For years, I have been a fan of brunch. I love the idea of getting together with friends and family to commune with a tasty late morning meal. Perhaps a Belgian waffle, or a spicy potato quiche served up with … Continue reading
About two years ago, my sister in law brought her sourdough starter with her to Los Angeles. She was kind enough to offer me some of her dough, which I cultivated and made dozens of loaves of bread from. Baking bread is a specialty of mine, but baking sourdough was new to me. I was excited, because I wanted a chance to make vegan breads all on my own. Sourdough starter utilizes three ingredients: water, flour, and wild yeast.
On my baking journey, I bought lots of bread books, browsed many a website, and found that many sourdoughs incorporate butter, eggs, milk, and not so wild yeast. I eventually found dairy and egg free recipes, but I have yet to get my wild yeast to work completely on its own. It’s okay though, because I have cultivated some fabulous bread anyway.
Today, I give two recipes for your enjoyment. Two loaves in one oven. One savory, the other just slightly sweet. The savory goes well with olive oil and vinegar, or butter, if you like. The sweet? Have it with almond butter. It’s sweet, but not too sweet, and great for breakfast too!
Cinnamon sourdough. Picture by Tejaswi Kasturi
Photo by Tejaswi Kasturi.
When I was a child, I always looked forward to Sunday dinners at my grandmother’s house. Sunday dinners were always worthy of the good plates, especially after a good sermon at church.
It wasn’t uncommon for some of those Sunday dinners to include a roast with potatoes, carrots, and onions. All cooked together in a Dutch oven.
When I decided to become a vegetarian, I realized that I missed that idea of a one-pot meal. Sure, I use my slow cooker to make stews all the time. But to have root vegetables baked with a broth? I had yet to find a recipe that brought those veggies to life. So one Thanksgiving about ten years ago, I decided to make my own. This works well as a side dish.
Spiced Carrots
Marinade
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Spread carrots evenly in an 8-inch baking dish. Sprinkle cloves, thyme, basil and oregano on carrots. Take your cinnamon sticks, and break them in half lengthwise. Add cinnamon sticks to carrots, interspersed throughout the dish. Drizzle marinade over carrots.
Cover with aluminum foil, and bake for 1 hour. Garnish with sprigs of thyme. Serves 4.
Note: If you don’t have fresh herbs in the house, use dry herbs instead. Just be sure to reduce. Experts recommend using a third of the suggested fresh amount. 1 Teaspoon of fresh chopped basil would translate to 1/3 teaspoon of dried basil.
Bon appetit.
PianissAmma 