Khobz With Flax Seed- Moroccan Wheat Bread

Khobz With Flax Seed- Moroccan Wheat Bread 


Makes 2 Loaves:
2cups Whole wheat flour
1/4cup Flax Seeds
1/2tsp Salt
1/2tsp Sugar
2tbsp Olive Oil
1/2tbsp Dry Active Yeast
1+1/2cups Warm Water

Mix together the Flour, Salt, Flax seeds, Sugar and Yeast with your fingers.
Slowly add the Warm Water and Olive Oil.
Slowly turn the flour as dough, knead slowly for 15 minutes until dough becomes very soft and smooth.
If dough is to wet add more flour, if to dry add a splash of water as you knead.
Divide the dough into two equal round loaves.
Flatten the dough and keep in a warm place covered with a towel for 45 minutes.
Dough is ready to bake when you touch it and it bounces back.
Dust a baking sheet with flour and place the loaves on the sheet.
Poke each loaf 3-4 times with a fork.

Preheat the oven at 400F, arrange the baking tray in the middle of the oven and bake the bread for 30-40minutes.. 


Finished bread will have a hard surface.

Organic Diner Party- Moroccan

For the first meeting of my Organic Diner Party we selected a Moroccan theme. Since this was my very first experience cooking Moroccan, I set off on a Google search for recipes. I found a great overview of Morocan cuisine here.

I decided to cook lentils, khobz, oranges and mint tea. A guest prepared a delicious morrocan stew. All dishes were vegetarian and so fragrant and flavorful.

Khobz is a traditional Moroccan bread. I found this recipe and youtube video instructional. However, I substituted the Sesame/ Anise Seeds for Flax Seeds and developed this Wheat Kobz With Flax Seed recipe. My bread dough was wet, so I did add flour throughout the kneading process.

These oranges were wonderful, the kids devoured them! I will definitely makethese Honey- Cinnamon Oranges again.

The Mint Tea I served was very simple. I just brewed a pot of green tea and then added a bunch of fresh mint to the water and served with fresh honey. Moroccan mint tea is a traditional cultural sign of hospitality and friendship. How perfect for a diner party?

This is the amazing stew my friend brought. The recipe can be found here Make- Make- Ahead Vegetarian Moroccan Stew

Chicken, Polenta, Roasted Red Peppers & Goat Cheese

Chicken, Polenta, Roasted Red Peppers & Goat Cheese- spinach, onions & garlic too

One of my favorite quick dinners using Roasted Red Peppers is to serve them with fried polenta, chicken and veggies. I use my homemade roasted red bell peppers from my previous blog.  I cook with ALOT of onions this time of year, they are super low in pesticides and good for your immune system.

To start, cover a large skillet with organic olive oil. I recomend med to low or medium at most. Add a clove of fresh chopped garlic, sweat garlic for about a minute and then add 4-6 strips of organic free range, or locally farmed chicken breast. Cook until lightly browned, and no longer pink in the middle. Then, add 4-6 1/4" slices of organic polenta from tube. Push chicken to outer edges of pan. If you need too, put a little more olive oil in.  You want your pan well coated or your polenta will stick and make a mess. Cook until outside crisps a bit, then flip over and cook the other side. This won't take long, about 3-5 minutes total.

It is a bit tricky to cook everything all in one pan, if you prefer, you can cook veggies in a seperate pan. I like to cook it all in one for easy clean up.  After your chicken and polenta has cooked, add onions (half a large Vidalia onion) and roasted red peppers (2 peppers) to pan. If you have fresh basil on hand, tear 3 leaves into pieces and add to the pan. . Stir veggies carefully and cook for about 3 minutes. Then, cover pan with enough spinach to top everything (about 2 handfuls), cover with a lid, reduce heat to low or very low. You are wilting the spinach with the heat from the pan. Keep an eye on the spinach, the process takes a minute or 2. When spinach wilts, transfer everything from pan to a large dish. Top with 6-8 slices of fresh goat cheese from a tube. Ingredients should still be hot enough to warm the goat cheese, if not cover with a lid to soften the goat cheese. Once this is complete, serve & eat. Makes 2 large serving, could easily split into 4 small servings.

Healthy Note: It is NOT necessary to buy organic onions. Onions contain very low amounts of pesticides, because very few pest like onions.

Here is a link to a wonderful list on highest & lowest pesticide treated foods.

http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/summary/

Make Your Own Roasted Red Peppers

So I have been putting roasted red peppers in everything lately! So much so, that I decided the jars they come in at the supermarket are to small to be economical, or affordable.  I have started making my own and it has proven to be easy & delicious. I have roasted four at a time at this point while I investigate storage options for larger batches. For now I am freezing the leftovers.

Only 2 ingredients are needed to create your own yummy roasted red peppers.

I recommend organic peppers where available. 49 Pesticide Residues Found by the USDA Pesticide Data Program according to  http://whatsonmyfood.org/food.jsp?food=PP. I also use organic olive oil.

To start I line a baking sheet with tinfoil. Place washed red bell peppers on the baking sheet, drizzle lightly with olive oil and bake at 350 degrees. When the skin blackens, I flip and cook until the other side blackens and skin bubbles. Then, I wait for the peppers to cool. It is easy to twist out the majority of the seeds with the stem. The skin pulls of in pieces. I brush off the remaining seeds or run the peppers under water to flush them away.

I will be posting 3 recipe ideas for the roasted red peppers I have created.


Here is some nutritional information from http://www.bestveganguide.com/redpepper-nutrition.html

Red Pepper Nutrition

...the nutritional value of red peppers and full red pepper nutrition information...

Red peppers are extremely high in vitamin C and also contain excellent amounts of vitamin A and beta carotene.

Red peppers are an excellent source of vitamin C which helps to protect the cells and tissues from free radical damage, thereby helping to prevent cancer. Vitamin C also aid dietary iron absorption.

Red peppers are also a good source of niacin (vitamin B3) which helps to lowercholesterollevels and also stabilises the blood sugar. B3 also helps the body to process fats.

Red peppers also provide a good amount of beta carotene which helps to protect the bodies' cells from free radical damage and also provides a source of vitamin A. Beta carotene also helps the immune and reproductive systems to function properly.

Containing an excellent amount of vitamin A, red peppers can help with eye health and viral infections.

Red peppers are a good source of beta cryptoxanthin which protects the bodies' cells from free radical damage and also provides a source of vitamin A. Beta cryptoxanthin can also reduce the risk of lung cancer and lower the risk of inflammatory polyarthritis.

One cup of red pepper contains around 46 calories.

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