Category: Real Foods
Hot cross buns are a delicious Good Friday morning tradition, but conventional recipes are packed with unhealthy ingredients. Given my weakness for cinnamon morning buns, I had to convert a recipe to obtain the health benefits mentioned in my book. These rolls are packed with nutrient dense foods and the baking process takes advantage of the microbes in starter to alter the content of the dough, resulting an an anti-inflammatory, heart healthy, low glycemic, nutrient dense morning bun with little-to-no gluten.
To serve for breakfast on Good Friday, begin these Wednesday. For Wednesday you’ll need:
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 stick butter
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup starter
2 cups plain flour
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup almond flour or almond meal
1 t salt
Bring the milk to a boil. Once it begins boiling, remove from heat and add the butter. I slice mine into approximately 7-8 pieces to ensure that all of it melts. Set aside until completely cooled. (This is important because we’re adding the starter in the next step and the scalding milk can negatively affect the microbial activity.)
In another bowl, combine the honey, starter, flours, and salt. Stir to combine. When the milk/butter mixture is room temperature, add it to the flour mixture and stir to combine. You can fold it over a few times in the bowl to ensure that everything is fully combined, but it doesn’t really require any kneading. It will be a very sticky dough, but shouldn’t be runny. Cover the bowl and leave to sit overnight.
dough while rising
The next morning (Thursday if you’re planning these for Good Friday), the dough should have risen a bit. Now we’re going to add the fun stuff and shape the dough into buns. Today you’ll need:
1 green apple, finely chopped
1/4 cup dried cranberries, finely chopped
1/4 cup currants OR 1/4 cup raisins, finely chopped
2 t cinnamon
zest of 1 orange
zest of 1 lemon
Add all of this to the dough while it is still in the bowl. Stir to combine, then remove it to a clean counter-top. Knead until the dough holds together well and the apple bits stop popping out each time you fold the dough over.
*the dough will be slightly sticky*
Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces. Depending on how you want the end product to look, you can divide those among two pans (for rounded buns) or you can place them all in a single pan (for roll-like buns.) You can use 9×13 (greased) baking dishes or (parchment lined) quarter size sheet pans. Shape your rolls and place them in the pans. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm spot to rise for 24 hours.
hot cross buns before second rise
If you know you’ll have a busy morning tomorrow, you can also make your frosting today. Combine 4 ounces cream cheese with 1 T butter and 2 cups powdered sugar. Add the seeds from 1 vanilla bean, 1 t vanilla extract, and 1 t cinnamon. Mix until creamy and store, covered, in the fridge.
hot cross buns ready to bake
Friday morning, brush the tops with an egg wash and bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown on top. (During this time, you can make the frosting or if you made it yesterday, you can bring it to room temperature so it’s ready.) In a piping bag (or a plastic baggie with the corner cut off), pipe crosses on top of each bun AFTER they are completely cooled. If you put the frosting on too soon, the crosses will turn into a huge mess. Serve and enjoy!
(These also store really well so if you don’t have time to bake, let cool, and frost on Friday morning, consider bumping everything up a day to begin Tuesday night. Shape Wed morning, bake Thursday morning, frost Thursday night and serve Friday morning. You’ll need to store them in an airtight container to preserve freshness.)
This time of year is always an exciting one for us here at Vintage Remedies as we finalize and release our newest courses and finish planning the rest of the year’s releases. Just when I think we cannot possibly imagine a new program that is good enough to join our already stellar list of programs, our amazing team here at VR comes up with another perfect idea. The new program for early 2013 is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Here’s why:
Have you ever wondered about the health claims of various foods? We’ve all been told that spicy foods alleviate congestion and carrots improve eyesight. But, can artichokes heal an inflamed gut? Can foods treat acne? Or ear infections? Can chocolate reduce hypertension? While countless books and programs exist to tell us how to eat and which diets are ideal, most ignore the additional healing benefits of many real foods. The notion of food as medicine is typically only referring to prevention, but extends much further. Food really can be used as medicine. The Pharmacology of Food, our newest program, focuses on the healing, medicinal actions of over 130 foods that are unrelated to basic nutrition or vitamin/mineral content. Learn about the chemical compounds that naturally occur in food and how those impact the body and over 50 different health conditions.
