Tina Dico ~ In The Red
The Eagles ~ Learn To Be Still
Caro Emerald ~ A Night Like This
Joan Jett ~ I Love Rock n Roll
Prince ~ Get Off
Auf De Maur ~ Overpower Thee
Satie: Gonssiennes - 3. Lent
Bebel Gilberto ~ Close Your Eyes
Airbourne ~ White Line Fever
Soundgarden ~ He Didn't
Bach: Cello Suite #4 in E Flat
Chris Cornell ~ Call Me A Dog (Live)
Bobby McFerrin ~ Circlesong 8
Doris Day ~ I'll Never Stop Loving You
Blimey what a week! I'm exhausted and it isn't over yet. Tomorrow I shall be found walking a waterfall or two so I felt it only right to stop by and update you folks on my latest experiment in the gluten-free, yeast-free and vegan bread quest. This time I found a recipe online by The Healthy Chef..Teresa Cutter. Her recipe was just what I needed for this busy week. As long as you have a food processor it really isn't very hard work to make. There is a little advanced prep involved because you have to soak the quinoa and chia seeds overnight but again...easy. For Teresa's original posting simply click here. You will also find all the nutritional information for this loaf and Teresa's suggestions for serving it...
When all the ingredients were whirling around in my processor I was waiting for the seeds to break down a little which lead me to re-read the recipe and realised that they shouldn't. lol. And as I poured the batter into my bread tin I was becoming a little worried about the texture of this bread. But regardless I popped it into my awaiting oven and set my timer and got busy making the picnic for yesterday's play in the park with the little ones. My timer blasted off and I removed the bread loaf and placed it on my kitchen side to set and cool. As I was running around making sure everybody had everything for the day I quickly removed the loaf from the tin to cool completely and it looked very pleasing to the eye. And there it stayed for the next six hours whilst we were off to throw ourselves around the park.
When I finally sliced off the crust and a slice I was struck by just how moist it was. It reminded me of a very moist banana bread...and I tried a bite or two from the crust and I was undecided. I tried the next two bites with a little sunflower spread...still undecided. I decided to toast the second slice to see if it firmed it up at all. Well it did around the edges but the second you added spread to it...it sucked it up and ended up as soggy bread....which then fell apart in my hand. lol. The overall taste to this bread is exactly what you would expect from a quinoa and chia seed bread but the hard crunch every now and then from the seeds was a little challenging because it felt like a tooth had broken. lol. Despite this I was determined to find a way of eating this bread without the previously stated issues.
I decided that I would heed Teresa's advice and pan toast my slices first. This morning I was craving an old favourite...tomatoes on toast. I also had a stash of cashew parmesan and I had a tin of organic plum tomatoes that I had picked up recently...they don't have citric acid added to them so I was a little giddy when I found them. (Citric acid being something I've had to cut out recently) However, they were expensive...£1.25 per tin so I bought just the one. I placed my slices into a skillet to toast and opened my tomatoes to find....1 1/2 tomatoes in a tin filled with tomato juice. Am I wrong to be scandalised by this...not even 2! 1 1/2! Sainsbury's..shame on you. Grrrr. Anyway..I digress. Once my slices had finished toasting I sprinkled on a little cashew parm then added the tomatoes then generously grated black pepper over the top. Now I really enjoyed this meal and enjoyed the quinoa and chia seed toasts. They were a great base if not sturdy base...they soaked up all the tomato juices before I had even sat down to eat..lol. A satisfying combination though..
Would I make this bread again...well..yes because I've tried it a few ways I know it's limitations but also the many ways you could enjoy it too. And you can never have too much quinoa and chia seeds in your life...eh?
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| Tomatoes & Cashew Parmesan on Teresa Cutter's Quinoa & Chia Seed Toasts |
Teresa Cutter's Quinoa & Chia Seed Bread Makes 1 2lb loaf
(Recipe from TheHealthyChef.com)
300g/10.5 oz/1 3/4 cups whole uncooked quinoa seed
60g/2 oz/ 1/4 cup whole chia seed
250ml/1 cup water (use half to soak chia seeds and the other half to combine in the
processor)
60ml/ 2fl oz/ 1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp bicarb of soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
juice from 1/2 lemon
Soak the quinoa in water overnight in the fridge. Soak the chia seeds in 1/2 cup water and this can left overnight also but you will need to give it a good stir before use.
Preheat the oven to 160'C/32o'F/GM 2/3 and line a bread tin with parchment paper.
Drain the quinoa in a large sieve and rinse with plenty of water. Make sure the water is fully drained from the sieve. Place the quinoa in the processor. Add the chia gel, 1/2 cup of water, olive oil, bicarb soda, sea salt and lemon juice. Mix in the food processor for 3 minutes. The bread mix should resemble batter consistency with some whole quinoa still left in the mix.
Spoon into the lined loaf tin. Bake for 1 1/2 hours until firm to the touch. Remove from the oven and cool for 30 minutes in the tin then remove from the tin and allow to cool completely before slicing. Serve...
Thanks for stopping by and I hope your weekend has been a great one...
~Red~
NB: This is not my recipe and therefore take no credit for it whatsoever. It is the hard work and creation of Teresa Cutters @ TheHealthyChef.com and hers alone. I send thanks for an interesting recipe. ~R~
