Carrot allergies....

So when my husband tells me he's "allergic" to vegetables maybe he is telling the truth. According to this article anyway: allergies http://health.usnews.com/articles/health/2007/12/11/a-pesky-allergy-to-fruit-and-vegetables.html

I have never heard of this allergy. Apparently fruit & vegetable proteins mimic the pollen proteins (ragweed, birch...) that people are allergic to & cause them to have a mild but uncomfortable reaction like hives. Although the article mentions that if too much of the offending fruit or vegetable is eaten at once a serious reaction can occur. The article also gives some great tips for being able to eat the vegetable or fruit: peeling them or microwaving them for a short amount of time.

Cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, lettuce) berries, and tropical fruits usually don't cause this problem. So allergies to cauliflower or cabbage are convenient, but not likely. Since Daniel doesn't have pollen allergies I'm not sure he can use this excuse.

Playing With Yer Food

http://bentobjects.blogspot.com/

Some are food related, some are not. All are clever.

What's a wheat berry? And what about farro?

My loyal customers would say, "Elizabeth's whole wheat bread with the nutty little grains in it".

Now I like this basic picture provided by our friends at Mypyramid.gov. I may add your tax dollars are paying for this site so might as well make use of it. There is a more detailed illustration at this website: www.mainebread.com for those food nerds like me who want to know more.

So the wheat berry is the fruit of the wheat grass that we use to make bread, cookies, pilafs, ect... And if you use the entire grain without removing the germ and the bran then you have "a whole grain" product.

So my Wheatberry bread is 100% wholegrain just like all of my breads, but it is unique in that it has roasted farro berries added to the dough. Farro is variety of the ancient grain spelt. I have written about spelt in my post Crisp mornings, pumpkins & cranberries . For more information about spelt check out this page from one of my suppliers: www.ansonmills.com/farro.htm. So I should call this bread farro berry, but being most people don't know what farro is I think Wheatberry is ok. My wheatberry is an excellent everyday bread. It rises very well (for a whole grain bread), has a lightly sweetened whole grain flavor. The roasted farro berries are sweet (less bitter than our modern wheat), slightly smoky, and nutty. It is a popular bread and one I always try to have on hand.

Ingredients: Ingredients: organic stone-ground whole wheat flour, water, roasted farro (spelt) berries, buttermilk powder, orange juice, Mississippi honey, molasses, canola oil, butter, egg white, salt, yeast

Is butter really bad for you?

So I check some food blogs daily and I am just blown away with how proficient the authors are at updating their sites! I do good to put one entry per week. One of my New Year's resolutions was to be better at blogging.

So I often check the nutrition news, and if I run across something interesting I think I may post it here:)

BUTTER http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22116724/



So this article is one of the best I've run across in awhile. It makes many good points. I'm not shocked b/c in "nutrition school" we were taught to look at research and be ready to change the advice we give people. Our knowledge of the world around us is not static. Personally being a Christian I have had a hard time believing that butter, cheese, and meat are to be totally avoided. We say that God's creation is good, so why would he give us food that is "bad". Now I'm not saying to eat only saturated fat laden foods, but they can fit into a well balanced diet between fruit, veggies, and of course WHOLE GRAINS! If you want to comment after reading it go ahead!

Christmas Gifts

I hope all of my friends and customers have had a wonderful holiday season. The holidays are a fun and busy time. I always feel like I'm in a whirlwind.

I like many people ate too many rich foods, but I guess that's kind of what happens this time of year. Now it's time to get back on the track of healthy eating. I have been inspired to return to my friends fruits and especially neglected vegetables by my new cookbook Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld.



I have in the past been skeptical about "sneaky pea" cookbooks. That is hiding vegetables in cakes to get people to eat them. I mean there is something to be said about eating a food in it's natural form, texture intact. And vegetables cooked correctly are really delicious. BUT, after almost 2 years of marriage I can really understand the value of this cookbook. I love vegetables and fruits, but my dear husband does not. No he doesn't hate them, but it is rare that he eats his daily recommended servings of veggies and fruits. So I would recommend this book highly for those of you out there that like to cook.