The Pharmacology of Food includes 17 units, a textbook and a food encyclopedia (both pictured above), plus The Vintage Remedies Guide to Bread, all full student benefits and discounts, and 12 months of access to our online learning center. Full enrollment cost will be $345.
The new course will be available for pre-enrollment beginning this Friday, January 25th. It will officially be released March 1 and will ship out that week. You can pre-order at any time after this Friday, but if you get your order in before midnight February 8th, you’ll be able to save $50 on enrollment, making the whole program only $295 AND receive free copies of The Kitchen Herbal, which also focuses on culinary healing through kitchen herbs (value $9.95) and Real Foods on a Budget, which provides tips and helpful information on saving money while eating healthy foods (value $10.95).
To answer your first question, no, this program does not adhere to any one dietary principle. It actually does not cover nutrition at all. You won’t be hearing anything about optimal diets or healthy eating, and it can be used by anyone already familiar with basic nutrition, regardless of dietary preferences. So, if you love the principles of the vegetarian diet, WAP diet, Paleo diet, or have food allergies, you’ll still benefit from this amazing new resource. Instead of covering basic nutrition such as vitamins, minerals, and macronutrients, it focuses on the other chemical compounds found within foods that clinical studies have shown can offer healing benefits. If you want a good introductory guide to basic healthy eating, we recommend adding the Vintage Remedies Guide to Real Food, which makes a great supplement to the course.
Got any more questions? Comment below or contact the Vintage Remedies office for info.
Who said pizza has to be bad for you? With whole grain flour and a salad on top, this pizza is the ultimate lunch time fare. The combinations of flavors and textures make this quick meal as fun to eat as to prepare. Better yet – the recipe requires less than 10 “hands on” minutes!
3 cups whole wheat flour (I like the “100% whole white wheat” version available by Kind Arthur Flour for its mild flavor and smooth texture)
1 T honey (optional)
1 T olive oil
1 t crushed garlic
1 t red pepper flakes
2 t baker’s yeast (or 1/3 cup natural starter for those of you reading VR Guide to Bread)
1 – 1 1/2 t sea salt
1/2 cup shredded hard cheese such as Parmesan or Romano
1 -2 cups arugula
basic lemon vinaigrette (3 T olive oil, 2 T lemon juice, dash salt, 3-5 drops of honey)
In a stand mixer with the dough hook (or a bowl with a spoon) toss all ingredients except for the cheese, arugula and vinaigrette. Add a 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 coups of water. Mix until just combined into a smooth but firm dough. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and leave for 30-45 minutes. When you return, divide the dough into 4 portions and set aside. Preheat the over to 500 degrees – or your hottest setting. Return to the dough, flatten each portion into a thin round. Drizzle with olive oil (about 1/2 teaspoon) and cover with 1/4 of the cheese. Bake for 6-8 minutes or until golden brown. Remove, toss the arugula with the vinaigrette and top each pizza with 1/4 of the mixture. Slice into four pieces and serve fresh from the oven before the arugula wilts.
Think you’re enjoying a guilty pleasure? You’re not! This easy lunch provides a substantial amount of dietary fiber, which helps to reduce your risk of colon cancer, lower cholesterol, lead to better heart health and even help you lose weight. Studies show that consuming dietary fiber before a meal or during a meal lead to better digestive health and contribute to weight loss! The whole wheat is providing you with many B vitamins, contributing to better cognitive functioning, including attentiveness and emotional health. It also provides plenty of protein, as does the sprinkling of cheese. Arugula is a great source of calcium, building stronger bones, vitamin C enhancing immunity, and potent phytonutrients that help to prevent cancer! Furthermore, it provides you with a serving or two of green vegetables – did you know that arugula is not a lettuce as it appears, but a cruciferous vegetable, in the same family as broccoli?
When I was a little girl, my father used to call all of us his little pumpkins. Each fall, he would head out to the store and return with a bag of orange colored candies in a pumpkin shape with agreen top for his little “pumpkins.” Those may be the only pumpkins I ate as a child, as I was quite the picky eater, so I avoided most vegetables. However, I later learned that I was not getting out of eating them, I was missing out.
