Timmie's Cinnamon Raisin Bagels (Homemade Version)

Timmie's Cinnamon Raisin Bagel (Homemade Version)

Toasted, with entirely too much butter. That's how I like my Cinnamon Raisin Bagel from a doughnut shop far, far away. The closest authentic source for such a treat would be Winnipeg, Manitoba or Ypsilanti, Michigan; either would be a ten and a half hours' road trip. (Perhaps in the spring?) My version is really, really, close, and if I pair one with a cup of super-strong coffee my craving is satisfied.

Chewy on the outside, soft on the inside, bagels are simple to make, and with cinnamon and raisins kneaded in they are just right oven-fresh or for toasting. I based this recipe on a basic one posted by John D Lee. The "authentic" version uses white flour, but whole wheat makes a pretty good bagel!

For eight doughnut-shop sized bagels, or sixteen mini-bagels:

1 1/4 cups warm water
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
2 tsp yeast
1 tbsp oil (avocado or olive work well)
4 cups unbleached flour or whole wheat flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup raisins

In a mixing bowl, combine the warm water, salt, and sugar. Gently stir in the yeast and allow it ten minutes to wake up and start to bubble. Stir in the oil, then three cups of the flour. (If you are using whole wheat, two and a half cups might be stiff enough.)

Turn the dough onto a floured board, and spread it out with your hands. Sprinkle the cinnamon and the cup of raisins on top. Fold the dough over, and knead for five minutes, adding flour as needed.

Let the dough rest for ten minutes, then cut into eight (or sixteen) pieces. Roll each piece into a ball.

Shape the balls into bagels: Poke a hole in the middle, and gently enlarge the hole with your hands. Alternatively, you can stick your finger in the hole and spin the bagel on the board, enlarging the hole. (The kids like to help with this.) Make the holes ridiculously large, and the dough will shrink back a little.

Allow the bagels to rise until doubled, about half an hour, longer if it is cool in your kitchen. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425F, and set a large pot of water on the stove to boil.

Boil the bagels in batches: Gently drop the bagels into the boiling water, leaving enough room for each to expand and float. After a minute, flip the over and boil for another minute. With a slotted spoon, gently remove the boiled bagels and place them on greased cookies sheets.

Bake the bagels for nine minutes, then turn them over and bake for another nine or ten minutes. If you are making minis, bake them for only eight minutes on each side.

When you take them out of the oven, try really hard to ignore them for at least fifteen minutes while they cool.

[The Cadet loves them with the raisins, and G-man prefers his bagels made with cheddar. I'll share the directions for the cheddar version here.]

I shared this recipe with Motivation Monday, a weekly roundup of natural recipes and craft ideas.


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Baked Apple Oatmeal (gluten free, no added sugar, dairy free option)

Baked Apple Oatmeal (gluten free, no added sugar, dairy free option)

Amid the morning rush, quietly baking away, could be a belly-warming breakfast filling your kitchen with the aroma of baked apples and cinnamon. The boys ask for Baked Apple Oatmeal often, and  since it is easy, I never tire of making it.

For four generous servings:

5-6 apples, peeled and chopped
2 cups rolled oats
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp melted butter or coconut oil

Preheat the oven to 375. Meanwhile, grease a lidded pyrex casserole dish with butter or coconut oil.

To the pyrex dish, add the chopped apples. Sprinkle generously with cinnamon, about a teaspoon, or less for a milder flavour. Sprinkle with the salt. Add the rolled oats and coconut. Hold the lid on the casserole dish and shake the ingredients together. Drizzle the melted butter or coconut oil over the top, then put the lid back on.

Bake for about 45 minutes with the lid on, and another ten with the lid off. Serve right away, with a touch of milk if you like.





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Popover Fruit Cup

Popover Fruit Cup

Popovers make perfect little fruit cups. They are light and fluffy, and oh-so-easy. If you have leftovers you can rename them "Yorkshire Pudding" and serve them with a roast or stew. This recipe is adapted from my ancient edition of the Five Roses Guide to Good Cooking using avocado oil* and an extra egg per dozen. Substituting wheat flour for the white will still taste good but will not puff up as high.

For a dozen popovers:

1 cup unbleached white flour
1/2 tsp salt
4 large eggs (or three duck eggs)
1 cup milk

Preheat the oven to 450F

Mix the flour and salt together in a bowl. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs with a whisk. Heat the milk, either in the microwave or on the stovetop, to just below boiling. A little at a time, whisk it into the eggs. Whisk in the dry ingredients and beat until smooth.

Once the oven is hot, pour a tiny amount of avocado oil into each part of the muffin pan. Swirl it around to make sure it is enough to cover the bottom, then pop the pan into the oven for five minutes. Remove the hot muffin pan from the oven, and carefully fill each cup with batter.

Bake for fifteen minutes at 450F, then turn the heat down to 350F. Bake for another ten to fifteen minutes, until the popovers puff up, then turn off the heat. Leave the pan in the oven for another ten minutes with the heat off.

