Natural Papa » Food

Free Fruits from the Urban Forest: Neighborhood Fruit Harvesting

Derek Markham — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 22:13:43 +0000

Feeding a growing family with fresh healthy foods on a budget can be a very challenging affair. The quality of foods that we eat, and that we feed our children, have a large impact on the quality of our health, so we feel very strongly that it should be a priority in our family budget. We focus on basic foods, with a big emphasis on fresh fruits and vegetables, and we very rarely purchase packaged goods, but even so, our grocery bill can be staggering sometimes.

Luckily, over the last couple of years, my wife has become quite good at finding free fruits in our neighborhood. In fact, my lunch today is a bowl of fresh, ripe, apricots, a small part of the continuing harvest from our neighbor’s apricot trees. We’ve been able to add tons of fresh fruit to our diets without adding a penny to our food budget.

For the most part, all it takes is five minutes to introduce yourself and ask permission.

In many urban areas, there are homes that have mature fruit trees, originally planted for food for the owners, which are now dropping ripe fruit over the lawn or sidewalk. The current owners or tenants consider it a nuisance, and would love to have someone come and pick all the fruit and take it away for them!

The easiest way to begin is to simply pay attention to the trees in people’s yards the next time you go for a walk with your kids (If you don’t take walks with your kids, now is a great time to start!). Get familiar with what apple trees and apricot trees, etc., look like – it’s easiest in the summer when they’re full of fruit. Once you know what they look like, you can identify potential fruit trees at other times of the year as well.

Once you’ve located a yard with fruit trees, go knock on their door and just ask them if they would mind if you harvested some of the fruit. You might get turned down once or twice by people who actually harvest their own fruit, but many times people would rather buy their fruit from the store instead of their back yard, and have no problem with someone harvesting the trees. You may also find fruit trees growing in or around ‘commons areas’, such as parks or medians, which are also free for the taking. Technically, if the fruit overhangs a fence onto a public area, it’s fair game, but it might be best to just ask the owner of the tree anyway.

When you’re ready to go harvest some free fruit, bring bags and gloves, and if you want to be extra helpful, a bag for the rotten fruits that have already fallen on the ground. The owners will appreciate the cleanup, and your compost pile gets some added nutrients. Only harvest the fruits that are ready to eat (or very close to ripeness), and be prepared to come back every couple of days to continue picking as they ripen.

Once you get home, clean and pick over the fruit, pulling out the most ripe pieces to eat or process first. For some fruits, such as peaches, plums, or apricots, taking out the pit and giving them a quick rinse is all you need to do before freezing them. Puree the ripe fruits to make fresh fruit ‘jam’ and then freeze, or put the puree in a food dehydrator for the healthiest fruit leather ever. If you’re a canner, then put up everything your family can’t eat right away. And if you really want to make the tree’s owners happy, bring them back a bit of whatever you’ve made, such as jam or fruit leather or applesauce.

With a little work, you can feed your family with fresh, free fruits for the summer, plus gather and process enough to keep them eating local fruits for a long time afterward! If there’s more fruit on the trees than you can use, consider harvesting some for your local food bank – fresh food is usually in high demand.

Some of the free fruits our family has gathered over the last year are apples, pears, apricots, mulberries, cherries, and jujubes, and we live in the Southwest, not necessarily an easy climate for fruit growing. In other areas, you may be able to find a wider variety, as well as nut trees to harvest from, such as walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, chestnuts, etc.

Also, check out Neighborhood Fruit, a site that tracks over 10,000 trees nationwide, for help finding fruit trees, or ask your coworkers if they know of any opportunities (maybe their own back yard?).

Image: kkimpel at Flickr

DIY Non-Dairy Milk Recipes

Derek Markham — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 12:21:52 +0000

We don’t eat any dairy products at our house (a subject for another day), and we don’t often buy packaged soy, rice, or nut milk, so when I found out about this post with 6 different non-dairy milks that you can make at home, I thought it was worth sharing. I’ve not made these specific recipes, but we have experimented with some similar ones (especially cashew and sunflower seed milk), so I’m looking forward to trying these.

