Saturday, August 22, 2009

Crunchin' Away


Crunchin' away with crackers!

With sliced avocado, dipped in hummus or salsa, or to crave those munchies, don't you agree that crackers are a tasty crunchy treat?!

Not so much a treat, when a small 8 oz box can be $4.00 at the store (Mary's Gone Crackers, Doctor Kracker, Back to Nature, Annie's Homegrown...).

Instead, get out your flour and spices, and be creative! Make some homemade crackers. And each time you make a batch of crackers, change up the spices and flours and make them unique.

Here's what we've been crunchin' on this month!

LK's Easy Whole Grain Crackers

Makes 35-45 small crackers.

Basic cracker ingredients:

1 1/4 cup whole grain flour**
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp, optional baking soda
1/3 -1/2 cup water
1 Tb oil
1 tsp, optional Dijon mustard

Spices to add:

Cheesy-garlic-flavored
1/3 cup nutritional yeast
1 tsp paprika powder
1/2 tsp turmeric (for color)
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (or to taste)
3/4 tsp Garlic granules/powder

Onion-pepper-flavored
1/2 tsp Onion granules/powder
1/2 tsp Black pepper

Curry-pumpkin-flavored
3/4 tsp - 1 tsp Curry powder
1/4 tsp Cumin
1/4 tsp Corriander
2 Tb Pumpkin puree - in place of some water

Herb-flavored
1/2 - 3/4 tsp Dried Oregano
1 tsp Dried Basil

1. Preheat oven to 375 - 400 degrees F.
2. Combine dry ingredients (including spices of choice) in a large bowl
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry mix bowl, and mix until combined. The dough will be a tad sticky.
4. Sprinkle parchment paper with some flour and roll out the dough with a rolling pin.
5. Roll it out very thin, trying to make it as even as possible, and then cut it into cracker sizes.
6. Place on a baking sheet, and bake for 18-25 minutes, flipping half-way, and baking until they start to brown just a little bit. Let cool.


**In regard to the choice of flours, try Bob's Red Mill whole grain flours, such as Kamut, Triticale, White Wheat, Barley, Oat, Spelt, or gluten-free flours like Teff, Buckwheat, Sorghum, Amaranth, or Millet. Each grain gives a unique flavor, so we enjoy trying different flours to get different flavors, such as nuttier or butterier or wheatier flavor...

What's your favorite cracker flavor? We welcome any tips or comments on crackers and delicious new unique flavors.

Update 8/24/09: Thanks for all the great comments and ideas. Cornmeal would be a nice addition for flavor and crunch. Adding some oat bran, wheat germ, or flaxmeal would also be a healthy addition. And more flavors we thought of - cinnamon or spiced cracker, spicy Mexican cracker, or chocolate cracker!

Have a great weekend!

Monday, August 17, 2009

Sencha Naturals Green Tea Mints

Sencha Naturals Green Tea Mints are Vegan, Gluten Free, Sugar-Free, and Organic/Fair Trade.

They are so unique and tasty! A nice treat after a meal and a great way to get more green tea health benefits.

3 mints = 1 cup of green tea!

Flavors include Original, Delicate Pear, Lively Lemongrass, and Morning Leeche.

Original and Pear were our favorite of the four. Original has a mildly sweet tea flavor. The pear mints have a fruity melon-pear taste.

Lively Lemongrass and Morning Leeche are interesting--definetely out of the ordinary flavors. The lemongrass would pair well after a Thai or Indian meal! Strong in lemongrass, with hint of sweet tea. The morning Leeche has a strong floral perfume taste.

The company also sells Green Tea Whole Food Nutrition Bars, using ingredients such as almonds and other nuts/seeds, dates and other fruits, soybeans, brown rice syrup, rice flour, green tea, and spices.

Sencha Naturals is a socially responsible company and uses organic fair trade green tea extract.

Try some Green Tea Mints for antioxidants and good health, or to just freshen your breath!



Cheers to Sencha Naturals and other great companies who are passionate about health and natural ingredients,

Saturday, August 8, 2009

U-Pick

Hi everyone!

We've been so busy with work, then cleaning... sorry about the lack of posts. We do have so much to share with you.

Last weekend we enjoyed a trip to a u-pick farm in Canby, OR. Such a fun opportunity! It was so rewarding to be out in the field like a farmer and pick fresh fruits and vegetables!

6 different varieties of blueberries! We loved snacking while we picked. We could distinguish each variety by the leaves, tree height, and flavor, with some slightly sweet or tart than others.











Green beans, snap peas, snow peas!

Chard and Kale!













They also grow corn, tomatoes, squash, pumpkin, blackberries, raspberries, plums, cucumbers, pears, chives, brocolli, cabbage, cauliflower, but not all of them were ready to pick. So fresh to be able to pick and eat it the same day! And an economical way to purchase produce for about a dollar a pound.




Have a sunny weekend,