Serve with fresh fruit, butter and honey, or as Yorkshire Pudding.


Fruit Topping

2 oranges, sliced
2 apples, sliced
2 bananas, sliced
1 cup berries, either fresh or frozen, sliced
any other fresh fruit you have on hand: kiwis, peaches, pears...
2 tbsp maple syrup

Mix the fruit and syrup in a bowl, at least half an hour prior to serving so the fruit juices and syrup mix together.



I shared this post with Thriving on Thursdays and Full Plate Thursday.


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*The original recipe calls for vegetable oil, and was written long before most corn and canola oils were genetically modified. Lard and olive oil have too-low smoke points to be preheated in a high oven. Avocado oil is perfect and well worth seeking out before you make popovers. You only need a wee bit so the tiny bottle you will typically find at the health food store will last a long time.

Make Your own Granola! (gluten free, vegan)

Homemade Granola 

"Never eat a food with its own mascot." Whomever said this first was brilliant, but was not trying to reason with youngsters eying carefully positioned, sugary offerings in the cereal aisle. Since our boys love both oatmeal and baking, we have not had that fight yet.  We can make a delicious, sweet and crunchy cereal with ingredients we keep on hand. 

For about six servings:

3 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp brown sugar, honey, or maple syrup
1/2 cup sliced almonds (optional)
2 tbsp olive oil (more if you prefer the granola clumpy)

Preheat the oven to 300F.

Mix all of the ingredients except the oil together in a pyrex baking dish. Add the olive oil and mix well. Bake the granola for about half an hour, stirring well after 20 minutes. Allow to cool before serving.

For a little pizazz, after baking try adding half a cup or so of:

raisins
dried pineapple, chopped
dried apple slices, chopped, or
dried berries

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Sweet Potato Pancakes

Sweet Potato Pancakes

Golden and hot off the griddle, Sweet Potato Pancakes have a hint of spice and are like sneaking into the kitchen to snack on pie. While they have no sugar added, who will stop you from pouring over a little maple syrup? (Just don't tell the kids this sweet treat contains Vitamin A, whole grains and is higher in protein than the average pancake. Shhhh.)

1 cup cooked, mashed sweet potato (approximately. If your measuring cup runneth over it will be fine.)
2 duck eggs or 3 chicken eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Blend together the sweet potatoes and milk, then add the eggs and blend until liquified. Add in the rest of the ingredients and mix well.

Lightly oil a hot griddle (or pan.) For coin-sized pancakes, pour the batter by tablespoons onto the griddle. For average sized pancakes, pour about a quarter cup.

Cook the pancakes until golden on one side or bubbles appear on the surface. Flip them over, and cook until golden on the other side.

For more natural recipe ideas, check out Monday Mania, Martha Monday, Homestead Barn Hop,  Meatless Mondays, Tasty Tuesdays,  Fat Tuesdays,  Real Food Wednesdays, and Full Plate Thursdays.

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Quick Cinnamon Rolls

Quick Cinnamon Rolls

How long does it take to open up a tube of refrigerated cinnamon rolls? Add five more minutes' of prep time, and you could make these delicious cinnamon roll biscuits from scratch. I used whole wheat flour but white would be fine. Compared to the chemistry lesson required for the store-bought kind, this ingredients list is simple and you likely have everything on hand:

2 cups flour (either whole wheat or unbleached)
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt (optional)
1/3 cup butter, still hard from the fridge
1 cup milk

1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon powder

Pizza Quiche

Pizza Quiche on Whole Wheat Crust

Eggs can be tricky with G-man, who always claims not to like them until he takes a bite. Lea over at Nourishing Treasures posted a recipe for egg casserole. The photos look divine, and it got me scheming about eggs and cheese. No matter what the food, the most effective way to get G-man to try it is to put it on a pizza. (The Cadet will eat pretty much anything.)

For the crust, I used whole wheat flour for a quick, no-knead dough. When forming the pizza crust, I made it thin with a raised edge to contain the quiche. You could make whatever kind of quiche you want; we enjoyed tomatoes, green peppers, mushrooms and cheddar topped with mozzarella. Our kids tore into it, veggies and all!

For one, 14" Pizza:

3/4 cups warm water
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp yeast
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp salt (Totally optional. We rarely add it to "save" on sodium.)
olive oil

2 medium tomatoes, diced or 1 can chopped tomatoes, drained
1 green pepper
4 oz mushrooms
4 chicken eggs (or 3 duck eggs)
4 oz grated cheddar
4 oz grated mozzarella
1/4 tsp basil
1/4 tsp oregano

Prepare the pizza dough: Dissolve sugar and yeast in warm water. In a medium bowl, mix the flour and garlic powder. As soon as the yeast is totally dissolved, add it to the flour all at once and stir it in. With a mixing spoon, scrape all of the flour off of the sides and stir it into the forming dough ball. Once all of the flour is in the dough ball, pour a bit of olive oil into to bowl (about a teaspoon) and gently roll the ball in it to coat. Set the ball aside to rest for at least five minutes. Fifteen is better if you have the time.