From GoFrugalBlog:

Lactose intolerance is more than just inconvenient and occasionally painful: It’s also expensive. Milk alternatives are pricey and some don’t really taste all that good. The best way to get around this problem is to make your own substitute.

The following milk alternatives must be refrigerated and tend to last from three to seven days. Fortunately, you can whip up another batch of most in less than 10 minutes.

Almond, Cashew or Sunflower Seed Milk

While almond is the most common nut used for this milk, you can substitute cashews or sunflower seeds. Of course, the more water you use the less flavor. The standard balance is one-part almonds to four-parts water.

Ingredients:

4 ounces (1/2 cup) blanched almonds, cashews or sunflower seeds

1 tablespoon honey

1 cup water

3 to 4 ice cubes

Directions:

Soak or blanch brown-skinned nuts.

Rinse to bring out the strongest flavor.

Blend ice, almonds and honey on medium until smooth.

Slowly add water until mix is of a milky consistency.

Strain through muslin or cheese cloth.

Squeeze until no liquid remains.

Store in refrigerator for up to three days.

Read the rest of the post: 6 DIY Milks for Dairy Alternative Month

Find a CSA Farm and Enjoy Fresh Local Food!

Derek Markham — Mon, 10 May 2010 13:00:00 +0000

With all of the green re-emerging from the ground at this time of year, it’s time to either start digging a garden of your own or looking for a local CSA farm. Community-supported agriculture is a great way deepen the connection between your food, your community, and the air , soil and sunshine that ultimately feed you. Going to the farm every week and planting and weeding and then – wow – harvesting your food alongside your fellow “villagers” is fulfilling.

There’s a rootedness that happens when you come full circle, and smelling the rich soil warmed by the sun is food for your heart. In my (previous) neck of the woods, there’s Happy Heart Farm and Grant Farms. There’s probably one near you – search Local Harvest for the nearest.

Eating locally is a hot topic these days, it’s kind of hip and green and healthy. It wasn’t really that long ago that there wasn’t even a choice of eating whatever, whenever, from wherever all of it comes from. People took responsibility for their food supplies and grew or gathered or hunted most of what they ate. They made their meals. They cooked the soup, baked the bread, gathered the greens.

How many times each week do most people eat homemade meals?

I mean from scratch, as my mother would call it, not from a mix or a can or a jar. I know there are those who boil pasta and heat up sauce from a can and call it homemade (I used to be one), but I take it to mean starting with the basic ingredients and ending up with a meal. I don’t grind my own flour or make my own pasta, but for most dinner-type meals that I make, I start with whole food, not precooked or premixed or heavily packaged food products. I buy in bulk at my co-op, and order cases of fruit or vegetables in season. I’m a rice lover, so we usually have a 25# bag of organic brown rice on hand as a staple, and it makes a good starting point for a meal, hot or cold.

Even if our food is not all from our region, just cooking it ourselves and being mindful of what we are putting in our bodies for fuel and repair and energy is a big step. It’s also way cheaper to eat our own homemade food, and it makes organically grown food a lot more affordable for most of us. I often hear “I don’t have time to prepare food, like you guys. I’m very busy.” Yet there’s always time for one more time sucking distraction or phone call or t.v. show or web surfing…

With all of the money spent on researching and surveying and measuring our buying habits and diet choices these days, I’d be curious to know if there are any statistics out there.

All of my meals this month were made at home. How about you? How often do you eat out?

(I also ate several bananas that came from very far away, at high cost to someone (all of us, I guess), as well as coffee (not even food), also from very far away. I’m not sure what that means.)

Image: thebittenword.com at Flickr

12 Quick and Easy Natural Snack Ideas for Kids

Derek Markham — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 19:00:00 +0000

Feeding your kids natural snacks that are fast and easy to prepare can be a challenge for fathers who aren’t so natural in the kitchen.