Pros of this book:
1. The recipes look delicious (we have tried the zucchini & shiitake burgers- our friends liked them too)
2. Vegetables go down better for non-vegetable lovers as part of mac n' cheese, muffins, ect.
3. The purees Jessica recommends can be frozen- great for times that you don't have fresh produce in the fridge

Cons of this book:
1. The purees will take some time to prepare & some planning to have vegetable on hand

Winter Break

Well I know I'm a bit early for this post, but I wanted to catch any new customers that may receive a Christmas gift from Hearth Leaven Loaves. The last Belhaven Market of 2007 is Dec 22nd. The market will reopen in April. I know some of the vendors will be glad to have a little break. I will too, in fact I already have some home projects lined up for my "off time". And I have many things I could do for HLL (spruce the website up, work on a new display....) Oh and my very devoted husband would love to have some time away on Saturday for a change!

If anyone wants to order from me you can email me from this website, there is a link on the left side of the page. I will be glad to bake bread, cookies, cakes, biscotti, etc. for you while the Market is off.

We have 2 markets left so come and see me.

The Holidays are Here!!!!

Ok, so where is the gingerbread mans foot? Everyone knows that food pictures are supposed to be perfect- you've heard the lengths the industry goes to (glue for milk to look thick...) Well I am a baker not a professional photographer, and my dear husband just doesn't always have time to help me.

Well this time of year like everyone else I've been shopping, wrapping presents, getting our Christmas card together. And I have been very busy baking. I didn't take the time to take a pic of my cute gingerbread men & St. Nicholas's until after the market was over and my poor leftover guys had been ridden around in the truck, and exposed to 80˚ Mississippi December weather. So his foot fell off and who could blame him.

I promise if you come to see me at the market I will sell you an intact gingerbread man or St. Nicholas. And I'll try to get some pictures of St. Nicholas up too! They are very cute, for more information about fun St. Nicholas activities I found this website: www.thestnicholascenter.org.

My yummy & cute gingerbread men are made from whole wheat & whole oat flour, without refined sweeteners except for the icing. They are as healthy as I could get gingerbread men and are kid tested & approved (adults like them too!).

Ingredients: dough (whole wheat flour, cage free organic eggs, succanat, organic blackstrap molasses, organic raw cane sugar, butter, whole oat flour, canola oil, fresh ginger, lemon & orange zest, spices, salt, baking soda, cream of tartar), icing (powdered sugar, pasteurized egg whites, organic vegetable dyes), dark chocolate decorative pearls

For all the Health Nuts: Kauai Sunshine Mix

Ok I'll let you in on a secret. I am really a health nut, and the greatest proof of this is my homemade yogurt. Fresh plain yogurt maybe with some fruit or granola on top is one of my favorite snacks. Hmmm backup, granola- full of healthy grains, nuts and maybe some dried fruit.

Well I had been kicking around making granola and I decided to go for it when some customers requested it. I love my bread, but granola goes better with yogurt. The ingredients: lime, coconut, honey, mango, and banana chips remind me of the fresh foods I saw at a Kauai farmers market! The other ingredients make for a wholesome snack. Come and try some and if you want I'll tell you how to make yogurt:)

Ingredients: rolled oat flakes, rolled barley flakes, MS honey, unsulfured banana chips, organic dried unsulfured mango, unhulled sesame seeds, pecans, wheat germ, organic cocoa nibs, flax seed, coconut flakes, canola oil, nonfat dried milk powder, powdered lime, salt

Let me help you out this Thanksgiving!

That's right it's almost Thanksgiving, in fact 2 weeks from today most of us will be quite stuffed by this time:)

There's alot that goes into preparing a big meal like Thankgiving dinner, and I know most of us are busy people. If you don't have time to bake your own rolls this year and want a step up from the grocery store variety (in taste & nutrition) come & see me. I will be at the Belhaven Market selling frozen brown & serve Wheatberry rolls this weekend and next weekend. These rolls are based on my popular Wheatberry bread, with a few additions to make them tastier and more tender for a holiday occasion!

Here are the ingredients: organic stone-ground whole wheat flour, water, roasted spelt berries, buttermilk powder, Mississippi honey, eggs, orange juice, molasses, canola oil, butter, egg white, salt, yeast

Email me if you would like me to reserve a pan for you!

