Yes, I did say homemade bagel. I’ve started making my bagels from scratch. And yes, I still consider it an easy dinner. This dinner is not as quick as it would be if you used already made bagels, but homemade bagels are easy and much healthier for you than store bought bagels.

As with all things you make from scratch, you know exactly what is going into it.  Bagels from a bakery probably have less junk than pre-packaged bagels (find a bag and see if you can pronounce all of the ingredients), but those jumbo bakery bagels can pack 400 calories (before you add the cream cheese). Make your own and you know exactly what you are eating and you can make normal sized bagels. These bagels have about half as many calories (even less if you make 3-ounce bagels) than a bakery bagel.

There are bagel recipes that you can make from start to finish in less time than my recipe, but since I like to do things the long way, you’ll need to start my version the night before. Don’t be afraid, this actually saves time. I can get home from work, shape and bake the bagels in a jiff with the already-risen dough.

There is also an extra benefit to letting your dough rise overnight. The yogurt helps breaks down the phytic acid. According to the Weston A. Price Foundation, soaking grains, “… neutralize phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors. Vitamin content increases, particularly B vitamins. Tannins, complex sugars, gluten and other difficult-to-digest substances are partially broken down into simpler components that are more readily available for absorption.” Sounds good to me, especially if all you really need to do is add yogurt to your dough and let it rise overnight.

There is more than one way to roll out a bagel. I’m always impressed with the speed and grace of a professional bagel baker. It’s like some sort of slight of hand trick. They roll a long rope, cut with one hand and somehow make a perfect bagel with the other. I have neither grace nor speed when I’m forming bagels. I use a more pedestrian method of rolling a ball and poking a hole through it. It works just fine.

It may take more than a few tries before you can pull off H&H quality bagels (and you would probably not be able to do that using my whole-wheat-only recipe). But in my book, I’ll take a hot out of the oven bagel over a store-bought one any day!

Ingredients
2 cups water
1 cup yogurt
3 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 tablespoon ground flax seeds
2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons honey plus 2 tablespoons honey (for the water bath)
5 to 6 cups whole-wheat flour (if you want a less dense bagel, use half regular unbleached white flour or white wheat flour)
Oil for coating bowl and baking sheet

Method

• Combine the water, yogurt, yeast, flax seeds, salt and 3 tablespoons of the honey. Mix by hand or in a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. I just mix it by hand.
• Gradually add 5 cups of the flour and mix until the mixture comes together.
• Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and no longer sticky, about 5 minutes. If the dough is too sticky, add more flour.
• Grease a large bowl with oil. Place the dough in the bowl, turning to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm, draft-free spot for 12 to 24 hours. The dough should almost double in size.
• Remove from the bowl and punch down the dough. Divide into 12 to 14 equal pieces.
• Form each piece of dough into a smooth ball. The smoother you make it, the smoother your bagel will be. No worries if it is a bit lumpy, it will still taste good.
• Punch a whole in the middle of each ball and widen the hole to about 2 inches. Repeat with the remaining dough. Place on a lightly greased surface, cover with a clean cloth and let rest until risen, but not doubled, for about 20 to 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Lightly grease or line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In a medium sized, heavy pot, bring 1 quart of water to boil. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of honey.
• In batches, add the bagels to the water and boil for 30 seconds on each side.  I use a smallish pot, so I only do one bagel at a time. You don’t want to crowd them. Place bagels onto the prepared sheet pan and place in preheated oven.
• Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack.

Want to make your our cream cheese? Go to Cream Cheese and Whey.

Method

• Peel eggs and cut in half lengthwise. Carefully remove yolks and place in a medium mixing bowl.
• Add all ingredients to cooked egg yolks and mash well.
• Spoon into egg white halves and garnish with paprika.

Method

• Soak onion and jalapeños in lime juice for 10 minutes or more
• Peel eggs and cut in half lengthwise. Carefully remove yolks and place in a mixing bowl.
• Add all ingredients to cooked egg yolks and mash well.
• Spoon into egg white halves and garnish with a cilantro sprig.

This recipe is adapted from http://koreanfood.about.com.