Depending on how often you prepare food for your kids, the chorus of “I’m hungryyy… what can I have to eat?” may make you grab for your keys and wallet, or head straight for the pantry with a puzzled look on your face. Maybe you need some quick and easy natural snack ideas?

I know some dads are a whiz in the kitchen, so if that’s you, just skip to the comments and leave one telling me what your preferred ‘papa snacks’ are.

In my house, I’ve found that mama may not always approve of the timing or choice of food, but she’s always grateful that I fed them, so don’t let that hold you back. Get some grub in those little bellies!

12 quick and easy natural snack ideas from the Natural Papa kitchen:

Keep a bowl full of fresh organic fruit within reach of your children, washed and ready to eat. Fruit is a great hit with most kids, and a blood sugar boost may be just what they need for a natural attitude adjustment. We like to buy seasonally, and by the case when we can, and then we always have it on hand.
Raisins and sunflower seeds are cheap, available just about anywhere, and taste great together. Buy in bulk and keep some in a container for easy access. Try some other combinations: raisins/peanuts, dried cranberries/walnuts, goji berries/sunnies. Mix it up in a bowl and give it an official name, and it sounds way more exciting.
Is plain old fruit not exciting enough for them? Try blending a banana with water. Now you’ve got Banana Milk. Goes great with anything. Add raisins after blending, and it’s “Chunky-style Banana Milk”. Add a teaspoon of cocoa powder and it becomes “The Amazing Chunky-style Chocolate Banana Milk”. Get creative and think of a silly name, and you can get them to eat just about anything.
Sheets of nori spread with tahini or peanut butter or whatever you’ve got. Roll them up and watch them disappear.
When making banana milk or smoothies or other liquid treats, put some in popsicle trays or tupperware for the next “I’m hungry.” If they are offered ‘ice cream’ or ‘popsicles’, they’ll go for it.
Popcorn sprinkled with nutritional yeast and salt is super easy if you’ve got an air-popper (I see them at the thrift stores all the time – cheap). You can do it in a pan or a wok on the stove just as easy, but you can’t just walk away until you’re done. Spirulina makes an extra-tasty super green snack and gives plenty of material for funny pictures as well. For a sweet treat, mix some sugar and cinnamon, drizzle the popcorn with alternative butter of choice, and mix in the cinnamon mix. I wouldn’t recommend using honey or maple syrup with this unless you can hose them down afterward. Trust me.
Two words: peanut butter. On anything. Carrots, apples, celery, bananas, straight from a spoon. We buy ours in bulk straight from the peanut grinder at our co-op – no sugar, no added salt, just peanuts.
If you’re into sprouting, chop a little onion, grate a carrot, or a zucchini, or an apple over a bowl of sprouts, maybe add a shot of soy sauce or ketchup (or peanut butter), and serve with crackers. Or serve it as finger food if you don’t mind the mess.
Romaine lettuce leaves make excellent wraps, and can be filled with leftovers or sprouted seed spreads, or your favorite real or pseudo-cheese product. Ours is jalapeno jack almond cheese. Fill one with a banana and raisins and yes, peanut butter. They’ll probably go for it.
Oatmeal only takes 10 minutes to cook, and you can add any dried fruit or nuts (coconut flakes are tasty) and they’ll be fueled up until mealtime. Why do we only eat oatmeal for breakfast? Some sort of food stereotyping conspiracy, I’m sure. If you make a big batch, keep the rest in the fridge and make fried oatmeal with it. Make cookie sized patties and fry in a hot skillet until slightly browned.
Make some of the best banana bread ever, or bake it as muffins, if you’ve got some speckled bananas and a little time.
Is dessert a snack? Try this quick and easy cookie pie, but only if you have time to run all of the kids to exhaustion.

When you hear that oh so common question echoing in your house, make one of these snacks for them, and if they don’t like it, you can blame it on me. (“Natural Papa made me make these snacks for you…”)

What are your favorite natural snack ideas for kids?