Italian Sun Dried Tomato Bread

This bread isn't brand new, I'm just getting around to writing about it. Isn't that picture gorgeous? Of course I have my dear husband to thank for it.

The bread is really that nice. It is a very moist dough, so it makes a nice springy flat bread. The flavor is great, rich thanks to the olive oil and sun-dried tomatoes but also smooth due to the white whole wheat flour that gives it a nice golden hue.

Ingredients: Organic stone-ground white whole wheat flour, water, sun dried tomatoes, olive oil, nonfat dry milk, salt, yeast

Daniel & I have really enjoyed this bread; it makes a delicious sandwich, a great pizza, and it delicious by itself as a dinner bread.

Come by the market Saturday and try it for yourself.

New Dairy & Egg Free Cake & A Favorite Bread

Some of you are asking why take out the good stuff. And being a baker I know what dairy & eggs contribute to baked goods. However I have some customers with allergies and those that just try to avoid those ingredients for other reasons. Even though I am not baking these products with dairy & eggs I do use them in my kitchen so for someone with a serious allergy don't chance it. So my egg & dairy free products are Vegan Chocolate Mint Cake & Mississippi sourdough.

Vegan Chocolate Mint Baby Cake
Some of you may have heard of a wacky cake, it is a cake some of our grandmothers, mothers, or maybe you baked during the depression when rationing was common. I took a wacky cake recipe switched the white flour for spelt flour, and added a dark chocolate mint glaze.

Ingredients: organic stone-ground whole spelt flour, organic raw cane sugar, water, vinegar, canola oil, cocoa powder, baking soda, powdered vanilla, salt




Mississippi Sourdough
This bread has such of a simple ingredient list, but don't underestimate it! Beneath the crisps crusts of this hearth loaf this bread is full of tangy sourdough flavor. For those watching calories, this whole bread has no sugar or fat but tons of taste.

Ingredients: organic stone-ground whole wheat flour, water, sourdough (organic stone-ground whole rye flour, water, yeast), salt, yeast

MS state fair & Breadcrumbs

So what does the MS state fair have to do with breadcrumbs? Well I'm sure lots of people had fun at the fair last weekend, at any rate they did not come to the Belhaven market. I'm blaming the fair for the small crowds at the market Saturday. So I was blessed with an overflow of delicious homemade whole grain bread and more than my family could eat in a week!

My friend Paul, New Orleans Restaurant veteran & vendor of fabulous stuffed breads, suggested I make breadcrumbs. Well who would buy breadcrumbs from me when they could just go to the grocery store & buy a huge can for $1.50 or whatever the price is? I will tell you why you should come to the Belhaven market & buy my breadcrumbs.

1. They are delicious- the old idea of good ingredients make yummy meals- hearty delicious whole grain bread crumbs lightly seasoned with italian herbs are a great start to oven baked chicken, crab cakes, etc.

2. My breadcrumbs are fresh & superior to that can of breadcrumbs at the grocery store that has been on that shelf for months!

3. They are better for you- you are what you eat, why not get a serving of whole grains from that oven fried chicken?

So come by my stand & see me Saturday and get some breadcrumbs or a loaf of bread! And if you buy some breadcrumbs I'll give you my favorite recipes that use my yummy breadcrumbs.

Crisp mornings, pumpkins & cranberries

I hope that all of you out there have been enjoying the cooler weather we have had lately. I personally love it! My husband and I walk our spoiled rotten westie every morning; amazing how motivating a puppy can be (walk the dog or have him wreak havoc in the house hmm...) So we have all been enjoying the pleasant morning temperatures, especially the very furry puppy!

So the cooler temps have me thinking about autumn meals. What is more autumnish than pumpkins & cranberries? I love pumpkin anyway, ask my husband about how I sneak a can in mac & cheese, chili, etc. It is so mild flavored no one will ever know, and you're adding vegetables!