Ingredients
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups water
1 bunch of scallions, chopped
1 teaspoon sea salt
Olive or coconut oil for cooking

Method

• In a large bowl, mix flour, yogurt and 1.5 cups of water.
• Cover and place in warm place for 12-24 hours. (Your counter top will do).
• Add eggs. This is a little tricky, since the flour mixture has already bonded together. I just use my hands, though a mixer would probably do the trick. The batter should be a bit runny so that it will spread evenly in the pan. If it is too thick, add water.
• Heat a sauté pan over medium heat and coat with a thin layer of oil.
• Pour batter to fill pan in a thin layer.
• Cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until set and golden brown on bottom.
• Flip and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Add more oil for each pancake, if necessary.
• Serve with spicy dipping sauce.

Serves 4 to 6 as an appetizer.

Spicy Scallion Pancake Dipping Sauce
This is as basic as it gets. Mix equal parts of soy sauce and hot chile sauce like Sriracha. If you want it less spicy, cut back on the Siracha. Dip away!?

Ingredients:

1/4 cup cooking oil (I use olive oil)
1/2 cup popcorn
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon molasses
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method:

• Place oil in four-quart kettle. Add a few popcorn kernels in the pot, cover with a lid and heat over a medium heat. Once you hear the kernels pop, add the rest of the popcorn. Shake the pot frequently until popping stops.
• Transfer popcorn to large bowl. I scoop out the popcorn from the top. This helps keep the unpopped kernels out of the popcorn balls.
• In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, water, syrup, vinegar and salt. Bring to a gentle boil and cook for five minutes on medium high (or heat until mixture reaches 235º F). Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Pour over popped corn, tossing gently to coat.
• When mixture is cool enough to handle, firmly press a handful of popcorn into a ball with buttered hands. If the balls aren’t sticking together, let it cool a bit more. Cool completely on waxed paper.

Makes about 10 popcorn balls

Luckily, while six adults stood around debating what you throw on a kitchen fire (water=bad, wet towel=good), Eric quickly donned heavy-duty potholders, reached in the oven, grabbed the flaming pan and shouted, “Get the camera!” and “Get the door!” (in that order) as he headed outside to the grill, a perfectly safe place for flames.

I didn’t give specific quantities here because the amount of seeds you get from a pumpkin or squash will vary. Just eyeball it … a little of this and a little of that. Go easy on the cayenne pepper unless you really like it extra spicy.

Ingredients:
Seeds from a pumpkin or winter squash
Olive oil
Sugar
Salt
Cayenne pepper

Method:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Cut squash in half and scoop out the insides. Separate the seeds from the stringy pulp. Don’t fret too much about getting all the strings, they won’t hurt you. Rinse the seeds.
• Toss seeds in a bowl with olive oil, sugar, cayenne and salt.
• Spread seeds in a single layer on an oiled baking sheet.
• Bake for about 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown, stirring occasionally.

Biting into a chilled cucumber is like biting into ice water. The taste is cool and clean. It’s no wonder because they are made up of 95% water.

While cucumbers don’t pack as much nutritional value as some of their garden neighbors, they do have a bit of vitamin A, vitamin C, magnesium, phosphorus, manganese, and potassium. Plus with skin intact, they provide a healthy dose of fiber.

Cucumbers are often used topically for skin problems. The oft shown cliché of two slices on each eye actually will help lessen the damage from a night out on the town. The coolness of the cukes can sooth tired, puffy eyes. Plus eating one will help re-hydrate you.

I love these pickles. They are quick, easy and delicious. I see no need to buy store-bought pickles again!

Ingredients
2-3 cucumbers, trimmed and cut into 1/4-inch round slices
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 cup cider vinegar (or enough to cover the cucumber slices)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup onion, sliced thin
1 cloves garlic crushed
1 teaspoon dill seed
1 teaspoon mustard seed

Method
-Combine vinegar, brown sugar, onion, garlic, dill and mustard seed in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil.
-Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
-Place cucumbers in a heat proof bowl.
-Pour the hot liquid over the cucumbers; stir to combine.
-Cover and let steep for at least 20 minutes. Store in refrigerate for up to 10 days.

If it is humid where you live (believe me, it is humid here) you’ll need to eat the chips shortly after you make them or they will get a bit soggy.

