Honey Challah - Secret Recipe Club

It was such a treat to be assigned to Food Babbles this month for the Secret Recipe Club.  I think the first time I learned about her blog was several months ago when I saw this gorgeous Cinnamon Pear Twist Bread that she had made and just knew that I had to make it too.  I did HERE, and it was one of the best breads I've ever eaten.  So, although she has many incredible recipes on her site, I was drawn back to her breads.  It was just a question of which bread I wanted to make.  She had ones filled with lemon curd, cherries and cream cheese, and other delicious things, but since I wanted a challenge, I decided to make her Honey Challah.  While I have made challah in the past, I never attempted to make the braid.  It always intrigued me, and looked so pretty, so I figured now was the time to learn.

 

To my surprise, it couldn't have been easier and the bread was braided up and ready to go in no time.  The only changes I made were to add some chopped dried apricots to the dough and sprinkle it with cinnamon-sugar before baking.

 

The time finally came to take it out of the oven and it was a thing of beauty.  The bread inside was pillowy-soft and fluffy and the cinnamon-sugar and apricots added the perfect touch of sweetness to each bite.  Now I can finally say that I've conquered the braided challah and I am thrilled.  I'm so jazzed up that I can't wait to try making it again, this time with 6 strands.

Thanks Food Babbles for your lovely bread recipe.

Honey Challah (adapted from Food Babbles and Tammy's Recipes)        
3/4 c. warm water
1 Tbsp. active dry yeast
1/4 cup honey
1/2 tablespoon oil
2 large eggs
3/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. sugar
3 1/2 - 4 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. chopped dried apricots

1 large egg (for egg wash)
cinnamon-sugar (for sprinkling on top)

1.  Combine the yeast with the warm water and a pinch of sugar.  Let sit until foamy, about 5 min.

2.  Add the yeast mixture to the honey, oil, and sugar, and mix well.  Beat in the eggs and salt.  Add the flour gradually until the dough no longer sticks to the bottom of the bowl.  Knead in the chopped apricots, adding more flour as needed, and keep kneading for approximately 10 minutes.  

3.  Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours.  Punch down.  (I let my dough rise in the fridge overnight). 

4.  Divide the dough into four pieces.  Roll each piece into a rope, about 14-15" long, and 1 inch in diameter.  Lay the ropes side-by-side and pinch the tops together.  Braid tightly, starting on the left, taking the rope over two and under one.  Pinch bottom ends and fold under.   

5. Place braid on a greased baking sheet and cover.  Let rise in a warm place for 25-30 minutes.

6. Brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar.  Bake at 325F for 30-40 minutes, until done.  If loaves start to brown too quickly, loosely lay a piece of foil on top. Cool on a wire rack.

Baked Orzo with Vegetables

 

Lately, I've been trying to find good vegetarian recipes to make.  Don't get me wrong, I love my chicken, fish, and the occasional piece of beef, but on those occasions where I have to cook for vegetarians, I'd prefer not to have to go and find fake meat in order to make dinner.  So, enter recipes that include pasta, whole grains, and lots of yummy vegetables.  I've got a whole boardful of them on Pinterest just waiting to be made.  But, since there was sale on eggplant, I decided to start with the Baked Orzo with Vegetables.

This recipe is not necessarily the quickest to make, since you have to chop all the veggies and also salt the eggplant, then let it sit for half an hour.  But, I promise that all the work is worth it.  I did make a few changes to the recipe.  For one thing, I had a zucchini sitting in my fridge, so I added that in.  I also left out the celery because I didn't think that it would match with the rest of the flavors in the dish. 

 Then, I cut down on the salt, used water instead of vegetable stock, and used dried oregano since that's what I had.  Finally, instead of mozzarella, I sliced up a couple of Babybel cheeses and put them on top.  As far as I can tell, making these changes didn't diminish the flavor in this dish one bit.

I have to say that this dish impressed me.  Not only is it beautiful to look at, but it's a true pleasure to eat.  The Babybel cheeses were perfect - so wonderfully melty.  And I love that it's healthy.  To up the health factor, next time, I'd probably use whole wheat orzo and add in some spinach and mushrooms too.  You could probably even use some broccoli or cauliflower to mix things up a little.  You can never have too many veggies, at least in my opinion.  With a dish like this, I promise you won't miss your meat.    

