Diet, Dessert and Dogs

[This little Biscuit hates its mother.]

I’ve been spoiled rotten the past week with my friend Sterlin in town visiting from England. We’ve seen each other several times and it’s been great getting together, gabbing on the phone, laughing and commiserating, just as if we were back in high school (oh, except that three decades have passed since then, and these days we’re both partnered, and she now has three kids. . . but otherwise,  just the same). But all good things must come to an end: she heads back to the UK tomorrow.  Sob!

I decided I needed baked goods to cheer me up (because really, don’t baked goods always cheer me up?).  I had such great success with Ellen’s biscuits last week, and I’ve been eyeing this recipe for days, so my mind naturally turned to more of the same and I decided to make scones.  I knew they’d have to be grain-free (seems I’ve been fixated on grain-based baking for a few too many days lately. . . not the best idea for someone battling candida, even if they are gluten free grains). And since this month’s SOS Kitchen Challenge features sweet potatoes, I thought they’d provide a perfect base. 

I set to work and, using my original grain-free biscuit recipe as a springboard, came up with what seemed like a perfect dough.  Shaped, pressed, and baked, the scones came out of the oven puffed and cracked as they should be, flirtatiously wafting their caramelized scent in my direction.  I dug in while they were still warm, slathered with coconut butter:

[This little Biscuit has an Edible Complex.]

Hmmm. Well, let’s say they were. . . . ”interesting.”

When I was in my 30s, I used to think I had a lot in common with Woody Allen.  Lest you assume I am a native New Yorker, or possess a Mensa-worthy IQ and equally superior wit; or lest you imagine I am secretly a short balding Jewish man who cranks out at least one brilliant movie each year–no, those were not the commonalities to which I referred.  But I was a top-notch neurotic who could give ol’ Woody a run for his money in the therapy department.

Is it still outré to mention one’s experience with therapy? Seriously? As far as I see it, in 2010 we have almost 50% of marriages ending in divorce while only 50% of a popular chicken dish actually contains any chicken; our young people must deal with all manner of threats that I never encountered as a child; and our environment is full of potential poisons and carcinogens. With so many stressors a regular part of our everyday experience, I figure it’s a rare individual alive today who couldn’t benefit from some sort of therapy. (Then again, I draw the line at animals. Dogs on Prozac–excuse me, Reconcile?  As Amy and Seth might say, “Really, Eli Lilly?”).

And now, even my poor little biscuit requires its own analysis (on a side note, doesn’t that just sound like the cutest little sobriquet?  I think I’ll start calling the HH “Little Biscuit” from now on, just for fun).

You see, my biscuit isn’t as developed as it thinks it should be.  And it’s a little too heavy around the middle, and lacks the self-possession to remain dry all the way through under scrutiny. Personally, I think my Little Biscuit is cute as can be, and I’d even say her crumb is quite fetching (see below), but since she’s my baby, I’m biased. Sadly, the final product might not be as appealing to the general public as it was to me. 

[This little Biscuit is quite the Exhibitionist.]

All this to say that my biscuits, while tasty and delicately hued, were a tad too heavy and a tad too moist to garner unconditional praise.

And so, I’m putting out an appeal to any DDD readers who would like to take this recipe and run with it:  can you determine how to transform my LB into something lighter, airier, more self-confident?  If you think you can improve on the recipe and accomplish a result that’s closer to a conventional biscuit, go for it!  Prescribe Little B’s therapy in the form of a revised recipe and I will happily bake it, photograph it, and blog about it.

In the meantime, LB will have to make due with her dwarfed size and compact interior.  It’s Vegan MoFo, after all, and who has time to bake up 7 new variations of the same recipe in one day? 

And don’t forget. . . the Gluten Free Holiday event is in full swing! If you’d like to enter to win one of two cookbooks, just link up your own healthier GF recipe, or use one of the other 10 ways to enter, here!

I’ll also be kicking off my “Festive Freebies” series tomorrow with a review and yet another giveaway!  This food is my new amore and I can’t wait to tell you all about it!

[. . . and this little Biscuit really needs your help!]

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Last Year at this Time: Roasted Red Pepper and Apple Dip

Two Years Ago: Chili to Last Through the Winter

Three Years Ago: Gluten Free Cashew Chocolate Chip Cookies

© 2010 Diet, Dessert and Dogs

Well, it’s been pretty hectic over here in the DDD household. For the past couple of days, I’ve been slogging away at course prep for a course that deals with diaries and personal journals.  (Did you know, for instance, that  the first online diary, or weblog –today known simply as “blog”–was begun in 1994?  Or that psychiatrists and psychologists often ask their patients to use free association or stream-of-consciousness in journals as a way to dredge up old, repressed conflicts or neuroses?)  Okay–enough work for now!  Time for a snack break. 