Pumpkins are great for holiday pies, jack o lanterns, and warming soups. They offer zinc, selenium, vitamins A, C and E, folate, calcium, iron, magnesium and potassium. If you have been paying attention, you also know by now that pumpkins contain loads of healthy antioxidants in the form of that orange pigment beta carotene. This helps to protect against cancers, heart disease and even aging.
Since pumpkin soup and pie recipes abound, I am including a recipe that is great for your little pumpkins that, like me, may need a little convincing when it comes to orange foods!
Pumpkin Spice Cake
1 and a half sticks organic butter, softened
1 and a half cups sucanat
2 cups pumpkin puree (canned is fine, but use organic)
1 t pure vanilla
3 eggs
1 T lemon juice
3 cups wheat flour
1/2 t baking powder
2 t baking soda (aluminum free)
1/2 t salt
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t ground ginger
1/2 t ground cloves
1/2 cup milk
Cream together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time. Then add the pumpkin, lemon, milk and vanilla and mix until blended. Add the dry ingredients, 1 cup at a time. Once fully mixed, pour into 3 greased 9 inch pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
For a holiday treat, stack the layers together with this maple cream cheese frosting between each. Mix together one 8 ounce block of cream cheese and 4 t maple syrup. Frost the tops, but not sides, for a rustic stacked look.
This post was taken from the Vintage Remedies Guide to Real Food: Let Your Food Be Your Medicine chapter.
Photo credit: iStockPhoto
Many of you might know me as one of the convention staff and Operations Manager for our sister company, J&M Botanicals. While Jessie and Cassie S. are at Trinity College in Ireland for a conference on medicinal botanicals, I get a chance to guest blog.
Enjoy!!
Caroline Andrews
Eggplant
taken from The Vintage Remedies Guide to Real Food
Eggplant is nearly 90% water, making them great for dieters. Potassium is their primary nutritional contribution, but they make a popular vegetarian main dish due to the fact they absorb contents and flavors well.
Their medicinal values are great, however. In China, they are not recommended for pregnant women as they are clearing to the uterus. These actions, while not ideal for pregnancy, are good for other female complaints, including STDs, cysts, tumors and irregular cycles. Many experts in Chinese medicine suggest eggplant for these common female concerns.
Okay, I’ll admit it. I don’t like eggplant unless it’s fried. During my first trimester with Baby #2, my sister made Baba Ganoush with lots of garlic. The morning sickness ensued, and I haven’t eaten it since. Then, I joined a CSA, and July arrived with my foe: eggplant. For my cholesterol’s sake, I can’t make Eggplant Parmesan each week, so Jessie and I came up with something new. We hope you enjoy it as much as Baby #3 does!
Eggplant “Meat”Balls with Spaghetti Squash
*Gluten Free, Casein Free, Nut Free
“Meat”Balls
- 1 1/2 lbs. eggplant, peeled and coarsely chopped
- 1 1/2 lbs. zucchini, peeled and coarsely chopped
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1/3 cup sunflower seeds
- 2 Tablespoons organic yellow miso paste
- 1 1/2 cups oat flour (or breadcrumbs if gluten is not a concern)
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
Place chopped eggplant in a large bowl and toss with a generous dusting of sea salt (about 2 teaspoons) and olive oil (about 2 tablespoons). Allow the eggplant to absorb the salt and oil for about 15 minutes while you prepare the other ingredients.
Place prepared eggplant and zucchini in a food processor and pulse until completely pureed. This may take multiple batches. Combine pureed eggplant and zucchini in a large bowl. Place onion, garlic, sunflower seeds and miso paste in a food processor to form a paste. Add onion paste and oat flour/breadcrumbs to eggplant mixture. Using a large wooden spoon or your hands, combine the ingredients. The texture should be slightly sticky and just slightly more moist than raw meatball mixture. Gently fold in the basil.
Form eggplant mixture into small golf-ball size balls and place on a greased baking sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes or until lightly browned.
Forming the “meat”balls
For a more decadant treat, fry “meat”balls in a heat stable oil until crispy.
Once cooked, serve over roasted spaghetti squash topped with your favorite tomato sauce and grated cheese!
Roasted Spaghetti Squash
Delicious Dish!
Baby #3 Approved!