Preheat the oven to 400F. (Our oven is fast, so we set it to 390F)

Form the crust: Pour about a tablespoon of olive oil onto the center of a cookie sheet. With your hands, smear the oil around the pan, a few inches from the center. Oil on your hands will help quickly make the crust. Place the dough ball in the middle, and press it out into a larger circle, working from the center out, until you have about a fourteen inch circle. Press the circle so it is it uniform with extra at the edge. Fold up and pinch the edge all the way around to make a ridge, three-quarters of an inch deep. Set the crust aside and allow it to rise while you prepare the rest of the pizza.

Prepare the quiche: Either drain a can of unsalted, chopped tomatoes or chop up two medium tomatoes. Slice the green peppers to half-inch cubes, and dice the mushrooms. Crack the eggs into the bowl you used to make your dough. Whisk them then stir in the veggies, grated cheddar, basil and oregano. Pour the mixture into the pizza crust and top it all with mozzarella.

Bake for about 19-20 minutes. If your oven is uneven, turn the pizza after 15 minutes to ensure even browning.

[If you are using canned tomatoes, you can drain them ahead of time and use the juice to make the pizza dough. Yeast does not mind a bit of acidity. Just add enough water to make three-quarters of a cup of liquid total. Warm the juice up before adding the sugar and yeast.]

[Unbleached white flour can also be used. Allow extra time to rest, at least ten minutes, before forming the crust on the pan. Allow it half an hour to rise, if you have the time, before baking.]


I shared this recipe at Meatless Mondays and Make Your Own Monday,  Fat Tuesday, and Real Food Wednesday,  Healthy 2Day Wednesday, Simple Lives Thursday,  Full Plate Thursday, the Ultimate Recipe Swap, and the Friday Vegetarian Potluck, weekly roundups of natural recipes.

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Quinoa for Breakfast (gluten free)

Quinoa for Breakfast

Quinoa is simply delightful dressed up like oatmeal in the morning. Topped with a bit of milk and either brown sugar or maple syrup you get a sweet warm bowl of cereal that has a unique crunch. The only downside is that quinoa takes so long to cook. I prepared a pot last night and stuck it in the fridge to heat up when we wanted it.

(The directions on the package from Bob's Red Mill indicated to use two cups of water, but I used three. I also increased the cooking time.)

3 cups water
1 cup quinoa

Bring the water to boil in a sauce pot. Add the quinoa and bring back up to a boil. Cook on medium heat until all of the water is absorbed, about 25 minutes. Allow the quinoa to sit and cool for another half an hour before putting it in the fridge.



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This was shared at Meatless Mondays.

Blueberry Scones (no lard, shortening or butter)

Blueberry Scones

The Queen would not be amused.... These delicious scones buck tradition and contain no lard, shortening, butter, or eggs. Each bite bursts with blueberries. Not too sweet,  you will find these scones are perfect with a cup of Earl Grey.

For 8 scones:

1 1/4 cup unbleached flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp lite salt

1/3 cup flaxseed meal

1/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup milk

1 cup frozen blueberries

Perfect Pancakes with Blueberry sauce

Perfect Pancakes with Blueberry sauce

"Pancakes!" was one of the Cadet's first words. Around here, we like them morning, noon, and night. The kids especially like them coin-sized presented on a platter as finger food. This is the second batch today, and no one is complaining. (I did not get a photo the first time because they were devoured.)

This recipe has a shorter ingredient list than boxed mix. There are seven, compared to Aunt Jemima's seventeen, not including their list of "enriched flour" ingredients. Seventeen! You will find this recipe to be just as easy as boxed. A double batch is a great idea because they freeze really well for an even quicker breakfast in the future.

For a batch of about two dozen 4" pancakes:

2 cups unbleached flour (I get away with whole wheat flour and the kids don't mind.)
2 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup sugar

1 egg
1/4 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 cup milk

5 tbsp vinegar

Mix the dry ingredients well in one bowl, and whisk the egg, milk and vanilla in another. Stir the wet and dry ingredients together and let the batter rest for at least ten minutes.

Coat a griddle with non-stick spray and heat it up. (I use olive oil in a pump sprayer from Pampered Chef.) Stir in the vinegar, folding the bubbles into the batter.

Drop batter onto the griddle by spoonfuls. When the bubbles break, the bottoms should be golden brown. Flip the pancakes and brown the other sides.

Serve with butter, syrup, or blueberry sauce.


Blueberry Sauce:

2 cups frozen blueberries
1/2 cup sugar

Heat the sugar and blueberries together in a sauce pan until bubbly. Serve immediately.




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This recipe was shared at Make Your Own! Monday.