Ah, but what to eat?  Hmmm. . . .well, funny, but peanut butter popped into my head. Oh, yeah, baby–peanut butter!  I love it.  It’s creamy, it’s delicious, it’s full of–well, nuts. (Oh.  Hmmm. Is that a bad thing, that I just said “nuts”?  Really, I didn’t mean anything by it. . .sometimes, you know, a peanut is just a peanut.).  Peanut butter was one of my favorite foods in childhood.  (Not that I’m trying to re-live my childhood, or anything.) Of course, nowadays, peanut butter is quite often troublesome, potentially deadly, even–all those peanut allergies and sensitivities. . . which is quite sad, actually. All because we were fed too much of it when we were kids. And now we’re paying for it! Where’s the justice in that? I mean, HOW COULD MY MOTHER DO THAT TO ME? Oh, yes, it’s becoming all too clear: It’s all my mother’s fault!  I may never get over it. . . I think I’m getting a complex. . .   

Well, any Freudian issues aside, I must admit that I do remain a bit conflicted about the stuff.  Although I so enjoy the flavor of it, there’s really nothing elegant about peanut butter (on its own, anyway). For many of us, it’s simply a quick, cheap, and easy base for a meal, something we rely on when either time or funds are scarce; and it’s one of the first foods we eschew as soon as we can afford anything better.  And of course there’s the allergy thing, too.

Perhaps worse, peanuts sometimes harbor potentially deadly toxins. As you probably know, the peanut is actually a legume, not a nut; and its shell, being somewhat soft and porous, functions as a perfect hiding place for a variety of molds, foremost among them something called aflatoxin.  When I first read about this particularly virulent fungus and its affinity for peanuts, I stopped eating peanut products that same day. 

And while aflatoxins are generally found only in minute amounts in peanut products (their levels are monitored, ostensibly), they are, nevertheless, twenty times more toxic than DDT, promoting liver damage and a variety of cancers. Unfortunately, organic peanut butter isn’t exempt, even though it’s free of many other carcinogens (read: pesticides, additives).

Well, after a bit of debate, I welcomed my childhood friend back into my home and diet–my feelings for it were just too deeply rooted–but in relatively small quantities.  Besides, the legendary legume still boasts many very positive attributes, and the benefits seemed to equalize the drawbacks.  For instance, peanuts also contain heart-healthy monounsaturated fats; they provide just as many antioxidants as fruit (which would, theoretically, balance out some of the nasty aflatoxin effects); they contain many cancer fighting compounds (again, anti-aflatoxin), and, along with nuts in general, are said to help with weight loss (I am SO on it!).

But was there a way to incorporate the plebeian peanut into the realm of adult tastes? True, you can find peanut butter in a variety of Thai dishes, which I love, or the less-spicy Chinese sauces.  And I made good use of PB in one of my favorite soups of all time, Moroccan Spiced Tomato Soup.

But today, I wanted to find something else.  Something a little more mature.  A little more sophisticated.  A little more. . .baked.

I suppose I could have taken an easy route and opted for that old standard, Peanut Butter Cookies.  With their characteristic cross-hatch and crispy bottoms, they’re a homey, cheerful and somewhat quaint rendering of PB.  And then there’s this bread, which I’ve been salivating over for quite some time.  Looks fabulous, doesn’t it?  But it requires the dreaded yeast, and I just couldn’t shake my anxiety over that one quite yet (is it an Edible Complex? Is it peanut envy?).

In the end, I decided to try something from my copy of the Damn Tasty! cookbook by Kris Holechek, which I bought some time ago and still hadn’t used. (Unfortunately, the book is no longer in print). I flipped to the recipe for Basic Biscuits–quick, easy, familiar–and made a couple of quick adaptations. 

The result was a light (flaky, almost), very appealing biscuit with the added dimension of peanut butter. At the same time, the biscuits are sturdy enough to cut in half and slather with a favorite topping (in my case–more PB!). 

Later, served with a little apple butter, they were reminiscent of those long-ago sandwiches of my childhood. 

Which is a good thing.

No, really.  

Because I used an ice-cream scoop to create uniformly sized biscuits,  I thought this would be a great submission for Joelen‘s Tasty Tools event, this month highlighting scoops.

Peanut Butter Biscuits (adapted from Damn! Tasty Vegan)

These are light and not too sweet, with a subtle peanut butter flavor. Like a peanut-butter enhanced whole-wheat biscuit, they exude nutrition, healthfulness and subconscious id-related urges.

1 cup plus 1 Tbsp. (150 g.) light spelt flour

1 cup (140 g.) whole spelt flour

1/2 tsp. (5 ml.) sea salt (be sure you’re using UNsalted PB, unless you like them really salty!)

1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. (20 ml.) baking powder

2 Tbsp. (30 ml.) agave nectar

2 Tbsp. (30 ml.) sunflower or other light-tasting oil

3 Tbsp. (45 ml.) smooth or crunchy all-natural peanut butter

3/4 cup (180 ml.) unflavored soymilk or almond milk

1 tsp. (5 ml.) apple cider vinegar

Preheat oven to 425 F (220 C). Line a cookie sheet with parchment or spray with nonstick spray.

