DIY Wheat Bagels

Make your own bagels in an evening! A little on the labor intensive side as far as breads are concerned, but easy enough to fit between commercial breaks, or as a break from reading a good book, or whatever the evening in's entertainment may be. Homemade bagels are both delicious and inexpensive to make!

Ingredients:
Dough
3 cups lukewarm water
1 ½ tablespoons active dry yeast
1 ½ tablespoons salt
1 ½ tablespoons sugar
6 ¼ cups whole wheat flour


Water Pot
water
¼ cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda

Instructions:
1. Mix dough ingredients in order of appearance. (First the water and yeast, then salt,then sugar, then sugar, then flour)


2. Allow to rise 2 hours. (Watch a movie while waiting perhaps?) This time can be slightly longer if desired/more convenient.


3. Dust the counter with flour and divide the dough into 12 approximately equal pieces. Shape into balls by tucking the edges under and sticking to the bottom.

4. Let rise 20 minutes. While waiting, turn the oven to 450 F. Place a cast iron pot or metal tray on the lower of the shelves. This will be used to add ice to create steam inside the oven. Additionally, fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. 


5. When 20 minutes are up, the oven should be preheated, and the water boiling. Add the baking soda and the sugar to the water at this point. 


6. Poke a hole in each piece of dough and gently stretch from all sides. The hole will shrink down again after cooking, so make it a little bigger than you think it should be. 


7. Using a spoon or other convenient utensil, gently place a bagel onto the boiling water. Allow to cook for 2 minutes, flip, and then cook another minute. Place onto a lightly greased baking pan. You may be able to do 2-3 at a time if your pot is large. 

8. Throw a couple of ice chunks into the pan at the bottom of the oven, and place your bagels on the upper shelf. Cook 18-20 minutes or until brown.  

Delicious!

Ratatouille

Here is a recipe that is both beautiful and delicious! 


Ingredients:

1/2 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, very thinly sliced
1 cup tomato puree
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
eggplant 
zucchini
yellow squash
red bell pepper
1 tsp thyme
Salt and pepper


Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Mix tomato puree, sliced garlic, chopped onion, a tablespoon olive oil, and about 1 teaspoon each of salt and pepper in a bowl. Pour into bottom of a baking dish, approximately 10 inches across. A circular pie pan or oval shaped dish works great!

3. Thinly slice eggplant, zucchini, squash, and red pepper into circular disks. Aim for 1/8 inch slices or smaller, 1/16 is ideal. 

Note: If at all possible, it would be ideal to get vegetables that have approximately the same diameter. We were forced to get a gigantic eggplant because there were only 3 to choose from. We worked around our eggplant issues by quartering some of the slices, but the red pepper was also awkwardly large. Its doable, just perhaps does not look quite as pretty. 

4. Place vegetable slices on top of the tomato sauce. Alternate vegetable slices so as to create a variety in color and flavor. 

5. Drizzle remaining olive oil on top of the vegetables. Sprinkle about a half teaspoon each of salt and pepper and the thyme evenly on top of the vegetables. 

6. Cover the dish securely with either aluminum foil or parchment paper and place in the oven. Cook 45 minutes to an hour, or until vegetables are slightly brown at edges and soft. 

 

Brownies from Scratch

 Here is a gooey delight for when your in a baking mood! Insider tip: substitute one egg with 1/3 cup applesauce to make a more fudgey brownie without the need for extra oil.

Ingredients:
1 stick melted butter
4 Tbs cocoa powder
1 cup sugar
2 well beaten eggs
¾ cup flour
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Mix all ingredients.
3. Spread in greased 9*9 pan
4. Bake 30 - 35 minutes

Optional Topping:
Melt two tablespoons of butter or peanut butter in a saucepan on medium heat. Add about 1/4 cup milk and a tablespoon of the cocoa powder and mix over heat until smooth. Adjust proportions as necessary. Milk will thin the mixture, more chocolate will make it thicker and more chocolately, and adding the butter or peanut butter will increase richness and a smooth texture. If you want a thicker mixture without adding more chocolate, simply cook longer.