Image: Gilgongo on Flickr

The PB&J Campaign: Saving the Planet, One Meal at a Time

Derek Markham — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 14:00:00 +0000

I’ve got a thing about peanut butter. I love it, almost to a fault.

So what better way to start off the new year than with a post about peanut butter? And not just about peanut butter, but about reducing the environmental destruction that comes as a result of our dietary choices.

Regular readers of Natural Papa have probably figured out by now that I’m a vegetarian (11+ years) and except for the use of honey, a vegan. But I don’t preach it to others, as I think people need to figure out what works for them and follow that diet (however, I am amazed at how many people don’t consider changing their diet when it is negatively affecting their health or their energy levels).

Here’s a cool campaign about simply reducing the amount of animal products you consume – not necessarily becoming a vegetarian or a vegan: the PB&J Campaign.

“Everything we eat comes from plants, whether we eat the plants directly or through an animal intermediary. The basic problem is that animals are inefficient at converting plants into meat, milk, and eggs. Relatively little of what they eat ends up in what you eat because animals use most of their food to keep them alive – to fuel their muscles so they can stand up and walk around, to keep their hearts beating, to keep their brains working.

That cow, pig, or chicken has to eat a lot more protein, carbohydrates, and other nutrients than it yields in meat, eggs, or milk. The result is that it takes several pounds of corn and soy to produce one pound of beef, or one pound of eggs, one pound of milk, etc. This holds true even if we’re measuring calories or protein; it takes several times the calories or protein in livestock feed to produce the calories or protein we get from the meat, eggs, or milk”

At the heart of the campaign is a pledge to replace one or more animal-based meals each week with a plant-based meal. There’s no hard-sell on the vegetarian diet, just a simple calculation of water savings, CO2 emissions reduction, and land spared from from deforestation, over-grazing, and pesticide and fertilizer pollution.

And despite the name, you don’t have to eat a PB&J sandwich (although they are one of the tastiest creations around). Just pick something to eat that has less impact on the planet than an animal-based meal – even if it’s only once a day or several times a week.

Check out the PB&J Campaign and take the pledge.

Mmm… peanut butter.

Image: certified su at Flickr

Hank D and the Bee: Hank Goes Veggie

Joe Mohr — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 12:13:22 +0000

Visit Joe Mohr’s cartoon archive.

Sprouting Wheat Berries and Oat Groats

Derek Markham — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 20:00:00 +0000

High energy snacks that are healthy and cheap to make are great to have available for hungry kids and parents alike. Sprouted grains make quick, simple meals that are as nutritious as they are delicious.

One easy high energy breakfast is sprouted wheat cereal with sunflower seed “milk”:

Soak a cup of whole wheat berries in plenty of water overnight
In a second container, soak a cup of raw hulled sunflower seeds in two cups of water.
In the morning, drain the wheat and blend in a food processor or blender until well chopped (you can eat them whole, but if your kids don’t chew thoroughly, they just come out the other end still whole).
Drain the sunnies, add two cups of water and blend until smooth
You can either strain the sunflower seed milk, or use it as is (I like it unstrained.)
Add raisins, coconut, chopped apples, whatever you like, to the wheat, and cover with the sunflower milk
You can add honey or maple syrup if you want it sweeter, but I find the sprouted wheat to be sweet enough as is
Try adding the wheat berries to your regular cereal or granola, or put them in yogurt

Sprouted oatmeal is another super energy food. Be sure to buy whole oats (groats), not rolled oats (flakes) – your local co-op or natural foods store should have them.

Soak 2 cups of oat groats overnight in plenty of water
Soak 3/4 of a cup (a handful) of pitted dates in water overnight
Blend oats, dates, and enough water to make it “oatmeal” consistency
Add coconut flakes and hemp seeds to taste
Sprinkle with cinnamon

Buy in bulk for the best prices and freshest grains. Most co-ops and natural foods stores will special order 25 or 50 pound bags for you, usually at a cheaper price than the shelf price. The grains will keep for a long time if they are kept cool and dark, and a 25 pound bag of wheat will fit nicely in a 5 gallon bucket. Most 5 gallon buckets will stack on top of each other neatly and only take up a small amount of room. Bulk purchasing is a cheaper way to provide your children with nutritious meals, and having lots of the staple foods around makes it easy to improvise at mealtime.

