Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Resolutions and Green Smoothies

 So we're back in the kitchen for some fun, games and catastrophes...
 Natch, like you I spent the New Year's holiday repenting December's marshmallows and gingerbread. After watching Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead I was ready to turn a new page. I rejoined my pool (after a 4 month hiatus), ordered a new suit on Amazon (it has to stretch and I have to shrink) and decided to make Green Smoothies!
 Luckily I have a terrific niece-chef-author, Luisa Shafia of Lucid Food who has the easiest Green smoothie recipe out there - no Breville juicer required! Just a blender.
 This is my first smoothie ever and I gotta say this is not bad at all. In fact it's darn good! I'm hoping/praying one a day will put me in fighting shape for Paris pastries come March. Try it. You'll like it :)
 With the leftover kale I made kale chips. These do not taste like potato chips IMHO but maybe I'll adjust...ahem
 Why are the streets of Paris paved with fabulous bread but I can't find anything I like in NYC?
 I read about Scandinavian Brodmix Flerkorn you can make in a box at Ikea Brooklyn and ran to get some.
 It took enormous will power to resist Ikea's gingerbread cookies (on sale too).
 And Swedish fish! miam miam
 I did succombe to Ikea's smoked salmon. miam miam
 Yesterday I did hand-to-hand baking combat with the brodmix. Basically you toss 2 1/2 cups water (20 oz.) into the box and shake violently. Then toss into a baking tin. Let ferment 45+ minutes.
 I threw in extra seeds for more grit...
 Bake for 1 hour at 400 degrees in a well-greased pan.
 The bread tastes delicious and is supremely grainy and nutty the way I like it.
I just can't get the damn stuff out of the pan! I need an electric drill to remove it.
Any suggestions PBers are most welcome.
Happy New Year's Resolutions to you too!

25 comments:

  1. Lucinda11:49 AM

    no idea how to get yr brod out of the pan but I'll try the grn smoothie
    looks easy peasy
    merci!

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  2. I'm hoping I'm not terribly mistaken with this suggestion... but how about one of those dismountable molds? Or a non-stick one? You may also try covering the walls of the baking pan with waxed paper. I hope this helps!

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  3. Next time you make it, line the pan with parchment paper (cooking parchment) and it should lift out smoothly. Hopefully, you will be able to just peel away the paper and have the loaf of bread. Also, if the dough is not too loose (because I don't know the correct word to use here), you might be able to just form the loaf and place it on a parchment covered baking sheet. It will be quite organic, but very little clean up, if any. I hope this is helpful.

    I also love bread and it is about the only thing I will bake! Other baked goods are too fiddly.

    Thanks for the smoothie recipe!

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  4. The waxed paper or parchment is a great idea!
    why didn't I think of it...
    I have another box for more trial and error so will do that :)
    merci carolg

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  5. First of all, LOVE the self-portrait.
    Here are possibly 2 ways you can get the bread out of the pan NEXT TIME.
    1. Just as you would if you were doing a plaster mould, line the pan with tons of Vaselene. Guaranteed to come right out. But I don't think the cake would taste very good, so forget that way.
    2. How about one of the Pam sprays? It comes in all kinds of cooking oils. That's worth trying, I think. Good luck.

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  6. I wouldn't use wax paper, wouldn't the wax get in your bread? Parchment baking paper or a non stick pan with a little cooking spray would work well, though. The bread looks delish and how funny to put the liquid in the box and shake it. The trouble with bread is that it's best with butter and jam and therin lies the problem.

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  7. Carol, I have that movie lined up on my netflix. Tonight is the night.Kale tomorrow!
    xx
    julie

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  8. LOVE you SOS portrait! So glad you have the drill!
    Kim's advice is good - you will still have to use a knife at the ends where there is no paper!

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  9. ALL HALE TO Kale!
    The movie is a hoot Julie

    Why not put paper on the ends Jeanette - a cut-out piece?

    The ends REALLY stick with this gluey dough.

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  10. Good to know that you are back at the pool!
    Kale chips? You're a brave woman!
    The bread looks too healthy for me, & so much work :)
    What on earth are you doing with a drill?

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  11. Hahahaha! Tanks Paul.
    The bread - you just pour water into the box of ingredients, shake and put it in a pan
    no work at all but that's OK :)
    Yeah Kale chips...I read so much about them.
    They sell at Whole Foods for $8 (!) so I had to try and make them but they taste very meh IMHO.
    Carolg

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  12. My husband would say use dinamite. lol I always spray the pans with PAM SPRAY when baking things and things come right out. But am wondering how watery it was. Good for you for getting back to the pool. Got to keep limber..You dont want another 'back out' episode just before going to Paris.

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  13. Some companies make pans with liners that you lift out.

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  14. I just watched Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead this week too! It was inspiring. I found the story of the American truck driver to be more amazing than Joe's actually. It was interesting enough without him, but I thought he really made the film. I had a green smoothie in America last year, but haven't tried making one at home yet.

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  15. How funny - I just finished a green smoothie as this post came up on my blogroll!! I was really surprised at how good they are, the first time I tried them. You can even make savoury green smoothies, using strong-flavoured greens with fresh veggies & some lemon juice!

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  16. We live in a Russian/Chinese/Japanese quarter of SF.
    There is a Russian deli a few blocks from us that make the most delicious bread,
    It's triangle shaped and loaded with grains and weighs about 4 pounds the load and OMG it's heavenly.

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  17. Carol, you've made me laugh...even if you do seem to like that awful stuff from my childhood called kale.

    Your baking adventures are a form of inspiration.

    Still trying to get to that Hat Show at Bard. Soon.

    xo

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  18. adorable post, as usual. your blog is as funny as it is pretty! i just posted to my fb page and twitter.
    xxlouisa

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  19. Hahahaha! You are too funny - that bread looks deadly serious although probably delicious. Hope you can figure out how to get it out of the pan and into your mouth. I always wonder how you manage to stay slim with all the pastries you feature every day! Now, the green smoothie, I'm not so sure about. Kale just does not appeal to me, no matter how you disguise it. Bon appetit! XO

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  20. Claudia,
    Believe me the KALE is disguised when you mix it with apples, banana, ginger amazingly!!
    I am a non-kale eater from way back.I don't even like the sound of it much less the look, and I was getting weekly this summer from my CMS(sp)
    I had to 'bin' it every week uneaten :(
    Not now.
    HALE to Kale
    (as long as it's disguised)

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  21. Perhaps line your pan with Reynolds release foil. Turn your pan upside down and smooth the foil over the bottom (release side to pan). Remove foil, turn pan right side up and put shaped foil inside:) Good luck.

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  22. Carol, the next time you bake that bread or anything, use parchment paper to line the pan. It is coated w/silicone & comes right out. You'll also have a nice smooth crust.
    Bonne chance.

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  23. Carol F11:50 AM

    Grease, then line the pan with parchment paper - in a pinch paper from a cut up brown paper bag also works.

    Leave enough paper over-hang so you can just grip the paper after baking and it easily removes along with the bread loaf.

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  24. Marianne12:07 PM

    Any pan that is burned and you can’t get the black out, cook water with soda in it and it comes out!

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  25. Like others have said, either grease the pan well or like with parchment paper. Also it is pretty easy to make from scratch. Try this recipe for Rugbrod – Danish Sourdough Rye Bread

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