rainforest recipes: July 2008

Monday, July 28, 2008

Winter Breakfast

I've found ways around most of the ingredient shortages here in the jungle, but I still haven't found a suitable substitute for my favorite Canadian winter breakfast ... a cooked multi-grain cereal sprinkled with some wholesome whole grain crunchy cereal and topped with vanilla flavored rice milk. If you can eat bananas, they would make an excellent addition.

The cooked cereal part is super easy ... for a one person serving, I boil 1/2 cup cereal with 1 cup of water and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring until it thickens up the way I like it. The super crunchy flaked cereal makes a perfect topping and the vanilla flavored rice milk adds just enough sweetness.

(For those who can eat fruit, this dish is improved with your favorite fruit added. Raisins can be added before cooking, and bananas, watermelon, mangoes or others can be added cold to the top of the hot cereal.)

I love this breakfast so much that I ate it almost every morning for the month I stayed with Mom in New Brunswick. I have tried to create a similar 12-grain cereal here in the jungle, but haven't found enough of the right grains here to get a tasty balance. I have tried making a rice milk, but wasn't happy with the result so will have to try that again.

Ramon Bread

Since I had brought several pounds of ramon flour with me to introduce it to fellow Canadian cooks, one of the first things I decided to bake at Mom's place was ramon bread.

Herb and Marg, were visiting for the day and

since Marg was in the last months of a Culinary Arts Program, she, too, was interested in trying the ramon bread.

Herb volunteered to take full responsibility for the photographic record of our culinary experiment.

Ramon Bread

Ingredients:

1/2 cup lukewarm water
1 Tbsp. yeast
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup molasses
1/4 cup water
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 cup 12-Grain Cereal
1/2 cup ramon flour
5 cups white flour

1. Combine yeast and lukewarm water and set aside to bubble

2. Mix salt, molasses, oil and water.

3. Stir in the 12-Grain Cereal and the ramon flour.

4. Stir in the bubbling yeast mixture

5. Stir in the flour bit by bit, working it into the dough with your hands

6. Knead the dough

7. Shape the dough into a ball, cover and set in a draft-free place to rise.

8. Punch down the dough. Knead it a few more times. You can let it rise once more time in the bowl if you want.

9. Punch down the dough again if you have let it rise in the bowl again. Knead it a few more times. Divide into 2 loaves and put into loaf pans.

10. Let rise again in draft free place.
11. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 45 minutes (until crust sounds hollow when tapped).
12. Brush tops of loafs with butter

The Verdict:
Superb! It disappeared to fast to take any more photos. It was fantastic served hot from the oven with butter melting down into it. It was mouth wateringly delicious toasted with peanut butter and served with hot ramon beverage (Rice milk heated with 1 Tbsp of ramon powder)for breakfast or snacks. I will definitely make it again!

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Monday, July 28, 2008

Winter Breakfast

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Ramon Bread

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