In a large bowl, sift the flours, salt (if using) and baking powder.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the agave nectar, oil, and peanut butter until smooth.  Slowly add the milk and whisk until you have a homogeneous mixture; then add the vinegar.

Pour the wet mixture over the dry ingredients and stir to blend.  You’ll have a soft dough.  Using a large ice-cream scoop, scoop out portions of the dough and place about 2 inches (5 cm) apart on the cookie sheet.  Wet your palms and flatten each biscuit slightly. 

Bake in preheated oven for 10-15 minutes, until puffed and browned on the edges.  Makes 8 biscuits.  May be frozen.

[This week’s Lucky Comestible is sweet potatoes; here’s part 3 in the series. ]

It’s a snowy, windy, perenially grey landscape here in DDD land.  The snow is so fine and dense as it swirls and sweeps by my window that it appears almost like some giant Scotsman is smoking his pipe and blowing smoke round the corner.  Well, come on in, O Accented One–I’ve got scones to serve! (And they are part of your heritage, after all.)

 Since breakfast is my very favorite all-time meal (yes, I’m sure I must have mentioned that before), I’m always on the lookout for a good scone recipe.  This can sometimes be a bit challenging, as I don’t use butter or eggs, evidement, but I also don’t use vegan margarines.  If you’re looking for an acceptable whole food that can substitute for butter, your only real bet is organic coconut oil.  Now, that’s fine with me, as it’s solid at room temperature and tastes quite yummy.  I use the one in the big black jar as it doesn’t impart any real coconut flavor (not that there’s anything wrong with that–just not always what I fancy when I want the other flavors in the dish to shine).

So for me, scones are generally a mix of spelt flour, soured soymilk or other non-dairy milk, and coconut butter.  I generally throw in a dried fruit or fresh berries, scoop, and voila!–pseudo scones.  Most of the time, I just drool over the recipes I find on other blogs and move on.  This week, I thought sweet potato scones would be perfect, as I love sweet potatoes and often have lots of puree in the house (it’s also something I often feed to The Girls as well).

In my search for the perfectly adaptable recipe, I came across many winners.  Hannah over at Bittersweet baked up some yummy looking Orange-Cranberry Scones, courtesy of an original recipe on Bakingsheet; and while I love cranberries in scones, I was on the lookout for something that could incorporate sweet potatoes without too much protest.  So it was on to a savory sweet potato scone recipe from Tartelette. Adapted from an original recipe on Recipezaar, this one featured onions, so that was out for me (though maybe for another day. . .).  But the recipe that really caught my eye was the one for Pumpkin Scones by Johanna over at Green Gourmet Giraffe.  After salivating over her photos of these butter-soaked scones (or are they biscuits? see what Johanna says), I decided that, with a few modifications, I’d have my dream scone! With some extra cranberries in my freezer and sweet potato puree in the fridge, I was ready to go.

These turned out great.  They have a light interior with just a hint of sweetness, and the tart, juicy cranberries are just the right counterpoint to the sweetness of the scone.  And with a touch of apple butter and some faux coffee, they made a heavenly breakfast.

(“Mum, we could use some breakfast, too, you know.  And we adore sweet potatoes! So if there’s any of that puree left over. . . . “)

Sweet Potato-Cranberry Scones (adapted from Green Gourmet Giraffe)

60 g. coconut butter (about 1/4 cup)

2 Tbsp. (30 ml.) pure maple syrup

1/2 cup (60 ml.) cooked, pureed sweet potato

1 Tbsp. (15 ml.) finely ground flax seeds

1/2 cup (125 ml.) plain or vanilla soymilk or other non-dairy milk

2-1/2 cups (350 g.)  light spelt flour

4 tsp. (20 ml.) baking powder

3/4 tsp. (7.5 ml.) sea salt

1/3 cup (80 ml) fresh or frozen cranberries, washed

additonal soymilk for brushing

Preheat oven to 400 F (230C).  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, or spray with nonstick spray.

In a small bowl, melt the coconut butter.  Stir in the maple syrup, sweet potato puree, and flax seeds until smooth.  Slowly add the soymilk until you have a homogenous mixture.

In a large bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, and salt.  Add to the sweet potato mixture and mix well. Gently stir in the cranberries.

Lightly knead the dough and roll out on a floured surface about 3/4″ (2-3 cm.) thick.  Use a scone cutter (I did what Johanna suggests and used an empty jar–though not from vegemite!) dipped in flour to cut out the scones.  Press any scraps together to make more scones. 

Place the scones on the cookie sheet and brush lightly with the extra milk.  Bake for 15-20 minutes, rotating the pan once about halfway through, until golden brown.  Makes about a dozen.

Other posts in this series:

• Lucky Comestible I: Mini Sweet Potato and Chocolate Chip Muffins
• Sweet Potato and Carrot Casserole
• Lucky Comestible I(2): Sweet Potato “Fries” Three Ways and Miso Gravy
• Lucky Comestible I(4): Sweet Potato Cranberry Hash
• Lucky Comestible I(5): Sweet Potato Pancakes