Ok enough of the sneaky vegetable discussion. I'm adding a new item to my line up. Pumpkin cranberry spelt baby cakes Let me break that down, I started with a pumpkin bread and swapped whole spelt flour for wheat flour and the baby cakes refers to the mini bundt cake pan I bake them in. Now even though I'm calling this a "cake" it is much healthier than the standard cake. There is more pumpkin in this recipe than most other pumpkin breads, as a result the texture is moist & creamy. I cut down the amount of sugar to have a lightly sweetened cake, but not a toothache. The fat is primarily canola oil with a little bit of butter. There are yummy spices to lightly flavor but not overpower the mild taste of the pumpkin. Oh yeah other healthy stuff like cranberries & flax seeds (a great source of omega 3's that doesn't taste fishy!) What about the spelt? Well I have had several customers request spelt yeast breads & I have stayed away because of the difficulty of making a yeast bread with entirely spelt flour- it doesn't rise as well. Whole spelt flour is great in quickbreads (cakes, muffins...), it is more tender than whole wheat & has a milder flavor. Although it has gluten, people with gluten intolerance may be able to handle spelt. This is a good list of facts about spelt, there is plenty of information out there.

My reason for wanting to include spelt in my lineup of goods is to increase the diversity of ingredients I bake with. With any diet it is best to have variety (of good nutritious choices of course). Spelt has advantages over oatmeal and vice versa depending upon the nutrient.

Ingredients: organic stone-ground whole spelt flour, pumpkin, sucanat, organic raw cane sugar, cage free eggs, water, canola oil, flax seed, egg whites, butter, dried buttermilk powder, cake spice, baking soda, salt, powdered vanilla


Most importantly my Pumpkin cranberry spelt baby cakes are yummy! So please come try some, I'll be at the market Sat, October 6th.

You are what you eat...

Yeah that old saying really is true and we seem to hear more about it these days.

But people still like cookies, muffins, biscotti, cinnamon rolls... So my philosophy is eat those things, but healthier versions and in moderation. When I say my cookies are better for you I don't mean substitute one for the piece of fruit you were going to eat! There is room in a healthy diet for treats.

So how do I make "healthier" treats? Pay attention to the ingredients I cook with. Yes using higher quality, healthier ingredients is more expensive, but I don't want to sell baked goods that I wouldn't bake for my own family. So let me break down some of the products I use and give you more information. I think for now I'll touch on sweeteners and leave the other ingredients for later.

Sweeteners:

Honey- I use local organic honey to help support our local farmers and to decrease the amount of pesticides we are ingesting. Here is a link to some nutrition info.

Blackstrap molasses- I love the flavor of this nutritious syrup, so hearty & rich. I use it in my ginger cookies, wheatberry bread, pumpernickel bread. The organic, unsulfured molasses I use has the best flavor of any molasses I have ever tasted. I love the fact this is a great source of calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium among other nutrients.

Sucanat- b/c I can't always use molasses in baking I use this unrefined dried cane juice in place of brown sugar. It is in my cinnamon rolls and ginger cookies. I figure it's better to get some nutrients with your sugar. On the very bottom of this page is some info nutrients found in sucanat.

Organic raw cane sugar- in some recipes (toffee biscotti, chocolate cherry muffins) I don't want the flavor of molasses overpowering more subtle flavors. So instead of using completely refined sugar I use this. Although it is not as nutrient rich as molasses it does have some of the nutrients that refined sugar is void of.

Organic barley malt syrup- has a distinct malted flavor that is nice in my barley apricot bread. This is not the brand I use but here is some good information malt.

Boiled apple cider- it is what it sounds like, a fruit juice that has been reduced to a syrup. It is sweet, but in a mild unassuming way. B/c it is mild & expensive I can't use this for everything. It is a nice subtle sweetener for my malted apple bread & the only sweetener I use in that bread. Certainly it can not be considered a fruit, I know the fiber & nutrients were lost in processing, but it is a less refined sugar for sure.

Kick off your fall with my Toffee Biscotti!

Ok, Daniel & I have missed quite a few market days lately. We've been out of town visiting family. And to tell you the truth the heat did make it a little harder to spend an entire Saturday morning outside. But last Saturday was beautiful, truly a blessing. We had a good many visitors to our booth and at the market in general. Thanks to all my loyal customers once again, without you buying my bread I wouldn't need to bake it!