Crispy Alaria

Ingredients
2-3 strips of Alaria
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

Method
- Using kitchen shears, cut the seaweed into bite-sized pieces.
- Place in skillet with toasted sesame oil and cook over medium heat. The color will change from black to a dark to mid green.
- Let cool, then eat!

Crispy Nori

Ingredients
2-3 sheets of nori
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
sea salt

Method
- Using a pastry brush lightly coat the nori with toasted sesame oil
- Cook nori in skillet over medium high heat 15 to 20 seconds each side.
- Sprinkle with crushed sea salt.
- Cool, cut into bite-sized bits and enjoy.

I am a late bloomer to kale. In my mind I used to lump all greens together as something you cook all day in a big pot with a hambone. Maybe that’s just my Southern roots showing. As a kid, I steered clear away from anything green stewing in a pot. As a health conscious adult, I started to get interested in greens but didn’t have a clue how to cook them.

Several years ago, while visiting Washington, D.C., I was standing in front of the produce section trying to figure out which greens to choose. They had mustard greens, collard greens and kale. I happened to overhear a lady say something to her husband and was happy to hear a melodic southern drawl. I thought that she would be a good one to ask. So I did.

She said, “Well, some people like kale because it is mild. Some people like the collards because it’s more flavorful. I like mustard greens because they have a bit of bite.” She paused then continued, “But you really almost have to be Southern to cook them right.”

I grew up in Virginia. To my Deep South relatives, I am a Northerner and to my Northern friends I’m Southern.

I tried to impress her with my Southern lineage. “I’m from Virginia and most of my relatives are from Georgia.”

“Well” she said as she turned to walk away, “maybe you ought to get them to cook them.” Clearly, to her, Virginia wasn’t far enough south.

Maybe I’ve been on a vendetta to prove the Southern lady in the grocery store wrong, because since then, I put kale in everything. Everything… soups, meatloaf, tomato sauce, mac and cheese, scrambled eggs, smoothies. It’s not the taste I’m going for, since kale is rather innocuous and blends in with the other flavors, it’s the nutritional boost. It is a true superfood.

Crispy Kale

Vegetables that taste like potato chips…what’s not to love? This recipe is adapted from Bon Appétit. I experimented with different greens, including Swiss chard, collard greens and radish leaves. I liked kale the best, though all variations were interesting. The radish leaves tasted like crunchy, salty air (but tended to burn easily).

Ingredients
Kale leaves, rinsed, dried, cut lengthwise into 2-inch strips, center rib and stem removed
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt, pepper, cayenne pepper to taste

Method
-Preheat oven to 300°F.
-Toss kale with oil in large bowl.
-Sprinkle with salt, pepper and a dash of cayenne pepper.
-Arrange leaves in single layer on a baking sheet.
-Bake for 10 minutes; flip and bake for an additional 10 minutes or until crisp. When done they will be light and airy.
-Transfer leaves to rack to cool, then serve.

I also added flax seeds and turmeric for an extra nutritional boost. Heck, unlike store bought crackers, these are actually good for you!

You can pretty much add whatever you want to crackers. You just need to keep a balance between the dry and wet ingredients so that you are able to roll them out thinly. (Too sticky? Add more flour. Falling apart? Add more liquid).

Ingredients
1 cup wheat flour (more if needed)
1/4 cup millet (rinsed)
2 tablespoons ground flax seeds
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
3 tablespoons coconut oil or unsalted butter
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1 tablespoon water (or more if needed)

Method
1. Heat oven to 400º F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (thanks Christine!).
2. Add flour, coconut oil or butter, salt, cheese in bowl of a food processor. Pulse until flour and butter are combined.
3. Add yogurt and pulse until mixture holds together but is not sticky.
4. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface until 1/4-inch (or thinner) add flour as needed to keep from sticking.
5. Transfer dough to prepared baking sheet. For a crispier cracker, roll the dough out a bit more on the baking sheet. I like them 1/8-inch. I find it easier to thin them out on the baking sheet rather than transferring the flimsy dough.
6. Score lightly with a knife or pizza cutter. Sprinkle with salt, fresh cracked pepper or other topping if you like (poppy seeds?) .
7. Bake until lightly browned. Start checking at 10 minutes. The thicker the cracker the longer they take. My last batch took almost 20 minutes.
8. Cool on a rack; and break apart. They should stay fresh for a few days.