Learn more about sprouting: How to Grow Sprouts at Home for Low Cost Nutritious Meals

Image: mr.bologna at Flickr

Food and Fuel and Foolish Crop Subsidies

Derek Markham — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:05:00 +0000

As a father and supporter of my family, one of the things I think about/deal with is our food costs. We spend a big part of our income on food. And we eat only the best. Always organically grown, locally grown if available, and lots of fresh food. Our kids deserve the best fuel for their minds and bodies, and eating this way is our ‘health insurance’.

With fuel prices rising rapidly, everything that has high fuel needs in its manufacture, storage, or distribution is being sold with that factored into the price. Families that choose to eat cleaner food (grown with organic methods, pesticide free, biodynamic, etc.) are spending a larger amount of their income on food already, and I see that as a positive trend.

Not that just spending more money is positive, but that they are willing to spend a bigger chunk of their income in order to eat healthy foods. For a lot of people, rent or mortgage takes up a big part of their cash, and you still have to pay the utilities and gas and insurance, etc., so buying cheap food “because I have to” is the norm. So when the cost of food goes up, it can be challenging to afford to feed the family with nutritious food.

One of the not so obvious sides of the “cheap” food prices is commodity price supports from the federal government. You can see this in action at your local conventional grocery store, where about one third of the products contain some form of corn or corn byproduct. It’s used because it’s cheap, and it’s cheap because we spent $2,000,000,000 (yes, that’s two billion dollars) on corn subsidy payments last year.

The other big commodity crops that we supported with our tax money last year were wheat, cotton, soybeans, and rice. The U.S. paid over $5,000,000,000 last year in direct payment crop subsidies. Five billion dollars. That’s a chunk of change. An interesting thing about these payments is that 60% of this money went to 10% of the program participants. And four out of five of the top crops are found in almost all of the food in the stores.

What a house of cards!

How long can this huge imbalance in our food system last? Perhaps the rising price of gas and diesel fuel will be the force that blows it down…

I hear people complain about how expensive their food is as they are waiting in line to buy some over-processed, genetically modified, high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oils laden simple-sugar bomb that’s then “fortified” and flavored and colored and textured to resemble home cooked food. And then they order a diet soda. Tap water with bubbles and color and flavoring added, along with a pseudo-food “sweetener”, and it’s cheaper than gasoline.

Go figure.

Then, because their diets are too fatty and contain high amounts of simple sugars and excess protein, they go to the doctor and pay him to prescribe some medication ($) or “treat” them ($) or perform surgery ($) to alleviate the symptoms. Always the symptoms, never the root cause.

When I think about all of the interconnected pieces of our modern food economy, and why I believe in growing your own food (even just a small amount), and why good clean food should be a high priority, I realize that most of us know very little about the state of our food system. So I started looking into the commodity/subsidy issue, which amounts to an ongoing bailout of select farmers (not usually fruit and vegetable growers) and ever increasing profits for the medical and pharmaceutical industries. It’s a twisted and strange world.

For more info:
Washington Post Investigation: Harvesting Cash

The Big Farm Scam

Growing as much of your own food as you can is very important. Once you taste the flavor of fresh food from your backyard, and compare the cost of growing it vs. buying it, I think you’ll be hooked as well. One packet of tomato seeds is like 2 bucks or something. My family eats at least two dollars worth of tomatoes every day, so it makes financial sense to have a garden. We use only compost to ensure healthy growth and a food that’s high in nutrition. We’re also mad composters with our kitchen scraps.

One easy way to get started is by growing your own sprouts at home, and if you’re interested in small scale farming, find out more about SPIN Farming.

