe.

You Will Need:
1 1/2 c. Brown Rice, cooked
1 c. Wild Rice (I used Trader Joe's Wild Rice Blend), cooked
2 c. finely chopped Baby Spinach leaves
6 oz. firm Tofu, crumbled
1/4 c. chopped Black Olives
1/2 a Red Onion, chopped finely
1/2 c. toasted Almonds, chopped
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1/2 c. Romano Cheese, shredded with a microplane
3 large Eggs
Salt & Pepper to taste

The biggest change I made to the recipe was the addition of a wild rice blend. I love the nutty flavor and added depth of texture from the harder rice and seeds.

This recipe would work well with left over rice, but I made all mine earlier in the day. Just allow time for it to cool.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spray your casserole dish with non-stick spray.

Chop and dice all the ingredients. Reserve a handful of nuts, onion, cheese and olives for garnishing the top before serving. Everything else can go into the mixing bowl to combine. Season as you like.

Put into your dish and back for 30 minutes.

Sprinkle with remaining toppings before serving.

I loved how pretty this dish was! The green spinach, black olives and red onions really caught my eye. It was a great rice back without being the usual greasy cheese dish.

I will be making this dish again and next time I may even serve it in individual ramekins or share at a potluck party. I may be able to find some spinach converts if I am lucky.

Enjoy!

Gutsy Cooks Club - Milk Bundt Cake

I'm late... oh, so late.

I was so excited to make the Milk Bundt Cake for the Gutsy Cooks Club, and then spaced posting my sweet success. So, late, but here it is.


January is all about a Healthy Start. All the recipes listed looked so good, but when I saw the word "bundt", I was all over that.

Bundt cakes are simple. They are everyday "go-to" cakes. Not smothered in frosting or dripping in chocolate (though some are!), they are just a bit of sweet for the end of the day.

This Milk Bundt Cake is from Cook Republic. It is pretty straight forward.

Simply dusted with a bit of powdered sugar it was delightful.

My only comment is to make sure if you are using regular sugar, since it calls for castor sugar, be sure to pulse and stir to get all the crystals small enough. The finer the sugar, the denser the cake.

Yum!

So, head over to Cook Republic to see the recipe.

Gutsy Cooks Club - October Rice: Stuffed Tomatoes

It is the second week of rice with the Gutsy Cooks Club.

 Week of Oct 9 - Theme: Stuffed into something or with something

the I chose the tomatoes stuffed with rice recipe from Saveur. We grow a lot of tomatoes on the farm so I have a few of those handy! The large slicing tomatoes are so good right now. Ripened on the vine, fresh picked and bursting with a deep flavor. I was excited to see what stuffing them would be like.

 After looking at the recipe, I thought it was missing something... so, I decided to blanch up and add some chopped kale. I also chose to double most of the seasoning and added in a little oregano as well. The recipe below reflects all my changes.

You Will Need:
8 firm, ripe medium tomatoes
1/2 c, Italian arburio rice *partially cooked, see note
2 Tbsp.  parsley flakes
3 Tbsp. dry basil
1 Tbsp. oregano
1 tsp. onion powder
4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 c. blanched & chopped kale
1/2 c. extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Slice the top off of each tomato and scoop out the flesh. Try not to scrape the skin too thin or break it. Reserve the scooped flesh in a bowl, and reserve the tops.

Blanch the kale for 2-3 minutes. Let it cool till you can handle it and chop it in small pieces. Put this in a medium sized bowl.

Add the rice, seasoning, garlic also to the bowl. Take the scooped out tomato flesh and puree it in the blender.  Then add it to the rice and kale mixture.

I salted and peppered each tomato before filling it. Then top with a reserved top and drizzle them all with olive oil.

Bake in a 400 degree oven for about an hour.

Mmm... Loved this dish. I especially flipped for the caramelized tomato top. I will be making it again, it was so simple and tasty, but I will be making a few modifications.

The biggest problem I had was the rice was not as tender as I would have wished. *next time I will partially cook the rice ahead of time. I really wanted the rice to be fluffy. I also think next time I make this I will add some chunks of italian sausage. I felt like it needed a fat or an added flavor.

Overall I loved trying this recipe. It was a great choice. Have you ever made stuffed tomatoes? Stay tuned to see what the next rice themed dish will be.

Gutsy Cooks Club - October Rice: Horchata

I am excited to be posting for the first time with the Gutsy Cooks Club. Though I have a passion for baking, cooking is my daily joy and challenge. This group posts a monthly theme with weekly recipe options. For more information and how to join in, check out the Gutsy Cooks Club.

...and on to the cooking...

This month the club will be cooking with rice. Oh, glorious rice. I have had a long and ever changing relationship with rice. From the boring, to the exotic, I have come to love this simple staple. After living in Japan I gained confidence in using rice as a base, a side, pounded or grilled and have come to love all the variations and flavors it comes in.

Monica did an amazing job of putting together a list of rice recipes. This week the theme is "Unusual and Out of the Box Use of Rice". I chose horchata.

I know, not a difficult recipe to start out my club membership, but I have tried making horchata before. It was a more complex recipe that left me feeling blah. It was good, but not great and required so much work that I don't know if I would want to do it again. My husband loves horchata, so I wouldn't mind finding a great recipe for it.

 David Lebovitz's Horchata recipe is simple, delicious and just what I was looking for! Check his site for the exact recipe.

First it starts with the rice...

Just a small amount of rice, pulverized up into a coarse meal. Now, that is what I call out of the box rice usage.


Whiring it up in my blender there was a fine rice dust seeping through the cracks in the lid. I highly suggest using a towel to cover things.




I would say if Blendtec says it can grind up a hockey puck, it can definitely do a number on some measly grains of rice.

Then comes the water to cover the rice. I soaked my rice with a cinnamon stick overnight.

Put it through a few layers of cheesecloth to filter out those bits of rice...

Add the sugar and rice milk, then pour over ice with a dusting of cinnamon and enjoy!