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Spinach Bread just like from Frances’s Bakery

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I grew up in a town which had a fabulous family-owned bakery, Frances’s Bakery.  We loved their breads, cakes, pies, cookies, brownies but most of all their spinach bread.  The bread was stuffed with tons of tasty, garlicy and cheesey spinach and was my way of finally eating spinach as a kid.  I’d start with the ends which had a higher bread to spinach ratio than the rest of the loaf.  And as I got older I’d forgo the ends for the most spinach middle pieces.  We’d often pick up two loaves at a time, one with meat (salami and ham)and one without.  When I had kids of my own we’d stop off there and pick up a spinach bread and bring it over to my mother’s house.  The same family owned it and would still hand out rainbow cookies to my kids— until a few years ago they sold it.  After that the quantity and quality went down and the new owners stopped getting our business.

So, with so much spinach from my CSA last week I decided to try my hand at making my own spinach bread.  I searched for recipes online but didn’t really find anything that I was looking for, so I thought I’d just wing it. 

For the amount of spinach to use, you want good amount in bread & once it cooks it decreases in volume.  So start off with a generous amount.

 

Spinach Bread

2 cups flour (½ cup whole wheat, 3 ½ cups all purpose)

½ tsp salt

¼ yeast

1 cup water

4-6 cups fresh spinach

2 cloves garlic, minced

handful shredded mozzarella

handful shredded parmesan

salt & pepper

olive oil

Mix flour, salt, yeast and water together until gooey.  Either knead on well floured surface and let rise for 2 hours or leave covered in oiled bowl overnight to rise.  Stretch out dough so it’s about 1/3 inch thick rectangle.  Let rest on parchment paper.  Preheat oven to 400ºF.

Steam the cleaned and de-stemmed spinach until wilted.  Drain well.  Sauté garlic with 1 tsp olive oil until cooked but not brown.  Add spinach back to garlic & oil.  Mix well and then squeeze out excess liquid. Chop spinach so it’s easy to bite. 

Brush olive oil on dough and spread spinach, mozzarella & parmesan all over except edges.  Season with salt & pepper to taste.  Optional fresh or dried basil, oregano or tiny bit of nutmeg.   Using parchment paper, grab side & pull, should help roll dough/spinach into loaf.  Cut away excess parchment.

Place on cookie sheet and bake for 30-35 minutes.  Let cool slightly and cut into pieces to serve.

It worked and the boys loved it too!  I brought it to friend’s house and they too loved it.  I decided to make again this week (had even more spinach!) with all white flour and brought it over to another friend’s home.  It was a huge hit.  The boys ran to grab a piece before it was all gone!

Can be served hot, warm or cold!

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Robyn O’Brien started me on my crusade against artificial colors and GMO’s.  Read her book too! It’ll scare you into doing the right thing!

Hope to post my new creations & quick meals when I get more than 5 minutes to myself.  Boys finished school yesterday and it ended with a real bang after weeks of parties, concerts, and other performances.   Off to bed early. 

sustainable-sam:

 

Moving to the U.S. will increase your cancer risk by 400%.

 

 

{Robyn O’Brien, Ted Talks}

Robyn shares her personal story and how it inspired her current path as a “Real Food” evangelist. Grounded in a successful Wall Street career that was more interested in food as good business than good-for-you, this mother of four was shaken awake by the dangerous allergic reaction of one of her children to a “typical” breakfast. Her mission to unearth the cause revealed more about the food industry than she could stomach, and impelled her to share her findings with others. Informative and inspiring.

I highly recommend watching this. 

(Source: http://www.youtube.com/)
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FDA Admits Chicken Meat Contains Cancer-Causing Arsenic | The Good Human

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FDA Admits Chicken Meat Contains Cancer-Causing Arsenic | The Good Human

funwithplantingplans:

After years of sweeping the issue under the rug and hoping no one would notice, the FDA has now finally admitted that chicken meat sold in the USA contains arsenic, a cancer-causing toxic chemical that’s fatal in high doses. But the real story is where this arsenic comes from: It’s added to the chicken feed on purpose! Even worse, the FDA says its own research shows that the arsenic added to the chicken feed ends up in the chicken meat where it is consumed by humans. So for the last sixty years, American consumers who eat conventional chicken have been swallowing arsenic, a known cancer-causing chemical.

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Hello :) I have a son, a year and a half old, who is the pickiest eater I have ever met. He will eat only breaded chicken, fries, and grilled cheese for meals. As for snacks he’ll wat yogurt, todler cereal, marshmallows,a banana, only small things. Im having the hardest time trying to get him to try anything new, let alone anything healthy. Any tips ?

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Yes!  Many.  First look at some of my tips & tricks page on my blog.

First tip (rule):

  • Eat with them!  Make them the same dinner you make yourself.  Let them see what you eat.  Don’t just feed them what you think they’ll eat, but what they should.