Baked Orzo with Vegetables (adapted from Smitten Kitchen who adapted it from Yotam Ottolenghi)

1 large eggplant, cut into 3/4-inch dice
1 zucchini, cut into 3/4-inch dice
Salt and black pepper
2 Tbsp. olive oil
5 oz. baby carrots, chopped
1 medium onion, finely diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
8 ounces orzo, a rice-shaped pasta, rinsed
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 Tbsp. dried oregano
zest from 1 lemon
2 oz. Babybel cheese, sliced
3 medium tomatoes, diced

Sprinkle your eggplant generously with salt and let it drain in a colander for 30 minutes. I used this time to get the rest of my ingredients ready. After 30 minutes, rinse it well and pat it dry on towels.

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the oil and saute the eggplant and zucchini.  When done, remove from pan and set aside.  Add carrots to remaining oil and cook for 3 minutes before adding onion and garlic. Cook together for 5 more minutes on medium heat. Stir in the orzo and cook for two minutes more. Off the heat, add the oregano, tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, lemon zest, 1/2 teaspoon table salt, many grinds of black pepper and the water and mix well.

Transfer mixture to an 8×11-inch (about 2 quarts) ovenproof baking dish.  Slice the Babybel cheeses and stick the pieces into the pasta-veggie mixture as desired.  Cover with foil and bake 20 minutes, then bake 20 minutes without the foil. (You can increase the ration of foil-on to foil-off time if you don’t like a crunchy pasta lid.) Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Notes:
1.    The original recipe calls for you to fry the eggplant.  I just used 2 Tbsp. olive oil and sauteed the eggplant.

2.     The original recipe called for 1 tsp. tomato paste, celery, 1/2 c. parmesan cheese, vegetable stock, and fresh oregano.  I left out the tomato paste, celery, and parmesan cheese, used water instead of the vegetable stock, and used dried oregano instead of fresh.

Spiced Oatmeal Cranberry Apricot Cookies

I have to admit, when I started searching Cupcake Muffin's blog for this month's SRC, I was like a kid in a candy store.  Oohhh ooohhh look at all the yummy cookie recipes, I want that!  Wait, wait, look at all the delicious cake recipes, I want that!  What?  There's more sugary stuff over there too?  What they hey, I'll just take all of it.  Consequently, I didn't make just one recipe from Sara's blog, I actually tried three different ones over the course of the month.  But, one of those recipes was one that she made for her SRC before, so I chose not to showcase that one.  Instead, I bring you some amazing Spiced Oatmeal Cookies with Dried Cranberries and Apricots. 

I teach a group of teenage girls and I like to make their birthdays special by presenting them with an assortment of cookies.  Each month, I change things up and try new recipes and Sara's oatmeal cookie recipe looked like just the thing to make.  I didn't have any dried cherries, but I did have some dried cranberries, so I added those in instead.  I also didn't have any cardamom on hand, so I subbed in some ginger powder.

 

These cookies came out just like the ones in Sara's picture, all thick and chewy and full of orange and red bits of fruit that looked like jewels.  My mom saw them cooling on the counter and, after asking if it was alright to take one (she knows I gotta take pics first), promptly declared that they were really good!  I ate one myself and boy was she right.  Even better, these are totally healthy - just bursting with fiber, antioxidants, and vitamin C.  Okay, maybe you don't care about that.  In that case, they're bursting with flavor, fruitiness, and spiciness that can't be beat.

Sara, your cookies rock! My tastebuds thank you.

Spiced Oatmeal Cookies with Dried Cranberries and Apricots (adapted from Cupcake Muffin)

1-1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ginger powder
2 sticks softened butter
1-1/4 cups firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2-3/4 cups quick oats (not instant oats)
6 ounces dried cranberries
3 ounces dried apricots, diced

1. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger powder and set aside.
2. Beat together the butter and sugars until smooth and creamy.  Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition.  Add the vanilla and beat to incorporate.
3. Add the flour mixture and stir in with a rubber spatula until the flour is mixed in enough not to fly out of the mixer.  Then beat until just incorporated.  Add the oats and beat until just combined.  Stir in the cranberries and apricots with a rubber spatula.
4. Cover the bowl and chill at least 6 hours or overnight.
5. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375 degrees and line two baking sheets with foil or parchment.
6.  Scoop out about 1 tablespoon of dough per cookie, and gently roll into a ball with your palms.  Bake 10-12 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through, until the cookies just begin to brown.
 7.   Let cool on a cooling rack.