Bread Machine Oatmeal Walnut Wheat Bread

This hearty but soft wheat bread has crunchy walnuts and a hint of honey. The aromas while baking are magnificent! Jack says each bread I make is his new favorite. I think he really means it, too.

Oatmeal Walnut Wheat Bread

Ingredients

  • 1 1/4 cups water
  • 1/4 cup nonfat dry milk
  • 1 1/4 tsp salt
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 1 tbsp molasses
  • 1 cup wheat flour
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
  • 1/3 cup chopped walnuts
  • 1 tsp instant yeast

Directions

  1. Place ingredients in bread machine according to manufacturer’s instructions.
  2. Start machine
  3. Wait impatiently for cycle to finish armed with butter and honey and a knife.

Recipe adapted from 300 Best Bread Machine Recipes by Donna Washburn and Heather Butt.

Alaskan Salmon Stuffed Eggs

Wild salmon is the key to these super-tasty deviled eggs. This is recipe #6 in the Salmon Challenge.

Deviled eggs are always a favorite appetizer, and this recipe works well with canned sockeye, smoked salmon, or fresh salmon that’s been grilled or broiled. Variations on the basic recipe are endless.

A note on boiling eggs: It’s surprising how many different ways various cookbooks and Internet sites suggesting boiling eggs. What this seems to suggest is that it’s not as simple a task and one might think. Here’s my two-cents, for what it’s worth.

Don’t start with the freshest eggs. Eggs that are a a few days old, or older, work better. Place cold eggs in cold, unsalted water. Bring to a boil. Cook eggs on a low boil – just above a simmer – for 13 minutesDrain off the hot water and immediately cover eggs with cold tap water. Roll eggs to crack the shells (this can be done while they’re still in the pan of there aren’t too many eggs) and keep them in cold water with shells, refreshing the water if it becomes warm. Let the eggs cool in the water, then roll them on a flat surface and peel off the shells. Wait until eggs are thoroughly cool before cutting them.

I’ve tried several methods of boiling eggs. This one works well again and again, with very few problems such as green egg yolks, shells sticking to eggs or overly done or underdone eggs.

Ingredients:

  • 6 large eggs
  • 3 to 4 ounces salmon, broken apart or cut until small pieces (canned sockeye, freshly grilled Chinook, or smoked salmon, for example)
  • 4 anchovy fillets, chopped fine
  • 3 spinach leaves, chopped fine (optional)
  • 2 tsp capers, chopped fine
  • 2 tablespoons mayonnaise (or 1 1/2 tablespoons mayonnaise & 1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard)
  • freshly ground pepper to taste
  • 1 tsp dried tarragon (or, of course, use fresh)
  • garnish with a sprinkle of paprika and a fresh grind of black pepper and, perhaps, a tarragon leaf or piece of fresh spinach

Directions:

  1. Hard boil the eggs. Slice peeled eggs in half. Remove the yolks and place into a mixing bowl. Mash the yolks with a fork until evenly broken up and set aside.
  2. In a separate bowl, thoroughly mix together all the other ingredients except the garnish. Then add this mixture to the yolks and mix together with a fork. Do not make this too pasty. You should be able to see pieces of caper, tarragon and salmon.
  3. Use a spoon or cookie scoop to stuff the mixture into the eggs.
  4. Garnish with paprika, pepper, etc.
  5. Keep chilled until ready to serve.

These could be served on shiso leaves for added visual and gustatory attractiveness.

Vanilla-Orange-Chocolate-Nut-Filling Sandwich Cookie

Sugary, light vanilla cookies pizzazzed up with orange zest sandwich creamy almond-chocolate filling.

Still have to come up with a better name for these . Maybe you could help. The idea for this creation started with the chocolate-almond spread I made a couple of days ago. I thought it would make a delicious filling in a sandwich cookie, and since the spread is chocolate, I wanted the cookie to be vanilla. I found a basic sugar cookie recipe, omitted the chocolate the recipe called for and added vanilla and orange zest. “Perfect!” I thought. A vanilla cookie with orange zest sandwiching chocolate almond spread. How about the name VOCNFS Cookie to borrow from the texting world? Uh… no. I’m open to suggestions!

Vanilla Orange Sandwich Cookie

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 1/4 cups sugar
  • 1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp (1 1/4 sticks) room-temperature, unsalted butter
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • almond-chocolate spread

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
  2. In a medium bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Add zest. Mix. Add butter. Mix. Then add egg and vanilla. Continue mixing until dough comes together.
  3. Take rounded teaspoons of batter. Roll into a ball and flatten for uniform cookies. Place approximately two inches apart on a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet. Bake for 9 minutes, until cookies are slightly cracked on the top.
  4. Remove from oven and set baking sheets on a rack to cool.
  5. To assemble the sandwiches: take one cookie and smear chocolate-nut spread evenly on the bottom of the cookie (because the bottom side will be flat. You want the cracked tops of the cookie to be on the outside.) Take a matching cookie and gently press flat side into the chocolate spread. Voila! You have a sandwich cookie. Continue with remainder of cookies.

We took these cookies to our friends’ house. They gave these cookies high marks on the would-you-buy-these-in-a fancy-cookie-shoppe test!