    • You have to remember you are the parent and can have a say in what goes on the plate or into the shopping cart.  Don’t buy marshmallows.  If he likes soft, squishy things how about mashed potatoes?  You can even mix in spinach or broccoli. 

    He likes small things so cut the vegetables into small bite sized pieces for him.  

    Keep introducing him to different textures and flavors with some of the same ingredients of foods he likes.  Add tomatoes, spinach and bacon to the grilled cheese.  Another idea cut out the fries and less nutrient-rich foods.  Try some sweet potato fries instead.  Try breaded fish or eggplant instead of just chicken.

    Set the rules now it’s the perfect time!  Don’t give up! 

    Also, I think it’s important to make it fun.  Pick his favorite character and say that character loves a certain vegetable you want to introduce.  Notice my “Magic Beans” or “Pink Pee” posts.

    Good luck!

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    heyyo :) I’m a kid myself. A 12 year old girl who’s on a little diet and you and your awesome blog just bumped into me in the middle of a crisis! Thank you! Your kids must be proud of you ;)

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    Thank you!  My kids love me and I love them.  I think they’re young to be proud of me, but hopefully when grown will look back fondly at their childhood.

    12 seems young to be on a diet.  I hope that you keep it reasonable— eat; just eat healthier things and stay clear of packaged/take out foods for a while, increase your vegetable intake and don’t drink soda (even diet).   Walking and yoga help keep you fit and they help clear the head too.   Don’t worry too much about the food if possible— enjoy it! 

    Hopefully your crisis passes quickly. I went through many tough times around 12-13.  But the good thing is it gets better. 

    “All things pass.  Love and mankind are grass.”  -Stevie Smith

    Best of luck!

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    Meatless Meals

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    I often make meals without meat, but it’s usually when my husband isn’t here.  He just seems to think you need protein in each meal, but I don’t think it has to be animal-based.  After reading Mark Bittman’s recent article in the NY Times I guess I’m not the only one who thinks that way and my husband’s not the only who eats his way.

    How much meat/protein is too much?  I’ve noticed often parents will be happy if their kids get protein through chocolate milk and yogurt but not give as much consideration to the kids’ vegetable (especially green veggies) or even sugar intake.  “At least they’re getting their protein.” is a common mantra.  But is it right?

    Milk, yogurt, chicken, beef, eggs, cheese, and protein-fortified food and drinks.  I think my generation got a little obsessed with protein and overlooked the vegetables. 

    We don’t need more than a few ounces of protein a day.  An 8 oz. burger is 4 or 5 oz. too many and especially if that’s not the only protein that person has had that day…  And that’s the recommended amount (around 3 to 4 oz or about 100 grams) per day for an adult. 

    We are told we should be giving kids about 5 to 9 servings of whole* vegetables and fruits (*I just mean with the fiber of it; not just juice) daily.  So, the fruit flavored yogurt, fruit snacks or juice don’t count.  I found the best way to figure out what a “serving” is, is it’s about a fist-full.  A child’s fist is their serving size and an adult’s fist is our serving size. 

     

    So, following in the footsteps of Meatless Monday, I’ve decided to serve some Meatless Meals (Whatever the Day).  And also try to pay some attention to how much protein we’re taking in during a day or week.

    One was meal was Eggplant Parmigiana that I totally cheated on and lied about.  Cheating part was that I got frozen eggplant cutlets from Trader Joe’s which I baked first (according to package directions) then placed in oven-proof dish topped with their Organic Tomato Basil Sauce and shredded mozzarella.  Baked it until cheese was melted and sauce hot.  Served with roasted cauliflower and tri-colored radiatore tossed with olive oil, butter, sea salt and a little garlic powder.

    My kids have never been big fans of eggplant unless it’s in ratatouille or a similar dish.  So I lied.  I had one try it first and when he said “Yum, what is it?”  I lied.  I can’t believe I did it, but I knew the others wouldn’t even try it if they knew it was eggplant.  So, I said chicken.  CHICKEN!?!  Later on I let them know it was eggplant, but that was after they’d eaten most of it. They kind of noticed when the breading was off that it didn’t look like chicken.  Hey, I never said I was perfect or that I don’t resort to tricks at times.  I got them to eat it and most amazingly my youngest liked it the most.  Now I can make it and tell them what it really is.

    Roast Cauliflower

    ½ head cauliflower, broken/cut into small pieces

    2 cloves garlic, chopped

    2 tsp olive oil

    1-2 Tbsp parsley, chopped

    sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

    Bring ½ cup of water to boil and add cauliflower, cover.  Steam/boil for several minutes until cauliflower has softened slightly.  Shock with cold water. Drain and toss with oil, garlic, salt and pepper.  Place in preheated oven at 375ºF for at least 20 minutes until cauliflower has golden brown crispy top.  Toss with parsley to finish.

    Only my middle son and I loved the cauliflower.  He told his friend’s mom last night that cauliflower was his favorite vegetable.  My eldest said it was “Good.” but he didn’t want more than one piece. My youngest refused to try it.  It was so good, maybe next time.

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