So autumn begins next Sunday, I think a great way to celebrate that would be to come & check out the Belhaven market (a day early of course). And a delicious way to enjoy your time there would be to try some of my new Toffee Biscotti! Crispy, buttery biscotti with chunks of toffee are especially delicious dipped in coffee or milk. Did I mention they have 3/4 the butter of regular biscotti & are 100% whole grain?

Ingredients: organic stone-ground white whole wheat flour, organic cane sugar, canola oil, butter, cage free eggs, organic stone-ground whole barley flour, toffee bits, baking powder, vanilla extract, baking soda, salt

Nutrient analysis: 1 biscotti: 205 kCal, 30g carb ( 14g sugar, 2g fiber), 8g fat (3g sat, 3g monounsat, 1g polyunsat), 5g protein

I will be adding some more delicious breads to my line-up for the up coming holiday season. So come check the Hearth Leaven Loaves booth out!

Barley Apricot Bread & Barley Root

Barley is my favorite of all the grains, of course I love wheat b/c it's what we make bread with. But Barley is mild, nutty, chewy, and a bit sweet. Apparently I love it so much I named my new puppy after it. We now have a 10 wk old Westie named Barley Root.

Barley Apricot
This whole wheat bread is enhanced by rolled barley flakes, which gives this bread a milder taste and moist crumb. Diced apricots found throughout this loaf provide sweet & tart bursts of flavor. Great for breakfast, a turkey sandwich, or an anytime snack!

Ingredients: organic stone-ground whole wheat flour, water, chopped apricots, malted barley syrup, rolled barley flakes , dry milk powder, orange juice, Mississippi honey, canola oil, butter, egg whites, salt, yeast

Hopefully I'll have a picture of my bread up soon. I'll need to consult with my photographer/ husband...

Out Again!

Hi to all my wonderful loyal customers. I hope everyone is surviving the heat. I wasn't sure I would last week at the market!

Right now I'm in a library in Smithtown NY. So obviously I'm not baking bread to sale. I will be out this weekend for a family event on Long Island. This is my first trip to NY & it's not bad. I haven't found a good bakery to go to yet, so I'm still looking. I miss good old Mississippi, but certainly not the heat. It's pretty pleasant here today.

Don't worry I'll be back next week.I'm enjoying my little trip, but can't wait to get back into my kitchen. See you next weekend (Aug 18th)!

Hello From Branson, MO

Truth be told, we're actually in Hollister spending a few days fishing and having fun with the family. But we're miles away from Belhaven Market, so we won't be there this Saturday. Look forward to seeing everybody next week!

-Elizabeth and Daniel

The Best Cookies Ever

Ok with a title like that I should have a cookie to back up my claim. Well I do: ginger chewies. I will have to admit I'm really a chocoholic; but these cookies are really really good to be missing chocolate! And everyone that tries them likes them. What makes them so great? The best ingredients. I use the best blackstrap molasses I've ever tasted (full flavored without the bitterness that usually mars the flavor of dark molasses). Also fresh ginger, lemon & orange zest gives these cookies a great taste that is best described as fresh & zingy.

I know someone is out there thinking what could be healthy about cookies (and healthy baking is my mantra:). Well I mentioned that there is blackstrap molasses in these cookies, I also use dried cane juice (sucanat) as a sweetener. These sweeteners are unrefined and contain significant amounts of vitamins & minerals. In addition to the more nutritious sweeteners these cookies are 100% whole grain, and low in fat. So try a ginger chewie at the Hearth Leaven Loaves stand, at Belhaven Market. But you better get there early, because they go quick!

Ingredients: organic stone-ground spelt flour, organic stone-ground white whole wheat flour, dried cane syrup, organic cane sugar, organic blackstrap molasses, cage free organic egg, canola oil, butter, orange zest, lemon zest, vanilla, baking powder, baking soda, fresh ginger, cloves, salt

Market 7-7-07

Hi to all my faithful customers,

I hope everyone has a wonderful 4th of July planned, and enjoys celebrating the freedoms we have in this country with friends and family. Due to a death in my family I will not be baking much this week. My Aunt Phyllis after a long battle with cancer fell asleep in the Lord last week. So I will not be at the market on Saturday. But I will return next week. I will miss seeing everyone and look forward to seeing you all next week. Enjoy the 4th!