Image:brokinhrt2 at Flickr

Sprouting: How to Grow Sprouts at Home for Low Cost Nutritious Meals

Derek Markham — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 03:30:00 +0000

Sprouting at home is a simple way to lower your food costs, increase the amount of raw food in your diet, and be assured that the sprouts you eat are safe.

Sprouting seeds to eat is a skill you can learn quickly, and a sprout garden takes very little time to maintain. All the sprouting supplies you need can be had for free or for a minimal investment. In no time at all, you’ll be enjoying the crunchy goodness of homegrown sprouts with every meal!

Why should you sprout?

When a seed starts to sprout, the qualities of the nutrients begin to change – complex compounds such as carbohydrates begin to break down into simple sugars, proteins break down into amino acids, and the fats into fatty acids. Enzyme inhibitors that enable a seed to remain inert yet viable for years are neutralized by sprouting, and the enzyme and vitamin content is increased, most notably the B vitamins.

A sprouting seed is transformed from a long-term storage unit for starches into a living plant full of digestive enzymes, amino acids, and simple sugars. The nutrient content increases up to 1200% after sprouting, and your body can readily assimilate the organic compounds in the sprouts. As the sprouts turn green with exposure to light, chlorophyll is developed in these baby plant sprouts, making them a superfood packed with nutrition.

Ready to get started sprouting?

What you’ll need to sprout at home:

cheesecloth or stainless steel screen
quart sized mason jars
a tray to stand the sprouting jars in
rubber bands or a canning ring to hold the cheesecloth or screen in place
a selection of seeds, beans, or grains (organically grown if possible)
a cupboard or corner of your counter out of direct sunlight
5 to 10 minutes each day to care for your sprouts

How to Grow Sprouts:

Fill a jar with water (filtered or spring water is preferable). For alfalfa, clover, or other small seeds, put two tablespoons of seeds in the jar and let soak in the water for 8 hours. Beginning the soaking process at night develops an easy rhythm for daily maintenance, checking them in the evening and again in the morning.

After the soaking time is up (in the morning, if started at night), empty the water out and rinse the seeds with fresh water (I like to rinse at least twice each time). Cover the mouth of the jar with a square of cheesecloth or sprouting screen and set the jar upside down in a tray or bowl (to catch any water that will drain out). I always lean the jar against something at an angle to ensure a flow of fresh air to the sprouting seeds.

Rinse the sprouts every 8 to 12 hours by filling the jars part way with water and then draining them thoroughly. The water from soaking and rinsing the sprouts is great for houseplants, gardens, or your compost pile. When the sprouts have reached the size you prefer for eating, rinse them thoroughly and place in the refrigerator until you’re ready to eat them. They will keep just fine for a couple of days (up to a week).

Most sprouts are edible as soon as you see a tail (the root) emerging from the seed, but you can let them grow as long as you want. Alfalfa and clover will fill the jar so completely that you’ll have a hard time getting them out, so don’t let them go too far.

Soaking times and amounts of seeds for sprouting in a quart jar:

Alfalfa seeds: Soak 2 Tbs for 4 to 8 hours
Clover seeds: Soak 2 Tbs for 4 to 8 hours
Broccoli seeds: Soak 2 Tbs for 8 to 12 hours
Whole lentils: Soak 1 cup for 8 to 12 hours, then eat
Fenugreek seeds: Soak 1/4 cup for 4 to 8 hours
Radish seeds: Soak 3 Tbs for 4 to 8 hours
Raw hulled sunflower seeds: Soak 1 cup for 6 to 8 hours, then eat
Chia seeds: Soak 1 cup for 6 to 8 hours, then eat
Sesame seeds: Soak 1 cup for 6 to 8 hours, then eat
Wheat berries: Soak 1 cup whole wheat berries for 8 to 12 hours
Rye berries: Soak 1 cup whole rye berries for 8 to 12 hours

Many seeds and nuts may be soaked and then eaten without fully sprouting them. One of my favorites is sunflower seed milk, made by blending soaked and rinsed raw sunflower seeds with water until it has the consistency of milk. Honey or maple syrup may be added for a sweetened version. Using the same method of blending the seeds, but only adding a little water, you end up with a base for dips and spreads which taste great with chopped fresh veggies and herbs.

For the more adventurous, fill seed-starting trays with soil and grow sunflower greens and buckwheat “lettuce” in them. Any shallow container with drainage will work, as will regular garden pots.

Use raw sunflower seeds (in the shell) and unhulled buckwheat, soaking 1 cup of seeds for each tray for 8 to 12 hours. Spread the seeds evenly over the soil and cover with a little extra soil. Water well, cover with newspaper or a plastic bag, and put the tray in a spot that stays at room temperature and is fairly dark. Be sure to give them a daily watering, but don’t keep the soil soggy.

After a couple of days, take off the covering and let the sprouts get some sunlight. Continue to grow them in the tray until they’re 4 to 6 inches in length. When it’s time to harvest some for lunch, simply cut the sprouts near soil level, rinse, and enjoy! If you cut more than you can eat, the sprouts will stay fresh in the refrigerator just like any greens.

Kids really dig having these baby green sprouts around, and by making tiny trays out of whatever small containers you have, they can grow their own sprout gardens. Engaging them in the process of soaking, rinsing, growing and eating sprouts gives them a real sense of cooperation and being in the rhythm with nature.

Sprouting is also a great learning activity for unschooling and homeschooling families. The amazing transformation that takes place to change those tiny seeds into living green food is inspiring. Nature’s wisdom is contained in each and every one of them, and yet our great god science can not manufacture a single seed.
Images: top theogeo, middle not a hipster at Flickr

Vegan Whole Wheat Cinnamon Raisin Quick Bread Recipe

Derek Markham — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 23:24:53 +0000

When the weather cools off, I love to bake bread, both with baker’s yeast and with a sourdough start, but nothing beats the instant gratification of a quickbread – there’s no rising, no kneading, just stir and cook. We like to make this cinnamon bread in the fall and winter for an easy, inexpensive dessert, but it tastes great for breakfast, too.

This recipe is vegan, and although I use whole wheat flour, just about any flour would work. I also heartily recommend using organically grown ingredients if possible.

Vegan Whole Wheat Cinnamon Raisin Quick Bread

1 & 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 cup brown sugar (if you eat honey, substitute it for the sugar)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 & 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 & 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 cup quick oats
3/4 cup raisins, soaked in either 1/4 cup apple or orange juice
1 & 1/4 cup applesauce
1/4 cup olive oil (or your choice of oil)
2 Tablespoons ground flax seeds, blended with 6 tablespoons of water (or use egg replacer equivalent to 2 eggs)
1/4 cup almond, soy, or hempseed milk

Preheat the oven to 350° F, and mix the first seven ingredients together in a large bowl. Adjust cinnamon to your taste.

Add the applesauce, oil, flaxseed mixture, and soy milk to the dry ingredients and stir well, then mix in the raisins and juice.

Grease and flour a loaf pan – we like coconut oil. Pour into the loaf pan and bake for 45 minutes to an hour, or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove the bread from the pan and let cool.

I use this recipe as a rough template – it makes a great loaf on its own – but occasionally I add fun stuff I have on hand, like shredded coconut or other fall spices. You can also substitute dried blueberries or other dried fruit for the raisins, or bake them as muffins instead of a loaf.

This cinnamon raisin bread makes a most excellent toast!

Image: S. Diddy at Flickr

Natural Papa » Food

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Sprouting: How to Grow Sprouts at Home for Low Cost Nutritious Meals

Why should you sprout?

Ready to get started sprouting?

How to Grow Sprouts:

Soaking times and amounts of seeds for sprouting in a quart jar:

Related posts

Vegan Whole Wheat Cinnamon Raisin Quick Bread Recipe

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